Recently Read

(Disclaimer: I'm a Christian, so I was hardly able to give this an unbiased reading.)
For a number of years now I've had it in my mind to read the Quran, the holy book of Islam. That desire became more of a priority since September 11th and finally at the last Friends of the Library book sale, I searched out and bought my own copy. It's not an "official" copy. Dawood is a scholar who wants to leave the questions "of Mohammed's prophethood and his theological sources" to the reader to decide for him or herself. He even has rearranged the surahs from their classic organization to one that is more thematic. (But he does provide the traditional numbering, so I was able to read the book in the traditional order.) But like some of the untraditional translations or paraphrases of the Bible, I think that the main message can still come through. First off, I was slightly surprised that the book wasn't as lame or unreadable as it might have been. There are some beautiful expressions of faith in God, even though they're tarnished by an incomplete understanding of Him. I can see why this book has stood the test of time. Where it fell short--the reason it didn't make me interested in becoming a Muslim--is that there's a subtle focus on Mohammed. Over and over again The Koran reiterates that Allah can and will raise the dead, that those who had scoffed at previous prophets suffered for it, that Allah has no daughters, that those who deny the Quran's message will suffer in hell. These are things that all tie in with Mohammed's problems as he tried to bring his message to the people of Mecca and Medina. In contrast, the Bible talks about people of various stations and in various situations relating to God and each other. We see Moses as an infant, a sinner, a priest and an administrator as well as the prophet who confronted Pharaoh. In The Koran, you only see the latter. Like the Book of Mormon, I found The Koran to be rather lackluster in comparison to the Bible. Unlike the New Testament, I found no continuity between the Old Testament and The Koran. If this is a new revelation from Allah, why doesn't it fit together as well? Anyway, I would recommend that you check it out, if you're so inclined. But you'd be much better off reading the Bible.
go back to top ↑

Cloak by S. D. Perry
Read in November of 2002

More Star Trek brain candy. The tale starts out with Captain Kirk's Enterprise stopping a runaway Federation starship. All aboard are dead and as the crew delves into the mystery they find a rather Byzantine plot. This is not a great book--definitely waiting room material--but it was enjoyable enough, and the author makes a good point about the shortcomings of blind obedience to one's doctrines.
go back to top ↑

Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott
Read in November of 2002

(Despite what my daughter says, this is not a book about Illinois.) This is an odd little book--kind of like a geometric fairy tale. The narrator of this tale is A Square. He tells of his world, a universe of two dimensions. It's inhabitants are all polygons and in the first section, Mr. Square describes the society in which these creatures live. In the second section, he then describes his encounters with other dimensions: Lineland, Pointland and Spaceland. It's not a terribly complex book--I happened to have read a book called The Planiverse which offered a two dimensional world with much more scientific detail--but Flatland has a definite style and essence to its tale which makes it memorable. That's probably why this book from 1884 (second edition) was reprinted 68 years later in 1952 and why it's going on my shelf 118 years later in 2002.
go back to top ↑

Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman
Read in November of 2002

Kill your television before it kills you. Actually, that's not really the message of the book. As far as our culture is concerned, TV is already guilty of murder. Mr. Postman shows how television (on the heels of other electronic media) has shaped public discussion in our once literary culture. He argues persuasively that the medium affects the content of what one tries to communicate. Television, which all but demands a moving picture to accompany its words, drives the level of content in the message down. As a result, we don't have the same depth of discussion in our communities--be it politics, religion or education--that we had back in the 18th and 19th centuries. (If you doubt me, go ahead and try to read the stuff they wrote back then.) In a sense, it's a scary book. It offers no real hope of change. And since it was written in 1985, I know that things have not gotten better. But life goes on. Ours is not the only culture in the world, nor, hopefully, the last generation. Maybe God is not done blessing humanity with great thinkers, teachers, statesmen and artists. And if not, one can still light a candle in the darkness. You can always grab the library card instead of the remote and encourage others to do the same. So I encourage you to check it out.
go back to top ↑

The Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren
Read in November of 2002

