Review: The Marriage You Want

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Cover image of "The Marriage You Want" by Sheila Wray Gregoire and Dr. Keith Gregoire

The Marriage You Want, Sheila Wray Gregoire and Dr. Keith Gregoire. Baker Books (ISBN: 9781540903761) 2025.

Summary: Building a rich marriage partnership marked by balance, affection, responsibility, and emotional connection.

I don’t know anyone who goes into marriage who doesn’t want anything less than a loving partnership. We want a relationship that is durable through the hard stuff but also one of shared laughter and mutually satisfying intimacy. That’s not how it always turns out. And sometimes poor marriage counsel exacerbates the problems.

The Gregoires have a marriage ministry that is different. Both their experience working with couples and extensive survey data ground their counsel. It’s led them to frame the characteristics of healthy, flourishing marriages with the acronym BARE. This stands for Balance, Affection, Responsibility, and Emotional Connection. This book is organized around these four qualities with two chapters devoted to each.

Balance. They begin with a classic diagram of the triangle with God and the two spouses, where, as we grow closer to God, we grow closer to each other. But role stereotypes can stretch these triangles out of shape. One stereotype is that husbands are the tie-breakers in decision-making. Another is stereotypes about love for women, respect for men that turns out not to be true. The Gregoires show survey data that underscores how collaborative relationships of respect and love have the highest marital satisfaction. The best marriages reflect teamwork. Each spouse has tiered physiological, social, and actualization needs. If spouses are at different tiers, one of the spouses may have an entitlement mentality. “Compromise” is not helpful when this is the case. Sharing the load of home care and childcare is critical.

Affection. Affection can die in our busy lives. But talking in the car together, taking a walk together, and especially, having a shared bed time are vital. It can be sitting together in the bleachers during lessons and practices. The authors offer practical suggestions for getting time together without making life harder. And simple times of prayer and conversation about spiritual matters, even for a few minutes a day, help.

Then the Gregoires turn to sex. They believe the use of pornography is an intimacy-killer. At the same time connection in the bedroom relates to the couple’s teamwork in the rest of life. If one spouse is dog-tired from carrying the load of household responsibilities, sex is not going to be great. The mental load is part of this. They sensitively deal with issues of frequency and orgasm for both partners. They conclude: “Investing in your relationship and making sex something that flows naturally from that relationship will allow sex to be what it is meant to be: the physical outflowing of an emotional and even spiritual connection between you and your spouse” (p. 110).

Responsibility. Here, the authors wade more into the shared responsibility necessary for teamwork. They elaborate the idea of “mental load,” the energy involved in making sure everything gets done. The solution isn’t “give me a list” but each spouse owning what needs to be done and doing it. This means taking the initiative to learn the whole task. This includes things like medical appointments and “kinkeeping.” Often, one spouse carries this load.

Emotional Connection. Finally, spouses enjoy emotional connection when each spouse understands what he or she wants, speaks up, and spouses reach mutual understanding. The authors explore the barriers that keep us from opening up, how to become aware of one’s emotions and self-regulate when they threaten to overwhelm. They also address rebuilding broken trust.

The book is very practical. The authors identify the ways we fail to act as a team. They show how entitlement creeps in. They also offer positive steps to build partnerships, deepen affection and foster connection. Instead of prioritizing sex, they help couples build the affectionate, connected partnership where sex flourishes. Instead of offering role stereotypes, they commend mutual serving and collaboration. They allow each partner to bring his or her gifts. Instead of making marriage harder, they make it easier by helping each spouse to share the load. And when this is the case, marriage can even be fun.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Finally, thanks for visiting Bob on Books.  I appreciate that you spent time here. Feel to “look around” – see the tabs at the top of the website, and the right hand column. And use the buttons below to share this post. Blessings! [Adapted from Enough Light, a blog I follow.]

Review: Corridors of Power

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Cover image of "Corridors of Power" by C. P. Snow

Corridors of Power (Strangers and Brothers, 9), C. P. Snow. Open Road Media (ASIN: B0DCPBFBZT) 2024 (first published in 1964).

Summary: An ambitious member of Parliament challenges Britain’s nuclear policy in the aftermath of the Suez crisis.

The phrase “corridors of power” has come into common political parlance. And it is C.P. Snow we have to thank for this. However, its use in the title of this novel was not its first. Rather, it occurs in an earlier novel Homecomings published in 1956. Both this and the earlier novel are part of Snow’s Strangers and Brothers series, written between 1940 and 1970. The novels narrate the education and career of civil servant, Lewis Eliot. This mirrors C. P. Snows own career, first as a physical chemist, turned civil servant, and later as a director of several science and technology organizations.

Eliot is serving an elderly cabinet minister at the opening of the novel, who is displaced, ostensibly due to ill health, by rising star Roger Quaife. Eliot continues to serve under him and is drawn into his ambitious, yet coldly realistic policy goals for the U.K. During this time, the country has come through the Suez Crisis, an episode revealing their declining power. Rather than to attempt to keep up pretenses, Quaife wants the U.K. to end its participation in the nuclear arms race, leaving it to the two rival superpowers. Much of the novel develops the efforts to politically sell this policy. Eliot’s role is to chair a committee of scientists to make recommendations about the policy. Quaife wants their endorsement, and all but a dissenting scientist get the message.

