Jackson the Iron-Willed Commander by Paul Vickery

This is the third book from “The Generals” collection I have read.  Like the previous two, I was not disappointed.  One of the things I look for in a good biography is the childhood of the person grewing up, what events shaped their life and whom they used as role models.  It was fascinating to follow along the path that Andrew Jackson choose, was forced into and the path most of us would not take because of the negative reaction from others.  Andrew Jackson was a strong willed and extremely determined individual.  His upbringing shaped many of the qualities he is famous for later in his life.  He never quit, never let failure detour him from what he knew was the right thing to and he listened to others but always when made up his own mind.  Jackson’s emotional and physical presented motivated and inspired soldiers who were half-starved, freezing to death and exhausted from marching.  The men that followed him accomplished many things others would not have attempted or deem it impossible.  In Andrew Jackson mind, nothing was impossible.  One of the many traits of Jackson was he did not sound like the other military leaders or presidents; he spoke in a simple language everyone could understand and related to.  If you like reading about military material this would be a book and the others from “The General” collection I would highly recommend.

I received a free copy of this book from BookSneeze in exchange for my honest review of the book.

Greater by Steven Furtick

If you have never taken the time to read the Bible or have the desire to do so but still want to learn a one of the basis lessons then this book if for you.The book is written in such a manner that you do not have to worry about being a professor in theology to understand the topics. The book brings together the stories in the bible with modern day examples.The book is well written and should appeal to people at several different levels.The only disclaimer is if you read the Bible on a regular or semi-regular basis, you will already know many of the stories and messages that the author is telling. For the ones who are familiar with the Bible this will cover no real new ground. The author does take a common sense approach to looking into oneself and exploring the idea of why I am here and what did God intend for me to do.While some people the message is loud and clear, for most of us the message is difficult to find and rarely understood.His book concept and subject manner applies itself more as a tool for a religious discussion or a Bible study class.

I received a free copy of this book from WaterBrook Multnomah in exchange for my honest review of the book.

The Searchers by Joseph Loconte

The entire book is based on small portion of the Bible, specifically Luke 24:13-35.  Twenty-two lines of scripture that tell the story of two men walking back home after the tragic of Jesus being crucified.   How a stranger appeared while they were walking interested in what they had to say.  Later after they invited this stranger into their home they find out it is Jesus.  The author breaks down the story into logical sections and explains what is going and how it relates to situation we have seen, read and lived through.  While the subject matter does have high interest for me the bombardment of quotes from books from Tolkien, Lewis, Rowling and many other gifted writers caused the subject matter to be lost.  Frequently the message that the author saw as being relevant to the scripture took a around about way to deliver his point.  The author attempts several times, in each chapter, to relate the scripture to how we see this same situation from the human condition today.  The subject matter truly is interesting but it gets lost in the delivery.

I received a free copy of this book from BookSneeze in exchange for my honest review of the book.