Welcoming the Stranger, by Matthew Soerens and Jenny Yang

Matthew Soerens and Jenny Yang both work for World Relief, which started as a branch of the National Association of Evangelicals to provide assistance for refugees.  This tells you two things you can assume about their book Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion, and Truth in the Immigration Debate.  First, you know they have a big heart of compassion for immigrants.  Second, their perspective is biblically and theologically sound.  Both assumptions would be true.

Their case for biblical compassion for immigrants is clear and pretty much irrefutable.  Who can argue with treating others with dignity and grace, no matter their place of birth?  The scriptural basis for loving the alien is plentiful.  But more than that, Soerens and Yang speak from their own experience, telling the stories of individuals they have known, to put a human face on immigration.  They also spend a lot of time debunking persistent myths about the economic productivity (strong) and criminality (unusual) of immigrants, legal and illegal.

On one level, Soerens and Yang have me wholly in their corner.  (Full disclosure: I have directed fund raisers for World Relief at my local church.)  Yet here's where they fall short.  For all their arguments for the economic benefits of immigration and the general lawfulness of immigrants, they didn't convince me that there should be no limits on immigration.  Does my personally welcoming a stranger to my home or church or neighborhood necessarily mean I must support policies that welcome all comers to live in the U.S.?  That sort of policy is unsustainable. 

I know there's a tension here.  I believe I can treat an undocumented immigrant family with love and neighborliness while seeking political answers to end illegal immigration and promote legal, limited immigration policies.  It's a hard balance that requires turning some people away, but there is no way all the huddled masses can fit in the U.S.  (What's the alternative, you ask me?  Promoting democratic capitalism across the globe.  That's a topic for another book.)  Soerens and Yang bring sanity, facts, and compassion to this controversial conversation.



Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

The Russia Hoax, by Gregg Jarrett

Gregg Jarrett says at the end of The Russia Hoax: The Illicit Scheme to Clear Hillary Clinton and Frame Donald Trump that he understands few who need to be convinced of his thesis will read his book or will dismiss it out of hand.  But Jarrett, who has worked at CourtTV, MSNBC, and, currently, Fox News, digs into the story behind supposed Russia collusion and concludes that the same forces that downplayed Hillary Clinton's law-breaking and let her off the hook not only went after Trump for the Russia story but created the story itself.

Rather than try to summarize the case Jarrett makes, I would simply recommend that if you have any doubt that the case of Russian collusion is a scam, read this book.  Jarrett names the names of the specific individuals who used their positions in federal law enforcement to protect Hillary from prosecution.  Those same individuals conspired--yes, I believe it warrants being called a conspiracy--to concoct a fake dossier and create a specious case against Trump.

Two things stood out to me.  First, the blatant lack of charges against Hillary and her defenders and co-conspirators.  Jarrett covers many violations of the law that are factually known but that have not made their way to the courts, but that should result in jail time, fines, or, at the very least, public discrediting.  Second, the systematic effort to set up Trump, derail his campaign, and damage his presidency.  I know plenty of people like him, but to hate him so much to falsely go after him without regard to the damage they do to the country is beyond me. 

This is a frustrating book.  Liberals will be frustrated that Jarrett is so one-sided.  Conservatives will be frustrated that many of the players Jarrett names are still in the game, and that most of those who are not in the game have faced so little, if any, consequence.  Politics makes people do terrible things.  And a lot of them get away with it.

The Alienist, by Caleb Carr

It's the late 19th century and a crazed killer is on the loose on the streets of New York City.  In Caleb Carr's The Alienist, a newspaper reporter teams up with an alienist--an archaic term for a psychologist--to track down the killer.  In one sense, this is a pretty standard criminal investigation novel.  They profile the killer, find evidence and draw connections that the run-on-the-mill police detectives miss, and get themselves into trouble. 

The setting of The Alienist is the best part.  The culture and geography of New York City is at once foreign and distinctly recognizable.  For lovers of NYC nostalgia, this trip to the past will be a thrill.  The nature of the crimes the reporter and the alienist investigate is repulsive.  The targets are young boys who work as prostitutes.  The descriptions of this tawdry trade are shocking and eye-opening.  (I assume Carr bases this on historical fact.  I'm either too naive or sheltered to have been aware of how wide-spread this culture was.)  The murderer at large took these boys and mutilated them grotesquely.  Thankfully one can skim over Carr's vivid descriptions to minimize the mental imagery.

Besides the dark, dreary, and stomach-churning crimes, Carr's protagonists have too easy a time getting to the bottom of the case for my taste.  That makes for a breezy, fast-paced read, but it was a little unsatisfying, like a made-for-TV movie that hits the right buttons but doesn't grip you.  In terms of entertainment value, suspense, and the "I can't wait to read something else by this author" factor, The Alienist is just OK.

