Book Reviews

I've been a reading machine lately... so here's just a few thoughts on some of the works I've completed in the last few weeks:

CLUETRAIN MANIFESTO = this book--or compilation of essays--is groundbreaking. I'm not sure that i necessarily agree with all of the posits of the authors, but their handling of the coming internet revolution (which has already started) is fascinating. The assertion that markets are changing and will change due to the connectedness of consumers/laborers is very interesting. Furthermore, I appreciate the idea about humans getting their voice back. The rhetoric gets heated at times, and hurts my conservative ears, but all in all, I'm glad I read the work, and will certainly refer to it over time as I attempt to transform my personal teaching habits to fit in with the coming age of the web.

AMERICAN JESUS: HOW THE SON OF GOD BECAME A NATIONAL ICON= This is one of the better books I have read in a while. The author, Stephen Prothero, of Boston U. does a magnificent job of writing without bias, first of all. He deals with the subject of Jesus not from a theological standpoint--evidenced by his unwillingness to attempt to settle theological disputes say between Mormons and Christians--but instead speaks of Jesus from a cultural perspective.
The first half of the book speaks of Jesus in the context of the intense debate between mainline Protestants and Liberal Protestants... the feminization, masculinization, de-mystification of Jesus. The 2nd half looks at Jesus through African American, Jewish, Mormon, and Eastern (mainly Hindu) eyes. Being interested in history and Christianity, this was the perfect book for me.

BLUE LIKE JAZZ= I go to a semi non traditional church. We don't have music very often, I rarely dress up, and we believe strongly in community. There is, however, an emerging movement among some of the folks in our community and elsewhere, that calls itself... well, the "church emergent." A while back some folks told me I should read the book but I deferred. A few days ago I was researching Emergentism and found that Blue Like Jazz was on the list of books to read for anyone interested... so i picked it up and read it in 3 days.
It is a very quick and easy read. The author tries to hard to be "relevant" and "post-modern" in many cases. He like, writes as someone in their late 20's would speak, or write or something, you know? He references Katie Couric a few too many times for my taste and speaks well of the folks masquerading as hippies at anti WTO/BUSH/war rallies....
All that aside, however, I found the book rather enjoyable. The author's musings rarely--if ever--deviate from theology that I would consider sacred and essential--this unlike many of those in the emergent philosophy. Furthermore, his emphasis on anti-selfishness and consideration and love for others just because they are was quite uplifting. As I was almost finished with the work, the student mentioned in the Inspiration
post came in which nailed those sentiments squarely in my head.

MEDIEVAL EUROPE: A SHORT HISTORY = just started this one with my trusty hi liter. What can I say, I'm a glutton for this stuff. Did you realize that the economic/social conditions that led to the decline of the western Roman empire were much like that of the ante bellum South? More on this one in a week or two...

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