While I am committed to reading and reviewing Christian books, I also enjoy reading a steady diet of books published for the general market. I suppose my interests lean toward history, but I do read other books as well. Here are a few of the titles I’ve enjoyed over the past couple of months. (Note: These are all general market books, so may include elements like profanity.)
The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides is a riveting account of Captain Cook’s fateful third voyage around the world—an attempt to discover the fabled Northwest Passage. It transports the reader back to an age of discovery when Europeans were exploring the world and, at times, exploiting it. This, like Sides’ other books, is a joy to read and comes highly recommended. Once I began reading it, I couldn’t put it down! The author is at times a bit antagonistic or sarcastic toward Christianity, as if missionaries were wrong to come to French Polynesia specifically to combat the practices of infanticide or human sacrifice. Like so many authors, he seems to need to briefly air his anti-Christian credentials and can then move on. But that antagonism is easily set aside to simply enjoy the riveting—and at times disturbing—narrative. Of all the books on this list, this may be the one I enjoyed the most.
You probably can’t understand the history of the Charismatic movement, nor even the history of Christianity in the United States, unless you account for Aimee Semple McPherson. Though little remembered in most circles today, she was an exceedingly popular and influential figure in her time—not to mention an immoral and heretical one—whose story is well-told in Claire Hoffman’s Sister, Sinner. It tells the story of Sister Aimee’s almost-too-crazy-to-be-true life while focusing especially on her mysterious month-long disappearance. I have read several books on Semple McPherson’s life, but probably enjoyed this one more than the rest.
David Cannadine’s Queen Elizabeth II is a concise biography of one of the most influential figures of the twentieth century. Of course, I say that as a citizen of a Commonwealth country and, therefore, as someone who can say she was my queen for the great majority of my life (and, remarkably, almost the entirety of my parents’ lives). Yet it cannot be denied that she was a committed and steadying figure for the duration of her remarkable time in power. Though often betrayed and shamed by her family members, she remained dignified and absolutely committed to duty. She understood herself to be the servant of her people, and it seems fitting that, to the end of her life, she signed her letters “Your servant, Elizabeth R.” I doubt we will ever again see the likes of her, and this book is a short but illuminating record of her life.
I often find joy in reading a book written by someone who is passionate about what he does, even if his passions are not my own. Enthusiasm is contagious. Paul Rosolie is passionate about preserving the Amazon rainforest, and Junglekeeper describes the ways he has dedicated his life to the task. His love of nature is inspiring and his vivid descriptions of its many marvels cause me to look closer at the wonder of creation, lament the unnecessary damage humans have caused, and make me long for the new creation when all will be refreshed, renewed, and remade. Rosolie’s inability and unwillingness to allow his wonder to progress to worship the Creator reminds me how tragic it is when nature becomes its own god instead of leading to the true and living God who made this world to reflect his attributes and his glory.
Strangers by Belle Burden is the divorce memoir du jour and one that launched straight onto all the bestseller lists. In it, Burden describes the sudden and unexpected news of her husband’s affair and desire to leave her. Though Belle lives a life very different from my own (a wealthy, progressive New Yorker), her shock, pain, and long journey to acceptance are relatable and have helped me better understand the agony of those who have been so harshly and unexpectedly jilted. She writes with honesty, yet maintains respect even for the guilty, and refuses to stoop to vindictiveness or exhibitionism. Burden is a gifted writer, and her memoir, though difficult to read at times because of the subject matter, has a haunting kind of beauty to it.
The Zorg tells the story of one of history’s most notorious and influential slave ships. The ship ran out of drinking water as it neared the Caribbean, so the owners decided to jettison slaves overboard to save themselves. When they returned to England, they had the audacity to file an insurance claim for lost property. This claim went before the legal courts and, more importantly, the court of public opinion. This sparked outrage and began a process of change that would eventually lead to the end of slavery in England and beyond. Though not a Christian book, you’ll be proud to read of the Christians who led the way in this noble fight for justice. It reminds me that we are well overdue for fresh biographies of Thomas Clarkson or Granville Sharpe. We have many books about Newton and Wilberforce, but could use some about the other two!
Anyone who is familiar with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is likely to have encountered Christine Kuehn’s grandfather, who, as a German spy, helped reconnoiter the American forces and even helped guide the Japanese aircraft to their targets. Yet Kuehn herself remained entirely ignorant of this until well into her adulthood. Family of Spies is her attempt to discover her roots and to come to terms with her Nazi forebears. She tells their story, and her own, with skill and interest.
Of all the shipwrecks in the world, few have gripped the imaginations of more treasure hunters than San José, a Spanish treasure galleon that went down near Cartagena in the late 1700s. Some historians estimate that, if recovered, its treasure would be worth billions of dollars today. Though many set out to find it in the centuries since it was lost, none had done so successfully, and it remained on the bottom of the Caribbean Sea. Neptune’s Fortune by Julian Sancton tells the tale of Roger Dooley, an eccentric and larger-than-life Cuban-American, who discovered a crucial and long-lost clue and who followed it to a spot that remains secret to this day. Though the book is a mite wordy at times, it is both interesting and engaging. After all, who hasn’t dreamed of discovering hidden treasure at one time or another?
Those with an interest in the Second World War will enjoy An Army at Dawn. This is the opening volume in Rick Atkinson’s “Liberation Trilogy,” which follows the U.S. military through its three major European campaigns—North Africa, Italy, and Western Europe. In describing America’s battles across Morocco and Tunisia, it strikes just the right balance in being thorough but not exhaustive (and, therefore, exhausting). I’m looking forward to pressing on with the next two volumes in the series.
Stéphane Bréitwieser is history’s most prolific and successful art thief, and Michael Finkel tells his story in the aptly-titled The Art Thief. Of interest, Bréitwieser’s life has echoes of Ecclesiastes in that no matter how much he stole or how precious it was, it never satisfied him. There may be shades of Augustine’s experience as well, for it’s almost like Bréitwieser steals simply for the sake of stealing. This account of his life describes him, but doesn’t glamorize him. Rather, it makes him an object of pity because his insatiable habit eventually cost him everything until he was left with a lonely, empty, and meaningless life. Sin always gets the last laugh.
I don’t think I have ever played a game by Blizzard, one of the world’s most successful and influential creators of video games. Their hits set in the Diablo, Warcraft, StarCraft, and Hearthstone franchises have consumed literally billions of hours of their players’ time and have made many of their creators almost unimaginably wealthy. Blizzard’s story, from its unlikely rise to entering into a creative and financial decline, is told in Jason Schreier’s Play Nice. You don’t need to be a gamer or a fan of Blizzard games to enjoy reading it, for even just the fact that these games have defined the childhoods (and often the adulthoods) of millions of people is enough to make it worth reading.
