Review: The Battle for Okinawa by Hiromichi Yahara

This weekend was a flurry of ministry activity.  Finally got time to sit down and write this review…because sometimes even Pastors need a break from heavy theological reading!  Also thanks to Pacific Paratrooper whose post was what prompted me to read this book!

Hiromichi Yahara. The Battle for Okinawa.  New York, NY: John Wiley & Son, Inc., January 1st 2002. 272 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

This is a rather unique book on World War Two Pacific campaign since it is written by a higher up military officer in the Japanese Imperial Army.  The author Colonel Hiromichi Yahara is the strategic mind behind the battle of Okinawa and his book is largely his account of that battle from the perspective of a senior staff officer for the leading generals of the Okinawa’s defense.  Yahara is actually the strategist behind much (not all as readers will learn) of Japanese Army’s fight against the American forces.  I think this book is quite unique given that there’s few books from the perspective of the Japanese side and also even further rare since he’s a higher level officer that survived the war in a conflict that often witness Japanese officers commit suicide or engage in final futile suicidal attacks on the enemies.

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Review: Batman: The Court of Owls Saga (DC Essential Edition)

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

Scott Snyder.  Batman: The Court of Owls Saga (DC Essential Edition). Burbank, CA: DC Comics, September 11th 2018. 320 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

A few years ago when I first started reading comics again it was Batman’s The Court of Owls Saga that got me into reading the newer Batman stories and Batman in general.  When the Court of Owls kicked off DC Comic’s “New 52” reboot of their superhero universe Batman gets a new and original story of a secret society that existed all the time in Gotham City under the radar of Batman’s eyes and ears.  I am glad that the saga now is collected all in one volume as a “DC Essential Edition.”  I think this is an essential edition for Batman fans and those who want to try out reading the better materials on Batman.

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Review: Batman and the Signal

In light of this long “weekend” I thought I share this leisure reading review…because Pastors sometimes need a break from heavy theological reading too!

Scott Snyder.  Batman & the Signal. Burbank, CA: DC Comics, August 28th 2018. 168 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

This was more about the new DC Comic hero “the Signal” than it was about Batman although Batman played a big part in this book and it was Batman who trained the Signal into his role of being a crime fighting hero.  This book collects various issues of Batman and tells us different stories about Duke Thomas who later became known as “the Signal” in the second half of the book.  One of the thing that I like about the character Duke is that it breaks out of the mold that Batman’s partner has to be another “Robin.”  Instead in the collected stories of Duke Thomas both in this book and elsewhere we see Batman’s deliberate attempt to raise Duke up to be more than just a “sidekick” but for him to be his own person.  I really appreciate the writer Scott Snyder exploring a deeper and more maturing view of human nature and longings and desires.

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Review: Special God by Julie Melilli

Julie Melilli. Special God.  Wheaton, IL: Crossway, September 5th 2018.  64 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

There’s many Christian children’s books out there so what makes this one unique?  In the introduction the author Julie Melilli gave some background to why she wrote the book.  She mentioned about looking for a book for her adopted daughter that had developmental disabilities and physical differences.  In addition she was looking for something that is biblical to read to her daughter while also looking for something with simple vocabulary that for non-native English speaker.  Seeing the need for such a resource Julie Melilli decided to write this book.

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Review: Suicide: Understanding and Intervening

Jeffrey S. Black. Suicide: Understanding and Intervening.  Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, February 1st 2003. 34 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

This is a biblical counseling booklet on suicide that is a part of a series called “Resources for Changing Lives” printed by Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing.  I highly recommend this series of booklets and I have found them very beneficial for my own personal spiritual growth and also as a resource in pastoral ministry.  The specific topic for this booklet is on suicide.  The booklet addresses those intervening and counseling someone who is struggling with wanting to commit suicide rather than addressing directly the person who desire to end his or her own life.  I made the mistake of not reading the subtitle of this work carefully and gave this to someone I was counseling that was feeling suicidal.  Nevertheless when I read this booklet I felt it was a treasure trove of help for the counselor and is jam packed with many insights despite its tiny size.

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Historical Fiction Comics: Read in Summer 2018

Here’s my weekend reading review, this time it is a post reviewing three comic books that are historical fictions…because Pastors also need a break from heavy theological reading!

Patrick Weber.  1066: William the Conqueror. Paris, France: Europe Comics, November 10th 2015. 78 pp.

3 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

This is a comic that tells the story of the famous and important year of 1066 in English history and the events leading up to the battle of Hasting.  This work was originally published in France in 2011 and then translated into English in 2015.  Since the work was originally in French you really get a slightly favorable perspective of William of Normandy.  I suppose there would be no surprise there.  If you are into medieval theme comics or you are a guy who like to read comics with historical references this work might be enjoyable for you.  I thought in general it tells the history pretty well although there is creative literary license with the details.

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Review: Karl Marx by William D. Dennison

William D. Dennison. Karl Marx.  Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, December 10th 2017. 136 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

This is the second book in the Great Thinkers series published by Presbyterian and Reformed. In the introduction to the series the editor Nathan Shannon tells us the threefold goal for each work in the series: First it is intended to be academically informed. Second it seeks to maintain a high standard of biblical and theological faithfulness. Third the series aim is to be accessible for readers without unnecessary difficult jargons and vocabulary. This particular work is written by Christian philosopher and apologist William D. Dennison.  In this work Dennison examines and critiques the thought of Karl Marx the father of Communism.  Reading this book in 2018 I realize that though Marx was born exactly two hundred years ago sadly his ideology has had a harmful impact even today.  While this work is critical of Marx it also aim to be fair in accurately describing his beliefs.

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