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Books I Read in 2021
Orville Boyd Jenkins
31 December 2021
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What I read in 2019Finished (99)
Adams, William Howard. The Paris Years of Thomas Jefferson. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1997. 354p. Received as a gift Christmas 2019. Read 28-31 December 2021. Biography (History)
Allston, Aaron. Fate of the Jedi: Outcast. NY: Random House Audio, 2009. Audiobook. Bought 28 August 2020. Heard 13-20 May 2021. Fiction (Sci Fi/Fantasy)
Anderson, Gerald H and Thomas F Stransky, eds. Faith Meets Faith: Mission Trends No 5. NY:Paulist Press and Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981. 306p. Bought April 1982 in Nairobi, Kenya. Portions read before. Read 3-8 December 2021. Religions (Theology)
Anderson, Jorn. High Blood Pressure, Inflammation, Lack of Energy, Excess Belly Fat, Joint Pain: and how a little known marine oil from the Arctic has started a health revolution. Lincoln, Nebraska: Professional Publishing, 2019. 32p. Received 23 October 2021 in Arlington, Texas. Read 25 September 2021. Health
Annan, Kent. After Shock: Searching for Honest Faith When Your World is Shaken. Downer’s Grove, Illinois: IVP Books, 2011. 135p. Bought 9 April 2021 from Christianbook. Read 3-12 May 2021. Theology (Popular Theology, Faith and Life)
Anthony, Michael. A Call for Courage: Living with Power, Truth and Love in an Age of Intolerance and Fear. Nashville: Nelson, 2018. 221p. Bought 1 February 2021 in Arlington, Texas. Read 13-17 February 2021. Church & Culture
Baker, Hunter. The End of Secularism: X. Wheaton: Crossway, 2009. 224p. Bought 6 January 2021 from Christianbook. Read 22-29 March 2021. American Politics and Culture (Philosophy, Worldview)
Barton, John and Julia Bowden. The Original Story: God, Israel, and the World. Grand Rapids/Cambridge: William B Eerdmans, 2004. 318p. Read 8-15 August 2021. Bible Backgrounds (Old Testament, Archaeology)
Bentsen, Cheryl. Maasai Days. NY: Summit Books, 1989. 286p. Bought 29 September 2018 in Arlington, Texas. Read 3-10 September 2021. Peoples and Cultures (Maasai)
Bethke, Jefferson. Jesus > Religion: Why He is So Much Better Than Trying Harder, Doing More, and Being Good Enough. Nashville: Thomas Nelson/BrillianceAudio, 2013. Audiobook. Bought 12 August 2020. Heard 27 March - 3 April 2021. Faith and Life
Blount, Roy, Jr. Alphabetter Juice: The Joy of Text. NY: Sarah Crichton Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011. 283p. Bought 1 January 2018 in Arlington, Texas. Read 19-26 October 2021. Language
Böhme, Madelaine, with Rüdiger Braun and Florian Breier. Ancient Bones: Unearthing the Astonishing New Story of How We Became Human. Vancouver/Berkeley: Greystone Books, 2020. 337p. Bought in Arlington, Texas. Read 23-27 August 2021. Science (Archaeology, Paleoanthropology)
Brenner, David G. Human Being and Becoming: Living the Adventure of Life and Love. Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2016. 147p. Bought 23 December 2020 in Arlington. Read 27-30 July 2021. Faith and Life (Spiritual Disciplines)
Bright, Michael. When We Became Humans. Lake Forest, California: Quarto Knows, 2019. 64p. Bought 9 July 2021 from Amazon. Read 18 July 2021. Science (Archaeology, Paleoanthropology)
Brinkley, Nelson. Breakpoint. Pleasantville, NY: Reader's Digest, 1978. 123p. Received February 2020 in Lindsay, Oklahoma. Read 5-8 November 2021. Fiction (Sports: Tennis)
Carter, Jimmy. A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety. NY: Simon & Schuster, 2015. 257p. Received as a gift Christmas 2020. Read 9-12 February 2021. Biography
Cheney, Allen and Julie Cantrell. Crescendo: The Story of a Musical Genius Who Forever Changed a Southern Town. Nashville: W (Thomas Nelson), 2019. 323p. Bought 23 December 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 5-8 July 2021. American Politics and Culture (Music)
Clark-Soles, Jaime. 1 Corinthians: Searching the Depths of God. Nashville: Abingdon, 2021. 124p. Bought 21 July 2021 from St Barnabas United Methodist Church. Read 21-23 July 2021. Bible (Faith and Life)
Collins, Andrew and Gregory L Little. Denisovan Origins: Hybrid Humans, Göbekli Tepe, and the Genesis of the Giants of Ancient America. Rochester, Vermont: Bear & Co, 2019. 398p. Bought 9 April 2021 from Amazon. Read 23-28 April 2021. Science (Cosmology, Archaeology, Paleoanthropology)
Condemi, Silvana and François Savatier. A Pocket History of Human Evolution: How We Became Sapiens. NY: The Experiment, 2019. 154p. (The authors, a paleoanthropologist and a science journalist detail the broad story of the arhceological findings of ancient humans, and review the current knowledge from DNA analysis as of the writing to draw out a scenario the varied evidence provides now of human migration and the development of husbandry and cultural transfer of humans as they moved out and gradually filled the Earth from prehistoric into modern times.) Bought from Amazon. Read 15-16 December 2021. Science (Archaeology, Paleoanthropology, DNA)
Cook, Matt. Healthy to 120: More Sex, More Life, The Secret Plan that 21,262 Men are Using to Live Happy, Sexy and Healthy to 120 Years Old and Beyond. Cheyenne, Wyoming: Calworth Glenford, 2017. 264p. Bought 11 December 2020 on the Internet. Read 4-9 January 2021. Personal Development
DeMille, Nelson. By the Rivers of Babylon. Pleasantville, NY: Reader's Digest, 1978. 162p. Received February 2020 in Lindsay, Oklahoma. Read 2-4 November 2021. Fiction (International Intrigue)
Detweiler, Craig. Selfies: Searching for the Image of God in a Digital Age. Grand Rapids: BrazosPress 2018. 228p. Bought 1 February 2021 in Arlington, Texas. Read 2-6 March 2021. Faith and Life (Identity & Self-Understanding through History)
Diaz-Ortiz, Claire and Samuel Ikua Gachagua. Hope Runs: An American Tourist, a Kenyan Boy, a Journey of Redemption. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Thorndike Press (Gale Cengage, by arrangement with Revell/Baker Publishing), 2014. Heard as an audiobook in 2015. Received as a gift 18 January 2020. Read 10-12 March 2020. Biography
Driver, John. Ultimate Guide for the Avid Indoorsman: Life is Better in Here. Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2019. 219p. Gift in July 2021 in Arlington, Texas. Read 30 July - 7 August 2021. Personal Development (Humor, Cultural Roles and Attitudes)
Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne. An Indigenous People’s History of the United States. Boston: Beacon Press, 2018. 296p. Bought 7 August 2020 on Amazon. Read 28 April - 2 May 2021. History (American Politics and Culture)
Euler, Robert C and Henry F Dobyns. The Hopi People. Phoenix: Indian Tribal Series, 1971. (Limited Edition, #6413 out of 15,000 copies.) 106p. Bought July 2010 in Arlington, Texas. Read in 2010. Reread 14 January 2021. Peoples and Cultures
Finlayson, Clive. The Smart Neanderthal: Bird Catching, Cave Art and the Cognitive Revolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019. 228p. Bought 19 April 2021 from Amazon. Read 18-21 September 2021. Science (Archaeology, Paleoanthropology)
Finlayson, Clive. The Humans Who Went Extinct: Why Neanderthals Died Out and We Survived. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. 273p. Bought 15 August 2016 from Amazon. Read 21-24 September 2021. Science (Archaeology, Paleoanthropology)
Fosdick, Harry Emerson. The Modern Use of the Bible. NY: The Macmillan Company, 1927. 291p. (Fosdick reviews the historical formats of biblical interpretation in light of the cultural and historical contexts of the eras. He likens that and draws from that historical background a way to approach biblical interpretation and application in our modern era to speak meaningfully within the new modern worldview that has develop in the last 300 years. This book is based on the Lyman Beecher lecture series, and was first published in 1924, this edition in 1927. Fosdick was a Baptist, and a professor of Practical Theology at Union Theological Seminary in New York. He was a longtime pastor of the Riverside Church in Manhattan, a Congregational church. In his pastoral days, he was known nationwide and was dubbed America’s Pastor. He expressed a profound love of the Scriptures and spent much time and effort probing and defending the scriptures against reductionist rationalism, called by its advocates in the 1920s and later by the term Fundamentalism, and the exploitative cultural syncretism it entailed in regard to the integrity of the Scriptures. This volume takes a very practical and pastoral cant, but provides a deep scholarly awareness of our cultural history and historical approaches to the Bible and its application to daily life in each era of European history.) Bought 23 February 2004 in Richmond, Virginia. Parts read in October 2016. Read 24-27 November 2021. Bible (Bible Backgrounds, Hermeneutics)
Frydenborg, Kay. A Dog in the Cave: The Wolves Who Made Us Human. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. 246p. Bought 28 September 2021 from Amazon. Read 8-11 November 2021. Science (Ethology: Dogs and Humans)
