Book Log: July (Part 1)

It’s been several months since I’ve posted a book log. The omission has been owing to a humility that is probably closer to pride. My fear, not completely unsubstantiated, is that people will read the monthly log and sigh with hopelessness, “My, my, doesn’t he read a lot of books.” Or ponder with disdain, “He must think he’s real special for reading all those books.” In other words, I’ve been worried what people will think. I’ve wanted to be humble, or at least seem humble. Or both. I’m not sure.

But the fact is, besides taking time to ruminate too much on my issues (see previous paragraph), I spend a lot of time reading. I don’t hunt, fish, rebuild cars, knit, garden, put up drywall, or camp (if I can help it), but I like books. And if you’re reading this blog you probably do too. So back to the book log.

July has been part vacation and part study leave. This has afforded ample time for reading. So you’re getting two days of the book log this month.

1. Arthur C. Brooks, The Battle: How the Fight Between Free Enterprise and Big Government Will Shape America’s Future (Basic Books 2010). A short, very accessible defense of free markets. Brooks makes a lot of good points, but falters at times because the “pursuit of happiness” is no substitute for God-centeredness. Also the book is pretty pricey for what amounts to probably 25,000 words of text.

2. Robert Letham, The Westminster Assembly: Reading Its Theology in Historical Context (P&R Publishing 2009). After loving Letham’s book on the Trinity, I was expecting a lot from this. I wasn’t disappointed. It may be hard for non-Reformed types to get into this book, but really anyone could benefit from Letham’s careful attention to historical and theological detail. Letham is thoroughly evangelical (often critical of Torrance and Barth), but never unthinking (he also criticizes John Gerstner and Robert Reymond). Every Presbyterian should read this book.

3. Joel Kotkin, The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050 (Penguin 2010). What will America be like in 40 years with another hundred million people (making the population 400 million in 2050)? According to Kotkin, America will be doing pretty well. Kotkin is optimistic because our population, unlike the rest of the industrialized world, will continue to increase (thanks to immigration and a higher birth rate). The title is a bit misleading; the book is really about the nature of our cities, not America as a whole. Kotkin thinks our major cities will become luxury centers only available to the very rich. He is mostly positive about the suburbs and especially sanguine about small cities and the Heartland. And if any of my wife’s relatives are reading this, be sure to check out pages 105-106 on Aurora, Nebraska.

4. Joel Best, Stat-Spotting: A Field Guide to Identifying Dubious Data (University of California Press 2008). A very fast read. Best uses hundreds of examples and keeps the language non-technical. He explains why obesity rates are not what they seem and levels of autism may not be as bad as people fear. In a world full of dubious data, this book is a must read. You’ll learn a lot and have a good time. Read this book. (Also of interest, Best’s Damned Lies and Statistics.)

5. Bradley R.E. Wright, Christians are Hate-Filled Hypocrites…and Other Lies You’ve Been Told (Bethany House 2010). More tedious and twice as long as Best’s book, but still one of the most important Christian books of the year. Wright marvels at how bad we like to present ourselves and easily we repeat bad data regarding divorce, church attendance, and the trajectory of our young. Far from endearing us to nonbelievers, it actually hurts our evangelistic efforts to keep repeating the myth that evangelicals are terrible and everyone thinks were losers. Wright dissects the claims made by Barna, UnChristian, and others and argues that though we’re far from perfect, we’re probably more like a B than an F.