Review: Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: Remote: Office Not Required

Remote: Office Not Required by Jason Fried
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: From Fire, by Water: My Journey to the Catholic Faith

From Fire, by Water: My Journey to the Catholic Faith by Sohrab Ahmari
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing

A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing by Lawrence M. Krauss
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Summary: Fascinating science, disturbingly poor philosophy

I learned a lot about current thinking in cosmology from Krauss. He does a fine job of presenting theories of how the Universe began and unfolded.

Sadly, his claim that the book will address the issue of "Why is there something rather than nothing?" from a scientific point of view is complete bait-and-switch. He doesn't address it, and he claims it is not worth addressing. Then he provides a different claim which he says is the better to ask anyway.

My response to his non-scientific thought (presented as scientific because he's a scientist and what he thinks must be scientific) is: A sneer is not an argument. Simply showing contempt for those who disagree with you is not the same as refuting what they say.


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Review: Kidnapped

Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I read this books to my boys, ages 11 and 13, for a book club discussion with some other boys.

This is an adventure story which explores ideas of loyalty and friendship, and how different loyalties might conflict. I strongly recommend it.

However, I do also strongly recommend that you don't just pick it up and read. The book has a lot of Scottish-English dialogue, and it also assumes a familiarity with the conflicts between the Jacobites and the British in Scotland in the mid-1700's. Late into the book I picked up a SparkNotes summary and read through the couple pages of explanation of the history and context. It really helped me to understand it, and I found my enjoyment of the book grew tremendously.

So, read the book, but spend a few minutes studying the context first. You'll be glad you did.



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Review: The Donkey Dialogues

The Donkey Dialogues by Michael D. O'Brien

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I have a tremendous respect and admiration for Michael O'Brien, and this book has raised it to new levels.

This book is a series of letters between Michael O'Brien and Mate Krajina. They were written between May 2012 and February 2014. In them, the two men discuss their lives as writers and fathers. Both have known, and continue to know, hardship and want. Both have a deep desire to live as faithful Catholics, sharing the love of Christ with their families, friends, and readers.

If there is a modern writer who is the antithesis of a "prosperity Gospel" preacher, it is Michael O'Brien. His books are filled with characters who suffer terribly, but in their suffering they find they are not suffering alone, and they are not suffering without purpose. They find Jesus, and they find happiness and love, even as they continue to suffer. His novels are so powerful because they illustrate and make visible the Christian understanding of suffering. This understanding is almost impossible to grasp simply through the intellect, but it can be seen and felt through the portraits painted with words in his novels.

In the Donkey Dialogues we get a glimpse into the lives and the minds of two men who especially appreciate the danger modern Western culture poses to our souls. Mate Krajina faced persecution under Communism, and sees that mass-produced cults of pleasure-seeking and consumerism might do to the Church what direct persecution could not accomplish.

Both men understand what I believe to be the true state of the world: We are at war. It is not a war with a nation or a people, but a spiritual war with the devil. He wishes us to move far from God, rebel against Him, and turn in on ourselves. It matters not to the evil one if we do that through laziness, pleasure, sloth, and addiction to trivialities (the modern Western problem), or through direct persecution meant to intimidate and kill (the Communist and Islamist approach).

This book was very inspiring to me as a father. It renewed my desire to build up and defend my family, to make sure each of my children knows he or she is loved by God and will find his or her ultimate happiness in loving and serving Him.

Some favorite quotes:

[O'Brien] "In the post-Communist era, there are fewer dangers to the body but more perils for the soul."

[Krajina, describing how they got to calling themselves "donkeys", especially as it relates to protecting their families] "I was using a parable of a donkey, the shepherds loading on him everything they need for a long stay in the mountains, telling you about its 'defensive' role in the sheep pack. Namely, he is there so that the wolves may attack him first because it is the unwritten law of nature that wolves attack donkeys first, and only then the sheep."

[O'Brien] "...I see a gift in every opportunity to overcome fear."

[O'Brien] "Always, it is the path of selflessness. If a father/husband wishes to give life to his wife and children, he must die to what is selfish within himself."

[Krajina] "The wife's smile has a truly therapeutic effect. It becomes easier to find a seed of hope in one's own heart and bring joy."

[O'Brien] "In his encyclical on the family, _Familiaris Consortio_, Pope John Paul II emphasized to parents...that we should raise our families from the beginning with a simplicity, a slower pace, a gentler and more human way of life. ... I must underline also that to resist the spirit of the world, we should always do it with love and good humour."



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Review: Voyage to Alpha Centauri

Voyage to Alpha Centauri by Michael D. O'Brien

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As with most of Michael O'Brien's novels, it takes a little time to get going. But once it did, the story was extremely compelling.

Also, as with all of Michael O'Brien's novels, it is just overflowing with insight into human nature and our relationship with God.

The story took several unexpected and very interesting turns. Just when I thought I had it figured out, it would twist in a different direction.



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