Another Name for Every Thing

Richard Rohr, one of the world's most influential spiritual thinkers, delivers his long-awaited book on Jesus. In this radical message of hope, Rohr shows how "Jesus" + "Christ" reveals the divine wholeness at the heart of things--and what that means for every one of us.
In his decades as a globally recognized teacher, Richard Rohr has helped hundreds of thousands realize what is at stake in matters of faith--and it is not religion as usual. Yet Fr. Rohr has never written on the most perennially talked about topic in Christianity: Jesus Christ. Most know who Jesus was, but who was Christ? Is the word simply Jesus's last name? Too often, declares Rohr, our understandings have been held captive by culture, nationalism, and Christianity itself.
Drawing on history, theology, and psychology, Rohr articulates an exhilarating and ultimately more sensible view of Jesus Christ as a portrait, so to speak, of how God works. "The whole of creation is the beloved community--the child of God--not just Jesus," he writes. In a world where religion too often divides, Rohr's understanding of the Incarnation changes not just the significance of Christmas, but how we read history, relate to nature and each other, and find our highest purpose each day.
Fans of Rohr's earlier works will find here a synthesis that reveals the broadest, most hopeful vision for humanity imaginable. Newcomers will be drawn to a science-friendly spirituality that feels both modern and timeless. All will value Rohr's practical insights on mindfulness, prayer, and enlightened social action.

I started this book with high hopes.  The title was very engaging.  The introduction was wonderful.  The first chapter concerned me.  The second chapter was heretical in my opinion.  Fr. Rohr has excellent theological training.  I was shocked.  Christ is the tile of Jesus as the promised Messiah not a loosely understood concept.

No one but the only son of the Father is the incarnation of God.  Seeing the mark of the Creator in all people and creation is beautiful.  Saying all people are an incarnation of God is completely contradictory to Scripture.

I cannot recommend this book at all.

The Vikings

The favorite image of the Vikings is of tall red-headed men, raping and pillaging their way around the coast of Europe, stopping only to ransack monasteries and burn longships. But the violent Vikings of the 8th century became the pious Christians of the 11th century, who gave gold crosses to Christian churches and in whose areas of rule pagan idols were destroyed and churches were built. So how did this radical transformation happen, and why? What difference did it make to the Vikings, and to those around them, and what is their legacy today? This book takes a global look at this crucial period in Viking history, exploring all the major areas of Viking settlement. Written to be an accessible and engaging overview for the general reader.

I visited far northern Norway in 1996.  Norway brings to mind Vikings.  The coast, fjords, architecture, and the language drips with the thought of Vikings.  Many people are enamored with the view of Vikings.  I am not one of those people.  The subtitle of this book is what interested me.  How did the Norse people go from being raiders to Christian in a relatively short period of time?  Martyn Whittock and Whittock tell the story of these people well.

Reading a history textbook does not sound enjoyable.  Most times it is not fun.  The tale of the Vikings becoming a Christian people is interesting.  Whittock and Whittock performed yeoman's work in research.  Their presentation goes beyond a research book.  There are few, if any, stories of individual Norse people but it is easy to view these people and the change their world must have gone through.

This book is an easy read for someone with interest in Viking history.  I believe this book would make an excellent addition to an academic course in any medieval history of Europe also.

We Are Not Refugees

Never in history have so many people been displaced by political and military conflicts at home--more than 65 million globally. Unsparing, outspoken, vital, We Are Not Refugees tells the stories of many of these displaced, who have not been given asylum.

For over a decade, human rights journalist Agus Morales has journeyed to the sites of the world's most brutal conflicts and spoken to the victims of violence and displacement. To Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Central African Republic. To Central America, the Congo, and the refugee camps of Jordan. To the Tibetan Parliament in exile in northern India.

We are living in a time of massive global change when negative images of refugees undermine the truth of their humiliation and suffering. By bringing us stories that reveal the personal pain and the global scope of the crisis, Morales reminds us of the fact and appeals to our conscience.

I still wonder why I picked this book to read from those suggested for me by NetGalley.  A book about refugees?  That sounds fun.  Then I remembered that several of my ancestors would have been refugees if they had wanted to go home rather than immigrate.  Those who fled Islamic radicalism and government exclusion.  These are my roots, and I have a long forgotten connection to these people today.

Morales invited me into the lives of these people, like me, running with their families from their homes.  They have no desire to run.  No desire to leave.  They love their homes, countries, and neighborhoods.  War has forced them to leave.  Their homes were taken from them.  And, they have nowhere to go.  Closed borders, distrust, and dangerous routes have made them residents of inhuman "refugee" camps.

