The Girl on the Velvet Swing – Simon Baatz

This is a true story that took place at the turn of the 20th Century in New York.  The essential facts of the story are as follows: A sixteen-year-old girl – Evelyn Nesbit – arrives in New York in 1901 and meets a wealthy, influential man three times her age – famous architect Stanford White […]

The Bonfire of the Vanities – Tom Wolfe

Written as a social commentary on race, class, politics and greed in the eighties, this book came out in 1987 and is Wolfe’s best-known work of fiction (and rates with The Right Stuff as one of his best-known books overall).  I’m a little late to the party in reading it, but when he died earlier […]

I John 1:1-4

John explains the reason for his writing and begins to lay out his case for a true risen Messiah and what that means to those who follow Him.  He makes it clear that Jesus was a man in every sense of the word and not simply a spirit.  In this short text he also communicates […]

The Best Game Ever – Mark Bowden

This is the third book by Bowden that I’ve read this year and probably fifth or sixth overall.  I’ve yet to be disappointed – he’s really good at whatever subject he takes on.  In this case, it’s the NFL Championship Game played on December 28, 1958, between the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants – […]

The ABC Murders – Agatha Christie

I read this book on vacation because I ran out of reading material and my daughter had it along as her assigned summer reading for high school English class.  I’d never read anything by Agatha Christie and am not a seasoned mystery reader.  That being the case, I wasn’t used to the rather abrupt ending […]

Ice Bowl ’67 – Chuck Carlson

According to the short biography of the author that’s included on the book jacket, Chuck Carlson was a sportswriter who spent 11 years covering the Packers and this is his tenth book on the team.  That being the case, my guess on how this book came about is that his publisher called him up and […]

I John Introduction and Overview

First John is one of five books written by Jesus’ beloved disciple.  It is most likely written after the writing of the Gospel of John.  The purpose of the book seems to be twofold – to refute heresy that has arisen in churches John ministered to and to reassure believers by giving them tests by […]

Amos 9:1-10

God shows Amos the final vision of His coming judgment.  Amos begins to proclaim his final words to the Israelites and assures them there is no hope of escaping what is coming for the sinners among the people. 1-4 This vision has very little introduction.  Amos does not say that God showed him something and […]