The more specific you can be (why did you choose this particular book, what especially do you like about it, etc. etc.), the more others can enjoy your contributions–KSH.
Summer Open Thread: What Book or Books are You Reading right Now?
Posted in * Culture-Watch, Books
I am reading Russia Against Napoleon by Dominic Lieven. As so many have done, I read War and Peace (but not at the beach over the summer) and formed my understanding of 1812 from Tolstoy. Lieven’s book retells the history of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia–and the subsequent campaigns that led to a Russian army occupying Paris–from a Russian perspective. Nothing particularly Anglican about it, but interesting in any case. Tsar Alexander is a much more complex character in this book than Tolstoy portrayed him, every bit as much of an empire builder as Napoleon. I am also fascinated by the portrayal of a society based on serfdom (slavery in every thing but name) that, nevertheless, could raise a professional army that defeated the best French ones. Lieven, by the way, is descended from three generals who served in the Russian army duringthose campaigns.
[b]A History of Interest Rates[/b] (Homer and Sylla, 1996) — and no, it is not boring; it goes back to the time of Ur and Abraham. This is my third re-read, and I have yet to commit the essential elements to memory. Homer was 94 when he published this book.
[b]The Fourth Turning[/b] (Strauss and Howe, 1997) — if you wish to understand our times and the broad outlines of what is to come, you [i]must[/i] read this book.
[b]Understanding the Process of Economic Change[/b] (North, 2005) — this guy has a Nobel in economics, and we are most certainly in a changing environment, so it’s probably worth paying attention.
[b]Soil Nutrient Bioavailability[/b] (Barber, 1984) — hey, I’m a soil chemist by training, so please let me read at least one technical book in my field. Actually, what it’s helping me do is produce certified organic vegetables with greater mineral content and nutrition, so it’s for a good cause. (-:
Priestblock 25487 – story of Belgian priests in Dachau, very moving and a surprising page-turner. Most shocking to me was the commonplace nature of the torment and degradation suffered by clergy of all stripes.
The End of the Free Market – excellent piece of work on state capitalism, creeping socialism, and their historical antecedents. I found this book interesting because it offers a point of contrast for the US situation (poor fiscal management, stifling innovation) with other state capitalist setups.
Born Digital – Very rich, textured exploration of how technology is woven into the social fabric of young people, with implications for parents, politics, religion, etc. If you don’t know what a “digital native” is, read this book.
The Shallows – Pessimistic view of how internet usage, with its rapid-fire page-skimming, short-attention span, and lack of sustained involvement with any single topic is making people stupid and unable to concentrate. I’m not sure I agree everywhere, and there is a lot of criticism of the work (blogger Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution has some very good points contra), but still worth reading.
Shattered Sword – A detailed account of the Battle of Midway, including much information not currently available in English. Not as revolutionairy as the authors claim, but shows how Japanese naval doctrine contributed to the disaster.
I started, back around Christmas time, reading some history on World War I, particularly a book entitled Christmas at the Front. I read through most of the books our local library had on the subject, which, like most libraries, is usually slim pickin’s. Plenty on World War II, but World War I is largely forgotten, other than the obligatory, dusty, inaccessible tomes.
From that, I graduated onto some readings about the Bolshevik Revolution, that occurred near the end of WWI. Then I morphed into general 20th Century Russian history, a field of history I knew little about. I happened to stumble upon an author I had heard of many times, but had never actually read: Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
Solzhenitsyn was a fabulous writer with a dry but hilarious sense of humor. This summer I have been reading through the Gulag Archipelago. Truly fascinating reading, dark, but well written and easy to follow. His in depth discussions of Soviet deportation and trial tactics is truly brilliant, as are his accounts of how the Soviets systematically denuded the Orthodox Church in Russia, bit by bit. With the secularist hostilities toward the Church in Europe these days, these books have been a breath of fresh air.
[b]The Battle for Middle-earth: Tolkien’s Divine Design in “The Lord of the Rings”[/b] by orthodox Episcopal priest Fleming Rutledge. Published by Eerdmans in 2004, I’m finally getting around to reading it. Her theological commentary on Tolkien’s masterpiece offers many rich and profound insights, drawing extensively on Tolkien’s own comments in his collected letters. She convincingly shows how thoroughly Christian the great work implicitly is, even though Tolkien was very careful to avoid any explicit mention of the God who is “never absent and never named.” Highly recommended.
David Handy+
I am re-reading the following, in part or whole:
Shetl (Eva Hoffman) – depicts small town Polish-Jewish life for hundreds of years up to the Shoah
The Earth is the Lord’s (Heschel) – the same terrain as above but from the inner world of the Hasidic rabbis and their flock, as remembered by a most wise son of that tradition
Slayers of Moses (Handleman) – the exegesis that grew out of the above world, and how it has influenced modern reading strategies
Emmanuel Levinas: Basic Philosophical Writings – great Jewish Lithuanian philosopher shaped by the above world. He placed ethics before epistemology in his quest for truth, beauty and goodness and is a most useful ally in pastoral work
Finally, World without End (Adam Zagajweski) – Polish poet who was shaped by the crucible of 20th century Poland. I think he is the world’s greatest living poet.
This inner/outer approach to Polish-Jewish world is helping me figure out how a pastor in the Anglican diaspora might create a culture of the Bible and hospitality to strangers, so the parish prospers, even under great pressure. These are all great allies to Anglicanism, the most Jewish friendly tradition of the Church.
*The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God: the Arian Controversy 318-381* by R. P. C. Hanson (1988). Richard Hanson (1916-1988) was Bishop of Clogher in the Church of Ireland for a few years in the early 1970s, but spent most of his life as an academic theologian and church historian. This 900+ page book was his magnum opus, and he died shortly after its publication. It is comprehensive in content, astringent in tone, and he displays a perhaps surprising sympathy for “the Arians” (whom he shows did not constitute a coherent “theological party,” anymore than did “the orthodox” until the 360s) and a dislike of St. Athanasius.
*Heaven and Earth in Little Space: the Re-enchantment of the Liturgy* by Andrew Burnham (2010). Andrew Burnham is Bishop of Ebbsfleet in the Church of England (one of those so-called “flying bishops” ministering to clergy and parishes opposed to WO) and a musician by training. This book deals with aspects of both the Church of England’s and Catholic Church’s current liturgical practice and problems, and makes suggestions for remedying them in a more “traditionalist” way.
Right now, [i]Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional[/i] by Jim Belcher. I’m almost finished with it, and it’s a great book because it: 1) offers clear and sober analysis of the many different strands of the emergent/ing church as well as some of the missteps of the “traditional” variety of churches in the past few decades, and 2) he’s really done his theological work on the issues presented in the book and has some great, biblically-based insight.
I’m reading “Necropolis: London and its Dead” by Catharine Arnold. FASCINATING, also full of rich history and trivia re: the city.
I’ve probably got about ten books in the “q”, though. One of them is that which my spouse just finished, the new novel of the Vietnam War, “Matterhorn” by Karl Marlantes. Brilliant, so my man says, as have others, but I can’t speak to that one personally.
I’ve just started [i] C.S. Lewis and the Catholic Church [/i] by Joseph Pearce. Finished wading through a Foreword, Introduction, Acknowldgements, and a Preface. Seems like half the book already.
“An Introduction to Ecclesiastical” Latin by Collins; a requirement of my program and the particular area I’m studying.
“The Glory of the Lord: the Realm of Metaphysics in the Modern Age” Von Balthasar
The History of Philosophy: Late Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy” Coplestone
“The Harvest of Medieval Theology” Oberman
“Medieval Philosophy” Mauerer
“Political Thought in Europe 1250-1450” Black
“The Conciliarist Tradition 1300-1870” Oakley
“Beyond the Reformation? Authority, Primacy and Unity in the Conciliar Tradition” Avis
“The crisis of Church and State 1050-1300” Tierney
“Foundations of Conciliar Theory” Tierney
“The Church, The Councils and the Reformation” Christianson, Izbicki, Bellitto
“The Catholic Concordance” Nicholas of Cusa
“De Docta Ignorantia” Nicholas of Cusa
“De Venatione Sapientiae” Nicholas of Cusa
“De Vision Dei” Nicholas of Cusa
“Nicholas of Cusa’s Metaphysic of Contraction” Bellitto;
I’m doing a reading course on Medieval theology, philosophy, and history with a particular interest in conciliar theory and these are the books I chose to read for it.
