I see a lot of memes and quotes from bibliophiles. Sometimes I think that there is a religion of bibliophilia. Libraries are our temples and bookstores our local places of assembly. And books are a way of life. I fear I sometimes proselytize for that faith.
I’ve recently picked up Jeff Crosby’s new World of Wonders, subtitled “a spirituality of reading.” He reminds me that there is a difference between reading as one’s spirituality and how reading might be part of a more encompassing spirituality.
It’s interesting that sacred texts ground many of our major religions. We not only experience the spiritual but understood it through the reading of texts. My own faith, Christianity considers words quite important. God speaks the cosmos into existence. And One who was the Incarnate Word accomplishes our salvation.
Therefore, it is not much of a leap to see reading as something that discloses a “world of wonders.” Reading helps me make sense of the world as well as imagine what could be. Reading has helped me to probe the ineffable and challenged me with the practical implications of loving God and neighborhood. Through biographies, I’ve been mentored by people I’ve never met.
Although I could go on, I’ll just say reading is one of the practices that shapes my spiritual life. However it is not my spiritual life. Rather, reading provides signposts and trail blazes for the journey. And reading captures and holds my imagination in hope amid the world’s bleakness.
But is there a hubris in our flights of philosophy, particularly when we act with abusive superiority over other creatures? William Egginton reviews Christine Webb’s The Arrogant Ape in “Think You’re at the Top of the Food Chain? Think Again.” He also pushes back on her critique of “human exceptionalism.”
Lauren Grodstein is a novelist whose fiction includes a novel set in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. In “What I Learned From the Georgia Protests” she reflects on how Georgians defense of democracy challenged her.
‘Dark academia” is a thing, I’m learning. “Dark Academia Grows Up” uses R.F. Kuang’s Katabasis to explore these questions; “What is the magic that scholars find in the academy?… What are the wrongs they’re asked to quietly endure—the things that make academia, so to speak, dark? And is the magic worth the darkness?”
Finally, Nick Burns contends “AI Isn’t Biased Enough.” While AI has biased based on the material used to train it, AI has no intellectual commitments, no personal biases. It responds sympathetically, even agreeably to whoever engages it–fascist or social progressive. Humans don’t do that, which Burns argues is a good thing.
Quote of the Week
Novelist Frank Yerby, born September 5, 1916, observed:
“Maturity is reached the day we don’t need to be lied to about anything.”
If he’s right, the quote suggests to me that some may never reach maturity!
Miscellaneous Musings
I haven’t read any Dorothy L. Sayers for several years. But recently I picked up a collection of short stories by her featuring Lord Peter Wimsey and Montague Egg. As a result, the stories remind me of both what an exquisite writer Sayers is, and how delightful Wimsey and Egg are as characters!
My son picked up the first of Martha Wells Murderbot series, and all of a sudden I am hearing how good this series is. This piques my interest!
Finally, Buckeye dropped this week and everyone seems astir about this novel set in small town Ohio. So, I picked up a copy to see how true to life it is for this native Buckeye!
Next Week’s Reviews
Monday: John H. Walton with J. Harvey Walton, New Explorations in the Lost World of Genesis
Tuesday: Clemency Burton-Hill, Year of Wonder
Wednesday: Janet Kellogg Ray, The God of Monkey Science
Thursday: Miroslav Volf, The Cost of Ambition
Friday: Andrew J. Bauman, Safe Church
So, that’s The Weekly Wrap for August 31-September 6
Find past editions of The Weekly Wrap under The Weekly Wrap heading on this page
Summary: A theological, pastoral, and missional commentary designed for all wanting a careful exposition of the text.
The apostle Paul wrote more to the Corinthian church than any other. And that doesn’t include the correspondence we don’t have! Paul spent significant time with them on more than one visit. The problems arose in his absence. Rival factions contended, some loyal to him, others preferring other teachers. They had issues with immorality and questions about sexuality and marriage amid licentious Corinth. Their gatherings reflected their rivalries, from inequities at the Lord’s table to rivalries as to who was more spiritual. Finally, some denied the resurrection, which Paul considered the linchpin of belief. In 1 Corinthians, Paul addresses all these matters.
Michael J. Gorman, in 1 Corinthians: A Theological, Pastoral & Missional Commentary, articulates the structure of Paul’s letter, exposits the text, explaining its background, and identifying key themes and issues and their contemporary relevance. He argues that 1 Corinthians is, first of all, a theological text, centering on the cross and the Spirit. Paul’s aim is that the Corinthians become a cruciform charismatic community. Secondly, the letter is pastoral, seeking their ongoing transformation into Christlikeness. Thirdly, the text is missional. Throughout, we see Paul’s concern for unbelievers, whether those they meet in social relations, those in mixed marriages, or those visiting the assembled community. Paul sets before them his missional model of becoming all things to all men to save some.
