- What Einstein Told His Cook by Robert Wolke -- Kitchen science.
Underway:
- The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks -- adventures in Neurology.
- Silence by Shusaku Endo.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
More to Review
Finished:
Underway:
Underway:
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Books to review - Fall 2009
This is a placeholder for blog entries I need to write on books I've read since August. Hey, I've been busy!
- Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson -- epic cyberpunk.
- The Emperor of Scent by Chandler Burr -- renegade scientist vs. the establishment.
- Pizza on the Grill by Elizabeth Karmel -- thanks, Marybeth!
- Jack's Life by Douglas Gresham -- insights from C.S. Lewis' stepson.
- A Thousand Miles in a Million Years by Donald Miller -- latest book by one of my favorite authors. Important, but uncomfortable.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana - Anne Rice
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Comments: (Full disclosure: I've plagiarized most of the following from a review at Amazon.com).
As the book opens, Yeshua bar Joseph (Jesus of Nazareth) is 30 years old, and a man on the brink of embracing his identity and his purpose. He's God in the flesh, as he himself knows, but he also struggles with the human desires for companionship, family, and acceptance. His relatives and the local villagers sometimes call him Yeshua, the Sinless.
From the opening pages of this book, we see the drama of village life, relational conflicts, and restrained divinity. Rice, through Yeshua's eyes, lets us in for peeks at the heart of God, as it relates to the human struggle. This culminates in Yeshua's face-off with Satan in the wilderness, during forty days of fasting--a masterpiece of textured prose--and in the following incident with Mary of Magdala. From there, Rice shifts her story from conflict into beauty, as Yeshua verbalizes his purpose to his new followers and his family.
(Ken again) I recognize that some folks could be uncomfortable with the idea of an author adding new anecdotes and dialog to the historical record about Jesus. In response, I'd simply point out that other types of artists do essentially the same thing. Painters and songwriters, for example, embellish all the time, but they're not criticized because the extra details aid our understanding of Jesus, and ultimately help us relate to Him better. We filter their embellishments thru scripture, of course, and reject anything that is inconsistent with truth. We should grant an author the same privileges, and hold them to no less rigorous a standard.
The Navigator - Clive Cussler
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Comments: This was 4-5 hours of enjoyable-enough diversion. Not really worth going into the plot - if you know this author, you know the characters already, and pretty much how the plot is going to play out.
One thing did surprise me a little. As I read, I kept noticing little ripoffs of The Da Vinci Code plot - there were ancient legends (you know... the real facts that the early church didn't want people to hear... ), secret societies sworn to hide the truth at all costs, people murdered when they got too close, etc. I checked the publish date and, sure enough, this book came out roughly a year after Da Vinci, just about the time that Dale Brown was really raking in the dough. I suppose this is par for the course for mass market authors, but it was a little surprising to see someone as well known as Cussler be quite so obvious about it.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt - Anne Rice
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Comments: Like many, I was surprised when this book first appeared a few years ago, written by a well-known author of vampire-oriented horror tales. I was more than a little afraid of what I'd find between the covers. But Anne Rice's spiritual re-awakening is real, and is a story worth reading in its own right. Before returning to the faith of her youth, she questioned it thoroughly and deeply, and with scholarly completeness. In the end, she felt the critics who wanted to paint Jesus as non-divine, and the Gospels as late compilations and forgeries, totally failed to make their cases. She says, in fact, that their bias and even hatred towards Jesus drove them to some of the poorest scholarship she'd ever seen in her years of historical studies.
The story she's written is virtually all extra-biblical, although it is reassuringly accurate in areas where it does overlap with the scriptural or historical record, e.g. the descriptions of Mary and Joseph, the Jewish culture of the time, the actions of Herod and his successors, etc. It starts with the (extended) family returning from Egypt to Palestine, still under Roman occupation and torn by rebellion. Jesus is 8 years old, and is aware that he's different from others, but unsure exactly how, and why. (I find that plausible enough, given that he was fully human). He knows that there are topics that his mother and father won't let him ask about. He knows that there was some sort of excitement when he was born, but not the details. He knows that the local townsfolk of Nazareth talk about his mother behind her back, as if she were in some sort of disgrace.