Fuchs, Stephen. Anthropology for the Missions. Allahabad, India: St Paul Publications, 1979. 198p. Bought 8 September 1983 in Kampala, Uganda. Portions read previously. Read 14-15 December 2021. Anthropology (Culture-based Catholic and Protestant Mission Communications Strategy)Gerhauser, Richard, MD. 15 More Bonus Cures: A Special Addendum to The Secrets of Underground Medicine. Baltimore: Health Sense Publishing, 2017. 68p. Received 30 March 2021 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Read 8-9 April 2021. Personal Development (Health)
Gerhauser, Richard, MD. The Secrets of Underground Medicine. Baltimore: Health Sense Publishing, 2018. 323p. Received 30 March 2021 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Read 5-8 April 2021. Personal Development (Health)
Gonzalez, Justo L. Juan Wesley: A Quinientos Años de la Reforma III. Dallas: Perkins School of Theology (SMU). 29p. (An issue of the journal Apuntes, Reflexiones teológicas desde el contexto Hispano-Latino.) Received in March 2021. Read 18 September 2021. Theology
Grisham, John. The Pelican Brief. Pleasantville, NY: Readers Digest, 1992. 156p. Bought 7 August 2020 on Amazon. Read 27 May - 1 June 2021. Fiction
Gushee, David P. After Evangelicalism: The Path to a New Christianity. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster/John Knox, 2020. 225p. Bought from Amazon. Read 12-14 December 2021. Church and Culture (Theology, Faith & Life)Harrison, Nonna Verna and David G Hunter. Suffering and Evil in Early Christian Thought. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2016. 271p. Bought 1 February 2021 from in Arlington, Texas. Read 28 August - 2 September 2021. Philosophy (Problem of Evil,Early Christian Thought, Early Medieval Thought)
Hart, Kevin. How to Save $5,000 on Medicare: The Secrets to Getting the Care You Need without Going Broke. Baltimore: Health Sense Publishing, no date. 28p. Received 30 March 2021 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Read 9 April 2021. Personal Development (Health)
Heintzman, Paul. Leisure and Spirituality: Biblical, Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. Grand Rapids: BakerAcademic, 2015. 324p, plus 218 pp front matter. (A volume in the series Engaging Culture. Heintzsman is associate professor of leisure studies at the University of Ottawa.) Bought 1 February 2021 in Arlington, Texas. Read 21-23 December 2021. Philosophy (Classics, Faith & Life, Church & Culture, Spiritual Disciplines)
Higgins, Jack. Eye of the Storm. Pleasantville, NY: Readers Digest, 1992. 132p. Received September 2019 in Lindsay, Oklahoma. Read 1-6 June 2021. Fiction
Hillerman, Anne. Cave of Bones. Prince Frederick, Maryland: HarperAudio/Blackstone/Recorded Books, 2018. Audiobook. Borrowed 15 June 2021. Heard 18-20 June 2021. Fiction (Mystery, Native West Culture)
Hillerman, Anne. Rock with Wings. NY: Harper Audio/Harper Collins, 2015. Audiobook. Borrowed 6 July 2021. Heard 7-26 July 2021. Fiction (Mystery, Native West Culture)
Hillerman, Tony. Listening Woman. Prince Frederick, Maryland: Borders/Recorded Books, 1987. Audiobook. Heard 5-10 October 2021. Fiction (Mystery, Native West Culture)
Hillerman, Tony. Skeleton Man. Prince Frederick, Maryland: HarperAudio/Recorded Books, 2004. Audiobook. Borrowed 17 July 2021. Heard 9-14 August 2021. Fiction (Mystery, Native West Culture)
Hillerman, Anne. Song of the Lion. Prince Frederick, Maryland: HarperCollins/Blackstone Audio/Recorded Books, 2017. Audiobook. Borrowed 7 October 2021. Heard 20 October - 2 November 2021. Fiction (Mystery, Native West Culture)
Hillerman, Anne. Spider Woman’s Daughter. NY: Harper Audio/Harper Collins, 2013. Audiobook. Borrowed 7 October 2021. Heard 13-19 October 2021. Fiction (Mystery, Native West Culture)
Hoffmeier, James K and Allan Millard, eds. The Future of Biblical Archaeology: Reassessing Methodologies and Assumptions. Grand Rapids: William B Eerdmans, 2004. 385p. Read 19-20, 24-27 July 2021. Bible Backgrounds (Old Testament, Archaeology)
Humphrey, Louise and Chris Stringer. Our Human Story. London: Natural History Museum, 2019. 160p. Bought 12 July 2021 from Amazon. Read 12-13, 15-17 July 2021. Science (Archaeology, Paleoanthropology)
Keilor, Garrison. Guy Noir: Radio Private Eye. Minneapolis: High Bridge, 1994. Audiobook. Borrowed 15 June 2021. Heard 18 June 2021. Fiction (Mystery, Parody)
Kostenberger, Andreas J and Robert W Yarborough. Understanding the Times: New Testament Studies in the 21st Century. Wheaton: Crossway, 2011. 400p. Bought July 2020 from Christianbook.com. Read 6-10 March 2020. Bible (Hermeneutics & Theological Interpretation)
L’Amour, Louis. Jubal Sackett. Westminster, Maryland: Books on Tape, 2000. Audiobook. Bought 12 August 2020. Heard 3 April - 3 May 2021. Fiction (Western)
