George Washington's War: The Saga of the American Revolution

An older book, 1993, but a great overview of the Revolutionary period.

What I liked about it is that while dispelling the myths of fighting the British, the British quitting, and the new nation being born, author Robert Leckie brings home the painful struggle these founders endured.

We have a tendency to look back, knowing and experiencing the outcome of American independence, and wave it off, but from 1775 to 1781 this cause was in serious doubt.

George Washington's greatness, though not overdone in words by the author, shines through the lines and pages.

Not a religious book, but the improbable revolution that sustained itself against the world's greatest power at the time, with no history to draw from of successful revolutions of this nature past, "George Washington's War" compels the reader acknowledge ---or at least consider--- a divine intervention into history.

Where I Was 14 Years Ago This Summer

This is a pic of most, if not all of the Los Angels District Nazarene Youth Pastors ("...Now the Jedi are all but gone.")

We were in Phoenix for NYC (Nazarene Youth Congress)in 1995. Great week. Newsboys were there, Tony Campolo was there---and actually preaching the gospel, we floated the Salt River, played paint ball, and survived a bus with no air conditioning as the heat crested at 122 degrees.

This was when I learned the myth of the statement: "Everything over 100 degrees is all the same." NO. For several days we hovered between 119 and 122 and then winter set in and the temperature dropped to 113 (burr!)

From left to right (to the best of my memory): Ray Baker (L.A. Grace and still in the biz), Bill Carroll (Newhall Church, now in Idaho I think), Benny Gonzalez (Rowland Heights, now a missionary), Becky Piatt (Pasadena 1st., moved to Ohio, I never gave back her "Lost Dogs" tape), Joe T. (Temple City, I don't know what happened to him), Alan Holmes (Santa Maria, now living in Bakersfield), Jim Morwood (Pasadena 1st., I believe he is still the campus dean at Azusa Pacific), Steve Cobbs (Had just arrived at Atascadero from Ridgecrest, and is now pastoring in Apple Valley), in front of Steve is Traci Fenimore (District NYI President, serving at Camarillo, currently pastoring in Ventura), to Steve's left, barely in the picture is Keith Stephenson (Pismo Beach, he went into missions. When I met Keith he made a joke, I smarted back; "Like you're a rocket scientist", it turned out he was really a rocket scientist at Vandenburg who went into the ministry), to Traci's left Mike Schoonover (Pasadena First, retired and living la vida loca), and Mike Kipp (San Luis Obispo, who I believe is now Dr. Kipp teaching at Northwest Nazarene College in Idaho.)

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

I know. I know, I know, I know...how can a guy who lists "To Kill a Mockingbird" as one of his favorite all time books read a ridiculous book like "World War Z" written by the son of Mel Brooks? ("I didn't get a "harrumph" out of that guy!")

On the surface, I agree, ridiculous but in execution Max Brooks does a great job. In fact he did such a good job he creeped me out the way Stephen King used to back in the old days.

This was a solid to great read.

How did I come about this book? I saw the cover and thought it might be something about a terrorist war in the future, looked at the back cover, and then my wife asked me what I was doing with that book in my hand.

She was in the process of purchasing some Nicholas Sparks yawnfest, so I held my ground and said I was taking the zombie book...I ended up reading "Nights in Rodanthe" afterwards...Max Brooks was far more fun.

Playing For Pizza

I don't read too much John Grisham. The lawyer in trouble genre to me is as old as Greg Brady getting caught smoking after school. Interesting for a moment, but what's next?

I read "The Firm" a thousand years before and it was okay. Chasing my daughter through Borders a few months ago I came across "Playing For Pizza" and read the back cover.

Third string quarterback costs his team a trip to the Super Bowl and now has no place to go except Italy. I didn't buy the paperback then, but after former Temple City offensive lineman Josh Ouellette recommended it to me, I picked up a copy in early February.

Grisham is a very good writer, he tells a great story, but I wasn't necessarily enthralled with the football side of things. His description of a player intercepting a passing and "running to the Promised Land" is old, stale, and revealing of a lack of effort on his part to get inside of football...His characterizing the tormenting sportswriter as fat, out of shape, balding, and disgusting...fits the stereotype but he should have invested a little more time reading columns like "Fanview" or some others to get the writing style down. Grisham's attempts to replicate a column are very poor.