Over the course of the book, Jesus learns bits and pieces of what happened in Bethlehem, but still hasn't figured out how it all relates to him. He senses that what he really needs is the answer to one key question: Why did Herod have to kill all the Jewish boys aged 2 or less? Then Passover comes, and the family goes to the temple in Jerusalem. Driven to find answers, Jesus goes to the leaders of the temple, becomes separated from his mother and father, and voila - we're back in Luke chapter 2.
I though this was a great book. While not intending to be devotional or inspirational, it may just expand and enrich your mental image of what a fully-human/fully-divine being would be like. We're lucky to have an author of the caliber of Anne Rice writing Christian fiction, and I'm looking forward to the next book in this series, Christ the Lord: Road to Cana.
Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood - Oliver Sacks
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Comments: This book begins "Many of my childhood memories are of metals", which gives you a pretty good clue where it's headed for the next 300-odd pages. Basically, it's a first-person account of a young boy who grew up in a household (and extended family) full of scientists, doctors and engineers. His fascination for metals is fueled by an uncle who happens to run a tungsten fabrication plant in town. The uncle's love for this particular metal is infectious, and he's more than willing to share his knowledge (and personal lab, and shelves of chemicals) with the 10-year old lad. (While the author acknowledges that he was given access to some outrageously dangerous substances - nasty acids, toxic gasses, even radioactive isotopes - he also decries how today's chemistry sets have been completely stripped of anything even remotely interesting). This becomes the launching point for a lifelong interest in materials ranging from inert gases to the rare earth elements.
The story is fascinating because it's not just the boy who is learning. This is roughly the same era when scientists were finally beginning to understand such fundamentals as the nature of the atom, how elements were arranged in the periodic table, how/why certain elements would combine, how to predict what their compounds would be like, etc. Sacks (the author) had studied the various elements enough to have a sense that there were some regularities involved (e.g. elements that were 8 numbers apart tended to have similar properties). So, when the periodic table was finally published in today's form, he describes it as a pivotal moment in his life, as it finally made sense out of so much that he had observed on his own.
So, this is the story of two journeys, both the author's and the science world in general. I enjoyed how Sacks intertwines the narratives so that the reader gets to experience the sense of achievement felt by both him individually and (presumably) those making the actual breakthroughs. And, the many anecdotes about growing up in this era add some human interest as well.
Final note - you'll understand and enjoy the book a lot more if you brush up on your high school chemistry first, reviewing such topics as atomic weight, atomic structure, oxidation/reduction, ionic bonding, classes of elements, etc. You know, just the basics.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Odd Hours - Dean Koontz
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Comments: I've never been much of a Dean Koontz fan, but this series is a clever departure from his usual action thrillers. The books all feature a young man named Odd Thomas, who sees dead people. Actually, he only sees those who have unresolved issues making them reluctant to "go over" to the other side. In the first of these books, he helped Elvis Presley; in this one, it's Frank Sinatra.
But those interactions are actually just side plots. The main story always involves some larger mystery or crime to be solved, into which he is pulled via his other 'gifts' -- urges, premonitions, visions, etc. They're never very specific, and he's learned to just go with the flow and let things develop at their own pace. That makes for a very laid-back, thoughtful hero, in contrast with the traditional goal-driven gunslinger.
A great scene in this book is where Odd is being held prisoner and roughly interrogated by the bad guys, while the ghost of Frank Sinatra watches (seen only by him). On an impulse, he begins viciously insulting Sinatra's life, work and reputation, driving the ghost into a rage. As the bad guys watch in horror, things in the room suddenly start flying about, poltergeist-style, causing them to hide under the table and giving Odd the chance to flee.
There are three more books in this series, and I'm looking forward to reading them on future trips.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
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Comments: This blog entry is for the entire Hitchhiker's Guide trilogy, a set of five books (yes, a five-book trilogy) that I read about once a year. Really, I enjoy them that much - something about Adams' creativity, dry British humor, and skill with words just resonates with me. (As it does with many engineering-types - in my office, I can call out just about any line into thin air, and someone in a nearby cubicle will immediately respond with the appropriate punch line).
I won't go into the actual plot here, for that you'll just need to read the books. Instead, I'm just going to catalog a few of my favorite quotes, in hopes of giving you a taste of Adams' style:
- Arthur Dent ("This must be a Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays") earth man who discovers that his best friend is actually from a small planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse. This pays off when his friend uses his interplanetary hitchhiking skills to get them a lift away from earth shortly before it is demolished by an alien road construction crew.
- Ford Prefect is Arthur's best friend from Betelgeuse, and a roving reporter for the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. After fifteen years of research on the planet Earth, he updates its entry in the guide from "Harmless" to "Mostly harmless", explaining that there are a lot of planets to cover and only so much room. (Trivia: fifteen years ago there was actually a British car called a Ford Prefect).
- Marvin ("Life. Don't talk to me about life.") super-intelligent robot, tragically equipped with a prototype human personality that keeps him perpetually depressed. Holds all humans in utter contempt, and whenever he interfaces with another computer it invariably ends up a suicidal wreck.
- Deep Thought is not actually a major character, but is the source of the famous quote ("Forty Two") upon which the entire series is based. It is a massively advanced computer, designed by a super-intelligent race for the specific purpose of finding "the Ultimate Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything". After 7.5 million years of computation, it comes up with the above answer, explaining somewhat sheepishly that, yes, this is definitely the answer - the tricky part is figuring out what the actual question is. Asked to solve this, Deep Thought designs an even more advanced computer, one "so advanced that organic life forms part of its computational matrix". This huge, round, blue-green computer is built and put into operation, but minutes before it is ready to reveal its results, the road construction crew arrives...
So, if you're ever in a group of people trying to answer some tricky question, and some wit suggests that the answer is "forty two", now you can chuckle knowingly. You and the rest of the engineers.
Sprinklers and Drip Systems - Lisa Kessler (Sunset)
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Comments: This is one of those 100-page how-to paperbacks that you pick up at the hardware store checkout stand. When I put it on my Christmas list last year, I was thinking about putting in a system to water our chronically-dry front garden, which sits under our eaves. Little did I know that we'd end up remodeling our whole backyard this spring, and that my first efforts at drip irrigation would actually be for the new garden beds, not the poor front garden (which is still dry).
Anyway, thanks to this book (plus a lot of advice from Kari), the system is in and working fine. You just program the timers and walk away, and everything gets its water ration right on schedule. Is this a great country or what?
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Let Justice Roll Down - John Perkins
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Comments: This is the book that SPU students and faculty (and friends) were given to read this year, as part of their annual let's-read-it-together program. The setting is the American civil rights movement of the 1960's, and it's in autobiographical form, starting with Perkins' descriptions of his growing-up years in Mississippi. This part is pretty graphic - the abject poverty, the brutal racism, the lack of hope or opportunity, and the constant reminders that you're something less than human. As a friend of mine used to say, it's enough to turn you into a liberal.
As the story goes on, Perkins manages to escape his boyhood environment, and ends up on the West Coast, where he begins to make a life for himself. However, during that time he experiences a growing conviction that this is not where he's supposed to be. Ultimately, he packs up and moves with his family back to Mississippi, where he founds Voice of Calvary ministries to begin fighting the root causes trapping African Americans at the bottom of the social heap: poverty, poor healthcare, lack of education, poor access to jobs, etc.
Perkins was not about politics -- he wasn't a lobbyist, didn't run for office and wasn't looking to the government for solutions. Rather, his organization worked directly with people - providing education, healthcare, job training, leadership development and support for basic needs - the kinds of things that ultimately help people help themselves.Helping people take responsibility for themselves - he must have been the darling of conservatives, right? Sadly, not at all. A recurring theme in the book is Perkins' puzzlement and hurt over how little support there was from the conservatives during those years - notably the churches. Frankly, I remember that well - not outright racism, just a feeling that things couldn't possibly be as bad as we were reading in the papers. After all, we had the right laws in place to ensure equality, governments who were dedicated to enforcing them fairly, and police who were always on the side of goodness and justice. Didn't we? So why were these guys being such rabble rousers? If they didn't like living in Mississippi, why didn't they just move? After all, this is the land of opportunity. And so on and on.
It would be another 10 years until the American evangelical church would get comfortable speaking out on social issues, and even then it would be limited to issues that could be boiled down to simple black and white. Abortion: bad. Prayer in schools: good. Those we could thump our chests about all day long, and it made us feel like real Christians. But we struggled (and still do) with complex issues such as affirmative action,, busing and equality of opportunity. These were (and are) hard issues without easy answers, and I think we just tended to stay on the sidelines.
