The Natural Philosophy of James Clerk Maxwell by P. M. Harman

An analysis of the metaphysical ideas of a great physicist. A fair and interesting treatment without any mention of Christianity despite the fact that Maxwell was a devout Christian. Still the book is valuable as it shows his stance against determinism and naturalistic philosophy on a scientific basis, or rather on the basis of realizing the intrinsic limits of science. It appears he specifically avoided religious statements as a physicist, at least as portrayed in this book.

The Hole in the Universe by K. C. Cole

Basically about "nothing" and advanced physics and string theory which makes the universe "perturbations in a vacuum" and perhaps gives a glimpse of creation ex nihilo and shows the close connection, even equivalence, of space and time. To me, this shows how God can transcend time and space, making it "easy" to "understand" how problems of foreknowledge disappear before awesomeness of mind.

Code Breaking by Rudolf Kippenhahn

Another good book on codes and ciphers. Well-presented and I might recommend it as the best single book on the topic I have read so far. Just right in terms of depth of coverage and clarity.

Son of Laughter by Frederich Buechner

About Jacob in a wonderful earthy style, faithful to the scriptural texts, brings out subtle references almost certainly true. I may never read the stories again without being influenced by this writing. The Patriarchs lose none of their awesomeness but gain back their humanity. Traits buried in the text under the dust of years and culture and not a little ethnic laziness are dusted off and the real sweaty striving Jacob stands forth. The one who fought with God. Great writing.

Flu by Gina Kolata

A very interesting account of the 1918 flu and the successful search for the virus in pathology archives and arctic permafrost. Fascinating archives of the disease and the virology and origins in China. Unfortunately the story is unfinished, samples are still being run and genetic decoding is proceeding. Why was this flu so much worse? The book doesn't say!

Laser by Nick Taylor

Should be titled "How not to patent an invention." Poor Gordon Gould commits a comedy of errors after inventing the laser. Finally at age 80 gets millions. Not much about lasers, a lot about lawyers. Fairly well-written.

Who Wrote the Book of Life? A History of the Genetic Code by Lily E. Kay

This is definitely a post-modernist history of the genetic code. It is an account of the metaphors of code, book, word, world and the account of John "in the beginning was the word (world)." The section on linguistics is interesting if arcane. Chomsky, Von Neumann and Gamov all had interesting contributions but the history is not presented as history but rather as competing or complementary narratives. In spite of this post-modernistic bent it brings up interesting questions about information, codes, ciphers, language context, analogy, proteins as information carriers. Meaning and its contrast to the mathematics of information. Perhaps we could say it comes down to bits and being.

Betrayal of Trust - The Collapse of Global Public Health by Laurie Garrett

An encyclopedic review of the unraveling of world health. The globalization of diseases and the partial treatment of TB, HIV, and malaria causing newer and more lethal forms. Vancomycin-resistant bacteria and other modern time bombs!

The Code Book by Simon Singh

This is an interesting discussion of codes and ciphers. The whole book is good, but the Mary Queen of Scots story, the Rosetta Stone story, and of course the ENIGMA story stand out. It has some of the best description of public key cryptography I have read. I can't say I understand the quantum crypto chapter, but probably mostly due to lack of interest. The hidden language chapter is very good and has a lot of linguistic relevance.

Newton's Gift by David Berlinski

This is a good book. Is the title a play on words? This is an interesting short concise discussion of Newton's greatness, his genius, (his pettiness). Mechanics, calculus, the Principia, these are all gifts to the world. The discussion of his Arianism is brilliant and very clear. The discussion of his male companion is deft. His alchemy is treated most fairly with good perspective. An awe-inspiring not awestruck look at a great man.

The Design Inference by William Dembski

Math and logic and probability presented in a quite complex way. Too much math to follow but many interesting examples and illustrative stories. Seems to really nail down the idea of how to recognize design from chance. With mathematical rigor. 3-29-01

Understanding Schizophrenia by Richard S. E. Keefe

Very good, readable discussion of schizophrenia, highly recommended for families and friends of those with schizophrenia.

