APRIL MORNING: A NOVEL by Howard Fast

Originally published in 1961.

Howard Fast (1914-2003) was a prolific writer (more than 60 novels, plus scores of short stories, plays, articles and histories). He is most famous work is Spartacus, the novel that inspired the iconic movie by Stanley Kubrick.

April Morning is my second Howard Fast novel and if you throw in Spartacus you see a trend in Howard Fast's books - he likes to tell the story of the underdog who fights back.

In this novel, the underdogs are the colonists of Massachusetts. The April morning in the title is the day that the British army moved on the stores of gunpowder in Concord, Massachusetts. This is when Paul Revere makes his famous ride. This action is now known as The Battles of Lexington and Concord. The book takes place in and around Lexington.

Adam Cooper is a fifteen year old boy in 1775 and the troubles of Boston with the British Redcoats seems a world away. His father is deeply involved with the committees that try to workout a common response to the British government. When the British army marches towards Concord with nearly 1,000 trained regulars, the local militia forms up to confront them. The militia musters only 77 men, many with small hunting weapons.

15 year old Adam Cooper is in that militia...

This was a truly great novel. As I previously noted, this is only my second Howard Fast novel, but it won't be my last. He had a real knack for making the characters seem real and believable. His characterization of 15 year old Adam is perfect.

The book does not glorify war in any way. It can be graphic. The fighting has real-life consequences. Some of the passages were quite touching. 

Others passages were cleverly observant. I liked this line on page 88: "Blame the devil, Reverend, but I tell you that three-quarters of the misery of mankind is the result of plain damned foolishness."

I rate this novel 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: April Morning: A Novel.

THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL: 2 FUZZY, 2 FURIOUS (audiobook) (Unbeatable Squirrel Girl novelization #2) by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale

Published in 2018 by Listening Library.
Read by Abigail Revasch and Tara Sands.
Duration: 8 hours, 20 minutes.
Unabridged.

Middle school in a new town is tough enough - establishing new friendships, figuring out a new school and a new town and more.

Being a superhero in middle school has extra difficulties. How do you keep your secret identity a secret? How do you keep up with your homework when you are patrolling for bad guys at night? How do you balance your superhero and regular people friendships? And, if you are Squirrel Girl, you also have to balance your squirrel and human friendships. 

After successfully establishing herself as a genuine superhero in the first novel, Squirrel Girl is working on non-violent ways of dealing with bad guys, she has a tough new English teacher and she and her BHFF (Best Human Friend Forever), Ana Sofia are still sorting out what friendship is all about.

Squirrel Girl's new town (Shady Oaks, New Jersey) is getting a mall. But, everything seems a bit off to Ana Sofia. The promotions are weird, people are reacting strangely and the mall's logo looks an awful lot like the Hydra logo...

I really enjoyed the first Squirrel Girl novel. It was all about her origin story and it was a lot of fun. This novel was also fun, but not quite as good. There were laugh out loud moments (Squirrel Girl group texting the Avengers and their responses) and there were touching moments (Ana Sofia struggles with her hearing - she wears hearing aids but they don't fill in all of the gaps. My wife and my daughter also wear hearing aids and her struggles were accurate to their struggles).

But, there was a lot of repetition of things and the extended squirrel conversations were mostly annoying.

The last book was clearly meant to be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This book had a bit of trouble because in the two years since the first novel was written, six movies have been released and some of the characters don't match up so well any longer. Don't sweat it. It's still a fun time. I'll keep an eye out for a third book.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars our of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL: 2 FUZZY, 2 FURIOUS.

Link to my review of the first novel in this series: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-unbeatable-squirrel-girl-squirrel.html

CHURCH REFUGEES: SOCIOLOGISTS REVEAL WHY PEOPLE ARE DONE with CHURCH but NOT THEIR FAITH by Josh Packard, PhD and Ashleigh Hope

Published in 2015.

Packard and Hope set out to investigate why formerly active members of Christian churches (all denominations) leave and don't come back to any church at all. These are not members that leave and go to a new church - these are members that completely walk away from any church. He calls them "dechurched" or "dones", as in they are completely done with church.

Every year, churches across the country lose active members. In this case, Packard and Hope are not talking about merely regularly attending members - they are talking about members who lead committees, music directors and even former clergy. These are part of the leadership of the church - the people that are committed enough to get things done.

Packard and Hope assumed that these folks were simply "burnout" cases - people that just were tired and dropped out altogether. "Instead, the dechurched are walking away from church work, but not the work of the church. They're walking away because they're convinced that the structures and bureaucracy of the church are inhibiting their ability to serve God. They see church as oriented only to its own survival. Instead on empowering, they find the church to be stifling. Over time, they've become convinced that their efforts and energies could be better spent serving God outside of the church." (p 55)

Once again, this is not a certain style or denomination of church. They talk about churches with big bureaucracies, churches essentially led by a CEO-type pastor who makes all of the decisions and everything in between. In the end, churches tend to turn inwards (focused on things like presenting a great worship service and maintaining a building) while these "dechurched" people wanted to keep a much more outward focus. They propose any number of outreach activities that emphasize a sense of personal community and the idea of making their church a more integrated part of its surrounding community (Think comments like: "That's a great idea, Bob. But, we need that money you would use to start a food pantry to re-pave the parking lot.")