These are not stories that are heard in the news.  These are not stories that are told by politicians in the United States.  These are people that I have been shown to fear.  These are the people that the United States, and by extension, I, are preventing from protecting an providing for here; the land of opportunity; the nation of immigrants.

What is truly interesting about this book is that Morales so pulled me into these lives that I, a right-center individual, would want to bring as many of these fleeing people as possible into my country, into my town, into my house.

The Psychology of Time Travel

In 1967, four female scientists worked together to build the world’s first time machine. But just as they are about to debut their creation, one of them suffers a breakdown, putting the whole project—and future of time travel—in jeopardy. To protect their invention, one member is exiled from the team—erasing her contributions from history.

Fifty years later, time travel is a big business. Twenty-something Ruby Rebello knows her beloved grandmother, Granny Bee, was one of the pioneers, though no one will tell her more. But when Bee receives a mysterious message from the future reporting the murder of an unidentified woman, Ruby becomes obsessed: could it be Bee? Who would want her dead? And most importantly of all: can her killing be stopped?

Traversing the decades and told from alternating perspectives, The Psychology of Time Travel introduces a fabulous new voice in fiction and a new must-read for fans of speculative fiction and women’s fiction alike.

The title of this book intrigued me.  The author, Kate Mascarenhas, is a first-time novelist.  I actually entered the book with meager expectations.  Most authors error in attempting to do time travel fiction; even those with numerous works behind them.  This work appeared to take a completely different approach to the oft-attempted plot device of time travel; Ms. Mascarenhas did and didn't disappoint.

When reading time travel fiction, I'm expecting the author to fall into the trap of paradoxes and plot holes.  Mascarenhas avoided creating any glaring ones that I caught and "black boxed" the ones that inevitably are created when doing science fiction.  I enjoyed her nonlinear time in writing and the beautiful symbolism to the plot.  I found myself in a time fog jumping from time to time attempting to follow the characters.  This is not bad writing IMHO, but the excellent and unexpected use of the craft of writing.  The effect that time travel could have on the psyche is an epistemological unknown.  Attempting to have a reader experience the result was creative and genius.

Well done Ms. Mascarenhas.  I look forward to your follow on novels.

Accessible America

A History of Disability and Design
by Bess Williamson
Description
A history of design that is often overlooked—until we need it Have you ever hit the big blue button to activate automatic doors? Have you ever used an ergonomic kitchen tool? Have you ever used curb cuts to roll a stroller across an intersection? If you have, then you’ve benefited from accessible design—design for people with physical, sensory, and cognitive disabilities. These ubiquitous touchstones of modern life were once anything but. Disability advocates fought tirelessly to ensure that the needs of people with disabilities became a standard part of public design thinking. That fight took many forms worldwide, but in the United States it became a civil rights issue; activists used design to make an argument about the place of people with disabilities in public life. In the aftermath of World War II, with injured veterans returning home and the polio epidemic reaching the Oval Office, the needs of people with disabilities came forcibly into the public eye as they never had before. The U.S. became the first country to enact federal accessibility laws, beginning with the Architectural Barriers Act in 1968 and continuing through the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, bringing about a wholesale rethinking of our built environment. This progression wasn’t straightforward or easy. Early legislation and design efforts were often haphazard or poorly implemented, with decidedly mixed results. Political resistance to accommodating the needs of people with disabilities was strong; so, too, was resistance among architectural and industrial designers, for whom the accessible design wasn’t “real” design. Williamson provides an extraordinary look at the everyday design, marrying accessibility with aesthetic, to give an insight into a world in which we are all active participants, but often passive onlookers. Richly detailed, with stories of politics and innovation, Bess Williamson’s Accessible America takes us through this critical history, showing how American ideas of individualism and rights came to shape the material world, often with unexpected consequences.

Most would look at a book about the history of design in America as strictly an academic text for research or design courses.  And this book is an excellent resource for both research and teaching.  I am neither a researcher in disability design nor a student of industrial design.  Though I am not a member of the apparent intended audience, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

A am an American with a disability that requires that I use a wheelchair.  I have benefited and continue to benefit from the history of accessibility in the United States.  It may be due to my imposed passion for accessibility that this book was so impactful and meaningful to me.  This book educated me about those who paved the curb-cut and reasonable sloped road that I now get to travel down.  These individuals are no longer unknown to me but are people I am now thankful to and for.