Thomas Nelson

Book Review: “100 Bible Stories, 100 Bible Songs”

I think 100 Bible Stories, 100 Bible Songs by Stephen Elkins is a cool, somewhat unusual idea for a Bible storybook. Instead of having only child-length Bible stories, it also comes with 2 CDs that have songs that accompany each story.  There’s a nice combination of songs, hymns, and spiritual songs, and also a good combination of old favorites (for our family, anyway), and new songs.

The stories presented in the Bible are short, even for a children’s Bible, which I guess is because the songs are included, and take up some normal reading time.  The children singing on the CD are cute and likable.  My own children really like the music, and enjoy looking at new Bible illustrations, even if the stories are already familiar to them, and shorter and less detailed than they are used to.

My only complaint is the way the CDs are packaged.  They are almost impossible to get out of the book and their vinyl envelope within it without damaging them.  I guess there are no alternative ways to pack a set of CDs in a book, but I could see the discs becoming damaged easily, thus defeating the purpose of the songs along *with* the stories.

Book Review: “Nelson’s Illustrated Guide to Religions”

The latest edition of Nelson’s Illustrated Guide to Religions by James Beverley is an excellent resource.  Unlike a lot of world religion reference books, this one, as the title suggests, contains many pictures, which are very helpful in picturing how a religion is practiced.

I also liked the charts and tables presented in the book.  There was a lot of good comparative information on different divisions within religions/denominations, including date of formation and total number of followers.

Another useful aspect are the website addresses given for more information on religions.  Some are official websites run by the different denomination or religion, some are unofficial websites (even some that I am sure that members of a particular religion would *not* want people reading!), but they all provide the reader with a starting point for further research.

The only thing I didn’t care for about this particular edition was it’s tendency to focus on some of the more “fringe” aspects of particular religions.  One such example is the section on Kabbalah–to some extent, I understand this, because it is culturally relevant, and I’m sure people are looking for information on it, but a shorter description would have been adequate.

This is a great book to keep at home for when you have questions about a religion, or are trying to remember something you learned in the past!

Book Review: “It Happened in Italy”

Elizabeth Bettina’s book about Italian Holocaust survivors was completely eye-opening and fascinating.

I will be honest–my knowledge of Italy’s role in World War II is sketchy, at best.  I know plenty about Germany, and that country’s treatment of Jews, but I had never even considered that there were Jews in Italy, much less how they would have fared in concentration camps.  What I learned is that they were treated completely differently than their Jewish counterparts elsewhere in Europe, and this was largely due to the people of Italy’s determination and compassion.

I loved the photos–as they say, “a picture paints a thousand words,” and the photos in this story were no exception. Even though they were small, and in black and white, they helped me picture people and places, and get a feeling for the culture in which the book is placed.

The letters and historical documents in the appendices were also beneficial, and helped to serve as a reminder that while the book is far from dry, and reads much like a story, it is true, and tells the story of real people and real experiences.

My one criticism of the book is that the transitions between the chapters are somewhat rough in some places.  Aside from that, I found this to be a very informative and revealing book.

Book Review: “The Noticer”

Andy Andrews’ The Noticer is one in a long line of current self-help/spiritual books.  And it reads just like all the rest.

It’s an OK story–I did want to know how the book ended, so I read it pretty quickly.  Several things about the book bothered me, however.  First of all, the line between fact and fiction was almost impossible to locate.  Based on what I knew of the author’s personal life, I spent at least half of the book wondering if he was claiming that the events he was writing about had actually transpired, or if it was just an allegory.  I prefer my reading to be more straightforward–fact of fiction; I want to know upfront, because that impacts how I read the book.

The other thing that really bothered me about this book is the fact that it’s not at all original.  The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman is mimicked in the form of “four love dialects.” which turned out to be the exact same thing that Chapman has been writing about for years, with two of the original languages combined into one “dialect,” and the rest remaining the same.

The rest of the book followed in the same vein–a lack of original ideas, and nothing really helpful.

Book Review: “The American Patriot’s Bible”

I really wanted to like The American Patriot’s Bible.  It’s printed in the New King James version, which isn’t my favorite, but is a reliable translation.  I love American history.  And the material presented within the Bible is mostly good–summaries of events in our history, quotes from the founding fathers and Presidents, and notes at each Bible verse that was chosen by a President as the spot on which he was sworn into office . But, in the end, I think it’s a totally inappropriate way to present the Bible.

First of all, Americans are not the only people to read the Bible.  It’s all fine and good to tie our country’s history to our faith, but in doing so, most of the world, and most of world history, is excluded.

I also find that the way this Bible presents early American history is twisted, at best.  While there is an acknowledgment that not all the founding fathers were Christian, the resources assume that they still operated from a Christian worldview, which is not necessarily true.

