Book 51: Forbidden Knowledge: The Gap into Vision by Donald Stephenson

Title: Forbidden Knowledge: The Gap into Vision by Donald Stephenson

Pages: 455

How it was obtained: I traded for it at used book store in Columbia.

Time spent on the "to read" shelf: 4 years.

Days spent reading it: 5 days.

Why I read it: I have read a few books by Stephenson, so I read one more.

Brief review: I think this is probably the last Donald Stephenson novel I will read. I just have not been very impressed. His books are easy enough to read, but I realized I just do not like his protagonists. I am not drawn to them. I do not want to be them. I sometimes pity them or revile them, but never feel good about them. This is a big deal because I like characters so much, thus when I don't like the character development I tend not to like the story.

Forbidden Knowledge is about Morn Hyland, a space cop who becomes connected to a group of pirate scum. She does what she must to survive, and this means she makes unpleasant decisions frequently. Donaldson writes in a way that pretty much only depresses me.  He's dark, with very little silver lining to redeem the characters.  Sure they are tough, but they are also sad to read about.  I was unimpressed by the story until about 2/3 of the way through, when the plot finally grabbed my attention. The pirate ship enters "Forbidden Space" where a group of aliens who are trying to control the human species through genetic warfare. That was interesting.

Overall I liked how this book progressed as I got into it some more, but honestly I was not interested enough to continue the series from here, even though it does continue for a few more books. It just was not good enough for me to consume my time anymore.

Favorite quote: "Unlike the crew, however, she didn't regret his death. Such men didn't deserve to live, no matter how expensive it was to get rid of them."

Stars: 3 out of 5

Final Word: Flat.

Book 50: The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley

Title: The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley

Pages: 466

How it was obtained: I bought it for a dime from the Toccoa Falls College library withdrawal pile.

Time spent on the "to read" shelf: I must have purchased this book in 2001 or 2002, so about 7 or 8 years.

Days spent reading it: 10 days.

Why I read it: During college I wrote a report in my Intro to Islam class about Black Muslims. In writing that report I discovered that Malcolm X started off with a deviant form of Islam, but after his trip to Mecca he began to change his views about Islam and also his views on hating all "white devils." I picked up this book because I was interested in Malcolm X's life after writing that report.

Brief review: Wow. This book was not what I expected at all. Reading this autobiography was more compelling than I could have imagined. I was engaged in Malcolm's life from start to finish. Starting with his street hustler days in Harlem, to his conversion to Islam (as preached by Elijah Muhammad) in prison, to his break with Elijah Muhammad, to his pilgrimage to Mecca, and ending with his assassination, this book was informative and entertaining.

A few things I found most interesting about Malcolm's life. First, Malcolm X was full of hatred for what the "white devil" had done to the black man. He saw injustice, called white men out on it, and sought to fix the situation. While I do not agree with his militant tactics, I respect his unflagging devotion to righting centuries of wrongs. Second, I find his change after his trip to Mecca as completely astonishing. He completely transformed his views. He stopped saying all white men were the devil. He started pointing to the system that oppressed, and that many white men perpetuated. It is a fascinating study to look at how drastically he changed in those last few months of his life. One certainly wonders, if he had not been killed, how his new views would have changed his approach to civil rights. Third, I was impressed by the scope of the story. Malcolm's self commentary on his life ends just a few days before he was killed. Alex Haley does a wonderful job of telling the story about the rest of his life. The account of his death is simply compelling to read. I was hooked to the very end.

I think this was one of the most important books that I have read on my list. I certainly do not agree with many of Malcolm X's views (especially the young, belligerent Malcolm). But by reading this book, I can enter his world. I can understand the pain. I can begin to understand why Malcolm was so passionate about his cause. I can begin to see how important the civil rights movement was for black Americans. And I can see how far we still have to go. We still have racism in America. Even if some of it is hidden, it is still in the American system. I think America has come a long way, but this book challenges me to look deep into my own heart and see if there are prejudices that I need to eliminate. It is not always pretty.

Malcolm X lived a life very different from my own. I am glad that I read his autobiography because it helped me to understand his radically different life more than I did before. I would highly recommend reading this book. It is enlightening and challenging and different than what I expected. Well worth the time it took to read.

Favorite quote: I told him, "What you are telling me is that it isn't the American white man who is a racist, but it's the American political, economic, and social atmosphere that automatically nourishes a racists psychology in the white man." He agreed.

Stars: 5 out of 5.

