Third World America by Arianna Huffington

Reading this book made me mad all over again.
Huffington is concerned our middle class is disappearing. The gap between the rich and the poor is widening. “In 2007, the top 10 percent pocketed almost half of all the money earned in America...” (18)

She notes that in 1950, manufacturing accounted for more than 30 percent of nonfarm employment. “As of last year, it's down to 10 percent.” (20) She says, “...in the absence of manufacturing, the only way to compete with Third World nations is to become a Third World nation, which is exactly what will happen if we allow our middle class to disappear.” (27)
Huffington says, “...one out of every six blue-collar workers has lost his or her job in the latest recession, a number commensurate with what happened during the Great Depression.” (26) The outlook is not bright. “ A June 2008 Harvard Business School study found that up to 42 percent of U. S. jobs – more than fifty million of them – are vulnerable to being sent offshore.” (28)
Just before the financial crisis, the financial industry's share of domestic corporate profit was 41 percent (when the highest it ever was between 1973 and 1985 was 16 percent). (21) Huffington calls this the “financialization of our economy.” Deregulation has been a problem. “Given how close we were in 2008 to the complete collapse of our economic and financial system, anyone who continues to make the case that markets do best when left alone should be laughed off his bully pulpit.” (51)
She doesn't pull any punches. She says, “When it came to the foreclosure crisis, Obama's audacity to win morphed into a timidity to govern.” (74) She soundly takes to task Bush and his tax cuts for the wealthy.
The nation's overall infrastructure (rated an appalling D by The American Society of Civil Engineers) is in need of expensive repair and update.
Lobbyists outnumber our elected officials almost 26 to 1. “In 2009, more than 13,700 registered lobbyists spent a record $3.5 billion swaying government policy the special interests' way...” (129)  It is highly unlikely that the financially rewarded members of congress will ever have our best interest on their minds.
Huffington ends her book with ideas of what we can do. She suggests moving money from big banks to sound local banks. She encourages us to help one another, using social media to find people and organizations needing your help. She supplies several websites to pursue. “Taken together, these efforts, and thousands of others like them, are helping turn the country around.” (233) We cannot rely on the government. “Change is going to have to come from outside Washington.” (234) “The good news:,” she says, “Real change, fundamental change, is possible, but only if we recognize that democracy is not a spectator sport – and get busy.” (234)

Though Waters Roar by Lynn Austin

Social issues are confronted by four generations of women. Hannah hides escaping slaves. Her daughter Beatrice (Bebe), married to an alcoholic, fights Demon Rum (prohibition). Her daughter Lucy fights for woman’s suffrage. And the next generation, Harriet, well, she is a bit lost for a cause. She does know she doesn't ever want to marry until she comes across a childhood schoolmate.

Austin does a great job portraying the mother-daughter relationships of four generations. She weaves their stories around the social issues confronting women of their day. The book is well written and very informative. It helped me understand the concerns women faced a century ago. Discussion questions at the end make it a great choice for reading groups.

Bethany House, 428 pages.

It's No Secret by Rachel Olsen

Friends share secrets and there are secrets of the Kingdom God wants us to understand.

Olsen, a staffer with Proverbs 31 Ministries, believes, “...each new generation of women needs to encounter God and discover His truths for themselves.” (22) She covers a dozen hidden treasures from God's Word:

• Jesus has invited us to come to God through Him,
• We are to value the Kingdom of God, not the things of the marketplace,
• We are to let God exalt us rather than plotting our own promotion,
• We are to let our heavenly lawyer plead our case,
• We are to store up treasures in heaven rather than hoarding possessions here,
• We are to allow God to be our storm shelter,
• We are to concentrate on God's plan for better living, not the world's fickle standards,
• We are to live our part of being in God's family by helping others and letting them help us,
• We are to pause to rest and be restored,
• We are to concentrate more on a clear conscience than clear skin,
• We are to value wisdom more than our retirement fund.

Olsen uses honest examples from her own life as well as stories of biblical characters to illustrate each secret and highlight its importance. At the end of each chapter is a Bible study that can be used individually or in a group. This book, I think, would be best suited for younger women as seasoned believers may not find new revelation contained in it.
Olsen is quick to point out that the secrets in her book are by no means all of God's deep secrets. If we are faithful with these, however, God will reveal more secrets to us along the way.

 

David C. Cook, 233 pages.

 

This book was provided for review by The B&B Media Group, Inc.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Reading groups are fun and tonight we discuss our book for this month.  The time is WW II and the place is Seattle, with its large Asian population.  The main character is a teen Chinese boy who comes to know a Japanese girl.  As political events swirl around them they develop a deep friendship.  Their relationship is tested with the internment orders for those of Japanese descent and the possibility of a long separation.

The novel is a touching story about war and what it does to local communities.  Ford captures the heightened emotions of the era and the individual lives greatly changed by international events.  He has combined a touching love story with the conflict such love causes when it crosses ethnic boundaries.  It is a thoughtful and very well written book. 
Anyone who wants to understand more of the turbulent times on the west coast during WW II will benefit from reading Ford's book.
The reader's guide at the back of the book makes this book a great choice for reading groups.
Ballantine paperback, 285 pages.