I didn't want to read a church growth book. I was looking to attend a seminar for small churches. I was kind of hoping that they would offer ideas for congregations to function as small churches rather than operating with the constant desire to be big someday. But I let inertia drag me to the seminar even after I found out that it was church growth and this book came with the package. I was surprised. Dr. Warren is not a shallow, suburban airhead. In 1979, he felt called by God to plant a church. He was led to the Saddleback Valley in Lake Forest, California and started reaching out to the unchurched people living there. The boy done good. The church has grown to about 18,000 (as of 1995) and intentionally pushes its members to be strong and faithful servants for Jesus Christ. In The Purpose Driven Church, Dr. Warren explains the principles by which he founded, has grown and operates his congregation. Like I said, I was surprised when I read the book. As I went through it I realized that Dr. Warren has some very good points, based more on scripture than on marketing principles. I was uncomfortable when he pointed out problems that I recognized in my own church (and self). I was also convicted when I realized that I'm prejudiced against upper-middle class, suburban Americans--the very people to whom Dr. Warren and his church ministers. But despite the discomfort, I was able to read the book and might have even learned from it. Now, the book is not perfect. Dr. Warren naturally pulls examples from his own congregation, and that left me curious how the principles would play out with a different social class or ethnic group. I was also annoyed at the lack of references. Dr. Warren mentions enough outside sources that he comes across as well read in theology and church history--at least until he says, "Remember, they burned Wycliffe at the stake ..." According to the books on my shelf, John Wycliffe died a natural death. It makes me wonder whether his other references are legit, but as the only books he mentions by title are the Bible and some of his other works, I can't easily check it out. Anyway, if you hold any sort of leadership position in a Christian church, check this out. Errors aside, it should give you something to ponder. If not, perhaps you need to be writing your own book.
go back to top ↑

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
Read in November of 2002

This one's about an adventure experienced by Meg Murry, a teenage girl whose father is missing. He was a scientist off working on a government project and, about two years before the tale begins, he suddenly stopped writing home. As the story progresses, Meg, her brother, Charles Wallace, and one of her schoolmates, Calvin O'Keefe, encounter three odd women who end up transporting them to a distant world to try and rescue Meg's father, who is apparently a victim of an experiment gone awry. It's a tale with a Christian worldview, with a definite conflict between good and evil. However, it came off as a pale imitation of C. S. Lewis. It took me a while to figure out what's lacking--and that was a lack of God. In Lewis' Narnia series, God, in the person of Aslan, is a main player. He often starts and finishes the tale and helps the protaganists along. In Wrinkle, God's nowhere to be seen. The heroes have some supernatural help, but essentially are left to rely on their own strengths. It's a subtle difference, but quite noticable. I was not as impressed with this tale as was Gene Veith, but I would still recommend it as good waiting room material.
go back to top ↑

Heaven on Earth by Robert Tobias
Read in November of 2002

This is a little piece of propaganda sent out in the mid-1990's to congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and some Orthodox Church here in the Americas. (The book isn't clear on that and I'm not familiar with the organization of that church body.) It's a collection of anecdotes and spiritual reflections meant to accompany the official reports of dialogues held between the ELCA and the Orthodox church. I picked it up from the Library sale because I have a slight curiosity about the Orthodox church and I figured that a book that contrasts their church and a Lutheran one would be enlightening. It was, to an extent. It didn't give me a handle on the doctrine or practice so I could go out and explain the Orthodox beliefs to anyone. The benefit I received from this book was more in reminding me that my own worldviews are not universal and that sometimes there is another, equally valid way of looking at some aspect of life on this earth. Nothing earth-shattering, but definitely makes great waiting room material.
go back to top ↑

