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.