Many of the dechurched (They call them "church refugees" because they are like real-life refugees who reluctantly flee their homelands because they feel forced out) feel like they have to leave the church to do the things they need to do because they are Christians. They see the opportunities to do the things that Christians are commanded to do and paving the parking lot is not one of them (there are several pages that use just the example of paving a parking lot lifted from an interview). The surprising point here is that so many of these people - the overwhelming majority, do not just walk away and just quit doing anything like church. This is not because of doctrine - it is because they feel like the formal church structure is getting in the way.

Instead, many of them join informal groups that act like house churches or in-depth Bible studies that emphasize discussion. Others work on those projects that they were denied as part of a formal church. Some move to groups like Habitat for Humanity. Almost all of them retain Christian beliefs and act on them. But, they are done with anything that is "organized" about organized religion. The formal rituals turn them off. Formal dogma does as well. Rather, they prefer a sense of community and the idea that the community is exploring what is meant to be a Christian - they are exploring it together and they are learning together, and they don't necessarily have to draw the same conclusions.

These people are not burned out. They throw themselves into new roles, unhampered by a bureaucracy that tells them no (or says "Yes, but only if you do this and this and this and fill out this form and make a presentation and...)

This was an interesting book. I know that in my own church, I have seen my share of fairly pointless disputes over turf issues as I have served as the head of a major board, so I get it.

In defense of a traditional church, Packard and Hope do note that a real strength of a traditional church is that it has real staying power. The energy of a small group of believers that meets from time to time fades. Church committees keep going and going and going - their structure can carry a church during times of low energy. They make several suggestions, but do not offer a prescription along the lines of "Do these three things to lure back the dechurched" because everyone's situation is different. Instead, they point out a few general guidelines that might keep the "almost" dechurched from leaving and becoming the next set of church refugees and might take advantage of the energy and training that these people desperately want to share.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: CHURCH REFUGEES: SOCIOLOGISTS REVEAL WHY PEOPLE ARE DONE with CHURCH but NOT THEIR FAITH.

STEVE McQUEEN: THE SALVATION of an AMERICAN ICON (audiobook) by Greg Laurie and Marshall Terrill

Published by Christianaudio.com in 2017.
Read by John Pruden.
Duration: 7 hours, 2 minutes.
Unabridged. 

In the 1960's to the 1970's, Steve McQueen (1930-1980) was the epitome of "cool" in Hollywood. Movies like The Magnificent Seven, Bullitt and The Great Escape made him one of the most sought-after actors in the world.

But, there was a long back story to Steve McQueen and his tragic death due to cancer had a surprising twist for a man who seemed to be out to take as much out of life as possible.

Greg Laurie, a super-successful California pastor (who I had never heard of, but his Wikipedia page is something else) wrote Steve McQueen: The Salvation of an American Icon in order to investigate a rumor that Steve McQueen became a Christian before his death. He decided to be methodical and investigate McQueen's life from its beginning in Beech Grove, Indiana to its end at Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

McQueen was born at St. Francis hospital in Beech Grove, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis. His family struggled from the very beginning and he never knew his father. His mother struggled with substance abuse and often brought home "boyfriends" who abused both Steve and his mom. 

The author grew up with similar struggles (single mom who moved a lot, abused a lot of different substances and brought unsavory men into the household) and he uses this similar background as a starting point of the book. In reality, this book is both a biography of McQueen and an autobiography of Laurie. I found both of their lives to be interesting and Laurie's observations about his own experiences growing up shed light on Steve McQueen's life as well.

Laurie follows McQueen from his childhood (including a stint in a group home for young men that was similar to a low-intensity jail) to his stint in the Marines to his beginnings as an actor in New York City and then on to Hollywood.

The question that Laurie was investigating was whether McQueen became a Christian before he died. Yes, he did - several months before he was diagnosed with the aggressive cancer that killed him.

I am not a particularly great fan of Steve McQueen, but this biography was pretty interesting as a look at popular culture 50 years ago. This book could've have used a little less about Greg Laurie and a half hour of repetitive storytelling could have easily been edited out of this audiobook. Despite those caveats, this was still an enjoyable listen.

John Pruden read the audiobook and he did an excellent job. It truly sounded like he was reading his own story.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: STEVE McQUEEN: THE SALVATION of an AMERICAN ICON (audiobook) by Greg Laurie and Marshall Terrill.

ETHAN FROME by Edith Wharton

Originally published in 1911.

Way back in high school in the 1980's I had to read Ethan Frome. I didn't remember anything about it except that it is set in New England and it involved an accident in the snow (no spoilers - this is laid in the first four paragraphs.)

