Showing posts with label biography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label biography. Show all posts
Friday, October 16, 2015
The Colson Way: Loving Your Neighbor and Living with Faith in a Hostile World by Owen Strachan is an examination of Chuck Colson's life focusing on his time as a Christian engaging politics in the public square. While Strachan briefly touches on Colson's early life, Watergate experience, and time in prison, the main focus is on his life after prison.
Strachan has two stated goals with this book. They are to tell "the overall story of Colson's life with special reference to the motivation and accomplishment of his public-square work," and to form "this historical material into a compelling model for Christian public witness and cultural engagement" (xxvi). Throughout the book, Strachan meets both stated goals. He is both passionate and compelling as he makes the argument for today's believers to engage the public square as consistently and ferociously as Colson did. Not all readers may agree with Strachan's stands, but it is hard to argue with his passion about engaging, however one choses to do so.
This is not a book for someone looking for a definitive work on Colson's life or his role in Watergate. The Colson Way is a call to America's Christians to stop hiding and begin engaging the public square. This is a helpful work for anyone interested in that whether they are not yet engaged, or have been doing so for a long time. It's encouraging to read about those who have gone before. Colson is a good example for today's believers. Hopefully, The Colson Way will make more people aware of him, and the legacy he left behind.
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookLook book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255
Strachan has two stated goals with this book. They are to tell "the overall story of Colson's life with special reference to the motivation and accomplishment of his public-square work," and to form "this historical material into a compelling model for Christian public witness and cultural engagement" (xxvi). Throughout the book, Strachan meets both stated goals. He is both passionate and compelling as he makes the argument for today's believers to engage the public square as consistently and ferociously as Colson did. Not all readers may agree with Strachan's stands, but it is hard to argue with his passion about engaging, however one choses to do so.
This is not a book for someone looking for a definitive work on Colson's life or his role in Watergate. The Colson Way is a call to America's Christians to stop hiding and begin engaging the public square. This is a helpful work for anyone interested in that whether they are not yet engaged, or have been doing so for a long time. It's encouraging to read about those who have gone before. Colson is a good example for today's believers. Hopefully, The Colson Way will make more people aware of him, and the legacy he left behind.
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookLook book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Eric Blehm had unparallelled access to Adam Brown's friends and family, as well as primary source documents such as military records, court documents, and letters. This is obvious in his recounting of Brown's life, as he is able to make the reader feel as though he/she knew Brown personally. Fearless seems almost like a novel because of the easy flow with which it reads. The raw honesty of Brown's failures and struggles make it easy to relate to Adam, as well as to root for him. Knowing that his life will be cut short in an act of sacrifice for those he served with made each triumph Brown experienced that much more poignant.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Fearless and getting to peek into Adam Brown's life. Blehm treats his life with respect and balance, something I think Brown would have appreciated. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in biographies, special forces, or the power of God's grace in the life of one who is willing to surrender to Him.
I received this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers as part of their Blogging for Books book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Rudy: My Story by
Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger chronicles the life story of a man many people are
familiar with – the title character from the 1993 hit film Rudy. Moving beyond the dramatized, Hollywood version of his story,
Rudy retells exactly what happened that brought him from a kid who “wasn’t
college material” to a student and football player at the prestigious Notre
Dame University. He then continues the story past where the movie ended and
details his journey in getting his story made into a movie that became a nation-wide
hit. The overall message of Rudy’s story
seems to be that persistence and dreaming big will allow one to go anywhere, or
do anything one can set one’s mind to.
Overall, Rudy reads
like one continuous motivational speech. The enthusiasm and passion that
carried Rudy through all the amazing events in his life oozes off of every
page. One can’t help but get excited and caught up in the drama of Rudy’s
story. While his perseverance and passion for what he believes he was called to
do is something to both be admired and emulated, it also leaves me with a
somewhat bitter taste in my mouth. I consider Rudy to have an exceptional
story; however, I’ve seen too many other examples of people who have both perseverance
and passion to spare, and still don’t end up living their wildest dreams. For a
book from Thomas Nelson, I would’ve expected a bit more mention of following
God’s will while pursuing one’s life dreams.
While Rudy mentions God a few times, the overall message seems more like
a pep talk than a recommendation to follow God’s plan for one’s life. God is
gracious and loving and often gives us the desires of our heart; however, this
only happens when we’re pursuing Him and His desires for us become our desires.
Despite the unexpected lack of mention of God, Rudy is still
a powerful story worth reading and sharing. Americans love an underdog, and
Rudy has one of the most compelling underdog stories of all time.
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Tyndale: The Man Who Gave God an English Voice by David Teems is a loose biography of William Tyndale. Tyndale was an Englisher Reformer who created and published the first English translation of the New Testament; he also did parts of the Old Testament. Though he lived during the time of the split between England and the Catholic church, his insistence on the importance of having scripture available in the common tongue, and his belief in faith being the only means of salvation, were his downfall. He was strangled then burned at the stake on October 6, 1536, after an imprisonment of about eighteen months.Teems' Tyndale is a poorly written, unorganized biography. In fact, its difficult for me to categorize it as a biography, as there is so much conjecture and superfluous material, that the amount of actual information about Tyndale could be printed on just a few pages. The main thrust seems to be trying make the reader understand how important Tyndale was to the creation of the modern English language, as well as a great reformer and man of faith. This is a worthy task, as Tyndale does not receive his due in this area. When it comes to this aspect of studying Tyndale's life, Teems is successful. The appendix with the list of words Tyndale is, or should be, credited with creating is a handy reference. Teems successfully makes the point that Shakespeare is given a lot of the credit that actually belongs to Tyndale.
When it comes to an actual coherent description of Tyndale's life however, Teems fails. He switches from examining Tyndale as an artist/writer, to looking at his theology, to discussing the lives and motives of various other people that may or may not be directly related to Tyndale's story; this makes it difficult to follow any of it. I understand that information about Tyndale is somewhat hard to find, and what is available is often buried in myth; however, stating what is known and putting forth what is commonly accepted, and participating in pure speculation and conjecture about Tyndale's thoughts, feelings, and circumstances are two entirely different things. It is the latter that Teems often engages in, to the point of frustration for one interested in the facts.
Overall, Tyndale was a difficult book to finish. It is bloated, boring, written in a circular fashion, and not at all what I was expecting, since it is presented as a biography. Someone who is studying the beginning of modern English, and the impact Tyndale had on it, may find some parts helpful. Other than that, I wouldn't recommend anyone suffer through Teems' version of Tyndale's life.
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255
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