Casca: Panzer Soldier by Barry Sadler
Read in November of 2002

I've written about the Casca series before. In fact, I've even gotten e-mail messages from a Casca fan who's read my reviews. (It was very scary to discover that people actually read these things.) Anyway, The series is about this Roman soldier, Casca Rufio Longinus, who was one of the soldiers at Christ's crucifixion and was cursed by Jesus to wander the earth as a soldier until He returns. The theology is a bit lame, but I was really intrigued by the idea back in the 80s and bought a number of the books in the series. Of those, I remember Panzer Soldier as being the best. Well, I've just reread this one and now wonder "what was I thinking?" This time I found the book disappointing. It seemed unrealistic. Why I didn't catch it before, I don't know. Maybe it was because I'm more sensitive to the bad theology I mentioned above. Maybe I'm just more mature and can't swallow the Russians as the two dimensional bad guys they are protrayed as in the book. Maybe the old married man can't believe the male-female relationships the way the ignorant young punk once did. Maybe, with the drums of war sounding on the news every day, I can no longer relax and enjoy a tale of men slaughtering each other. God only knows. Anyway, the book is not totally worthless. As always, the character Casca has a streak of nobility in him. It's also a bit inventive to have the hero serve with the World War II German army. In this genre you would have expected him to have served with the Brits or the Yanks. (Of course he did soundly denounce Hitler and the SS.) Finally, in this book Sadler downplayed Casca's immortality, focusing more on the realistic action. So, for those few good points, I'll keep this one dry and rate it as waiting room material.
go back to top ↑

Daniel: Encouragement for Faith by Paul E. Deterding
Read in December of 2002

When I started planning for this Fall's session of the Thursday morning Bible class, I polled the class for what they wanted to study. The consensus was for something from the Old Testament and the one definite preference voiced asked to study either Ezekiel or Daniel. Well, I'll spare you my feelings of ambivalence over apocalyptic books, but I will tell you that I ran to get a study put out by my own denomination. I wanted to get the party line regarding the interpretations of the various prophecies and cryptic references before I started wading through the various theories that have been proposed over the centuries. Anyway, this Bible study booklet is very conservative and down to earth. Actually, I was quite disappointed at first, as I went through the narrative tales that make up the first half of Daniel. I found the study to be very lacking. (Especially since I was reading Longman's Daniel (below) at the same time.) It made up for it in chapter seven, when the Bible starts recounting visions and prophecies. Deterding brought in enough historical data to let me understand what was being predicted and helped me to pull some meaning from it all. Given it's theological stance, I'll have to give it a biased check it out.
go back to top ↑

Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
Read in December of 2002

Pilgrim's Progress is a classic allegory of the Christian's journey through this life. It tells the tale of a man, subtly named "Christian", and his attempt to escape his city, named "Destruction", and make his way to the Celestial City. As a Christian myself, I found it to be a great story. It got a bit pietistic at times, but Bunyan was a Puritan, so such a flavor should be expected. I'm still debating whether to buy myself a copy or not, but I can definitely tell you to check it out.
go back to top ↑

Daniel: The NIV Application Commentary by Tremper Longman III
Read in December of 2002

This was the commentary I bought to assist in my preparation to lead the Thursday morning Bible class in studying the book of Daniel. Harvest Logos had a few references from which to choose, and even though it was a hardcover and cost more, I went with this one. It's part of the NIV Application Commentary series, which attempts to show the meaning the Bible has for contemporary American life. The format focuses first on the original meaning of the text, or how it would be understood by its original audience. Then it focuses on bridging the ancient and modern contexts, eventually wrapping up with the contemporary significance of the chapter. In the case of Daniel, it seemed somewhat easy. The main message is simple: God is in control. That was shown both in the stories of the first half and the cryptic prophecies of the second. Anyway, there's more to be gleaned from the book from that main point, and Longman does it quite well, in my opinion. He holds a theologically conservative view of the work, but also mentions the other prevailing arguments. And he's even honest enough to admit when the other side has a good case for their view. In a sense, it's everything I would want from a commentary: background information for understanding and insight as to how I might adapt it to my life. This one's staying on my shelf.
go back to top ↑

HTML 4 for Dummies by Ed Tittel and Stephen Nelson James
Read in December of 2002

This here's the HTML reference book I picked up at the Friends of the Library sale. I'd much rather have Elizabeth Castro's HTML 4 for the World Wide Web but I didn't see a copy of that one for 75¢. This one's all right, I guess. I'm not real crazy about the "for Dummies" series. I've read a few and wasn't impressed by their style. (Of course, now that I think about it, all the other "Dummies" books I read were about PCs.) This one fits right in. Anyway, compared to Castro's book, this is less a tutorial than an introduction to HTML. Rather than showing you how to craft a web page they give you a list of commands and expect you to go to town with them. Well, they also include a CD-ROM that supposedly contains many examples. My copy, however, is a used book from the Seattle Public Library, and the CD no longer works on my Mac. Oh, well, at least I got my 75¢ worth. It is a useful reference book and will do unless I find something better. I would rate it as waiting room material.
go back to top ↑

