June 2001-November 2001

(Uh oh, two Star Trek books in a row. Either I've been traveling or I've been really stressed.) This is the second in the "My Brother's Keeper" trilogy, which is set right after the Star Trek episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before". I read and reviewed the first installment, Republic, last year. I liked this one better, for some reason. Maybe it's because there's less soap opera and more action. Kind of like the original show. Anyway, in Constitution, Kirk is dealing with the aftermath of his ill fated mission and the loss of his friend Gary Mitchell. In the process of this, he flashes back to an earlier adventure he shared with Gary. Like I said, there's a lot of action and drama under fire. The young Kirk has to prove himself as a commander and Gary helped him do it. I suspect that the third volume of this trilogy will be another flashback, perhaps even tying all three novels together. Then again, maybe it'll be set in "real" time. There is a mystery that builds up over the first two installments, and since there's no advertising for part four, I'm assuming that thread, at least, gets resolved. I'll let you know after I read it. (I suppose to be consistent I should wait until June 2002.) Anyway, I'd rate this as good waiting room material. It might have rated higher, but there's too many links to volume 1 to make this a good, stand-alone read.
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Jesus Through the Centuries by Jaroslav Pelikan
Read in June of 2001

Yet another treasure snapped up at the Friends of the Seattle Public Library book sale. This book is a brief look at the perception of Jesus through the centuries by the "Christian" culture. While Jesus Himself has not changed over the centuries, the way His followers perceive Him has. Pelikan breaks the book up into 18 different roles that have at one point in history been the dominant perception of Jesus of Nazareth. In each chapter, Pelikan explains the concept, showcases those who held it and shows how it in turn is reflected in their actions. It's fascinating how so many can take the same source material, the Bible, and see different things in it. It's also a bit humbling as I'm forced to realize that my own beliefs about Jesus are not necessarily a pure doctrine delivered directly to me by the Holy Spirit, but rather are teachings that have been handed down and flavored by generations of scholars, philosophers and teachers. And maybe even a prophet or two. This is a must read for those interested in Jesus and history, which is why it's going on my shelf.
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The Story of King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle
Read in July of 2001

If you've read a lot of my ramblings here, it probably won't surprise you to hear that I like heroic fiction. (It also marks you as one with way too much free time, but that's another topic.) And as one raised in an culture descended from England, King Arthur is one of my favorite mythical heroes. I've picked up a variety of retellings of the legends of Camelot and this is my latest aquisition. Written for children, it was originally published in 1903 and, according to the scholarly afterward, is a rather American flavored retelling of the legend. I can see that, as the knights are all very individualistic and self sufficient. The book focuses on Arthur: how he became king, how he gained Excalibur and won the hand of Guinevere, among other tales. The stories are rather simplistic and the characters are all stereotypes, but for some reason it's fun and I had quite a good time reading it. (Though I have to admit, towards the end, as yet another joust was being proposed, I was hoping that some lowly squire would break character and say, "you know, there are less painful ways to settle differences.") If you like Arthur at all (the king, not D.W.'s brother), I would suggest you Check it out.
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Martians, Go Home by Fredric Brown
Read in the Summer of 2001

It seems like every time I try to make room on my bookshelves by getting rid of a few books I end up pulling out this novel and rereading it. Somehow, it always makes the cut and goes back on the shelf. It's not spectacular, but rather a nice amusing little tale that one can devour in a couple of hours. Simply put, the book is about a Martian invasion of Earth. Unlike The War of the Worlds however, the Martians here aren't out to conquer the Earth. Instead they've come to observe and heckle it. To quote the back cover of the Del Rey October 1981 edition, Brown's Martians were "obnoxious green creatures who could be seen and heard, but not harmed, and who probed private sex lives as shamelessly as they probed government secrets." It makes for an amusing tale, and for something first published in 1954, it reads quite well. Aside from obvious anacrhonisms like typewriters (remember those?) and the cold war, the story could have been written today. (Or maybe I'm just getting old.) So, I guess I'll just have to find another book to dispose of and put Martians, Go Home back where I found it.
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America A to Z by various employees of Reader's Digest
Read in the Summer of 2001