Towing Icebergs, Falling Dominos by Robert B. Banks

This is a good book about applied mathematics. The examples are varied and interesting. Population, national debt, Olympic scoring, jump ropes, wind turbines, football leagues, shot puts, golf balls, running, tsunamis. Often differential equations but fairly accessible. Would be fun to go through slowly and work out some of the math. Many interesting references for more info. Problems at end of chapters which I didn't have time to work. Hope to read the sequel.

The Odyssey of Thomas Condon by Robert D. Clark

Condon, an immigrant from Ireland, became a Presbyterian minister and a missionary to the NW. Wonderful account of early Portland and hard times of church planting. Then he found fossils and became a geologist and started at the new U of O as the first science teacher. Still devout, he adopted evolution and was a beloved professor. Interesting book.

Into the Storm by Tom Clancy & Gen. Fred Franks

An interesting General and a position different from Schwartzkoff's but not well written and very confusing using corps numbers and few maps. Really not a very good book but probably very accurate.

The Commanders by Bob Woodward

Interesting and very timely (Powell and Cheney) of events leading up to the start of the Gulf War, dealing with White House and Pentagon. (1-28-01)

Fermat's Enigma by Simon Singh

Another book on Fermat's last theorem. I thought it would be just a replay of the previous book but it was different and well-written and interesting. Not much else to say. Enjoyable.

Five More Golden Rules by John L. Casti

Knot theory, chaos theory, information theory. All of these are a bit advanced for me. The knots were very interesting but it goes fast. I got lost whenever non-linear was mentioned. The information theory part was very good. An excellent book just a bit too advanced for me. Very well done. Good choices of topics. Fascinating.

Five More Golden Rules by John L. Casti

Knot theory, chaos theory, information theory. All of these are a bit advanced for me. The knots were very interesting but it goes fast. I got lost whenever non-linear was mentioned. The information theory part was very good. An excellent book just a bit too advanced for me. Very well done. Good choices of topics. Fascinating.

Fermat's Last Theorem by Amir D. Aczel

A very nice book about the history of math through the quest for the solution of Fermat's Last Theorem. Thoroughly enjoyable.

The Advent of the Algorithm by David Berlinski

This is an interesting sequel to "Calculus" and just as well done. He recapitulated Godel, Turing after an ode to Leibnitz. The "math" (more logic) is divided by turgid prose of inscrutable goal and wild imagination. It ends with a subtle dirge against materialism, and the "one god" of modern physics. He makes room for the transcendent without giving it a name.

The Bear and the Dragon by Tom Clancy

Fun but poorly written and even more poorly edited.

Ronald Reagan by Dinesh D'Souza

A different note in the quest to explain Reagan. Playing a role for real without insincerity, a true believer with a gift for pragmatics. A man with self-knowledge who enjoyed others but never let anyone really close. Smart enough to know intelligence was just a part of leadership.

Part hagiography, the book is good and a needful corrective.

Mere Creation by William A. Dembski

A scholarly conference of good thinkers nailing down intelligent design. Johnson is crystal clear, Behe is seminal. William Lane Craig is brilliant. I like Berlinski best: a fusion of prose and mathematics. Some articles were obscure and less interesting, some too advanced, but overall very sound and I think convincing.

Life is a Jungle by Ron Snell

An engaging story of missionary life from a child and young man's point of view. Amazing adjustments, hardships almost welcomed and endured with humor, pluck, and faith. Slightly melodramatic but fun!

Heretics by G. K. Chesterton

An amazing series of portraits of intellectuals of his day - Shaw, Kipling, and H. G. Wells, who he admired and knew. Brilliant analysis and timeless ideas brought to life in the crucible of actual life and thought in his place and time.

Recommended for the library of a home. Full of enduring quotes. A feast for the soul, mind, and heart. Of course, some of the names and events were unknown to me and thus unappreciated.

The Story of my Boyhood and Youth & A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf by John Muir

Raised in an extremely strict Scottish Calvinistic home, Muir became a naturalist and something of a pantheist. In Scotland he memorized the entire New Testament and "most" of the Old Testament. He was a genius inventor, making clocks of wood. He walked from Louisville to the Florida gulf coast, sometimes in danger from robbers and crocodiles, sleeping outdoors, swimming rivers, eschewing roads and bridges. An amazing account of an amazing, tough, brilliant man.

D. James Kennedy: The Man and his Ministry by Herbert Lee Williams

Somewhat of a "puff piece" about a really remarkable man who would be better served by a more modest understated approach. His evangelism explosion is really quite remarkable for a Calvinist, his renewing America is somewhat reminiscent of Calvin.

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The Fight of Faith (1939-1981) by Iain H. Murray

The rest of a remarkable life (for earlier volume, see 5/4/07 post). He preached through Romans and Ephesians, taking hundreds of sermons. He was involved in much turmoil about ecumenism and broke with Packer. He believed in personal fellowship but no organizational fellowship with liberals. He believed in evangelism, but not in decisionism. He had no elders; he stopped baptizing infants and dedicated them instead. He baptized believers but didn't immerse.

He died of colon cancer. He retired and wrote for several years after his first cancer surgery. He respected Billy Graham but disagreed on invitations. He studied Puritans and had a Puritan conference. He had a great ministry, which still continues. He spoke at Wheaton College.

Nearer, My God by William F. Buckley, Jr.

This is the story of the spiritual life of a prominent American. Born to privilege and educated in various places, he was always an outsider as a Catholic. Very devout and very knowledgeable. Open to protestants in a way; he is friends with Colson and others. Though Buckley is fiercely loyal to Catholicism, his wife, it seems, remains a protestant. The parts about his life are very interesting. Large, sometimes tedious, sections about a forum he participates in of those who converted to Catholicism. A book full of faith in God and devotion to Christ.

Gauss: A Biographical Study by W. K. Buhler

Much vague detail about an interesting genius. I found the biography boring and the math of course too difficult and not presented for my level.

Proofs from the Book by Martin Aigner / Gunter Ziegler

A well-conceived book based on the idea of Erdos that there are proofs in math so elegant they come from "the book." It is also well-executed such that a serious reader with time could fairly well work through many of the subjects. Alas, my seriousness well exceeded my available time and I was able only to take a rapid tour through the book viewing with envy the peaks one could climb given the will and a vacation.

A wonderful book to see how proofs are done, how they fall into various categories and how a simple elegant solution can evade thinkers for decades. I close the book with the question - where is "the book" and who wrote it?

Weaving the Web by Tim Berners-Lee

An account of the invention of the WWW by its inventor. It is interesting that he can claim this invention. I have no doubts this is true. It seems his vision for the web has been very helpful and the freedom engendered has been a boon to its growth. Because of his free vision he perhaps minimizes his impact and the story is a bit less interesting than if he made himself more of a hero.

He plays his final hand drawing an analogy with the web and his newfound "faith" in Unitarian Universalism. The song ending on a sour note!

Christianity and Missions: 1450-1800 Edited by J. S. Cummins

Part of a series, this book is amazing in the depth of bibliography and variety of articles, mostly Catholic but some of all Christian stripes. Very interesting and shows some amazing variety of approach and different approaches to culture and politics. Most interesting is an article about Leibnitz, who evidently had a burning missionary heart and zeal to support missions. He was especially interested in the advantages of putting the scriptures into the language of the people being reached.

Into Thin Air by John Krakauer

Riveting account of a tragic Everest expedition written with unique insight and much sensitivity. Courage and determination undermined by competetion, arrogance, and oxygen-deprived misjudgment. Self preservation meets compassion. How anyone survives is my question.

Bethsaida Vol. II by Rami Arav

More than you wanted to know. Every stone and potsherd charted and categorized. Not the kind of book you actually read but interesting in its own way. The ancient pilgrims' accounts are interesting and strangely unreliable, it seems.

The Mindbody Prescription by John E. Sarno, M.D.

Is chronic pain caused by Freudian narcissistic rage? Sarno makes a compelling case. My question - is there a Christian paradigm here?

A very interesting book. Why has this not gotten more attention - even criticism?