Anyway, this is an very good book about an important player in one of the more important eras of our recent history. If you grew up in the 60's, the setting will be very familiar, and will perhaps have you thinking about how far we've come since then, and whether it's far enough yet.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
S-Day - James Thayer
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Comments: This is a different story than the one you learned in school. That much becomes evident quickly, as the plot unfolds in late 1942. The Luftwaffe owns the skies over Britain, having destroyed most of the RAF. The German navy dominates the Atlantic Ocean, sinking the Queen Mary with 10,000 American reinforcements on board. And all of England waits as the German army masses along the French and Belgian coasts for the inevitable invasion. Not so good.
The story follows the general in charge of the American forces in England during the time leading up to the German invasion, and the days immediately following it. The narrative is provided by the general's aide, who is supposedly documenting the story for posterity, drawing from his own notes and his interviews with survivors from both sides. Ultimately, it's a character study of the general, and that's what makes it interesting.
The general's job is more than just to motivate and direct his troops. He also needs to figure out and respond to the German invasion plan, which is artfully hidden behind layers of ruse and deception. And, he must work in constant cooperation with the British military, some of whom still seem cranky about the American revolution.
The only other thing I'll say is that the invasion eventually does come, and the Germans take the beaches quickly and begin advancing towards London. But you're also aware that something's going to change, otherwise the narrator wouldn't be writing as a free man, and from a British/American point of view. Also, why does he keep referring to the general in past tense?
I'm not usually big on war stories, but Thayer is my favorite fiction author, and this well-crafted yarn is a good example of the reason why.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Jayber Crow - Wendell Berry
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Comments: The setting is the small fictional town of Port William, on an unnamed river somewhere in Kentucky. The story begins with the birth of Jonah Crow, soon orphaned, who is raised by an aunt and uncle at their farm along the river. Small town life works its way into his soul, you could say, because after years at boarding school and living in the big city, he is eventually drawn back to the only place that has ever felt like home to him. Upon his return, he finds that many of the names and faces have changed, and in just those few years the town has become a little more modern, while a few of the farms have become vacant.
And so the story goes. It's low key all the way, as Crow becomes established in town, to the point where he earns his own nickname (Jayber is the combination of his first initial and his occupation as the town barber, and Cray turns into Crow because... well, just because). There are dozens of interesting characters, plus many episodes and subplots, but the main plot is about change - Jayber's change from an adolescent to a young adult to middle age and eventually old age, and the town's change from a vibrant farming village to a nothing little town that time forgot and the interstate bypassed.
If you've read Wendell Berry before, you know the plot well. The American shift from a rural, agricultural economy to an urban, industrial economy during the 20th century is the theme that he's spent much of his life writing about. He decries how we've traded something that was fundamentally good for a lifestyle and societal structure that's ultimately doing us great harm (OK, my gross oversimplification). His fictional writings make it all very real - you feel the tide of change, the emotions, the sense of loss.
I agree with a lot of his message, but perhaps not all - my copy of his earlier non-fiction book Life Is a Miracle: An Essay Against Modern Superstition is full of notes I've added to the margins, arguing points that I wasn't quite ready to take at face value. But even so, his is an important voice that will give you a perspective on 20th century progress that may be new to you. It's well worth reading and pondering.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Amos - Francine Rivers
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Comments: Ever wonder what life might have been like for an Old Testament prophet? How would it feel to have God speak literally and directly to you? What would you think if He gave you a message of judgment to deliver, and you knew it would make you the target of hatred and abuse?
In this book, the author starts with the basic outline of the O.T. book of Amos, adds a historical setting, invents a few additional characters and dialog, and ends up with a pretty creative and readable story. Amos comes across as a rather ordinary shepherd, whom God just happens to select to carry His message. The implication is that he had no special prophetic qualifications (i.e. he wasn't an Elijah or Isaiah), but was simply available. Rivers does, however, describe his shepherding skills in great detail, and that's helpful for understanding the portions of the message that are expressed via shepherding concepts and jargon.
Ultimately, Amos delivers his prophecies of judgment and ruin, with predictable results - he's kicked out of town, alienated from friends and family, and becomes a generally unwelcome person in both Israel and Judah. LIke the O.T. book, this is not a story where the good guys win in the end. You gotta read Isaiah for that part.
An interesting book overall. One thing I did find distracting was the author's tendency to use Bible-sounding phrases when plain English would have done just fine. You know, saying things like "then the scales fell from his eyes...", rather than "then he realized..." Guess I just associate this with people trying too hard to sound spiritual - you know the types.
