What to Expect When No One's Expecting by Jonathan Last

Jonathan Last is always an enjoyable writer so it was no surprise that this book was an enjoyable read, even if it was, at points, a little dark.

One should certainly read this book critically. I found a few ideas in it that I don't think add up, and I'm pretty sympathetic to Last's overall viewpoint. Nonetheless, his treatment of America's falling birth rate, its causes and implications, is as thorough as it could be without turning into an academic tome.

Most importantly, I think that this book is a critical contribution to the national dialogue in the US. Many Americans have been impervious to the lessons of Europe's more advanced demographic decline and still cling to the mindset of Ehrlich's discredited The Population Bomb.Hopefully this book is just the beginning in a serious public discussion of American demographics, and one that's not dominated by overblown fears of a risk of overpopulation.

Love Wins by Rob Bell

I promise, this is the last religious book I'll be posting about in this batch of reviews...

I started reading this book pretty skeptically. I was pleasantly surprised to find some important points made pretty poignantly in the book. Unfortunately, it's mixed in with a sprinkling of heretical claims and a lot of shoddy logic. Often, even when making a statement that I believe is 100% spot-on, his support for it just didn't demonstrate the point that he was trying to make. For example, the fact that Jesus used earthly metaphors to describe heaven doesn't tell us that heaven is an earthy place. What he was saying about heaven was true, but we can't draw the conclusions that he drew from the metaphors that he mentioned.  Metaphors, by nature, generally relate more complex realities to simple material ones.

Insofar as the book pushes people to think about the way we talk about Heaven, Hell, Sin, Death, and Judgement, I suppose it could be of use.  It makes an impassioned, if at times logically flawed, case for rethinking our concept of Hell, but I wouldn't use the book as a doctrinal argument.  And, I have to say that Bell is just one more author who's failed to convince me that a rejection of Hell as an eternal place of punishment is in line with Christian Scripture.

Daughter Zion by Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI

This is another book exploring Catholic Theology, and if you don't read other books about theology, this one is probably not the best place to start.  It's very short, but not light reading. 

The first portion of the book provides one of the best explorations of Mary as Virgin and Mother, as Theotokos, that I've encountered. The meditations in the portions on the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption included some beautiful insights into the Catholic faith. For such a short work, Daughter Zion is certainly quite an accomplishment. Readers should be aware going in, however, that the book is a theological meditation... it goes into more theological and exegetical detail than a prayerful meditation, but it doesn't really seek to be a rigorous theological proof. The sections on the Immaculate Conception and Assumption are thought provoking and spiritually uplifting, and they point in an interesting direction for rational consideration of these Marian doctrines, but they leave a lot of room for questioning. I'm not sure that this is a weakness, but I think that readers will get a lot more out of the work if they go in expecting insightful observations rather than a complete theological defense of controversial doctrines.

Theology for Beginners by Frank J. Sheed

Before I go on with the rest of my review, let me start by saying that this is a book about Catholicism for people interested in really getting to know Catholic Theology.  If that doesn't apply to you, obviously I would not recommend this book...

This is an excellent starting point for delving into Catholic thought. It is not an easy read, but only because the subject matter is hard. It is clearly and readably written, it's phrasing is carefully considered for accuracy, and, while it doesn't go into great depth on things, it doesn't dumb them down, either. When I first read this book, there were elements that I didn't quite understand, and claims that I did not necessarily accept. It, however, gave me the grounding (and the questions) to explore a number of theological issues more deeply, and for several years after reading it I found myself realizing what Sheed meant by the things that he said, or why things that I hadn't quite embraced were, in fact, correct. If you're looking to start investigating Catholic theology and are frustrated to find that everything you read is either beyond your current knowledge level or is dumbed down too much to get you anywhere, this book just might be what you're looking for.

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas

Metaxas' biography of Bonhoeffer is a thoroughly enjoyable read. He brilliantly balanced the personal, social, theological and political elements of Bonhoeffer's life to give a sweeping account of it that provides important insights into the man's life and thought. As a result, even though the book isn't short, it never dragged. Metaxas doesn't dwell to heavily on theology, politics, or anything else, but includes them only insofar as they help the reader to understand the intelligent, brave man he writes about.

It should be noted, though, that this is a rather uncritical look at Bonhoeffer's life. It approaches hagiography. This is not bad... Bonhoeffer was a great man, so it's appropriate to write about him as such. It may, however, irritate some readers that Metaxas goes out of his way to look at everything Bonhoeffer did in the best possible light. More bothersomely, at a few points in the book, Metaxas extends this approach to other figures he likes. He spends a few pages, for example, defending the legacy of Martin Luther against charges of antisemitism. This seemed, in context, appropriate enough, but it added to the impression that the book was driven by the author's opinions.

The book is a great read, it's thorough, entertaining, inspirational and informative about Bonhoeffer and the history and thought that surrounded his life. It doesn't have the viewpoint neutrality of a more academic work, but that's fine... The book provides a beautiful account of the life of a great man.

Citizens of London by Lynne Olson

Citizens of London is one of the most enjoyable history books that I've read in years. As with the best novels, finishing the book left me feeling like a best friend was moving away. In addition to Olson's fluid writing style, the book benefited greatly from her ability to at once treat every figure in the book honestly and critically while still showing them in as reverent a light as more hagiographic accounts of their lives. In fact, her acceptance of people like Churchill, Harriman, Winant and Murrow as fully human, with all of the flaws that go with it, makes them seem somehow more admirable than they do in depictions that scrub them of their shortcomings.

The Greater Journey by David McCullough

This book was simply a fun book to read. McCullough's renowned writing ability made the stories of those he wrote about come alive. Readers who have had the chance to explore Paris will find themselves envisioning its streets and alleys, peeling away 20th century changes to the cityscape, imagining the sites, smells and feels of Paris from the past. The story also brings alive a part of American history that is now often forgotten... the striving of young Americans to earn themselves and their country a spot as global leaders in their fields. American medical students looking to bring the United States to the cutting edge of medicine. American artists looking to claim their place alongside Europe's masters. McCullough shows how much they enjoyed Paris, and yet how distinctively American they remained.

I can't say that I found any overarching point to a McCullough's tale of the first ambitious young Americans to go to study in Paris, but I was OK with that. The book was fun and inspiring, and helped to give an appreciation of the work, the risks, and the adventures that went into earning America a role as a leading society in the world, and it was a reminder that throughout its history, America has had an (at time acrimonious) fraternal relationship with France.