Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming by Naomi Oreskes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a very educational read. It was also maddening to see what a few bad apples with power & high government/political connections can do in misleading & obfuscating facts/science for the greater public. The authors lay out fact after fact regarding the nefarious ways these "merchants of doubt" have **intentionally** set back efforts to curb the damages from the tobacco industry, from DDT/pesticides, from CFL emissions which have caused holes in the ozone layer, and these & other toxic emissions which have caused global warming. The state of California has been a great example in recent years of how these toxic emissions can be noticeably reduced--without damaging jobs and/or the economy. These naysaying merchants of doubt need to be corrected & shut down. They need to be exposed for what they are & what they try to do--they are frauds, bought-and-paid for mercenaries of wanton & selfish capitalism run rampant.

Don't let the merchants of doubt continue to cause obfuscation & confusion & undocumented fact-muddling for the purposes of causing inaction. They want us to continue "feasting" without paying the bill; by ignoring the bill & impact. We have been given a stewardship by God to take care of this world & its environment--which is a beautiful, but ultimately fragile, world--and should take that responsibility seriously. Shame, shame, shame on the main characters & industries that were highlighted in this book--and to those politicians, local & federal, who have bent their ears to their nonsense (money, money, money).

Borrowed from the library; read on my iPad. A book every American should read.


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Anything for Billy by Larry McMurtry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have loved all the McMurtry books I've read so far--though none have been as good as Lonesome Dove (which I need to read again sometime). This one has probably been my least favorite, though it wasn't bad. It's a creative look at the life & times of Billy the Kid. Most things written about him, of course, are legend & legendary. McMurtry takes a pretty interesting angle in his story-telling, creating a dime novelist who comes out West all the way from Philadelphia to traipse around with the Kid. Some very interesting characters swirl around the book's action, journeys, and gun fights/killings. There's a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor in the retelling, for sure.


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The Lost History of Christianity by Philip Jenkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jenkins has done a great service to Christendom in writing this book on its "lost history." Yes, so much of the Middle East, Central & East Asia, and N. Africa were once vibrantly Christian. Jenkin's historical trek through the centuries & characters of these formerly Christian majority areas is very insightful, as well as encouraging. He does a great job of asking the questions of why things changed--and what caused the demise of Christianity in these areas; there are complex reasons & answers to those questions. Jenkins also does a great job in showing that there were a variety of expressions of Christianity in these areas--some more indigenous than others. But, there are good lessons to be learned from all of them and the history--whether good or bad--of each of them. I read this book in conjunction with another insightful book just reviewed: Transcending Mission, by Michael Stroope. Very interesting to read these 2 books side by side, as they cover some of the same territory, especially in regards to the idea & history of "mission." I got this ebook as a birthday present. Read on my iPad.


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Transcending Mission: The Eclipse of a Modern Tradition by Michael W. Stroope
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had been looking forward to reading this book for awhile--finally got it as a birthday present (thanks, Mom!). It wasn't exactly what I was thinking it would be, though it was a great & insightful trip down through history and the various usages/corruptions of the word/concept of "mission." It gets quite technical in places; quite academic. I wish there had been more on various modern interpretations of mission--and new concepts & methodologies, from a big picture perspective, that have thankfully evolved in recent years, but there wasn't. Couldn't agree more that we need to be wholly focused on the Kingdom of God and all that this means, following the revolutionary words of the Messiah & King of Kings who came saying: "The Kingdom of God is (now) in your midst." Read on my iPad.


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You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why It Matters by Kate   Murphy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hey there!--are you listening?--this is an excellent read and will be worth your time. Are you hearing me, or too busy trying to multitask with your laptop/iPad/iPhone while also "talking" to someone else you're now having coffee & a "conversation" with somewhere? Maybe virtually?