Gorman emphasizes particularly the working out of cruciformity in Paul’s ministry and instruction. He describes this as an x-y-z pattern: “Although (x) not (y) but (z).” For example, in 1 Corinthians 9, Gorman observes this pattern:
Although [x] as an apostle he has the right to financial support from those to whom he ministers,
he has chosen not [y] to exercise that right
but has rather [z] worked with his hands to support himself and not burden others–an act of love. (p.66)
A second theme Gorman notes is Paul’s “bi-focal vision.” Paul not only looks back to the cross and resurrection and what is already true but also forward to the coming of the Lord and living in light of his appearing.
Finally, Gorman observes Paul structuring the letter around the four marks of the church in the creed: one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. He outlines the letter as follows:
One: Chapters 1-4 — Unity Through the Wisdom and Power of the Cross
Holy: Chapters 5-7 — Addressing Moral Chaos: Holy Living Between the Cross and Parousia
Catholic: Chapters 8-14 — Addressing Liturgical Chaos: The Cross, Worship, and Salvation for All
Apostolic: Chapters 15-16 — The Apostolic Witness to the Resurrection of Christ and Believers, and Conclusion (including the ecumenical offering and Paul’s missional plans)
Each sub-section of the commentary consists of exposition of the text by sections. While not “verse-by-verse” I found Gorman thorough in his treatment, though not exhaustive. He offers frequent summaries. Then at the end of each sub-section, he offers Spiritual, Pastoral, Missional, and Theological Reflections. These consider the the contemporary relevance of the text. Then he offers Questions for Those Who Read, Preach, and Teach of a more applicatory nature. He then concludes with a bibliography For Further Reading with a mix of highly accessible to technical texts, which he notes. Typical of commentaries, he offers introductory material on Paul, including his itinerary, and background for the Corinthian correspondence.
I found the commentary highly accessible, reading it along with the biblical text since Gorman does not provide full texts in the commentary. I most appreciated his emphasis on the cruciform life and how this addressed the rivalries in Corinth and also in how it is the bedrock for the exercise of spiritual gifts in the church, summarized in 1 Corinthians 13. This is a great commentary to read for devotional purposes as well as a resource for teaching and preaching. The reading lists and bibliography serve as an introduction to scholarly study. I am glad to add this to my “go to” commentaries on this letter!
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.
The Last Manager, John W. Miller. Avid Reader Press (ISBN: 9781668030929) 2025.
Summary: A biography of manager Earl Weaver, his baseball career, his strategic innovations, and his feisty character.
I try to review a baseball book or two every summer. But I don’t recall that I’ve ever reviewed a biography of a manager. Earl Weaver is a fitting subject, having managed four pennant-winning teams between 1968 and 1982, each time winning over 100 games. One of those won the World Series. He brought strategic innovations to managing that changed the game. Of course, he is remembered for his feisty run-ins with umpires, tirades that mixed vulgarities and Shakespeare and lots of dirt kicking. John W. Miller’s new biography, The Last Manager, paints a full-color picture of a most colorful figure in baseball history.
But Earl Weaver never set out to be a manager. Growing up in St. Louis, which had two baseball teams (the Browns and the Orioles), he was a star high school player and made it to the minor leagues, despite his small size. He even made it to spring training on the Cardinals in 1951, only to be sent back to the minors because the manager, Eddie Stankey was still playing, and his position was second base. That was the zenith of his playing career. Miller traces his decline over the next years as a player.
But Earl always was an analyst of the game. Watching games with his uncle, who engaged in sports betting, he developed the instincts of an analyst, figuring out statistics, like on base percentage, that mattered. He analyzed managers decisions, the good and bad. At Knoxville, in the mid-1950’s, he got his chance when the team manager did abysmally and everyone recognized Weaver might be better, including the owners. About then, Paul Richards was building the Orioles farm system, and recognized in Weaver the kind of baseball man he was looking for.