“A Walk in the Woods” Bryson
“The Wild Places” MacFarlane; I like being outside hiking and trail running.
Jacob and the Prodigal: How Jesus Retold Israel’s Story, by Kenneth E. Bailey.
Innocent by Scott Turow (a sequel to Presumed Innocent)
Without Warning by John Birmingham (what if America were wiped off the face of the earth?)
I JUST finished David Baldacci’s [i]Wish You Well[/i]. It is a thoughtful story set in Virginia at the start of WWII and amidst coal, natural gas, and farm issues for the mountain people. Baldacci wrote it to encourage genealogical study–an interesting segue. Of course, it was for a Book Club (which still goes on during the the Summer.) I do love my book clubs: I NEVER would choose half the books they call for me to read!
I’m also reading Glenn Beck’s “thriller” [i] The Overton Window[/i], as a test to see if I like his style. I don’t. It’s OK. I’m much happier with a Michael Connelly or a Stephen White. Any other mystery suggestions? I like Daniel Silva and Vince Flynn, too.
[i] Nelson DeMille has a new one out- ‘The Lion’ follow up to his 2002 book ‘The Lion’s Game’. [/i] -Elf
If you want an amazing mix of why I/you/we ought to be behind bars for “self-centeredness”, and a “get out of jail free card”, try Bishop Fitzsimons Allison’s “Trust in an Age of Arrogance”. A primer on creature serving creature, rather than the Creator, if ever I saw one. Tremendous insight, written by a serious man, meant for serious people; and there’s something here for anyone and everyone who can read. Bow! Wow!
Hi. If you really want to read a book that may/will have profound consequences for Islam and Muslims everywhere, then I most strongly recommend The Hidden Origins of Islam edited by Ohlig and Puin, NY 2010. It can be obtained for around 20 bucks on Amazon.
You may or may not be aware of some startling developments in Quranic studies, which has been confined mostly to academic circles up to this point. In short, one of the scholars in this book had claimed that the Quran was strongly influenced by the Christians of the time and that one can best understand the Quran if one views it through a Syriac/Aramiac substrate, on which it was based. “Christoph Luxenberg”, a necessary pseudonym, develops the theme that by substituting the Aramaic/Syrian one can clearly understand the many incomprehensible passages in the Quran. For instance, the 72 virgins that are promised to all faithful Muslim men should actually be translated as white grapes. Sounds like a joke, right? (Grapes were promised to the early Christians when they went to heaven and are even used as a symbol of some vestments today in the Middle East). Read it for yourself and then make up your own mind. His book is Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran availe free on Googlebooks. Some have said that this is the most important book ever written on the Quran, if true. Notre Dame has had two (2) conferences on this very subject alone!
Puin is another of the leading Islamic scholars who are challenging the fundamental presuppositions of conservative Islam. He was called in the Yemeni government to examine the Quranic documents that were discovered after the wall of the mosque in Sana’ collpased. The attacks are coming from all sides. The critics who so bedevilled Christians for the past two centuries are now turning their guns on Islam
I could go on and on. Check it out for yourself. Go to Youtube or Google and type in Puin or Luxenberg for starters.
A Brief History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson. Listening to a recording of the book on my ipod. An interesting and very much understandable description of various scientific theories and development of the world.
Also, I’ve previously read “Krakotoa” by Stephen Winchester. Another interesting, inforomative book that talks about the explosion of Krakotoa, tying together such disparate but related topics such as the development and acceptance of the theory of plate tectonics, the spread of mass communications via undersea cables, the spread of Islam in Indonesia, as well as, of course, the cataclysmic explosion of the Krakotoa volcano in 1883.
I am now reading Bruce Catton’s “A Terrible Swift Sword,” and have read ” Never Call Retreat,” by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen, a fictional account of what might’ve happened if the Army of the Potomac had been defeated at Gettysburg. I’ve also read the History of the 122nd New York Volunteer Infantry, in which two brothers……my mother’s great uncles…….served with some distinction as privates.