The Miracle of Mercy Land by River Jordan

What an extraordinary book! I’ve read over sixty novels this year and this is certainly the most moving. It is hard to describe. It has a hint of the “other world” in it. I had the same reaction I did when I read the first Frank Peretti novel. It is a glimpse in to the world we do not see yet influences our every choice.
Mercy Land says of herself, “I was born in a bolt of lightning on the banks of Bittersweet Creek. Mama said it was a prophecy…” So begins the story. Mercy works for a newspaper owner in a nearby town. Doc comes into the possession of a strange book that yields visions of the lives of people he knows. He, Mercy, and a childhood friend get wrapped up in the possibilities of the book. Can the choices made in the past be changed? How do those choices affect others?
This novel is nearly perfect. Granted, there are paragraphs here and there, and perhaps a scene or two that could be changed. The novel is engaging and thought provoking. It contains the classic struggle of good and evil, personified in Mercy and a strange woman. The author has developed a plot, however, that makes the struggle fresh and very realistic.
There is a reader’s guide at the back that would make this novel a great choice for reading groups. You’ll be thinking about this novel for a long time after you finish it.


WaterBrook Press, 336 pages.


This book was provided for review by the author’s publicist, KBK Public Relations.

Costly Grace by Jon Walker

Bonhoeffer wrote The Cost of Discipleship over 70 years ago. Walker has interpreted Bonhoeffer's work for the present generation.

Walker's book is penetrating. Almost every paragraph required careful thinking. His writing is not difficult, just very convicting. If you read only a couple of Christian books this year, this needs to be one of them.

Walker notes that many Christians today end up living a life of quiet desperation, trying harder rather than trusting more. “The essence of discipleship,” Walker says, “...is to know Jesus at a level of intimacy that can only be sustained by his constant presence in our lives.” (21)
Bonhoeffer was concerned about cheap grace, “the arrogant presumption that we can receive forgiveness for our sins, yet never abandon out lives to Jesus.” (25) Most Christians go to church a couple of hours a week, go to a Bible study, but rarely do we see radically changed lives. We have allowed cheap grace to be the norm of Christian living today.
Walker says Jesus' call is a command to abandon our life so he can fill us with his life. It is an intimate journey down a difficult path. We must listen to Jesus and do what he says. Paul says we have the mind of Christ and we access Christ's mind by meditating on God's Word and listening to the Spirit. Jesus calls us to a life of total dependency on him as we are called to do things that are impossible for mere humans.
Walker is specific with the cost. “The cost of discipleship, then, is this: The way we become like Jesus is through suffering and rejection.” (61) “Everything that touches you is designed to de-center you from your self-for-self mentality in order to be recentered in God's self-for-others nature.” (196)
Walker summarizes each penetrating chapter with bullets of kingdom thinking and questions upon which to meditate.
I'd read Bonhoeffer's book several months ago. It certainly did not have the impact that Walker's book has had. Every Christian should read this book.

Leafwood Publishers, 237 pages.

This book was provided for review by The B & B Media Group, Inc.

Rooms by Jason Rubart

What might you be asked to give up to be a follower of Jesus?

Micah Taylor is a successful Seattle software company owner worth millions.  He receives a letter informing him that he has come into possession of a house on the Oregon coast built by his uncle Archie.  Micah goes to the coast to look at the house and begins the adventure of his lifetime.  Through experiencing various rooms in the house and having interactions with people in Cannon Beach, Micah faces his troubled past and his spiritual future.
This is one of those few novels having personal spiritual impact as well as telling a good story.  As I read about Micah facing truth and temptation, I thought about similar experiences in my own life.  This book is not a mindless beach read.  You'll want to review your own spiritual experiences as you read about Micah's.
Rooms is not a "perfect" book.  I think is was too long at nearly 400 pages.  I got a bit weary of Micah facing the same huge question over and over again.  Also, it seemed that some of the supernatural aspects (appearing and disappearing rooms, voices, objects) seemed forced.  At times I thought of this book as The Shack to the extreme. 
All that said, I do suggest you read the book.  Its defects are minor compared to the spiritual impact contained within.  It will make you think about what you are willing to give up to be a true follower of Jesus.

B & H Publishing Group, 375 pages.

The Life Book by Carl Blunt

With the emphasis on the separation of church and state, how can God's Word be legally brought to the public schools?  The Life Book Movement is having great success in distributing youth oriented portions of the Bible to high school students.  The Life Book has brief overviews of the Old Testament and the book of John.  The format is interactive as there are comments from students and penetrating questions in the margins.  At the back of the small book are verses and comments about problems teen experience as well as a "What will you do?" section.  
The Gideons International founded The Life Book Movement.  Working with churches, copies of The Life Book are placed in the hands of Christian high school students who then pass them on to their classmates at school.  With studies showing that only 4% of today's teenagers are Bible-believing Christians this is a great way for Christian teens to reach their unchurched classmates.
The Life Book Movement has the ultimate goal of distributing The Life Book to nearly 18 million high school students.  I'm going to encourage my church's youth pastor to get involved.
Teens, go to thelifebook.com to request a copy or download it.  You can even add your comments in The Life Book at the web site.
Church members, if you are interested in bringing The Life Book Campaign to your area, go to thelifebook.com to find out more information. 
This booklet was provided for review by The B&B Media Group, Inc.