(Sorry about the formatting issues. I tried to clean it up, but it kept having issues.)
A Duty to Resist: When Disobedience Should Be Uncivil by Candice Delmas
A philosophical book on when people have a responsibility to stand up to injustice. The author explains four criterion when resistance is necessary: A duty of justice, principle of fairness, the Samaritan duty and Political associate.
The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief by Francis S. Collins
Colllins, a medical doctor and world-renowned scientist, shares how his scientific views (what some might call theistic evolution, but he prefers to call BioLogos) and his evangelical Christian faith are not at odds.
Bad Faith: When Religious Beliefs Undermine Modern Medicine by Paul Offit M.D.
Dr. Offit lays out how misinformation, along with fear, are leading some religious families to shun modern medicine (not limited to vaccines) and how some children suffer and die needlessly as a result.
Vaccinated: From Cowpox to mRNA, The Remarkable Story of Vaccines by Paul Offit M.D.
A biography, of sorts, of Maurice Hillerman. Hillerman played a major role in creating many vaccines that have helped to eradicate many common, but dangerous sicknesses. It is also a cautionary tale about how vaccinations helped to eradicate some diseases, but lower vaccination rates are seeing a reemergence of some diseases that were almost extinct.
Chronological NLT (New Living Translation) Bible
I listened to the whole Bible, first time chronologically, over 3 weeks. Listening to it as quickly as I did give a very different feeling than slower reading. Maybe because it was in a translation I’m not used to or maybe due to the speed, I picked up on some interesting things (Joseph and Esther to name a few) that I’d missed before.
George Lucas: A Life by Brian Jay Jones et al
A fascinating biography of Lucas. Lucas comes off as an intensely focused man, in both good and bad ways. His determination lead him to demand creative control over many of his projects (Star Wars) and yet his hyper focus caused him to lose his marriage.
The Crisis of Zionism by Peter Beinart
A chilling book about how Israel can hold on to power or democracy, but not both. The author lays out how Israel’s long term ruthless actions towards non Jews living in their country, both Arab citizens and non-citizen Palistinians, goes against God’s call for how we are to treat our neighbors, and goes against claims that they want a democracy. This book came out in 2012, and Israel’s actions have only gotten worse since its release.
The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge by Matt Ridley
Ridley lays out how he believes things change from the bottom up, then from top down. He gives examples from science, philosophy, technology, morality, economics, politics and more to show how many changes were inevitable based on changes going on all around. I found some parts of the book interesting, and others less so.
These Truths: A History of the United States by Jill Lepore
American History is not an easy subject to approach. What you include, or exclude, will upset certain groups. I found this book to be very even handed (this book is 960 pages, or 29 hours of audio), and 2/3 the way through the book I still couldn’t tell if the author had a “conservative” or “liberal” take on history. In the end, I learned a number of new things. Some I feel surprised I didn’t know before now, especially since some happened in my lifetime. I think the book is worth the time.
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
From World War 1 until 1970 The U.S. had a mass migration of blacks fleeing the Jim Crow south for mostly northern, and some western, cities. This book humanizes the migration by documenting three people, and by extension their families, as they fled inhumane conditions in the south in hopes of finding greener pastures. This book made me angry at times and brought me to tears more than once. It's a powerful book and well worth reading.
White Trash: The 400-year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg
An interesting take on classism throughout U.S. history. The author documents how there have always been the “upper” class, and “lower” class in our nations history.
Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
Wow. Wilkerson brings the receits on how the U.S. is more similar to India than I would have ever imagined. In India their people are arranged by what caste they were born into. America isn’t much different. However, our castes are based on race. Before you dismiss the concept, read the book.
Loaded: A Disarming History of the Second Amendment by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
A book about the 2nd Amendment by someone who was once obsessed with guns, and now is skeptical. That alone had me intrigued, since it follows a path I’ve gone down. The book is more balanced than I expected, and gives a lot of facts about what led us to where we are today. For example, as I only learned in recent months, the NRA was in favor of stricter gun laws until the late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s. And staunch conservative Supreme Court nominees, such as Bork, argued he didn’t believe Americans had a constitutional right to own guns.
Beating Guns: Hope for People Who are Weary of Violence by Shane Claiborne and Michael Martin
A book for Christians by Christians about the United States obsession with guns. In the book the authors seek to blend their theological opposition to the obsession, with the humanizing of those who have been victims of gun violence in recent years. Possibly to the surprise of some, the book does not advocate for a complete ban on guns (multiple times they advocate for a limit of buying 1 handgun a month). Instead, the book seeks to promote the Kingdom of God by longing for a time when weapons of war will be turned into garden tools.
The Third Harmony: Nonviolence and the New Story of Human Nature by Michael N. Nagler
While not a book directly tied to guns, this completed the trifecta of books I read regarding the problem of violence. Nagler promotes nonviolence, not only as a lack of violence, but to change the hearts of humans in how they view others. This books points out how the teachings of Jesus, Ghandi, MLK and many others have shown us that we do not have to resort to violence to achieve a more peaceful world.
Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise and other Bribes by Alfie Kohn
The overall premise of the book is to show how we have been taught to incentivize those under us to “do” more/better is to bribe them is wrong. Bribing people to do what we want them to do may work in the short term, but has negative effects in the long run. Instead of helping them love what the briber hopes they will love, education, reading, finding purpose in their work, instead it usually leads people to do the minimum to get the reward. And, even those who enjoyed the task ahead of time, often find less joy in the same task after a reward in promised or given.
On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service by Anothony Fauci M.D.
An autobiography by Fauci, documenting his 5+ decades in public service. Going into the book I knew little about Fauci, apart from hearing him demonized by some for his handeling of Covid. This book filled in the long, and storied history of his work. Fauci was instrumental in helping advance treatment of HIV/AIDS, as well as playing a large role in helping the U.S. through scares with Ebola, SARS, West Nile and anthrax crisises—before being asked to help with the Covid19 pandemic. The book is dry at times. But, overall, I found it interesting. He had good working relationships with several Presidents and speaks most glowingly about his relationships with Republican administrations.
The Cost of Ambition: How Striving to Be Better Than Others Makes Us Worse by Miroslav Volf
This book compares the teachings of Kierkengaard, John Milton and the Apostle Paul on ambition. As followers of Jesus, are we driven more by a desire to achieve excellence, or do we strive to be superior to others? One is a noble endeavor; the other is not.
History Matters by David McCullough
After his death, historian David McCullough’s daughter and a research assistant compiled unpublished essays and writings on why history matters. The book gives an interesting behind the scenes look at one of Americas better known historians.
From Dropout to Doctorate: Breaking the Chains of Educational Injustice by Terence Lester, PhD
A moving memoir about how Lester struggled to overcome many obstacles, including homelessness, to beat the odds. There was a lot of good information about educational inequality and how poverty affects many in our country.
