Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad by Ann Lane Petry

Well-written biography of a true American hero

Originally published in 1955.

Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad is a fantastic little biography of Harriet Tubman (1820-1913). Tubman has always been one of my personal heroes and this book does her story justice.

I would say this book can be easily enjoyed by 4th graders and up. It also could serve as a great starting point for adults that don't know much about slavery and the American Abolitionist movement. While telling the story of Tubman's life, Petry also includes at the end of nearly every chapter historical tidbits about the slavery and the Abolitionist movement at the national level.

The discussion of her service in the Civil War as a scout in the coastal areas of South Carolina spurred me to do some further research. Her commanding officer in the raids was Colonel James M. Montgomery, the nutty commander in the movie Glory with this memorable line: "You see sesesh has to be cleared away by the hand of God like the Jews of old. Now I will have to burn this town." Interestingly, Montgomery also served with John Brown in Kansas. Harriet Tubman also knew John Brown although she was not comfortable with his violent tactics.

I rate this biography 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad

Reviewed April 8, 2009.

Christianity in Crisis: The 21st Century by Hank Hanegraaf

Important book but in serious need of an editor

Published in 2012 by Thomas Nelson

Christianity in Crisis: The 21st Century exposes the serious flaws in the theology of most of America's famous TV preachers, especially the cavalcade of larger than life ministers that appear around the country on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN).

Basically, the doctrines are called "prosperity" and "faith". The faith doctrine is the most insidious because it sounds so harmless. Shouldn't all Christians have faith?

Well, this doctrine is something quite different and odd. Joel Osteen may be the most famous teacher of this doctrine right now. It's easily searchable on the web and this book does a great job of exposing its flaws as well. Suffice it to say that it is not a Christian idea, but much more like the New Age stuff taught in books like The Secret.

Hank Hanegraaf

Prosperity theology is more famous because any viewer of a TBN program can watch its preachers telling viewer things like this, "When you tithe, God gives to you. When you don't tithe God takes it away from you." (p. 46) The promise is that you will get stuff from God if you tithe. God is like a divine bank account. Preacher Jesse Duplantis noted that God is a comforter "because when you get some stuff it brings you comfort." (p. 198) Wow, as great a perversion of the concept as I've ever heard. Joyce Meyer notes that giving to God is like getting a "receipt" or an IOU from God that you can draw on later on.(p. 222)

So, who cares? Can't these people worship as they please? Well, of course they can. But, when they take the Christian name and use it to teach non-Christian doctrine on a worldwide broadcast it hurts the Christian brand. Plus, most Christians don't even know what these people are really saying, they just assume it's the same stuff they hear in their own churches.

Positives:

The book is hyper-researched. The bibliography is 16 pages long with teeny-tiny print. There are more than 1,000 endnotes for a 347 page book. Hanegraaf knows his stuff.

Negatives:

The book is repetitive. I read some of the same quotes more than half a dozen times. The point was made - no reason to state it so many times. The repetition hurt the overall argument because it began to feel like there must be a shortage of quotes since some were used so many times. In retrospect, with more than 1,000 endnotes, the repeated quotes were a very small part of the whole. But, still, an editor would have helped the book by helping it to become leaner and meaner. The overall quality of the book was hurt. You could cut 50-100 pages from this book and only help it.

I rate this book 3 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Christianity in Crisis: The 21st Century.

Reviewed on April 14, 2009.

Jesus Says So (kindle) by Mass. Sabbath School Society

A 19th Century Inspirational Story

Originally printed in 1851, Jesus Says So, or A Memorial of Little Sarah G---- is a great example of a witnessing tool from the 19th century. The title derives from the saying of a little girl who quotes the promises of Jesus and proudly proclaims that she believes them because "Jesus says so."

Modern witness tracts typically include the story of a person who has sinned in a big way but has turned their life around thanks to a conversion. This tract features an 11 year-old girl who is practically without sin, lives a poverty-stricken life and dies from an unknown illness after a long period of being bedridden. This type of tragic story was very common in the 19th century.

This is a very short story, perhaps a 10 minute read. It was printed by the Mass. Sabbath School Society. Even if you are not interested in the religious content it does provide a window into American culture in the 19th century and invites comparison with 21st century evangelical techniques and sentiments.

I rate this kindle book 3 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Jesus Says So (kindle) by Mass. Sabbath School Society.

Reviewed on April 17, 2009.

Strong Enough to Die: A Caitlin Strong Novel (Book One) by Jon Land

Loud and strong, this book goes at it hard

Published by Forge Books in 2009.

William Shatner once commented that the results of his directorial efforts in Star Trek V were "loud". One could easily say the same thing about Jon Land's Strong Enough to Die.

Strong Enough To Die comes at you with a gunfight on the first page, has lots of gunfights throughout and ends up with guns and explosions as well.

Does it work?

Well, yeah.

This is not fine literature, mind you. It is loud, lock and load, over-the-top Texas Ranger action. There's some attempts at trying to tie in Bush administration anti-terrorist policies and discussions about living with the aftermath of violence but those get overwhelmed by the gunfire. But, that's okay because too much thinking about the internal incongruities of the text on these matters just spoils the fun.