Socrates Meets Jesus by Peter Kreeft
Read in December of 2002

Back when I reviewed Three Philosophies of Life, I said I would have to read more of Peter Kreeft's work. Well, I finally got around to that. (Not my fault that the library doesn't carry much of his stuff.) I had read Plato's account of the trial of Socrates in Philosophy and Contemporary Issues and immediately recalled this title. When I was up at Harvest Logos looking for an Ezekiel bible study, I peeked to see if this was on the shelf and when I found it I succumbed to temptation and impulsively bought it. Anyway, this is written in play format and has Socrates, the father of Western philosophy, appearing at "Have It University" in Boston. He finds himself enrolled in courses in the divinity school there and spends the rest of the book questioning and challenging his fellow students and a couple of his teachers. All in all, it came across as a thinly veiled course in apologetics. A fairly one sided course, at that. Socrates opponents are all caught off guard and in the end, Socrates "meets Jesus" and becomes convinced of Christianity's truthfulness. I would imagine that the real apostate and heterodox Christians would be a bit harder to confound. Be that as it may, I'm keeping the book. The drama may be weak, but Kreeft is a wonderful writer and has this real poetic way of describing God's relationship with his people. I really was moved by Socrates' wonder at the reality of God taking on human form, which in turn colored my own thoughts as I worshipped this Christmas. So why I have to be honest about the book's flaws, I do recommend that you check it out despite them.
go back to top ↑

Microcosmic Tales selected by Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg and Joseph D. Olander
Read in January of 2003

This is the ultimate waiting room material--a book that carried me through the tedious moments of jury duty. It's a collection of short-short science fiction stories. 100 tales, each of which fills but a handful of pages. Many of them are humorous, some horrific. Plenty of them have been written by the great authors of science fiction. I'm tempted to say that all of the stories are good, because I can't remember a single klunker in the lot. Anyway, I'm keeping this gem on my shelf.
go back to top ↑

Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
Read in February of 2003

Between this book and the January-February issue of Atlantic Monthly, I'm not feeling too good about myself these days. You see, I have a prejudice against the wealthy and for the working class. It's a dumb prejudice, like most. Anyway, as I was reading these works (and working on my income tax forms) I could not escape the fact that I am nowhere near living in poverty. But enough of my shortcomings. This is a very good book--well written in an amusing and engaging style. In order to test the American belief that hard work will lead to success, and to get a first hand report on how well one can survive on minimum wage, Ms. Ehrenreich left her home and attempted to live as an "unskilled" worker. On three different occasions she went out, got some entry level jobs and tried to make ends meet. If she managed to save enough for the next month's rent, she would consider herself "successful." The results weren't a total surprise. I won't spoil anything by mentioning specifics, but I think most people are aware that minimum wage is not enough to escape poverty. But the book was good in that it put a human face on the statistics and perhaps even reveals some aspects of the reality of the working poor of which us rich folk aren't aware. I know that I will definitely be tipping better in the days to come and hopefully will be reminded to show more respect to those who serve me in the stores and restaurants I frequent. Anyway, I advise you all to check it out.
go back to top ↑

Mac OS X Unleashed by John and William C. Ray
Read in February of 2003

I pride myself on being able to figure things out, but sometimes I need a leeetle bit of help. This is happening once again as my company is making the transition to the latest Macintosh operating system, OS X. I've heard that there are a number of changes to the system and that it's not quite as idiot proof as the previous Mac systems. (My first attempt to play with OS X resulted in a frantic hour late one Saturday night. 'Twas a problem that was due, I believe, to moving a few files out of the appropriate folder.) So I made a rare financial investment in my (snicker!) career and bought this book. It does a nice enough job explaining the new system and pointing out major differences between it and its predecessors. It also gives a good explanation of OS X's origins and the rationale behind some of the changes. (So now I'll stop cussing everytime I have to log in just to use the estupido computer) From there, however, it goes on to detail the possibilities offered by the UNIX system 'pon which OS X rests. It was a bit interesting. However, I don't see myself using much of it, even if I should somehow be granted administrative access to the system. I guess I'm not the tech head I used to be. Anyway, even though I sometimes wish I had bought Robin William's OS X book instead, I would definitely recommend that anyone running a modern Macintosh check this book out.
go back to top ↑

