Ben Witherington, Roman Numerals

Roman numerals is the second Art West adventure from Ben and Ann Witherington. Ben is a prolific and widely respected biblical scholar who has written widely in new testament history, exegesis and theology. Ann is his biology-professor wife. And together they have crafted this series of adventure mysteries. In this second installment, Art West finds himself investigating a major antiquities heist, and he is later abducted by an Islamic group that wants to silence his christian witness. The books are relatively well written, and have lots of action as well as some interesting characters. Much of the action takes place in Jerusalem and in archaeological sites in its surrounding hills, and the Witheringtons show sensativity to the complex historical, cultural, and theological situation there. Also a major theme in this book was Art's ficticious investigations into the presence and extent of the emperor cult in the first century, and especially in Palestine. this theme especially is helped by a brief author's note at the end of the book that details which archeological finds and ancient artifacts were real and which were ficticuous. I won't ruin the plot by outlining it here, but there is enough action woven together with thoughtful and authentic historical detail to make these great books, especially for people with interest in Biblical history and archaeology, and not to mention an ability to explore the content and implications of Christian faith. I look forward to reading the third installment.

William Golding, Lord of the Flies

William Golding won the Nobel Prize in Literature, and most of us probably read this classic in school. I know I did, but it had been probably close to twenty years. So I picked it up again, and I'm glad I did. This well-told story is quite a study of human nature, as a group of stranded kids develop their own "society" and struggle to form and maintain some semblance of structure and norms as things devolve into something between tyranny and anarchy. It is certainly a fleshing out of a Christian understanding of humanity's tainted nature, "the darkness of man's heart" (286), whether he intended it so or not. I was also intrigued that just as the violence was reaching it's crecendo on the island, the boys were rescued by a military cruiser. So even as "civilization" comes to the rescue, we see that the picture on the island isn't so different from the civilized world of today. Certainly a thought-provoking book. Highly recommended.

David Zucchino, Thunder Run

Thunder Run is an account of a pivotal armor incursion into the heart of Baghdad during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The book was written in 2004, and doesn't really step back and judge the overall merits of the war, but that isn't his purpose. Zucchino was an embedded reporter with the Spartan Brigade of tanks and personnel carriers. They were (much to their surprise) tasked with a bold charge straight up the central highway into the heart of Baghdad, and two days later, were then sent right into the heart of the city to capture and then hold the central government palace. The book, much in the mold of Black Hawk Down, is an account of the battles and the men who were involved. It deals with command decisions and the overall flow of the battles, as well as recounting in vivid detail the experiences of the soldiers tasked with these challenging duties.

The book is well written, and the story well told. It brings to life a key moment in this first stage in what we now understand to be a long and ongoing conflict in Iraq. The books strengths are its immediacy and the vividness with which it captures the ebb and flow, the confusion and planning, that are involved in an urban battle. And Zucchino also doesn't shy away from either the carnage of battle or the mindsets of the soldiers taking part. His insight into why soldiers fight and how they feel about killing is itself one of the most worthwhile elements in his reporting.

Michael Crichton, Pirate Latitudes

Pirate Latitudes is a fun little tale, but not Crichton's best. The writing is vintage Crichton, with fun locales and cinematic action. The characters are a little flatter than usual, but overall it is certainly readable, even enjoyable. But don't expect too much. It lack's Crichton's trademark twist of innovative or imaginative science that usually brings his books to life. But there's no doubt he had a writer's touch, even with this different genre.

Andy Andrews, The Boy Who Changes the World

Thanks to Thomas Nelson for the review copy.

In The Boy Who Changes the World, Andy Andrews tells the stories of four boys, whose lives touched one another, and who each made a difference in the life of another, bringing about meaningful change in the world (in the end, Norman Borlaug creates superplants that helps feed billions of people; that's a pretty big change). Each little story encourages kids to realize that the choices they make matter, and even though their choices may seem small, they can have a great impact. He calls this the butterfly effect. The book is well written, the illustrations are both fun and beautiful, and the message is a great one for kids to hear. I look forward to reading this book over and over with my own boys, in hopes that each of them can be the boy who changes the world.

Richard Stearns, The Hole in Our Gospel

Thanks to Thomas Nelson for the review copy.

I loved this book! And I hope you read it. That's the only way I can start this review. Richard Stearns, the president of World Vision, has written a powerful apologetic for that important Christian ministry, but more than that, he has challenged evangelicalism to espouse a fully orbed gospel of the kingdom.

The book is part testimony and autobiography, with Stearns recounting his own journey from new Christian to successful corporate executive to president of World Vision. And it is a great story, easy to relate to, and well told. I found it easy to relate to Stearns' journey, his excitement for the gospel but also his reluctance to step out of his comfort zone into new territories. His story is written with obvious honesty and candor, and I thin it lays important groundwork for and integrates well with the book's overall message about broadening the way we understand the gospel and our role to spread the gospel to the world.

The core vision of the book is about getting beyond a traditional view of the gospel as an "otherworldly" message of hope for the hereafter to a Jesus-centered kingdom vision about changed lives, spiritually and physically. We are called not only to preach but to also embody the gospel. "This gospel that we have been given—the whole gospel—is God's vision for a new way of living. It inaugurates the reality of God dwelling within us, His followers, no longer in a temple in Jerusalem. . . . God's kingdom was going to begin on earth through the changed lives of His followers, and its hall markes would be forgiveness, love, compassion, justice, and mercy" (276).

Stearns is well aware of the dangers of preaching a "works" righteousness, and he addresses that concern a couple of times in his writing. He is also aware that some may want to read his message as a call away from traditional evangelistic preaching to a social gospel, a charge he anticipates and subverts a number of times as well. In all, I think Stearns has done the church a great service in writing this call to follow Jesus in his kingdom ministry. For if God truly loves the world, aren't we going to do everything in our power to overcome disparity, disease, poverty, and oppression as we do everything we can to overcome spiritual blindness, poverty, and oppression. And, in fact, the two can't and shouldn't be separated. For each side of the gospel fits with the other: a preaching without works of love is only words, and a life of compassionate action is one of the best apologias for the gospel we preach. Highly recommended.

Phillip Margolin, Lost Lake

In this mystery thriller, a young Portland attorney finds herself in the middle of a strange case after a man she had recently befriended violently attacks two men at her son's little league game. He claims he is part of a super-secret government group called the Unit. As events unfold, it turns out Morelli, is really Carl Rice, and he is wanted in connection with a number of brutal murders. But he tells a different tale, of killings that were part of his work with the unit. Margolin's book turns out to be a fun interweaving of plot lines, and he even makes what could be a rather tired plot about a supersecret government agency work, as doubt is case right up to the end about who is really telling the truth, and whether Morelli is really a secret government agent or just a delusional and psychopathic killer.

Frederick Forsyth, The Fourth Protocol

A classic cold-war espionage tale. Very much in the mold of Tom Clancy, this great spy tale by Frederick Forsyth certainly belongs in the same class as Clancy's best. It is an entertaining tale of nuclear threats, a terrorist plot engineered by a faction in the Soviet government, and some great police work by an enterprising British agent who finds himself up against an unknown foe in a game with high stakes. This book is a great read, with a good plot and solid characters. Well done.