Like Shaunti Feldhahn’s previous works, the Male Factor is commentary based on surveys. I was introduced to Feldhahn’s work through For Men Only: A Straightforward Guide to the Inner Lives of Women, which I found to be very helpful in understanding my wife and her needs. And though I am a man interested in women, I also read For Women Only: What You Need to Know about the Inner Lives of Men to see how accurate I found the survey information to be. I found that Feldhahn was spot on and the surveys incredibly insightful. Now with this book, we get the same insightful information but based on surveys focused on the work environment instead of the home.
As a man in the business world I found that the survey was right inline with how I see the workplace and / or how I know that my male peers do. I imagine that if a woman was to read this book and implement some of the suggestions that they would immediately find their male peers much easier to work with and her job much more enjoyable. (In the same way, I look forward to the upcoming partner book, which will focus on how males can function better at work with females.) Interestingly, this book also sheds light on some of the weaknesses in the way that men function, and while reading I found that I could benefit from changing my worldview as well.
Another solid book that I recommend to all business people, male or female.
Scott Asher is the founder and administrator of BookGateway.com. Along with his contributions to BookGateway, he reviews for the commercial site BuddyHollywood.com. His personal blog is AshertopiA – a land flowing with milk and honey… and a lot of sticky people where he cartoons and writes on anything he finds funny and Christianity, which sometimes overlap.
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
Rediscovering God in America by Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, takes us on a walking tour of the nation’s capitol – Washington, DC. The touch begins with The National Archives, Washington Monument, the Memorials of Jefferson, Lincoln, Vietnam Veterans, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Capitol Building, Supreme Court, Library of Congress, Ronald Reagan Building, The White House, World War II Memorial, and last but now least, Arlington Cemetery and the grave of President Kennedy with the eternal flame. Gingrich give a small dissertation of the history of each and the trials and tribulations encountered in the building of these historical buildings.
This book, in part, is a history lesson of America. Gingrich clearly describes our founding father’s faith in God. From our first president, George Washington through George Bush II, God has played a mayor role in decisions made by these men, Washington at Valley Forge, Roosevelt’s “fire side chats”, Eisenhower’s prayer on the beaches of Normandy on D-day, Kennedy’s famous speech -“ask not what you country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”.
Our country is founded on the principle that “all men are created equal with certain unalienable rights…” The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and Bill of Rights all stress the importance of the invisible hand of Almighty God. The novel is not written as political, but spiritual. Gingrich points out that our founding fathers knew that power came from God and that a nation cannot survive without God. Faith of our presidents and their devotion to God is clearly depicted in their speech3es, scriptures carved in and on all the monuments and buildings that make up our nation’s capital. He also points out that our founding founders established our nation to be a nation “under God”.
The secular Left’s relentless effort to drive God out of America is succeeding at an alarming rate. The Supreme Court ruled we can no longer say “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. The writer points out that we are allowing five people to completely change the structure of America.
The book is not intended to be political, acknowledge any particular religion, but is spiritual in context. Ir clearly warns us that we must stand up for God and our believes or lose our rights as a nation under God.
Callista Gingrich’s photography throughout the novel is outstanding.
I am reminded of Jefferson’s immortal words in the Declaration of Independence that all ” are men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…” and the inescapable truth that freedom is strictly from God’s grace. Don’t let it slip away.
Good read – will renew your faith in God. Gingrich did an excellent job.
Mary Asher, the Golden Reviewer, is a founding book blogger for BookGateway.com. She describes herself as “An 80 year old avid reader reviews the newest in Christian fiction and non-fiction with a sprinkle of the secular on top.”.
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
99 Ways to Build Job Security by Gary Nowinski
Looking at the book, no doubt you wouldn’t think much of it. Plain cover, undersized and clearly for the budget conscious, this book does not look significant. But on the inside there are a multitude of significant nuggets of wisdom! Like most “value gifts” the “99 Ways…” series is far more about what’s on the inside than the outside.
I received this book as a review copy from the publisher, WaterBrook Press, as a part of a blog tour for value gifts, along with Fool-Proofing Your Life, which I will review in the coming days. I admit that I was hoping to receive 99 Ways to Stretch Your Home Budget or 99 Ways to Entertain Your Family for Free. But when I started reading the bite sized wisdom I realized that this book was exactly what I needed.
In an economy like this, with job security on so many people’s minds I found an easy outlet for the 99 Ways… – at my job! I started quoting Ways to my direct reports that I believed would benefit them, like #6 Self-Confidence and #89 Self-Defeating Thoughts. They were a hit!
Value gift books can sometimes be overlooked because of their presentation but at least in the case of the 99 Ways… series I believe that you should give them a second look.
Scott Asher is the founder and administrator of BookGateway.com. Along with his contributions to BookGateway, he reviews for the commercial site BuddyHollywood.com. His personal blog is AshertopiA – a land flowing with milk and honey… and a lot of sticky people where he cartoons and writes on anything he finds funny and Christianity, which sometimes overlap.
