Book Reviews – Page 154

Crazy for God by Frank Schaeffer

April 16, 2012 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Christians need to allow their heroes to be real people. Putting people up on a pedestal not only harms those looking, but those on the pedestal.

I honestly do not know much about Francis Schaeffer. I have read one short book on the importance of ecumenical cooperation that I really liked.

But otherwise, I have stereotyped Francis Schaeffer as a bit of a kook, even though many hold him as one of the greatest Evangelical thinkers of the last century.

So I was not really all that interested in this book. I had heard it was a screed against Evangelicals and a book by a child tearing down his parents.

But eventually I worked my way around to it. And I am very glad that I did. It is one of the best memoirs I have read in a while. Frank (son of Francis and Edith) is clear at the beginning of the book that he is writing a memoir. These are his memoires. He is not focused primarily on telling the story of his parents or writing a biography, but telling his own story as he remembers it.

An American Spy by Olen Steinhauer

April 11, 2012 by Adam Shields

Quick Thoughts: Milo Weaver, hero of the first two books is not in this one until 1/3 in. Either a good conclusion or a set up for a re-start of the series.

I read the first book in this series on a whim. I did not know anything about it. But I was bored with my standard fare and wanted something different.

The first book, The Tourist, It focused on Milo Weaver and his desire to leave his job as a black ops spy, but includes a lot of background that does not come out quickly. The second book The Nearest Exit, follows right on the heels of The Tourist, but you are well into the book before you realize that.

The Final Hour (Homelanders #4) by Andrew Klavan

April 10, 2012 by Adam Shields

Summary: The conclusion, this time, is real.

The end of The Truth of The Matter (book #3), felt like a conclusion. Because there is a book four, I knew it was not. But it appeared that the terrorist ring had been broken up. Charlie was found by the good guys and he would be heading home soon, cleared of murder and ready to enjoy his regular life.

It was not to be.

The Doctrine of the Trinity in the Early Church by Franz Dunzl

December 20, 2024April 9, 2012 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Doctrine is the attempt to speak of God faithfully to our culture, but it is limited to the tools that are available to our language, philosophy and culture.

Speaking of God is difficult. There is one group of people that believe that God is so Other that we can only talk about what God is not. And they have a point. God is far beyond our comprehension.

But God has revealed himself to us. There is both scripture, which is God speaking in human language through the writing of dozens of God’s followers. And then there is Jesus Christ, which was God himself come to earth to reveal God’s nature and love to us.

This very helpful book, details the early working out in human language the nature of the Trinity. It is important to remember that what was being done was not creating the Trinity. The Trinity exists independent of human language. But the early church had to figure out a way to speak of the Trinity using human language and philosophy.

The Truth of the Matter (Homelanders #3) by Andrew Klavan

April 6, 2012 by Adam Shields

Summary: Charlie now knows who actually killed Alex and he is searching for Waterman, his best clue on how to get back to his normal life.

This is book three is the Homelanders series. You do not want to jump into the middle of this series.

This book picks up almost immediately after The Long Way Home. In the Long Way Home Charlie re-connected with his friends and girlfriend Beth. He found out how he got connected to the Homelanders, but there is still a year missing from his memory.

Klavan has done a good job in the series keeping the action moving, giving new information so the story moves and keeping the tension up.

The Long Way Home (Homelanders #2) by Andrew Klavan

April 4, 2012 by Adam Shields

Summary: Charlie West is on the run, from the police and a group of unknown terrorist. How can he prove that he is innocent and at the same time stay alive long enough to make sure the terrorists do not kill anyone else?

Charlie West, the hero of this series, has just stopped a murder at the end of The Last Thing I Remember (do not try to read this series out of order).

The Long Way Home picks up a couple weeks later. Charlie is trying to discover why he has been framed for murdering his best friend Alex (and by whom) while trying to avoid both the police and the terrorists that are after him.

