Category: Book Review

The Fact/Faith Debate: Why Science Hasn’t Killed Religion by Jack Gage

The Fact/Faith Debate: Why Science Hasn’t Killed Religion by Jack Gage

Posted on by Jack

The Fact/Faith Debate: Why Science Hasn’t Killed Religion by Jack Gage is an interesting and thought-provoking book.


The author did a great job in the Introduction telling us a bit about himself. And knowing a bit about him is important to understanding the book and why he wrote it.

Then Jack Gage goes into why there is a Fact/Faith debate in his first chapter. In this chapter he introduces the most unusual and an interesting aspect of this book. Rather than basing the book on just his beliefs, a panel of 6 jurors of various faiths or lack of faith get to vote on questions related to the issues presented in each chapter. This small group is somewhat like a jury in a legal trial.

Of course, 6 is a very small sample but it is a start in addressing the question of how intelligent and often highly educated people can examine the same set of “facts” (or scientific evidence) and come to very different conclusions, especially when these facts conflict with their faith-based beliefs.

I wish the sample size was larger and various jurors were able to discuss why they believe what they believe often in conflict with the evidence but that would be another book or maybe several books.

The middle (and much) of the book is a presentation of scientific evidence on various issues and then the faith-based view followed by a jury vote. I thought this was interesting at first but after 15 or so of these I just got a bit tired of it.

In many of these middle chapters the faith-based view was represented by fairly extreme positions such as Creationism or groups that interpret the Bible literally. But the beginning and end of the book discuss a variety of religious faiths so I do not think the book focuses too much on fundamentalist Christianity.

It also seems appropriate to examine these views since many Americans share many of these beliefs to some extent. For a relatively extreme example, here is a quote from Georgia Republican Representative Paul Broun of the US House of Representatives Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

God’s word is true. I’ve come to understand that, All that stuff I was taught about evolution, embryology, Big Bang Theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of hell. It’s lies to try to keep me and all the folks who are taught that from understanding that they need a savior. There’s a lot of scientific data that I found out as a scientist that actually show that this is really a young Earth. I believe that the Earth is about 9,000 years old. I believe that it was created in six days as we know them. That’s what the Bible says.

I thought the last few chapters were very good in reaching some conclusions on how and why people reconcile their religious faith with the scientific evidence.

It was a good book and I’m glad I read it.

The Penguin Pool Murder by Stuart Palmer

The Penguin Pool Murder by Stuart Palmer

Posted on by Jack

The Penguin Pool Murder by Stuart Palmer is an oldie but goodie. This book was made into a movie in 1932 so it has obviously been around for a few years. And I would guess that there have been many reprints.


This incarnation is digital. I have placed a link to and picture of the Kindle edition to the left but if you look around you can probably find other formats. Maybe even an older edition in physical book form. Or if you follow my Amazon link to the Kindle edition, you can find a DVD of the movie.

The story itself was entertaining and an easy read. I’ve not seen the movie.

It opens in a New York aquarium (near the penguin pool , of course) with a small mystery of a purse snatcher and a teacher taking her class of third graders on an outing. And there is a hunt for the teacher’s missing hat pin. The first few pages did not seem very promising to me.

But a murder is quickly discovered. The teacher, Miss Hildegarde Withers, gets involved in the murder investigation. And the story gets interesting. So don’t give up too quickly.

Enjoy the story. It moves quickly. The case quickly becomes more complicated as the third grade teacher and the detective find many people with motive to kill the victim and many suspicious actions.

I was surprised at least twice near the end. You may be too but in any case you’ll have an enjoyable read along the way.

How to Analyze Information: A Step-by-Step Guide to Life’s Most Vital Skill by Herbert E. Meyer

How to Analyze Information: A Step-by-Step Guide to Life’s Most Vital Skill by Herbert E. Meyer

Posted on by Jack

We have so much information available but we need to learn how to use it wisely. Herbert E. Meyer takes you through the steps that are needed to turn the raw information into useful knowledge in his e-book – How to Analyze Information: A Step-by-Step Guide to Life’s Most Vital Skill.

This is more of an extended essay than a book. Amazon estimates it as 21 pages on the Kindle. My e-reader estimates it as 19 pages. For sure, it is not very long but it covers an import issue and does it well.