I've grown to be very scornful of sound bite information -- the stuff you get on TV, popular magazines and the like. I suppose I could blame my wife, the scholar, for corrupting me, but the seeds had already been planted in high school, when my teachers tried to wean us from the encyclopedia. Imagine my delight, then, when I opened a package from my mom and found amongst the treasures a copy of this book. The cultural history of the United States in 403 pages of words and pictures. I questioned my mother's taste, but figured it might amuse the kids and put it on my shelf anyway. Some days later I was killing time and picked the book up again for some ultra-light reading. Once again I was reminded that my mother has a lot better taste than I do. I found America A to Z to be a delightful coffee table book. It's a collection of sound bites, to be sure, but each one gives a slight little glimpse into something from the culture of the United States. At times it even made the culture come alive in ways that a dry history text never could. I even learned a couple of things as I made my way through it. This will never replace a good, solid history book or even an encyclopedia, but if you ever need a quick, simple cultural literacy reference, I would certainly recommend this book to you. Mom was right again ...
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Everyman's Talmud by Abraham Cohen
Read in the Summer of 2001

In the course of my theological studies (if I can dignify my readings with that term), I've occasionally attempted to read the sacred writings of other religions. I haven't fared too well. I read a big chunk of the Bhagavad Gita, but it was so dense and unfulfilling (I should say boring, but that term might be offensive) that I put it down. Similarily, I started the Book of Mormon and ended up skimming the second half of it. In both cases I read enough to satisfy myself that the books have nothing to say to me, and I didn't bother to expend the energy to finish them. Of course, I haven't learned my lesson, either, and still had half a mind to someday tackle the Quran and the Talmud. Well, I can safely scratch the Talmud off my list, thanks to this book that my wife discovered. Abraham Cohen has written an "introduction" to the Talmud -- a brief overview of what the Talmud has to say on various topics. (Brief in comparison to the Talmud itself, that is. Everyman's Talmud is over 400 pages.) It's not a replacement for the Talmud by any means, but it gives enough of Judaism's teachings to satisfy my curiosity. Like the Gita and BoM, I didn't quite agree with everything the book had to say. Unlike the other two, however, I found Cohen's book enjoyable. Perhaps it's because Judaism is so close to the truth, or maybe it's just that Cohen is an extremely skilled writier. I don't know. I do know that I'm going to keep Everyman's Talmud on my shelf. Now if I could only find someone to digest the Quran for me...
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Geep! edited by Rose Secrest
Read in the Summer of 2001

This has got to be the rarest book in my collection. In the mid to late 80s I was a memeber of the National Fantasy Fan Federation (N3F), a correspondence club for science fiction and fantasy fans. Rose Secrest, as she writes in her introduction, had joined the club in '84, hoping to find an outlet for her writing. There was none, so she made it, publishing Geep! a collection of poems, stories, an article and a play written by then-members of the N3F. (I've dropped out and I don't know the status of the featured writers.) I bought a copy more out of politeness than a desire to read the efforts of my fellow members. Now, rereading the book after almost 15 years, I realize that Rose had gathered some good stuff. George Phillies' "Who Slays Satan" was my favorite, while Rose's own "The Idiot's Visit to a Chinese Restaurant" (written with her husband Michael Peralta) was practically incomprehensible. That's probably because I've never read Dostoyevsky. Anyway, I'm keeping this treasure on my shelf. If you want to read it, I might be persuaded to lend you my copy, or perhaps you can track down Rose and see if she has any extras. A better bet would probably be to contact the N3F and see what talents the current membership has to offer.
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Earth X by Jim Krueger, John Paul Leon, Bill Reinhold and Alex Ross
Read in the Summer of 2001