Murphy has done a great service through this book for people & their relationships. She very deftly & interestingly points out all the research showing how critical it is that we listen to each other--and the benefits this will have it ours & our friends' lives. There is a dearth of listening--these days more than ever before. Too many distractions; too much distortion! Put that phone in your pocket, please! Or in your purse or backpack! Don't even leave it on the table when you're meeting & conversing with someone. Show them some respect and give them your full attention. And, shut up sometimes for awhile; yes, don't jump in & cut people off before they've finished sharing their story or thoughts. And, don't sit there "zoning out" and thinking about your next story or retort or reply...or statement that you think will show how smart & hip you are. Just chill, man! Then, when you actually answer & speak up--and I'm surely talking to myself here as well!--you might just have something really relevant to say, which just might truly encourage your conversation partner and take your relationship (whatever it is) to a deeper, more meaningful level.

Remember that "the ancient Greek philosopher Epictetus said, “Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak.”

As Murphy so wisely states: "To really listen is to be moved physically, chemically, emotionally, and intellectually by another person’s narrative...Reading this book, you’ll discover—as I did—that listening goes beyond just hearing what people say. It’s also paying attention to how they say it and what they do while they are saying it, in what context, and how what they say resonates within
you. It’s not about simply holding your peace while someone else holds forth. Quite the opposite. A lot of listening has to do with how you respond—the degree to which you elicit clear expression of another person’s thoughts and, in the process, crystallize your own."

Well put, as is pretty much the whole book. I borrowed this book from the library; read it on my Kindle. And have a lot to now seek to actively put into practice.


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Your Blue Is Not My Blue: A Missing Person Memoir by Aspen Matis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

How long did it take you to see the juxtaposition on the cover? The two intertwining images? I'll sheepishly admit that I had looked at it numerous times only had only seen the bare trees at night--with stars in the background...until I had almost finished the book and got another view: ah, the profile of Manhattan, with buildings lit up at night! That's an awesome cover--really. And, overall, I thought a pretty awesome book on the author's journey from a young girl trekking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) to a mature adult woman breaking out as a credible & published writer in New York City. I thought her story was well told and poignant, beautifully describing the aches & pains along her life journey as it unfolded. Some tense moments, suspense--will she actually finish the manuscript? what happened with her husband just up & disappearing--and why? will she get kicked out of her Manhattan apartment? Will she reconcile with her parents, especially her mother, whom she felt angry & upset with for years and whom she ignored? Great to see how her college writing class teacher slowly became her mentor, over long late night walks around Washington Square and late night cafes. How her mentor pushed her, questioned her, and steered & encouraged her in pursuing her vision for becoming a writer with something to say.

Did her mentor also tell Matis that she needed to sprinkle her prose with lots of color/colorful words, to spruce up the page and attract readers' attention. Probably, IMHO. While you're reading--just take not of all those color words. Well, just look at the title. I think, overall, they do help brighten up the story. I also loved the settings for the unfolding story: the PCT, the AT (Appalachian Trail), NYC, San Fran or Berkeley, Los Angeles, Colorado, and Boston, to mention a few. What bummed me out about Matis' story was what seemed to be her rather casual acceptance of Justin--her husband's--disappearance and ghosting. I mean, why didn't she at least track him down (she did eventually find out where he was living) & go to him to try to work things out face-to-face? Why give up so easily and put in the divorce papers, before making every effort to save the love they really seemed to have? I was pulling for Matis to do more to at least attempt to save her marriage...

Got this book through our Amazon First Reads, I believe. Read it on my Kindle.


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Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I might have read this book years & years ago--but can't really remember. I decided to do the audiobook and though it seemed to take a bit to get into it, thought it was an interesting future take on where the world might go, from back in Huxley's day. Everything meticulously engineered, clinical, controlled, expunged, carefully edited, geared towards keeping the plebes happy & juiced-up on what they call soma. Of course, Huxley paints a great picture of the contrasts with the modern, brave new world ("Oh, thank Ford!") and the old, quaint one of the savages--who are still stuck in special savage "reservations," where modern folks can go on vacations to get a taste of the old, disgusting ways & modes. "Mothers--who actually give birth to babies...and are married to one person exclusively??..." Disgusting to the moderns of the brave new world. Quite a sharp contrast in philosophy painted by Huxley as well--as we learn about the old philosophical literary works that are now banned. And a world where the deeply human, morally complexities of life as seen in literature by Shakespeare has been totally lost/abandoned. A world without God--where science rules. Really points out how vapid and lifeless things have devolved into, though touted as being better than ever now. I think there's some lessons for people in this day & age to learn. Listened to this on my iPhone; borrowed from the library.


