Radical by David Platt

A very good and true approach to the Gospel. A corrective to the rampant materialism in the church. I think also a coherent philosophy of ministry focused on discipleship building (missions) as the focus of the church.

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Like the title of the book, this is a story with many levels of significance. It is a wonderful, well-written, long book. It is full of medical and literary references. It deals with culture, religion, politics, race, and language. The story informs the concepts of self, genetics, parentage, adoption. I could go on.

The medicine is of course impeccable, given the medical stature of the author.

If I gave out stars for the books on my list ... let me just say as I have said for some other books on this list, "Do yourself a favor, read this book, you are in for a treat."

Innocent by Scott Turow

We enjoyed this legal mystery. The writing is fairly good, and one cares about all the characters. There are enough twists and turns to keep you on your toes. It would make a good movie though it is a fairly typical courtroom murder mystery.

Blue Latitudes by Tony Horwitz

Follows Captain Cook and his voyages, interspersed with the author's own travels and research on the same locales, and investigating how Cook is remembered now: both revered and hated. It is amazing how a man with such humble beginnings in a class-bound society could accomplish so much. Though he achieved great fame and acclaim, his life was hard and seemingly comfortless. A picture of a lonely, self-driven man who must have loved the sea. He boldly went where no man had gone before!

Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt by Anne Rice

Though I have been wary of stories of Jesus' childhood, due to the excesses of non-canonical early sources, I wanted to read this, not the least because of the wonderful spiritual journey of the author. I was not disappointed.

Reading with care and reminding myself often that this was fiction, not holy writ, I benefited a great deal. Surely this child was a special child and surely God delighted in him in a way we can only imagine. We see his parents protecting him with God's help, teaching him with God's help, and we see the community and synagogue and villagers having a hand in his growing up.

How soon he began to amaze those around him we can only speculate, but surely there were flashes of light, signs to his parents and to others, and even, as the book purports, signs to the young boy. Surely Anne Rice is correct that the boy himself gradually answered the question we all are faced with: Who is this Jesus?

As Others See Chicago: Impressions of Visitors 1673-1933 edited by Bessie Louise Pierce

An amazing collection; from the days when there was hardly a building, to the bustling 30's when Chicago was a leading city in the world. I enjoyed the earliest stories, the stories around the fire, which I think one could argue still has its effects on Chicago.

One can see the lakefront and Loop change over the years. And it has changed to the present day. Ampère, Kipling, and G. K. Chesterton add their thoughts to many other visitors from around the world.

The Physician in Literature edited by Norman Cousins

Snippets of medical literature and literature about medicine. Interesting in places. William Carlos Williams stands out.

Once a Runner by John L. Parker, Jr.

Disjointed and somewhat aimless; some great passages about elite running, but all in all not as good as many have said.

The Weaving of Threads by B. Lewis Barnett Jr. M.D.

A collection of brief stories from the practice of this esteemed and beloved family practitioner and professor. Not only is he the doctor you wish you had, but in these pages you find a friend. My signed copy was given to me by my long-term partner who was mentored by 'Dr. B,' so I am a direct beneficiary of his wisdom and kind example, modeled by my partner. Barnett is a man of deep faith, strong but nurturing, always hopeful and seeing the potential in his residents.

I must confess I read this book, one story a week, usually finishing the stories with tears in my eyes.

Dog on It by Spencer Quinn (read aloud)

A new and unique detective duo. A delight from beginning to end. Deftly written. Though not a dog lover myself, I loved this book. I don't know how the author knows how dogs think, hear, see and smell, but I just know he got it exactly right. Can't wait for Chet's (the dog's) next book.

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

In this book we see the results of a lifetime of thought about God and faith and the church. And I think we see the humility of true Christian faith. Though completely and deeply Catholic, his faith seems rooted in the atoning work of Christ, with a deep sense of mystery.

Going Rogue by Sarah Palin

An interesting life story and a collision between grassroots and establishment politics. If she is telling the truth, McCain's campaign managers ill-served him and the press was extremely unfair. In any case, the stridor and lack of restraint of her critics leads one to wonder why they are so afraid of her. Is she the reincarnation of Samuel Adams?

Counterfeit Gods by Timothy Keller

Another gem from Keller. It is about idolatry as a unifying principle of our sin nature. His arguments are clear but it is his biblical examples that really shine. As we read the book to each other, the one who got to read those parts felt lucky. His discussion of Leah was new to us and amazing.

This would be a great book for a small group discussion.

Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb

This book promises but doesn't deliver. It almost explains why the brain misunderstands probability. Almost explains Popper, Hume, option trading, stoicism, epicureanism. Almost explains Soros, Monte Carlo engines, chaos theory, black swans. Almost explains because answers are plagued by randomness, emotion and irrationality, and opinions change. Perhaps he is thoroughly post-modern. For similar style with much more substance, stick with Berlinski.

The HP Way by David Packard

A short but interesting telling of a story and a vision. HP started in a garage and grew into a giant in industry. It followed sound management principles. I think Hewlett and Packard never forgot who they were and I think their relationship guided them in dealing with others.

Packard was friends with Hoover in his later years. He was briefly assistant secretary of Defense under Nixon.

Signature in the Cell by Stephen C. Meyer

This carefully reasoned and exhaustively documented argument deals with the DNA enigma. Where does the complex, specified, functional information originate? This entire problem comes from the biochemical fact that the order of the base pairs of the four amino acids in DNA is not contingent. No physical or chemical force or bond determines what order the bases appear in. It is a code. It conveys information. The further question asked in the book is whether there ever is a cause other than an intelligent agent for complex, specific, functional information. Meyer has done the debates and read all the literature. He presents all the arguments and criticism. His case to me seems sound and scientific. His discussion about what constitutes science is especially good.

Linked by Albert László-Barabási

A very good introduction to networks. Many good examples with many good explanations. Raises a lot of questions that I am surprised have not been answered. Is the field new or is it extremely difficult? Probably some of both, and probably he knows more answers than he can tell to non-mathematicians in an understandable way.

Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

This is an amazing, important book. It is very disturbing. The main premise seems to be that the situation for women in many places in the world is unimaginably dire. To their credit, the authors face the inescapable evidence that many (but not nearly all) of these places are Islamic cultures.

Though I give credit for this, my own biased view is that in an effort to "balance," the authors understate the role Christianity has had in helping women. They give way too much credit to government.

In fairness, the efforts of Christian missionaries in Africa and other places have been small and spotty, but efforts for fistula repair and equal medical care for women did not begin with the people cited in the book. Their efforts seem finally to be having a broad effect, which I applaud, but emphasis on maternal and child health in developing countries has been going on, however feebly, for decades.

I do, however, hope this book is read by millions of people. The suffering they describe must stop. People of faith must work with others to help women.

Of course I am completely mystified how a book like this cannot make abortion one of its main concerns. It is only preferential abortion of female fetuses (babies) that is of concern in this book. In fact, those of us who oppose abortion and its support are lumped with those who don't want girls to go to school and those who support genital cutting as those holding back efforts to help women.

I think everyone should read this book and when finished should ask themselves the question, "We know these treatments of women and girls are evil and wrong, but what is the basis of this knowledge and how can we be sure?"