MysteriousFaith

October 2005 Bookshelf

Nanotechnology: A Gentle Introduction Into the Next Big Idea by Mark Ratner and Daniel Ratner

This book comes through on its promise – it is eminently readable with regards to a technically complex subject – nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is perhaps the most promising area of new science and represents challenges at every level: challenges to scientific theories, application engineering, biomedicine, and ethics. This book is a good place to start and one I would highly recommend.

A Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut (unabridged book on CD)

Vonnegut’s most recent book is a collection of his most contemporary essays on the post-9/11 world, religion and politics. I had to laugh at what has to be a classic Vonnegut insight: “if evil is to overcome good the angels are going to have to get as organized as the mafia.” Vonnegut is brutal in his commentary about American life – he is disappointed in our leaders, but he sees a deeper problem with an American populace that has allowed these leaders to come into positions of power. Always a populist, Vonnegut sees the glimmering hope of past populism as dead, never to return again as long as our infatuation with the market economy reigns supreme.

Boundaries: Where You End and I Begin by Anne Katherine

Katherine’s book includes workshops at the end of most chapters that help you determine if you have unhealthy boundaries in your life, and if you do how to deal with them. The question of boundaries is difficult if you are working to get better and have to deal with people who are supposed to be close to you, such as family. When those closest to you are those who you most need distance from, how do you do that in a way that is appropriate? This is a very difficult topic for many people, but is relevant to allow wounds to heal. This is not the best book on boundaries I have read, but it is approachable and a good reminder for people who need reminders of decisions they have made and boundaries they have established.

People of the Lie: the Hope for Healing Human Evil by M. Scott Peck

The question of human evil has haunted mankind over the eons. Peck, an unapologetic Christian whose beliefs many times get in the way of a completely balanced and nuanced presentation of the question, attempts to wrestle with where evil comes from. Among his suggestions are that we should attempt a scientific study of where evil comes from on an individual basis – why are people evil? What makes people take on such evil behavior? Peck’s chapter on demon possession is really poor analysis. He makes the comment that while 95% of all he has seen can be therapeutically explained, but the cases of demon possession defy explanation. That logic seems to ride on his anecdotal presentation of the uniqueness of the possession cases he has witnessed; as reasonable as Peck wants this argument to seem, he will have to forgive the skeptics that the unexplained 5% may be better understood by problems we do not yet understand. After all, not too long ago, people with epileptic seizures were considered demon possessed. On balance, the book has some insights into human behavior that are worthwhile even minus this side-step his book takes.

One God, Three Faiths by F.E. Peters (unabridged Portable Professor CD set)

As histories of our monotheistic religions go, this set is very good. It lacks the precision and depth of analysis in Karen Armstrong’s work, but this is a commendable introduction into the comparisons of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The treatment of Islam is very good; however, I felt a worthwhile question Peters does not evaluate is whether Islam’s current involvement with fundamentalism has any sociological parallels to the Jewish nationalism and Christianity’s similar state-church historical problems. What Islam is now struggling with, both Judaism and Christianity already have (and probably will again). This, and a broader comparison of the Jewish, Islamic and Christian mystical traditions would have better rounded off Peters’ analysis.

The Next Global Stage: Challenges and Opportunities in our Borderless World by Kenichi Ohmae

This book begins with one of the most provocative questions currently facing the world: if the traditional Kenseyan model of economic theory stipulates a competitive model pitting nation states against one-another then what happens when nation states become much more transparent and the reality of our borderless world sets in? The original question Ohmae asks is incredibly insightful; however, by the end of the book I felt as if the uniqueness of the insights had tapered off to being, while still insightful, not necessarily as original and elevated as the beginning material. Overall this is an important book for what it suggests; we need to revisit the question he starts and determine what the economic theory for this century should look like.

Michael Jordan: Driven from Within by Michael Jordan, edited by Mark Vancil

I freely admit to being a Michael Jordan super-fan: as much as I loved watching him play, I loved his work ethic even more. I was enriched and challenged to see a man with incredible talent who was still willing to work harder than anyone else at practice. This book helped me think through some issues of dedication and discipline in my own life, and for that I am thankful. The reader should be forewarned the book is a bit of a shill for the Air Jordan XX’s, with as much of the book about the design of past Air Jordan’s as about Michael himself. The story about product design and Michael’s emphasis on excellence does manage to come through even here. All in all, not as much new here as I might have liked; however, the book is a good reminder of what greatness those of us who saw him play were touched by.

Predator by Patricia Cornwell

The heavy load of reading for law school makes an occasional break much appreciated. I was happy to get in the mail Cornwell’s newest thriller – Predator. The story is classic Kay Scarpetta, including the interpersonal dimensions to her story that add a certain richness to the always good forensic thriller Cornwell provides. This particular book took her firmly back into Scarpetta’s history as a forensic pathologist, which is the setting we all came to know, love and appreciate her, and Cornwell’s desire to tell a story through the eyes of a strong woman in what is very much a man’s world. This book was a very enjoyable read.

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• October 31, 2005

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