Eliot has another role to play as well. Quaife has the perfect political marriage, with a glamorous and influential wife (who is a good friend of Eliot’s wife). We follow them in the rounds of parties with rich and influential friends. But Quaife also is involved in an affair on the side. Eliot becomes involved when Quaife’s lover begins receiving letters threatening to expose the affair if Quaife doesn’t end it.

The novel builds toward twin crises as Quaife faces a political vote of confidence amid growing dissent over his proposed policy and his wife’s ultimatum to Quaife to end the affair. He has dazzled with his consummate political skills. But will that be enough to carry him through these crises?

The novel serves as a commentary on the U.K.’s relative waning power, yet is far ahead of the times. As of 2025, the U.K. is still a nuclear power and significant NATO partner. Whether it was Snow’s intent, it also seemed a commentary on the vacuity of political power. Indeed, I wondered whether Quaife’s affair was the one thing of meaning, of real humanity in a life taken up with ambition and power.

I think I only knew of Snow through his book The Two Cultures describing the breakdown of communication between the sciences and humanities. I came across this work as a deal in e-book format, not realizing it was part of a series. Even though it was the ninth in the series, it reads well as a standalone. I just might try a few more!

Review: John Hancock

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Cover image of "John Hancock" by Willard Sterne Randall

John Hancock, Willard Sterne Randall. Dutton (ISBN: 9780593472149) 2025.

Summary: A biography going beyond the flourishing signature to the critical role Hancock played in the American Revolution.

For many of us, the name John Hancock has become synonymous with a flourishing signature, and little more. Some of us know a bit more, that the context of that signature was the Declaration of Independence. What I discovered in reading this biography was that in the first published versions of the Declaration, his signature is the only one, representing his position as President of the Continental Congress. It made him the special object of British attention as a traitor, leading to flight from his Boston home for a time.

All this underscores historian Willard Sterne Randall’s assessment that Hancock played a critical role in the American Revolution. That assessment represents recent archival research. But it was not always so. In 1930, James Truslow Adams described Hancock as “an empty barrel” whose reputation rested on “his money and his gout, the first always used to gain popularity, and the second to prevent his losing it.” Randall makes a very different case.

He begins with Hancock’s humble beginnings as the seven year old son of a clergyman who died. Hancock was subsequently taken under the wing of his uncle Thomas Hancock, who made his fortune as a merchant and shipbuilder. This afforded him a gentleman’s education, including attendance at a writing school to prepare him for work in his uncle’s mercantile enterprises. He completed his Harvard education in time to assist his uncle in the lucrative trade connected with Britain’s French and Indian War.

It was the aftermath of that war that brought the House of Hancock into conflict with the British over customs duties and the seizure of merchandise on which merchants were judged to be evading customs duties. It was also during this time that Thomas began to hand off the business to his capable nephew, making him partner and heir. Thomas was dying of gout, the condition that would later afflict John. Thomas died in 1764, leaving John one of the wealthiest men in the colonies at age 27.

Almost immediately, he plunged into challenging times as business slumped and Parliament passed the hated Stamp Act.. He joined firebrand Sam Adams in resistance to the Act including a boycott. He also seized the opportunity afforded by the Repeal to refocus his trade, building his fortune. Peace was short-lived as the Townshend Acts led to the imposition of new duties. Hancock personally barred a custom’s commissioner bearing outdated orders, precipitating a trial.

The resistance led to British troops in Boston, Hancock’s leadership of the Boston Town Meeting, and his efforts to support armed resistance. Randall’s account traces the subsequent unfolding of events including Hancock;s leadership in Massachusetts and then as President of the Continental Congress. He traces Hancock’s partnership with Washington to provide him the means to fight the British. Hancock spent roughly half of his own wealth in this effort. He also spent his own health, as he increasingly suffered gout attacks.

Randall also describes Hancock’s falling out with Sam Adams as they became political rivals in Massachusetts state government. One of his acts as governor was to advocate ratification of the new Constitution. One of the saddest passages in the book is his meeting with Washington in late 1789. Each witnessed the ravages of the years on the other. Washington wept at how enfeebled Hancock had become.

In conclusion, Randall makes a case for the pivotal contribution Hancock made to American beginnings. First, he was in the forefront of resistance to British policies. He had the foresight to prepare for armed resistance. In addition, he used all his experience with the French and Indian War to provision the troops. He gave political leadership both in Boston and the Continental Congress. Then, he invested a substantial part of his own fortune in the effort. Finally, he gave leadership that helped put his state and the fledgling country on a firm footing. Thus, we learn that this oft-neglected Founder contributed far more than his flourishing signature.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Finally, thanks for visiting Bob on Books.  I appreciate that you spent time here. Feel to “look around” – see the tabs at the top of the website, and the right hand column. And use the buttons below to share this post. Blessings! [Adapted from Enough Light, a blog I follow.]

The Weekly Wrap: June 29-July 5

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The Weekly Wrap: June 29-July 5

Vigilant Reading

Many would agree with me that these are stressful times. And for many of us, we turn to books to escape the stress. And there are times when we need that. But even the escape into fantasy like Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings may awaken us to virtues of courage and perseverance and the seductions of power.