I usually don't bother to review the comic books or graphic novels that I read. Even though I read a great deal of the stuff, it's brain candy and not worth ruminating about. (What that tells you about me, I don't want to know.) But Earth X, a trade paperback reprint of the mini-series of the same name, struck a deeper chord. On the surface it looks like another "future tale" that has been a popular theme in the superhero genre for the past decade or so. More often than not, the heroes are old or somehow washed up and life generally sucks for everyone. They might win the conflict, but it rarely has left me with a good feeling. (The theme seems to be as "Yeah, you may have won, but you're still a schmuck.") As I started reading this book I thought it was more of the same and I started to skim ahead. The end, however, seemed to break the mold and I ended up returning to the beginning and reading the book in earnest. It did indeed break the mold and even captured, to an extent, the spirit of the comics from my youth. Victory snatched from the jaws of defeat. Light arising to banish the darkness. Redemption. Some of the good guys go out in a blaze of glory, but many are left standing. (I'd like to think that it's due to the story and they're not just being saved as cannon fodder for the sequels.) As a Christian, I believe, I know, that the good guys will win in the end. If that's the case in real life, I like to see it reflected in fiction as well. Anyway, I liked it. If you have any interest in Marvel comics, I would strongly suggest that you check it out. (Of course, I'm probably one of the last comics fans in the world to have read this, so it's probably silly advice.)
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The Soul of Science by Nancy R. Pearcey and Charles B. Thaxton
Read in the Summer of 2001

I was interested in science as a kid as well as science fiction as an adult, so I read a lot about the scientific method and all that, as well as many scientists' disdain of religion, at least when it came to the field of science. Those who tried to bring religion into the laboratory, I heard, were a bunch of kooks. Well, I bought that theory and continued to believe it when my interest turned to other fields. I still believed that God created the world and all that, but I figured He must have used evolution, since all the scientists said that's what happened. I never gave it serious thought. Well, that changed a few years back as my wife started reading up on Creationism and started passing along books to read. When I stopped to think about it, I realized that of course scientists are no more infallible than theologians and that every scientist takes some philosophical baggage with him or her into the laboratory. I started questioning some of my assumptions and found out that I prefer to side with the "kooks." Anyway, I'm straying off topic. The Soul of Science is not a book of creationism. Though the authors seem to be favorable to that point of view, their real purpose is to show that the separation of church and lab is pretty much a 20th Century phenomenon. They detail the history of Wetsern science and show how it and its proponents were influenced by Christianity. Having been raised to think that modern science was merely the discovery of what's always been there, I was a bit surprised to see the debates and rationalizations that have formed it. Like any other work of man, I guess if you look close at science you start to see the flaws. I recommend that you check it out, though the book may not be near as impressive to someone who has already bothered to think this through.
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Nightfall and Other Stories by Isaac Asimov
Read in the Summer of 2001

Here's some irony for you: I just finish talking about exposing myself to the scientific mindset (The Soul of Science, above), and now I review a collection of stories by my favorite secular humanist, Isaac Asimov. Our theologies disagree, but I enjoy his writing, both the stories and his introductions to the same. (I don't think I've read any of his non-fiction... I may have to change that one of these years.) Anyway, this is a nice collection of tales ranging from 1941's "Nightfall" to 1967's "Segregationist". The rationale behind the collection is to see how "Nightfall", which many consider Asimov's best story, compares with his later work. He was a bit miffed that a story written so early in his career was considered his best work. Well, with all due respect to the late Dr. Asimov, I thought that "Nightfall" was the best tale in the book. Not that the rest of the book isn't great. Anyway, I enjoyed the collection immensely and recommend it to all. This one's on my shelf.
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Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Anthology, Vol. 5 edited by George H. Scithers
Read in the Autumn of 2001

I'm not on an Asimov kick, honest. This book is merely an anthology of tales that appeared in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. There's nothing spectacular about the collection, even though the stories were all pretty enjoyable. Good waiting room material.
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The Nitpicker's Guide for Classic Trekkers by Phil Farrand
Read in September of 2001

Did I ever mention that my wife has two bachelor's degrees? Well, she does, and now she's looking to add a MA after her name as well. Me, I've got an associate's degree from a community college. How can such a charming and intelligent fellow such as myself be so lacking in academic credentials? Well, perhaps this will illustrate. Last weekend, I went to the local library sale and bought this book. I came home and did I continue with the academic volume, The Two Babylons, which I have on loan from the library? Of course not! During the next two days I manage to devote all my spare moments of reading to this volume, which I have already read! A book devoted to the little problems and inconsistencies found in a television series! (and subsequent movies.) Does it really matter that the Klingons changed their appearance between the series and the first Star Trek movie? What possible significance is there in the fact that the Mugato leaves rabbit prints? Who cares that Captain Kirk splits his pants in the episode "The Savage Curtain"? Unfortunately, Phil Farrand makes such minutiae quite amusing. So, not only have I read and enjoyed this book, but I'm putting it on my shelf. I've got an empty spot where I was going to put < i>War and Peace, once I got around to buying and reading it, of course.
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The Two Babylons by Rev. Alexander Hislop
Read in October of 2001

