The Month in Reviews
Introduction
This month I explored strange new worlds including Discworld and learned about loving a forest. I read memoirs a pastor who led his village in sheltering Jews from the Holocaust and of a football player from my home town and the wonderful surprises he discovered when learned who his biological parents were. On consecutive days I read works on the peaceable kingdom from indigenous and pacifist traditions. I reviewed books on believing, intimacy, wisdom, and giving away our deaths. I considered the development of doctrine from Reformed and Catholic perspectives. Finally, I savored one more David McCullough book, a collection of articles and lectures titled History Matters. And I enjoyed a novel set in a fictional northwest Ohio town
The Reviews
Star Trek and Faith, Volume 1, Mark S. Hansard, foreword by Michael W. Austin. Wipf & Stock (ISBN: 9798385235193) 2025. How various iterations of Star Trek explored religious and philosophical ideas vis-à-vis a Christian worldview. Review
Windigo Island, (Cork O’Connor, 14), William Kent Krueger. Atria Books (ISBN: 9781476749242) 2025. Cork, Jenny, and Henry join in a search for a missing Ojibwe girl when her friend’s body washes up on a sinister island. Review
The Future of Synodality, Kristin M. Colberg and Jos Moons, SJ. Liturgical Press (ISBN: 9798400800160) 2025. An account of the effort of Catholicism to move to a more open, participative and inclusive ecclesiology. Review
Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious, Ross Douthat. Zondervan Books (ISBN: 9780310367581) 2025. A case for committing to a religious faith, illustrated by the author’s belief in Christianity. Review
History Matters, David McCullough (edited by Dorie McCullough Lawson and Michael Hill, foreword by Jon Meacham). Simon & Schuster (ISBN: 9781668098998) 2025. Essays and lectures on the importance of history, biographical vignettes, influences on the writer, and writing process. Review
Shalom and the Community of Creation (Prophetic Christianity) Randy S. Woodley. Wm. B. Eerdmans (ISBN: 9780802866783) 2012. The “Harmony Way” of the indigenous and biblical shalom between peoples, with creation, and the Creator. Review
The Peaceable Kingdom, Stanley Hauerwas. University of Notre Dame Press (ISBN: 9780268015541) 1991. A Christian ethic centered in the character of the rule Jesus inaugurated, lived by the church in nonviolent service. Review
Insane for the Light, Ronald Rolheiser. Image (ISBN: 9780593736463) 2025. The spiritual journey of our final years, learning not only how to relinquish one’s life but to give away one’s death. Review
The Color of Magic (Discworld, 1) Terry Pratchett. (HarperCollins (ISBN: 9780063373662) 2024 (first published in 1983). A failure at wizard school is compelled to protect a rich but naive traveler with a most unusual luggage chest. Review
Galatians and Ephesians Through Old Testament Eyes, Gary M. Burge. Kregel Academic (ISBN: 9780825445187) 2025. A commentary drawing out the Old Testament allusions and references Paul makes. Review
The Asylum Seekers, Cristina Rathbone. Broadleaf Books (ISBN: 9798889832010) 2025. A priest lives with asylum seekers in Juarez, learning about what they fled, the community they built, and their faith. Review
Buckeye, Patrick Ryan. Random House (ISBN: 9780593595039) 2025. Two couples in a small, post-war Ohio town have secrets between them that will shake their lives and the son who connects them. Review
Walking the Way of the Wise (Essential Studies in Biblical Theology), Mitchell L. Chase. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514010914) 2025. Traces the idea of wisdom in scripture and how integral it is to walking well with God in covenant relationship. Review
How to Love a Forest, Ethan Tapper. Broadleaf Books (ISBN: 9798889830559) 2024. A forester buys a piece of Vermont forest that had been mismanaged and implements restorative practices. Review
Paul Through the Eyes of the Reformers, Stephen J. Chester. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802878489) 2025. Challenges misconceptions of Reformation readings of Paul and proposes constructive approaches. Review
Runs in the Family, Sarah Spain and Deland McCullough. Simon Element (ISBN: 9781668036280) 2025. An adopted child in difficult circumstances rises to coach in the NFL before finding his biological parents. Review
Knowing and Being Known, Erin F. Moniz. InterVarsity Press (ISBN: 9781514010037) 2025. Explores elements of healthy relationships. the complexities of intimacy, and how the gospel relates to intimacy. Review
The Memoirs of Andre’ Trocme’, André Trocmé, Edited by Patrick Cabanel, translated by Patrick Henry and Mary Anne O’Neil. Plough Publishing (ISBN: 9781636081595) 2025 (published in French 2020). His childhood, formative years, pacifism, and leadership in sheltering of Jews during the Holocaust. Review
The Idol House of Astarte (Miss Marple short stories), Agatha Christie. Open Road Integrated Media (ISBN: 9781504082297) 2024 (originally published in 1928, 1932). Miss Marple solves a murder occurring before witnesses with no obvious assailant and no weapon found. Review
Old Testament Wisdom & Poetry (Scripture Connections), Norah Whipple Caudill. B & H Academic (ISBN: 9781087746449) 2025. Introduces the six books: outlines, author, date, message, biblical connections and application. Review
An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, John Henry Cardinal Newman (foreword by Ian Ker). University of Notre Dame Press (ISBN: 9780268009212) 1994 (first published in 1845). Shows that doctrine has undergone development and provides marks of genuine doctrines. Review
Best Book of the Month
Many of the spiritual books I’ve read are written for young adults or those at midlife. But aren’t their new aspects to our formation as we age? In Insane for the Light, Father Ronald Rolheiser argues that our formation here not only involves giving away our lives but also our deaths. He writes, “Giving our deaths away as a gift to our loved ones means that at some point in our lives, we need to stop focusing on our agenda and begin to focus on our obituary, on what kind of spirit we will leave behind.” A profound book and much needed.
Quote of the Month
It is a sad thing for me to witness the attempts to erase history taking place in American society and the contempt for history more generally. David McCullough said this about why history matters:
“But, I think, what it really comes down to is that history is an extension of life. It both enlarges and intensifies the experience of being alive. It’s like poetry and art. Or music. And it’s ours, to enjoy”
To ignore and denigrate history is to rob oneself according to McCullough.
What I’m Reading
When I wrote last month, i mentioned beginning to read the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett. Well, I’m on to number two, The Light Fantastic. I love the tongue in cheek way he pokes fun at many of our pretensions.
Then in non-fiction, I’m reading The Gales of November by John U. Bacon. The Edmund Fitzgerald sank in November of 1975, my senior year in college. Gordon Lightfoot’s song etched the story in my mind forever. We lived in Toledo in the late ’70s and met people who knew crew members. A number were from Toledo, including the captain. We also traveled to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan during many summers and got up to the Soo Locks, hoping to see a big freighter go through. Bacon gives a history of the Fitzgerald, it’s crew, the last fateful voyage, and possible reasons why the ship sank, though under “the best captain with the best crew.”
On the Christian side, Beyond Church and Parachurch addresses the tension between the church and ministries like the one I once worked with. Angie Ward does a great job on connecting the dots on intuitions I’ve had about how the two may walk together. The Earth is the Lord’s is a deep dive into the Natural Law theory of property, addressing why all should not be held in common. Finally, Mid-Faith Crisis explores how we navigate these crises, whether from tragedy or hardship in our lives, to the failures of the church and its leaders, to the dark nights of the soul.
Speaking of dark nights, Daylight Savings Time has ended. We’re in the season of early sunsets and lowering temperatures. What a great time to curl up with a book. I hope I’ve given you a few ideas.
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.