"Jerusalem Countdown" by John Hagee (Kindle Edition)

Even though this book was written in 2006, the information included is excellent. John Hagee is a very intelligent man, and he writes with great skill as well. (In fact, if you ever come across either of his two Apocalypse Diaries novels - "Devil's Island" or "Avenger of Blood" - make sure you buy them! They are rare to find, and excellent to read!)
The book was not exactly what I thought it would be. I was thinking of Daniel's 70 weeks, where is America in prophecy, etc. Instead, Hagee explains his theological understanding of God's relationship to the Jewish people, from Abraham until Christ returns. I have not read any other book that so clearly tackles this subject. There were just a couple of points that I disagreed with or was unsure of, but the majority of the book was eye-opening to me.
I'll admit it: Jewish people have always been a bit of a mystery in my mind.... I knew that they were chosen by God, I knew that Jesus was a Jew, I knew that God will place the focus back on the Jews in the last days - what I didn't know was how this all fit together in the big picture of God's Word, nor did I understand what my relationship (as a Gentile Christian) to the Jews was. John Hagee explains all this and more in great detail.
One of the most helpful ideas in the book is that divine election applies only to the Jews. The concept of election (the Calvinist doctrine) has been the thorn in the side for many theologians. But, the explanation given by Hagee makes more sense in light of all that the Bible teaches than any other theory I've heard.
Hagee also goes paragraph-by-paragraph through Romans 9-11, which was excellent. These chapters are often ignored, so it was great to hear them explained clearly. (In fact, I had a whole class on the book of Romans in Bible college, but I'm pretty sure that we skimmed over chapters 9-11).
My special thanks goes to my dad for letting me borrow this e-book. I am probably going to buy a print copy of this book to read again, as well as to lend out to others.
If you only read one book of theology/prophecy this year, I recommend this one!

"Pershing: Commander of the Great War" by John Perry (Kindle Edition)

I believe I may have heard of General Pershing a few times in grade school... but I had no idea what an impressive man he was. John "Black Jack" Pershing had a mediocre start to his extraordinary life. Born in 1860, Pershing had one ambition in his early life: to be a lawyer. He never wished to enter military service, but he saw West Point as a means to achieving his own goal of completing law school. Once he began his military career, however, he fully immersed himself in the performance of his duty.

Pershing was the consummate military man. He was a stickler for details, and expected nothing less than perfection from the men he led. When necessary, though, he could be extremely patient - he demonstrated this several times throughout his life, striving for peace and understanding where others saw only conflict. Leading by example, Pershing was always found at or very near the front line of battles - even later in his career as a general. His demands on his men were so great, he once advised his officers in WWI that if any of their men were caught retreating, the officers should make every effort to stop them - shooting them if necessary. While this may seem harsh, the result of his leadership was nothing less than the salvation of Europe and the conquering of the seemingly unstoppable German war machine. He mentored a group of generals - Marshall, Eisenhower, Bradley, and Patton - who led the US Army to victory in World War II just twenty years later.

There are many things that could be said about his military career and victories, but you may as well read the book. This biography is the perfect introduction to Pershing. There is just enough information to give a good grasp of the man and his character, but not so much detail as to alienate the casual reader. This is the second biography I've read that was authored by John Perry (the other was of George Washington Carver), and I've been impressed both times. Perry has several other biographies written, including Winston Churchill and Robert E. Lee. I may just have to buy them...

Pershing claimed to be a Christian and a God-fearing man, but he was not without vices. He had a mistress for many years (AFTER his wife and three daughters died in a tragic fire...while he was married, he was apparently faithful and totally love-struck with his wife). And the book has several profanity-laced quotes in it. But, I am glad that I read this volume on the life of General Pershing.

I received this e-book free from the publishers in exchange for my honest review.

"December 1941" by Craig Shirley (Kindle Edition)

I began reading this e-book in March. Little did I know I would be finishing it the night before V-E day (May 8th). How appropriate! The author's research and attention to detail are very admirable. The book was quite long and packed with more information than the brain can actually comprehend in a quick-read, but it held my interest steadily. Let me get the minutia out of the way: there were a smattering of curse words throughout the book (most of them were NOT in the context of a quote, so they were totally unnecessary). The author constructed some very awkward sentences - mainly in the way they were phrased... Dangling modifiers and such. The placement (or omission) of commas in odd places also caused some mild irritation. There were a few formatting errors, like missing spaces between words, quotation marks out of place, etc. But for the vast scope of the book, I can overlook all these things as trivial.

I've never read anything of substance concerning World War II before this book. The truth behind the tragedy of Pearl Harbor and the effect it had on our nation was much more astonishing than I'd ever known. Instead of giving positive/negative critiques, let me point out a few of the thoughts that impacted me the most in this book.

1. The Allies may have eventually won the war, but in December of 1941 the Axis powers were doing all the damage. It really surprised me how badly the war was going the first few weeks after America joined the fray. (The war had technically been going on for two years, but our American frame of mind usually forgets about the fact that much happened around the world before the attack on Pearl Harbor.) Japan was relentless in its desire to dominate the Asia-Pacific arena. Also, German troops had pushed their weight all over Europe, North Africa, and almost all the way to Moscow! Things could have turned out very differently for the Allies...