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
Israel Under Fire by John Ankerberg and Jimmy DeYoung
John Ankerberg and Jimmy DeYoung come together to create “Israel Under Fire: The Prophetic Chain of Events That Threatens the Middle East,” a book that promises to explain the Biblical predictions concerning the current events in Israel, how what happens in Israel affects the rest of the world, and answers the age old question, “Will there ever be peace in the Middle East.” To come to these answers Ankerberg and DeYoung interview – on location in Israel and the Middle East – many of the policy makers and experts who would be close to the situation, such as, Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel and Reuven Rivlin, the Speaker of the Knesset in Israel.
Ankerberg and DeYoung are less authors than interviewers for much of the book (and interviewees, as I will explain.) The authors claim that the book will answer questions and give a Biblical basis for the current events in Israel. To accomplish these goals the authors provide a brief history how the modern state of Israel came to be and what exactly is currently happening in Israel. On these points, I found that the authors were successful. Unfortunately, this was only one part of the book.
In the second part of the book, the authors interview current world leaders and here is where I feel the book goes awry. I had two issues here. First, the authors advertise on the back cover that they interview Adnan Husseini, Yasser Arafat’s cousin and Palestinian Authority spokesman. While, it is true, it is a little misleading as he is one of three world leaders advertised yet he appears in only one very short section with only a couple of questions, while the others leaders, Jewish pundits exclusively, are interviewed extensively. This is far from balanced coverage.
Second, the authors didn’t just interview pundits they agreed with – they also interviewed each other. I understand that the authors may be experts in a field but their opinions should be bolstered by other expert’s opinions, statistics, reports and the like. Author’s opinions should not be proved by their own opinions. The issue of lack of documentation and proof isn’t just relegated to their opinions in interviews. Unfortunately, the authors take comments and opinions from pundits they agree with for granted, moving right past controversial quotes that cry out for data that reinforces the opinion. The only reference in the book to an outside source (other than the Bible) is on page 156 (of 174).
In the third section of the book, the authors attempt to tie current events with Biblical prophecy. I would expect that anyone, after reading this book, even someone who has no experience with Biblical prophecy or current events, would be able to walk away understanding the “prophetic chain of events that threaten the Middle East.” What I found in this section, though, was confusion. To explain a complicated book like Revelation, I would expect we would start at the beginning and work our way through the (purported) time line from start to finish. I would expect that current events would be tied in to the timeline to show how the events fit into the puzzle. I would expect that the authors would show how these events work together to fulfill prophecy. Unfortunately, Ankerberg and DeYoung did not make a convincing connection for me.
While I did find the first section of the book interesting, this book left me unsatisfied in my search for connections between current events and Biblical prophecy. Revelation itself is already difficult to understand and I found the authors didn’t accomplish their goal of making it accessible and understood by the reader.
As much as I would have liked to, I cannot recommend this book to anyone but Bible prophecy buffs.
Scott Asher is the founder and administrator of BookGateway.com. Along with his contributions to BookGateway, he reviews for the commercial site BuddyHollywood.com. His personal blog is AshertopiA – a land flowing with milk and honey… and a lot of sticky people where he cartoons and writes on anything he finds funny and Christianity, which sometimes overlap.
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.
Jesus Freaks (Voice of the Martyrs)
I love testimonies. I love listening to people I know – people I trust wont lie or mislead me – telling me about how God has worked in their lives and how God has come through for them. Testimonies build faith and hope. I was really looking forward to reading this book for that reason. I wanted to hear the testimonies of Christians in horrific situations refusing to recant or exchange their savior for the empty promises of the world.
Reading about situations that I can’t even imagine and how characters in the book respond was inspirational! The problem is that since this book suggests that the stories are real I was expecting authentication.
When I watch religious TV (rarely) I see people who claim miracles. I hear preachers saying that their ministry healed a bazillion people this year alone! I see people jumping around on stage and the “healer” saying that they couldn’t walk previously. My first thought is always, “show me the proof.” If these “healers” heal so many people wouldn’t there be some kind of evidence? Wouldn’t there be documentation of the before and after of each of these “healed” people showing miraculous change?
I’m not saying that I can’t believe in miracles. What I am saying is that I want to be discerning in who I trust and what I believe.
This book, unfortunately, ended up like the TV healers to me. So many of these stories were far fetched, had only first names or even no names, were about people and situations decades ago and seemed to have no way of knowing what was written was true. I remember stories that were written about a person who was in jail who had no way to communicate to those outside yet somehow the authors of this book were able to know the inner thoughts of the soon-to-be-martyred Christian. The authors also knew what the jailers said and did. How? Where is the evidence that this isn’t just an inspiring work of fiction?
Situations like the above example aren’t the exception in this book. Unfortunately, instead of testimonies from people we can trust with information we can verify what we get from this book is simply nothing more than stories.
If I am going to spend my time reading Christian fiction, I could go with Ted Dekker or Janette Oke or Francine Rivers (depending on genre preferences) and get a better story that also includes Christians in situations that give opportunity to prove out their faith.
Scott Asher is the founder and administrator of BookGateway.com. Along with his contributions to BookGateway, he reviews for the commercial site BuddyHollywood.com. His personal blog is AshertopiA – a land flowing with milk and honey… and a lot of sticky people where he cartoons and writes on anything he finds funny and Christianity, which sometimes overlap.
This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.