I believe that our times also call us to vigilant reading. It is the reading that helps us discern the deeper realities of what we face amid the blitzkrieg of news. And it may help us to discern how we may act.

During the time Winston Churchill was out of power in the 1930’s, he observed the rise of Adolph Hitler in Germany. During this time, he read Mein Kampf, and from that reading understood the unspeakable evil Hitler would wreak upon Europe, and that he could not be appeased, but must be resisted.

It is my reading of people like Churchill, William Shirer, and Hannah Arendt that has always made me skeptical of people in my own country who have said “it could never happen here.” Germany was highly educated, with liberal, democratic institutions. But a charismatic figure who appealed to longings for national greatness, and fears and resentments against those who were different, such as the Jews aroused a following. Then he subdued legislative and judicial checks to power and used fear and threat to bring other institutions to heel. And he created special police organizations, the Brown Shirts and the Gestapo to “disappear” the opposition and execute the Holocaust.

It’s my reading that arouses a vigilance that believes such things can (and are) happening in my own country. In this brief space, I’m not going to try to lay all that out. Essentially, in social media acronyms, IYKYK.

The question then is how shall we live? I cut my teeth on a “we can change the world” philosophy.” In a sense we did, but I’m not sure it was for the better. My reading of scripture, and other books, particularly from the Anabaptist Christian perspective, is challenging me to not think in terms of making the world different but rather what is means to be different people in the world. The former leads, I’ve concluded, to culture war. The latter reflects Jesus idea of being salt and light (in the Sermon on the Mount).

There’s a lot more I could unpack about this. But my point here is that my reading helps me to be vigilant, watchful to understand the times we are living in and how one lives in such times. Reading is far more, and far better than a great escape!

Five Articles Worth Reading

I’m writing on America’s Independence Day. Lincoln Caplan, in “America the Beautiful” tells the story of the composer of this wonderful anthem, and the troubled times in which it was written.

I mentioned Germany’s universities above. I’m kind of a university history geek, having worked in collegiate ministry. Clara Collier’s “The Origin of the Research University” is an account of the decisive transformation of higher education that took place in nineteenth century Germany.

The physical object of the book is a wonderful thing. “In This Parisian Atelier, Bookbinding Is a Family Art,” James Hill, in a photographic essay takes us into the high-end world of bookbinding.

Much of the emphasis of diet and fitness for women in the West is to make them a physically smaller version of themselves. This has sometimes resulted in untold physical and emotional harm. Julie Beck reviews Casey Johnston’s new book, A Physical Education, which considers weight-lifting as an alternative to the diet and exercise culture. The review appears in The Atlantic under the title “The Feminine Pursuit of Swoleness.”

Finally, Helen Cooper contends “Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles Is an Unexpected Masterclass in Suspense.” Cooper, a suspense writer, takes the reader through the suspense devices Hardy uses.

Quote of the Week

Nathaniel Hawthorne, born July 4, 1804, defies our cheery humanistic optimism when he observes:

“What other dungeon is so dark as one’s own heart! What jailer so inexorable as one’s self!”

I’m reminded of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, referring not to the heart of Africa, but rather, the human heart and its capacity for evil.

Miscellaneous Musings

I’ve read a number of histories of both the American Revolution and the Civil War. Thirty years ago, Ken Burns riveted my attention with his epic PBS series on the Civil War. He’ll be visiting our screens again this fall with The American Revolution. This is one of the best arguments I can make for supporting PBS!

I always love learning about Ohio authors. Our local PBS station recently ran an old interview with Ann Hagedorn about her book, Beyond the River on Ohio’s underground railroad history, particularly around Ripley, Ohio. Hagedorn is an accomplished journalist and author who was born in Dayton. I picked up a couple of her books on Thriftbooks, so you may be hearing more about her.

I had a rare thing happen this week. We stopped by our local Half Price Books store, and I didn’t buy a single thing. However, my wife bought three art books. Perhaps it was thoughts of the unread books I had at home. But nothing struck my fancy.

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Willard Sterne Randall, John Hancock

Tuesday: C. P. Snow, Corridors of Power

Wednesday: Sheila Wray Gregoire and Dr. Keith Gregoire, The Marriage You Want

Thursday: Lawrence S. Ritter, The Glory of Their Times

Friday: Mark A. Yarhouse and Erica S. Tan, Sexuality and Sex Therapy

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap for June 29-July 5!

Find past editions of The Weekly Wrap under The Weekly Wrap heading on this page

Review: 1 & 2 Thessalonians

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Cover image of "1 & 2 Thessalonians" by Johannes W. H. van der Bijl

1 & 2 Thessalonians: A Life in Letters, Johannes W. H. van der Bijl. Langham Global Library (ISBN: 9781786410962) 2025.

Summary A narrative commentary based on Acts and 1 and 2 Thessalonians, on the first half of Paul’s second missionary journey.

Last summer, I had the chance to review a delightful commentary on Galatians by cross-cultural missionary Johannes W. H. van der Bijl. Rather than offering the traditional verse by verse exegesis of Galatians, he explored the historical and cultural backdrop and the context and composition of the letter through a first person, imaginative narrative. Now he brings the same approach to 1 and 2 Thessalonians. For context, he covers the first half of Paul’s second missionary journey. On this, he is accompanied at various points by Silas, Timothy, Luke Aquila, and Priscilla. Much of the book is set in Corinth around 50-51 AD, as Paul ministered, made tents with Aquila and Priscilla, and took in the news from Timothy, who had returned from a follow-up visit to the young church at Thessalonica.

But the narrative begins with Paul’s report back to the Jerusalem believers and the growing tension between Paul and Barnabas over the latter’s cousin, John Mark. All this comes to head in Antioch as they plan a second mission journey. We learn the reasons Paul does not want john Mark to go. Therefore, Barnabas decides not to accompany Paul either, taking John Mark with him. Subsequently, Paul learns from Silas that his apprehensions about John Mark were in error. Some of this represents creative and plausible filling out of what is left unsaid in the biblical narrative. The author also suggests this may contribute to his warmhearted treatment of Timothy, who joins Paul’s group after believing during their visit to Lystra.

We hear of Paul’s uncertainty as they travel through Asia minor, Paul’s dream, the journey to Troas and Philippi. There, they stay with Lydia who believes, until Paul and Silas are beaten and imprisoned. This leads to the conversion of the jailer and his household. Then they reach Thessalonica, where many Jews and Greeks gladly believe. A mob attack on Jason, their host forces their departure. Van der Bijl brings in the risks that unrest bring to the city’s favored status with Rome. They receive another warm reception in Berea until unbelieving Thessalonian Jews attack them. The believers send Paul to Athens while lower profile Silas and Timothy stay behind. They briefly rejoin Paul in Athens. Then Silas goes to Philippi and Timothy back to Thessalonica to instruct the young believers. They agree to meet in Corinth, a leading city of Achaia.

At Corinth, Paul has joined forces with Aquila and Priscilla as God has opened doors for ministry. The return to Corinth and Timothy’s report occasions the letter, for which Silas serves as scribe. The narrative gives us a glimpse of letter writing practice. Paul dictates, Silas drafts, with consultation with others, and Paul approves the product. The first letter encourages the faithful believers, defends Paul’s ministry against accusers and discusses how they ought to live as they await Christ’s return. He addresses matters of faith love, and morality, including sexual morality. Then he sends Timothy off to deliver and explain the letter.

On Timothy’s return, Paul learns of problems in Thessalonica with idlers, speculations, and misunderstandings about their dead and the return of Christ. Paul writes a second letter (c. 51 AD) to address these matters, dispatching Timothy and Silas on another follow-up journey. The narrative concludes with the attacks that lead to Paul’s departure from Corinth.

The narrative approach helps us understand the unique characteristics of each city on their journeys. We understand the animus of the Jews and the concerns about suppressing unrest. We also get a fuller portrait of Timothy as a young man with an appetite, athletic, and wise beyond his years to instruct believers. The household hosted by Aquila and Priscilla embodies a place of rich mission team life. We are also given to understand the concerns Paul sought to address in each letter. Short biographies at the end of the book of key figures in the narrative help us keep all the names straight.

Above all, van der Bijl sets the letters in the context of Paul’s second missionary journey through the use of narrative. We often read without this context, missing much of the subtleties in the content. I look forward to future installments of this series. These are great for devotional reading, a wonderful adjunct to more traditional commentaries, and a great help to new readers of the Bible.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Finally, thanks for visiting Bob on Books.  I appreciate that you spent time here. Feel to “look around” – see the tabs at the top of the website, and the right hand column. And use the buttons below to share this post. Blessings! [Adapted from Enough Light, a blog I follow.]

Review Kingdom through Covenant

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Cover image of "Kingdom through Covenant" by Peter J. Gentry and Stephen J. Wellum

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.)

Summary: A biblical-theological exploration of covenants, how they are related and unfold the reality of God’s kingdom.

The authors of this work contend that the idea of “covenant” is central to the narrative arc of scripture. On this, many Christians are agreed. Where believers differ is in their understanding is in how the covenants unfold and relate to one another. Roughly speaking, there are two major camps: the dispensationalists and the covenant theologians. Their differences are reflected in different conclusions about things like the land promises to Israel and whether baptism under the New Covenant is the counterpart of circumcision, including infants in the covenant, or for professing believers only.

Wellum and Gentry propose is a via media, what might be termed new covenant theology or progressive covenantalism. They argue for the unity of God’s plan and yet that God has progressively unfolded his plan through the covenants. The main idea is the unfolding of his cosmic kingdom rule through each of the covenants. These culminate and find their ultimate fulfillment in Christ.

The book consists in three parts. The first is Prolegomena, outlining the importance of the discussion, the two classic positions and key hermeneutical issues in putting together the covenants. This is followed by a lengthy section of exposition of each of the biblical covenants: Creation, Noah, Abraham, Mosaic, Davidic, and New Covenant. Finally, Part Three focuses on theological interpretation, summarizing the biblical theology of Part Two and a few of its theological implications. An appendix provides a lexical analysis of berit,

One of the striking aspects of the expositions of the covenants is the use of key texts from the major Old Testament prophets to frame their understanding of the New Covenant. They show how prior covenants, and particularly the covenants with Adam and Abraham lay the basis for the New Covenant. Yet they argue that as a fulfillment of the prior covenants, the New Covenant does supersede the previous covenants. But what then of the land promises to Israel? These are fulfilled in the new covenant but “the land” is extended to encompass all creation, all the nations. However, when it comes to baptism, the promises of a new heart signify that the church consists of those born again in Christ. Hence baptism is for believers.

Therefore, the via media proposal has elements each of the “camps” will applaud and each will oppose. However, what is important is that these two scholars bring a careful study of the covenants worth considering by all concerned. What I appreciate is the theological coherence of what they propose. They neither oppose prior covenants to subsequent ones. Nor to they create a disjunction between Israel and the church. Finally, what they propose truly exalts Christ.

Finally, thanks for visiting Bob on Books.  I appreciate that you spent time here. Feel to “look around” – see the tabs at the top of the website, and the right hand column. And use the buttons below to share this post. Blessings! [Adapted from Enough Light, a blog I follow.]

Review: Swing Low, Volume 1

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Cover image of "Swing Low, Volume 1" by Walter R. Strickland II

Swing Low, Volume 1: A History of Black Christianity in the United States, Walter R. Strickland II. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514009369) 2024.

Summary: A history of African-American Christianity tracing stories of social uplift and the lives of faithful Black Christians.

A number of writers and scholars have written about African-American history. The Black church has always played an important part in that history as a source of comfort and hope during slavery and reconstruction, a center of community and cultural life, and a pivotal place of resistance and social uplift.

This new history by Walter R. Strickland II goes deeper in two ways. Along with others, he traces a historical narrative from 1620 up to the present. Distinctive among narratives, he introduces us to numerous faithful Christians in each period of this history. Furthermore, he argues for five theological commitments which he terms “Anchors” that he traces through the historical narrative. They are:

  • Anchor 1: Big God
  • Anchor 2: Jesus
  • Anchor 3: Conversion and Walking in the Spirit
  • Anchor 4: The Good Book
  • Anchor 5: Deliverance

The Anchors are not theological abstractions. Instead, Strickland shows the outworking in praxis of the anchors throughout his history.

The first four chapters show the early spread and adaptation of Christianity among African-Americans. One noteworthy contribution of this history is to establish that there were Christians among the Africans imported to the United States. Slavery didn’t introduce Christianity to Africans! Strickland then traces the spread of Christianity through American revivals, the distortion of slave-master faith, and the move from Blacks in White churches to their own, sometimes illegal, gatherings. At this time, the church was an ‘invisible institution,” albeit one with its own distinctive worship practices, such as the “ring shout.”

Chapters Five and Six trace the emergence of Black churches following Emancipation and how it became the central institution in Black communities. This includes educational opportunities and it was during this period when many of the great Black colleges got their start.

Chapters Seven to Nine cover the period from the rise of Jim Crow through the beginning of the Civil Rights movement. Jim Crow led to the Great Migration north and west. Strickland traces the new church bodies formed during this period including distinctive churches like Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church, which played a formative role in Bonhoeffer’s faith. He also features figures liker W.E.B. DuBois and Ida B. Wells and their influence in the beginnings of the NAACP. Then Chapter 8 focuses on Black Pentecostalism and Black Fundamentalism. For example, we are reminded that William Seymour, a catalytic preacher and Black was at the heart of the Azusa Street revival, marking the beginning of American Pentecostalism. Chapter Nine traces the intellectual beginnings from Mordecai Wyatt Johnson through Howard Thurman and Martin Luther King, Jr. Along with these leaders, we learn of the foot soldiers engage in non-violent direct action.

Strickland pauses his narrative at this point to consider the rise of Black consciousness and the two distinctive responses to it within Black Christianity. One was Black evangelicalism, which is then elaborated in Chapters Ten through Twelve, including key figures like Tom Skinner and efforts at racial reconciliation through parachurch ministries. The other was Black liberationism, discussed in Chapters Thirteen and Fourteen. He concludes with a short account of twenty-first century developments, ending more hopefully than I might have.

I think the “Anchors” play a key role in his optimism. Amid the challenges of slavery, Jim Crow, and persistent racism, he traces persisting belief in a big God, a saving Jesus, a Good Book that relevantly speaks, a transforming Spirit, and the promise of deliverance. Strickland concludes with the words of an old spiritual. “There is a balm in Gilead.”

I so appreciated the profiles of so many key leaders, organizations, and movements during this history. A number were familiar but many were new. I began reading this book on Juneteenth. It indeed emancipated my understanding of African-American Christianity. And I discovered there is more. Volume Two features primary source readings from sermons to contemporary podcast transcripts. Look for my review of that volume later this summer!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Finally, thanks for visiting Bob on Books.  I appreciate that you spent time here. Feel to “look around” – see the tabs at the top of the website, and the right hand column. And use the buttons below to share this post. Blessings! [Adapted from Enough Light, a blog I follow.]

The Month in Reviews: June 2025

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Cover image of "Jesus and the Eyewitnesses" by Richard Bauckham

The Month in Reviews: June 2025

Introduction

I reviewed a number of books of note, both current and backlist during June. In addition to Bauckham’s magisterial work which I will discuss below, I reviewed several books of import in the church context. One was on safeguarding from abuse, a second was on a Christian conception of family, and a third discussed faith deconstruction. Then there was a wonderful, interdisciplinary collection on justice and rights, and a study of the working homeless through a study of five Atlanta families.

Turning to more literary works, I delighted in a collection of the prayers of mystics translated by Scott Cairns. At last, I read Roger Lundin’s now classic biography of Emily Dickinson. And I read one of the few Wallace Stegner works I’ve not read. Of course there are the usual mysteries and a recent edition of Tolkien’s writings on the rise and fall of Numenor. And so much more…

The Reviews

Walking Through Deconstruction, Ian Harber, foreword by Gavin Ortlund. InterVarsity Press (ISBN: 9781514008560) 2025. What it is, why it happens, the phases of deconstruction and walking with someone through this process. Review

How the World Made the West, Josephine Quinn. Random House (ISBN: 9780593729793) 2024. An argument that Western civilization reflects a 4000 year history of the mixing of global cultures. Review

There Is No Place for Us, Brian Goldstone. Crown (ISBN: 9780593237144) 2025. The plight of the working homeless through the experience of five Atlanta families. Review

Justice and Rights, Edited by Terence C. Halliday and K.K. Yeo. Langham Publishing (ISBN: 9781786410023) 2024. Nicholas Wolterstorff in an inter-disciplinary conversation on the salience of justice and rights in Christian scholarship. Review

The Spectator Bird, Wallace Stegner. Vintage (ISBN: 9780525431879) 2017 (first published in 1976). A postcard from a Countess leads a retired literary agent and his wife to revisit the time they’d spent with her. Review

Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, 2nd Edition, Richard Bauckham, foreword by Simon Gathercole. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802874313) 2017. Argues from both early church fathers and internal evidence that the gospels are based on eyewitness testimony. Review

The Saint-Fiacre Affair (Inspector Maigret, 14) Georges Simenon (translated by Shaun Whiteside). Penguin (9780141394756) 2015 (first published in 1932). [Publication link is to American edition currently in print] Maigret receives an anonymous note of a crime to take place in his home town, and though present, cannot prevent it. Review

Love’s Immensity, Scott Cairns. Paraclete Press (ISBN: 9781640605886) 2020 (first published in 2007). Reflections and prayers of mystics from St. Paul to Julian of Norwich translated and rendered in verse. Review

Skills for Safeguarding, Dr. Lisa Compton and Taylor Patterson. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514010730) 2024. A guide for religious organizations to prevent abuse, act appropriately when it occurs, and care for survivors. Review

The Little Book of Data, Justin Evans. HarperCollins Leadership (ISBN: 9781400248353) 2025. Stories of how people have used data to solve big problems and how that might apply in one’s own work. Review

Emily Dickinson and the Art of Belief, Revised Edition (Library of Religious Biography), Roger Lundin. Wm B. Eerdmans (ISBN: 9780802821270) 2004 (My review is based on the first edition, published in 1998). A biography of Dickinson focused on her life and faith drawing upon poetry and letters. Review

Households of Faith, Emily Hunter McGowin. InterVarsity Press (ISBN: 9781514000069) 2025. Instead of blueprints of the biblical family, casts a vision of families as apprentices in love together. Review

The Fall of Númenor, J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Brian Sibley, illustrated by Alan Lee. William Morrow (ISBN: 9780063280687) 2022. The collected writings of Tolkien on the Second Age of Middle Earth, covering the rise and fall of Númenor. Review

Passions of the Soul, Rowan Williams. Bloomsbury Continuum (ISBN: 9781399415682) 2024. An exploration of Eastern Christian writing on the passions that may be distorted into sin, paired with the Beatitudes. Review

Trickster’s Point (Cork O’Connor, 12), William Kent Krueger. Atria Books (ISBN: 9781451645712) 2013. When Jubal Little, candidate for governor is killed by an arrow while bowhunting with Cork, Cork becomes a murder suspect. Review

Footsteps of Faith, John D. Roth, editor. Herald Press (ISBN: 9781513815169) 2025. A 40-day devotional on what it means to live in Jesus’ footsteps, published for the 500th anniversary of Anabaptism. Review

In Praise of Good Bookstores, Jeff Deutsch. Princeton University Press (ISBN: 9780691207766) 2022. A tribute to bookstores, their importance, and what makes them great from a veteran bookseller. Review

Curtain, (Hercule Poirot, 44) Agatha Christie. William Morrow (ISBN: 9780062074096) 2011 (first published in 1975). In Poirot’s last case, he and Captain Hastings reunite at Styles to catch a murderer involved in but unsuspected in five murders. Review

The Problem and Promise of Freedom, Steven Félix-Jäger. Baker Academic (ISBN: 9781540968142) 2025. A critical and constructive theology of freedom, basing true freedom in covenantal relationship with God. Review

Honeybath’s Haven, Michael Innes. Penguin Books (ISBN: 9780140048858) 1979 (out of print). Little does artist Charles Honeybath think that yielding his place in a senior home will lead to an artist friend’s death. Review

Best Book of the Month

As I alluded to in my Introduction, Richard Bauckham’s Jesus and the Eyewitnesses. I thought this was an example of path-breaking scholarship. It was thorough, engaging other theories and objections. He makes the strong case that our canonical gospels either were written by an eyewitness to Jesus, or represent eyewitness testimony. That’s not absolute proof of the truth of these accounts but strengthens our confidence in their credibility.

