Reported by Ambrea
Nevermore
kicked things off with Rocket Boys (otherwise
known as October Sky), Homer Hickam’s
memoir. Hickam recounts his high school
years, painting a vivid portrait of the West Virginia town of his youth and the
childhood friends who became like brothers.
During the fall of 1957, Sputnik
crossed the sky and inspired Homer and his friends to build rockets. Simultaneously powerful and heartwrenching, Rocket Boys is a coming of age story for
young Homer Hickam and a glimpse into the past of a dying coal company
town. Our reader said Hickam writes
surprisingly well. She expected his
writing to be a little dry, maybe even technical, given his background as a
NASA Engineer and scientist; however, she noted he was a natural storyteller,
creating a warm, rich memoir that she enjoyed from beginning to end.
Next,
Nevermore read Why Niebuhr Matters by
Charles Lemert. Reinhold Niebuhr was a
Protestant preacher, a religious thinker, and, according to the book cover, “an
important moral guide in mid-twentieth-century America. […] He
developed a political realism that refused to sacrifice ideals to mere
pragmatism, or politics to bitterness and greed. He examined the problem of morality in an
immoral society and reimagined the balance between rights and freedom for the
individual and social justice for the many.”
Our reader said he enjoyed reading Lemert’s study of Reinhold Niebuhr,
calling it interesting and informative.
He noted that Niebuhr has received a great deal of attention lately,
mentioning Niebuhr’s political and theological influence has reached political
leaders such as Barak Obama and Madeleine Albright. He said, “It’s not an easy book, but if
you’re looking for a challenge, I highly recommend it.”
Nevermore
also looked at The American Spirit: Who We Are and What We Stand For by David
McCullough, one of our favorite authors.
Noted as “a timely collection of speeches by David McCullough, the most
honored historian in the United States,” The
American Spirit is an interesting book that offers insight into important
American principles and characteristics.
Although The American Spirit has
the makings of a great book, our reader was slightly disappointed by
McCullough’s latest publication. “[It]
really sounds great, but it’s not up to McCullough’s general pattern,” he said. He would keep further books by McCullough in
mind, but he didn’t highly recommend The
American Spirit.
Sticking
to the vein of American history, our readers also looked at The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States During Reconstruction and
the Gilded Age, 1865-1896 by Richard White.
White’s book spans an incredible amount of time, detailing the
tumultuous age of post-Civil War America when the challenges were great and the
difficulties seemingly insurmountable.
White delves into history of the United States, examining a variety of
different facets—technological, cultural, political, economic, religious, and
more—that shaped America as we know it today.
Our reader said The Republic for
Which It Stands was a fascinating and enlightening look at more than 30
years of incredibly important American history.
“It is an excellent book,” he said, “if you like that much detail.”
Last,
Nevermore checked out St. Paul: The Apostle We Love to Hate by Karen
Armstrong. St. Paul is known as the
first Christian writer, who wrote fourteen of the twenty-seven books in the New
Testament. He had a huge impact on the
construction of the Bible we now know; however, Armstrong argues that Paul also
had a much more widespread influence on the creation of the first Christian
churches in Europe and Asia and the establishment of Christianity in the
Western world. She points to his story,
his known history, and notes that how he envisioned and worshipped God forever
changed the course of Christianity. Our
reader said St. Paul was an excellent
book. Although it was rather small, she
said it’s a very good book “if you’re at all interested in [the life of] St.
Paul.”
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