A Bounty of Books

Beauty Begins: Making Peace with Your Reflection by Chris Shook and Megan Shook Alpha is a passionate plea to all women to see their beauty in the right place - in Christ.

Written by a mother and daughter, Beauty Begins points women to God - the author of beauty itself. It isn't culture, other people, or even ourselves that we should be looking too for affirmation and the definition of beauty. Instead, God is the mirror women should look into.

There is nothing earth shatteringly new or profound in Beauty Begins. However, simple truths are often the ones that need repeated the most often. That's what Beauty Begins does.

I'd recommend Beauty Begins to all women of any age. It is an easy and simple read that points out the truths of scripture that every woman needs to be reminded of daily.

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 Witnesses by Robert Whitlow is another great addition to his body of work. Mixing the present and the past, The Witnesses tells the story of a family legacy and how to use the gifts God has given us.

The central characters of The Witnesses are a young lawyer and his grandfather, who served in the German army during WWII. Both have a gift of seeing into the future. While the grandfather is haunted by how he has used his gift, the young lawyer struggles with how to use his gift in his career.

The Witnesses isn't quite as legal thriller as some of Whitlow's earlier novels. While the law is involved, the focus is more on the gift of seeing into the future and how to responsibly use that gift. Still, it's an engaging read with relatable characters. The blend between the present and the past is well done and not at all confusing. The imagery and secondary theme of second chances were refreshing and encouraging.

Those who have enjoyed Whitlow's other novels will enjoy The Witnesses, while those who are only interested in straight legal thrillers may not.

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

A Doubter's Guide to the Ten Commandments: How, for Better or Worse, Our Ideas about the Good Life Come from Moses and Jesus by John Dickson is an academic look at how the ten commandments have shaped Western society. 

Legend: The Incredible Story of Green Beret Sergeant Roy Benavidez's Heroic Mission to Rescue a Special Forces Team Caught Behind Enemy Lines recounts the story of Sergeant Roy Benavidez's life, focusing on one extraordinary mission during the Vietnam war. 

Jefferson's America: The President, the Purchase, and the Explorers who Transformed a Nation by Julie M. Fenster tells the story of the six men who first explored the new American territory west of the Mississippi River. When Thomas Jefferson first acquired the Louisiana Purchase, not everyone was impressed. Many thought it was more trouble than it was worth. There was some basis for this opinion, as there were no clearly marked borders between where American territory ended and Spanish territory began. This caused tensions between the two countries that almost led to war.

Jefferson chose to combat both the apathy of his own people regarding the land, and the tension with Spain in a somewhat unconventional way. Instead of a huge show of military strength, Jefferson sent explorers on four major expeditions. He hoped the explorers would bring back reports of the richness of the new land. He also wanted them to bring back examples of new plant and animal specimens so people could see the benefit of the new land for themselves. Jefferson hoped that once he had something to report, congress would give him more money for further exploration, and more people would be on board with his purchase.

The explorers were also told to establish contact with any native groups they came across. This was intended to establish both an American presence, and hopefully, dominance in their new land. Lewis and Clark are the men most remembered for their heroic journey to the Pacific and back. While they deserve credit for what they accomplished, there were other men who did just as much on their journeys. Zebulon Pike, Thomas Freeman, Peter Custis, William Dunbar, and Dr. George Hunter took just as many risks and did just as much for establishing American territorial borders and engaging the interest of the American people in their new land.

Jefferson's America offers a comprehensive and easily understandable look at the above men and their journeys. Each man (including Jefferson) gets the same level of treatment, as does each expedition. The importance of each is highlighted, as is the strength and weakness of each man. The motivations of the explorers is also discussed. Fenster gives a great overall look at the political, social, and economic, and international factors in play in the Louisiana territory during the early 1800s. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in Thomas Jefferson, early American history, or exploration and the people who lead it.

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

Unashamed: Drop the Baggage, Pick up Your Freedom, Fulfill Your Destiny by Christine Caine is a clarion call to women to live completely in the freedom that Christ has given them. Using her own story of living in and being set free from shame, Caine explains both how to break free from shame and why it is so important.

While the principles in this book are helpful to men as well, Unashamed is written specifically for women and addresses the unique shames that are inherent to women. Women have often been viewed as "less than" in many arenas. Caine herself faced these pressures as a young girl growing up who would rather excel at school and lead than learn to cook and clean house.

Caine shares her struggles and strategies in her lifelong struggle with shame. She consistently goes back to the freedom of Christ. Caine makes it clear that conquering shame is a process that has many levels and never ends. The freedom we are ready for now, is not as great as the freedom we'll be ready for a year from now. Because Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy, he's constantly trying to steal our freedom and reassert shame's presence in our lives. That is why we must constantly set our minds on Christ and His word.

I recommend Unashamed for any woman, whether or not she thinks she struggles with shame. All of us deal with shame to some degree, and we often don't recognize it for what it is. Caine's honesty helps the reader feel less alone in her struggle. Her strategies are practical and easy to put to use. This will make a great gift for many!

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

Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink covers the five days (and the ensuing fallout) that elapsed between Hurricane Katrina's landfall and when the last living person was evacuated from Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans in 2005. Sheri Fink is a journalist who also holds an M.D. which gives her the background to intelligently cover complicated medical matters. She does this phenomenally in Five Days at Memorial.

The first part of the book briefly mentions Memorial Medical Center's history, short biographies of the main players, and the preparations for and actual landfall of Hurricane Katrina. The rest of the section recounts what happened day by day as the staff struggled both to take care of patients in continuously deteriorating conditions as well as get everyone to safety. Using interviews, transcripts of official documents, and many other first person sources, Fink tells the story through a variety of people's perspectives. Both events and mindsets are discussed. Though one can never truly know what it was like to be there without having lived through it, Fink successfully conveys the sense of desperation that enveloped not just the hospital, but the city of New Orleans during this time.

The rest of the book details the investigation that took place into the deaths of about twenty of the forty-five patients that died during the covered five days. Fink details not just the events, but again the mindset and motivations of the major players, including the investigators, coroner, lawyers, and those three professionals who were eventually arrested. Fink does a masterful job of helping the reader understand the struggle each of these people went through regarding their role in this process. For many of them, it was life consuming.

Five Days at Memorial doesn't offer any tidy conclusions or opinions. Fink presents the available information, providing appropriate context, and lets the reader decide. I changed my mind at least half a dozen times as various perspectives and facts were presented. Five Days at Memorial does exactly what a great non-fiction book should do: it allows the reader to be in the situation as much as possible, and then lets him draw his own conclusions. I would thoroughly recommend Five Days at Memorial to anyone interested in medical ethics, disasters, Hurricane Katrina, or just a well written current event story.

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