Quote of the Month

Emily Hunter McGowin’s Households of Faith challenges the “blueprints” for biblical families propounded by many authors. She writes:

“With this book, I hope to speak a word to Christian families of all kinds that is neither a rigid, unattainable ideal nor an uncritical, feel-good placebo. I am not promoting a particular blueprint of family to which all Christians are expected to conform, nor am I trying to obliterate the notion of family as outmoded and useless. Instead, I am seeking a new paradigm for the family within the framework of the church and the kingdom of God, rooted in the Scriptures and the best of the church’s traditions, that I hope will be empowering and encouraging as we learn to live as households of faith today” (p. 10).

She goes on to propose that families are places where we are joint apprentices learning to love as followers of Jesus.

What I’m Reading

It seems that July is the month for reading up on sex and marriage. Having marked our 47th anniversary recently, you’d think we have this down. But the two books I’m reading right now are both worthwhile. The Marriage You Want by Sheila Wray Gregoire and Keith Gregoire makes the point that our teamwork in all of life is connected with the intimacies of the marriage bed. Sexuality and Sex Therapy is written for Christians who are engaged in helping couples with sexual issues. It provides solid information, which is much needed because of the bad counsel sometimes offered by Christians in this area.

On a different note, Why I’m Still a Christian by Justin Brierly reflects two decades of conversations with atheist and those of other faiths and gives his reasons for still believing in Christ through it all. I loved Abraham Verghese’s The Covenant of Water and am finding myself totally engrossed in his earlier Cutting for Stone. Which is better? I can’t yet say. Finally, I try to read a baseball book every summer. This year, I’m reading The Glory of Their Times by Lawrence S. Ritter. The book consists of oral histories from some the greats from the early 1900’s. While the positions and rules haven’t changed much, so much else has!

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!

Review: Honeybath’s Haven

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Cover image of "Honeybath's Haven" by Michael Innes

Honeybath’s Haven, Michael Innes. Penguin Books (ISBN: 9780140048858) 1979 (out of print).

Summary: Little does artist Charles Honeybath think that yielding his place in a senior home will lead to an artist friend’s death.

I’ve long been a fan of Michael Innes Appleby mysteries. I did not look too closely when I picked up several Innes paperbacks with the green Penguin crime fiction spines. Therefore, I did not realize I had found an Innes book in which Appleby was not the protagonist. Instead, this is one of several featuring artist Charles Honeybath.

In this book, we learn that Honeybath had reserved a place at Hanwell Court, what today we might call a retirement community. But a visit leads to second thoughts. And then he learns of the hapless state of his artist friend Edwin Lightfoot. He’s taken to episodes in which he pretends to be a long-dead petty criminal, Flannel Foot. His art, apart from a few sketches, has taken a turn to the mediocre. It’s driving his wife, Melissa, crazy, and in the end she leaves him.

Honeybath learns of his miserable state from Melissa’s brother, Ambrose Prout. Edwin has lost their flat and lives miserably in his studio. Honeybath remembers his place at Hanwell Court and offers it to Edwin. He accepts.

Hanwell Court is a stately old estate divided into apartments, in a park-like setting. There is a resident psychiatrist, Dr. Michaelis, to attend to the mental health needs of the eccentric individuals who make their home there. Richard Gaunt has a fascination with lethal weapons like stilettoes. Colonel Dacre loves his rifles, and spending time at the rifle range (and occasionally stalking other prey). Mr. Brown, the man in the panama hat, seems to be the resident snoop, aware of everyone’s doings. Lady Munden, recently widowed, grows seaweed in the community pond, her pet project.

At first Edwin appears to do well. His paintings are mediocre but his sketches show a flair of his old genius. Most are caricatures of the residents, seemingly well-received by all but Lady Munden. However, Honeybath is uneasy about the “care” his friend is receiving from Dr. Michaelis. Then he discovers that Ambrose Prout is conspiring with Dr. Michelis to find missing works from Lightfoot’s zenith as an artist.

Honeybath gets his friend away on an artist’s excursion to Italy. While in Pisa, they run into Melissa, and Honeybath reveals Ambrose’s doings. When Edwin hears of this, he decides to immediately return to set things straight. A few days later, Hanwell Court employees find his body tangled in Lady Munden’s seaweed.

Honeybath doesn’t think it was an accident. Nor does Adamson, a Scotland Yard investigator. Yet, while several people might have motive against Lightfoot, was it enough for murder? Only the invasion of a criminal gang onto Hanwell Court’s grounds will expose the murderer and contribute to that person’s demise.

While this plot certainly had enough twists and turns to keep the reader wondering, this didn’t seem to have the elegance and flow of the Appleby stories. Honeybath seems more storyteller than sleuth. I like Innes as a writer for style and plotting. However, this was not one of my favorites.

