Book Review: Gospels in Conflict: Paul's Letter to the Galatians by George R. Knight

Gospels in Conflict by George R. Knight
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The earliest epistle from Paul predates one of the most important councils of the early Church as recorded in Acts and covers what is needed for salvation—faith or works. Gospels in Conflict: Paul’s Letter to the Galatians by George R. Knight is the companion book of the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study (3rd Quarter 2017) covering Paul’s authority, the plan of salvation, and unity. Through 14 chapters, the first of which focuses on Paul and an overview of the letter to Galatia, covering 125 pages, Knight covers the entire book of Galatians that focuses through sections from the book and gleams the most important things from them for the reader. While not exhaustive as Knight’s own Exploring Galatians & Ephesians given this book’s length, it is a handy commentary for someone studying Galatians. This was the first of two consecutive Adult Sabbath School Quarterly Bible Studies by Knight with the second focused on Romans due to the 500th anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation as Martin Luther was influenced by both of epistles by Paul.

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Book Review: The War for the Union, Volume III: The Organized War, 1863-1864 by Allan Nevins

The War for the Union, Vol. 3: The Organized War, 1863-1864) by Allan Nevins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As the war turned from simply restoring the Union to a revolution to restore the Union as it should always have been, the military stalemate finally broke on the same day in July on opposite ends of the war with the fallout being a breaking of the Confederate’s back while the other resulted in the most famous speech in American history. The War for the Union. Volume III: The Organized War, 1863-1864 is the seventh volume of Allen Nevins’ Ordeal of the Union series as the nadir of Northern hopes disappear in the taking of Vicksburg and the victories of Gettysburg and Chattanooga while the Confederacy finds itself increasingly shunned internationally.

Throughout 513 pages of well-written and thoughtful writing Nevins related the turning point year of 1863 in which the results on the battlefield, actions at sea, and domestic economical and industrial weight of the North turned the war in its favor. Barely over two-fifths of the book covers the military developments of the conflict before turning the rest of the volume over to the various domestic and international issues both sides confronted. It was this latter part of the book which I personally found more interesting, especially when it came to the economic boom that North experienced as it built up the industrial capacity in response to the war effort, not only employing more men even as others went to fight, but the increase of wages and profits for all concerned. A fascinating feature of the war I didn’t realize until now was how much illicit trade between North and South there was, especially when it came to cotton especially in the Union army but given the corruption going on in American public life at this time I shouldn’t have been surprised. Once again, I can’t emphasize how even though this book is over 65 years old it is very detailed and gives a total picture of the events of that time that anyone interested in the history of the American Civil War.

The War for the Union, Volume III: The Organized War, 1863-1864 reveals how the North finally organized to conduct war at “home” while turning the tide on the battlefield through the excellent writing of Allan Nevins.

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Book Review: 1 and 2 Peter by Robert K. McIver

1 and 2 Peter by Robert K McIver
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Two letters are churches in Asia Minor from one of the closest to Christ during his time one Earth and important leaders in the early Church, while small they are packed with powerful themes. 1 and 2 Peter by Robert McIver is the companion book of the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study (2nd Quarter 2017) covering Peter’s practical advice to Christians living in a time of uncertainty. Through 119 pages of text, McIver covers such topics of as Peter myself, the Major Themes of 1 and 2 Peter, Jesus in 1 and 2 Peter, and pointed lessons in each epistle over 13 chapters. Though the two letters from Peter are short, McIver brings out many powerful lessons for the ready to take with them this book.

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Book Review: Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come to Life by Ivan T. Sanderson

Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come to Life by Ivan T. Sanderson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Leaning on his training in botany and zoology, Ivan T. Sanderson examined the reports and data available on the topic of abominable snowmen from around the world in the early 1960s and later in that decade and the result is one of the classics of cryptozoology and sasquatch literature. Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come to Life examines reports of unknown hominoids on five continents and if there is anything to them.

Sanderson begins by chronicling how the Abominable Snowman got its name in popular culture in 1921 then explored of reports of incidents and sightings in the Himalayas before that. Then over much of the book Sanderson covers vast stretches of the globe in which similar hominoid reports and stories are told before concluding that there were four man-like species with humans on the planet as of his writing. The rest of the book covered various geographical and biological elements that Sanderson believed helped explain why reports that he covered happened where they did. While the reports, stories, and local folklore were invaluable and Sanderson’s explanation of physical characteristics of the earth were insightful, there were several issues that made this book a tad painful to read. The first issue was Sanderson’s sometimes over-the-top snark filled comments on everything from both sides of the cold war being idiots to the sensationists in the press, but the biggest target and frankly where it got the past the point of “I get it, move on” was on scientists who professed skepticism of things in the outside world while they kept their pasty white butts in their comfy offices—if he had just put all of that in one chapter of his book it would have been more impactful but he just kept on with it. The second was Sanderson’s terminology for different types of humans—actual homo sapiens—that honestly today wouldn’t be allowed but some of the stuff he used was nearly crossing the line even in the 1960s. Another thing that isn’t a critique but is something that must be stated is the scientific names of early human ancestors used in the book, which a lot are not used today because they’ve changed a lot with various discoveries by paleoanthropologists in the 60+ years since the book was first published.

Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come to Life is a look at worldwide reports of what today would be called relic hominins, it’s one of cryptozoology’s most famous books by one of the field’s founders, Ivan T. Sanderson.

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Book Review: The Americans: The Democratic Experience by Daniel Boorstin

The Americans, Vol. 3: The Democratic Experience by Daniel J. Boorstin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After the Civil War, the United States transformed from a country looking for a national identity to one whose democratic experience spread to everyone. The Americans: The Democratic Experience is the third and final volume of Daniel Boorstin’s trilogy which features the American experience after it found a national identity and creating a democratic culture.

Throughout the 600 pages of text of Boorstin’s work, his working thesis that after finding a national identity Americans looked to create a democratic culture in which everyone had access to the same quality of products and experiences no matter their income or pedigree. Covering such diverse things like how all Americans were able to get access to fresh beef, how education from primary school up through college—including the creation of high school—for all became a national obsession, how clothing went from being a mark of status to mass produced equality, and so much more Boorstin made the case that Americans looked to make things for everyone either for profit or for the betterment of society but through this democratic pursuit to create for everyone it resulted massive efforts to do things collectively on a large scale leading to the atomic bomb and the landing on the moon roughly a century after the country had nearly torn itself apart while also spreading it’s democratic outlook to the world. Of the six books I’ve read of Boorstin’s this is the one in which his consensus view of history really stands out with his focus on inventors and entrepreneurs in this book even while expressing his loathing of the vulgarities that crept into American culture and advertising through this democratization process. As the concluding installment of his trilogy of looking at American history through how the physical environment of the continent shaped—from the beginning of colonization to the late 20th Century—American society and how it reflected on how individuals interacted with their society, it’s been informative especially one little discussed individuals and trends that would influence those more well known to us.

The Americans: The Democratic Experience completes Daniel Boorstin’s trilogy on the cultural history of the United States by showing how in the shadow of a war that nearly destroyed a country a culture aiming to spread to everyone was formed.

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Book Review: Uniting Heaven & Earth: Christ in Philippians and Colossians by Clinton Wahlen

Uniting Heaven & Earth: Christ in Philippians & Colossians by Clinton Wahlen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Two short epistles that sometimes are hard to find, which you miss as your flipping through the New Testament when looking at them, but when you find them the words of Paul deliver powerful messages. Uniting Heaven & Earth: Christ in Philippians and Colossians by Clinton Wahlen is the supplemental book of the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study (1st Quarter 2026) covering two of Paul’s letters that he wrote while in a Roman prison. Whalen begins the book with a chapter focusing on Paul’s circumstances when he wrote these two letters, then dedicates a chapter on aspects from both books that are in common, and divides the rest of the eleven chapters, five for Philippians and six for Colossians, for in-depth lessons from the books themselves. Though this supplemental book is only 128 pages long, Wahlen gives the reader insights into the messages that was not only relevant in Paul’s day but for us today.

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Book Review: Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Growing up the son of a blacksmith, becoming the right-hand man to the most powerful man in England after the King, then surviving his mentor’s fall to end up the King’s able servant after getting him a divorce, but now he’s expected to get the King out of his second marriage. Bring Up the Bodies is the middle installment of Hilary Mantel’s historical fiction trilogy chronicling the rise and fall Thomas Cromwell which immediately follows the end of Wolf Hall and runs through the fall of Anne Boleyn.

Mantel covers essentially a year from fall 1535 to fall 1536, but it’s a year packed with all lot of important events in the reign of Henry VIII and for Cromwell’s position and future. The first-person point-of-view was the same framing device as the previous novel giving the audience an inside view of Cromwell’s thoughts and keeps the narrative close to him even as he works to end Henry’s marriage to Anne while setting him up with Jane Seymour though Mantel gives Cromwell an attraction to her. My one complaint from the previous book of Mantel not using quotation marks to denote Cromwell speaking to other people wasn’t an issue in this book and resulted in a smoother reading experience. Given the shorter timeline than previous book, the little 400 pages of the novel was just right given the political intrigue going on.

Bring Up the Bodies is an excellent middle volume for this historical fiction trilogy, Hilary Mantel’s characterizations and well-written narrative create a page turner that’s hard to put down.

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