The Month in Reviews: July 2025
Introduction
Looking over the books I read this past month is a bit like looking at a wildflower planting in full bloom. There is such a wide variety represented, among which are a number of books to engage the mind and delight the heart. My reading ranged from American intellectual history to oral histories of early major league baseball players. I began the month with a marvelous history of Black Christianity in America and finished it with an exquisitely illustrated children’s book on the theme of caring for God’s creation.
My readings explored both a narrative of someone who remained a Christian while interviewing numerous skeptics and of a pastor who has come to doubt orthodox Christian beliefs. I read biographies of John Hancock and St. Teresa of Avila. Then I reviewed a couple of well-researched and written books on marriage and sexuality. While reading some longer books, I appreciated a concise commentary on 1 and 2 Thessalonians, a booklet on faith and science, and a novella by Graham Greene. So walk with me through this garden of reviews!
The Reviews
Swing Low, Volume 1: A History of Black Christianity in the United States, Walter R. Strickland II. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514009369) 2024. A history of African-American Christianity tracing stories of social uplift and the lives of faithful Black Christians. Review
Kingdom through Covenant, Peter J. Gentry and Stephen J. Wellum. Crossway (ISBN: 9781433553073) 2012, 2018. (My review is of the first edition, the link to the 2nd edition with revised and updated content.) A biblical-theological exploration of covenants, how they are related and unfold the reality of God’s kingdom. Review
1 & 2 Thessalonians: A Life in Letters, Johannes W. H. van der Bijl. Langham Global Library (ISBN: 9781786410962) 2025. A narrative commentary based on Acts and 1 and 2 Thessalonians, on the first half of Paul’s second missionary journey. Review
John Hancock, Willard Sterne Randall. Dutton (ISBN: 9780593472149) 2025. A biography going beyond the flourishing signature to the critical role Hancock played in the American Revolution. Review
Corridors of Power (Strangers and Brothers, 9), C. P. Snow. Open Road Media (ASIN: B0DCPBFBZT) 2024 (first published in 1964). An ambitious member of Parliament challenges Britain’s nuclear policy in the aftermath of the Suez crisis. Review
The Marriage You Want, Sheila Wray Gregoire and Dr. Keith Gregoire. Baker Books (ISBN: 9781540903761) 2025. Building a rich marriage partnership marked by balance, affection, responsibility, and emotional connection. Review
The Glory of Their Times, Lawrence S. Ritter. Harper Perennial (ISBN: 9780061994715) 2010 (first published in 1966). Oral histories by twenty-six former players from the early days of baseball, playing from the 1900’s to the 1940’s. Review
Sexuality and Sex Therapy, Second Edition, Mark A Yarhouse and Erica S. N. Tan. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514010976) 2025. A resource for Christian therapists, counselors, and the church affirming the blessing of our sexuality. Review
The Life of the Mind in America: From the Revolution to the Civil War, Books One Through Three, Perry Miller. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (ISBN: 9780156519908) 1965. The first three books of an intellectual history of the influences that shaped the American mind. Review
Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese. Vintage Books (ISBN: 9780375714368) 2010. Twins Marion and Shiva were born amidst tragedy involving their mother’s death and father’s flight. Review
Why I’m Still a Christian, Justin Brierly. Tyndale | Elevate (ISBN: 9781496466938) 2025. After two decades of interviews with atheists and skeptics, the author explains why he still follows Christ. Review
Black Coffee, (Hercule Poirot 7.5), Agatha Christie (stage play), Charles Osborne (novelization). William Morrow (ISBN: 9780061739323) 2004 (Stage play, 1930; Novelization, 1998). Poirot is too late to help Sir Claud, who has been fatally poisoned and his secret formula stolen by someone in his household. Review
Becoming the Pastor’s Wife, Beth Allison Barr. Brazos Press (ISBN: 9781587435898) 2025. Examines the connection between the decline of female ordination and the rise of the role of pastor’s wife. Review
The Divine Milieu, Teilhard de Chardin. Harper Perennial Modern Classics (ISBN: 9780060937256) 2001 (first published in 1957). How we grow into godlikeness in our active work and our passive diminishment, toward the uniting of all things in Christ. Review
Black Knight in Red Square, (Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov, 2), Stuart M. Kaminsky. Mysterious Press/Open Road Media (ISBN: 9781453269589) 2012 (first published in 1984). Rostnikov’s team races to stop a terrorist organization from causing mayhem at an international film festival. Review
True Conservatism, Anthony T. Kronman. Yale University Press (ISBN: 9780300277036) 2025. A call to a humane conservatism that embraces enlightenment ideals without enlightenment prejudices or oversimplification. Review
Doubting Faithfully, Keith Long. Independently published (ISBN: 9798553814663) 2020. A memoir by a pastor who came to doubt Christianity and how he has proceeded from there. Review
Loser Takes All, Graham Greene. Penguin Classics (ISBN: 9780140185423) 1993 (first published in 1955). On a honeymoon in Monte Carlo, Bertram’s gambling successes force a choice between love and money. Review
Paul, Apostle of Grace, Frank Thielman. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802876294) 2025. An introduction to the life and world of Paul based on Acts, his letters, and other sources including archaeology. Review
Does Science Make God Irrelevant? (TGC Hard Questions Series), Hans Madueme. Crossway (ISBN: 9781433597978) 2025. Proposes that science and faith may coexist as allies and that Christian assumptions make science possible. Review
The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila (Lives of Great Religious Books), Carlos Eire. Princeton University Press (ISBN: 9780691164939) 2019. An account both of St. Teresa’s life and of her autobiography recounting her encounters with the divine. Review
Abigail and the Waterfall, Sandra L. Richter, illustrated by Michael Corsini. IVP Kids (ISBN: 9781514008928) 2025. Abigail’s family hikes to a waterfall, sees the creatures that live there, and learns to care for their home. Review
Best Book of the Month
I chose Abraham Verghese’s Cutting for Stone, a book from 2010. I loved his more recent The Covenant of Water. This story involves tragedy, betrayal, and redemption, set in Haile Selassie’s Ethiopia. Verghese has a distinctive “voice” and an ability to evoke a sense of place.
Quote of the Month
After coming across him most of my adult life, I’m finally reading some Teilhard de Chardin. I came across this quote in The Divine Milieu:
“God, in all that is most living and incarnate in him, is not far away from us, altogether apart from the world we see, touch, hear, smell and taste about us. Rather, he awaits us every instant in our action, in the work of the moment. There is a sense in which he is at the tip of my pen, my spade, my brush, my needle – of my heart and my thought.”
What I’m Reading
Speaking of de Chardin, I’ve moved on to his The Phenomenon of Man, his effort to integrate evolution and Christian eschatology. I’ve just begun, but I sense I will find this less “orthodox” than The Divine Milieu. I’m also reading a new book by Meryl Herr, on When Work Hurts. Specifically, she discusses various workplace struggles and disappointments and how we might think Christianly about work and calling in light of them. I’m also reading a couple of mysteries: Agatha Christie’s Peril at End House (Poirot and Hastings!) and Michael Innes’ What Happened at Hazelwood.
Finally, my BIG reading project is Ron Chernow’s Mark Twain. I’m 400 pages into this 1000+ page work. I had not realized the grief Twain brought on himself and his finances in his various business ventures, something he would have better avoided. Nor had I realized how significant his part was in the publication of Grant’s autobiography. I expect I’ll be reviewing this book late in August.
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. Thanks for stopping by