My picture of the book is a link for the Kindle edition. The book is also available as an e-book in iBook, Nook format and presumably other formats as well. As far as I can tell it is an e-book only. The ones I have seen are fairly inexpensive. ($1.99 seems to be the usual price.)

Herbert E. Meyer has an impressive resume as a thinker, analyzer of data, writer, and speaker. You may wish to look at the page of his publisher Storm King Press to see a summary of his accomplishments.

I found it an easy to read guide to this intellectual process – concise and well-written with wonderful examples to illustrate each step in the process to going from information to knowledge to using that knowledge.

Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation release in a few days

Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation release in a few days

Posted on by Jack

I just wanted to remind everyone that Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation by Dan Fagin will be released in a few days (March 19). It is an important book and I hope quite a few read it.

I reviewed this book which tells the story of an industry and environmental catastrophe in some detail and does it well. See my review and if you think you might like this book, give it a read.

The Secret Gospel of Ireland by James and Leo Behan

The Secret Gospel of Ireland by James and Leo Behan

Posted on by Jack

The full title and subtitle is actually The Secret Gospel of Ireland:The Untold Story of How Science and Democracy Descended from a Remarkable Form of Christianity That Developed in Ancient Ireland. But that is quite long and would not do as a title of this review.

The Behan brothers begin with the early history of the Catholic church. The Romans never made it to Ireland but did rule most of the known world in those days. The Catholic church or at least that a large part of it was centered in Rome and became the official state religion of the Roman Empire in 380 AD.


The really interesting thing is that this is not just a straightforward history of the Church with perhaps a regretful statement about the light of learning going out in Europe but surviving in Ireland and then being revived in Europe by some travelling Irish monks.

No, this is much more. Consider the issues discussed, Why did the Pope send a mission to Ireland? Why was Patrick much more successful than the bishop sent by the Pope. How and why did Irish Christianity differ from the Roman Catholicism of the time. What were the philosophical and theological ideas of each? What were some of the other ideas considered? And how did they develop and influence each other?

The Behans cover a lot of ground in about 200 pages. And do so in an interesting fashion and weave an important explanation of events, relating some Irish influence on Catholicism to our ideas of science and democracy.

A very interesting book. And as a bonus, they added a short chapter at the end with references and suggestions on further reading.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit so this is really a very favorable review but I do have one minor gripe.

The title can be a bit misleading. That is, The Secret Gospel of Ireland might lead you to believe that this is about some long-lost secret scrolls found in Ireland. And that is not what this book is about at all. But that is a bit of a quibble and definitely not as important as the content of this wonderful book.

The subtitle is a much better indicator of what this book is about but it is too long to be a good title. So we have a shorter and less accurate title. Certainly not a major flaw but something I thought I should mention in case any prospective readers are mislead.

But the title does have the sense of the book and a short pithy title does make it easier to refer to the book, to say nothing of looking nice on the cover (very nice cover, by the way). So we have a good book with a title that might be more accurate but I have no suggestions there.

This book is definitely a keeper. I enjoyed it very much and learned a lot in the process. The nice part about having this book on my bookshelf is that when I am feeling a bit philosophical, I can reread parts or turn to that last bonus section to find more reading.

I highly recommend this book to those with an interest philosophy, theology, or the intellectual history of Europe.

Environmental catastrophe, cancer, and water quality: Toms River by Dan Fagin

Environmental catastrophe, cancer, and water quality: Toms River by Dan Fagin

Posted on by Jack

Toms River by Dan Fagin succeeds on many levels. It is a detailed account of the events leading to extensive pollution and an excessive incidence of cancer in Toms River, NJ. Oddly, although the environmental catastrophe detailed here resulted in one the largest financial settlements in such cases, the story is not well known. Fagin tells that story well.

But he does much more. To put the story in context there is a bit on the development and history of the type of chemical industry involved. He delves into the history of medicine and particularly the association of chemical exposures and cancer and the applications of mathematics and statistics to the study of infectious and environmental diseases giving us the science of epidemiology.


This historical background is important to understanding what happened in Tom’s River and how the high incidence of childhood cancer was shown to be associated with the poisoning of this area near the New Jersey shore.

One would think that all this history and science could be a bit boring to the average reader. But by presenting it well and interspersing these history and science lessons with the human costs and events in Toms River, the book reads well and keeps your interest.