I decided to revisit this book and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Ethan Frome is a New England farmer who limps around town due to a 24 year old injury. He is sad man who almost never has visitors to his struggling farm. He makes up the difference by doing odd jobs, such as ferrying visitors around. The narrator of this book tells us the story of Ethan Frome, as it was told to him (or her?) by Ethan Frome himself when the narrator was forced to stay the night in the Frome house during a terrible snowstorm.

Edith Wharton (1862-1937)

This is a story of regret, love, temptation and obligations. I have no idea why we read this book in high school because there is simply no way that a high school reader would be able to identify with the situations in the book - an older person who has experienced the ups and downs of life can empathize with Ethan Frome even if he or she wouldn't have made the same choices. 

I found the book to be very interesting. Actually it turned out to be a real page-turner for me, much to my surprise. I have had this book in my to-be-read pile for a long time and I picked it just to get it out of the pile only to find out that it was a great book.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. 

CIVIL WAR: THE CONFLICT THAT CREATED MODERN AMERICA by Peter Chrisp

Originally published in 2013.

Union General William Tecumseh Sherman
near Atlanta in 1864.

This book is aimed at 4th-8th graders. It tells an abbreviated history of the Civil War, featuring a lot of pictures and text boxes. It makes for a disjointed read, but it is really designed to be a kid version of a coffee table book.

I was not fond of its description of slavery vs. abolitionism argument on page 6. It takes a neutral stand, meaning that it makes an equal space for the argument for abolitionism and point of view of the slave owners. Really?

The description of the Springfield Rifle on page 18 makes it sound like it could be fired accurately up to 500 yards. In reality, it was a lot less than that for the average soldier. Sure, it could kill someone at 500 yards, but in the hands of the average soldier that would be the shot of a lifetime - or an accident.

On page 39, it pronounces that Sherman intentionally burned Atlanta. He may have, but if he did he kept it to himself. He did order the cotton in storage burned - and that spread to the rest of the city. Intentional? Maybe. Maybe not. To be sure, Sherman didn't spend a lot of time crying over Atlanta.

What does it do well? It gives biographies of the major commanders, includes both Confederate flags (not just the more famous "battle flag"). It also includes a section on "Lost Cause" revisionism, the KKK and sharecropping, rather than just ending with Lincoln's assassination as so many books do.

I rate this book 3 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: CIVIL WAR: THE CONFLICT THAT CREATED MODERN AMERICA by Peter Chrisp.

SIMON BOLIVAR: THE GREAT LIBERATOR (World Landmark Series) by Arnold Whitridge

Published in 1954 by Random House.

In the 1950's and 1960's Random House created an extraordinary history series for children called Landmark Books. There were 122 books in the American history series and 63 in the World Landmark series. A very solid description of the series can be found here: link. When I was a kid my little hometown library had what seemed like an endless shelf of these books. I loved these books - I even remember where it was in the library nearly 40 years later! Undoubtedly, these books are part of the reason I am a history teacher.

Simon Bolivar (1783-1830)

This book is part of a subset of the Landmark Books series. If the book took place outside of the United States the book belonged to the World Landmark Books series.

Simon Bolivar was born in the Spanish colony that is now Venezuela. He was educated in Spain but was keenly aware that the government of Spain considered the colonies to be inferior to Spain and incapable of self-government. He doubtless shared that belief until he began to spend time with the children of the Spanish ruling class (including the future King of Spain) and discovered that they weren't all that impressive. Once Napoleon conquered Spain and put his brother on the throne, Bolivar pushed for a revolt. Some, like Bolivar, were pushing for independence no matter who was on the throne, but others who joined him simply wanted to revolt as a part of a general resistance to Napoleonic rule.

Regardless of the initial motivations, Bolivar soon led a multi-colony revolt that went on for 11 years. Eventually, Bolivar helped to liberate the colonies that make up the modern countries of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru.

Many have compared Bolivar to George Washington, including Arnold Whitridge, the author of this book. There are surface similarities, but Bolivar's fight was much longer and (I would say) much more of a geographical challenge. Bolivar crossed the Andes range multiple times with armies that suffered horrific losses simply from the geography. In fact, while doing a bit of research on Bolivar while writing this review, I found that the Wikipedia page for Bolivar does a much better job of stating the sheer monumental scope of his accomplishments than this book did. For example, he fought in 79 major battles, traveled 10 times the distance of Hannibal, 3 times the distance of Napoleon and twice the distance of Alexander the Great. If you can be can be compared favorably to that crowd, you are truly a military genius. In this respect, Washington certainly comes up short.

Sadly, Bolivar was not a political genius and he could never figure out a way to unite the former Spanish colonies into one large country that he wanted to call Gran Colombia. This is where Washington's strengths come into play. Not only was he able to win the military fight, he was able to help establish the concept that the colonies were going to become one country and the military would not lead that country.

This book is aimed at students from 3rd to 8th grade. It is a simple read with line drawings. It could use a few more maps. To be fair, it was merely an "okay" introduction to Simon Bolivar and his accomplishments (see above about the Wikipedia page).

I rate this book 3 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: SIMON BOLIVAR: THE GREAT LIBERATOR (World Landmark Series) by Arnold Whitridge.