Final Word: Provocative.

Book 49: Youth Culture 101 by Walt Mueller

Title: Youth Ministry 101 by Walt Mueller

Pages: 480

How it was obtained: I bought it at the National Youth Ministry Conference almost 3 years ago.

Time spent on the "to read" shelf: I started reading it right away, but I did not finish it until this month.

Days spent reading it: About 3 years, but I finished half of it in about a week when I buckled down to finish it.

Why I read it: After seeing Walt Mueller at NYMC, Susan and I knew that we had to pick up his book and read it. He was incredibly knowledgeable about youth culture and specifically about how media shapes their worldview.

Brief review: Walt Mueller's book Youth Culture 101 is sure to be the standard by which all other youth culture books are evaluated. It is well documented, well thought out, and well presented. Mueller starts off with an overview of why culture is so important to understand, and further explains why youth culture is so unique. Mueller is especially impressive when it comes to youth and media. He dedicates a few chapters to the subject. He talks about how media (movies, music, TV, advertisements, etc.) really influences us. His main approach is to talk about how it impacts youth, but one cannot walk away from this book without evaluating your own media consumption. It's crazy actually how much we are exposed to in any given day.

Mueller has a simple message. We need to evaluate the message of media in our lives, not just consume the product it promises. He helps Christians to critically look at these influences, run them through a grid of how they line up with Biblical values, and then encourages us to act on how they compare. He has other resources that go over these same principles. It is called the 3-D approach to media. And you can find it, along with other resources on youth culture, at www.cpyu.org. His website is a great resource for youth pastors and parents who want to understand the youth they are living life with every day. However, media is just one facet of this book. Mueller covers a wide variety of youth culture topics including: Media, Marketing to teens, Peer Pressure, Sex, Materialism, Substance Abuse, and Depression and Suicide. It is a book full of helpful statistics, facts, interpretations, and ideas for how to counsel students.

The chapter that really scared me in this book was the chapter on teens and sex. It was heart-breaking and challenging. If I could hand it out to every parent I knew, I would. Just a few shocking statistics for you: "70 percent of young women and 62 percent of young men today have had sexual intercourse by age 18." If that makes you cringe, the statistics for oral sex are increasing in an alarming way as well. "By the time they reach the age of 19, three-quarters of all teenagers will have engaged in oral sex." That's 75 percent!! 75 percent!!! Mueller states "Oral sex is now more common than sexual intercourse among teenagers." And most of those teenagers do not consider oral sex to be breaking an abstinence pledge. "One study showed that among students who said they'd made and kept an abstinence pledge, 55 percent had participated in oral sex." One last word on this subject, the craziest part is that many of our middle school students are beginning to engage in these activities. Parents and youth workers, it is NOT too soon to talk about sex with your kids. They are getting a sex education from their friends, music, TV, movies, and school. If you want to give them a Biblical perspective on sex, YOU have to speak up. I know it can be scary, but after reading these chapters I am convinced that parents and youth workers must do a better job of educating our youth about what the Bible says about sex. They are already hearing it, but are they hearing it from the most important people in their lives? I was personally challenged after reading this chapter and plan on having some talks and lessons in the upcoming months about healthy relationships and sexual purity. I hope you will too.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who works with youth. You need to know about the world these students are living in because it is much different than when you were a student. Youth culture has changed rapidly in the past decade and it continues to accelerate in how rapidly it changes. Mueller's book is helpful because it lays out some of the basics, but also gives us advice for how to address the issues from a Biblical perspective. It challenged my personal walk and my teaching patterns as well. My copy of this book is marked up, with notes in the margins, and thoughts scribbled throughout the whole book. I would highly recommend this books to parents as well, but the size might be daunting. I think Mueller has written some other books that are more approachable, but really this book was not as big as it seems on the outside. With large fonts, ample spacing between lines, and wide-margins make this 480ish page book read like a 250 page book. It is very readable, well documented, and very practical. One of the best books on ministry I have ever read.

Favorite quote: "Today's teenagers desire real relationships that are characterized by depth, vulnerability, openness, listening, and love—connectedness in their disconnected, confusing, alienated world."

Stars: 5 out of 5.

Final Word: Vital.

Book 48: John Adams by David McCullough

Title: John Adams by David McCullough

Pages: 656

How it was obtained: I bought it for a quarter at a garage sale.

Time spent on the "to read" shelf: 2 ½ years

Days spent reading it: 10 days.

Why I read it: I read 1776 by David McCullough and really enjoyed it. I thought I might like his biography of John Adams as well.

Brief review: I am not usually a biography person. David McCullough is changing my mind. John Adams is a phenomenal account of one of our founding fathers. McCullough, rightly, throws us right into the American Revolution and fills in John Adams' back story as the biography progresses. McCullough is in control of the story the whole time. He masterfully weaves the primary sources of John Adams' life into the narrative. There is enough to keep us in touch with how the characters themselves felt, but not so much to overwhelm the reader.

John Adams' story really is remarkable. I was totally drawn into Adams' world. In this biography you feel his triumphs, and his failures. If there is anything that falls short in McCullough's telling, it is that we love Adams too much. Even though Adams has faults, it is difficult for the reader to recognize those faults or accept them.

There were a number of highlights in this book for me. First, it is interesting to see that the political scene during Adams' day had striking similarities to today. Newspapers were one-sided. Politicians were accused of (and committed) adultery. This sometimes ruined or advanced their careers. Political parties made clear lines that hurt the nation, fighting for their party instead of what is right for America as a whole. The world seemed like it was in moral decay.  There were even boring sermons, and thankfully some not so boring .  And I could say something about the French (like here), but I'll (sort of) refrain.

Second, issues surrounding the Civil War were not absent from the founding of the country. The North/South divide was evident even in the founding of the nation. There were issues of economics, culture, slavery, and state's rights even in the beginning. They would simply come to a head in the Civil War. Slavery especially was a real issue during this time. One question that is constantly raised, but never resolved, is: How could men like Jefferson and (gasp!) even Washington promote the God-given freedom of all men, but kept slaves even until their deaths?  Adams did not have slaves and abhorred the idea.  He was true to his principles even when it was not popular or advantageous.  I respect that a lot.

This biography was fantastic. I loved reading it from start to finish. I think McCullough has a master's touch in writing history. He really pulls us into the time period. Through his writing I felt like I was actually there. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. It is a must read for history lovers. And in truth, it is a book that inspires. Adams' history is America's history. Here was a man who gave everything for his country, and laid the foundation for the freedom America enjoys today. If you take the time to read this tome (and it is pretty long), you will definitely be rewarded. It is rich with lessons about life and liberty that we can all apply to our lives. I highly recommend.

Favorite quote: [In commenting about the French Revolution]: "But he had 'learned by awful experience to rejoice with trembling.' He could not accept the idea of enshrining reason as religion, as desired by the philosophes. 'I know not what to make of a republic of thirty million atheists.'"

Stars: 5 out of 5.

Final Word: Revolutionary.

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero

Title: Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero

Pages: 227

How it was obtained: I bought it just before I moved to Thailand.

Time spent on the "to read" shelf: 4 months.

Days spent reading it: 3 weeks.

Why I read it: The senior pastor at my church, Dave Young, suggested reading it to the elders of our church. I took him up on his suggestion.

Brief review: Peter Scazzero makes a very compelling argument that our spiritual health is tied to our emotional health. In seminary I read The Emotionally Healthy Church (EHC), and I remember loving the openness and honesty of Scazzero's writing. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (EHS) is along the same lines as EHC. EHS simply brings the concepts of its predecessor to the layman.

In this book Scazzero shows by examples from his own life, how our emotionally immaturity has stunted our spiritual growth. There are so many ways that we can be emotionally immature. There is a lot of material in this book. I could easily see a church using it as a text for a Sunday School or small group material. The first half of the book deals with the problems that being emotionally unhealthy bring. The second half is a roadmap to emotional maturity. Scazzero illustrates very heavily from his own life throughout. As a reader I was captivated (again, because I already read the story once) by Scazzero's struggles as a pastor. A church split, a wife who stopped going to his church, reaching the end of his own strength, and then seeing the redemptive path after he opens up to his hurt, anger, and pain instead of burying it.

I would highly recommend this book. It is fairly easy to read, and very informative. There is so much information that it's almost impossible to digest it all, but I think everyone could at least start down the road that Scazzero plans and profit from his advice. Scazzero has a pastoral heart and it shines through in this book. He wants people to connect with God in a personal way, and he does that by trying to bring us to a more balanced view of our emotions and how those emotions affect our spiritual walk.

Favorite quote: Many of us know the experience of being approved for what we do. Few of us know the experience of being loved for being just who we are.

Stars: 4 out of 5.

Final Word: Liberating.

Book 47: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Title: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett  

Pages: 983

How it was obtained: I picked it up for a quarter at the library.

Time spent on the "to read" shelf: 2 years.

Days spent reading it: 9 days.

Why I read it: I think my dad first recommended this book years and years ago. And while Oprah's recommendation created a buzz around this book, I don't read books because Oprah says so. I was interested in the epic scale of the building of a cathedral in medieval Britain.

Brief review: Here is an epic book about life, death, struggles, victory, revenge, and love. The core of the story revolves around the building of a new cathedral in Kingsbridge, England. Follett has created wonderful characters and has a compelling plot. There are many ups and downs throughout the novel for our protagonists, but the general direction is always up for the heroes. While Follett definitely gives the characters adversity, the reader always has a suspicion that the good guys will overcome. Progress will always be made. But even this predictability is alright because the depth of the characters changes with each new trial.

At first I thought I loved this book. But as I got towards the end, I realized that I am fundamentally at odds with a number of Follett's main ideas. I realize that the church in this time period was messed up. But in this book, one gets the idea that the church then (and today by inference) was only interested in the power it could gain for itself. True spirituality is completely missing from most of the Christian characters. The exception happens to be one of the main characters. Prior Philip is always written in a positive, if slightly naïve, light. We come to love Prior Philip, and I think perhaps Follett did too, which is why Philip stays pure, even in the midst of the rest of a corrupt system.

My other problem with this book is Follett's depiction of love. He seems very antagonistic to how the church has defined marriage. Marriage is only a technicality that the church enforces, in his view. In fact, Follett points out the church's "hypocrisy" about love multiple times stating that the monks could enforce marriages, but have no idea what true love was because they themselves could not marry. The truth is Follett's idea of love is often superficial. His characters are attracted to each other, have sex, and are in love. Little else is said about their "loving" relationship. His characters do sacrifice for love's sake, but are always regretting or whining about that sacrifice. I could go on, but I won't.

My last word on this book is this: I would have highly recommended this book to anyone until I started hitting the numerous adult situations that are in this book. There is a lot of sex going on in this book, and Follett sometimes goes out of his way to describe what is going on to the finest detail. Completely unnecessary and unwanted, but it ties into his view of what love and marriage are.

Even with that, The Pillars of the Earth is an epic book. It is a compelling historical novel that is difficult to put down. I would recommend it with the above caveats about its content and themes.

Favorite quote: In both cases, weakness and scruples had defeated strength and ruthlessness.

Stars: 4 out of 5.

Final Word: Grandiose.

Max by James Patterson

Title: Max: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson

Pages: 309

How it was obtained: I bought it with Susan.

Time spent on the "to read" shelf: 6 months.

Days spent reading it: 2 days.

Why I read it: It is the next book in the apparently unending Maximum Ride series.

Brief review: This fifth installment of the Maximum Ride series goes back to the heart of the first few books. It's style and content were more akin to the origins of the series. It was definitely an improvement over the last two books (Saving the World…, and The Final Warning), but it still does not quite recapture the magic of the first two books. I guess we can't have everything.

The best part about this book, the EXCESSIVE talk about Global Warming has been dropped. Max and her flock still deal with environmental issues, but it's not as blatant or forced as it was in books 3 and 4. On the down side, I think Patterson still cannot quite figure out who his antagonist is in this series. Is it a faceless corporation? Or do we have a specific mastermind behind the scenes? And as he struggles to find a main antagonist he struggles with the henchmen that have been changing in the last few books as well. He just cannot seem to find the right kind of bad people because he keeps creating and discarding them. Although you won't hear me complaining that he did not bring back "The Uber-director" from The Final Warning (he was just plain silly). But I believe that if this series is going to change from mediocre to great, Patterson must find an antagonist worthy of Max and her flock. They are such great characters, there has to be an equally great foil to oppose them.

This book almost makes me believe that this series could get better. I am almost convinced, but it just was not quite as great as I was hoping. Actually, I thought it was going to conclude the series, but it definitely did not do that. There is plenty of space to continue this series for a long, long time. Let's just hope it keeps getting better and not getting worse like The Final Warning.

Favorite quote: "It's a real, living creature, and according to our telepath, it's full of rage and a desire to kill." We all looked around for a minute until we realized that the 'telepath' was Angel. Well, 'telepath' sounds better than 'creepy little mind-reading kid,' so I was cool with it.

Stars: 3.5 out of 5.

Final Word: Better.