Landry, Curt. Reclaiming Our Forgotten Heritage: How Understanding the Jewish Roots of Christianity Can Transform Your Faith. Nashville: Nelson, 2019. 246p. Bought 1 February 2021 in Arlington, Texas. Read 17-20 February 2021. Religions (History of Religion)
Livingston, Bob. A Bob Livingston Letter Special Report: Big Media, Big Tech and Big Brother. Cullman, Alabama: The Bob Livingston Letter, 2021. 47p. (This short informational piece promotes a series of reports on various topics that purport to reveal the details of a broad conspiracy in virtually every level of the US society and government, promulgated by “Big Media, Big Tech and Big Brother.” His newsletter/report series claims to expose “how big media, big tech and Marxist elites may control America.” It appears from the language used and the tone of the reports and this promotion that Livingston does not really understand what Marxism really is. Or more likely he is purposefully using scare terms and tactics to sell his wares. Making money off the ignorant and uninformed under the guise of revealing great perilous truths. He declares in no uncertain terms that the government is conspiring with big business to limit the freedoms of US citizens, censor their speech, limit their access to money-making schemes and control access to natural healing methods. A full-range conspiracy theory blaming the government for everything. He seems not to notice the logical contradiction of claiming it is a Marxist government that is conspiring with Capitalist giants to control capital and supply systems. He even claims these forces are conspiring to prevent ordinary folks (“like you and me,” he says) from making any real money on wall street! As if Marxism could even support something like Wall Street! But he will show you how to make a killing in spite of this great conspiracy. Just subscribe to his newsletter, and read his special reports on every topic. He raises the specter of government censorship of his views, and uses “freedom-of-speech” advocacy as an identity for his exposés, yet here he is in broad daylight, using the US Postal Service to promote his materials! How crass and capitalistic, claiming censorship by Marxist to promote his wares in a free system that allows him to promote them without repression! It would be hilarious if it did not sound so nefarious and anti-American when you think about it for a minute. He plays upon the fears of the ignorant to make money, as is sadly so common in US society nowadays. This was entertaining on one level and very alarming on the other! What some people won’t do to make money off the gullible and fearful!) Received 18 August 2021. Read 20-21 August 2021. American Politics and Culture (Alarmist Conspiracy Theories and Capitalist Schemes)
Lucado, Max. My Treasured Catholic Prayers. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2019. 216p. Received January 2021. Read 24-26 January 2021. Faith and Life (Hope, Perseverance)
Lutzer, Erwin W. Rescuing the Gospel: The Story and Significance of the Reformation. Grand Rapids: BakerBooks, 2016. 206p. Bought 6 January 2021 on Christianbook. Read 19-21 December 2021. History (The Reformation)MacPherson, Dave. The Rapture Plot. 300p. (The author traces step by step the development of the pretribulation “rapture” of the faithful Christians in the early 1800s by Edward Irving and later by John Darby of the Plymouth Brethren in England. He details how these two cult leaders were influenced by an ecstatic prophetic utterance of a Margaret McDonald in Port Glasgow, Scotland, in 1830. Margaret’s ongoing interpretations of this and later visions also were a factor. He explains how this new theory developed in the charismatic end-time fervor under the Irvingites and Brethren movements. He shows how the cultic development of this new doctrine reflected the class consciousness in the UK and the the British Empire. This group of commoners under Irving came to feel they had an elite status they could never experience as commoners in the British Empire, because a new revelations was being revealed to them and they were now learning a mystery never before understood. The theory was gradually refined to claim that only the “sealed” chosen elite would be taken up to heaven before the Great Tribulation began on earth with the appearance of the Antichrist. This secret “rapture of these special saints gave them an elite status, a superiority over other British Christians, who would have to go through this tribulation and be delivered only in the final “second coming” of the Lord Jesus for the whole church and the resurrection of the dead. Almost infinite variations of this idea developed, involving a mix of symbolic and literal interpretations of various Old Testament