Sinner's Creed, by Scott Stapp

I was only vaguely aware of the rock group Creed before I picked up Scott Stapp's book, Sinner's Creed: A Memoir.  According to Stapp, Creed was, at least in 2006, "one of the most popular rock-and-roll bands in the world."  Sinner's Creed will certainly be of interest to Stapp's fans, and it does offer some insight into the life of a rock singer who shot to fame.  But readers seeking something more substantial than a decent celebrity biography will be disappointed by the book's cultural, spiritual, or literary contribution.

Stapp takes us on a tour of his life, telling the story of how different people and experiences shaped him.  One thing that kept bugging me was the stories he told on other people.  Stapp's tone isn't malicious, but he paints some ugly pictures of people in his life.  He talks about his Christian school, where there was little academic curriculum, just admonitions to pray for hours.  He doesn't name the school, but surely it can be identified.  When he went to Lee University, the dean expelled him after he confessed to the dean that he had smoked pot.  He did not tell the dean that the pot was provided by none other than the dean's son, who stayed in school.  He only uses the dean's first name, but again, surely he and his son can be identified as well.

Scott Stapp, superstar.

His stepfather gets the worst of it.  A controlling, fundamentalist Christian of the worst kind, Stapp's stepfather verbally and physically abused Stapp, his siblings, and his mother.  From Stapp's telling, his stepfather was a deeply troubled man who, in my opinion, should probably have been sent to jail.  He lied to Stapp about the offers he had received for scholarships to top-tier universities and pressured him to go to Lee.  Later, after years of no contact, he and Stapp's mother pressured their successful rock star son to give them hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay off their debts.  Clearly his relationship with his parents and siblings is strained at the time of this writing.

Fame and success presented Scott with temptations, and he lived the stereotypical life of a rock star.  Alcohol, pot, and prescription drugs kept him going on long tours.  One question that I would like to have seen explored a bit more is the struggle of being a Christian in rock music.  He was the only Christian in the band, but he was the principle song writer.  His Christian struggles and background come through, leading some to label Creed a Christian rock band, even though they were on a secular label.  So they were faced with the "uncool" factor (cool people don't listen to Christian rock).  Plus, his lifestyle brought accusations of hypocrisy from Christians.  I'm not sure he ever resolved this, although he has cleaned up his life (while still struggling with alcohol abuse).

It has always bothered me a bit that if someone is a Christian and an artist, they are expected to produce and present explicitly Christian material exclusively.  No one expects a Christian lawyer to only represent churches or ministries, or a Christian financial planner to only talk about tithing, or a Christian architect to only design churches.  Yet if you are a singer, novelist, movie director, or in some other creative field, but especially music, you are expected to include a Christian message.  Just try to get a song on Christian radio that does not have an explicitly Christian message.  I think Stapp has faced some of this attitude.

I am quite certain that Stapp is a great guy and a talented musician, but I was frankly a little bored with his story.  Even so, his honest account of his struggles and his ultimate reliance on God will encourage many readers.

Thanks to the Tyndale Blog Network for this complimentary review copy!

Libertarianism, by Jason Brennan

I'll start with full disclosure.  I am a libertarian.  I have little patience for the statism coming from the Rs and Ds.  I have run for office as a Libertarian a couple of times.  So I was predisposed to like Jason Brennan's Libertarianism: What Everyone Needs to Know.  But, subjectivity aside, I think Brennan provides a terrific, accessible guide to modern libertarian political thought.

The structure of Brennan's book, a series of questions grouped by topic, make it a very useful reference.  It's worth reading straight through, but each short chapter can also stand alone, particularly the latter chapters addressing specific contemporary issues.  Covering libertarian foundations, political theory, economics, and modern problems, Brennan lays out the basics of libertarianism.

Starting with the basics, Brennan gives the core of what libertarianism is about: individual liberty, mutual consent, cooperation, tolerance, mutual respect, volunteerism, equality, responsibility, and radical freedom.  Answering the criticism that libertarians are too reliant on market solutions without acknowledging market failure, he points out that government also fail, and that while market failures eventually self-correct, government failure becomes entrenched.  Although markets and governments both fail, we should favor free markets and not government intervention, as governments stifle freedom and exercise their monopoly on coercive power.  Whether the issue is civil rights, poverty, the environment, crime, or international trade, government intervention, Brennan argues, is always the wrong choice.  He lays out the arguments in deceptively simple terms, but in such a way that demands further study and response.

If I have a quibble with Brennan, it is his tendency to homogenize the libertarian movement.  He does draw distinctions between some different types of libertarians, and occasionally notes alternative views, but most of the time it's "Libertarians believe. . . ."  I only bring this up because he fails to acknowledge that many libertarians are pro-life.  He writes, "Libertarians advocate women's reproductive freedom, including the rights to have an abortion, use birth control, . . ."  While it's true that many, probably most, libertarians do so, I wish he would acknowledge the view of some libertarians that an unborn child warrants the same protections as a newborn or an adult.

Libertarianism deserves a spot on the shelf of any libertarian or libertarian leaning reader, but it should also be on the shelf of Ds and Rs.  Pick it up, select a question, and be honest enough to compare your ideas with Brennan's on a given issue.  At the very least, you will come to appreciate the libertarian position.  If you're not careful, though, you may find that you agree with him.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary review copy.

Ameritopia, by Mark Levin

I have heard Mark Levin's radio show occasionally, and fully expected his newest book, Ameritopia: The Unmaking of America, to match his show: well-informed but loud, bombastic, and confrontational.  There was a little bit of that, but mostly Ameritopia was a thoughtful, almost academic treatment of political theory applied to current U.S. politics.  I should known to expect more.  He does have a law degree from Temple University and worked in the Reagan administration.  Plus, I read and enjoyed an earlier book of his, Men in Black, about the Supreme Court.

Levin does a great service in Ameritopia, taking the reader of a Cliff's Notes tour of several important political thinkers with a utopian vision: Plato's Republic, More's Utopia, Hobbes's Leviathan, and Marx's Communist Manifesto.  Then he spends several chapters discussing the political writings most influential on the founders, particularly Locke and Montesquieu, as well as Alexis de Tocqueville's assessments a few decades after America's founding.  These sections make up at least 75% of Ameritopia.  No matter what your feeling is about Levin or his well-known political leanings, you will benefit from this mini-course in political theory.

But all of that is just preparation for the last two chapters, in which Levin describes how utopian thinking came to displace the Founders' vision, especially with President Wilson's Progressivism and the growth of the federal government's power under President Roosevelt's New Deal.  The administrative state, in which the "mastermind seeks control over the individual" has become so prevalent in the United States that we take it for granted.  The regulatory state has become so entrenched in every bit of our life's minutiae that we hardly notice--to our peril.  The entitlement culture has so many people dependent on the federal government for their basic needs that dismantling it or even reducing its scope has become almost unmentionable.

Levin paints a pretty bleak picture.  I hope his voice and others like it will be heard above the constant clamoring--from both Rs and Ds--for a more powerful central government.

Amped, by Daniel Wilson

Back in December, I read Daniel Wilson's Robopocalypse, an enjoyable sci-fi disaster novel.  I was particularly excited when I read about his new novel, Amped.  The set-up intrigued me: in the very near future, many people with physical and neurological disabilities are "amped."  They have artificial implants which give them full functionality, and, in some cases, super-human abilities.  However, a social-political movement has arisen, giving the "amps" second-class status, stripping them of basic rights.

What I thought would be an interesting treatise on disability rights turned out to be a standard story in sci-fi, the "supers" versus "normals" story played out in X-Men, Heroes, and elsewhere.  Faced with segregation and persecution, a group of amps begins a revolution.  The hero, Owen Gray, whose father developed some of the amp technology, gets caught up in the rebellion.  As the rebellion spreads, Wilson never adequately conveys the scope or implications of the movement.  I wasn't convinced that the events of the book really had a broader impact on the nation.  By contrast, in Robopocalypse Wilson skillfully placed the characters' stories within the context of the world-wide events.

Amped wasn't a bad book.  I was disappointed that Wilson did not develop the problems related to amping.  The persecution on amps did not seem logical, especially since most amps were truly disabled people whose lives are improved by technology.  I know we see rare cases in which people with prosthetics may face societal resistance, such as Oscar Pistorius's struggle to be included in the Olympics.  But I don't see that expanding to full fledged persecution; even though some did not think he should have been allowed to race because of his mechanical advantage, no one was clamoring for his citizenship to be taken away or his human rights to be denied.



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Unstoppable, by Nick Vujicic

Long-time Reading Glutton readers may remember my review last year of Nick Vujicic's Life Without Limits.  This young man was born with no arms and legs, but has not let that slow him down.  He's an inspiration to all of us, no matter what abilities or disabilities we have.  He has a new book coming out soon from Waterbrook Multnomah, Unstoppable: The Incredible Power of Faith in Action.  I have not read it, but am happy to promote it (in exchange for a copy of it!).  Check in later for a review.

Below are a promotional video and excerpt.  Whether you have heard from Nick before or not, check this out.  I guarantee you'll be inspired.

Click here for an excerpt.

The Great Destroyer, by David Limbaugh

If you can read this book and not wish with all your heart that Barack Obama would not be reelected, you have some delusional problems.  David Limbaugh (yes, he's Rush's brother) lays out a case against Obama that should be enough to convince anyone that Barack has got to go.  In The Great Destroyer: Barack Obama's War on the Republic, Limbaugh picks apart the Obama presidency and reminds the reader why his election was a bad idea and bad for America.

Most of the events and issues Limbaugh discusses in The Great Destroyer will be familiar to any reader with a passing interest in current events: the Gulf oil spill, Fast and Furious, the ongoing financial crisis, etc.  But Limbaugh brings things together to show connections, and takes the stories deeper than a newspaper article or op-ed typically can.  You may have heard some of Obama's speeches Limbaugh writes about, but by putting them in context and putting them alongside the greater body of Obama's work, he brings out Barack's true colors.

Obama's far-left views are bad enough, but hypocrisy, deceit, and determination to tear this country down are astounding.  Limbaugh shines a light on "the bullying, the class warfare, the demonization of opponents, the narcissism, the rigid dogmatism" that come from Obama.  Several times while reading, I just had to laugh aloud.  I hope that history will look to Limbaugh's perspective, not that of the fawning media, for Obama's legacy.  But I doubt it.  Thank you, David Limbaugh, for being a voice in the wilderness.

The Man Who Saved the Whooping Crane, by Kathleen Kaska

When I was a kid growing up in Corpus Christi, Texas, a common destination for weekend camping was the  nearby Aransas Wildlife Refuge, winter home of the majestic whooping cranes.  When I went to the World Scout Jamboree in Alberta, Canada, our troop flag featured a whooping crane and depicting the whooper's migratory path from south Texas to western Canada.  One of the rarest birds in North America, the whooping cranes were nearly extinct, and still are endangered.  They owe what existence they have, in large part, to the efforts of ornithologist Robert Porter Allen.

Even if you are not a bird lover or nature lover, and even if you think the environmentalist movement is a bit wacko, you will enjoy Kathleen Kaska's telling of Bob Allen's story.  As an Audobon Society naturalist, who had studied roseate spoonbills and flamingos, tracking their migration and identifying their nesting grounds, he was the perfect candidate to save the whooping crane.

Seven foot wing span!

The whooping cranes' winter home on the Texas Gulf Coast was well-known.  The federal government established the Aransas Wildlife Refuge in 1937 to protect the cranes' habitat and diet from hunting, fishing, and development.  But their northern nesting sites remained a mystery for many years.  Allen and his colleagues spent many summers scouring remote areas of the Canadian wilderness before they finally discovered where the whooping cranes summered.

Bird watching, stereotypically a rather dull pursuit, may not seem like material ripe for an engaging story.  Allen himself acknowledged that "a casual but undeviating perseverance and ability to drink gallons of strong coffee can be reckoned among the filed ornithologist's most valuable assets."  Kaska takes her readers far beyond Allen's long days of sitting motionless observing his birds, giving a sense of adventure and suspense to his long struggle to save the whooping cranes, and instilling in the reader a sense of his love and admiration for these rare birds.

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