The Book of Onions, by Jake Thompson

Do you have an odd sense of humor?  Do you enjoy absurd, pithy comics?  You might be a candidate to enjoy The Book of Onions: Comics to Make you Cry Laughing and Cry Crying.  Jake Thompson, creator of the "Jake Likes Onions" webcomic, has collected some of his work in an actual print book.

Granted, his themes are often pretty bleak.  I know we shouldn't laugh at other people's depression and misfortune, but that seems to be what Jake wants us to do.  Oh, and death.  But really, these are pretty funny comics, if you don't mind a lot of dark themes and rated-R language.  Go ahead, laugh.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Miracles, by Eric Metaxes

Eric Metaxas, one of today's great communicators of big ideas, wants you to believe in miracles.  In Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life, Metaxas talks about miracles in the Bible, but spends most of the book talking about miracles in the lives of people he knows today.

With his trademark clarity and wit, Metaxas considers the question of miracles from a natural and biblical perspective.  Miracles in the biblical account differ, he argues, from myths in other traditions.  Readers can be confident that the biblical accounts are not only accurate but are not unique to biblical times.

The second half of the book contains numerous stories of modern-day miracles, mostly involving people personally known to Metaxas.  While most of think of miracles in terms of healing or provision, Eric points out that they are much broader than that.  He starts with the miracle of conversion.  I have to agree with him, that when you see someone's life truly changed, it's nothing short of a miracle.  He recounts some healing miracles, but is sure to include miracles of inner healing as well.

His stories inspire and challenge us to look for that which is beyond our everyday experience.  These are moments in which God reaches in and touches our lives in out-of-the-ordinary ways.  Sometimes the miracle is specifically sought and asked for.  At other times, though, it's an un-sought-after event.  I wish he would have addressed those times we all experience when we need a miracle and earnestly implore God but no miracle occurs.  While this question always lurks behind stories of miracles (That's cool that God healed her, but what about him?), it doesn't, or shouldn't, take away from those times when God does intervene.  Thanks to Metaxas for reminding us to look to God and celebrate those times that he touches our lives.

Battlestar Suburbia, by Chris McCrudden

Ever since reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as a teenager, humorous sci-fi has been a favorite genre of mine.  Many have tried to follow in Douglas Adams's footsteps, but none can match his brilliance and wit.  I'm not sure if Chris McCrudden sees himself as carrying on Adams's literary mantle, but I would add Battlestar Suburbia to the list of sci-fi comedy efforts that fall short.

Millennia in the future, machines are self-aware and sentient, and humans are only tolerated as cleaners.  Humans live in orbiting housing projects, commuting to earth for their daily cleaning jobs.  A few humans more or less accidentally start a human revolt, with the assistance of bread maker who has developed compassion for the plight of humans.

It took me a while to wrap my mind around the sentient machines, and I never really did embrace them.  If it's been millennia, why do these machines retain their human-serving forms?  In the case of the bread maker, a human engineer transfers her consciousness into a motorcycle.  Why wouldn't machines take initiative to develop more versatile bodies?  It makes no sense.

The premise didn't grab me, and, while there were certainly some original and funny ideas, the story didn't engage me.  I got bored and found myself skimming to the end.  Good effort, but not that great.



Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Liars, Leakers, and Liberals, by Judge Jeanine Pirro

Judge Jeanine Pirro has a show on the Fox News Channel, and has been a friend of President Trump for decades.  So it will come as no surprise the in Liars, Leakers, and Liberals: The Case Against the Anti-Trump Conspiracy she defends Trump and his policies and harshly criticizes Trump's many critics.  If you've ever seen her show or her appearances on other shows, you know her fiery personality.  That comes through loud and clear in this book.

She writes that "the anti-Trump movement is a conspiracy by the powerful and connected to overturn the will of the American people."  On Trump's part, he "gave up the fairy-tale life of  a successful billionaire" to be the president.  Pirro runs through a variety of issues that have marked Trump's presidency, pointing out the hypocrisy and irrationality with which critics of Trump try to tear him down.

Much of what you read hear is familiar if you've watched Fox News or read other recent books by Trump defenders.  Liars, Leakers, and Liberals is full of great information and analysis, but what sets it apart is Pirro's personal touch.  She tells stories from private life, long before he was a candidate or president, that reveal Trump's generosity, friendship, and character.  He has long been patriotic and a promoter of people around him.  He was known as a big tipper and an outgoing, giving guy.  While some of this came through press about Trump in the past, once he became a candidate and now president, the press completely turned on him, forgetting all the positive stories they had written in the past.

While the mainstream press constantly beats the drum against Trump, distorting his every statement and action, it's nice to hear from the other side, from someone who knows Trump well.