But I must tell you about me here. I am a retired scientist and my work was somewhat related to the issues covered in the book. So although I think all this science and history may be of interest to the average reader, I could be wrong. But I hope not. This specific case may or may not be of interest to potential readers but this issues of environmental pollution and health should be important to nearly everybody.

I had read an advanced reader on my Kindle (courtesy of Netgalley) and the book did seem long. Now that I am finished and writing a review I checked on Amazon and learned the book is 560 pages long (and will not be released until March 19, 2013). So it is a long book and will take a considerable investment of time to read but I thought it well-worth the time spent.

The book seems suitable for several audiences. It is certainly comprehensive and well documented with notes so that someone with a professional interest in environmental studies, public health, or some of the legal issues would benefit from this book. A student or general reader with an interest in any of these issues would learn a good bit of useful information while enjoying a good read.

I had planned on publishing this review around the time of publication but I read an article in the paper (I get the Philadelphia Inquirer which covers news in our neighboring state.) It seems there is currently a controversy in NJ about water quality and the importance of industrial representation in setting standards. I thought NJ residents might be interested that there is a soon-to-be-published book on the role of industry when the water quality in Toms River, NJ was an issue. Of course, I also hope many others read this book, too.

Here is the newspaper report I first read and several other articles I have run across.

This is an important book. Although the book is long and the subject matter complex, Dan Fagin does a great job in presenting the science in a highly readable way. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the association of environmental pollution and health.

Black Irish by Stephan Talty

Black Irish by Stephan Talty

Posted on by Jack

A first novel by an established non-fiction writer, Black Irish by Stephan Talty is certainly a worthy entry into the crime-novel genre. This book is a first-rate thriller and promises to be a great introduction into a new series about Detective Absalom Kearney


As those who have seen my website know, I have been very interested in Irish genealogy and Irish history for several years. So the placement of this story into an Irish-American community added an extra interest for me.

The book grabs your interest right-off with a gruesome murder. Then you are introduced to Detective Absalom Kearney who is working a missing persons case of a utility worker from “The County” an Irish enclave in Buffalo.

The detective grew-up in the County but still is viewed as an outsider as her County tie is the result of being adopted by a now retired cop from the County. Absalom or Abbie left Buffalo after graduating from Harvard but returned to care for her father.

To make a long story short and grant you the pleasure of being able to read without any spoilers from me, let me just say the Detective Abbie Kearney becomes involved in the investigation of the murder and realizes before anyone else that she has a serial killer to deal with. But there is much too learn about who the killer is and why he is targeting residents of the County

I’ll not say much more (no spoilers, remember). But the clannishness of the Irish enclave and Irish history play large roles. The book is well written and it is a great story with many twists and turns. Just as Abbie has it figured out and it all makes sense, something else happens and you learn that you and she are both wrong. I liked this book very much and give it my highest recommendation.

Apparently other reviewers feel the same way. A few reviews that I’ve found:

Reviews

Margery Allingham and The White Cottage Mystery

Margery Allingham and The White Cottage Mystery

Posted on by Jack

Why did I decide to read The White Cottage Mystery by Margery Allingham ?

I’ve been searching for information on the Allinghams and the name Margery Allingham frequently pops up. I had read she was a good mystery writer and I was a bit curious. Lately, I’ve been gravitating toward mysteries.

Why search for Allinghams? I do some genealogy and my great great grandmother was an Allingham.


So I thought that one of these days when I was at the library, I’d look up one of her books. I usually have a bunch of books waiting for me so that day was probably pretty far off. I often review current books and many of these are Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs). I get them as e-books from Netgalley.

Then about a month ago, I was browsing Netgalley to see if anything of interest was available. And to my surprise I ran across The White Cottage Mystery by Margery Allingham. It had been republished as an e-book by Bloomsbury about a year ago. The publicist at Bloomsbury was kind enough to approve me anyway. So my thanks to both Netgalley and that publicist.

So since this is supposed to be a book review and you’ve put up with my ramblings for so long, I should tell you right off that I liked the book. From what I’ve read, it seems this was her first mystery and at the time (1920s) it was published as a newspaper serial and much later edited into a short book.

But my thought was that if I was going to read Margery Allingham, I might as well begin at the beginning. It is a good mystery. It very quickly gets down to a murder and a suspect. But then there are too many suspects, each with a good reason to kill the victim, but none apparently did. I completely enjoyed this one and plan read more of her work.