All of that aside, he did make Italy (a place I have never wanted to visit before reading this book)sound very interesting. While he might not have spent much time acquainting himself with football, he certainly knows the culture, the wine, and the foods...

A good read.

The Wild Geese

Not a book at the top of any list, except mine.

Now the movie, adapted from the original novel, was great; action, blood, guts, everything a guy wants in a movie. The book is okay in a literary sense, but I love it for a pair of reasons.

The story is interesting and it gives great insight to what was going on in Africa during the period of nationalization and the booting of the colonial powers. As America still reflects what took place in the 1960's, Africa is still feeling the effects of this period in history.

Over the years I've met missionaries who were in the field during this time that supported the background of Daniel Carney's novel. As with the other books I've posted on this blog, "The Wild Geese" gives a perspective to the complexity of the South African apartheid system.

Apartheid was awful, terrible, no argument there, but what is neglected---as we label all white South Africans as racists---is that these people saw what was happening in the Congo, Mozambique, Uganda, Angola, and Rhodesia.

I have memories of Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith being vilified in the press, in public opinion, by the U.S., and by the United Nations for fighting the call to surrender power...The whites were the minority, colonial period was ending, it was time for the majority to come to power. Everyone agreed, everyone rah rah'd...But South Africa saw what happened in all of these countries so they clung to apartheid, determined not to let it happen to them...

The South Africans knew, so did the missionaries...that while the colonial system was far from acceptable...they knew those taking majority rule were at best Marxists and at worst dictators...Carney's story again highlights (my word of the month)the complexity of it all and the unbelievable tragedy that is Africa.

On the other hand I really liked this book because Carney shows himself, I think, to be a blue collar, lunch pale, writer with no concern about being considered an artist...I love to write sports but I know exactly what I am and I am no artist...Fitzgerald, Faulkner,Steinbeck, heck even Stephen King, have an artistic style that is awesome to read. They are the thoroughbreds...I'm more along the lines of a hack, the literary version of a mutt.

I say that in the positive...Writing doesn't always have to be artsy...it could be as honorable as hanging drywall or framing a house..."The Wild Geese" is a book that tells me I'm okay if I'm not as talented as Harper Lee...I don't have to be...Writing my column every week, tapping out my football stories...I'm the lunch pale guy...and that's okay...and that should eliminate the fear of those who have always wanted to try but were too afraid to start.

Where I Was Ten Years Ago

This summer will be ten years since I was in Toronto, Canada for a huge gathering called NYC (Nazarene Youth Congress).

For most of the week I was struggling during the services during worship and with the speakers...so I pulled out my sketch book.

Now needing to keep this site active, without sports, I have decided to reach back into the vaults and pull out a few memories.

Ninety-nine percent of you are not going to get this or some of the meaning...but I thought it was funny.

Last Add: My week changed when Carolyn Arends came out live on stage and sang "Seize the Day"...it was a very profound spiritual moment in my life.

April 1865: The Month That Saved America

Overwhelming in its detail (then again all good history books are overwhelming) author Jay Winik hits on subjects of this most crucial month beyond Lee's surrender and Lincoln's assassination.
Some of the great points in this book;
The great debate between Lee, his generals, and Jefferson Davis to take the South's cause to the hills to fight a guerrilla war which may have extended the conflict for years and left an entirely different country.
Lincoln's determination to save the Union when it would have been so easy for him to gain the favor of the people by agreeing to a peaceful settlement with the Confederacy.
Winik's lessons about previous transfers of power from president to vice-president. Explaining first John Tyler's succession to the presidency after the death of William Henry Harrison and then Millard Fillmore's becoming the 13th president after the death of Zachary Taylor. We tend to think of these in terms of just being a matter of fact, but nothing was as easy as time would make it seem.
The flaws of all these great men, and the opportunity to understand them in the context of their times not ours. Southern honor is anathema to us in the year 2009 when they held on to slavery. The Northern indifference and peace movement that was willing to settle for two nations instead of one is not alive in our thought process today.
Winik does an outstanding job and this book should be a must read for every high school student.