and New Testament passages, to give this theory body and make it work. MacPherson is an excellent researcher and a good organized story-teller. The book is good as a study in the development of cults and cultic ideas, like the “Rapture of the Church” and the various related endtimes concepts that grew in popularity during the late 20th century. Seeing this historical background and the tenuous and fictive basis of such theories makes it easier to understand why seemingly serious believers in Jesus Christ can come to accept some of the more recent absurd conspiracy theories we have seen touted in the USA. Read my updated review of this author’s previous book, The Incredible Coverup on the same topic.) Simpsonville, South Carolina: Millennium III Publications, 1994, 2000. Bought 29 September 2021. Read 9-14 October 2021. Theology and Religion (Eschatology)
Martin, Charles. Send Down the Rain. Grand Haven, Michigan: Thomas Nelson/Brilliance Audio, 2018. Audiobook. Bought 12 August 2020. Heard 5-11 July 2021. Fiction
Matheson, David. Red Thunder. Portland, Oregon: Media Weavers, 2002. 328p. Bought July 2010 in Arlington, Texas. Read 12-17 September 2021. Peoples and Cultures (Couer d’Alene)
Marty, Martin. October 31 1517: Martin Luther and the Day that Changed the World. Brewster, Massachusetts: Paraclete Press, 2017. 114p. Bought 6 January 2021. Read 10 January 2021. History
McCallum, Will. How to Give Up Plastic: A Guide to Changing the World. NY: Penguin, 2020. 208p. Borrowed 16 April 2020. Read 17-18 April 2021. American Politics and Culture
McIver, Bruce. Just as Long as I'm Riding Up Front: More Stories I Couldn't Tell While I was a Pastor. Carmel, NY: Guideposts, 1995. 158p. Bought July 2020. Read 28 December 2020 - 2 January 2021. Faith and Life (Humor and Pathos)
McIver, Bruce. Stories I Couldn’t Tell While I was a Pastor. Carmel, NY: Guideposts, 1991. 247p. Bought July 2020. Read 17-24 May 2021. Faith and Life (Humor and Pathos)
McKnight, Scot. It Takes a Church to Baptize: What the Bible Says about Infant Baptism. Grand Rapids: BrazosPress, 2018. 128p. Bought 23 December 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 9 January 2021. Theology (Church Practice)
Moore, Beth. Promises for a Fruitful Life. Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale Momentum, 2020. 65p. Bought April 2021. Read 16 April 2021. Devotion
Moreau, A Scott. Contextualizing the Faith: A Holistic Approach. Grand Rapids: BakerAcademic, 2018. 256p. Bought 9 April 2021 from Christianbook. Read 8-11 December 2021. Theology (Popular Theology, Faith and Life)
Moseley, Michael E. The Incas and their Ancestors. London: Thames and Hudson, 1992 and 2001. 288p. Bought 21 January 2020 in Mansfield, Texas. Read 24-30 June 2021. Peoples and Cultures (Native American)
Mouw, Richard J. Restless Faith: Holding Evangelical Beliefs in a World of Contested Labels. Grand Rapids: BrazosPress 2018. 180p. Bought 9 April 2021 in Arlington, Texas. Read 7-9 June 2021. Faith and Life (Openness, Mystery)
Napolitano, Justice Andrew P. Suicide Pact: The Radical Expansion of Presidential Powers and the Lethal Threat to American Liberty. Nashville: Nelson, 2014. 444p. (An excellent historical summary and analysis of events, acts, rulings and publications over the centuries of US history, showing in detail how more and more power has been gathered to the office of the President. Napolitano provides a detailed, easy-to follow description of oppression, violation of rights, skewed interpretations, lies and coercion, as well as checks on the attempt by various presidents and parties to manipulate and bypass constitutional limitations on executive power. The Justice provides an even-handed analysis and places blame irrespective of person or party in this look at incursions upon and violations of individual rights and access to due process in the US.) Bought 14 April 2017 in Arlington, Texas. Read 12-21 March 2021. American Politics and Culture
Napolitano, Judge Andrew P. Theodore and Woodrow: How Two American Presidents Destroyed Constitutional Freedom. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Academic, 2015. 160p. Bought 3 December 2019 in Arlington, Texas. Read 26 January - 3 February 2021. American Politics and Culture (20th Century Trends Set in Motion by Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson)
O'Reilly, Bill. Killing Crazy Horse: The Merciless Indian Wars in America. NY: Henry Holt & Co, 2017. 114p. Bought 6 January 2021. Read 10 January 2021. History
Patterson, James. Run for Your Life. Westminster, Maryland: Books on Tape, 2009. Audiobook. Bought 12 August 2020. Heard 21-26 May 2021. Fiction
Pattison, Kermit. Fossil Men: The Quest for the Oldest Skeleton and the Origins of Humankind. NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 2020. 534p. Bought 10 July 2021 from Amazon. Read 28 October - 2 November 2021. Science (Archaeology, Paleoanthropology)
Pearson, Paul K. Maximinus Thrax: From Common Soldier to Emperor of Rome. NY: Skyhorse Publishing, 2016. 296pp, plus 12 pp introduction. Read 9-16 April 2021. Biography (History)
Perry, Greg. Disabling America: The Unintended Consequences of the Government’s Protection of the Handicapped. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2003. 226p. Bought 1 February 2021 in Arlington, Texas. Read 11-18 June 2021. American Politics and Culture
Prager, Dennis. Exodus: God, Slavery, and Freedom. Washington, DC: Regnery Faith, 2018. 520p. (A volume of the Rational Bible, by this Jewish scholar.) Received as a gift Christmas 2020. Read 11-22 November 2021. Bible
Purdum, Todd S. An Idea Whose Time Has Come: Presidents, Two Parties, and the Battle for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. NY: Henry Holt, 2014. 398p. Bought 31 July 2018 in Arlington, Texas. Read 20 February - 2 March 2021. American Politics and Culture
Rauschenbusch, Walter. The Social Principles of Jesus. NY: Association Press, 1918. 198p. (This is an original edition of this study book on the New Testament principles of what came to be called the “social gospel” in the early 20th century. Purchased in association with the YMCA, this book was a volume in a series of study courses on various topics of Christian faith and life. Walter Rauschenbusch was a Baptist pastor in New York who became concerned about working conditions and the exploitation of the poor and working class by the rich slum landlords and factory owners. This was a volume in the series College Voluntary Study Course, written in a one-month devotional format looking at the teaching of Jesus about the Kingdom of God and the concern expressed for the poor, widows, orphans and other oppressed or disadvantaged of society, themes in Jesus’ teachings in the Gospels in the same vein as the great Old Testament prophets. Each chapter ends with a set of reflection questions on the topic discussed. Rauschenbusch prepared this devotional study course based on his theology published in 1917, A Theology for the Social Gospel.) When and how obtained unknown. Read 16-18 December 2021. Faith and Life (Theology, Social Gospel, Social Justice)Relient K. The Complex Infrastructure Known as the Female Mind: According to Relient K. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2004. Bought 9 March 2020. Read in 2020. Read again 16-20 August 2021. American Politics and Culture (Social Roles)
Sauter, Gerhard. Gateways to Dogmatics: Reasoning Theologically for the Life of the Church. Grand Rapids/Cambridge, UK: Eerdmans, 2003. 310p. Bought July 2020 from Christianbook. Read 25 September - 1 October 2021. Theology
Seel, David John, Jr. The New Copernicans: Millennials and the Survival of the Church. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2018. 240p. Bought 1 February 2021 in Arlington, Texas. Read 30 March - 4 April 2021. Church & Culture (Philosophy)
Shubin, Neil. Some Assembly Required: Decoding Four Billion Years of Life, from Ancient Fossils to DNA. NY: Pantheon Books, 2020. 267p. Bought 9 July 2021 from Amazon. Read 13-19 October 2021. Science (DNA, Comparative Structures across Species, Genetic Variation or Mutation)
Simenon, Georges. Maigret Hesitates. NY: Curtis/Modern Literary Editions, 1970. 158p. (By the famous Belgian mystery writer, set in Paris. Simenon’s stories have been made into movies and TV series in languages around the world. Inspector Maigret receives a series of letters announcing that a murder will take place. Through identifying the paper the first letter was written on, Maigret discovers the the paper came from the household of a high-level maritime lawyer. He determines it is in this household that the murder will take place, but is unable to determine the details until a murder occurs.) Received June 1919. Read 20-23 August 2021. Fiction (Murder Mystery)
Sisters of Charity. My Treasured Catholic Prayers. Baltic, Connecticut: Sisters of Charity of Our Lady, no date. 56p. Received 10 January 2021. Read 11 January 2021. Faith and Life (Spiritual Disciplines)
Slaughter, Mike. First: Putting God First in Living and Giving. Nashville: Abingdon, 2013. 93p. Received 26 October 2021 at St Barnabas United Methodist Church in Arlington, Texas. Read 27-28 October 2021. Faith & Life (Stewardship, Sharing)
Smyth, J Paterson. How We Got Our Bible. Nashville: Cokesbury, published 1912, this edition reprinted in 1925. 153p. (The author reviews how the versions of the Bible through history brought us to the 20th Century English version available by the time he wrote in 1912. He discusses the transmission and translation processes of the ancient texts into the various copies in the original language and in current languages. He provides a brief introduction to textual criticism, the science which compares texts for differences and attempts to account for the reasons for the differences and establish or reconstruct the oldest form of a word or passage showing differences from one manuscript or set of manuscripts to another. He includes samples of the various early Anglo-Saxon language and later versions of language in the English stream of our heritage. He provides a good picture of the efforts, successes and persecutions of Wycliffe and Tyndale, and deals with the primary figures in the final successes as the Bible in English developed with Coverdale and various competing versions until a Royal committeee prepared a revised edition, which incorporated many phrases and style from Tyndale and the Geneva Bible. This became known as the King James Version. He brings us up to date through the new English Revised Version that was finalized and released in 1880 after a decade of work by the English committee. A similar effort took place on the American side of the Atlantic released near the turn of the 20th century. The author includes several comparative passages from the various versions which illustrate the developments of the English language itself over the centuries.) Received as a gift 15 September 2009. Read 1-2 October 2009. Read again 23- November 2021. Bible Backgrounds (Language, History)
Sonksen, Chris. Quit Church: Because Your Life Would Be Better If You Did. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2018. 146p. Bought 7 April 2021 on Christianbook. Read 21-24 January 2021. Faith and Life (Spiritual Disciplines)
Sykes, Bryan. DNA USA: A Genetic Portrait of America. London/NY: Livveright Publishing (W W Norton), 2012. 369p. Bought 3 December 2018 from Amazon. Read 28 November - 3 December 2021. Science (Paleoanthropology, DNA)
Sykes, Rebecca Wragg. Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art. London/Oxford/NY: Bloomsbury Sigma, 2020. 400p. Bought 14 April 2021 from Amazon. Read 6-16 May 2021. Science (Archaeology, Paleoanthropology, DNA)
Travis, Melissa Cain. Science and the Mind of the Maker: What the Conversation Between Faith and Science Reveals About God. Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishing, 2018. 221p. Bought 6 January 2021 from Christianbook. Read 14-18 January 2021. Philosophy (Science, Origins, Science & Religion)
Tyson, Neil DeGrasse & Donald Goldsmith. Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution. NY: W W Norton & Co, 2004. 345p. Bought 10 September 2020 from Amazon. Read 18-24 January 2021. Science (Cosmology)
Vallet, Dennis. The Steward Living in Covenant: A New Perspective on Old Testament Stories. Grand Rapids/Cambridge, UK: Eerdmans and Manlius, New York: REV/Rose Publishing, 2001. 251p. (A volume in the series Faith’s Horizons. (A review of the stories of the Old Testament in regard to the concept of a steward entrusted by a superior in a solemn covenant. Vallet highlights the the Old Testament perspective and worldview of humanity as the pinnacle of God’s creation given responsibility and superintendence over the rest of creation in an accountability to the Creator within a covenant relationship . He probes the view of stewardship in the personages such as Abraham, his grandson Jacob, Jacob’s son Joseph in Egypt, Moses and the exodus form Egypt, through the judges and the kingship. He proceeds through the key historical eras of David’s Kingdom to the fall of Judea and the Babylonian Exile, then on to the coming of the messiah. He outlines the role of the descendants of Abraham and Jacob in the as representatives of the Divine covenant of promise to the world. From the Creation and the stewardship in the Genesis Garden story to the implementation of the covenant for all peoples of the world expressed in the person of Jesus Christ, Vallet shows how the concept of Israel grew from an understanding of Yahweh as their tribal God to the prophets’ view of Yahweh as the One True God of all nations.) Read 18-19 December 2021. Bible (Ancient Cultural Backgrounds, Covenant Concepts)Wallace, Randall. Living the Braveheart Life: Finding the Courage to Follow Your Heart. Nashville: W Publishing (Thomas Nelson), 2015. 