The Last Jihad, by Joel C. Rosenberg
I finished this one quickly. Its a thriller, so like all thrillers do, it made me keep reading. This book is different for me, because I usually don't read thrillers, much less political thrillers, but all of the books in the series hit the bestsellers lists so I thought there must be something to it.
In addition, there are some who would say Mr. Rosenberg's books come true after he writes them. For instance, this particular book was written before September 11, 2001, yet it opens with a kamikaze plane attack and the subsequent war in Iraq. The characters in the book experienced the grief and shock and general chaotic feelings that many Americans, including myself, felt in the months following 9/11.
When asked how his books seem to predict the future political events, the author points to Biblical prophecy, and has written a non-fiction book (reviewed on this blog here) explaining his entire process. However, it is my belief that if a person were highly observant of world news, and well versed in common political responses to certain stimuli, that person could seem to know the future, when in actuality they are simply making a highly educated guess based on prior occurrence. Particularly amusing to me is the inclusion of one event from Mr. Rosenberg's second book as evidence of his ability to predict the future. In the second book (according to Wikipedia), Yassar Arafat dies. 13 months after publication, he did! I find it funny that this is somehow relevant to the other scenarios in his books that "came true," because last I checked, Yassar Arafat was an old man, and NOT immortal. Of course he was going to die sometime.
Not to debunk this sooth-saying theory, I feel that Mr. Rosenberg is highly attuned to the American world in which he lives, because in writing his book he not only captured the events that were about to occur, but he captured the American response to the terrorist attacks. By this I mean that the individual characters experienced the same sense of shock, outrage, and go-get-em attitude that I and many of my friends experienced. In addition, the American population in his book supported the President by a huge majority in the first few weeks following the fictional attack. That is where the book ends, but I have a feeling that the next book will depict America's growing concern and restlessness over the war, in the same way that real-life confidence in the American leadership fell as the number of American casualties in Iraq rose.
One last point, this book in some ways resembles the Left Behind series, especially because of Dr. Eliezer Mordechai, a character who resembles the Left Behind series' Dr. Chaim Rosenzwieg. Thankfully, the book conjures up a good story without feelings of impending doom and the moral message to straighten up your act before the fire and brimstone start falling. Not that there is anything wrong with that message, but it is refreshing to see a book that seems to incorporate Biblical end-times prophecy without the acts of God that are so hard for a human mind to understand. To put it another way, its intriguing to see a book that believes humans are capable of creating the end of the world without the hand of God doing most of the destruction. It, in a sense, sneaks ideas of doomsday into people's minds without them rejecting it because of their unbelief in a God who is active in the universe.
Overall, despite a few moments where I wished the author would stop describing the country side and get on with the story, I would recommend this book to anyone, especially those who are interested in politics, the Middle East, or any type of thriller book.
PS- The book was re-written before its initial 2002 publication date to incorporate and acknowledge the events of 9/11, so the president in the book is one that follows President Bush. In light of the whole "events coming true thing" I would like to point out that the fictional president is white, with an Irish last name, not black or female. I have to find SOME way of enjoying the coming election so I will play a little game with Mr. Rosenberg and just see if THAT prediction comes true...
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Night of the Wind
Night of the Wind, by Dan Cherry
This book is about a life-altering tornado that occurred in southern Michigan on Palm Sunday, 1965. It is a sort of narrative reconstruction based on interviews with the eyewitnesses to the damage, the victims, and their families.
"A tornado?" you might ask. "The United States gets hundreds of them a year. It couldn't have been that bad." Try saying that to someone who was there.
At first glance, this book simply tells a story, in time increments, about a tragedy. But looking back on my reading, I discovered that the author skillfully worked in little memorable details that taught the reader something of the history and culture of the area while telling the story.
For example, instead of stating "In 1965, tornado and storm were monitored by radar storm watchers in Detroit, who then relayed information to the news stations (a long process)," the author worked the details into the story. So at 7:00 PM, which is the first chapter, the author describes the evening activities for many of the characters involved. At 7:03 PM a tornado was reported locally in southern Michigan, but as it moved north, no other counties were alerted. Giving the readers the knowledge of the tornado, while the characters involved had no knowledge of the coming disaster heightens suspense, while also subtly emphasizing in the story that the communication about the weather which is so important today, was almost non-existent back then.
Having read the book, I feel a greater sense of connection with the people in the communities of Manitou Beach, Adrian, Addison, Devil's Lake, Onsted, and others in the Lenawee County area. I feel that if I were to visit the area today, I would feel a sense of familiarity despite the fact that the damage I saw in the pictures no longer is visible today.
The sense of danger the book instilled was also profound. It was not profound in the sense of instilling an unhealthy fear of storms, but it was just enough to make a person take time out of their day to remember the deaths of those involved when the sky takes on a funny color. In fact, I found myself on Palm Sunday of this year, without even realizing it, searching the sky and thinking about the tornado of 43 years ago, despite living in the foothills of the Appalachians, where in my lifetime (24 years), we have had two tornadoes that were barely large enough to take shingles off the roofs. For this reason, I felt that the book was a wonderful tribute to the memory of those who lost their lives on that night.