Miller traces his rise from 1957 to 1968 in the Orioles farm system, working his way up the ladder and helping develop the Oriole Way, eventually managing their Rochester team. Then mid-season in 1968, the call came to replace poorly performing Hank Bauer. The team played 48-34 after Weaver took over. He insisted on the Oriole Way, which detailed excellence, both on and off the field. Weaver didn’t allow his pitchers to waste pitches but put a priority on throwing strikes. He didn’t waste outs either. He was opposed generally to the hit and run and bunting. And he was the one to introduce the radar gun and figure out the optimum difference between the speed of fastballs and off-speed pitches (about 20 mph).
Weaver not only fought with umpires but also with players. His fights with Jim Palmer were legendary, but Palmer kept turning in 20-game seasons. It was never personal and part of Weaver’s genius was to push players to their best, sometimes by uniting the team against him. In the midst of his time with the Orioles, he figured out the transition to free agency. He recognized in Cal Ripken, Jr. the potential for the big shortstop.
He coached through 1982, and then a brief return in 1985-86. It didn’t seem his heart was in it when he came back. Sports broadcasting didn’t fit. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1996, only the thirteenth manager admitted..
Miller shows how the analytics Weaver developed have expanded in today’s much more highly computerized world. While managers are much more player-oriented as a rule, Weaver’s qualities of “leadership, passion, and motivation” are still key. Weaver’s approach to spring training and practice also continues to influence the game.
We also catch glimpses of Weaver off the field. He loved to garden and had a rivalry with his groundskeeper over who grew the best tomatoes. In retirement, he was a pioneer in developing sports videogaming.
I loved this biography for both bringing out Weaver’s character and its glimpse of “inside baseball.” Miller helps us appreciate how Weaver’s on-the-field antics revealed his fierce passion for his players. And for the baseball buff, it recalls those great Oriole baseball teams of the seventies, not built with big money but a good farm system and attention to the fundamentals. This has all the elements of a great baseball book!
Paul Planted, Apollos Watered, but God, Christopher Sadowitz and Jim Harries, editors, foreword by Kenneth Nehrbass. Resource Publications (ISBN: 9781666764277) 2023.
Summary: A theology and praxis of mission centered on vulnerability, weakness, humility, and dependence.
In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul addressed the rival factions in the church boasting their alignment to a particular teacher. Paul responded by insisting, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing growth” (1 Cor. 3:6, NASB1995). Unlike personality-centered ministries then or now, Paul insists that God birthed the church and that there was no room for human boasting. The contributors to this book are part of a movement for Vulnerability and Weakness in Ministry and Mission (VWMM). Therefore, Paul’s practice serves as a model of the approach for this movement. Rather than a ministry emphasizing Western methods, competency, and a wealth of resources, practitioners come as learners, embracing language and cultural learning, and living at the standard of those around them.
After an introduction that explains these ideas and the exciting possibility that this kind of ministry is open to all believers, the contributors frame out a theology for VWMM. Christopher Sadowitz leads off in proposing that good theology has God’s glory as its object and hence emphasizes God’s ministry, mission, and glory. It emphasizes not only orthodoxy and orthopraxy but also orthopathos, or right feeling, important in grieving, suffering, and loving.
Sadowitz then explores Old and New Testament foundations for VWMM. He focuses on God’s grief and vulnerability in Israel’s disobedience in judges, Saul’s failure as king, and how Jeremiah followed God in vulnerability and suffering in his prophetic ministry to stubbornly sinful Israel. We’re reminded of the loving father who humbles himself in running to embrace his prodigal son. This portrays the Father’s heart behind the sacrificial mission of Jesus. Additional chapters discuss the fear of the Lord in Wisdom literature, weakness in the ministry of Paul, and boasting in the Lord.
Part Two explores crossing cultures and entering into vulnerable weakness. Christopher Sadowitz begins with a basic introduction to culture showing how cultural values differ in different cultures. He contrasts the United States and Japan as an example. These shape our reading of scripture and our approach to ministry and mission. He proposes that the way forward is through cruciform ministry.
Additional chapters in this section explore Daniel as a model of vulnerability and the vulnerability of Jesus. But why is vulnerability so hard for those from the West? Jim Harries concludes the section exploring thje “cult of normalcy” that establishes Western norms for mission efforts. This militates against indigenous language and cultural forms. This is particularly so when Western support is dangled over mission efforts. Forgoing that support is one of the implications of VWMM.
The final part offers practical applications and case studies in VWMM. Daniel Reed Albert offers a personal narrative of learning humility as key to VWMM. He stresses taking the time to listen and learn before any attempt to teach and notes the biblical examples of humility. He then discusses both humility before God and others. Under the latter, he discusses submission to church leadership, confessing to others, and learning from others. Ultimately, this means humility within self. The next three chapters consider applications in India, with North Korean refugees, and in a restricted country.