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The Singer by Calvin Miller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is my 2nd reading of Calvin Miller's classic re-telling of the Gospel narrative in poetic free form. It's been 30+ years since I last read it, so was refreshing to read through & see its creativity. There was nothing like this before Miller--in 1975--got the inspiration in the middle of the nights and started writing down what flowed through him. Miller wrote this while a pastor of a rather small church in Omaha, Nebraska; it exploded on the Christian publishing scene and Miller never looked back. I'm looking forward to reading the other 2 parts of what become The Singer Trilogy--The Song, and The Finale. I was inspired to read this after recently working through Miller's excellent memoir, Life is Mostly Edges. We've carried this paperback trilogy bookset around the world with us since 1987, as it has our old book stamp with my wife's childhood IL address in it. Amazing. Both that little tidbit--and the book itself.


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Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold by C.S. Lewis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I believe this is actually the 3rd time I've read this C.S. Lewis classic retelling of the Greek mythology of Psyche & Cupid. This time it was listening to it as an audiobook, though, which was a bit different. I liked some of it this way--but I think overall, I more appreciated the book/telling of the story while reading it. It's a long complaint to the gods--for the way the main character, Psyche's sister, feels she's been treated by the gods unfairly. Her complaint--for which she has an opportunity to orally plead before the gods--ends up being the turning point of her "seeing" things for properly for the first time. A realization dawns that through all she'd experienced up till that point, as she stood before the gods, she'd not truly had a "face"--knowledge of who she truly was in God's economy of things. A vision finally granted...a siren warning & call for all those who might be caught up in similar situation as hers, feeling that they'd got the wrong end of the stick & were treated unfairly, or, unjustly. The "gods," thank goodness, she finally realizes, were not just in what they did to her; it was not what she deserved...


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The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War by Fred  Kaplan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodness--sometimes I think it's better that you don't know what you don't know, or haven't been told. The Bomb--nuclear/hydrogen/atomic--has been around for 70+ years now, and it's really a miracle that it hasn't been used since its first two uses over Hiroshima & Nagasaki, which brought WWII to an end. There have been plenty of opportunities for it to be deployed again--and, for sure, after reading this insightful & truly, in some ways, frightening book--plenty of back door nuclear weapons discussions & strategy plans devised/revised for its use.

One's mind is boggled by the actual plans that the US government has had over these years for deploying these weapons of mass destruction. As if these generals and political figures could even comprehend the devastation their deployment--in the numbers they planned for--would have caused; horrific, unspeakable. Yet, they seem to have routinely tossed these numbers of missiles and plans for mass destruction around like talking about dropping off newspapers on a doorstep. This account of the secret history of nuclear war goes right up into the Trump administration of recent days--and the sabre-rattling between the US/Trump & N. Korea/Jonu-un. And it's scary; it's maddening. It's inhumane. It's downright frightening.

The latest high-level US government/military discussions were regarding updating/upgrading the deployment & use of "low yield" Trident II nuclear missiles aboard US subs. These missiles **each** carry a nuclear payload of 8 kilotons...OK, what does that mean? "The conventional bombs that leveled buildings in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere in the first two decades of the twenty-first century had the explosive power of 2,000 pounds of TNT. The low-yield Trident II warhead would explode with the blast power of 8 kilotons—meaning 8,000 tons, or 16,000,000 pounds—plus the heat, smoke, and radiation that would spread like toxic wildfire." Yes, one of them would release the power/destruction of 16 million pounds of TNT. Unimaginable. That conversations about these kinds of destructive powers have been *routine* up till today--and over the past 75 years--is simply incomprehensible in many ways. Madness and madmen, methinks. The consequences of what President Eisenhower warned would would result from the "military-industrial complex." Each service fighting for its share and influence; each congressman/woman & senator fighting for their part of the pie...

