Review: Hero of the Empire

A weekend leisure reading review…because sometimes Pastors also need a break from heavy theological reading!

Candice Millard. Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill.  New York, NY: Doubleday, September 20th 2016.  400 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

This is the first book I read about the life of Winston Churchill and it focused on him as a young man in the military and as a war correspondent.  Of course Churchill is best known for being the Prime Minister of Great Britain during World War Two but I thought it was good to read about his experiences when he was younger which of course would shape him later in life.  This work by Candice Millard is narrated well and is captivating.  I didn’t know so much about Churchill and I’m glad I read this book!

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How to Read More Books When Life Gets Busy (Improved)

As I minister to people the question comes up from time to time of how to read more when life gets busy.  I use to share my post How I Read 80 Books In 43 Weeks that directed people to a guest post I wrote for another blog.  Unfortunately that blog has ceased to exist and I thought it was regrettable since the website owner did a good job editing the grammar for my essay (I am notorious with bad grammar).  Fortunately I found a web archive online that saved the page so I was able to reproduce the improved  written version.  I also got to expand the article to include two more points!  So below are ten things that helps one read more when life gets busy.

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Review: Is Jesus in the Old Testament?

Iain Duguid. Is Jesus in the Old Testament?  Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, February 4, 2013. 40 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

I really enjoyed this booklet that is a part of the Basics of the Faith series printed by Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing.  This is the sixth booklet that I read from the series and I read it along with my wife as our couple’s devotional reading together.  I was blessed by this beyond my expectation in comparison to the other booklets in the series I have read thus far.

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Review: Answers Book for Kids Volume 1: Creation and Fall

Ken Ham and Cindy Malott. Answers Book for Kids Volume 1: Creation and Fall.  Green Forest, AK: Master Books, July 30th 2008. 48 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

Over the years I have seen believers read various volumes of Ken Ham’s Answer Books and I was pleasantly surprised that they had a kids edition.  This work is volume one and the book covered the topics of creation and fall.  Using a question and answer format the book responds to twenty two questions sent to Answers in Genesis, a Creation apologetics ministry.  Ken Ham and Cindy Malott responds in a way that kids would be able to understand.

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Review: Batman: White Knight

A weekend leisure reading review…because sometimes Pastors also need a break from heavy theological reading!

Sean Murphy.  Batman: White Knight. Burbank, CA: DC Comics, October 9th 2018. 232 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

I have been anticipating this story ever since I made my first or second visit to the comic bookstore and I overheard the clerk tell someone about this.  And it did not disappoint!  Which is why I gave this a five out of five.  This volume marks the debut of the publisher DC Comics’s new Black Label imprint which feature well known characters in DC universe in new stand-alone stories without necessarily continuity that affect the stories being told in the regular comics.  I love the originality of Batman: White Knight.  This work collects an eight issue miniseries in which the writer and artist Sean Murphy presents us a scenario of what would happen if the Joker goes sane.  But it was also so much more than that!

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Review: Waterloo: The True Story of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles

Didn’t get to get around to last weekend posting a leisure history reading but I’m posting it now.  Why is this on a theology and apologetics website?  Because Pastors also need a break from heavy theological reading.

Bernard Cornwell. Waterloo: The True Story of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles.  London, UK: William Collins, September 11th 2014.  352 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

I know very little about the battle of Waterloo other than it was a turning point for the Europeans’ fight against Napoleon.  This book is quite informative for readers who want to study this battle.  The author did a good job and it made me want to learn more about the battle and Napoleon himself.

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Worst Book I read in 2018

I guess I forgot to write a review for this book (sorta)…

Rachel Held Evans. Inspired.  Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishing Company, June 12th 2018.  236 pp.

0 out of 5

While I struggled to pick the best book I read in 2018 since there were so many runner up yet it was easy for me to decide what was the worst book I read in 2018.  Rachel Held Evan’s Inspired was the worst.  Probably not just for 2018 but it would be among the worst book I have ever read.  I’m not a downer who review all books negatively; my reviews and ratings bear that out.  But this was a really badly argued book.  The titled should have been uninspired.  It would make for a great text book of what logical fallacies one ought not commit.  I’m writing this review out a desire to warn others since I see this book is so popular.

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