Karl's Reading List

Published by Simon and Schuster Ltd: London, 2022. The same day I put Roger Moore's autobiography, My Word is My Bond , into the Book-Swap Library outside my parents' house, this book was in it. Thinking it was another similar style biography - and having enjoyed the earlier one for what it was, with some reservations - I decided to give this one a go as well. I was not prepared. Although Pocketful of Happiness is indeed another memoir, written by a respected England-based actor, who had a role in Spice World (the main point of overlap between the two actors I noticed), it is mostly focussed on the year in Grant's life when his beloved wife, dialect coach Joan Washington, was dying of lung cancer. And it is heart-breaking. Grant adores his wife, and they had 35 years of marriage together - a rarity in Hollywood circles. The love he has for her, and for their daughter Olivia (called "Oilly" by both parents, in a reference to Olive Oyl from Popeye), permeates this ...

Published by Michael O'Mara Books Limited: London, 2009 (2008). You find the randomest books when you have a book-swap library outside your house! I probably wouldn't have picked this book up from a library or a cafe, but finding it downstairs on the pile of books mum 'curates' from her book-swap library was easy enough to become appealing (yes, we are still living at my parents' house while we house-hunt). Roger Moore was most famous for playing James Bond in seven films - still the most that any actor has played in the official series (Sean Connery played Bond in seven films as well, but the last one was the unofficial Never Say Never Again ). He tells his life story, starting with growing up in England, being one of the children sent away during the Second World War for safety, and moving gradually into his life as an actor. Usually the biographies I read are of Christians; I am a Christian and enjoy reading the stories of how people came to faith, and what they ...

Published by Sovereign World Ltd: England, 1987. First published by Harrison House Inc, 1982. One of those "it caught my eye on a bookshelf" books that so often end up being worth it, I found this one on our church "library" shelf.  Author Albert Hibbert tells highlights from the ministry of Smith Wigglesworth, writing from the perspective of a friend of the preacher. There are elements of biography weaved throughout, but it could more rightly be titled a 'memoirs' of sorts, as the majority of the book focuses on short anecdotes about Wigglesworth - the heart of his message, the salvations, the healings, and most of all, the close walk with his God. Those wanting a step-by-step account of Wigglesworth's life will be disappointed, but those wanting an understanding of what Wigglesworth was like and what he valued in life have come to the right place. Within the book - which is relatively short and divided into three sections - we get many pithy sayings th...

Updated and Expanded version published by Zondervan Books: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2016. Originally published 1998. In Christian circles, The Case for Christ is an extremely famous apologetics book. Author Lee Strobel - a journalist who often covered court cases - felt challenged when his wife became a Christian, and set out to investigate the claims of Jesus himself. The Case for Christ was written much later, when Strobel took that base journey and re-enacted it by interviewing various experts to present the court-room style 'case' for Christ. Chapters have titles like "The Medical Evidence", "The Fingerprint Evidence" and "The Eyewitness Evidence" and are presented as interviews between 'prosecutor' Strobel and his interview subjects playing 'witnesses for the defence.' I first read The Case for Christ when I was much younger. I have always enjoyed it as a resource, and as a result, have given away my personal copy numerous times...

Published by WIPF & Stock Publishers: Eugene, Oregon, 2025. Grant Romoser-Claunch and his family have been through hell. Their son, Simon, was diagnosed at a young age with cancer, and this book contains Romoser-Claunch's reflections on, and processing of, the diagnosis and following treatments. It is a deeply moving account, which - as the parent of a son whose age is similar to Simon's at the time of treatment - hits home a little harder than perhaps it would otherwise. At one point, when the hospital has just informed the family of the cancer's return, Romoser-Claunch writes: "During dinner Simon - only just having turned two years old - prophetically roared, "I'll beat it again!" Filled with pride and hope, trusting and believing it to be true more and more each time he said it, we all cried and erupted with cheers and affirmations." (page 104) Wow. I tear up a little even writing that out.  I can't imagine going through such a journey. T...

Published by InterVarsity Press: Downers Grove, Illinois, 2010. Recently, I met someone who is theologically suspicious of Constantine. I realise that numerous people are, but this person is of the opinion that Constantine was 'playing' the Council of Nicaea, cynically attempting to take over the Church, and even changing Scripture! As someone who has studied Theology, including Church History, this hasn't sat well with me - it doesn't feel accurate to the historical record, or to my theological understanding of the purpose of Scripture.  So, I have been re-reading some theological works I enjoyed in years past, and making sure I understand the arguments for and against Constantine. Guess which side Defending Constantine takes! This book begins with a focus more on the history of the time period and a biography of Constantine. Author Leithart gives the reasons why he is convinced that Constantine experienced a 'genuine' conversion to Christianity, and argues per...

