In the past, I would post only book reviews pertinent to worship, music in the local church, or general Christian leadership and discipleship. Recently, I've been studying many more general topics as well, such as history, economics and scientific thought, some of which end up as reviews here as well.
Monday, January 21, 2013 at 1:38AM 
After reading "Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamond, I was interested in getting a hold of his companion book that inverted his focus on study of societies. "Guns, Germs and Steel" was the definitive analysis of what precipitated the rise of humanity as the pre-eminent species on earth and the rise of western society, specifically as the pervasive and expanding culture among all those of mankind in the modern era. From the cover, Diamond's "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed" looks to be an investigation into the corrupted, extinguished and collapsed cultures of our human history- and an equally astute examination into the causes of such collapse.
But like Diamond did with the title of his Pulitzer Prize Winning book ("Guns, Germs and Steel" was far more about food production via agriculture and animal husbandry than it was about the items in its title), "Collapse" is a deceptive moniker for the content of this book. It is not incorrect, but perhaps not accurate or detailed enough. Collapse is not about how any, or even most, societies collapse- it is specifically about how a select set of societies collapsed under the specific cause of man-made environmental damage that leads to devastating self-destruction of the entire population of people involved. Focusing on human environmental self-destruction only, the book doesn't talk about why the great societies of the Romans, Greeks, Babylonians, Mongols, Egyptians, Imperial England, and dozens of other well known historical successful societies eventually toppled. Instead the focus is on a set of specific (and often extremely small) nation states that self-destructed by environment ill-management of their land and food sources.
The reason I bring this up immediately about the book and its title is because it is such a significant contrast to "Guns, Germs and Steel", which covers almost the entire gambit of ancient, medieval and modern societies that proved successful and managed longevity. Diamond is not writing a companion book with "Collapse". Instead he is narrowing his focus to his true area of expertise- biological. It is from that perspective that Diamond does drill deeply into the backstory, progression and decay of societies that destroyed their own home environment so significantly that the ecosystem which supported their existence (in its destruction and barrenness) becomes the cause of their demise.
The author examines a number of island societies to explain their self-destruction. As it turns out, the fragile balance of an island ecosystem supporting a smaller nation of people's is most easily in jeopardy and hence gives us the most evidence to such collapses. From Easter Island, to Pitcairn and Henderson Isands, to the Haitian and even the large island of Greenland- each of these places are isolated and independent, having no careful management of their natural resources as food sources.
But beyond the island setting, Diamond also reviews such situations as the terrible genocide of Rwanda (for which he provides a broader explanation than just racial/religious hatred as the fuel of that ravaging atrocity), the growing environmental damage by China, the tragic effects of mining without environmental care in Australia (and the US), and even the good/bad examples of resource/land managements by modern corporations hunting for resources (from Chevron to Pegasus Gold to DuPonte and more).
The author outlines (in summary chapters) the progression of damaging processing that causes deforestation, mining damage, top-soil erosion, water flow mismanagement, overgrazing, over fishing and over harvesting of resources, minerals and food sources. He explains how these components can eventual lead to devastation and possibility of a societal collapse. The book is hopeful that our environmental self-concern and technological inventiveness can help us find solutions to these problems, near and long term.
I found Diamond's arguments and reasoning to be easy to follow, yet insightful. While this wasn't the book I hoped it would be (as I stated before), I did appreciate the writing and content. Diamond is not a died-in-the-wool environmental radical. He debunks the extreme positions of environmental apocalyptics and provides good as well as bad cases of even corporate environmental citizenship. His positions are based on science and research of this topic for decades. As you read, you feel like you are getting sage advice and not indoctrination. The book doesn't have nearly as many epiphanal moments as "Guns, Germs and Steel" for this reader, but I found it good nonetheless.
Amazon Book Link: http://amzn.to/WQHRzM
As with Diamond's other work mentioned here, if you like detailed reading with high-order concepts, I highly recommend this book.
Review by Kim Gentes
Thursday, January 17, 2013 at 1:44PM 
If you are trying to learn about economics there are a few different approaches you can take. First, you can study the classic documents, such as "The Wealth of Nations" (Adam Smith), "The General Theory" (J M Keynes), "The Road to Serfdom" (Hayek), "the Communist Manifesto" (Marx) and a few other seminal texts to gain an understanding of how the modern economic stream of study progressed in the last 3 centuries perhaps right up to current works from Friedman and even Laffer. But that approach is arduous and frankly too technical for most people to care to enage with. The second route is to take a college series of courses, which may run through these same ideas in summary by using texts such as survey books like "The Making of Modern Economics" (Mark Skousen) or other general survey books. But this second route maybe not provide a balanced outlook of the differing perspectives, since professors and writers of individual texts are prone to present support for their own beliefs rather than give a neutral view. The last route left for those of us who aren't trained economists is to read simpler books, written for the public.
