Book Reviews 2018

A History of the World in 6 Glasses, Tom Standage

January 14, 20202018Here is a book that I can get behind. I love beverages. I love coffee, tea, wine, but not beer. I even enjoy an occasional coke. But to understand these beverages, where they came from and how they influenced the world, that is an intriguing proposition. This book doesn’t disappoint. It begins with beer in the 2nd Millennium B.C. Did you know that workers in ancient Mesopotamia, one of the origin centers of beer, could be paid entirely in beer? In addition, ancient beer wasn’t made with hops and was created entirely by accident. By the time of the Hellenistic Greeks and then the Roman Republic, wine hadn’t replaced beer. Wine was considered a delicacy at the beginning of the Roman Republic but would go on to become on the most drunk beverages in the Empire. Like today, wine was drunk by the “vintage” or year. The best wine was kept and drunk only by the elites of society. But there was something for everyone, even slaves (who drank a mixture of the sodden wine skins, previously used, and water). Interestingly, the Romans shipped wine to all parts of the Empire during its tenure. Obviously, the stretches of the Empire (England, Germany, the Baltic’s, and other Northern European countries) don’t have adequate climate for growing grapes. After the fall of the Empire, these countries reverted back to drinking beer as their supply of wine ran dry. Even today, the mentioned countries are known for their beer drinking, while the Southern European countries (Italy, France, and Spain) are known for their wine drinking. As Islam rose in the 7th century A.D. The Koran forbids the drinking of alcohol, so the Muslim majority on the Arabian peninsula needed alternatives to the beer and wine drinking cultures. The answer: coffee. The origins of coffee are not certain, but it did come out of modern day Saudi Arabia. In fact, the term “arabica” when referring to coffee means it came from this area (which may have been obvious to you, but I honestly never made the connection!). Coffee was exported most heavily to Europe when the Dutch East India Company made headway in Indonesia. From here, coffee was exported to Europe and became popular in the salon’s and cafés that typified Enlightenment Europe. Amazingly, coffee helped not only to bring people together, but it was shared over revolutionary ideas (literally: the French Revolution!). Tea’s history is much more complicated. Originating from China, it was a staple beverage in the East for centuries. When the British began trading with China around the 17th century, they started to rely on a steady tea supply. This in term began a series of conflicts called the Opium Wars. Essentially, the British were exchanging silver for tea and other goods popular at the time. This created a silver deficit. They hatched a scheme that would repay them back much of their loses: instead of off loading their silver, they grew opium and sold it to Chinese middlemen for silver, who then sold the opium for an exorbitant profit. Needless to say, the Chinese weren’t happy. The British also upset a group of colonists in a small port town in North America. After imposing a tax on goods such as tea and later, stamps, the North American colonists of Boston threw boxes of tea into the harbor, inciting what would become known as the American Revolution. Lastly, coke is the least ancient of all these beverages. But, it is probably the most popular today. The origin story of coke is complicated, but the short answer is yes, there were drugs in the original coke. After a time however, the recipe was revised without these ingredients. Coca-Cola was able to develop a stranglehold on the soda pop industry early because of their revolutionary technique of selling just syrup to soda shops. The syrup would be in bags and then sparkling water would be pushed through to create the magical beverage. This cut costs. Most interesting, Coca-Cola was so influential by the time of World War II that the United States Government gave special permission to the company to continue operations despite the widespread efforts of rationing supplies. They even were allowed to go abroad and Coca-Cola was designated as critical to the war effort. A small bottling plant would follow the US troops wherever they went. After the war, Coca-Cola came to symbolize capitalism and globalism; something the USSR and her friends despised. In East Germany, Pepsi Co. grabbed a portion of the population. After the Berlin Wall came down however, it was celebrated with a bottle of Coca-Cola. Great book full of information on how beverages really do impact our world. [...]

What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures, Malcolm Gladwell

January 14, 20202018I guess I would say that I am a huge Malcom Gladwell fan. I’ve read all of his books. In fact, this was the only one I hadn’t read. So, I thought it was a must. And it was super disappointing. I put it down for a long time until I pulled it back up recently. And it still disappointed. The book is a collection of essays that Gladwell wrote for the New Yorker, his main gig before writing books. Some of the pieces were interesting. In one poignant article, he talks about fertility amongst native peoples and how the estrogen influx due to monthly cycles could be linked to breast cancer. Another interesting story links football players with hiring teachers. But above and beyond, these short stories lack the depth and interest that Gladwell sparks in his full length novels. Gladwell excels at the long narrative; that is, making one point after another in a cohesive whole. These disengaged stand-alone stories are not as powerful nor as interesting. Check out “Blink” or “Tipping Points” (an excellent entrance into Gladwell’s world) or his podcast to get the real Gladwell. [...]

The Rooster Bar, John Grisham

January 14, 20202018I’ve never read a John Grisham novel, but I have heard good things. This book in particular seemed to have a promising start. Four friends go to Foggybottom Law School, a for profit law school that is just a diploma mill. 50% or less pass the Bar exam and most come out of school with $200,000+ in student loans. So when one of the four commits suicide, they know something has to change. Three drop out of law school and go into business before they are licensed to practice law. They use a local bar to cloak their movements: the Rooster Bar. I thought this book was anti-climatic as well. Every chapter I was waiting for something, anything, interesting to happen. It didn’t come. In fact, the ending is too unreal. The whole last third of the book just seems to be such a stretch that it wasn’t even fun anymore. 2/5. [...]

A River in Darkness: One Man’s Escape from North Korea

The American Spirit: Who We Are and What We Stand For

The Lost City of the Monkey God

The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution

Even If You Don’t: A Love Story

The Martian

Yes, Chef

Gosnell: The Untold Story of America’s Most Prolific Serial Killer

The Stormlight Archive: The Way of Kings

All-American Murder: The Rise and Fall of Aaron Hernandez, the Superstar Whose Life Ended on Murderers’ Row

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

The Remains of the Day

The Stormlight Archive: Words of Radiance

The Stormlight Archive: Oathbringer

Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance

Educated

Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste

What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures

After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam (2018)

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

For We Are Many (Bobiverse #2)

A History of the World in Six Glasses

Jurassic Park

Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa

North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail

Preaching That Changes Lives

The Feud That Sparked the Renaissance: How Brunelleschi and Ghiberti Changed the Art World

The Cuban Affair

The Rooster Bar

Star Wars: Last Shot: A Han and Lando Novel

When Breath Becomes Air

Only Human (Themis Files #3)

Airframe

Mistborn: The Final Empire

Hell Divers

God Save Texas: A Journey Into the Soul of the Lone Star State

Star Wars: Thrawn: Thrawn (2018)

Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker

PROOF: Finding Freedom through the Intoxicating Joy of Irresistible Grace (2018)

Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ

The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After

Redshirts

Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets, and Outright Lies from a Lifetime Writing for The Simpsons

Christianity Considered: A Guide for Skeptics and Seekers

Insurgence: Reclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom

Jurassic Park: The Lost World

The History of Jazz

How to Lose a Marathon: A Starter’s Guide to Finishing in 26.2 Chapters

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything

Survival Guide for the Soul: How to Flourish Spiritually in a World that Pressures Us to Achieve

Brief Insights on Mastering Bible Study: 80 Expert Insights, Explained in a Single Minute

Star Wars: Thrawn: Alliances

The Bible Unfiltered: Approaching Scripture on Its Own Terms

A Mouse Divided: How Ub Iwerks Became Forgotten, and Walt Disney Became Uncle Walt

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America

Star Trek: Captain to Captain

The Darkness and the Glory: His Cup and the Glory from Gethsemane to the Ascension (2018)

Mistborn: The Well of Ascension

Mistborn: The Hero of Ages

English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable

Michelangelo: His Epic Life

Scientism and Secularism: Learning to Respond to a Dangerous Ideology

Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling (2018)

Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America

Grit

What is the Gospel?

The Interdependency: The Collapsing Empire

Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul

The Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts that Shaped Our World (2018)

On Desperate Ground: The Marines at The Reservoir, the Korean War’s Greatest Battle

The Interdependency: Consuming Fire

The Reckoners: Steelheart

Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions

Firefight: the Reckoners book 2

Ethics and Moral Reasoning: A Student’s guide

Calamity: the Reckoners book 3

Skyward: Skyward

Prey

The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate (2018)

Legion: the Many Lives of Stephen Leeds

Reckoner’s: Mitosis

Tell the Truth: The Whole Gospel Wholly by Grace Communicated Truthfully & Lovingly

Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God

The Great Evangelical Recession: 6 Factors That Will Crash the American Church… and How to Prepare

Armada

Knowledge of the Holy

Elantris

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban