"Elon Musk" is a biography of Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson. Isaacson, a respected biographer of historical figures, had full access to Musk including following him as he worked during a two year period. Isaacson also had access to employees and friends and family members which gave unsparing details into Musk's life and personality. The … Continue reading Elon Musk
Category: Books
Being Elisabeth Elliott
"Being Elisabeth Elliott" is the second volume on the life of Elisabeth Elliott written by Ellen Vaughn. The first volume covered her time as a young missionary in Ecuador when members of a remote Amazonian indigenous people group killed her husband Jim and his four colleagues. Despite this, she stayed on in the jungle with … Continue reading Being Elisabeth Elliott
Empire of the Summer Moon
"Empire of the Summer Moon" is a book written by S. C. Gwynn primarily about the Comanche Indian nation. The book also discusses the story of Cynthia Anne Parker and her son Quanah Parker who was one of the last chiefs of the Comanches. The book describes the history of the warlike and vicious Comanches … Continue reading Empire of the Summer Moon
The People’s Justice
I was looking for a good biography on Justice Clarence Thomas and thought I had found it in the latest book about him "The People's Justice" by Amal Thapar. Actually, once I started reading the book I discovered it was not actually a chronological biography but an analysis of twelve Supreme Court cases for which … Continue reading The People’s Justice
The Silmarillion
This is a book compiled from J. R.R. Tolkien’s writings and notes after he died by His Son, Christopher Tolkien. It should not be compared to Tolkien’s published works as it was unfinished, but it certainly relates as a background mythology of Middle Earth. Tolkien was a professor of ancient language and was intrigued by Norse … Continue reading The Silmarillion
The Watchmaker’s Daughter
"The Watchmaker's Daughter" is a biography of the remarkable life and deep religious faith of Dutch resistance member Corrie Ten Boom written by bestselling author Larry Loftus. Corrie, a watchmaker along with her Father, and her family hid and aided many Jews and other persons pursued and persecuted by the Nazis. She was eventually betrayed … Continue reading The Watchmaker’s Daughter
Becoming C. S. Lewis
"Becoming C. S. Lewis" by Union University Professor of Faith and Cultural Studies Harry Lee Poe is the first in a new three volume biography of C. S. Lewis's first twenty years. The book outlines how Lewis's early life experiences and books he read, particularly the books on old Norse mythologies, began to form the … Continue reading Becoming C. S. Lewis
The Magician and His Nephew
The "Chronicles of Narnia" is a series of seven fantasy novels written by C S Lewis between 1950 and 1956. Narnia is a fantasy world of magic, mythical beasts and talking animals. It narrates the adventures of various children who play central roles in the unfolding history of the Narnian world. The first book written … Continue reading The Magician and His Nephew
Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment
"Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" is a short story by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne published in 1837. In the story, Dr. Heidegger invites four elderly friends to his study. He displays a vase that he claims has water from the Fountain of Youth discovered in Florida. The water wondrously causes an old rose to bloom again when … Continue reading Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment
The Last Emperor of Mexico
The "Last Emperor of Mexico" is a biography of Maximilian I, the last emperor of Mexico and an Austrian Hapsburg Archduke, written by Edward Shawcross. Maximilian, born in 1832, was a member of the Austrian ruling Hapsburg family, with his brother, Franz Joseph, becoming Emperor in 1848. Maximilian became head of Austria's navy in 1854 … Continue reading The Last Emperor of Mexico
The Great Revival During the Civil War
The book “A Narrative of the Great Revival Which Prevailed during the Late Civil War” was written by William B. Bennett in 1877, twelve years after the wars end but based on his personal observations and documented records. He noted that waiting twelve years gave time for passions to cool and prejudices to abate. As … Continue reading The Great Revival During the Civil War
I, Juan de Pareja
My sixteen year old grandson recommended this book by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino, which tells story of Juan de Pareja as a first person account. It took place in Spain and Italy during the mid-seventeenth century. Juan was a slave of African decent and tells of the hardship of slavery and proverty during that time. … Continue reading I, Juan de Pareja
Bad Blood
"Bad Blood" is a book by John Carreyou, about Theranos, Inc. and Elizabeth Holmes, its founder and CEO. Carreyou was the prizewinning Wall Street Journal reporter who broke the story, initially from sources inside the company, of the misrepresentations related to a device that Holmes maintained could do 200 blood tests on a prick of … Continue reading Bad Blood
Happy At Any Cost
"Happy at any Cost" by Kirsten Grind and Katherine Sayre is the story of Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh. Hsieh took over the struggling online shoe retailer in the early days of internet e-commerce and made it into a profitable company. Amazon later bought out the company for 1.2 billion making Hsieh a rich man. His … Continue reading Happy At Any Cost
Heart of a Tiger
"Heart of a Tiger" by Herschel Cobb is a book about the summers spent by the author with his grandfather Ty Cobb at his home in Lake Tahoe in the 1950s and 1960s. The purpose of the book was to give another viewpoint of Ty Cobb, one of the greatest baseball players to ever play … Continue reading Heart of a Tiger
Desert Fox
"Desert Fox" by Samuel Mitcham is a biography of German General Erwin Rommel. Rommel is widely considered, along with American General George Patton, as one of the two best generals of World War II. The book covers his his entire life, including his impressive exploits as a junior officer in World War I, but concentrates … Continue reading Desert Fox
Robert E Lee: A Life
"Robert E Lee: A Life" is the newest biography of the Confederate general written by historian Allen C. Guelzo. Guelzo is a self-described Yankee partisan but presents a fairly even-handed portrait, but more negative than some better biographies such as by Emory Thomas or Douglas Southall Freeman. While critical of Lee for his view on … Continue reading Robert E Lee: A Life
A Passion For God
"A Passion For God" by Lyle Dorsett is a biography of A. W. Tozer. Tozer, a Christian and Missionary Alliance pastor, is probably best know for writing the classic book "The Pursuit of God" calling Christians to a more closer intimacy with God. Tozer was born in Western Pennsylvania in poverty and moved to Akron, … Continue reading A Passion For God
Franco
"Franco" by Stanley Payne and Jesus Palacios is a biography of Francisco Franco the dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975. Although a right-wing dictator who supported Hitler in his war against Communism, Franco survived World War II in power and, after a long reign, bequeathed Spain an increasingly prosperous society that would transform into … Continue reading Franco
Insanely simple
Insanely Simple is a book written by Ken Segall on the obsessive simplicity of Apple Corporation. It makes the case that one of the keys of Apple's success is its drive to simplify its products and processes and not let complexity creep in. This was a principle Steve Jobs believed in strongly and insisted his … Continue reading Insanely simple
Lion of Liberty
"Lion of Liberty" is a book on the life of one of America's chief Founding Fathers, Patrick Henry, written by Harlow Giles Unger. Henry was a very successful self-taught back-country lawyer and one of the first and chief instigators of the American Revolution and the resulting secession of the colonies from Britain. He was one … Continue reading Lion of Liberty
Schulz and Peanuts
"Schulz and Peanuts" is a book about Charles Schulz, written by David Michaelis. Beginning in 1950 through his death in 2000, Charles Schulz transformed the newspaper comic strip with his "Peanuts" children characters. His strip differed from many others, which centered around gags and action, having its characters register emotions such as anxiety, depression, yearning … Continue reading Schulz and Peanuts
Strat-O-Matic Fanatics
"Strat-O-Matic Fanatics" by Glenn Guzzo is the true story behind the creation of America's most popular sports board game, Strat-O-Matic. The book traces the game's roots from 11-year-old Hal Richman's bedroom, his first rudimentary attempts at developing a baseball game when he was not satisfied with the statistical accuracy of games on the market, down … Continue reading Strat-O-Matic Fanatics
Beautiful Exile
"Beautiful Exile" by Carl Rollyson is a biography of legendary author and journalist Martha Gellhorn. Gellhorn wrote novels, travel and other books but is primarily remembered for her wartime reporting and reporting on various human rights abuses. Being one of the first and most widely read female war correspondents, her reporting spanned the Depression, the … Continue reading Beautiful Exile
Finding Dorothy
"Finding Dorothy" by Elizabeth Letts is a historical novel primarily about the life of Maude Gauge Baum, the wife of L. Frank Baum who wrote the original Wizard of Oz books. The book bounces back and forth between her early life and the 1939 making of "The Wizard of Oz" movie in Hollywood where she … Continue reading Finding Dorothy
The Conservative Christian Apologist 