Rivers has written five short novels around Biblical characters. If you enjoy this one, you might enjoy the others as well.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Deadfall - Generations of Logging in the Pacific NW - James Lemonds
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Comments: Logging and the Pacific Northwest have always gone together - it's part of our history, it employs our friends and neighbors. You can't drive more than half an hour without passing either a sawmill or a log truck. However, if you've lived here for more than 10 years, you also know that the industry has shrunken dramatically as an element of our culture and economy. (It used to be only five minutes between log trucks).
That makes the story worth digging into. There are plenty of books and articles around that tell it from the forest's point of view, so to speak, and I've read my share. But this book is different - it's the story of four generations of loggers, relating their experiences and struggles in very human terms, often via first-person quotes.
It begins at the turn of the last century, painting vivid pictures of the difficulties and dangers of 'brute force' logging (my term) - old growth tree harvesting based on raw human and animal strength, augmented with ropes, pulleys and maybe a steam donkey here and there. It follows this thread through a century of improvements in working conditions, power machinery and forest management practices.
But there were other forces at work - competitive pressures to cut costs, insatiable foreign markets for limited old-growth timber, and constant intervention by the federal government, usually well-intentioned but often accomplishing little, at tremendous human cost. And don't forget our little volcanic episode in 1980, which created an urgent need to harvest almost a billion board feet of blown-down timber, causing a huge but very short-lived industry boom.
Against all of these forces, the loggers just try to stay afloat. They move constantly between jobs at major timber companies (OK, the major timber company), or independent logging contractors, or self-employment. Automation reduces the number of jobs available, competition reduces wages and decades of logging reduce the harvest size. By the end of the book, most of the characters are earning less money than 10-20 years ago, and have no idea where they'll be working this time next year. Retirement is a distant dream, and they're pleading with their children to look for other careers.
Along with this poignant history, the book presents a lot of gritty, earthy, interesting detail about life in the woods. The jargon is all there (with a glossary), the logging techniques, the descriptions of camp life, and insights into the kinds of people willing to put up with all the danger and grief.
My thinking is that this is the ideal book to read if you're frustrated about your job and your chances for career advancement. After reading about these folks, you'll thank your lucky stars that you weren't raised in a logging family and logging town, and weren't weaned on expectations that a job in the woods was all you needed for a comfortable, secure life.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Population: 485 - Michael Perry
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Comments: Don't you love it when you come across a book completely by accident, and end up really enjoying it? That was the case here, as I saw the book sitting on a friend's countertop, was intrigued enough by the subtitle ("Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time") to leaf through it, and then browse a chapter, and finally sit down on the patio (under the lemon tree) and start reading.
The subtitle sums it up well. Perry has returned to the town of his youth, and decides to join the volunteer fire department as his way of engaging with the local citizenry. He ends up serving alongside his mother and two brothers, plus a host of interesting characters.
On one level, it's a collection of stories and anecdotes. Perry is a keen observer of human nature, and has a clever sense of humor. He writes about Fire Awareness presentations at the local grade school, and says:
Before you go in too deeply for the idea that the world would be a better place if we were all more childlike, try sticking three kids in one room with two toys. You'll witness conflict-resolution techniques combining the very worst of the Marquis de Sade and the World Wrestling Federation. The world is like it is because, on the whole, we tend to act like children.
Interspersed with the anecdotes are his reflections about who he is, where he lives and what he does. He talks about the mystique that develops around emergency workers, and about hero worship. He observes that the act of entering a smoke-filled building isn't enough by itself to make you a hero - it only counts if there happens to be a person inside, something over which you actually have no control, or possibly even foreknowledge. It's all pretty arbitrary.
His observations about community strike home as a personal tragedy affects his life, and he's forced to depend on the care of others. As he later notes, the privilege of community is that, in such times, he can entrust the situation to long-time friends, and not to strangers. That sums it up nicely.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
What to Listen for in Music - Aaron Copland
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Comments: I have always wanted to take a music appreciation course, having missed it during my school years (it's not part of most engineering curricula). While looking for a self-study book I found this one, which is apparently a classic in the field. It made sense to me that you'd want to learn music appreciation directly from a composer, i.e. to hear him talk about how he goes about creating art from the various elements available to him. So, I put it on my Amazon wish list for Christmas, and there it was.