The Book Thing by Laura Lippman

The Book Thing by Laura Lippman

Posted on by Jack

This is from a series of low cost ebooks put out by mysteriouspress.com. This series called Bibliomystery are short mysteries that have to do with books or bookstores.


This is the second of this series that I’ve tried and I liked this. They are low cost and short so they are a good way to sample a writer and see if you like him or her without committing much of your time or money to the trial read. For example, Amazon estimates this story is the equivalent of about 25 pages and the cost is about two dollars.

I reviewed my first exposure to this series about 2 months back . I liked the book and decided to try another sometime soon.

So when a chance came up to try “The Book Thing” by Laura Lippman, I signed up via NetGalley. Pretty soon the book was on my Kindle and I was reading. The story involves Tess Monaghan, a PI from Baltimore who features in a series of mystery novels by Laura Lippman.

Tess volunteers to solve some mysterious thefts in a neighborhood bookstore. The mystery is certainly not one of the life-and-death variety but it is interesting. I enjoyed the story and the author’s way of telling it.

Along the way you get to hear a bit about Baltimore and its neighborhoods, bookstores and their importance, the important role books play in our lives, how parents can give their children a love of books and reading, and more. Not the least of these is The Book Thing of Baltimore.

If you do like this story, you may also be interested in many of the other novels by this author which reasonably priced in the Kindle store. By the way, if you are not a Kindle reader, other formats are available through the mysteriouspress.com link in the first sentence of this review.

Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and America’s Most Perilous Year by David Von Drehle

Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and America’s Most Perilous Year by David Von Drehle

Posted on by Jack

Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and America’s Most Perilous Year by David Von Drehle was on my Christmas list for 2012. I did get it and I’m reading it now and thought this might be a good time to talk about the book. But let me tell you first why it was on my list.

I have long been an admirer of David Von Drehle’s writing. I had read Triangle: The Fire That Changed America many years ago. In 1911 a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City killed over 100 workers. This stood as the worst workplace disaster in New York City until September 11 2001. Most of the workers at the Triangle factory were poor women from the lower eastside on Manhattan. Some were burned; others jumped to their deaths. It was a horrible incident and changed the American workplace. I really was impressed with the way that David Von Drehle told the story.

Skip ahead to last year and I subscribed to Time magazine. I started noticing articles by David Von Drehle. The name was familiar. So I checked and it was the Triangle author. Then late last year, an issue came out with a few big stories on the new Lincoln movie. And there was a mention of his book. So I added that to my list.

So enough background. What do I think of the book? The short version is “I like it!” But since this a book review, I really should go into a bit more detail.

As suggested by the title Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and America’s Most Perilous Year this does focus on one year. And that year is 1862. Since it is a calender year story, it makes sense to tell it chronologically and that is what Von Drehle with 12 monthly chapters. But before the monthly chapters comes a prologue to set the stage. And a chapter on New Years Day to flesh out the prologue, introduce some key characters, and get us into the chronological part.

It is clear that the United States is in big trouble. Many states have seceded. The federal government is broke. The was costs are several times the previous federal budgets. Even among the states who stay in the Union, there is widespread disagreement on several issues but most especially slavery. The rebels are doing well militarily. And the future of the United States is in doubt. Then there are international issues. It is really unclear if the country lawyer can handle all of this.

But during 1862 Lincoln becomes the leader we need. I’m over half way though the book now. I just finished June. I can’t comment on the end because I’m not there yet. But so far the author is doing a great job at describing the progress of the war and the political pressure on the new president.

My one quibble is maps. There are some and they really help in following military campaigns. But I am a big map fan and wish there were more maps.

So here are a few reviews I found:

Overall, I’d say this was a very good book. All the reviews I’ve seen seem to agree on that. And there are another 50 or so reviews on Amazon if you just click on the image of the book above.

It does focus on one critical year in Lincoln’s presidency so it is not a full biography or a full telling of the civil war. But it is a wonderful book about a very critical year. I highly recommend it.

Brooklyn Bones by Triss Stein

Brooklyn Bones by Triss Stein

Posted on by Jack

Brooklyn Bones begins with an incident any parent can relate to. A teenage daughter calls about something terrible and, of course, it is all your fault. The terrible thing gets your attention and then the story slows down a little but definitely keeps your attention as the main characters are fleshed-out.

