Review: 88 Days to Kandahar: A CIA Diary

A weekend reading review…because Pastors also need a break from heavy theological reading.

Note: I actually finished this book a while back but didn’t want to post this while I was overseas teaching missions lest some government think I’m a CIA guy or something.  Well here’s the book review!

Robert L. Grenier. 88 Days to Kandahar: A CIA Diary.  New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, January 27th 2015. 464 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

This is the memoir of CIA officer Robert L. Grenier with a significant portion of the book devoted to his time as a station chief in Pakistan during the response of the United States to the September 11^th attack.  I picked up this book to read because of its title that really grabbed my attention.

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Leisure Reading Review: Dark Days: The Road to Metal

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

Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV.  Dark Days: The Road to Metal. Burbank, CA: DC Comics, May 22nd 2018. 256 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

This is a collection of various DC Comic issues that lays the foundation for a big DC Comics event called “Metal.”  The first section collects a story called “Dark Days” while what follows after that is a collection of various other stories in the DC universe that the editors felt was important and foundational for “Metal.”

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Review: Domestic Abuse: Recognize, Respond, Rescue

In light of all the news of scandals within Evangelical churches concerning the improper handling of abuses this is a seriously much needed resource.

Darby A. Strickland. Domestic Abuse: Recognize, Respond, Rescue.  Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, May 31st 2018. 56 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

This is probably the booklet I learned the most from in this biblical counseling series called “Resources for Changing Lives” printed by Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing.  In the past there were many works in this series which I have read, reviewed and recommended but this one thus far surpasses them all in terms of it being biblical, practical and insightful.  I am glad that is the case since the booklet covers a difficult topic that many pastors and churches might not have thought through about judging from the various controversies the last few years concerning pastors, churches and spiritual leaders concerning how they addressed or neglected the issue of abuse.

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Early Summer 2018 Review of Two Military Books

I know for many summer vacation is around the corner so here’s my review of two military books for your summer travel…and also because Pastors also need a break from heavy theological reading!

For other suggestions check out also our previous post “2017 Memorial Day Weekend Lists of Recommended Readings.”

Robert O’Neill.  The Operator: Firing the Shots that Killed Osama bin Laden and My Years as a SEAL Team Warrior. New York, NY: Scribner, April 3rd 2018. 368 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

This is a book by the Navy SEAL who shot Osama Bin Laden.  This book not only tell the story of the mission to go after Bin Laden but also Robert O’Neill’s upbringing in Montana, how he joined the Navy and made it into the SEALs.  A fascinating book of a fascinating individual.

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Review: Fatal Discord: Erasmus, Luther, and the Fight for the Western Mind

Michael Massing.  Fatal Discord: Erasmus, Luther, and the Fight for the Western Mind. New York, NY: Harper, February 27th 2018. 1008 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

This is an incredible book on the biography of both Martin Luther and Erasmus.  Though I have read several different books on the Reformation it seems every time I pick up another title on Luther or the Reformation I continue to learn different aspects of the Reformation.  This work is no different.

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Review: Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII

I’m going to post this ahead of the Memorial Day weekend as a book I immensely enjoyed that is very appropriate for the weekend as part of my nonfiction leisure reading review…why?  Because Pastors also need a break from heavy theological reading…and also to appreciate the generations of people who have served in the past in the military and have given so much.

Chester Nez.  Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII. New York, NY: Berkley Caliber, September 6th 2011. 310 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

This is an incredible book on the legendary Navajo Native American who served in the United States Marines during World War Two.  Apparently this is the only memoir of the original first group of Navajo “Code talkers.”  The book is about the life and service of “Code Talker” Chester Nez who co-authored it along with Judith Avila, a historian of these incredible Marines.  In the beginning of the book Avila noted that at first Chester Nez was reluctant to write this book since he felt that others also have done their duty and also because he feared people would not find his life interesting.  Avila disagreed and encouraged him to tell his story.  I’m in agreement with Avila; Chester Nez and other “Code Talkers” lived an interesting life both in the Marine Corps and outside the Marine Corps.  I’m really glad this book was written.

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Review: Batman, Volume 5: Rules of Engagement

Another Batman comic book review, because even Pastors need a break from time to time from heavy theological reading (And I will be reviewing more now that I’ve been back from my trip and getting back to my routine!).

Tom King.  Batman, Volume 5: Rules of Engagement. Burbank, CA: DC Comics, May 1st 2018. 160 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

This is volume five of the Batman’s Detective Comics in the New DC Comics’ Rebirth series/era.  This work collects BATMAN #33-37 and BATMAN ANNUAL #2.  I finished this volume less than a month after it was officially released and I read several other Batman titles during the same time though I enjoyed this more than the other two works with one of them being Batman: Detective Comics, Volume 5: A Lonely Place of Living which came about a few weeks earlier than this volume.

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