Finally, thanks for visiting Bob on Books.  I appreciate that you spent time here. Feel to “look around” – see the tabs at the top of the website, and the right hand column. And use the buttons below to share this post. Blessings! [Adapted from Enough Light, a blog I follow.]

The Weekly Wrap: June 22-28

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person holding brown paper bag
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The Weekly Wrap: June 22-28

Barnes & Noble and the Big Five

A few weeks ago, my wife and I visited our new Barnes & Noble store (they had moved from a nearby location into a more spacious building). Overall, we were quite impressed with the atmosphere. But there was one thing we noticed in different sections of the store.

My wife is an artist and is always on the lookout for books on technique. One publisher excels in this area but we did not see any of their books. As you know, I review a number of religious books. I did not see hardly any of the imprints I review on the shelves. I’m on good terms with a publicist at one of those houses and she observed it is very hard for their representatives to get their books into Barnes & Noble.

It turns out that this is a systemic issue. Publisher’s Weekly ran an article titled “Independent Publishers Are Fed Up with Barnes & Noble” The reason is that mid-size and smaller publishers who aren’t one of “the Big Five” have a very hard time getting their books on the shelves. Are the Big Five books better? Certainly in some cases, but I would have no problem in that religion section suggesting good titles by notable authors with attractive cover design from publishers not represented.

What surprises me is that I thought Daunt’s Barnes & Noble was letting booksellers operate more like indies. Apparently, this doesn’t extend to how they curate their book buys.

Everyone likes to rail against Amazon. But without fail, I find Amazon links to every book I review (I use publisher’s links to let people make their own buying choice). It’s no wonder that many of the publishers I review with work with Amazon. They account for a high percentage of their sales. But people miss the particular browsing experience of the bookstore in using Amazon.

What this requires of brick and mortar B & N stores is that the booksellers truly function more like indies. It means harder work assessing more publishing lines and reading reviews of a broader range of books. And it means a different corporate vision of the publishing industry that refuses to marginalize small houses.

Five Articles Worth Reading

I know there are a number of Jane Austen fans out there. Lauren Groff contends that “Jane Austen’s Boldest Novel Is Also Her Least Understood.” The novel is Mansfield Park.

Most of us know Toni Morrison for her novels. However, most of us do not know of her role as an editor at Random House. Rather than just promote her own work, she championed the works of a rising generation of Black writers from Angela Davis and Huey Newton to Lucille Clifton and Gayl Jones. Clint Smith uncovers this unseen work of Morrison in “How Toni Morrison Changed Publishing.”

While the whole aim of our online technologies of commerce is to make buying “frictionless,” that may not be good for all of life. Select your items, click one button, and the seller will be paid and the items shipped to you, sometimes even on the same day. But is this a good thing? Regina Munch reviews Christine Rosen’s The Extinction of Experience, In “Encounters with Reality” she explores how some friction might be a good thing in our lives.

Between last year’s publication of James and Ron Chernow’s new biography, Mark Twain is on many of our minds. In particular, we like his witty quotes. But did he really say it? “Did Mark Twain Really Say That?” includes a fun quiz of potential Twain quotes. I only identified 53 percent of them correctly. Maybe you can do better!

Lastly, ” ‘Bookworm, Cliché, Deadline…’ And Other Unexpected Etymologies” explores the origins of the bookish words and phrases peculiar to bibliophiles.

Quote of the Week

Pearl S. Buck, the missionary to China and novelist, born on June 26, 1892, made this comment that is perennially relevant:

“When good people in any country cease their vigilance and struggle, then evil men prevail.”

Miscellaneous Musings

I posted several articles this week on the low rates at which men are reading fiction and why they should. Personally, I don’t think telling men what they “should” do is a winning strategy. As a reviewer, I have a higher tolerance for literary fiction than most men. I have to admit, most covers and cover copy of the latest books don’t attract me. Not sure I can say why nor what needs to change. Instead I turn to classics, or mysteries, or history to find a good read. Maybe that’s just me but it appears I’m not alone.

The court decision in favor of Meta AI found that training AI on books was “fair use.” I think this is wrong and a form of theft. In so many aspects of AI, we are giving Big Tech what it wants–intellectual property, energy, water, and pervasive presence. While there may be good uses of AI, the amoral character of the industry does not bode well. in my opinion.

Finally, I admitted on my Facebook page that this blogging thing is getting harder. Facebook had been a major source of traffic to my blog at one time. Now, blog posts just get buried by Facebook’s algorithms unless devoted followers like and share them like crazy (hint, hint!). I like writing, but I also like featuring good books. I will keep writing because it crystallizes my own thinking about a book. but I will try some other things as well.

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Michael Innes, Honeybath’s Haven

Tuesday: The Month in Reviews: June 2025

Wednesday: Walter R. Strickland II, Swing Low: A History of Black Christianity in the United States

Thursday: Peter Gentry and Stephen Wellum, Kingdom Through Covenant

Friday, Johannes W. H. van der Bijl, 1 & 2 Thessalonians

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap for June 22-28!

Find past editions of The Weekly Wrap under The Weekly Wrap heading on this page