The book is written from the perspective of Westerners engaged in mission, with the exception of contributors from India and Myanmar. Westerners may struggle particularly with ministry in weakness and vulnerability. But I wonder if this is a universal issue in crossing cultures. Furthermore, in the post-Christian West, the principles developed here seem applicable at home as well as abroad. Humility, vulnerability, and weakness seem in short supply even while Western churches have been decimated with scandals and loss of youth. The message of this book is not just for “missions” but for all who engage in ministry. It is a message for all of us.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.
Summary: Argues that greed is the root of racism and calls the church to economic solidarity, anti-violence, and truth-telling.
We often think that hate and ignorance are at the root of racism. And certainly we can come up with examples of hate and ignorance. But Malcolm Foley argues in The Anti-Greed Gospel that the love of money is the root of the evil of racism. He shows how racism both arose and persisted after the abolition of slavery for economic reasons. The effort to subject one people by another was first and foremost about economic advantage.
Foley introduces his argument through showing that economic reasons (coveting) led to breaking other commands of God including bearing false witness, theft, and murder. He shows how unfettered capitalism and racism are intertwined in the economic growth of our nation through slavery. Then in post-reconstruction America, he traces the rise of lynching as a tool of economic subjugation. He argues that the tendrils of greed that eventuate in lynching undermined the witness of Christians like Francis Grimke and Atticus Haygood. The former eventually embraced violent resistance; the latter a kind of cynical paternalism. By contrast, he offers the example of Ida B. Wells, whose truth-telling exposed the roots of racialized greed and whose resistance sought justice through legal means.
The example of Wells provides the transition to the second part of Foley’s argument. He explores what the church can do. First, he argues for economic solidarity between Christians across racial lines such that we strive toward the Acts ideal of “no needy among us.” Then he contends for love rather than violence as we seek remedies for greed. For example, love resists practices like property appraisals that keep people in poverty. Love also opposes wars, which often rely upon minorities disproportionately to fight the battles while draining resources from domestic programs. Thirdly, he argues for prophetic truth-telling amid the culture of racial lies. Finally, he stresses the importance of creativity as we cast vision for a kingdom that is not of this world.
First for one criticism. Indisputably, in the American context, greed found expression through a form of racist capitalism. But I would argue that greed is an evil that finds expression in every economic system. In every economic system we can see classes or racial groups who are exploited for the economic gain of others. What this demonstrates is that Foley’s thesis that racism is rooted in greed has cross-cultural validity. I wonder if the association of “racialized capitalism” throughout the book weakens the focus on the root cause of greed.
That said, Foley’s thesis helps explain the persistence of racism. It also clarifies both the danger to the church of the “tendrils” of greed upon its life and the way it addresses racism. It is more than just relationships across racial lines. Whether society follows or not, finding ways to express economic solidarity, practice loving resistance, and engage in prophetic truth telling are more substantive alternatives than saying “let’s be friends.” It also seems to me that the challenge of creativity is to transcend our polarities and political binaries while not losing contact with earthly realities. We need to cast alternative visions people understand and find compelling.
Malcolm Foley is a young leader who is a scholar-pastor, and well-positioned to implement the recommendations he makes in this book. I look forward to hearing more from him!
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.
I began August by reviewing a book on godly play and ended with a book on the magic of knowing what we want–an interesting thematic arc! Along the way were mysteries from some of my favorite writers: Christie, Krueger, Innes, and Simenon. Then there were books on religious freedom, fairness, work hurts, and the hard issues the church needs to be talking about. Turning to more academic theology, I reviewed Kevin Vanhoozer’s marvelous Mere Christian Hermeneutics, a book by Teilhard de Chardin, and a study of the interaction of Christian and Islamic history, politics, and beliefs.
The month’s big book was Chernow’s Mark Twain, which I’m not sure I liked as much as other Chernow biographies. I enjoyed Tolkien’s rendering of three fourteenth century poems I’d not read. Gliff, by Ali Smith caught me by surprise–a dystopian work I found myself thinking about long after I put the book down. Finally, I reviewed a children’s book for those afraid of going to sleep.