215p, plus 10 pp introduction. (This author named Wallace got in wrote the story of William Wallace, the historical Scottish popular leader of a rebellion against the English monarch Edward I, leading to the full rebellion under Robert the Bruce that led to Scottish Independence. Randall Wallace wrote the movie Braveheart about William Wallace and the Scottish situation in the 1300s. In this volume Wallace writes his own biography around what he discovered and wrote about his predecessor William Wallace. He compares his own life experiences and themes with those he finds in the slim facts available about the historical William Wallace, and how he envisioned the life of Wallace and the people in his family and society that led to the historical political and social developments we do know.) Bought 9 April 2021 from Christianbook. Read 23-27 December 2021. Biography (History)
Weatherford, Jack. Native Roots: How the Indians Enriched America. NY: Crown Publishers, 1991. 310p. Bought 7 October 2019 in Dallas, Texas. Read 30 June - 5 July 2021. Peoples and Cultures (Native American)
Wolterstorff, Nicholas P. Journey Toward Justice: Personal Encounters in the Global South. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013. 253p. Bought 1 February 2021 in Arlington, Texas. Read 11-18 June 2021. Philosophy (Justice)
Woods, Stuart. The Run. Prince Frederick, Maryland: Recorded Books, 2000. Audiobook. Bought 12 August 2020. Heard 5, 26-28 July 2021. Fiction (Political Intrigue)
Woodward, Bob. Fear. NY: Thorndike Press (Cengage), 2018. 675p. (The first book about the presidency of Donald J Trump. This was published in 2018, less than two years into the term. Woodward covers the campaign and events up to the point of piublication. The President refused to be interviewed for this book. A prior interview with the candidate gave some insights into the early thinking behind the decision to run. Extensive background interviews were given by many persons involved in the campaign and administration at various levels. So the story is developed around first-hand information from those involved. This gives us step-by-step information on the early crises of the president’s term, like Iran, Pakistan, the Taliban and his approaches to Saudi Arabia and Israel. Through the whole story, Woodward also shows his longtime background in investigative journalism by citing books, articles, news conferences and various documents related to the events portrayed in the book. This volume provides some helpful insights to indicate the values and reference points behind many of the decisions made by the candidate then president early in his term of office. Trump later expressed regret for refusing to allow any direct interviews for Fear, since he had no input into the story this book tells. The President did agree to a series of interviews with Woodward for the following volume Rage, published in 2020.) Bought 25 November 2020. Read 2- October 2021. American Politics and Culture (Biography)
Woodward, Bob. Rage. NY/London: Simon & Schuster, 2020. 452p. (The second book about the presidency of Donald J Trump. This is based on 17 interviews with Trump over the period and intervivews with dozens of othe administration and other personnel. The second book on the Trump presidency, the first being Fear, for which Trump refused to allow any direct interviews, and later expressed regret for, since he had no input into that first book. Trump himself provides astounding admissions and background information here. The book confirms the incompetency, ignorance and arrogance and the and evil intentions of Trump and his slash-dash and brutal handling of people who work for him. Woodward confirms from those directly involved how dangerous many of Trump’s decisions were and how much trouble they had protecting the US from the bad implications of many of his decisions over the years of his presidency, characterized by his rage over any lack of ego-stroking. The title of the book, however, refers to the rage he arouses in the populace, from an actual statement by Trump to Woodward. This illustrates how he uses the strategy of creating conflict.) Bought 25 November 2020. Read 9-15 July 2021. American Politics and Culture (Biography)
Wydick, Bruce. Shrewd Samaritan: Faith, Economics, and the Road to Loving Our Global Neighbor. Nashville: W Publishing (Nelson), 2019. 237p. Bought 23 December 2020 in Arlington, Texas. Read 3-8 February 2021. Personal Development (Financial Management, Wise Donorship)
Zsech, Darlene. The Golden Thread: Experiencing God’s Presence in Every Season of Life. Nashville: Emanate (Thomas Nelson), 2018. 199p. Bought 1 February 2021 in Arlington, Texas. Read 18-29 April 2021. Inspiration
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