Patton by Agostino von Hassell

This is the life story of General George S. Patton Jr. The author takes you through his story from boyhood to the Battle of the Bulge and beyond. It is an examination of a man: what influenced him, drove him, his fears, failures, hopes and legacy. This book seeks to introduce you to him.

I’ve always enjoyed biography and this is good biography. The author does a good job taking an objective look at Patton. He starts with his childhood, moves through his years at military college, his involvement with the Olympics, and finally his military career. It was neat to see how everything in Patton’s life prepared him for his mark in history and how he left his mark on the U.S. military. You will walk away feeling like you walked with Patton. You may or may not identify with Patton’s fears, failures or convictions. But one this is for sure, Patton was an interesting man. He was disciplined yet disorderly at times, courageous yet feared being a coward. If you want to get to know the hero of the Battle of the Bulge, I recommend this book, primarily because it’s the only one I’ve read.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Same Kind Of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore

I got this book because a close friend of mine, who ministers to “the least of these”, recommended it highly on Facebook.  I knew if he recommended it it would be worth the read.  I was not disappointed.  This book, which tells a story of modern day slavery, adultery, racism, and how God used every bit of it to bring restoration to a family and a city, will show you yourself.  Through it’s pages it will show you your presuppositions, sins and fears.  But, it will also show you tangible examples of profound grace that I think will change you, if you let it.

I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to be challenged to walk deeper with the Lord.  From front to back this book had me shocked, weeping and standing in awe.  I won’t be the same after reading it.  Although I don’t minister to homeless people, I have been shown what it means to be a friend to ‘the least of these’ and that a life poured out for Jesus and His unfolding story is a life truly lived no matter the cost.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Search For God And Guinness by Stephen Mansfield

Last winter when I bought this book I stated:  “I hope to right a review of this book that is shaping up to be a breath of fresh air for my church culture and an example of how ‘wealth is gained through faith inspired excellence and then used to serve others for the glory of God.’” This book measured up to my expectations by showing God’s faithfulness to the Guinness family.  Beginning with Arthur Guinness, the book shows how God used this family to transform a nation with excellent beer, corporate generosity, multi-generational faithfulness, biblical preaching, and service.

This book held my attention from cover to cover.  Chapter 1 alone is worth the price of this book.  In Chapter 1 Mansfield gives us a brief history of beer; how it is made, how it came to be an important part of culture in many civilizations, and how it was viewed and enjoyed by many prominent figures in church history.

The rest of the book was a beautiful story of how God used Arthur and his descendants in the realm of medicine, government, business, and religion to bring transformation to a nation at the individual and systemic level.  I was challenged by this book as a Christian because it showed me tangible ways Guinness poured out their company in service to their neighbor and used the tools and talents given to them to lift a nation out of poverty, drunkenness and disease.  Their is more to be gleaned from this book, but it is sufficient to say that I highly recommend it as a demonstration of how the gospel calls us as Christians to be agents of transformation here and now.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Winter Reading

From the introduction:

And I confess, as an outsider to drinking and beer, I used to think it was all about the buzz, that drinking anything with alcohol was about escaping the present and drifting into a sloshy other world.  But now I know something i did not before.  Beer is not simply a means of drunkenness nor is it merely a lubricant to grease the skids to sin.  Beer, well-respected and rightly consumed, can be a gift of God.  It is one of his mysteries, which it was his delight to conceal and the glory of kings to search out.  And men enjoy it to mark their days and celebrate their moments and stand with their brothers in the face of what life brings.

So it was all of this-the unfortunate myth of Arthur[Guinness], my weariness with politics at the center of life, my hope for a more noble corporate world and, yes, my curiosity at the fellowship of human beings and beer-that sent me on this journey.  It is a search for heritage, faith, and craft.  It is a hope for an impartation from generations past.  It is a passion to understand the liturgies of men in concourse with one another.

It is the search for God and Guinness.

I hope, once I’m finished, to right a review of this book that is shaping up to be a breath of fresh air for my church culture and an example of how “wealth is gained through faith inspired excellence and then used to serve others for the glory of God.”

SOME GUINNESS FACTS from the book:

• More than ten million glasses of Guinness are consumed each day worldwide.  This is nearly two billion pints a year.
• In 1759, Arthur Guinness founded the Guinness brewery in Dublin by signing a lease for the famous property at St. James’s Gate-a lease that gave him rights to that property for nine thousand years!
• Arthur Guinness founded the first Sunday schools in Ireland, fought against dueling, and chaired the board of a hospital for the poor.
• A Guinness worker during the 1920s enjoyed full medical and dental care, massage services, reading rooms, subsidized meals, a company-funded pension, subsidies for funeral expenses, educational benefits, sports facilities, free concerts, lectures and entertainment, and a guaranteed two pints of Guinness beer a day.
• During World War I, Guinness guaranteed all of its employees who served in uniform that their jobs would be waiting for them when they came home.  Guinness also paid half salaries to the family of each man who served.
• Henry Grattan Guinness, grandson of brewery founder Arthur Guinness, was a Christian leader of such impact that he was ranked with Dwight L. Moody and Charles Spurgeon in his day.  He has been called the Billy Graham of the nineteenth century.
• Guinness was known for its care of its employees.  One Guinness family member who headed the brewery said, “You cannot make money from people unless you are willing for people to make money from you.”
• In the 1890s, Rupert Guinness, future head of the brewery, received five million pounds from his father on his wedding day.  Shortly after, he moved into a house in the slums and launched a series of programs that served the poor.