J. P. Patches: Northwest Icon by Julius Pierpont Patches and Bryan Johnston
Read in March of 2003

I live in Seattle, but I'm not crazy about it. I'd much rather be living in Chicago, the area wherein I was born and raised. There are a few things in the area, however, which I must concede surpass anything similar in the Windy City. One of those is the legacy of J. P. Patches, a kid's show which ran in Seattle from 1958 to 1981. The people who were kids out here during that era are nuts about it. My wife, a Northwest native, would rave about him. In the past few years I've been able to see J. P. in person, as well as on some of the few tapes that exist of the show. The adulation he receives is well deserved--this man is funny. Funnier than Bozo, Garfield Goose or Ray Rayner, even. (All the Chicago kids now think I'm a traitor and hate my guts.) Anyway, now there's a book about him, which gives a behind the scenes look at the show. It was a very entertaining read, reminiscent of some of the Marx Bros. biographies I've read. J.P. came on the scene when TV was young. Those pioneers of the medium were worked to death... and seemed to have a hell of a lot of fun in the process. Once again, I was wish I had talent and was born in a different era. Oh, well. I don't know if someone who doesn't know J. P. will enjoy this book like I did, but you should still risk checking it out. Or just go to www.jppatches.com and get a taste of what you're missing.
go back to top ↑

A Romance of the Equator by Brian Aldiss
Read in March of 2003

This one is a book I won in a contest given by T5 at Mysan's Corner. (His own site is the T5 Universe, but I digress.) Subtitled "Best Fantasy Stories", it's collection of short stories written between 1960 and 1989. Like one might expect from such a collection, the stories range in characters, location and style. If one tale doesn't strike your fancy, the next one will be quite different and perhaps more to your liking. I found the book to be a very interesting read. Mr. Aldiss is a very poetic writer--sometimes alluding to what's happening rather than spelling it out for you. This is more pronounced in the stories from the late sixties and early seventies, some of which I found to be downright confusing. But even those had an element of mood that touched me. Like I said, poetic. I'd be hard pressed to pick a single favorite. I enjoyed "A Romance of the Equator" for the way it describes love and its ending. In "Th e Blue Background" and "So Far from Prague", it was the way Aldiss described the setting and situations which caught my interest. "Consolations of Age" offered a good laugh. So, like any book that falls into my hands, I have to determine whether this one is worth keeping. I can't help but feel that these stories will be even better the next time around, so I'm putting this one on my shelf.
go back to top ↑

The Robin Williams Mac OS X Book by Robin Williams
Read in March of 2003

(If you've been into Macintosh computing for any length of time, you probably know that the author of this book is not the actor/comedian Robin Williams. Now the rest of you know, too.)
As I mentioned above, I needed to read up on the latest Macintosh operating system. Though I had purchased Mac OS X Unleashed, I was also tempted to pick up this tome. When I happened to see this book at the library, I checked it out to see what I had missed. Like I had determined at the book store, Ms. Williams' book is geared towards the neophyte. In addition to explaining how to use the operating system, she also discusses such basics as to how to use the mouse and keyboard. It definitely was not the book for which I was looking. But having said that, I also must confess that this is a great book. Ms. Williams is very informative and does it with quite an engaging style. Things are explained very clearly and simply. (Even my ten year old daughter has picked up the book and enjoyed it. But then, my ten year old is weird.) It has far more illustrations than Mac OS X Unleashed, which is quite useful. Of course, it also contains only about half as much information. She doesn't even touch on the Unix system beneath OS X. But it does tell you what you need to know about the system. Unless you really want to "get under the hood" and really master your new Mac, this book is a great resource. In fact, even if you do want a tome at the expert level, you might want to check this out first to get a primer on the basics.
go back to top ↑