While at the gym I am finishing up the Sharpe’s Rifles series by Cornwell, giving an interesting and sad look at the life of the army in Napoleonic times. Gives new meaning to the terrm friendly fire when you hear the accounts (albeit fictional) how unpopular men were often lost in battle, on purpose
Am prepping a message series for the Fall and reading a couple by Peter Kreeft, who is a fun and engaging fellow. Followed a number of his college courses on CD. Reading: Jesus Shock, and How to Win the Culture Wars.
For study, am reading through St. Thomas’s Summa and finding it both dry and rewarding. It’s possible to throw out the Aristotelean physics and cosmology and find a system of belief that sure seems to fit into place so well, and which provides a great counterbalance to the lack of logical thought in so much modern theology and postmodern thought.
Thanks for asking. I like to do this at clergy gatherings to hear what others are doing. Always enlightening.
Shake Hands with the Devil The autobiography of General Romeo Dallaire, the Canadian in charge of the UN failed intervention in Rwanda, and a witness to genocide. Searing. Also makes you despair for African politicians and the UNO.
A Broad Place autobiography of Jurgen Moltmann. Learned his superb English while a teenage PoW in England during WW2.
The diaries of James Lees-Milne – I am now on Volume Eleven, Ceaseless Turmoil covering the years 1988-1992 when he was elderly. Lees-Milne was from landed gentry. After a career in the National Trust when he saved many stately homes for the nation, he forged another career as a biographer and historian. He seemed to know almost everyone and loved crackling conversation, convivial dinner parties and country life. The diaries have aptly been described as a ‘guilty pleasure’. He gossips. He is a snob. He muses richly on senescence, bereavement, old age’s diminishing circle of friends. In terms of sexuality he was largely gay but enjoyed a long and happy marriage to an artistocratic lady. And oh yes, a committed BCP Anglican, who for some time in mid-life had been RC before reverting. Except for a handful of anglophiles I can’t imagine many readers of this site enjoying this wonderful guide to English upper middle class life.
[b] The Age of Jackson[/b] by Arthur Schesinger (1945). Account of the whole era and its men, not just the Jackson presidency. Of particular interest is the battle over the charter of the Second Bank of the US, and the Panic of 1837.
“The World Turned Upside Down” by Melanie Phillips. Ms. Phillips was educated at Oxford University, won the Orwell prize for journalism in 1996, and is a columnist for the Daily Mail. It is a well-researched, well-thought out, well written book on how reason and rationality are being wiped out in western culture by a leftist “soft totalitarianism.”
“A Song For Nagasaki” by Paul Glynn. It is the story of a Catholic convert scientist and survivor of the Atomic Bomb, Takashi Nagai.
I have read other people’s books for sixty five years. I have a book in me and that is what I am doing this summer. It will be a book of meditations.
[b]America Alone[/b] by Mark Steyn
[b]Why the Universe Is the Way It Is[/b] by Hugh Ross
[b]In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day[/b] by Mark Batterson
I also just received a “Dake” Bible that I am reading the notes in.
24 Sick …
What do you think of Batterson?
I am reading
Grant’s Memoirs for the second time.
The Charlie Muffin Series by Brian Freemantle as he entertains me so.
The Supreme Command volume in the US Army WW2 history series as I continue to see miracles in anything getting done with the egos involved and the infighting.
As a follow-up to #13, above – I just finished “Innocent” by Scott Turow (a sequel to Presumed Innocent). It left me feeling sort of hollow and distant from the world. On the plus side – Turow continues to show the folly of an extra-marital affair. On the other hand, all the situations in this book just seem so remote from the world I live it and the people I know, I couldn’t help but wonder if I am out of touch with the world or is the author (out of touch). It’s well written and has the same twists the original did, but I just couldn’t relate to the story. If this is the world that Scott Turow and his friends live in, I do feel very sorry for them.
I have just finished reading “The Mission of God” by Christopher JH Wright (IVP) An outstanding survey of God’s mission to our world. Starting with Genesis right through to Revelation we see God at work fulfilling his purposes in creation. Helps to give us a new vision for the whole of scripture.
Jimmy Hamilton-Brown