Charlie decides to head back to his home town, in part because of home sickness, but mostly to get to the scene of Alex’s murder.

A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel Pink

March 30, 2012 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Right Brained creative thinking is the basis for the new economy (and you are less likely to have your job off-shored).

I like Daniel Pink. His book Drive (Bookwi.se review) on how to motivate employees was very good. I have watched videos of him speaking and in general like his style of Business Psychology books.

But I was not excited about this book. I almost stopped listening several times (and it is only just over 6 hours on audio). I actually missed the last 30 minutes because of a problem with my audiobook player and I did not feel like downloading the file again.

Pink’s point I think is basically right. In the past, left brain analytical thinking has been dominant in the business world. But increasingly as the economy moves toward a knowledge economy, right brain thinking is more valued. His first chapter summarizes the problem as Abundance, Automation and Asia. We are no longer in an economy where we are after the basics to sustain life. So we value creativity and design (abundance). Computers are good at left brain thinking, so automation is increasingly able to do many of the routine or rule based work that was a staple of our work force. Those activities that are more advanced that what computers can do, but still able to be done from afar, are being shipped off to cheaper labor markets like India and China (Asia).

Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work by Matthew Crawford

March 26, 2012 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: There are pleasures and value in physical labor that should not be degraded.

The best line in Shop Class as Soulcraft is “Work is toilsome and necessarily serves someone else’s interest. That’s why you get paid.” That bit is wisdom is important. Work is not designed to be the great fulfillment in life. But work can be fulfilling.

This book as a whole has a very interesting point. An the author, using his own very interesting work history, is a great example. Crawford has worked as a mechanic (and currently works as a mechanic in his own shop), an electrician, the head of a Washington think tank, and a ‘knowledge worker’. He has a PhD from University of Chicago but learn mechanics from the apprenticeship that is common of the physical trades.

Kushiel’s Dart by Jaqueline Carey

March 22, 2012 by Adam Shields

Note: This is an adult book. Discretion advised.

Primarily I read and review non-fiction books. While I like to read fiction, fiction tells a story and its strength is its ability to allow you to see life through someone else’s eyes.

Radically different lives give you a view of a different world. Several studies have shown that reading fiction helps to build empathy and actually by itself, helps to build interpersonal skills.

Fiction in the Christian world often has a couple problems. One, it often is oriented toward ‘nice’ stories that end well, that show people that are too easily changed by the message of Christ or where there is not actually any real conflict in the book. So I rarely read fiction published by Christian publishing houses. But second, there is a distrust of fiction in the Christian world that I find problematic. That distrust seems to be rooted in the fiction of the tale. There are Christians that are uncomfortable with stories as a means of conveying truth.

Kushiel’s Dart will not be mistaken for a Christian novel. It is about a girl, sold into indentured servitude by her mother as a young child, raised to become a prostitute. She becomes a courtesan to the wealthy, one that specializes in the darker sexual appetites. This book is fairly explicit. The sex is throughout the book. Bi-sexuality, bondage and torture are described, the main character views her job as what might be called a temple prostitute, a way for others to reach out to their god.

Identity Man by Andrew Klavan

March 21, 2012 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Explores the idea of whether a person can really change, and what it takes to motivate them if they can change.

I first heard about this book, as I do so many, from Books and Culture magazine. John Wilson, the editor, named it one of his personal books of the year and it was also discussed on the B&C podcast.

I was pushed into buying it when it dropped to just over $2.00 in kindle format (back up to normal price now). What actually moved me to read it was a malaise with my standard non-fiction fare. I just needed something different.

Once I started, I was hooked. I finished the book in three days (pretty unusual for me since I usually read a half dozen books at a time.)

Identity Man is an anti-hero book. I like the concept of anti-heros. Or at least this version of anti-heros. Those that are on the wrong side of the law most of the time, but have a real sense of honor, pride and understanding of the lines that they will not cross. Usually I see this in spy fiction or in fantasy or superhero fiction.