The Reviews
Teaching Godly Play, Jerome W. Berryman. Church Publishing (ISBN: 9781606740484) 2009. An introduction to the Godly Play approach to the Christian formation of pre-adolescent children. Review
Tamarack County(Cork O’Connor, 13), William Kent Krueger. Atria Books (ISBN: 9781451645774) 2014. A judge’s wife is missing, a dog is beheaded, and Stephen is nearly killed and Cork must connect the dots. Review
Learning to Be Fair, Charles McNamara. Fortress Press (ISBN: 9781506495095) 2024. The ancient origins of the idea of equity in western moral philosophy and the historical development of the concept. Review
The Late Monsieur Gallet(Inspector Maigret, 3) Georges Simenon. Penguin Books (ISBN: 9780141393377) 2014 (first published in 1931). Gallet’s death seems that of an uninteresting failure until Maigret discovers that nothing about him is as it seems. Review
Swing Low, Volume 2: An Anthology of Black Christianity in the United States, General Editor, Walter R. Strickland II, Associate Editors, Justin D. Clark, Yana Jenay Conner, and Courtlandt K. Perkins. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514004227) 2024. An anthology of primary source writings on Black Christianity in America from the 1600’s to the present. Review
Religious Freedom: A Conservative Primer, John D. Wilsey. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802881908) 2025. A conservative case, arguing the spirit of religion and liberty are mutually necessary and best defended by conservatism. Review
Peril at End House(Hercule Poirot, 8), Agatha Christie. William Morrow (ISBN: 9780063376014) 2024 (First published in 1932). “Nick” Buckley has several “accidents” which Poirot believes are attempts on her life by someone in her inner circle. Review
When Work Hurts, Meryl Herr. InterVarsity Press (ISBN: 9781514010242) 2025. Moving through workplace disappointments and finding healing and hope through Israel’s journey of exile and return. Review
What Happened at Hazelwood, Michael Innes. Penguin Books (ISBN: 9780140026504) 1968 (first published 1946). The master of Hazelwood Hall is murdered shortly after Australian relatives join a manor of people who hate him. Review
Why I Believe in God, Gerhard Lohfink, Linda M. Maloney, translator. Liturgical Press (ISBN: 9780814689974) 2025. A New Testament professor testifies to the reasons for his own faith in God in the form of a memoir. Review
The Phenomenon of Man, Teilhard de Chardin. Harper Perennial Modern Classics (ISBN: 9780061632655) 2008 (first published in 1957). A synthesis of evolutionary thought and teleology culminating in a collective consciousness or Omega Point. Review
If on a winter’s night a traveler, Italo Calvino. Mariner Books Classics (ISBN: 9780156439619) 1982 (first published in Italian in 1979). A reader purchases a book only to find most of it is missing and seeks the rest of the story. Review
The Real Conversation Jesus Wants Us to Have, Regina V. Cates, foreword by Paula Stone Williams. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802884107) 2025. A pastor imagines what Jesus would want to talk about with Christians in the present moment. Review
Mark Twain, Ron Chernow. Penguin Press (ISBN: 9780525561729) 2025. Beyond literary greatness, the complicated, brilliant, tragic, and sometimes eccentric life of one of America’s greatest writers. Review
Charlie Can’t Sleep!, Rachel Joy Welcher, illustrated by Breezy Brookshire. IVP Kids (ISBN: 9781514010013) 2025. A child’s bedtime fears prevent him from sleeping until his mom reminds him that God never sleeps and will care for him. Review
Mere Christian Hermeneutics, Kevin J. Vanhoozer. Zondervan Academic (ISBN: 9780310234388) 2024. Amid a variety of interpretations and reading cultures, articulates essential principles for reading scripture. Review
Gliff, Ali Smith. Pantheon (ISBN: 9780593701560) 2025. Two “Unverifiable” children meet up with a horse slated for rendering in a courageous attempt to find their way in a dystopian world. Review
Global Christianity and Islam, Wafik W. Wahba. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9780830851959) 2025. A study of the history, political relations, and beliefs of the two religions and how they’ve intersected. Review
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight with Pearl and Sir Orfeo, Anonymous, translated by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien. William Morrow (ISBN: 9780358724209) 2021 (first published 1975). Tolkien’s translation of three 14th century poems, retaining rhyme, meter and alliterative schema. Review
The Magic of Knowing What You Want, Tracey Gee. Revell (ISBN: 9780800746223) 2025. A guide to identifying, clarifying, and embodying your desires, turning them into action. Review
Best Book of the Month
Gerhard Lohfink’s Why I Believe in God was my best book of August. This was his last book. He wrote not only of his belief in God as a scholar but as one who loved God. The book closes with these words: “But above all I look at Jesus. To him I hold fast. In him I will die.” One of the marks of a good book is it makes me want to buy other books by the author. And so I did with Lohfink!