Borrowed from the library; read on my iPad.


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The End of October by Lawrence Wright
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Scary, very scary, especially considering the eerie closeness of this fictional account of a pandemic to the current pandemic the world is experiencing. Wright was amazingly prescient in his predictions, not 100%, by any means--it's a novel & has to have a little more action/suspense--but amazingly close in many ways to our current worldwide conditions under the COVID-19 (novel cornoavirus) pandemic. Saying the novel's plot/setting is very believable would be an understatement. Yes, scientists have been predicting something like this for years now...and of the need for better preparations. And now we're in the middle of a pandemic with huge issues due to poor planning & preparations worldwide. And no vaccine in sight, well, at least for months & months.

This was a very well-written, well-paced story, primarily following a scientist from the CDC who stumbles onto the initial outbreak in Indonesia of a terrible disease that becomes a pandemic. He ends up going to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where the annual Hajj is taking place with millions of Muslims from around the world--including one from Indonesia who carried the virus with him. Thought that was a very interesting twist to get the pandemic rolling & panic & fear breaking out (those 2+ million hajjis didn't like being stuck in tent camps for who knows how long). The protagonist, Henry, gets stuck there, as the country closes down travel in/out. He ends up getting out in a very interesting manner, which ends up becoming a large part of the on-going story of the conflicts unfolding around the world, having huge impacts on various countries' economics & politics.

Borrowed this from the library (it's hot right now & hard to get)--read on my Kindle. Everything I've ready by Wright has been so well done; looking forward to reading more of his writings soon.


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Space by James A. Michener
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I haven't read a Michener book for a long time, and then again, I've not really read many Michener books at all; I think the last one was Caravans. But, after reading Space, I'm ready to read more Michener. His books--often historical fiction--are of epic proportions, and are well-researched. I loved how Space combined historical characters & events--and facts about space & NASA & the Apollo Moon Program, etc.--with fictional characters, and intertwined them, making a very believable story. Space sets the historical context for the US space program by first following historical & fictional characters in WWII. Rocket scientists & engineers who designed the dreaded V2 rockets and had even bigger aspirations to make intercontinental rockets; also military characters who fought in the Battle of Leyte Bay in the Philippines, against all odds with the Japanese Navy.

Interestingly, this book was first published the year I was married, and this paperback copy is a book we've been carrying around with us since around its 6th printing in 1985--before we headed off to NW China in 1987. Wow--been hauling this around for a long, long time--and now it's finally been read and greatly enjoyed!


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Let Go Of The Ring: The Hope Chapel Story by Ralph Moore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had never heard of Hope Chapel before reading this book; now, I don't believe I'll ever forget about Hope Chapel, or, more accurately, the hundreds of Hope Chapels that have been planted across the US (big in Hawaii) and internationally. It was fascinating to read how has God used Ralph Moore & his wife & family-beginning with a small, struggling church started in the wake of the California Jesus Movement--to begin a movement of disciples & church leaders/planters that literally spans the globe. So interesting to see how their idea of "Minichurches" was so key to the identifying & training of leaders who then often became church planters for new works in new areas. Basically these minichurches were house churches within the Hope Chapel churches--training grounds in the midst of real body life taking place in a larger congregation.

A great image--"letting go of the ring" (of power/control)--for capturing the empowering of the members of each fellowship for the work of ministry/outreach/growth that took churches from addition to multiplication. A great countercultural trend against the megachurch--where "the bigger the better" and we will "build it and they will come" (to our multi-million dollar facility), with parking for a sports stadium. So healthy; so impactful. What "church growth" should really be all about. Disciples making disciples and grouping/growing together--for the purpose of being a transformation that has transforming impact on the communities & cultures around us.

