Destroying Angel: Benjamin Rush, Yellow Fever, and the Birth of Medicine by Bob Arnebeck

About a great man and eminent physician and devout Christian at the cusp of either the end of ancient medicine or the dawn of modern medicine and hence an agonizing portrayal of a devoted doctor facing a terrifying illness armed with unhelpful theories and no effective weapons. The writer both understands and misunderstands, seeing his medical efforts but blind to his spiritual integrity, seeing it only as undeveloped as his medical understanding.

Concerning Christian Liberty by Martin Luther

Really excellent discourse about faith and works with very good analogical apologetics.

An Open Letter to the Christian People by Martin Luther

A polemic about papal abuse and priesthood of believers.

An Open Letter to the Christian People by Martin Luther

A polemic about papal abuse and priesthood of believers.

The Road to Oxiana by Robert Byron

A relative of Lord Byron, travels in Persia and Iran and Iraq and Afghanistan, headed for upper Afghanistan. Arduous dangerous travel. He was an architect documenting ancient architecture. He is at turns xenophobic and culturally insightful. Highly critical of people and customs and then suddenly open and clearsighted. The architecture shows amazing civilizations long forgotten. I was confused at times by use of the word Persian and it wasn't clear to me what languages he used.

The Cambridge Quintet by John L. Casti

A fictional account of a dinner at Cambridge with Turing, Haldane, Schroedinger, Snow, and Wittgenstein, about the possibility of computer intelligence and language. Mostly between Turing and Wittgenstein. Much talk about language and consciousness and meaning. Fairly interesting but pretty inconclusive. Epilogue is really quite helpful.

The Journey to the East by Hermann Hesse

Somewhat bizarre tale of servant leadership, a metaphysical quest with emphasis on narrative as truth.

The Journey to the East by Hermann Hesse

Somewhat bizarre tale of servant leadership, a metaphysical quest with emphasis on narrative as truth.

Brother Astronomer by Guy Consolmagno

World-class meteor expert and Jesuit believer who writes very interesting chapters about astronomy and meteors, but also about faith and science and God and science and the truth about the church and Galileo. Has good chapters to refer to about these matters such as science as a faith.

The Prince by Machiavelli

Retaining power the ultimate good frames the ethics and gives sense to the book, repugnant though it seem.

Safe in the Arms of God by John MacArthur

A wonderful small book that convinces, comforts and cures. Highly recommended.

Safe in the Arms of God by John MacArthur

A wonderful small book that convinces, comforts and cures. Highly recommended.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

A great book with two main threads woven together. The triumph of an architect and the wonder of the World's Fair and the emergence of Chicago as a world-class city and a grisly murder mystery or story. All true and written with skill and juicy tidbits of the era and its effect on the future. Wonderful book.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

A great book with two main threads woven together. The triumph of an architect and the wonder of the World's Fair and the emergence of Chicago as a world-class city and a grisly murder mystery or story. All true and written with skill and juicy tidbits of the era and its effect on the future. Wonderful book.

Kitchen Table Wisdom by Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D.

Wonderful uplifting stories; a real gem. Invokes Buddha, Zen, visualization, but remarkably not in a way that closes the door on a Christian worldview. I was prepared not to like this book but was moved and I think helped by it. I think all physicians should read this or hear her speak.

Quote of the book: "You have to be present to win!"

Kitchen Table Wisdom by Rachel Naomi Reuben, M.D.

Wonderful uplifting stories; a real gem. Invokes Buddha, Zen, visualization, but remarkably not in a way that closes the door on a Christian worldview. I was prepared not to like this book but was moved and I think helped by it. I think all physicians should read this or hear her speak.

Quote of the book: "You have to be present to win!"

Seeing in the Dark by Timothy Ferris

Ferris at his best. Praising of amateur astronomers with just the right balance of technical and story. A must read for one wanting to start star gazing!

Seeing in the Dark by Timothy Ferris

Ferris at his best. Praising of amateur astronomers with just the right balance of technical and story. A must read for one wanting to start star gazing!

Following the Equator by Mark Twain (PALM)

Long for reading on Palm, very interesting, travel, delightful at times. Acerbic at times. Funny and insightful. Especially poignant about slavery and religion.

SR-71 Revealed: The Inside Story by Richard H. Graham

Very detailed and interesting; the straight scoop from the pilot's point of view. Lots of skill needed. Refueling all the time, sensitive airplane. Running near its limits all the time.

SR-71 Revealed: The Inside Story by Richard H. Graham

Very detailed and interesting; the straight scoop from the pilot's point of view. Lots of skill needed. Refueling all the time, sensitive airplane. Running near its limits all the time.

The Man who was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton

Interesting, at times puzzling, wonderfully written. Is it about anarchy or pursuing the enemy and finding one's self?

Go To by Steve Lohr

A story of microcomputer languages. Some multiply retold, some new to me. Lisp comes out well, C has been around much longer than I realized. Java has the writer in awe. Forth, the best language ever, is not even mentioned.

Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman

This is a very interesting seminal book about the typographic revolution and the television revolution and the death of discourse. Among many others, the example of the Lincoln-Douglas debates is thematic and I think convincing.

A Mathematician's Apology by G. H. Hardy

Somewhat elitist, he also seems depressed. He takes a Platonist position; he is merciless in his criticism of Hogben. Obsessed with cricket. Mathematics as self-absorption.

Red Rabbit by Tom Clancy

Vintage Clancy. Good story, poorly edited, curiously repetitious.

Red Rabbit by Tom Clancy

Vintage Clancy. Good story, poorly edited, curiously repetitious.

The Remnant by Jenkins and LaHaye

Desecration by Jenkins and LaHaye

Faith in technology

The Mark by Jenkins and LaHaye

Faith in technology

Commentary on Galatians by Martin Luther

Very good (PALM version), much more interesting than I expected. Of course law and grace covered well, but also criticizes speculation about the nature of God apart from Christ, which is God's way of revealing himself.

Indwelling by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye

Same

How to Think about Statistics by John L. Phillips, Jr.

Basic practical general intro to statistics, distribution, correlation - pretty good.

Six Days of War by Michael B. Oron

Read during the Iraq war and was very timely. Of interest was the crucial importance of air superiority, the aggressive armor tactics with high casualties that we now would find shocking. And the by now well-recognized but still appalling lying of the Arab officers even to their own superiors. Not written from a pro-Israeli perspective, it shows shocking ineptitude in higher Arab military leaders and pervasive political distrust and deceit. No change yet, I think.

AIDS and Accusation: Haiti and the Geography of Blame by Paul Farmer

This is very much an anthropological approach and very insightful culturally. If it is too political at least it is a politics seen from the village, which gives it a certain intrinsic validity if also naïveté. The prejudging of Haitian risk and origin of AIDS is regrettable and sad and unfair. The initial failure to emphasize the role of man-on-man sex in the initial stages is underemphasized (I know, I was there, at that first conference; as I recall, no one could get any index cases to admit sex with men. The account in the book is to me revisionist, though this may be because several papers and meetings are collapsed together and the issue was probably clarified in weeks if not months). Farmer has been there, on the ground and in the huts.

In the Wake of the Plague by Norman F. Cantor

Interesting and surprisingly agnostic about the actual vector - pestis or anthrax etc. From a historical cultural point of view with eclectic and interesting asides. Eager to dispense with Aristotle for some reason. Good length, well-written, interesting. A more benign view of feudalism.

To Infinity and Beyond by Eli Maor

As it says, a cultural history of the infinite. The usual stuff about Cantor fairly well explained. Quite a good non-euclidean part. Infinite tilings and symmetries was good and the section on Escher was very good. The section on kabbalism and cosmology interested me less. The appendix on group theory was quite good and concise.

Jean-Bertrand Aristide: An Autobiography

This is a frightening look into an evil man falsely using the priesthood, liberation theology, voodoo and the poor to become all that he professes to deplore.

Lockheed SR-71: The Secret Missions Exposed by Paul F. Crickmore

Very detailed explanation with pictures and drawings and all the people and equipment. Lots of crashes and danger. Not easy to fly.

Buried Treasure by Rabbie Daniel Lapin

At times fascinating, it is based on a premise that Hebrew is "designed" in the sense that it fits together and the letters and words and numbers interact in a meaningful way.

Buried Treasure by Rabbie Daniel Lapin

At times fascinating, it is based on a premise that Hebrew is "designed" in the sense that it fits together and the letters and words and numbers interact ina meaningful way.

Kelly - More than my Share of It All by Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson

The skunk works SR-71 guy, good tale of a good designer.

Renewing Your Mind by James Montgomery Boice

Excellent discussion of Romans 12:1-2. Very good discussion of secularism and humanism, balanced view of God's will.

Golden Booklet of the Christian Life by John Calvin

A chapter from a larger work. Good about man's state, the cross and bearing our cross and persecution.

Golden Booklet of the Christian Life by John Calvin

A chapter from a larger work. God about man's state, the cross and bearing our cross and persecution.

Q is for Quarry by Sue Grafton

I enjoyed it a lot. It was fun and clever.

Soul Harvest by Jerry Jenkins

Couldn't put it down, don't ask why.

Nicolae by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye

Another; good characters, much love among the brethren and sisters. Fiar writing, plot fairly complex.

Tribulation Force by Tim LaHaye & Jerry Jenkins

More of the same, somewhat hooked by the characters, I must admit.

Tribulation Force by Tim LaHaye & Jerry Jenkins

More of the same, somewhat hooked by the characters, I must admit.