Book Review #12 – “Life Together” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (the Character of Christian Community); published 1938.   Brief Review of Bonhoeffer’s Life (1906-1945). Is anyone looking for a hero these days? Consider Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The events in his courageous and faithful life that led up to his martyrdom in Nazi Germany would probably need to include …

Book Review #11 – “The Cookie Tree” by Jay Williams; published in 1967 by Parents Magazine Press. “The Village of Owlgate was quiet and tidy, and nothing surprising ever happened there. Everything had a place, and everything was in its place. Everybody knew why things happened and everything happened just as it was supposed to. Nothing …

Book Review # 10 – “Teaching A Stone To Talk” by Annie Dillard; 1982, Harper & Row Publ. “We are here on the planet only once, and we might as well get a feel for the place… We are here to witness. There is nothing else to do with those mute materials we do not …

Book Review #9 – “The Checker Players” by Alan Venable; published 2011 by One Monkeybooks Pub. “You forgot to put the wind in your plans!”  Genre of the Book. This is a perfectly illustrated children’s picture book that can be enjoyed by children and adults of all ages. Its lessons are timeless, and the story stands on its …

Book Review #8 – “The Road to Cana by Anne Rice; published 2008, Random House Publishers. [this is Book Two of her Two-Part series “Christ the Lord“; Book One is “Out of Egypt” published 2005]. “James, don’t you understand what I want? I come to bring the Face of the Lord – to the whole wide …

Book Review #7 – “Subversive Spirituality” by Eugene Peterson; published 1994, Eerdmans Publishing. “Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16). In Other Words. On the one hand, play it smart as you run through that inevitable wolf pack in your life. Be clever …

Book Review #6 – “The Sabbath” by Abraham Joshua Heschel; published 1951 by HarperCollins Publishers. “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the 7th day God had finished the work He had been doing. So on the 7th day He rested from all His work. And God blessed the 7th …

Book Review #5 – “Come, Creator Spirit” by Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa; published 2003 by Liturgical Press. [Full Title, “Come, Creator Spirit: Meditations on the Veni Creator” (416 pages). Brief Bio of Author. Father R. Cantalamessa (RC) is a 92 year-old priest and theologian in the Roman Catholic Church who is a renowned scholar of Ancient Christian History …

Book Review #4 – “The Gospel According to Job” by Mike Mason; published 1994 by Crossway Publ. “Look at this carefully… we give great honor to those who endure under suffering. We have always considered those who remain steadfast to be blessed. You have heard of Job’s patient endurance, his steadfastness, and you have seen …

Book Review #3 – “Christ in the Psalms” by Rev. Patrick Henry Reardon; published 2000 by Conciliar Press. “Every now and then a book comes along which is potentially a small classic. Here is such a book: elegantly written, deceptively simple, and utterly absorbing. More than a mere commentary on the Psalter, it is a profoundly Christian …

Book Review #2 – “Until the Last One’s Found” by Rev. Curt Parton; published 2024 by Wipf and Stock Pub. Building a Case for Books. It’s amazing that we have reached a point in our advanced society when we actually have to make a sales pitch for books. And yet the latest neurological research continues to confirm what …