I would highly recommend this book to history buffs, storm watchers, and those who live in the affected area. However, it has recently gone out of print. HAHA sucks to be you... no seriously, if you want to read it, contact me because I know the author and if I present him with enough names I might be able to petition for it to go back into print. (He's gonna read this and now he's probably rolling his eyes at me...) OK thats all, final verdict: its a great book, a suspenseful read, and how history books OUGHT to be written!
This book is about a life-altering tornado that occurred in southern Michigan on Palm Sunday, 1965. It is a sort of narrative reconstruction based on interviews with the eyewitnesses to the damage, the victims, and their families.
"A tornado?" you might ask. "The United States gets hundreds of them a year. It couldn't have been that bad." Try saying that to someone who was there.
At first glance, this book simply tells a story, in time increments, about a tragedy. But looking back on my reading, I discovered that the author skillfully worked in little memorable details that taught the reader something of the history and culture of the area while telling the story.
For example, instead of stating "In 1965, tornado and storm were monitored by radar storm watchers in Detroit, who then relayed information to the news stations (a long process)," the author worked the details into the story. So at 7:00 PM, which is the first chapter, the author describes the evening activities for many of the characters involved. At 7:03 PM a tornado was reported locally in southern Michigan, but as it moved north, no other counties were alerted. Giving the readers the knowledge of the tornado, while the characters involved had no knowledge of the coming disaster heightens suspense, while also subtly emphasizing in the story that the communication about the weather which is so important today, was almost non-existent back then.
Having read the book, I feel a greater sense of connection with the people in the communities of Manitou Beach, Adrian, Addison, Devil's Lake, Onsted, and others in the Lenawee County area. I feel that if I were to visit the area today, I would feel a sense of familiarity despite the fact that the damage I saw in the pictures no longer is visible today.
The sense of danger the book instilled was also profound. It was not profound in the sense of instilling an unhealthy fear of storms, but it was just enough to make a person take time out of their day to remember the deaths of those involved when the sky takes on a funny color. In fact, I found myself on Palm Sunday of this year, without even realizing it, searching the sky and thinking about the tornado of 43 years ago, despite living in the foothills of the Appalachians, where in my lifetime (24 years), we have had two tornadoes that were barely large enough to take shingles off the roofs. For this reason, I felt that the book was a wonderful tribute to the memory of those who lost their lives on that night.
I would highly recommend this book to history buffs, storm watchers, and those who live in the affected area. However, it has recently gone out of print. HAHA sucks to be you... no seriously, if you want to read it, contact me because I know the author and if I present him with enough names I might be able to petition for it to go back into print. (He's gonna read this and now he's probably rolling his eyes at me...) OK thats all, final verdict: its a great book, a suspenseful read, and how history books OUGHT to be written!
The Purpose-Driven Life
The Purpose-Driven Life, by Rick Warren
This book is intended to be read one chapter a day for 40 days. From day 1 to around day 30, I wrote a bad review in my head, intending to post it here, yet still willing to give it a chance by finishing the book. My reviews usually went something like this:
"This book is bullsh. It is worse than bullsh. At least bullsh can be used to fertilize crops. This book isn't even useful for that."
My problem with the book stemmed from the author presenting his opinions as fact, and with the full expectation that everyone reading his book will agree with him. I also was very annoyed by the use of catchy phrases that every preacher likes to use in the pulpit as if they came up with it themselves, and that none of the ideas presented in the book were new ideas to me.
However, on day 40, while still disliking the book, I was struck by the thought that every once in a while, its a good thing to hear something you've already heard before, as in some cases it seems to reinforce it.
I am still not sure if I would recommend the book itself to people, because it seems to have been written to cover a broad audience, and therefore doesn't really go into specifics about finding your purpose in life. It basically just says "Use these tips to personalize it for yourself" where I like a book that gives examples like "Mary has these hobbies and went through this experience to find out that God has called her to be THIS..."
If you are searching for a book to help you find out what God's plan is for your life, talk to me about what exactly you are looking for and I will tell you if this is a good book for you. It was not a good book for me, but it hit the NY Times Best-Seller list, so it was good for like 40 million people. I just wasn't one of them.
This book is intended to be read one chapter a day for 40 days. From day 1 to around day 30, I wrote a bad review in my head, intending to post it here, yet still willing to give it a chance by finishing the book. My reviews usually went something like this:
"This book is bullsh. It is worse than bullsh. At least bullsh can be used to fertilize crops. This book isn't even useful for that."
My problem with the book stemmed from the author presenting his opinions as fact, and with the full expectation that everyone reading his book will agree with him. I also was very annoyed by the use of catchy phrases that every preacher likes to use in the pulpit as if they came up with it themselves, and that none of the ideas presented in the book were new ideas to me.
However, on day 40, while still disliking the book, I was struck by the thought that every once in a while, its a good thing to hear something you've already heard before, as in some cases it seems to reinforce it.
I am still not sure if I would recommend the book itself to people, because it seems to have been written to cover a broad audience, and therefore doesn't really go into specifics about finding your purpose in life. It basically just says "Use these tips to personalize it for yourself" where I like a book that gives examples like "Mary has these hobbies and went through this experience to find out that God has called her to be THIS..."
If you are searching for a book to help you find out what God's plan is for your life, talk to me about what exactly you are looking for and I will tell you if this is a good book for you. It was not a good book for me, but it hit the NY Times Best-Seller list, so it was good for like 40 million people. I just wasn't one of them.
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