Publisher Crawling

I am working on a new feature for Discerning Reader. Every week I'll troll through a long list of publishers and bestsellers lists to try to find new or upcoming books that look like they will be of particular interest. Since Discerning Reader isn't quite ready to handle the column yet, I thought I'd post it here. This is a sample of what the column will look like.

The Pirate Queen: Queen Elizabeth I, Her Pirate Adventurers, and the Dawn of Empire by Susan Ronald Hardcover HarperCollins 496 Pages Available July 1, 2007

Claims to be a fresh look at a paradoxical historical figure who continues to fascinate. She played a strange but critical role in the furtherance of Protestantism shortly during the late Reformation.

Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power by Robert Dallek Hardcover HarperCollins 752 Pages Available now

This one is written by a prominent historian and deals with a couple of fascinating figures. Sounds promising to me!

God's Gold: A Quest for the Lost Temple Treasures of Jerusalem by Sean Kingsley HarperCollins 336 Pages Available June 1, 2007

"God's Gold explores the fate of the greatest biblical treasure in history, the central icons of the Jewish faith looted from the Temple of Jerusalem." Sounds like yet another attempt to convince us that someone has found biblical treasures (or is on the very verge of finding them).

The Political Teachings of Jesus by Tod Lindberg Hardcover HarperCollins Pages TBA Available June 15, 2007

The book's summary is not yet available. But I think we can probably guess.

The Case for the Real Jesus: A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ by Lee Strobel Softcover Zondervan 288 Pages Available September 30, 2007

Strobel, an unlikely apologist, will continue his "The Case For..." franchise and evaluate the arguments and evidence being advanced by prominent atheists, liberal theologians, Muslim scholars, and others.

Jesus of Nazareth by Joseph Ratzinger Hardcover DoubleDay 400 Pages Available now

The new pope's first book written as pope. I wonder how many meetings it took to decide whether his name or title would appear more prominently on the cover. Ratzinger says "This book is...my personal search 'for the face of the Lord.'"

Protestant Theology at the Crossroads: How to Face the Crucial Tasks for Theology in the Twenty-First Century by Gerhard Sauter Paperback Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company 188 Pages Available now

I haven't heard of the author before but it sounds like it should, by rights, be interesting.

John Donne: The Reformed Soul: A Biography by John Stubbs Hardcover W.W. Norton 576 Pages Available now

Looks like an interesting biography of a fascinating and important figure. This book has already been widely reviewed in major media outlets and has been reviewed positively.

The Dawkins Delusion?: Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine by Alister E. McGrath and Joanna Collicutt Mcgrath Hardcover IVP Books 144 Pages Available July 30, 2007

Alister and Joanna McGrath take on the grumpy Richard Dawkins and his mega-selling The God Delusion. But will anyone still be reading Dawkins' book when this one is released?

1-3 John: New Testament Commentary by John MacArthur Hardcover Moody Publishers 304 Pages Available now

The latest entry in MacArthur's commentary series which is, at long last, nearing completion.