Ralph Moore now works with https://exponential.org/ which has a lot of good resources. I really liked the fact that Moore--whose significant church planting work was done with the Foursquare Church denomination--never made it about Foursquare and never sought to especially highlight any kind of Pentecostal theology/theological tenets. He kept things focused on The Bible--and on ordinary, saved people. Bought the ebook cheap; read on my iPad.


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Life Is Mostly Edges: A Memoir by Calvin Miller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved this memoir by the great writer/poet Calvin Miller. Best known for his breakout 1975 book--The Singer (eventually part of a Trilogy--Singer, Song, & Finale)--much of Miller's life on the edges was spent as a pastor, at only 2 churches. He spent 25 years at a church in Omaha, Nebraska, from which he almost resigned, given the way his congregants had been treating him & his wife up till then. But on the advice of a friend, he bared his heart & emotions in his final/farewell sermon, and a revival practically broke out...and he ended up staying for 20+ more years and seeing that church grow from a couple hundred to over 2,000 members. Lots of that happened after his groundbreaking (for the Christian book market--thanks, IVP, for taking the chance on Miller!) book The Singer came out, which was a re-telling of the Gospels & Jesus' life in poetic form. Miller went on to publish some 40+ books over his lifetime and was a creative writer & thinker.

Loved the beginning of the book where Miller (who passed into Glory in 2012) described the idea behind the title of this memoir:
"Given the size of the universe, the world I have lived in is quite small, and I have lived it out mostly along its edges. This is not surprising, for life is mostly edges. It is small—like a postage stamp. So small that it all but disappears against the busy days it devours...I do remember enough to know I liked the middle of my stamp more than the edges. This is not unusual. We all like the middle. The middle is safe. You can’t fall off the middle. Only the edges are dangerous. The great lessons, the deep tragedies, the storms of unbearable heart-quakes always happen along the edges. We don’t cry much in the middle, but then we don’t laugh much there either—at least with any belly-deep laughter. Still, every day, nine to five, we suit up for the only contest that can be played along the unsafe edges of our years." Yes, life "on the edges" is risky, dangerous, but also very rewarding and fulfilling.

Miller also spent a number of years on the faculty of Southwestern Baptist Theo Seminary, mostly during the rough & tumble 1990s when the battle against liberals & the conservative resurgence was on. I found this section very refreshing--and quite insightful, not to mention humorous--as Miller writes about his interactions with students, deep friendships that developed, and heartaches that occurred in some of the slash & burn going on among the faculty. Miller finally ended his teaching days at Beeson Theological Seminary in Alabama.

This memoir is very poignant, well-written, and full of wisdom grown & garnered through many years of ministry & teaching experience--and is full of Miller's subtle and inimitable humor. Well done, good & faithful servant. I borrowed this from the library; read it on the Kindle.


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The Day the Revolution Began: Reconsidering the Meaning of Jesus's Crucifixion by N.T. Wright
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read this book as part of my Lenten 2020 readings--though it took a lot longer than 40 days for me to work through it, since I was reading it slowly. I liked the book overall, and liked the focus on what Christ's death on the cross meant for history--yes, it was revolutionary & was at the crux of God's redemption plan for the human race. But, a couple criticisms: 1) I thought it was too long & could have been probably halved & still made the same points well, and 2) I thought Wright spent too much time & energy stressing that Jesus' death on the cross was not only about God punishing Jesus in our place so we could go to heaven. I agree with his point that the western viewpoint, at least the modern view, too often "Platonizes" what occurred, making it revolve around believers "going to heaven." Wright stresses that the cross opened the possibility for humans to now be radically forgiven & transformed--and the calling to now be representatives of God's transforming Kingdom, in the midst of the enemy of humans' souls who still seeks their destruction.

Wright's emphasis felt at times that it bordered on an amillennialistic perspective--that the church now builds the Kingdom of God slowly over time as it brings transformation to the whole world. I don't believe that's what he believes, but it felt like it at times. Yes, we as the church--the Body of Christ on earth-are called to work towards transforming ourselves, our families, our communities, but we are also aliens/strangers here who know that we have "no lasting home" here. And we know that our best efforts will not bring about a total transformation of society--or an earthly Kingdom of God or theocracy. The trend of sinful human nature, the Bible makes clear, will ultimately drag down humankind into further & further open rebellion against God & His ways/rule. Of course, we also must keep in mind that God's Word says clearly that He does not want "anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." So we as His representatives/ambassadors work toward that end, as God uses us to be His witnesses.

I got this book as a birthday gift; read it on my iPad.


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The Emperor Far Away: Travels at the Edge of China by David Eimer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fascinating account of Eimer's seven plus years of living in China & traveling around its very edges--where most of the minority peoples live. Section on Xinjiang was very intriguing to me, as we lived there for many years. Things have gotten even worse now across Xinjiang with the government detaining millions of Uighur in labor/re-education camps, with the intention of repressing the Uighur's culture, religion, and ethnic spirit. Tibet has been repressed for years as well. This was an enlightening & intriguing account; well-written, with many personal stories. You don't make this kind of stuff up. Interesting how Eimer notes the flip-flop of the economic situation in the far NE of China, along the border with Siberian Russia. Read on my Kindle; got as a birthday present.


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Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An intricate delve into the life of a Renaissance genius from Florence, Italy (who spent more years living/working in Milan). His range of curiosity & investigation spanned multiple disciplines--and the notes that he left behind detail much of these and were available for posterity. A man of humble beginnings--who was never legally adopted by his father. A man way ahead of his time in his ideas, solutions, visions, inventions, scientific & artistic understanding, and just plain ole curiosity about how things work and/or could be improved. Such prodigious reflections, musing, & investigations on such a wide assortment of phenomena. Isaacson yet again does a masterful job at giving readers a deep dive into the character, context, and ideas of a man for all times.

Lessons that Isaacson draws from the genius of da Vinci: 1. Be curious, relentlessly & randomly curious; 2. Seek knowledge, for its own sake; 3. Retain a childlike sense of wonder; 4. Observe; 5. Start with the details; 6. See things unseen; 7. Go down rabbit holes (730 findings about the flow of water!); 8. Get distracted; 9. Respect facts; 10. Procrastinate (let ideas marinate); 11. Let the perfect be the enemy of the good (Steve Jobs was similar); 12. Think visually; 13. Avoid silos; 14. Let your reach exceed your grasp; 15. Indulge fantasy; 16. Create for yourself, not just for patrons; 17. Collaborate ("innovation is a team sport; creativity is a collaborative endeavor"); 18. Make lists, and be sure to put odd things on them; 19. Take notes on paper; 20. Be open to mystery ("not everything needs sharp lines").

I'm giving the book 4-1/2 stars in my Reading Log. I listened to the audiobook on my iPhone; borrowed it from the library (had to check it out a 2nd time). Enjoyed the accompanying PDF of da Vinci's paintings & illustrations & doodles (written in Italian mirror script, which wasn't so helpful--thanks, Isaacson, for the translations)--make sure you follow along in this if you do the audiobook; otherwise, you'll miss a lot.


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Blood: A Memoir by Allison Moorer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Whew--heavy, really heavy. Blood--a symbolic title to Moorer's memoir. It's about her family--her own blood ("I've got your blood running through my veins," she sings in the title song to the album of the same name that came out in 2019)--but it's also about the blood spilt when her father shot & killed her mother, before killing himself. Moorer was fourteen years old. Like I said, heavy, heavy stuff. Moorer spends most of the book looking back at her growing-up years and the fear that she grew up with, as a result of an alcoholic & violent father. Her father was also a buddy country singer-songwriter who never made much headway in the music industry; her mother was also very musical. The family sang a lot together in those growing up years--and it surely paid off in the end, what with both Moorer and her sister, Shelby Lynne, becoming professional country singer-songwriters, who have reaped numerous musical awards in their careers. There's a lot of deep heart-searching in this memoir--a looking back at what happened, attempting to figure out why it happened, and thinking over the various scars & impacts it all left on two young girls who were left all alone. Sad and sorrowful. To see alcohol's ravaging of a family like Moorer's is horrible, it's sickening. Two lives cut short--two lives linked by blood who've struggled and been shamed by the impact for their entire lives. Sin is at the core of it all, of course. Sin & selfishness only leads to shame & sorrow. The shattering impact on others' lives comes through so clearly in these pages. And it won't be cured by meditation or yoga, or more musical or literary awards. It's only possible if the core damage to everyone's heart by sin is acknowledged--and a transformation of hearts takes place by all that has now been made possible through Jesus' revolutionary death & resurrection. In one of the songs on the Blood album, entitled All I Wanted (Thanks Anyway), Moorer sings: "All I wanted was your love..." That summarizes it up pretty succinctly--and, Allison, I just want you to know that God has always loved you & demonstrated His love for you in Jesus' giving up His life on the cross for you, while you (& I & all of us) were yet sinners/broken people.


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White Mountain: A Cultural Adventure Through the Himalayas by Robert Twigger
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I thought this book would have more Himalayan climbing stories & characters, given its title and cover photo. It had some, and had some decent historical background on the area, but not enough of a story thread to be really engaging. It was much more focused on the Tibetan/Buddhist perspectives found by various peoples of the Himalayan--including much on folk beliefs/practices. I felt like it was a typical 20th-century PC look at the mystic cultures of far-off lands, where supposedly everything was so perfect for thousands of years & the people ever-so-happy & contented, until modernity arrived in the guise of British, Russian, or Chinese imperialism. Not that there were bad things done by those imperialists and their condescending viewpoints & supposed cultural superiority--but it was just all too overplayed. Like the Dalai Lama is the answer to every modern ill. So much lostness, darkness, sadness, poverty & subservience to gods-who-are-NOT-God. Got tired/bored of it all. Can't recommend this book to anyone, sorry. Give me some good straight-on climbing stories/experiences!


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The Last Dance by Martin L. Shoemaker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don't read a lot of science fiction, but saw this book for cheap (from BookBub, I believe) and picked it up. Well, I loved it and think it is quite well written. Very interesting story involving Earth-Moon-Mars commerce & interplanetary travel based on the Aldrin Cycler concept (using gravity & no-stop recycling loop to lessen fuel usage). There's been a ship captain charged with mutiny and a newly appointed Inspector General arrives on the scene to try to get to the bottom of things. Chapters are narrated with alternate characters sharing their insights & perspectives on the case and captain. Enjoyed the unraveling of all that had happened over the preceding years, building up to the current time (2080's), and involving some unfortunate incidents as the space ship swings around Mars--where shuttle landing crafts descend to the Martian surface & base. Read on my Kindle.


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Steve McCurry: A Life in Pictures by Bonnie McCurry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent expose on the life & times & photography of one of the world's most eminent photographers, Steve McCurry. Written by his sister--who is also his business partner--this beautifully packaged volumed gives one an inside picture into what makes McCurry tick--and on how his career developed over the years since he took off for 2 years on a photographic journey of India. One of his earlier focuses turned out to be Afghanistan and the Afghan Mujahedin, who were at that time (1980s) fighting a David-Goliath battle against the Afghan Communist government & its Soviet Union backer--or, maybe more correctly, the Soviet Union and its puppet Afghan Communist government. Never quite as anachronistic a name/concept = Afghan & Communist. That was doomed to die from the beginning. McCurry's beautiful, elegant, charged photographs are iconic and always expressively packed with feeling & emotions--revealing hints of a greater story going on. This huge & heavy book was a loving gift from my wonderful wife--who secretly carted it across the world to me.


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Elevate: Push Beyond Your Limits and Unlock Success in Yourself and Others by Robert Glazer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Some good leadership principles & stories in this slim volume on how to raise your game.


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