Quote of the Month
Sing Low, Volume 2: An Anthology of Black Christianity in the United States is a wonderful collection of writings of Black Christians throughout the history of the United States. This quote, from William Pannell’s “My Friend, The Enemy” describes the challenge for our majority culture in moving beyond our aspirations to transcend racism:
“No, this man is a friend. He’s against the KKK, abhors violence, supports the Constitution and is for Negro voting rights. We read the same version, believe the same doctrines, probably have the same middle class tastes, but all he knows about me–or cares to know–is what he sees on the 6 o’clock news.… I wear a suit as good as his, yet he sees me looting a clothing store in Watts. He knows something of my temperament as its mirrored in the behavior of my sons, yet he identifies me with the muggings in Washington or Buffalo. To him, the cause of brotherhood, the disintegration of human relations–civil rights!–is my problem. Mine, because I created it and I perpetuate it.”
What I’m Reading
I’ve just begun R.F. Kuang’s new Katabasis. In it, a couple of graduate students descend into Hell, which so far looks a lot like academia! New Explorations in the Lost World of Genesis by John Walton with his son, J. Harvey Walton reflects the development and revision of Walton’s ideas fifteen years after he began the “Lost World” series. Janet Kellogg Ray is a Christian who is a science educator who explores the roots of the anti-science attitudes of American evangelicals around evolution, vaccines, and climate science. The book is provocatively titled, The God of Monkey Science, a pejorative someone applied to the work she does.
Then I have been reveling in the riches of Michael J. Gorman’s commentary, I Corinthians: A Theological, Pastoral, and Missional Commentary. Lastly, Year of Wonder by Clemency Burton-Hill is a kind of devotional for classical music lovers, with a daily selection of classical music with a brief, chatty commentary on the composer and the composition. I like that she includes a number of women and lesser known composers.
Today is Labor Day in the United States. I hope it will be a good chance to catch up on some reading. If not, the earlier sunsets and cooler nights of early autumn invite us to cozy up with a good book.
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.
Earlier this month I marked twelve years of blogging. Consequently, I’ve written a lot, and its all still here! This is my 3,846th post. Over the 12 years my posts have been viewed over two million times.
I don’t often think about what I was writing about in 2015. But I’ve been going back through my old posts, aware that there are a number of broken links. And I’ve been staggered by how many of those links I am finding.
The saddest experience is discovering bookstores that I wrote about that have closed (on the other hand, I wrote about Barnes & Noble when it looked like it was in trouble). The second saddest thing is to discover books that I reviewed, some newly published at the time, now out of print.
It makes me wonder about the value of reviewing. Why bother when a number of these books will go out of print within ten years?
Part of the answer is that reviews matter most close to the time of publication, when authors and publishers are launching the book. Yet a number of books have caught on over time by word of mouth. When I review backlist books, I’m part of that chain.
Another part of the answer is that past reviews serve as a reference point in the discussion of works that continue to have a readership. I consult other reviews of backlist books when I write mine and try to add to the discussion.
In the end, I can live with reviews being ephemeral. The book is the thing. I love pointing people to books I thought worth reviewing and encouraging a reading culture. In the end, it really doesn’t matter where they heard about the book if they profited from it.
Five Articles Worth Reading
One of the big book launches of the week is R.F. Kuang’s Katabasis, in which two graduates go to Hell to retrieve the soul of their Ph.D. advisor. “In ‘Katabasis,’ R.F. Kuang Takes Readers to Hell“, is Kiersten White’s take for The New York Times
This is hardly the first time a descent into Hell has been the subject of a literary work. Perhaps the most famous is Dante’s Divine Comedy. In “Digesting Dante” Richard Hughes Gibson traces the history of the work’s reception and shows that its success was not always a given.
Another aspect of Katabasis is that the students are studying “Magick.” Richard Cytowic, in “When Your Father Is a Magician, What Do You Believe?” describes the influence growing up with a real-life magician had on him.
For some of us, reading Moby Dick was a kind of descent into Hell, particularly if we had to read it in high school. Caleb Crain describes what fresh insight came when he read the book when he was Ahab’s age in “Another cruise.”
Finally, on a lighter note, many of us have read Shakespeare’s plays or seen them performed in other venues. Through “Take a Virtual Tour of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London” you can get a 360 view of the theatre and see a clip from Julius Caesar, staged in the theatre.
Quote of the Week
Poet Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. made this observation that I hope to fulfill in serving as a guest preacher in my church;
“Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall.”
