Category: Books

Book Review: Born To Run

I heard a lot about the book Born to Run which came out this summer. Some of what I heard made me skeptical about its claims. One of my biggest concerns was how so much emphasis was put on the evolutionary aspect of how we run. I believe we were designed by God to have the bodies we have and not that we have evolved into the state we are in. Guys like Steve Runner, who I totally disagree with his evolutionary position, made me less interested in the book because of this. However, the book is great. Outside of the fact that it is on a subject that captures my attention, it is extremely well written. Even though I don’t agree with all the process involved to arrive at the conclusion the book makes, I cannot deny that the author, Christopher McDougall, is a master with the written word.

The book is about running. It is presented by sharing a story involving an indigenous Mexican tribe in the Copper Canyon that is made up of extremely gifted athletes. The point was that we can learn their secrets and become better runners as well. The use of a great narrative made a potentially dull book about putting one foot in front of the other much more interesting.

I did not read the book, but rather listened to the audio-book version while I was driving around in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago. I have to admit that I was very engrossed in the story. I did not have any close calls by not paying attention, but I did get wrapped up in it a couple of times enough to have to wipe the tears away when certain events were portrayed. Even though I already knew the outcome of some of the races that were described in the book, I was still on the edge of my seat waiting to hear how it would unfold.

My standard disclaimer has to be said here though. I cannot really recommend this book for young people. The language in it was appalling. As I have said before, I know people really talk like that, but that does not mean I want to read (or listen to) all the foul language.

Well written book, but I cannot give it a full recommendation because of the language.

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen, 2009. Christopher McDougall, Knopf publishing. 304 pages.

Review: The Shack

My friend gave me a copy of the book The Shack recently. He said that it really helped his sister through some things in her spiritual life. My friend also warned me that I might be offended by some of the things in the book.

If you have not read The Shack it might be quite shocking to you. Give the book an honest read, even if you have to be critical the whole way. In a nutshell the book talks about having a real and personal relationship with God. While I have some problems with the theology in the book, the concept of seeing God as a real friend who can help individuals on a personal basis is well presented. Do I believe God interacts with us in the way the book depicts? No, I don’t think He does. Could He? Sure He could.

Apparently the book has been quite controversial. I have intentionally not looked into some of the criticisms of the book. I chose to read it as a fiction book and not put any stock in its theology. I do see it as a great concept of how God wants to have a personal relationship with us. Furthermore, I believe that He can be as personal as the book presents.

The book came highly recommended by a few friends. It certainly was well written. I don’t know if I could give a general recommendation of the book to everyone. I think some people are mature enough to see it for what I believe it is–an encouraging way to show God’s desire to have a relationship with man. However, some of my friends would not see it is such and therefore would probably not benefit from reading it.

The Shack, William Paul Young, Windblown Media, 2008, 256 pages.

Review: Tribes (Seth Godin)

I have read so much about the book Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin. This is a new book that was released in October of 2008. I was not sure why it was such a hit, so I had to read it and find out.

The first thing that caught my attention was its format. It is a small book. While it is hardback, the format was more like a trade paperback size. At fewer than 160 pages, it is also very quick to read. The second interesting thing about the book is that there are no chapters. I love reading books with lots of chapters. The shorter the chapter, the more I enjoy the book. I like to read a chapter in each sitting if possible. This book was even better. Instead of chapters he just had sections that ran together only separated by a bold section title. Some sections were a couple of pages while others were only one paragraph. Most were somewhere between the two.

The concept behind a tribe is that you, as an individual, can gather/motivate/assemble a group of people with a common interest and lead them to accomplish a task. While you are a leader you will not have to be the one doing the work if your tribe has people with common interest and goals. They will be just as motivated to get the job done as you are. You, as the leader, may not need to do anything more than be the person that causes the tribe to assemble in the first place.

Godin is a philosopher. This book was not so much about the tools that make tribes work. Rather, it explained why tribes work and gave a set of principles to help you understand the concept of them. By doing so you can make a tribe work in your favor with many different tools. He gave specific examples using tools available today, but with the principles of the book you could make a tribe effective for you even if these tools don’t exist 5 years into the future.

A tribe does not have to be led from a position of authority. A person in the mail room of a company can see something that needs to be done and assemble like minded people to accomplish the task. You don’t have to be the boss to be a leader. He does not think that everyone needs to have a tribe assembled around them. But, if you do have a desire to lead, you can. Right now. You don’t have to wait until you have the authority to be a leader. Be one where you are today.

Why is this book popular? I think it taps into the reason social media is such a hit today. As a podcaster one can become a leader of a tribe. Bloggers can lead their own tribe. Twitter and Facebook allow us to assemble our friends and share information that may help us accomplish a task. You don’t have to be the leader of a tribe of 400 people. If you can gather 5 like-minded people around you then you can lead a tribe and accomplish a task.

As a missionary this is a great concept. My goal is one that is shared by millions of people around the world. We want to get the story of Jesus Christ to the masses. However, I can’t reach everyone. I also can’t motivate every church member to pray for me and my ministry. But, if I can inspire 3 people in each church to take a personal interest in my ministry and to connect with others who share the same goal, then I can lead a tribe that will uphold my ministry in prayer. What missionary doesn’t want that?

It is definitely a philosophical book. Some people are going to read this and not get it. They want to follow a formula. There is none presented in the book. But if you can wrap your brain around the concepts of the book you will be well on your way to leading your small group of people. Or, 6 groups of people for different purposes.

It is a book about leadership that I can highly recommend.

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, Seth Godin, Portfolio Hardcover, 2008, 160 pages.

Review: Mentoring and Modeling

While in the office of a pastor friend of mine I saw a book by Dr. John Goetsch. Dr. Goetsch and I had a relationship about 15 years ago through our previous ministry when we worked at a camp. I asked my pastor friend if he had read the book because I was curious as to whether or not Dr. Goetsch was a good author. My friend had not read the book on the desk, but handed me a book from his bookshelf that was co-written by the same author and said it was good.

The book is titled Mentoring and Modeling: Developing the Next Generation by Dr. Mark Rasmussen and Dr. John Goetsch. I am not sure exactly how I would define mentoring, so I had no prejudice as to what the book should contain.

Not until I got 2/3 rds. of the way through the book did I start to understand what the authors meant by that word. Their definition could easily be called “a good teacher.”

I thought the book was well written. It was very practical towards the end of the book. They moved from theoretical teaching to practical application. It was in the practical application section of the book that it became clear as to what was meant by being a mentor. They gave great tips on how a teacher could change their attitude and actions in the classroom to help their students move forward.

There were a couple of things I did not like about the book, both of which could probably be helped by having a professional editor look over the material. There seemed to be an inconsistency in the layout of the book. Sometimes the authors had some long quotes that apparently were supposed to be block quotes in the book. They ended up just being paragraphs that looked like the authors’ own words. It was hard to know where the quote ended and the writers were speaking again.

The book lacked the chapter titles at the top of the pages. While this is certainly not necessary, it is helpful in a book like this. The chapters dealt with specific principles. Looking up at the top of the page to get a reminder of which principle you are studying each time you picked up the book would have been helpful.

I was impressed with the authors’ general style. As I said, I knew Dr. Goetsch several years ago, but had never read anything by him. He (along with Dr. Rasmussen) is a great writer.

The book itself had some good reminders for teachers on how to engage their students and pull them into the lesson. It also talked about how teachers should look for teaching moments. With practise these moments can be found all around you.

This was definitely a book for teachers. I read the book because it was offered to me, but if I had picked it up looking for tips on being a good mentor, I am not sure I would have found what I was looking for. While I agree that teachers should be mentors, this book seemed to be specifically for teachers in a classroom. I don’t have a clear definition in my head as to what I think a mentor should be, but certainly a mentor is not limited to 4 walls and a chalkboard.

I have started to see the difference between books that go through a large publishing company and one that is put together by a smaller outfit. If this had been run through a larger organization it probably would have something about teachers in the title and the formatting would have been more consistent. In the notes I wrote about the book as I read it, I jotted this down: Well written, poorly presented. I don’t think I can improve on that simple statement for this book.

Dr. Goetsch is a great preacher and writer. I look forward to reading more of his work in the future. I just hope that the production quality improves.

Mentoring and Modeling, Dr. Mark Rasmussen and Dr. John Goetsch, Revival Books, 2000, 192 pages.

Review: Riding Outside the Lines

This is the third book by Joe “Metal Cowboy” Kurmaskie that I have read. Riding Outside the Lines is similar to the original book, Metal Cowboy, in that it is not a single continuous story like his book Momentum Is Your Friend.

Riding Outside the Lines is a book of stories during his international travels on the bike. As I have said in my other two reviews about his books, he is a great writer. For that, I know I have benefited from reading his work.

Once I got into the book I had trouble putting it down. He is such a compelling author that even though I very much disliked the contents in this book, I still could not bring myself to walk away from it. I had moral conflicts with just about every story. The level of cursing in this book was much more than appropriate. There were many references to marital relationships that took place outside of marriage. Many of the things he talks about in this book are things that I know take place in the world, but I would rather not fill my mind with. Most every story went against how I am attempting to raise my family.

I cannot recommend this book.

When Joe Kurmaskie puts out another book I will eagerly find myself a copy of it. His style of writing is fresh and enjoyable. I would not call it easy though. While he pulls you along in the story he also makes you think about his words and references. You can tell he spends plenty of time reading other great authors as he make allusions to many works of literature.

Try again Joe. I know you will sell many books. But this one I have to suggest that people skip.

Riding Outside the Lines, Joe Kurmaskie, Three Rivers Press, New York, 2003, 254 pages.