Ah, where to start with this book? For me, it was a book of surprises. I was expecting it to contain an attack on the Christian teaching of the Trinity. Instead, I found that the author believes in the Trinity just as I do. I was expecting the book to be rife with personal opinions and short on knowledge. Instead, it is full of footnotes citing a variety of classic and contemporary works. I was expecting to be disgusted with malicious Catholic bashing. Instead, I found my self reminded that many of the beliefs and practices in the Roman Catholic church are wrong. I was planning on skimming the book and returning it post haste to the library. Instead, I spent the last couple of weeks reading it through. The Two Babylons is an attempt to prove that certain Roman Catholic beliefs and practices are directly linked to heresies that began in ancient Babylon. Hislop attempts to show the connections in practice and language between that church and various non-Christian religions, all of which he manages to link to the reign of Nimrod and his wife. In one sense, it's fascinating, showing distorted reflections of Christian teachings in mythologies around the world. (reminiscent of Don Richardson's Eternity in ther Hearts) But I think sometimes he goes too far in trying to prove his theory. Perhaps 1500 years ago some people were secretly celebrating Saturnalia and disguising their festivities as Christmas, but today I doubt that any Catholic, even the Pope himself, is covertly worshiping the sun on December 25th. Anyway, despite its potential to offend, I would have to rate this as good waiting room material.
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Vulcan's Heart by Josepha Sherman and Susan Shwartz
Read in the Autumn of 2001

I tried reviewing another Star Trek novel over at the old Unearthed Ruminations message board. The only response I got was a person saying that he didn't read books that were TV tie-ins as they consistantly lacked depth and characterization. Well, he was right and I felt a bit ashamed reading this one even though Amazing Stories called it a "first rate SF novel." But there's something about exploring a fictional world that keeps attracting me. Take this book. (Please.) I would dare to disagree with Amazing and call this tale mediocre. Things get predictable and you know darn well that neither Spock, the Federation nor the Romulan Empire will suffer doom. Yet I did get pleasure from this book in a lot of little touches and details -- the description of a Romulan spaceport, the brief scene featuring a character who had a far briefer role in the series, the dramatization of Vulcan politics. I don't know if I would have appreciated it if this was my first exposure to Star Trek. But since I am familiar with the series, I can gloss over details I already know and focus on those smaller touches. Anyway, like I said, the book isn't all that great. Definitely waiting room material.
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The Winds of Time by Chad Oliver
Read in the Autumn of 2001

I picked this up at the Friends of the Library sale. It was part of a three novel collection featuring my favorite sub-genre, time travel. 'Twas nothing spectacular, merely (!) a good, solid science-fiction tale. It tells the story of a vacationing man who comes across a group of aliens who have been sequestered in the Colorado mountains for millenia, sleeping in suspended animation. It's almost two stories: one about the aliens and their purpose for coming to Earth, the other about a man who makes first contact and discovers his own alienation. If you're looking for a good science fiction tale to read, I'd advise you to check it out.
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The Year of the Quiet Sun by Wilson Tucker
Read in the Autumn of 2001

What a ride this one was. This is a novel that was highly regarded in it's day (1970). However it's a future dystopia -- a tale in which features a future time that is very bleak. In this case, members of a time travel project in 1978 travel forward in time first to 1980 then to the turn of the century. Since I have lived through all of those time periods, I can tell you that Mr. Tucker didn't get anything predicted right. For some reason he figured that the attitudes of the late sixties counter culture towards nudity and marijuana would catch on while those on racial equality and the war in Vietnam wouldn't. But even as I was laughing at the details I was engrossed in the story and characters, trying to puzzle out what was happening and eagerly seeing what happened next. And the end, I totally missed a little detail which was hinted at and was surprised when it was revealed. This is definitely one of the great time travel novels that have been written, and hence is going on my shelf.
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The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon, Vol. I edited by Ivan Morris
Read in the Autumn of 2001

