A Bounty of Books

Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence by Karen Armstrong is a scholarly look at the correlation, or lack thereof, of religion and violence from the formation of the first primitive communities through today. Armstrong examines all religions, with a particular focus on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

The first part of the book focuses on the formation of organized communities as well as the corresponding religion in various regions of the Eurasian continent. In every community, violence is first seen not when religion comes on the scene, but when people are organized into communities and resources become scarce, or a ruling group raises to the top and wants to keep their power. It was the forming of agricultural communities that allowed for a surplus of food, which allowed a small group from the community to control the surplus and in effect rule everyone else. It was only through violence that a surplus was maintained. Armstrong seems to find no direct correlation between religion and violence. Instead, in each community, both existed and fused and some later point.

Another key point is that religion as we see it now is not how it was viewed through most of history. There was no distinction between the sacred and the secular. All aspects of life were intertwined and therefore, while it may seem to us that there was a causal relationship between religion and violence, the ancient peoples who lived the events would never have seen things that way. The sacred was secular, and the secular sacred; to split the two and say strictly religious motivations, or strictly the competition for resources is what drove violence, would be as foreign a concept to them as the smart phone.

Fields of Blood is a thoroughly researched and well written examination of the topic of religion and violence. It is a scholarly work, and therefore may be a tad difficult to understand for the average man on the street. However, anyone willing to wade through it will undoubtedly learn something. Also, each religion is treated the same, without any of the reverence or acceptance of beliefs as truth that someone who practices that religion may have. This can be somewhat disconcerting for the devout reader. At the same time, being willing to think critically about one's own religion as well as others is a skill that can be useful in discourse and understanding. Armstrong shows no bias for or against any particular religion, so anyone willing to think outside his/her own box will benefit from her examination.

Blogging for Books provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review. 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

The Berenstain Bears God Shows the Way by Stan and Jan Berenstain with Mike Berenstain has three separate stories involving the Berenstain Bear family and their faith. The three stories included are: Faith Gets Us Through, Do Not Fear, God is Near, and Piggy Bank Blessings. The first two deal with fear and the last one deals with saving money.

Those familiar with the original Berenstain Bears books will find familiar characters on the pages of these three stories. They story lines are similar to those one would find in the original series, though these three stories include elements of Christian faith and Bible verses. All three stories are written on level 1 of the I Can Read! system, which means they are written with "simple sentences for eager new readers."

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the Berenstain Bears characters, or anyone interested in Christian faith based children's stories.

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

Killing Lions: A Guide Theough the Trials Young Men Face by John and Sam Eldredge is the book form of a conversation this father and son pair had with one another over the span of several months. This time period included Sam's transition from the life of a college student to that of a newlywed. These were real questions Sam had and the answers his dad gave him.

A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre is a fascinating read about the duplicity of the most successful double agent of WWII and the Cold War. This non-fiction account written in narrative style takes the reader on a journey through Philby's life as a career MI6 agent who sent every secret that came his way to Russian intelligence.

Philby lived an incredible life full of colorful characters. Macintrye chooses to frame his telling of this life with a friendship - that of Kim Philby and fellow MI6 agent Nicholas Elliott. Throughout their entire career, Elliott was Philby's most faithful supporter and friend, even during the later years that were full of suspicion and accusations. A Spy Among Friends, a title with a clever hidden meaning, traces Philby's development from a communist sympathizer in college to a full blown double agent whose deception led to hundreds of deaths and unsuccessful missions to thwart communism. For the first twenty or so years of his career, not one person suspected his deception as he moved up the ranks of MI6.

I have never heard of Ben Macintyre before, but after reading this, I am a huge fan. This wasn't just a good book; it was a great read. It was factual and informative, but read like a best-selling novel. Macintyre's choice to frame the story of Philby's life in his friendship with Nicholas Elliott makes the reader feel the impact of Philby's betrayal on a more visceral level. Though I knew the outcome from the start, I found myself amazed at the culture of MI6 that allowed Philby access to so many more secrets than he would have had from just his own work. This same culture averted suspicion from Philby and allowed him to escape several close calls.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in WWII or Cold War history, as well as anyone interested in spycraft or its history. I plan on finding Ben Macintyre's other books and throroughly enjoying them while also learning as much as I did while reading A Spy Among Friends.

Blogging for Books provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review. 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

Dancing on the Head of Pen: The Practice of a Writing Life by Robert Benson is a short collection of stories, wisdom, and advice about the art of writing. Benson has written close to twenty books in varying genres and about different subjects. In this book, he passes along some of what he's learned in his forty years living the life of  a writer.

From the beginning, Benson makes it clear that there are no right or wrong ways to approach being a writer. Every piece of advice he offers is just that - advice. He shares what works for him, and some general guidelines about finding what works best for each individual as a writer. He goes through the entire process of writing a book, from the initial capturing of an idea through all of the editing and trying to get it published. He offers just enough advice about each phase to get the reader started. He offers guidance while affirming that there is no right or wrong to get started; the point is to get started. 

As one who has always enjoyed writing, and often toyed around with the thought that there was a story inside of me worth sharing, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Dancing on the Head of Pen. It was witty, practical, and full of helpful information. It is broken down into easy to digest sections that can be referred back to if one is seeking guidance in a particular area. I'd recommend this book to anyone who has ever entertained the thought of being a writer of any kind. Whether that leads to a book, a blog, a journal, or even nothing tangible that no one else ever sees, this book is good for a writer's soul.

Blogging for Books provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review. 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

Ex-Muslim: How One Daring Prayer to Jesus Changed A Life Forever by Naeem Fazal is the personal story of how a young Pakistani Muslim raised in Kuwait moved to America and became a Christian. Naeem Fazal followed his older brother America to attend college. At first extremely resistant to his brother's new found faith, three weeks into his stay he had what most Western Christians would consider a radical encounter with Christ that forever changed him.

It's always interesting to learn about other people's experiences, especially people from other cultures. Fazal's perspective on things that I don't even think about because they are so common to me are refreshing. It's not for me to comment on another person's story, but as far as the story in book form goes, it seems as though the content was stretched a bit; there is a lot of repetition. Also, the narrative is non-linear, which is sometimes confusing.

Overall, this was a good read, but not a great one. It will be of interest to anyone interested in personal conversion stories and or Muslim culture.

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