Introduction
When I look back at February, I marvel at the wonderful selection of books I reviewed. From Amy Peeler’s outstanding commentary on Hebrews to Haruki Murakami’s latest novel. Wonderful essays on American beginnings by Jill Lepore to an exploration of why our culture is unfriendly to families and child-bearing. I finished the Margery Allingham-written Albert Campion stories. Faithful Politics is an especially timely exploration of the ways Christians have engaged politics.
I finished the months with accounts of two “luminous” people, one an autobiography of Jacques Lusseyran and the other a biography of Congressman John Lewis. Along the way, you will find some marvelous theological writing on the virgin birth, the beatific vision, safety, and the use of ekphrastic or vivid writing in the New Testament. I include reviews on a book on Lenten practice, a compilation of writings on hope and trust, and a memoir of the “Log College” that trained many of the eighteenth century American revivalists. You’ll find all this and more in The Month in Reviews for February 2025.
The Reviews
To Gaze Upon God, Samuel G. Parkison. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514007662) 2024. An exploration of the importance of the beatific vision in scripture and church history and its contemporary significance. Review
Lieberman’s Choice (Abe Lieberman Number 2), Stuart M. Kaminsky. Open Road Media (ASIN: B00AYRI5HY) 2013 (first published 1993). A cop kills his wife and the cop who is sleeping with her, and threatens to blow up a city block unless one demand is met. Review
Family Unfriendly, Timothy P. Carney. Harper Collins (ISBN: 9780063236462) 2024. We have a culture that devalues children and makes raising them more difficult, contributing to declining birthrates. Review
Hebrews (Commentaries for Christian Formation), Amy Peeler. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802877383) 2024. A commentary for Christian formation focused on the greatness of Christ, Christian faithfulness, and Christian community. Review
The Challenge of Acts, N.T, Wright. Zondervan Academic (ISBN: 9780310167990) 2024. An overview of the book of Acts in four chapter sections, developing the major themes of the book. Review
Towards Zero, (Superintendent Battle Number 5), Agatha Christie. William Morrow (ISBN: 9780062073549) 2010 (first published in 1944). A house party at Lady Tressilian’s is decidedly awkward when her ward invites both his former and current wives. Review
Opening the Parables, M. D. Hayden. Wipf & Stock (ISBN: 9798385200306) 2024. A study of the parables asserting that the message of all the parables is that compassionate love is all that matters. Review
The City and Its Uncertain Walls, Haruki Murakami (Translated by Philip Gabriel). Alfred A. Knopf (ISBN: 9780593801970) 2024. A young couple falls in love until she disappears to a mysterious city of people without shadows. Review
Conceived by the Holy Spirit, Rhyne R. Putnam. B&H Academic (ISBN: 9781087766317) 2024. A study of the nativity narratives offering a defense of the virgin birth and considering its significance. Review
The Pursuit of Safety (Studies in Christian Doctrine and Scripture), Jeremy Lundgren. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514008010) 2024. A theology of safety as creational good, tempered by what living by faith means in a world never free of risk. Review
Hunger for Righteousness, Phoebe Faraq Mikhail. Paraclete Press (ISBN: 9781640609341) 2025. Drawing upon Coptic and other church tradition, explores how Lent may be personally and communally transforming. Review
The Story of America, Jill Lepore. Princeton University Press (ISBN: 9780691153995) 2012. Essays on American origins from Jamestown and the Constitution to the IOU and Webster’s dictionary. Review
The Log College, Archibald Alexander. Banner of Truth Trust. Biographical sketches of William Tennant and his students, with accounts of the revivals under their ministries. Review
Vivid Rhetoric and Visual Persuasion, Meghan Henning and Nils Neumann, editors. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802883575) 2024. Fourteen scholars on vivid, ekphrastic language in early Christian literature, used to engage and persuade. Review
Anchor of My Soul, compiled by the editors at Paraclete Press. Paraclete Press (ISBN: 9781640609815) 2025. A compilation of readings, quotes, poetry and works of art on the theme of trust and hope. Review
Cargo of Eagles (Albert Campion, 19), Margery Allingham. Open Road Media (ISBN: 9781504087292), 2023 (first published in 1968). Poison pen letters, a released smuggler, a murder, a motorcycle gang and a treasure in Allingham’s last Campion. Review
Faithful Politics, Miranda Zapor Cruz. IVP Academic/Missio Alliance (ISBN: 9781514007495) 2024. Ten ways of approaching the relationship between pursuing God’s kingdom and engaging in politics. Review
And There Was Light: Autobiography of Jacques Lusseyran, Jacques Lusseyran, translated by Elizabeth R. Cameron. New World Library (ISBN: 9781608682690) 2014 (first published in 1963). A memoir of a blind hero of the French resistance and Buchenwald survivor. Review
John Lewis: A Life, David Greenberg. Simon & Schuster (ISBN: 9781982142995) 2024. A biography tracing the work of John Lewis from non-violent civil rights activism to Congress. Review
Best Book of the Month
As I said. so many good ones to choose from. But I have to give the nod to David Greenberg’s John Lewis: A Life. Specifically, Greenberg captures Lewis’s commitment to loving enemies through non-violent protest, his integrity, and resilient determination.
Quote of the Month
To Gaze Upon God by Samuel G. Parkison is a wonderful study of the beatific vision, the experience of gazing upon Christ or God in our glorified state. For instance, I appreciated the combination of precise theological writing and the glimpse of the vision of which he writes in this passage:
“Therefore, it seems best to conceptualize the beatific vision as a vision of the divine essence in the person and work of Christ, the incarnate Son, by the illuminating and gracious operating principle of the Spirit as the eternal divine subsistence of the Father and Son’s love. The beatific vision, in other words, is made possible by the inseparable operations of the Trinity, and is therefore a truly trinitarian vision. We shall behold the glory of God in his essence, and we shall behold this glory in the face of Jesus Christ by the unveiling and illumining ministry of the Holy Spirit” (p. 156)
What I’m Reading
As you know, I’ve been reading more poetry. In particular, The Collected Poems of Emily is an introduction to much of her work. Then at the other end of the spectrum, Carola Binder’s Shock Policy is a history of American monetary policy, focusing on avoiding either extremes of inflation or deflation. However, disruptions are unavoidable and Leading Through Times of Disruption is a collection of papers about leading in Christian mission through times of change. In contrast with the practical nature of these papers, Triune Relationality explore the history of the conversation between Christians and Muslims regarding the Trinity and explores the idea of the relations within the Trinity as a distinctive “perfection” of God unaccounted for in Islam. Finally, on the lighter side, listening to my daughter-in-law talk about Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club books has encouraged me to pick up the first in the series by the same name and I’m loving it!
In conclusion, this is the eleventh anniversary of my Month in Reviews feature, all of which may be accessed via The Month in Reviews, allowing you to see just about everything reviewed on this blog. Of course, the search box works well if you want to find a review of a particular book!