The supplementary materials could have made a nice handbook or Bible study on their own, but I think it was a big mistake to try to interleave them with the Holy Scriptures.

Book Review: “Face of Betrayal”

I knew within the first five pages that I was going to love Face of Betrayal by Lis Wiehl.  The characters are likable and easy to relate to, and suspense was built up right from the start.

Aside from the main plot–where did Katie Converse disappear to shortly before Christmas?–there were several sub-plots, which I’m guessing will be explored further in the next book.  A Federal Prosecutor who is dealing with pregnancy following infertility, as well as death threats; a reporter hoping to get her “big break,” and tangled in an abusive relationship; and an FBI agent who deals with the challenges of being a single mother, and of being a minority in law enforcement.  Some of these sub-plots were resolved, others were barely explored, so there is a good balance of both satisfaction, and the desire to know what happens next.

The main story about the disappearance of a young Senate page kept me wondering right up the end. Even as some of my questions began to be answered, more questions popped up, and I was continually guessing as to what happened, and re-evaluating the conclusions I thought I had come to, as I discovered that I was, on many occasions, quite wrong.

Excellent political mystery–I thoroughly enjoyed it, and can’t wait for Hand of Fate to be published.

Book Review: “In the Footsteps of Paul”

The idea for In the Footsteps of Paul by Ken Duncan is a good one.  A kind of a photo-journal of the places the apostle Paul visited on his various missionary journeys.  The pictures in the book are beautiful.  Some of them look exactly as I imagine the Biblical locations to have looked.  Some show a more modern portrayal of these old cities. And still others demonstrate how cities often decline and fall into disrepair over time.

While I really enjoyed the photography, I found the rest of the book to be lacking. I would have preferred to have only Biblical text, and of course captions identifying the photos, as the entire text of the book. Instead, there were also many quotes used, as well as narrative by the author. The quotes used on many of the pages were distracting. Some of the narrative provided was OK, but much of that, like the quotes, was a distraction to both the photos and the Biblical text.

The other thing I found off-putting about this book was the number of times the author listed a photo as a place Paul “probably” saw, or “must have” seen.  If we do not know for sure it is a place he actually traveled to, saw or experienced, I don’t understand it’s place in the book. I prefer accuracy, not probably or might have.

This would make a good coffee table book, if you just want to flip through it and look at some amazing photos, but the written content leaves something to be desired.

Book Review: “Christianity in Crisis–21st Century”

Hank Hanegraaff’s latest book looks at the problems and pitfalls of the very popular “Faith movement” in today’s Christian churches.  He isn’t afraid to name names (and, in fact, has a lengthy list of preachers who are giving false information, as well as what to look out for in those “sermons”).

Hanegraaff uses the acronym “FLAWS” to point out the major failings of the Faith movement, most of which have to do with the fact that this type of Christianity is all about “me, me, me” and very little about He who authored it. Each letter of FLAWS (Faith in Faith, Little Gods, Atonement Atrocities, Wealth & Want, and Sickeness & Suffering) is further broken down into four smaller, spiritual flaws

He then “gets back to basics” with the simple initials A,B,C,D,E, (Amen, Bible, Church, Defense, and Essentials) to counteract the mistakes of the Faith movement.  This part of the book, while much shorter than the cast of characters and the explanation of the FLAWS, is very practical, and gets straight to the heart of what the Christian life should be about.

I found this book to be very informative, and Hanegraaff really hit the nail on the head in addressing the problems of the church today. It is quite long, perhaps too long in some spots, but would be a beneficial read to anyone trying to sort out what is truth, and what is feel good hoopla coming from a lot of today’s popular “preachers.”

Book Review: “Kiss”

I’m not normally one to pick up a mystery novel.  Don’t usually like them, for whatever reason.  But Kiss makes me want to go out and get more of Ted Dekker’s books–it was that good.  I really enjoyed Shauna’s quest to discover what happened to her in the “missing” six months of her life and who was really responsible for the accident that disabled her brother and stole her memories, as well as her struggle to determine whom she could trust.

The pacing was excellent–it was the type of book you want to stay up until two in the morning reading (and I very nearly did!). The suspense was great–I couldn’t get a handle on who the bad guys really were until close to the end of the book. There was political intrigue, amnesia, money-laundering and murder–everything you would want out of a good suspense story.  Parts of the plot were a bit far-fetched, but it is fiction, after all.

My only real criticism is that the Christian theme is a little weak for a Christian publisher.  Shauna’s faith (or lack thereof) was only mentioned in passing through most of the book, and the way the issue was resolved in the end was a little too anti-climactic.