This wasn't quite what I expected. You see, what happened was that my wife has been reading up on Chinese culture. One of the books she's read mentioned certain, ah, positions that were supposedly well known in the older Chinese culture. So well known, that they weren't listed out or described, but only casually mentioned by name. Of course, lacking descriptions, names like "The Lotus" or "Shaking the Horse's Hoof" tend to pique one's curiosity. Anyway, I've done a few limited searches on the Internet with no success. It seems the Kama Sutra is the only ancient sex manual out there. Anyway, my wife had heard that erotic tomes in China were called "pillow books" so when I did a search at the library, I found this volume. Well, a thousand years ago in Japan, pillow books were volumes one kept by the pillow and wrote in at the end of the day. Pretty much like a diary. And this book is a translation of a thousand year old Japanese pillow book. But even if the lover in me was disappointed, the historian was delighted. Sei Shonagon was a lady in waiting at the Imperial Court and her pillow book is full of anecdotes and observations of her life. The lady herself was rather haughty for my tastes, but it was fascinating to see her life through her eyes. I would heartily recommend that you check it out, even if it won't lead to any hoof shaking.
(P.S. I also managed to peruse Vol II after I wrote this, but it didn't rate a separate review. Try to find the edition that's in a single volume if you want to read this one.)
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Rebels:The Conquered by Daffyd ab Hugh
Read in the Autumn of 2001

Guess what? I bought another Star Trek book at the Friends of the Library sale. (YAWN) I know, I know. I should know better. But this one had caught my eye before and I decided to risk 50 cents. Rebels is a trilogy featuring characters from the series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The story is not complete, so be prepared to get all three novels, unless, like me, you decide not to finish the story. Anyway, one of the appeals of the TV series for me was the planet of Bajor. It was a planet that was poor, recovering from alien oppression and had a deep religious aspect to their culture. I was eager to see how that society worked and how they played off of the clean, comfortable and secular Federation. The series never really developed that, and seemed to focus more on the standard space opera shenanigans that we've all come to know and love. The Conquered plays out much the same. You get a couple of glimpses of Bajoran life and culture, but the bulk of the book is the Federation guys running into trouble on another strange, new world. Oh well. I should probably try to find a good book on a real culture and not try to get my anthropology fix from a science fiction book. Anyway, in a pinch, Rebels:The Conquered will serve as waiting room material, assuming you've already read the other offerings.
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There Will Be Time by Poul Anderson
Read in the Autumn of 2001

At last, a time travel story that comes up for a practical use for time travel besides setting up a beauracracy to protect "history as we know it." (Not that I don't enjoy tales like that...) Of course, you have to wait until the end of the book to find out what it is, but that's no problem. There Will Be Time is an excellent tale concerning a man who has the ability to project himself through time and how he manages to use this talent. Well, it's more than that. We see his moral development as he interacts with the people he meets in past, present and future. In one sense, history is immutable for him, so the author is free to explore how a time traveller would shape the future rather than getting fixated on the past. All in all, it's a great novel. Even if it wasn't in a collection along with another keeper, The Year of the Quiet Sun, I would put this one on my shelf.
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Lies Across America by James W. Loewen
Read in the Autumn of 2001

This one's essentially a sequel to Loewen's earlier work Lies My Teacher Told Me, and like all sequels it's somewhat inferior. However, Lies My Teacher Told Me was a great book so this one is worth checking out even if you have read the first. The theme of these two tomes is that when we Americans remember our history, we tend to be biased. We hype the things that make us feel good and ignore, if not lie about, our failures, sins and weaknesses. Loewen gives a number of examples of this and then tells the "true" story, warts and all. (I enclose true in quotes because although I believe there is such a thing as truth, I don't believe that it is something one can possess. Loewen is as capable of error and bias as the rest of us.) In Lies My Teacher Told Me he looks at American History text books to show what garbage we're trying to feed our high school students. In Lies Across America, he looks at the garbage some of our historic sites push to the general public. In all he reviews 95 sites from coast to coast. Some he dissects thouroughly, others he uses as an example of errors that are repeated in a number of monuments. All are written in a rather entertaining style, and all contain material that is thought provoking. (well, all but one...you can figure out which one it is.) If you're like me, reading this book will make you never trust an expert again. (WARNING: This book is not suitable for members of the United Daughters of the Confedracy. Mr. Loewen does not appreciate your efforts.)
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