2. The U.S. experienced a tremendous unity after Pearl Harbor. The shared national tragedy created a solemn resolve in every American heart. The government asked so much of the people, but the people gladly met the need of the hour. Rationing, blackouts, "war bonds" - all of it was not merely tolerated, but embraced by the people with an amazing "Can-do" attitude. It made me sad to realize that our nation today is morally incapable of such unity. If we could not experience the same steely resolve and unity after the attacks of 9/11, when will we ever see it? Why is there no die-hard loyalty to the flag, to our military, to each other? Instead of the "Greatest Generation", we have people who call 911 because McDonalds is out of french fries..... It is unthinkable that the America of today would be willing to give up the rubber for their car tires, or donate a seventh work-day to the war effort without pay, or agree not to make long-distance calls in case of a defense emergency - all of which the Americans of the 1940's did without flinching. Again, the nation lacks the moral and spiritual fortitude to survive another such hour of dire need. May God have mercy on us.

3. Winston Churchill was an amazing individual. There were other men (and women) of the time period who were great in character and influence, but Churchill is just a radiant figure. I didn't (and still don't) know much about him; but I am determined to read a biography on him soon, as well as all of his speeches I can find. His skills of speech were only rivaled by his charisma as a leader.

The book was tremendously eye-opening. The picture it paints of the nation of that day, and how the men and women rose to meet a remarkable challenge against an unspeakable evil - well, in short, they make me proud to be an American. What a heritage of heroes we have! I give the book 4.5 out of 5 stars.

I received this e-book free from the publishers in exchange for my honest review.

"Living by the Book" by Howard and William Hendricks

Without exaggeration, this is the most helpful book on Bible study/reading that I've ever read. It contains very, VERY practical advice on Bible study and reading. Now, I'm not talking about doing a "Bible study" book. I'm talking about just you and the Word of God. Let's be honest: most of us don't do very well when it comes to studying the Bible. The vast majority of Christians today ADMIT that they don't even read the Bible (see article about a major study done by Barna here). If you didn't follow the link to the story, I'll give you the bottom line - nearly HALF of Americans who CLAIM TO BE CHRISTIAN say that they only read the Bible once or twice A YEAR. That' beyond pitiful.
What are the other half of America Christians doing? Probably struggling to read and study their Bibles - but at least (hopefully) attempting. Bible study can be a frustrating task. There are certain passages that are easy and obvious, then others that are extremely difficult and even obscure. To complicate the matter, we are talking about studying a book that was written a LONG time ago, in another continent. Our cultural frame of reference blinds us to much of the significance of the historical aspects of the Bible pages. How can we overcome these disadvantages?
This book will make you feel like the Bible is your best friend. Why are we so scared and unsuccessful when it comes to Bible study, when God WANTS us to learn from it?
The book is in three major parts: Observation, Interpretation, and Application. In my own life, Observation is the biggest challenge to Bible study. Part of my problem is over-familiarity... "Oh, I know what this passage says. Skim, skim, skim." I have to learn to look at each passage like I've never seen it before. Dig deep, and look at each word, phrase, sentence, verse, and paragraph.
The other two sections were great, as well. The chapters are not too long, and most of them end with a "You Try It" section, to put into practice the lessons taught. These are very helpful.
I can't say enough how much this book has changed the way I read and study the Bible. It is a book that I hope to re-read - maybe several times.
My wife and I started this book together, and she finished it before I did. We learned some interesting things, like the fact that she can learn better from some methods of study than I can (and vice versa). But I believe both of us have benefited greatly from this terrific book. You should go out and get this book TODAY! You need all the help you can get to maximize your study of the Bible.

"Dreamhouse Kings Book 6: Frenzy" by Robert Liparulo

The last book in the series always brings a little bit of apprehension... Will things work out like I am hoping they will? Will I get to the final book only to think the ending is disappointing? How can the author possibly resolve all of the questions?
Let me get right to the meat of this review: this was not the dramatic conclusion I was hoping for. It ended a little anticlimactically, in my opinion. The author admits that he hopes to use the King family in future books, so I can't blame him for not acting like we'll never hear from them again. But still! The ending was just kind of...abrupt.
The good news is (as you can tell by the front cover image) they find Mom! (Which has been the mission of the King family since book 1). There is a really awesome scene where the King family is at the time of the crucifixion of Jesus. But even then, it's sad that they don't realize at first Who it is carrying the cross (until Jesus calls David by name)... If I were traveling through time and came across a man carrying a cross, Jesus would be my first thought! Again, no overtly Christian themes in the book. But I appreciate that Mr. Liparulo included the scene of the Via Dolorosa.
I would gladly read more books about the King family and their travels through time, but I'm glad to reach the end of Book 6!

"Dreamhouse Kings Book 5: Whirlwind" by Robert Liparulo

Well... This book presented two interesting developments in my reading of the series. It was the first book in which I really started getting tired of the two boys disobeying their father, going through a portal, and almost dying but finally escaping. This is also the first book since about book 2 that I felt like we learned some helpful information about the house, the portals, and how the time traveling works. Don't get me wrong - I still really enjoyed the book. I finished this one and "Frenzy" both within about 4 days. But at the end of this one, I was beginning to feel like the series really could have been a trilogy... The redeeming quality was the fact that the trips through time are just so interesting! You can tell that the author did good research into the time periods and cultures the King family visits.

And the time travel is really what keeps me glued to this series. The boys' characters are decent. The dad is not developed as a character as much as the boys are. Mom hasn't hardly been in the series to develop her character, and Toria doesn't really do much either. So I don't feel guilty at all in stating that I read this series to see how and where Robert Liparulo sends the family through time!

Don't forget, you can read excerpts from each book at www.dreamhousekings.com.