Unshaken by Dan Woolley

This book is simply incredible to digest. Dan Woolley recounts his experience surviving 65 hours under six floors of a collapsed Hotel Montana in Haiti after the 7.0 earthquake.

Unshaken reads like the perfect movie. Dan explains why he was there to photograph the families his company, Compassion International, sponsors. Once he and his video-photographer enter the Hotel Montana, the quake strikes.

As he shares what steps he took to survive, he provides flashbacks to his marriage with a wife who suffers from severe depression and how his faith and marraige had faltered before the trip.

You'll read his reports of speaking with others trapped under the rubble and how they were rescued while he was seemingly forgotten.

Reading this book is like watching the Apollo 13 movie. You know he survives, yet you will be on the edge of your seat with each aftershock and his failing health.

Included are color photographs Dan took with his camera once the quake settled and how he used his flash to move into an elevator shaft.

This book has to be made into a movie and it's the perfect example of the heroics of our rescue teams that took place in Haiti.


This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Zondervan Publishing.

Love & War Devotional for Couples by John and Stasi Eldredge

John and Stasi Eldredge have written a companion devotional book to Love and War. This is a small hardback book that spans 8 week.

Week one is Remembering What We Wanted
Week two is The Two Shall Become One
Week three is The Journey
Week four is Companionship
Week five is Your Spouse is Not Your Enemy
Week six is The Little Foxes
Week seven is Incresasing Intimacy
Week eight is The Most Excellent Way

You don't need to have read Love & War before reading this devotional. This little book can stand on its own and should be read individually instead of together as a couple.

After each week of reading, you are giving an exercise to try. These include thinking of how God can use the differences between you and your spouse, choosing to do something that your spouse enjoys to show how selfless you can be and the cliched, "create a list".

The Eldredges talk about how God created marriage to be an example of life with Him, and the obligatory section on sex and intimacy.

But this is not so much a how-to. This devotional is meant to get couples to rethink their marriage and reunite their relationship to God. As the title assumes, your spouse is not the enemy.


This book was provided for review, at no cost, by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing.

Small Faith Great God by N.T. Wright

This is the second edition of N.T. Wright's early work. Small Faith Great God reads like a collection of sermons which, coincidentally isn't far from the truth.

Wright uses this book to explain that Christians do not need a greater faith or "more faith" but what they need to understand is that they have a faith in a great God.

He uses the illustration of a window that is used to see out and in which light beams into the darkness. This is what faith is. We shouldn't get caught up with how little our faith seems. Do we believe in the God of the Bible? That should be our focus.

This book is divided into 3 parts:

Faith in a Great God
Faith to Live and Love
Faith to Walk in the Dark

Each section builds on each other, which has become a staple of Wright's work.

In section 1, we hear about the kind of God in whom we have this faith. In section 2, we are encouraged in how to live out that faith. And in section 3 builds a stronger case for "what now?"

As this was the work of Wright earlier in his writings, I found these chapters to be easier to read and comprehend that his later books. If feels like I was reading his sermon outlines.

In the preface, he explains how some of his thinking has changed over the years and he points out a couple places in this book that this has happened.

Overall, I found this to be a refreshing look at our faith and the God in which it belongs.

If you are a fan of N.T. Wright, you will want to add this book to your shelf.


This book was provided for review, at no cost, by InterVarsity Press

The Promise. President Obama: Year One by Jonathan Alter

Filling my need for political back-stories came in Jonathan Alter's book, The Promise.

Alter takes us through the first year of President Obama's first term. It isn't so in depth that you will become bored, but the pace kept me turning the pages.

As with many political books, I couldn't keep this on the end table. Whenever I would try to take a break, I was compelled to return to the story of Obama's presidency.

Alter plays the "all things equal" card fairly well. He points out some of the failures that took place under President Bush, while also giving him kudos for the things that worked. He calls Bush's presidency a failure and I would think that's a bit too soon to declare.

Alter is not afraid to point out the missteps and mistakes that Obama made. So this book shouldn't get either side angry.

You'll get to hear how President Obama feels about being a one-term President (a real possibility) and you'll understand why he put all of his political capital on big issue items like Health Care Reform and Finance Reform.

With his closest advisers telling him to wait a few months/years, President Obama wanted his legacy to be in reform.

Read this book to see how his first year dealt with angry Republicans, snotty Democrats and gain a little more respect for the office of President.

Flight of Shadows by Sigmund Brouwer

Sigmund Brouwer places you in the middle of a story already taking place. Flight of Shadows is the sequel to Broken Angel but you won't be lost if you haven't read it.

At first things might be confusing as you read about Invisibles, Industrials, Illegals an Influentials but Brouwer reveals details in a timely fashion that will leave you hooked throughout the story.

Caitlyn has left her safe but repressive home of Appalachia. There is something weird about her DNA and a number of organizations are interested in obtaining her. Caitlyn runs into a magician named Razor whom she's not sure if she can trust.

The setting is an apocalyptic future for the United States and if you're outside a city's walls, your life isn't worth spit.

Brouwer strings you along with rabbit trails and false leads so you will not know how things will end until you turn the last page. Whenever you think you have all the characters figured out, you'll hit a fork in the road.

Sigmund Brouwer is skilled at suspense. You will enjoy this story.



This book was provided for review, at no cost, by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing

Visioneering by Andy Stanley

It seems to be a hit or miss with me and Andy Stanley. I loved his book on grace and his 7 practices of ministry book.