It's the famed Texas Rangers and a bad guy who might be a good guy against the Mexican Mafia and an evil American super-corporation. Don't think too much, just enjoy the show.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Strong Enough to Die: A Caitlin Strong Novel by Jon Land

Reviewed on April 18, 2009.

Black Evening: Tales of Dark Suspense (audiobook) by David Morrell

Originally published in 1999.
Audiobook cassette version published in 2001.

David Morrell's Black Evening: Tales of Dark Suspense is a collection of horror short stories. This is a change of pace from Morrell's normal fare of action/suspense/thriller novels, but this is a strong collection that is a great read and will be especially rewarding for Morrell's fans.

There are 7 short stories in this collection. The weakest by far is the first one, "The Dripping". I'd rate it 3 stars. But the rest are 4 or 5 star short stories which is high praise from me since I am not normally a fan of the short story format. Of especially high quality are "But At My Back I Always Hear" and "Orange Is For Anguish, Blue For Insanity." Those stand up with the best short format horror stories that you can put against them, from Poe to King.

Each story is introduced by the author who includes plenty of details about how he started writing, what was going on in his life when he wrote the stories. These introductory pieces are, in some ways, the most enjoyable parts of the book. I very much enjoyed his tales of what inspired him and of the authors who pointed him along the way to being one of just a handful of authors in the country that completely make a living by writing.

Audiobook details:

Approximately 6 hours. Each story is read by a different narrator. The introductory pieces are read by David Morrell himself and are quite good.

Highly recommended - 5 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: 
Black Evening: Tales of Dark Suspense

Reviewed on April 20, 2009.

America: A Jake Grafton Novel (Jake Grafton #9) by Stephen Coonts

Solid, but not an exceptional thriller

Originally published in 2001.

The strength of a Stephen Coonts novel is that he provides a thriller like Tom Clancy but not all of the techno-speak. Instead, he provides just enough to give the reader a taste but not enough to overwhelm.

The weakness of Stephen Coonts is that Jake Grafton, likable as he is, makes Star Trek's Captain Kirk look like an underachiever. Grafton is everywhere in this book (like all of them). Who needs specialists, like Navy SEALs or  an expert for a rocket launch? Instead, Jake Grafton is your man. Need someone to finagle a Russian spy? He's your man. How about someone to go on a raid, find a spy, fake an attack, go undercover to capture an international super-criminal? He's your man. And then, he gets to beat up the bad guy and pretty much save the world all by himself (his faithful sidekick Toad Tarkington joins in, too!) - again.

Stephen Coonts

Beyond that, America is a perfectly readable and entertaining book. The premise is that America's newest submarine, the America has been stolen. America is remarkable in that it is the quietest submarine ever built and it has the most sensitive sonar of any sub as well. So, it cannot be found easily and it can easily see everyone who is searching for it. It also comes with a detachable mini-sub as well

Why was it stolen? Well, I figured it out right away, but no one else does until the end of the book. The book starts out with the attempted launch of an advanced "Star Wars" type satellite. The launch fails and the satellite disappears into the Atlantic. Can you figure out why someone would want a submarine with a mini-sub now?

Anyway, America is chock full of advanced computer hackers, corrupt currency investors, mercenaries and advanced weaponry and it makes for a very readable thriller.

I rate this book 3 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: America by Stephen Coonts.

Reviewed on March 22, 2011.

Pete & Pickles by Berkeley Breathed

Fantastic - and yes, I did read it to my children

Published in 2007 by Philomel Books.

Pete and Pickles is the story of a lonely, widower pig and an exuberant, outgoing elephant that escaped from a circus. According to the back flap, it was inspired from a drawing that Breathed's five-year old made in a restaurant. She drew an elephant hugging a pig in its trunk.

Breathed asked why the elephant is holding the pig.

"The pig's sad."

"Why?"

"Because he's lonely, Dad...But he doesn't know it," she whispered.

Pete is indeed lonely. He misses his wife who has died. Pickles comes into his life unexpectedly and turns it all over and, in a way, saves it. Or, at least makes it worth living.

I cannot imagine the adult that does not tear up at the end of this book (I've got no qualms with it - this 40 year old Republican darn near cried!).

Berkeley Breathed

On top of a great story you've got great pictures. The art is top-notch. Careful observation will show you that Breathed previews most of the book with the art on the walls of Pete's house. It's something fun to go back and look at with the kids.

As for those reviewers that claim that this is inappropriate for kids, I say, "Phhphhtt!" (to quote Opus, Breathed's beloved Penguin character from Bloom County.) I talked to my children all the way through the book as we read it. I talked about how Pete misses his wife like their Grandpa misses their Grandma who has passed on. Is it sad? Sure it is, but life's full of sadness. This book deals with it and shows you can move on. I talked about how Pete gets angry when Pickles messes with his wife's things, I talked about how they were still friends and how he is much happier at the end than he was at the beginning. Guess what? I talk with my kids when we watch TV, too. That's part of the job of being a parent.

Highly recommended for all ages. I rate it 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Pete and Pickles.