Then the action speeds up and never stops until the end. The book is Brooklyn Bones and the author is Triss Stein. This book is the first in a series featuring Erica Donato. Continue reading “Brooklyn Bones by Triss Stein”

Death Leaves a Bookmark by William Link

Death Leaves a Bookmark by William Link

Posted on by Jack

I am looking for a short diversion and I read about this short story that seems to fit. I always enjoyed the television shows and movies featuring Lieutenant Columbo and along comes a short story with Lieutenant Columbo.

This could be good, I think. But then again maybe not. I also enjoy Conan-Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories and some of the newer stories featuring this fictional detective are quite good. Some are disappointing.


So I take a chance. A short story is not much of a gamble anyway – either in terms of wasting time or cost.

And I’m glad I did take that chance. Turned out to be a great story. Plans for that perfect crime. And the case is assigned to the bumbling Lieutenant Columbo. And of course the perfect crime becomes the imperfect crime as Columbo solves it.

I totally enjoyed it. I suspect those who are not familiar with the character would also like it but perhaps not quite as much. In either case it is well worth the small investment to find out if this is your type of story.

This story is one a series of mysteries offered as low cost ebooks. You might want to check several of them out.

A Little History of Science by William Bynum

A Little History of Science by William Bynum

Posted on by Jack

A Little History of Science by William Bynum is hard book to review. But that is mostly because it is exactly what the title promises.


Science is a very big area. It would be impossible to cover it all in a very large set of books and certainly very hard to summarize in a large book but William Bynum attempts it in small book (about 270 pages). And succeeds!

I found myself fascinated by some parts and merely interested in others. But I think this is to be expected as the subject matter varies so greatly.

So I guess the reader is doomed to find parts that are of great interest which a reader would wish were covered in more detail. But that is the nature of short histories. This work gives us an overview of many areas of science. And if the reader is interested in any or several, he or she can explore those in more detail in other books.

I liked the book but am a bit unsure about a target audience. I am a retired scientist (human genetics) so I was already familiar with large parts of what was covered but this book did fill in some significant gaps. So I would say it is suitable for the adult reader who wants a quick view of areas of science they are not familiar with. This would range from someone with science knowledge (since there are not many who know it all) to someone who knows nothing of science but is curious. I think it would also be suitable for a teen interested in a quick overview of science.

Harmattan by Gavin Weston, an update

Harmattan by Gavin Weston, an update

Posted on by Jack

Today I found a comment on my review of Harmattan by Gavin Weston with a notation that the commenter had reviewed this book on her blog and liked it as well. So since it had been a while since I reviewed the book and there were few other reviews then, I thought I would give an update with a list of reviews. By the way, I liked the book very much and thought the message very important.

First, for the latest information on the book, you might want to visit the author’s website, http://www.gavinwestonbooks.com/. On another site is also a guest blog by Gavin Weston about why he wrote this book.


I looked at Amazon and saw the Kindle edition is out (and only $5.99 when I looked) but the paperback won’t be released in the US until June, 2013. It is already out in the UK. So your options in the US appear to be buy the Kindle version or pre-order the paperback (or just wait). Or I guess you could buy from a non-US store and have it shipped.

That link is to the Kindle edition but you can easy move to the print edition if that is your preference.

So here are a few reviews I found:

All the reviews I’ve seen are favorable. I would say almost all reviewers think this is a very good book and/or highly recommend it. So at least now I know it is just not me. I hope Mr. Weston continues to write.

Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham

Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham

Posted on by Jack

Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham is a wonderful book. I had done some reading about Jefferson before but never a full-length biography. I had heard this was the best so I was eager to tackle it and I’m glad I did.

In my previous readings, I had always felt Jefferson was a very gifted man and with that rare ability to hold 2 contradictory beliefs in his mind without being a hypocrite. For example, he was firmly against the idea of political parties, yet the most partisan of politicians.

The list of these internal contradictions is massive. But Jon Meacham spends a good bit of time on the early Jefferson and his love of control and dislike of conflict. This was paired with a strong set of beliefs about what was right or ideals (Jefferson, the Philosopher) with a realization of what was possible and how to get there (Jefferson, the Politician). And the latter is the art of power as in the subtitle.

This is a large (but still 1 volume) biography. I have seen blurbs calling it the best but I’ll have to leave that judgement of others who are more qualified. I’ll just say that I enjoyed it and feel that I understand Jefferson much better than before.

Here are some other reviews: