Book Reviews

The craziness that was our schedule in the second semester of 2023 is evidenced by this rather sparse reading list. Still, there are some worthwhile books to see here. Also, it would appear that Amazon Associates has discontinued the picture links that I used to include just below the book titles. So I have made…

It’s not a surprise that I was only able to complete five books in the last three months. What is amazing is that I was able to complete ANY books in the absolute avalanche of activities that was last three months. So please join me in considering these a major accomplishment. Missions by the Book…

Tertullian by Geoffrey D. Dunn In preparation for my upcoming Church History class I decided to familiarize myself with early church father Tertullian. This work by Geoffrey D. Dunn was very helpful in filling in the gaps of my knowledge regarding the life and works of one of the first (if not the first) true…

Paris in the Present Tense by Mark Helprin Recommended to my by a colleague here in Brazil, “Paris in the Present Tense” was my introduction to author Mark Helprin. It will certainly not be the last Helprin book that I read. The book tells the story of Jules, an elderly French Jew with a colorful…

Theories of Knowledge (Great Courses) by Joseph H. Shieber A course in Epistemology at the University was (is) proving to be somewhat of a challenge, so I picked up this Great Courses Epistemology lecture series. I found the professor to be very engaging, and able to put complex questions on the bottom shelf, so to…

How Christianity Transformed the World by Sharon James Our secular overlords in academia and the media have done an admirable job of fashioning a narrative where Christianity is consistently a force for evil and Christians the perennial bad-guys. So much so, in fact, that many Christians have bought into the narrative and spend most of…

Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan After reviewing the first few “Wheel of Time” books individually, I decided to wait and do a review of the entire series after I had finished it. At the outset, I feel the need to explain my reading process. Given that each one of these books HUGE, the…

Actually, I did finish a few others, but as they are part of a series, I’m saving them for one mega-review. Meanwhile, here’s what else I read in July. The Great Debate by Yuval Levin By this point few people are unaware of the extreme polarization of American society. What is often less clear is…

Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan So far, “Lord of Chaos”, the sixth in Robert Jordan’s “Wheel of Time” series, is my favorite. It is more action-packed than the books I have read, and the character development takes a much more satisfying track. Slight spoiler alert… If you, like me, have been reading so far…

Sigh. Oh well. Maybe more next time. Aristotle’s Children by Richard E. Rubenstein One of my favorite activities while in the US is browsing around used book stores. And in Dryden, NY there is one that is as close to heaven as I have found. Piles upon piles of books stored in a semi-organized fashion…