This is a list of some books that I either like or have found significant for one reason or another. Some have notes, but I have tried to avoid spoilers. I'm no literature professor (or even literature student) so don't look for anything too deep. The books are broken into categories with no real attempt to rank them.
What can I say? The one book that is vital to any knowledge about, or understanding of, God. Even if you don't believe in God it is a critical piece of reading to understand western culture. There are any number of reading guides for reading through the Bible in a year, or to read the Bible story chronologically or to read it for inspiration. Here are Some Suggestions you might want to consider. If you want to read through the entire Bible in a year see my Bible Reading Schedule pages. I also have a survey of all the books of the Bible that gives a bit of background information for each book. There is also a brief "Theology 101 Cheat Sheet" that gives some definitions of terms often used in discussing Christianity.
Just a note on Bible versions, since many people seem to be confused by the large number of different Bibles available. There are two basic types of Bible versions, translations and paraphrases. A translation attempts to capture the exact words of the original language and represent them in English while a paraphrase tries to capture the meaning of a passage and then state it in English. A good paraphrase is refreshing and easy to read, but even the best tend to be influenced quite a bit by the opinions of the person doing the paraphrasing. I think that every believer should have at least one translation version in their collection and if they want to they can add a paraphrase for reading. As a general rule I feel that Bible study should be done using a translation version rather than a paraphrase, although God's truth can be discovered in either one. Some of the most common translation versions are the King James Version (KJV), the New King James Version (NKJV), the New International Version (NIV) and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). Some popular paraphrases are the New Living Bible (NLB) and the Good News Bible.
A recent look at my shelves reveals that I own around 30 Bibles or New Testaments, not counting the boxes of Bibles that I have to give away. Out of this collection of Bibles there are a few that stand out. First is my NKJV Nelson Study Bible that I use for most of my devotional reading and study, I also constantly use a NKJV compact Bible with a snap flap for visitation and to have with me whenever I am out and about. My third significant Bible is my large print edition of the NKJV that I use when I am preaching - I need the large print to be able to read it easily! When I study I frequently go to my copy of The Amplified Bible, which attempts to clarify the actual meaning of the Hebrew and Greek words that underly the English translation. For a fresh view of the New Testament I sometimes turn to my copy of The Message, a contemporary paraphrase that attemps to capture the flow of the narrative and make it readily readable and easily understood. For the Gospels and most of the Epistles I find it good, but I really don't care for the way it treats the Psalms. I also frequently use one of my pocket New Testaments in the NIV. I encourage every believer to get ahold of and read as many different versions of the Scriptures as they can, God is able to speak through any of them and if you find one you really enjoy reading you will read it more and reap greater benefits from it. To my thinking it is a great tragedy when a Christian hardly ever reads their Bible because "I just can't follow all those thee's and thou's". Find a version you like and read it, read it, read it!
In addition to the problem of versions, there is also one of the various types of helps that are included in the various study and devotional Bibles. I personally like the Nelson Study Bible in the New King James Version. I am not terribly fond of most devotional Bibles, but that is purely personal preference. One thing that is is important to bear in mind when using a study Bible is that the study notes are not Scripture. They may be well researched and carefully written, but they are not inspired by God and must never be taken as equal to the actual words of the Scriptures.
There are few books that I would say can actually change your life. This is one that can certainly provide the material though. I first read this as a borrowed copy and immediately went and bought my own.
Another book that can provide life changing insights. It is more targeted to the pastor or church leader than the lay person, but the points it deals with are relevant to all believers. This is out of print and it can be very had to get a copy. I got my brand new copy through a watch I set at the Advanced Book Exchange. Another good source for out of print theology and similar books is Brightlight Books.
An update on the availability of Real Worship. I understand that a second edition has been issued and is now available through major Christian book dealers. Look for it online at Christian Book Distributors.
OK, not everyone would put a 1260 page theology book on their favorites list, but this goes beyond what you would consider a "normal" theology book. It is well written, not just to explain concepts clearly, but to make them both readable and interesting. Grudem adds to the usefulness and interest of the book by including personal application questions, an extensive bibliography, cross-references to other theology works and other material that is of interest to the believer at the end of each chapter. For a brief feel for his writing consider this passage:
Scripture never says that we are justified because of the inherent goodness of our faith, as if our faith has merit before God. Rather, Scripture says that we are justified "by means of" our faith, understanding faith to be the instrument through which justification is given to us, but not at all an activity that earns us merit or favor with God. Rather, we are justified solely because of the merits of Christ's work (Rom. 5:17-19).
Full of great stuff on every significant point of theology or doctrine - and this one is still currently in print and is quite affordable.
These are mostly personal narrative accounts from the U.S. Civil War, World War I, World War II and the Vietnam war. I hope that these give a "foxhole view of history" which better illustrates the real issues facing the people doing the fighting than does the typical historical account.
I'm listing this as yet another really, really good personal narrative from WWII. William Foley was young when he joined the army and got to Europe right after the worst of the Bulge. He grew up fast in combat and became a scout and platoon leader. What really sets him apart, however, is that he was an artist who captured many of the scenes of battle on paper. The artists eye also comes through in his descriptions of events, he sees and describes details that many would miss. Consider this:
It is said the opera singer attains true color of voice only after having experienced a wondrous affair. In a perverse sense, the artist in me was having an illustrious affair with war - and war was devoid of color. This realization had me doing a quick rerun, in reverse, of my short tape of combat experience. I no longer received images in the colors I used to perceive; I only saw black and several values of gray (falling well short of the white of snow). How many times had I seen snow coated and recoated with smoke and burned powder? I tried to project red blood onto my scene-and try as I could, I saw only blood, black as night moss, on burned limbs and gray-muddied cloth. The fresh olive drab color of my uniform and equipment quickly was absorbed into earth tones like a sponge dropped in ice-cold coffee. Man became indistinguishable from the mud that covered vehicles and weapons These winter gray forests, with areas of shattered and blackened poles (once trees) stretched from Switzerland to the North Sea.
Geat stuff that grabs you and won't let go. This is the type of book that leaves you thinking about the realities and moralities of war long after you have finished the last page.
This is probably the best personal narrative of W.W.II combat that I have read. It is the autobiographical account of a soldier in the German Gross Deutschland division, which fought on the Russian front. The portraits of combat are intense and moving and the picture of a country going down to defeat is very thought provoking. I'm not exactly a pacifist, but this is a book which would make anyone consider deeply the folly of war. There have been a number of attempts to claim that this book is actually a work of fiction, but that position has been pretty well discounted by research with has actually located the author in France.
Sledge fought with the U.S. Marines in the WW II battles for Peleliu and for Okinawa. His account is a very intense look at what the individual Marine went through in the front lines. If you've ever wondered what it was really like to be involved in the Pacific war this book will tell you. The author outlined parts of the book immediately after the campaigns, so the recollections were fresh, which gives this book a somewhat different feeling than some of those written 20-30 years after the fact.
The personal memoirs of a lieutenant leading a combat platoon in Vietnam during 1970-71, Platoon Leader deals with the war from a perspective that is slightly elevated from that of the typical soldier's recollections, but which does not aspire to be an all-encompassing or overview of the events. McDonaugh recounts the difficulties in assuming the leadership of a platoon that has considerable combat experience when he himself had none. As his learning progresses, through injuries, success and failure we see how the small units that really fought the Vietnam war worked.
If surviving the war was your goal, then you didn't want to be a machine gunner in Vietnam. Johnnie Clark made it through. His story is one of growing up in the war and growing strong in his faith.
I like to read biographies. I perhaps especially like to read autobiographies. Among autobiographies I prefer those that tend toward the end of being situational memiors, that is to say that they are the author's account of a particular time or even in his or her life. I also like football, so as I peruse the library shelves anything that smacks of being an autobiography of a football player is likely to grab my attention. Even more so if it has something to do with the Seahawks. Random stuff here really, but these are books that I enjoyed.
I tend to read a lot, and anything I see on the library shelves that hints of football is likely to catch my
eye. Last week I grabbed this one from the biography section and was very pleased to find that it was an excellent
read.
The book is "Huddle: Fathers, Sons and Football" by Andrew H. Malcolm. He isn't some great semi-unknown
pro football player, but is rather a man who discovered football as a young boy and overcame small size to become
a good player by High School. The book is mostly about the emotions and life-lessons that he learned through playing
and especially those that were imparted by his father and that he himself later imparts to his own sons. Football,
or any team sport, teaches us a lot of lessons that go far beyond the field of competition. It is those lessons
and how they were learned in this wonderful game that make "Huddle" such a good read.
No Seahawks content, barely any mention of pro football at all for that matter, but if you have ever played the
game I think you'll love this book.
Niven is one of the best S.F. authors of all time. Destiny's Road is a complex story of how good plans and ideas can develop into unfair exploitation. How do people survive on a planet where there is no free potassium in the soil? Can those who control the potassium supply really control the planet? And how does a control group fit into all this? Jemmy Bloocher doesn't set out to solve the mysteries of the society he lives in, but a long and interesting journey leads him to some very interesting destinations.
The best science fiction (in my opinion) is that which deals with the impact of science and the future on culture. Niven and Pournelle are masters at building believable societies around complex technological issues. The development of the arcology and the society that evolves inside it is excellent food for thought. And the descriptions of ecological terrorists, who oppose all technology because technology creates problems that can only be solved by more technology - an un-ending and un-supportable cycle, sound strangely familiar when considered against the background of the Unabomber trial.
Robert Heinlein is the real father of modern science fiction. This book gets on my list partly because it is simply an excellent story, although the story is largely independent of the setting (another sign of good science fiction), and partly because it is a strong commentary on modern culture and where it is headed.
Nothing that I would call great, but the overall concept is one that is tremendously intriguing. If it takes months or years to move between stars and systems then the process of fighting an interstellar war becomes very difficult because generations may pass between significant battles. Add in the complexities of time dilation due to near light-speed travel and all sorts of interesting things start to happen.
Say what you want about Russian authors, most of their works have a sweep and beauty to them that makes them fascinating reading. Dr. Zhivago is fascinating because it weaves a complex tapestry of many lives and many events into a whole that centers around one person. Unfortunately that one person is largely indifferent to the events tearing his life apart, like most of us, he is most concerned with his own view of history.
It holds you long enough to get it read, and it somehow comes back to you later on with things you never considered the first time through. It is not considered a classic without justification.
Did you ever wonder just how bad it can get? This book will tell you. Ivan Denisovich deals with his place in the dehumanizing prison camps of the Stalinist Soviet Union in a way that puts human suffering and endurance in perspective. In that environment courage and loyalty count for everything, rank and social position are worth nothing. Ivan Denisovich will survive merely because he won't die and he won't let the system get him down.
Leon Uris is noted for great writing. This is his first novel, and is based on his own experience as a WWII Marine. It manages to come across as a very personal story without being overly sentimental. It hammers home the truth of war that not all the good guys come home when it is done. I have read this several times and it still manages to hold my attention each time through.
Comments? Anything to say about any of these books? How about suggestions on other reading?
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