All Book review articles – Page 4
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ReviewsHave a little faith - Kate Bottley
“That vicar off the telly” is how Rev Kate Bottley is known to millions. In her debut book, Bottley sets out her down-to-earth wisdom on success, love, strength, conflict, confidence, loneliness and grief. That sounds like it could be hard-going, except it’s not. It’s like sitting down ...
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ReviewsHeroes or villains? - Jeannie Kendall
When Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn famously declared: “The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties…but right through every human heart”, he was reminding us that humans are complex creatures, capable of good, evil and everything in-between. When it comes to ...
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ReviewsThe sound of musings - Bryony Wood
If you like The Sound of Music, then you will love this book. Bryony Wood connects many aspects of the life of faith to the famous narrative of Maria, the would-be nun who became the governess of the von Trapp children and, eventually, their stepmother, and wife ...
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ReviewsSaturated with God - Malcolm Macdonald
You may think a book about revival is for a certain calibre of Christian. That’s not the case. This book is for every believer and, after reading it, you will feel that you have been fed an extraordinary meal. Malcolm Macdonald challenges us to consider how thirsty ...
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ReviewsWhy less means more - Cathy Madavan
Sometimes the title of a book or the chapter headings alone grab your attention. As a reader, you instinctively know: This book will do you good. Cathy Madavan does not disappoint with her latest title. Less complexity, more clarity. Less pace, more space. Less random, more rhythm. ...
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ReviewsTransforming Love - Amy Boucher Pye
Martha and Mary are often used to represent action or contemplation, while their brother, Lazarus, appears in one of Jesus’ most spectacular miracles. But by reducing the family to stereotypes, we miss so much argues Amy Boucher Pye in Transforming Love, which sees her bring a new ...
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ReviewsStrange new world - Carl R Trueman
The world’s values have changed rapidly in the past decade. Critics have attributed such changes to the decline in Christian belief, or an upsurge in Marxist thinking of oppressor vs oppressed. But Carl Trueman’s work shows that it’s a lot more complicated than that. He defines the ...
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ReviewsThe Ultimate guide to the Bible - Joseph M Holden
The principle of representing the Bible’s wealth of information in graphic form is a noble one. But it’s already been done. The Infographic Bible: Visualising the drama of God’s word (William Collins) was rightly hailed as “innovative” when it was released in 2018. It’s one of the ...
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ReviewsThe Final Lap - John Wyatt
This little book helpfully explores the three major transitions we face as we grow older – from working life to retirement; from independence to being dependent on others; and from living to dying. It is well-written and readable, with many useful insights. With only 61 pages of ...
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ReviewsTimothy Keller - Collin Hansen
The late Timothy Keller was a masterful preacher and an inspiration to Western Christians who desire to winsomely share their faith in an increasingly sceptical and sometimes hostile culture. But rather than focus on Dr Keller’s life story, The Gospel Coalition editor Collin Hansen has written a ...
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ReviewsCreated to Dream - Rick Warren
Created to Dream is Rick Warren’s first book in ten years. Fans of The Purpose Driven Life will be pleased to see the pastor retaining his accessible and down-to-earth approach to theology. This book is full of Warren’s hard-won wisdom when it comes to achieving the goals ...
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ReviewsUnconventional - Sharon Dickens
When Sharon Dickens was asked to set up a women’s ministry in her church in Glasgow, she looked for resources to help her. She found many that outlined good theological foundations, but nothing practical. After a decade of trial, error, growth and setbacks, she wrote the resource ...
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ReviewsTalking about death: a pastoral guide by Sue Walker
Despite the title, this is not just a book for those in pastoral ministry. All of us have to face tough questions about death, and this offering from hospice chaplain Sue Walker will help. “Christians don’t need to avoid death-talk and can confidently face death head on”, ...
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ReviewsOn getting out of bed - Alan Noble
Suffering is normal. Many of us will experience some form of mental health struggle during our lives. Depending on your own unique situation, medicine, counsellors and/or friends may help. However, when it comes to deciding to get out of bed each morning, no one else can make ...
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ReviewsForgive - Timothy Keller
The latest book from prolific teacher and pastor Timothy Keller, Forgive is as good a book on the topic of forgiveness as you could hope to find. Full of cultural references and solid biblical exposition, Keller deftly explains why the need to forgive is so essential ...
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ReviewsBroken by love - Val Jeal MBE
Val Jeal was 50 when her work with homeless men in Bristol began. Over the next 20 years, her reach extended to sex workers, drug users and their families. Starting from a place of vulnerability and inexperience, Val makes herself available to God who shapes her into ...
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ReviewsBy bread alone - Kendall Vanderslice
Professional baker and practical theologian Kendall Vanderslice unpacks an everyday truth: that “our spiritual lives are deeply connected to bread – the bread we break with family and friends, and the Bread that is Christ’s body”. Vanderslice argues that no food is more spiritually significant than bread, ...
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ReviewsLennon, Dylan, Alice, and Jesus - Greg Laurie with Marshall Terrill
Greg Laurie’s enjoyable book hurtles along like a train, travelling from the gospel roots of rock and roll and terminating at Justin Bieber. The church background of the “million dollar quartet” of Elvis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis sets the scene. Laurie then investigates ...
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ReviewsI, Julian - Claire Gilbert
Julian of Norwich’s 15th-century classic, Revelations of Divine Love, is widely regarded as the earliest manuscript written in English by a woman. But beyond that text, little is known about the remarkable woman who lived as an anchoress (or hermit) bricked into a small cell on the ...
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ReviewsDavid Baddiel’s The God Desire is no argument for atheism
Far from being a convincing argument against the existence of God, much of the comedian-cum-writer’s new book seems to find its natural fulfilment in Christian theism, says Chris Witherall