In that vein, one of the best books I've come across is simply titled "50 Economic Ideas You Really Need To Know". Author Edmund Conway has written a cogent and actually cohesive book that is less disjointed than the title might imply. Beginning with Adam Smith's "invisible hand" doctrine, exploring supply and demand, the Malthusian trap and opportunity cost, Conway guides the reader quickly and clearly through fifty (yes 50!) of the key concepts in economics. After having read several other books (from many of the 3 different approaches I mention above) on economics I found this layman's guide to not only be remarkably accurate and well written but well organized. Economics is often said to be a study of people and their uses of resources, including the decisions they make regarding those resources. Conway starts this book with a more pointed view saying -
Economics examines what drives human beings to do what they do, and looks at how they react when faced with difficulties or success.1
This turns out to be an excellent primer to understand how this book is approached and presented. Starting with the basic core of Smith's economic theory, the author moves from basic numerical balances (such as supply/demand) through philosophical ideas (such as communism, keynesianism, individualism) to measurements of economies (such as money, taxes, debt, unemployments) to finances and markets (such as stocks, bonds, credit markets etc) and finally to modern issues (such as creative destruction, global deficits, protectionism, technological revolutions). Each of these are readable as separate items (great if you need to learn about money markets or pensions without wading through an entire book), but Conway has blended the topics so well that the text is built into an excellent progression if you have the time to sit down and read the short 200 page book in a sitting or two.
For now, this is the best layman's summary book on economics that I have found. If you want a crash course- this is it. It's clear, concise, and takes great many pains not to be a partisan supporter of whatever school the author might have an affinity for. In fact, most economics books bleed their prejudices so clearly it is often obvious whether the writer is a proponent of Keynesian, Austrian, Friedman or any of the other streams of economic theory. Here, the theories are all presented and none derided. The pros and cons are pointed out for each. For this alone, I consider this short layman's guide to be solid gold, and far better than 90% of the detailed economic survey books available (which almost always take philosophical sides).
If you are looking for a one-book-fits-all, short summary of economics to get through in a day or so-- look no further than "50 Economic Ideas..." I can't give this book any higher praise than my unequivocal recommendation!
Amazon Link: http://amzn.to/V8Dpy8
Review by Kim Gentes
1. Conway, Edmund (2009-09-03). 50 Economics Ideas You Really Need to Know (50 Ideas) (p. 3). Quercus. Kindle Edition.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013 at 10:25AM 
Of late, I have been reading more books on, ironically, writing. A friend recommended one to me which I hadn't heard of. It was Annie Dillard's "The Writing Life". As I began it, I was warmed by her whimsical style and insightful prose. But soon enough, I was getting hungry for the "meat" of a writer "advice" book. Then it hit me. Her device to teach the writing life was to example it, not dictate its proofs in three-point style.
I am a simple kind of thinker in this regard, as my natural tendency is to take everyone at their word. She had titled the book "The Writing Life", and I thus assumed she would explain it in the book. I wouldn't have expected her to live it. But this is what Annie Dillard does. She explores with narrative prose the way her own life has been fashioned by its conversations, moments, people and events. She arranges those as elements of a real story- her story- and allows you to look in and see if it reflects something of the human soul which can ignite your own writing life. And it does.
Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of points that could fill a "tips and thoughts for aspiring writers" textbook, and they are distributed liberally throughout the pages of this work. But Dillard knows that they way the stick to us is to pair them with our hearts through her own well written words. The first of such moments for me happened when I was almost fumbling through the early chapters and one of those word-sculpted moments hit me square across the mind-
There is no shortage of good days. It is good lives that are hard to come by. A life of good days lived in the senses is not enough. The life of sensation is the life of greed; it requires more and more. The life of the spirit requires less and less; time is ample and its passage sweet. Who would call a day spent reading a good day? But a life spent reading—that is a good life.1
Write as if you were dying. At the same time, assume you write for an audience consisting solely of terminal patients. That is, after all, the case. What would you begin writing if you knew you would die soon? What could you say to a dying person that would not enrage by its triviality?2
A well-known writer got collared by a university student who asked, “Do you think I could be a writer?” “Well,” the writer said, “I don’t know…. Do you like sentences?” The writer could see the student’s amazement. Sentences? Do I like sentences? I am twenty years old and do I like sentences? If he had liked sentences, of course, he could begin, like a joyful painter I knew. I asked him how he came to be a painter. He said, “I liked the smell of the paint.”3
You will get several points of importance for understanding "The Writing Life" in this book, but along the way Dillard seems more concerned that you actually live and experience it than recite a formula for its vocational success. A thoughtful, uplighting and good book.
Amazon Link: http://amzn.to/10x9sxP
Review by Kim Gentes
1. Dillard, Annie (2009-10-13). The Writing Life (pp. 32-33). Harper Perennial. Kindle Edition.
2. Ibid., p. 68
3. Ibid., p. 70
annie dillard, author, books, creative techniques, dillard, inspiration, review, the writing life, writing in Art, Book Review, Literature, Resource, Writing Monday, January 14, 2013 at 12:13AM 
Reading a novel set in a real world circumstance, one can forget that the story is nonetheless fictitious. And this might just be what Barbara Kingsolver intended on happening in her novel "The Poisonwood Bible". The story is a wonderful and complex character study set in the exotic land of Congo in the late 1950's and extending until the 80's (where the book storyline ends). The book explores injustice at various levels but most poignantly as it occurs from the emulated figure of Nathan Price- who represents the kind of personal, painful, domestic and religious antagonist that we both hate and pity. Kingsolver is intent on demonising the Baptist missionary as preacher, husband, father and human being with a subordinate purpose of political preaching on the part of the author. Don't get me wrong, I found the book to be very well written and very accurate of some Christian leaders across history. The arrogance and insensitivity portrayed through Nathan Price typifies what most Christians (let alone people) despise about religion- that within it's ranks are voices more harmful than healing.
But the author fails to place a voice of reason within the scope of the story that can represent the missionary vocation as anything good. The other missionaries explored in the story are either white snobs who profit and exploit the country and its riches or protestants who convert to Catholicism in the course of their mission. Kingsolver does not give us a realistic contrast to Nathan's evil and we are left with a darkness that reveals truth but grows to expose the author's own prejudices. We can believe a man can be as arrogant and unkind as Nathan Price, and that his family can survive (at least partially) from his influence- but we are left feeling like the story was artificially built against the man rather than just naturally revealed as part of the narrative.
That said, "The Poisonwood Bible" is excellent writing with vivid characters, undulating dialog that feels absolutely real, exotic settings to be explored and real life, joy and pain to be experienced. Kingsolver is brilliant as a novelist, making situations feel like real motion. And when things are interrupted, by pain, joy or surprise, the reader is given space to feel the experience through her vivid prose. One chapter especially had me nearly in tears- as a young child dies and a painful, haunting day as lived by the family members is recounted.
This novel is a story, but it is a good story and it does teach us something of moral value. The lesson are not contrived, even if the platform is occasionally stolen for political stumping about American imperialism and European colonialism. The life and gift of this work is its characters, its setting and its revelation about human character in its strain to indoctrinate others into a system of belief. The author uses multiple points of view to tell the story- a mother and her four children are the voices of this prose. The father (our antagonist) is never given his own voice. As a man, I think this was a wise choice of the author- since it allows the reader to interpret the mind of Nathan Price simply by his speech and actions. And it is this kind of judgment that his family members must make about him as well- and they do.
This is a very good novel by an exceptional writer- if you like character built stories, this is a good choice.
Amazon Link: http://amzn.to/VZkGo7
Review by Kim Gentes
baptist, barbara, bible, book, congo, kingsolver, missionary, mobutu, nathan price, novel, poisonwood, review in Bible, Book Review, Church, Community, Fiction, Geopolitical, Grief, Justice, Linguistics, Mission Saturday, December 29, 2012 at 7:33AM 
After reading Steven Pressfield's "The War of Art", I jumped at the get-it-done companion called "Do The Work".
There are two reactions to it that must be clear. First, if you are a technical person who is not a natural creative- this book is perfect for you. Second, if you are a natural creative who has too many ideas and not enough completed projects- this book is also for you. The problem is, you must digest it with the right understanding of who you truly are. Let me explain.
Pressfield's approach is attuned mostly to technical people who don't trust their creative juices. This group of people understands the nuances of self-criticism, evaluation, re-writing and more. What they struggle with is that they over-analyze and over-prepare so much, they become weighed down by the weight of this mind-heavy preparation and either never start the project in earnest or become crushed under their self-criticism. Pressfield has excellent advice that will allow those people to properly set aside self-critism to a proper time in the process. The goal for them is to get them moving and trusting the creative process and ideas in them.
For the truly creative person with little ability to filter and less ethic to complete a project, "Do The Work" lays out a plan that they can take advantage of their creative juices but put meat on the bones before the next wind blows in and grabs the creative's attention away from their current work. For those people- read the book, and do the work. Follow the instructions and channel the inspiration as told by the author.
The problem with this book is that the technical or creative person may well misunderstand who they are and not approach this kind of advice properly. The book is solid, but it doesn't help the reader distinguish how to navigate their absorption of the material. Hence, I see several reviews of this book from what I call "high technicians" (people who aren't true creatives) who criticise the book for encouraging people to follow their instincts. But true creatives should ignore those reviews. This book is easily interpretted for true creatives and they can take the writer at face value and follow instructions as stated. For technicians (who often erroneously think they are creatives), you should realize that you will automatically have the tools of self-criticism and correction that will allow you to make the detail and methodical adjustments that every project needs in the revision phase- don't misinterpret Pressfield's guidance to let the inspiration "flow" in the beginning of the creative cycle sound like "throw caution to the wind" for the entire process. A proper reading of hte book and self-awareness and sel-understanding will make this clear.
Personally, I came away with 2 excellent and helpful tips from the book. Important things that I will never forget and have already begun to use. Because Pressfield assumes that deeply creative people will be the users of his book, he doesn't take time to nuance how the book should be approached. I felt this might help some of those who were coming at "Do The Work" from a couple different vantage points.
In light of that, it's a very good book and I highly recommend it.
Amazon Book Link: http://amzn.to/Wbs0M0
Review by Kim Gentes