The book was enjoyable reading, although the jargon got a little technical at times - it's definitely not a beginner's book. But the bigger issue was that you really can't do music appreciation without actually hearing examples of the concepts being explained (doh!). The book has plenty of examples, but they're simply given as musical scores, as if expecting the readers to stop and plunk them out on their pianos. Right.
So, at this point, I'd have to say that I'm no more music-appreciative than I was in the beginning. That means I'm still looking for a book, but this time I'm looking for one that includes an audio CD. Any recomendations?
It Must've Been Something I Ate - Jeffrey Steingarten
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Comments: What to say - this is totally enjoyable reading for anyone interested in food. Just a cookbook, you say? Not at all. Think of it as more like a diary, where Steingarten records his diverse adventures in foodology. He tracks down myths and rumors, experiments with cooking techniques, tries to reproduce dishes he's eaten, and gives the occasional lesson in science, sociology, politics or psychology - all as related to food topics. All are delivered with the dry sense of humor and semi-cynical attitude that Iron Chef viewers have come to expect and appreciate.
- his first Turducken meal, followed by a description of his attempts to assemble his own.
- his search for a practical way to duplicate pizzeria baking techniques at home.
- the day he spent helping his French friends slaughter a hog and make blood sausage.
- his research into MSG - where it comes from, how it affects taste, plus some history behind the long- disproven "MSG headache" myth. (This informative chapter is entitled "How come everyone in China doesn't have a headache?")
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The Last Juror - John Grisham
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Comments: This truly is a classic Grisham read, with all the usual elements. The setting is the deep South, the plot revolves around legal issues, and the characters are quirky and interesting. But probably half of his novels could be described that way, huh?
I enjoyed it, but wouldn't call it my favorite (that's still The Testament). In fact, it took me an entire chapter to realize I had already read it a few years ago. That's no ringing endorsement, is it?
So, I'll leave it at that - but invite you to weigh in on your favorite Grisham novel, and why... leave a comment and cast your vote.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible - A.J. Jacobs
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Comments: Any hopes that this might be an inspirational book disappear when you see the photos on the dust jacket, showing a guy standing in downtown Manhattan dressed like a shepherd in a Sunday School Christmas program, complete with flowing robe, long unkempt beard and shepherd's staff. And a sheep. So this is Biblical literalism, hmmm?
The author gives two reasons for the book: on the one hand, he describes himself as genuinely seeking to add a spiritual dimension to his life. Although of Jewish descent, he hasn't practiced his faith for many years, and as a new father he seems to sense something missing, a foundation that he believes would benefit both himself and his family.
Of course, a squishy topic like that isn't going to sell many books, so he acknowledges another agenda as well, specifically: ...the purpose of this experiment was to take legalism to its logical extreme and show that it leads to religious idiocy. What better way to demonstrate the absurdity of Jewish and Christian fundamentalism?Having thus taken the liberty to draw his conclusions up front, Jacobs launches into his sociological experiment. Naturally, when faced with a choice of interpretations, he tends to favor whichever one leads to more bizarre or outlandish behaviors. To give at least some impression of fairness, Jacobs enlists a panel of rabbis, pastors and other advisers to consult with him on various spiritual issues. He also travels quite a bit, interviewing representatives of sects ranging from Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn to snake-handlers in Tennessee.
In the end, though, it all boils down to the list of 700+ 'commands' that Jacobs has distilled from the Bible, each of which he tries to obey at least once over the course of the year. Therein lies the entertainment, but also the fundamental fallacy. The Bible isn't just a big book of rules to be followed; in truth, it's a love story.I did enjoy the book though, and for several reasons. First, it was fun - Jacobs is an entertaining writer. Secondly, as a literalist, I found it good mental exercise to track his logic and identify the holes and inconsistencies. You don't need to be a scholar to find them. And, lastly, it was interesting to see the progress that the author makes on his goal of injecting some spirituality (or at least morality) into his New Yorker lifestyle. I sensed some surprise on his part as to just how much personal impact this project had. But the Bible will do that to you.
This would make a great read for a church-oriented book club (such as the one I'm hoping to start this year). If I were leading a group discussion, I'd ask the group to chew on the following questions:
- How is it that some people come to salvation simply by reading the Bible on their own, while others can immerse themselves in it for a solid year and yet miss the whole point?
- How do you deal with the fact that evangelicals are just one of dozens of irreconcilably different groups who all claim to be interpreting the Bible literally? What gives you confidence that your beliefs are well-founded?
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