Miscellaneous Musings
Katabasis raises an interesting question. For what would you forfeit thirty years of your life? That is the price of admission for entering Hell.
I had one of my rare experiences weekly of walking out of a bookstore bookless. I went to Barnes & Noble to check off their 50% off hardcovers sale. A few near misses but nothing that said “buy me.” I was probably aware of the queue of books in my TBR pile.
For the theologically oriented, Michael J. Gorman’s I Corinthians is one of the best recent commentaries I’ve read. His concluding reflections and questions in each section of the commentary combined with his clear exegesis make this a great commentary that brings knowledge and devotion together. I’ll be reviewing it next Friday. Speaking of which…
Next Week’s Reviews
Monday: The Month in Reviews: August 2025
Tuesday: Malcolm Foley, The Anti-Greed Gospel
Wednesday: Christopher Sadowitz & Jim Harries eds., Paul Planted, Apollos Watered, but God
Thursday: John W. Miller, The Last Manager
Friday: Michael J. Gorman, 1 Corinthians
So, that’s The Weekly Wrap for August 24-30!
Find past editions of The Weekly Wrap under The Weekly Wrap heading on this page
Summary: A guide to identifying, clarifying, and embodying your desires, turning them into action.
“What do you want?” It is a question Jesus asks of people several times in the gospels. I also remember a Babylon Five episode in which one of the characters walks about the station asking people “What do you want?” It is a powerful question. It exposes the desires, the longings of the heart we are often hesitant to ask.
Tracey Gee discovered the power of this question when she hit rock bottom. Tracey had worked in an organization for twenty years, performing with excellence in a series of roles. She decided to apply for a VP role she felt both fit and would stretch her competencies. Several friends also applying for the position spoke of moving forward in the interview process. However, she had heard nothing, until the email came informing her that she wouldn’t be moving forward in that process.
Trying to figure out how to move forward, she committed to a forty day experiment. She committed to doing one thing she wanted to do each day. For example, she took her dog for runs on the beach or cooking a favorite family dish. Over time, that led her to clarify more significant wants including the career direction she took. And through the leadership coaching she does, it gave us this book.
She begins with identifying our desires. But the answer to the question of what we want often means finding our way through a fog. So, she offers help on reaching clarity. She discusses the relationship of purpose and desire and how we get those in alignment. Then she discusses the four types of questions that get in the way of pursuing our desires. These include competency questions, pragmatic questions, capitalistic questions and permission questions. Instead of getting bogged down in these, she invites us to ask aliveness, imagination, curiosity, and agency questions.
Then, over four chapters, Gee walks us through a four stage process along the Authentic Alignment Pathway. The first stage is calibration, identifying what makes you come alive. Stage two is expansion, sparking an imagination for possibilities to help you discover what is out there. Then stage three involves experimentation, taking tangible and doable steps to turn curiosity into clarity. Finally, stage four is integration, involving agency to bring your desires to life. Each chapter includes worksheets to help turn ideas into plans.
The last part of the book begins with goal-setting. But before you grit your teeth, this is desire-based goal setting that combines high desire and high discipline. Instead of “oughts,” goals become learning tools in the implementation of desires. Then to cap it all off, Gee talks about the to-be-hoped for experience of what you want wanting you back. She cautions that the timelines are not linear and that rejections are a form of protection.
Part of the delight in reading this book (as well as full-disclosure) is that I was a colleague of Tracey’s in the organization where she experienced the VP disappointment. We were on a project team involving growth coaching and the gifts she is using so capably now, exhibited in this book, were evident then. Another part of my delight is that she asks what may be one of the most important question we need to ask ourselves: what do you really want?
But she doesn’t leave us in the fog of desire. If you are willing to work through the process in the book, often with trusted friends, the book can be life-changing. If you are facing one of those “turning points” in your career and life journey, or sense it is approaching, get this book! Tracey’s journey from disappointment through joyful discovery and into aligning her purposes and desires can be yours.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from the publisher through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers Program.
Summary: Tolkien’s translation of three 14th century poems, retaining rhyme, meter and alliterative schema.
You may not realize it, but the various stories of Middle Earth were not the only works of J.R.R. Tolkien. He also translated into modern English three fourteenth century poems, including an edition of the Arthurian poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. He initially collaborated with E.V. Gordon on an edition in 1925. Tolkien also worked on translations of Pearl and Sir Orfeo. However, these were unpublished at his death, and the first to be published with the editorial work of Christopher Tolkien. This is a new edition of that work.