Visioneering was a different monster. It took me a long time to wade through all the material and the style of Stanley's writing was different than his other books. I began to wonder if he had a ghost writer.

In Visioneering, Pastor Stanley offers his ideas and how-tos in order to create, foster and maintain vision.

He begins by touching on how to get vision. Once you have the idea, one must pray and plan. The biggest part is to rely on God, not your own inadequacies. (Faith is monumental).

Following this intro, Stanley takes us into the public realm where we will discover if our vision will be captured by the audience. Prices will be paid, criticism will come and some re-alignment may need to take place. Bottom line: don't get distracted.

I'm sure there are a number of books on the topic of creating vision and I think you may want to encounter them before diving into Andy Stanley's tome.

UnStuff by Hayley & Michael DiMarco

Does it feel like you have so much stuff? Could it be that you value the wrong things?

The DiMarcos try to help us UnStuff in their new book about making room for what really matters.

This book is 6 sections full of ideas and personal stories from the authors as to how they experienced a releasing of their stuff. These sections include:

"Wallet Stuff" which includes work, paying bills, shopping, and all things financial.
"Mind Stuff" talks about instant gratification, depression, drama, worrying about what others think.
"Body Stuff" is all about eating and weight issues and fatigue.
"Love Stuff" delves into sexual addiction, being selfish or lonely, and how giving can replace love.
"Worship Stuff" includes wanting to be comfortable, not praying, reading the Word or just being lazy.
"Future Stuff" talks about avoiding certain triggers, living within your means and learning to rest.

There is so much writing that takes place on the pages that if feels like you have ADD. It shouldn't take you very long to read, and the rewards will unclutter your life.



This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Tyndale Publishing.

Obama's Wars by Bob Woodward

This book was a breath of fresh air after the horror that was Laura Ingraham's The Obama Diaries.

Obama's Wars takes us inside the White House as President Obama formulates his plan for the Afghanistan War.

Bob Woodward never disappoints me with his storytelling. I enjoyed his books recounting the Bush era. His ability to thread interviews, quotes and minute-by-minute details leaves me hard pressed to put the book down.

You will get a better understanding of how President Obama makes his decisions when it comes to national security. You will learn about the inevitable showdown between the Democrat administration and the military brass at the Pentagon.

Woodward tries his hardest not to play favorites, he wants to provide the information and tell it like it is.

I was surprised at some of the military disclosures Woodward revealed in this book. I'm sure everything is outdated and the activity within Afghanistan and Pakistan have changed, but I could have sworn I was reading top-secret details that shouldn't be available to the public.

The statements about Secretary of State Clinton wanting to run as Obama's VP next term aren't too extreme. Even though everyone denies it, we'll just have to wait and see.

The major provocation came at the expense of Afghan President Karzai. He is described as being "on his meds" or "off his meds". He's given to mood swings and depression.

Not something you want to read about the leader of a volatile country.

The big difference between Obama and Bush is that Obama spends months in meetings talking about strategy before he writes up a strategy plan for his military commanders. Bush wanted action immediately. Bush would give the military whatever they needed for success while Obama considers the political ramifications.

This is another ace in the Woodward collection. If you enjoy behind-the-scenes political theater, Obama's Wars is the book you need.

The Obama Diaries by Laura Ingraham

Radio talk show host Laura Ingraham is known for her sassy retorts of the Democrat party and President Obama - she even has nasty things to say about his wife, Michelle.

In her book, The Obama Diaries, Ingraham tries to be funny with her "found diary entries" from the White House. She does not succeed.

While a couple of the "entries" are smirk-funny, the book as a whole comes across as mean-spirited. This book was written for a core base of anti-Obama fans.

Reading The Obama Diaries will not convince you that President Obama is evil as Ingraham believes him to be. Nor will it endure him to you.

The most you can expect from this book is boredom.

You'll read segments from Michelle Obama complaining about her husband and having to put on a facade before the American pubic, you'll read about Vice President Biden not having a clue about the Recovery Act, and you'll read about the grandmother being sick and tired of having to be the parent to the Obama children.

In between diary entries Ingraham offers her thoughts on the President and his administration.

Unless you're a big fan of the Laura Ingraham show, you'll want to leave this book on the shelf.

Radical by David Platt

Pastor David Platt has traveled the world, speaking with church leaders in areas where being a Christian could cost them their lives.

He has been struck by the disconnect between Jesus' instructions and the follow-through of Christians in The United States. As pastor of a mega-church in Alabama, Platt has wrestled with what it means to be successful in the church.

Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream is intended to strip you away from your American stereotypes and safety net. As the title implies, the American Dream doesn't fit well with Christ's call to obedience.

Platt says that Jesus calls for sacrifice which leads to greater rewards than the monetary gains we get in America.

The chapters include:
Someone worth losing everything for
Too hungry for words
Beginning at the end of ourselves
The great why of God
The multiplying community
How much is enough
There is no plan b
Living when dying is gain
The radical experiment

Platt ends the book by challenging readers to take 1 year and pray for the entire world, read through the Bible, sacrifice your money for a specific purpose, spend time in another context, and commit your life to a multiplying community.

It is argued that American Christians have become too comfortable in their church buildings. Platt declares that we need to take risks, we need to be willing to die for Christ. How many of us could claim that?

The book felt like your basic, surrender-your-entire-life-for-Jesus book with a few real-life examples thrown in.

I just hope this doesn't become another church-based merchandise gimmick as they are already promoting another companion booklet.

 
This book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing