Book Reviews

Coffee and Coffeehouses, The Origins of a Social Beverage in the Medieval Near East by Ralph S. Hattox, University of Washington Press, 1985, 178 pp. Coffee and Coffeehouses reads at times like a dissertation. The author, Hattox, apparently didn’t think his book would reach an audience beyond scholars of his subject. Thus he writes, “The

2018 has already been my reading-est year ever. I’ve made a dedicated effort to read as often as possible. I’ve done some of this by waking up at 5 A.M. to stay on schedule with my wife who worked some early morning nursing shifts at the hospital. Many book reviews, particular of Christian (or “Christian”) books

Melanchthon, The Quiet Reformer by Clyde Leonard Manschreck, New York: Abingdon Press, 1958, 350 pp. Melanchthon, The Quiet Reformer was an interesting read with no fluff. That is, Manschreck chose his words carefully. I found essentially every paragraph in the book to be meaningful, even if in some places his conclusions are doubtful. Manschreck writes

Gospel Truth of Justification, Proclaimed Defended Developed, by David J. Engelsma, Jenison, MI: Reformed Free Publishing Association, 2017, 510 pp. My greatest interest in Christianity has long been soteriology, the study of salvation. It was a study of salvation years ago that convinced me of the truth of the Reformed Faith over and above the

Christian Reconstruction, R. J. Rushdoony and American Religious Conservatism by Michael J. McVicar, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2015, 309 pp. Christian Reconstruction is a thoroughly researched and well-written book about a theological and cultural movement and its founder, Rousas John Rushdoony. The writing captured my attention in part because I have some

Thomas Jefferson’s Military Academy, Founding West Point, ed. Robert M. S. McDonald, Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 2004, 233 pp. My good friend Ben House sent me a free copy of this volume on condition that I write a review of it. As I am not by any means a Thomas Jefferson scholar, perhaps

Creative Historical Thinking by Michael J. Douma, New York: Routledge, 2018, 168 pp. Creative Historical Thinking takes the reader into the mind of an historian, and what you find is almost certainly not what you would expect. Writing history turns out to be more about creativity, metaphor, entrepreneurship, and networking than memorizing facts, being accepted

For a Testimony, The Story of Bruce Hunt Imprisoned for the Gospel by Bruce F. Hunt, First published 1966, Banner of Truth Trust, Reprinted in 2000, Philadelphia: Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 150 pp. For a Testimony is Presbyterian missionary Bruce Hunt’s first-hand account of his imprisonment in Manchuria in the early 1940s. This was an era

Choosing the Good Portion, Women of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, ed. Patricia E. Clawson & Diane L. Olinger, Willow Grove, PA: The Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 2016, 470 pp. The Orthodox Presbyterian Church has done a far better job than any other presbyterian church I know of in recording its history. Until now, however, the role

The Bible Doctrine of the Separated Life, A Study of Basic Principles by Johannes G. Vos, Philadelphia: The Orthodox Presbyterian Church, no date, 35 pages. Reading this pamphlet just after finishing Rosaria Butterfield’s The Gospel Comes with a House Key makes for an interesting comparison. But the “Separated Life” of Vos is not antithetical to