Sir Gawain is probably the most familiar. A Green Knight appears before the round table issuing a challenge, which Arthur accepts but then Gawain accepts to spare his king. The challenge is to strike a blow at the knight’s neck. But Gawain must then seek out the knight, appearing the following New Year’s Day, and allow the knight to do the same. Gawain beheads the knight, who then picks up his head, walks off, holding Gawain to his pledge. Most of the poem is Gawain’s quest to find the knight. By Christmas Eve, he still hasn’t found the knight but arrives at a castle where he can attend mass and stay over Christmas, since the Green Knight lives just two miles away. Gawain’s encounter with the Knight is a kind of anti-climax, the real trial is with the lady of the castle.
Pearl represents an allegory of the loss of what is precious, a young man’s quest, which reminds one of Pilgrim’s Progress where the quest for the Pearl, personified as a maiden takes on a spiritual character of repentance and salvation.
Sir Orfeo is another quest poem in which Sir Orfeo loses his wife Heurodis to a fairy king. He seeks her for many years in the forest where she was last seen. Finally, he spots her and by disguise, finds his way to the king’s court. But to win her and then to be restored to his own throne!
One of the distinctions of Tolkien’s translations is that he retains the meter, rhyme, and alliterative scheme of the original. An appendix on verse forms explains this. I have not read any other edition of these works so I cannot assess how successful Tolkien was. However, I can say that the translation flows and never bogs down the stories of these poems.
This edition also includes the text of the “W.P. Ker Memorial Lecture on Sir Gawain.” The lecture is helpful in appreciating the tension between courtly manners and the perfection of character with which Sir Gawain struggles.
All three poems concern quests. A common theme is that the formation of the character of the questor through the decisions he makes is perhaps even more significant than the object of the quest. We may think we are shaping our life quest when in fact it is shaping us.
The three poems are all treasures I am glad to have found. The translation and editing of the Tolkiens, father and son, is a bonus!
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Summary: A study of the history, political relations, and beliefs of the two religions and how they’ve intersected.
Christianity and Islam are global religions, counting over half the world’s populations as adherents. Muslims represent growing populations in both Europe and North America, even in many of our neighborhoods. Since the beginning of Islam, the two religions have intersected politically, economically, and in efforts to proselytize one another, Sadly, turmoil and conflict have often marked those interactions down to the present. For those who care for political peace, inter-faith harmony, and mutually beneficial commerce, mutual understanding is vital. In Global Christianity and Islam, professor Wafik W. Wahba, who has lectured on Christian-Muslim relations in twenty-five countries, offers a resource toward that understanding.
The work is broken into three parts. Firstly, Wahba considers the history development of both religions. I was struck by the markedly divergent beginnings. Christianity grew despite intense persecution in a Greco-Roman context until it became the official religion under Constantine. Islam’s early expansion came through military conquest. The Islamic caliphate emerged victorious in conflict with the Crusaders and presided over scientific advances during a zenith of learning. Wahba traces the spread of Islam from North Africa to Asia while Christianity spread throughout western Europe, Russia and eventually the Americas, as well as globally through various mission movements.
Secondly, Wahba considers the relation between politics and religion in the two faiths, In theory, Christianity separates church and state but in the successive Byzantine and European expressions of Christendom, church and state were closely entangled, as continues to be the case in some contexts. Meanwhile, the Islamic ideal would consider religion and state inseparable. Yet, Wahba traces twentieth century experiment and implementing a secular state within Islamic societies as well as the resurgence of Islamic states in which Islamic principles govern every aspect of society.
Finally, the third part focuses on religious belief. Wahba compares and contrasts the two faiths. Both affirm one God but Islam emphasizes the absolute sovereignty of God while Christianity focuses more on relational aspects of God, including relations of persons within the One. Both teach about Jesus. Here, Wahba devotes a chapter each to what Islam and Christianity teach about Jesus. Additional chapters contrast teaching about human nature and salvation, and about the ummah in Islam and the church.
I would love to know what a Muslim reader of the book thinks of this presentation. I found it fair and even-handed. More than that, Wahba is neither polemical nor proselytizing. He clarifies differences and misconceptions in a non-argumentative fashion. In addition, Wahba writes in a highly readable prose. One may read the book profitably for one’s own understanding. I could also see using the book as the basis of a respectful Muslim-Christian dialogue group. Finally, where many writers write either Islamic or Christian histories where the other features as a minor player, this book portrays both histories through the lens of their intersection.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.
