Introduction
This edition of The Month in Reviews for April 2025 includes 21 reviews–about as many as I can cram into a month. There were some long books including the biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer and a book on the next Jesus Quest. There were some short books as well including a book on Easter, one on reading by C.S. Lewis and Robin Wall Kimmerer’s newest. All were candidates for my best of the month. Between the long and the short were my usual collection of mysteries, novels, and books on theology. Some standouts included Mark Noll’s classic Turning Points, a recent book on recovering from purity culture, and a history of the bookstore in America. All in all, it’s a long list, so let’s get to it!
The Reviews
Habits of Hope, Todd C. Ream, Jerry Pattengale, and Christopher J. Devers, editors, foreword by Amos Yong. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514010709) 2024. Essays by educators on six key practices and how they may cultivate hope among faculty and students. Review
Religious Freedom in a Secular Age, Michael F. Bird, afterword Bruce Riley Ashford. Zondervan Reflective (ISBN: 9780310538882) 2022. Distinguishes types of secularism, opposes dismantling religious freedom, and proposes a new apologetic. Review
The Serviceberry, Robin Wall Kimmerer, illustrations by John Burgoyne. Scribner (ISBN: 9781668072240) 2024. A day of picking serviceberries leads to an extended reflection on natural abundance, reciprocity, and gratitude. Review
Easter (Fullness of Time Series), Wesley Hill. IVP Formatio (ISBN: 9781514000366) 2025. Explores the history and significance of Easter, not only as a day but as a season of celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. Review
Finding God Along the Way, Christine Marie Eberle. Paraclete Press (ISBN: 9781640609891) 2025. An account of hiking with a group whose average age was 67 on the 300 mile Ignatian Camino. Review
Vermilion Drift (Cork O’Connor, 10) William Kent Krueger. Atria Books (ISBN: 9781439153871) 2011. The discovery of six bodies in an underground iron mine leads to facing uncomfortable truths about Cork’s father. Review
John of History, Baptist of Faith, James F. McGrath. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802883995) 2024. A historical-critical study of New Testament and Mandaean sources, developing a historical portrait of John. Review
Citizenship Without Illusions, David T. Koyzis. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514008621) 2024. How Christians may engage politically without giving idolatrous devotion to parties or ideologies. Review
How to Get Along with Anyone, John Eliot and Jim Guinn. Simon & Schuster (ISBN: 9781668033074) 2025. An approach to conflict resolution based on the five ways people respond to conflict. Review
Tending Tomorrow, Leah Reesor-Keller. Herald Press (ISBN: 9781513813356) 2024. Facing an uncertain ecological future by drawing on one’s faith and learning from creation, to re-vision how we may live. Review
Bring Back Your People, Aaron Scott. Broadleaf Books (ISBN: 9781506494555) 2025. A blunt discussion of how to reach out to those who have embraced Christian nationalism. Review
American Prometheus, Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. Vintage Books (ISBN: 9780375726262) 2006. A biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, focused on his leadership of the atomic bomb program and security clearance trial. Review
Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity. Mark A. Noll. Baker Academic (ISBN: 9781540964885) 2022 (the link and publication info is for the 4th edition of the book. My review and the cover image are of the 1997 first edition). Twelve decisive moments in Christian history along with twentieth century events that may be turning points. Review
Martyr!, Kaveh Akbar. Vintage Books (ISBN: 9780593685778) 2024. A young immigrant poet in recovery struggles to find meaning in a life after his mother’s plane was shot down and his father died. Review
Three Act Tragedy (Hercule Poirot, 11), Agatha Christie. William Morrow (9780063376045) 2006, (first published 1934). Two deaths after a drink, with most of the same guests present on both occasions, sets Poirot to investigating murder. Review
Recovering from Purity Culture, Camden Morgante. Baker Books (ISBN: 9781540904263) 2024. Exposes the myths and harms of purity culture and how to reclaim both healthy sexuality and faith. Review
The Reading Life, C. S. Lewis. Harper One (ISBN: 9780062849977) 2019. Essays and brief readings from his books, essay collections, and letters on the joys of reading. Review
The Bookshop, Evan Friss. Viking (ISBN: 9780593299920) 2024. A history of bookstores in America through the lens of fourteen bookstores or bookselling venues. Review
The Next Quest for the Historical Jesus, edited by James Crossley and Chris Keith. Wm. B. Eerdmans Co. (ISBN: 9780802882707) 2024. A prospectus for a new round of “historical Jesus” research: both foundations and research topics. Review
The Open House (Sir John Appleby, 26) Michael Innes. Penguin (ISBN: 0140036636) 1972 (out of print, link is to used copies available at ABE Books). When his car breaks down, Sir John Appleby walks up a drive. The mansion at the end is suddenly lit with its front door open. Review
John Henry Newman: A Life Sacrificed, Ida Friederike Görres. Ignatius Press (ISBN: 9781621646983) 2024. A study of Newman focused on the cost of his conversion to Catholicism and how it formed his character. Review
Best Book of the Month
Robin Wall Kimmerer’s The Serviceberry is a wonderfully concise lesson in ecology, the abundance our earth often produces, and the virtues of reciprocity and gratitude that calls forth. The illustrations and the typography makes this book a feast to both eyes and heart.
Quote of the Month
On Reading is a delightful collection of the essays, and shorter pieces C.S. Lewis wrote on reading. He makes this observation about why we read and why stories enthrall us:
“We want to see with other eyes, to imagine with other imaginations, to feel with other hearts, as well as with our own.”
What I’m Reading
The Lawless Roads is the first non-fiction work of Graham Greene’s that I’ve read. It his his account of traveling through Mexico to chronicle Catholic persecution under the Calles regime. I find myself wondering how he will survive at times. Markus Barth is a biography of the son of Karl Barth, a first-rate biblical scholar overshadowed by his more illustrious father. I’ve enjoyed learning of his passionate anti-semitism as well as his distinctive ideas on baptism and eucharist. I’ve finally gotten around to reading Until the Last One’s Found by Curt Parton, an argument for evangelical universal reconciliation and restoration. It is well-argued, although I have not so far been persuaded.
Bessel van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score is the sourcebook for many advocating trauma-informed therapy for those suffering from wartime and abusive PTSD. I’ve appreciated his stance as a learner from his patients and care for them. I’m also just starting out on a biography and collection of the writings of Jakob Hutter, after whom the Hutterites are named. He is one of our Anabaptist forebears and I’m eager to learn more of that history, often on the margins of most church history accounts.
I find reading more challenging to get during in this time of the year as I get my yard in shape, and tend our flower and vegetable beds. But I get to practice some of what Robin Wall Kimmerer writes of!
The Month in Reviews is my monthly review summary going back to 2014! It’s a great way to browse what I’ve reviewed. The search box on this blog also works well if you are looking for a review of a particular book.