Published by Corax Books: USA, 2025. Looking for a book for my reading challenge that was "set in the Arctic or Antarctic", I noticed this book on the LibraryThing giveaway list for July. Nome seems Arctic-y, right?  Well, author Engelhard points on out, on page 259, that: "You may think of Nome as "the North," but its as far south of the pole as Mexico City from Kansas, one hundred miles shy of the Arctic Circle, at the same latitude as Fairbanks (Yet it decidedly looks and feels like the Arctic)." That last bracketed part is my salvation for this challenge. And anyway, the challenge says "set in the Arctic," not "set in the Arctic circle," so I'm calling this close enough. Early on in No Place Like Nome, the author mentions an online review that accuses his books of being "embellished ramblings" (page 40). He embraces this term, insisting that he will not be telling all the well-known stories of the area, but instead foc...

Published in flipback format by Hodder & Stoughton: London, UK, 2011. First published 2003. A book marketed right at me, seemingly, The Adventure of English is a history of the English language, from around 500 AD through til just after the year 2000. The subtitle is The Biography of a Language , and this feels fairly accurate: the focus is always on the language itself, and how the various influences of history has shaped it; events come and go within the pages only as needed for explanation. As a result, we get chapters on figures like Chaucer and Shakespeare, chapters on areas where specific branches of English have developed - such as USA, India and Australia - and even a few chapters devoted to Church History figures like Wycliffe and Tyndale, and their efforts to translate the Bible into English. It's all fascinating - far more than it might at first appear. Although the book eventually dragged on a bit (understandable, as it is covering almost 2000 years of history in a ...

Published by Ferguson Publishing: Nelson, New Zealand, 2024. Once a month, the Nelson Ministers Fraternal meets on a Tuesday morning. I try to attend as often as I can. Last time, another minister had brought this book along with them, and was offering it around for someone to read. I jumped at the chance, especially when I realised it kinda fitted the brief for 'Black History' in my Reading Challenge this year.  I mean, it's about the history of an African man! Neither writer is a professional author - Ross Ferguson is actually a local dentist and retired minister - and that lack of professionalism does show at times - there are random quotation marks at times; some sentences are incomplete; the authorial voice changes from Ross to Custodio and back without warning or reason - and yet the story is an interesting one, if (sadly) similar to others you may have read. Custodio was born in Angola, grew up during a civil war in the country, had both parents die when he was young...

Published by Golden Press: Auckland, Christchurch, Sydney, 1975. First published 1845. This abridged edition (by Joan Stevens) first published 1955. This book is part of the New Zealand Classics series, which I have several of. It also has the distinction of forming the basis for a recent historical novel, Jerningham, which creates a fictionalised version of the author's life.  As the title suggests, Adventure in New Zealand tells the story of Edward Jerningham Wakefield's adventures in New Zealand. Jerningham was the son of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, and nephew to both William Wakefield and Arthur Wakefield, the former of whom was one of the founders of Wellington, and the latter of whom was notably killed during the Wairau Affray.  All of the Wakefields were involved in the New Zealand Company, an organisation that today is viewed with much suspicion. Jerningham, of course, paints a much rosier picture of the NZ Company's dealings, putting any fault over land-sale controver...

With Dean Merrill. Published by Zondervan: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2018 (1997). I recently did a sermon on prayer and fasting, and borrowed a number of books from our church library shelf that seemed to have some connection to the topic. I browsed a few for research (and read the entirety of Fasting by Derek Prince) and then took most of the rest back to church when the sermon was done. A handful, however, I kept to read later, and Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire was the first of these that I picked up post-sermon. I'm so happy I did, because this is an inspiring book, with a far more biographical bent than I was expecting.  The author, Jim Cymbala, is the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, quite a large church in New York that - aside from my parents-in-law playing some musical clips - I've had no exposure to. Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire tells the story of the growth of that church from a small handful of people to a congregation numbering in the thousands, but (rightly) is far less focuse...

Published by Marshall Pickering/Marshall Morgan & Scott Pickering & Inglis: London, 1989 (1984).  Part of the 'Heroes of the Cross' series. Elise and I started this book together some time ago, but didn't stick with it. Recently I picked it up and finished reading it. The book is a fairly short (96 pages) and simple version of the life of someone that deserves a lot more recognition, but to give this book credit, it manages to highlight some of the most challenging aspects of Müller's life in a straightforward (and probably kid-friendly) way. To give the basic gist of what made Müller so inspiring: he believed that God had called him to run a number of orphanages, looking after those children who had nowhere else to go. This was during the Victorian era, when workhouses like those mentioned in Charles Dickens's novels were more the norm, and in fact, Dickens himself came to visit Müller at one point.  As part of his belief that God was directing him to do th...

Published by Adam and Charles Black Limited: London, 1963. Translated from German by LA Garrard. First published in German as 'Griechische Kirchenväter' in 1955. A 'proper' theological work by a 'proper' theologian, The Fathers of the Greek Church gives a brief biography of a number of the - wait for it - fathers of the Greek Church. Being written by a theologian, it is no surprise that the book focuses more on the theological writings of each individual than their actual biography, although this is still covered. I love church history, and what I enjoyed about  Fathers was learning more about the beliefs of a number of these individuals, or even (for a few) hearing about them at all! With early church history it is also interesting to track the development of concepts that modern believers take for granted. It is not that these concepts had to be invented - as Scripture alludes to them -   but it took some time for the understanding of these concepts to be soli...

Published by Collins: London and Glasgow, 1963. I had the wrong idea about what this book was to begin with. Not drastically wrong, but just wrong enough that there were points I began questioning whether I was reading what I thought I was reading. What I thought I was reading was the book that inspired the movie Bridge on the River Kwai. I've never seen that movie, but I know it was popular when it came out, and it is one I'd like to see eventually. It turns out, though, that Bridge is a fictional story based around the building of an actual bridge on an actual River Kwai by British prisoners-of-war, and that Miracle is the non-fiction account of one of those prisoners. The bridge itself is only mentioned briefly. At points it is quite intense, as many prisoner-of-war stories (and, sadly, especially prisoner-of-war stories set in Japanese prisoner-of-war camps) can be. And this intensity is added to by the way the author describes the spiritual journey of the prisoners in ques...

Published by Penguin Audio, 2017. Audiobook narrated by the author. I knew next to nothing about Martin Luther before beginning this book, only that he was famous for starting the Reformation and did so by nailing his 95 Theses to the door of a church. There is a lot more to him than that! The thing that struck me most, while listening to this book, was how little Martin Luther intended to be controversial; as Metaxas argues, Luther wrote the 95 Theses in Latin (the scholarly language) because he intended to have a scholarly debate, not a revolution. It was only when his theses were translated into German and distributed by others that he was forced to defend them in public, thus going further than he intended. As things escalated, and Luther made more and more controversial statements (controversial to the ears of the established church of the day), there came a point where Luther gained a real peace with what was happening, because it was 'obvious that God was in it.' If that...

Published by Simon & Schuster, 2022. Audiobook uploaded to Audible 2022. Narrated by the author. In reviewing this book, I find myself strangely glad that I have such a small readership for my blog. Why? Because in seeing how Scientology attacks those who speak up against them, it would be more intimidating to publish this review if I was well-known! I mean, I still would ... but I'm not sure I'd enjoy being picketed and torn apart in the media for it. I kinda doubt they'll bother for me presently. This was a free book on Audible. It tells the life story of the author, Mike Rinder, who grew up in Scientology, rising to various prominent positions, before eventually leaving the organisation and turning whistleblower. When he joined it was still the early days of Scientology, and many of the 'higher-level' beliefs of Scientology (such as the existence of the evil alien Xenu) were either not-yet-developed or were closely guarded secrets, only revealed to members on...

Published by Zondervan: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2019. I could have written this book. I mean, obviously I didn't. Dudley Delffs did the hard work of putting the thing together. I give him credit for that. I also give him credit for picking an interesting topic, and one that could make a very interesting book for people like me, who are fans of the monarchy (the late Queen Elizabeth II particularly) and interested in the Christian faith. This is not that book, unfortunately. The reason I say I could have written this book, is that I feel like any fan of the monarchy (the late Queen Elizabeth II particularly) and interested in the Christian faith could have written this book. This is because, although pertaining to focus on her Majesty's faith, it is really a themed biography, with most elements simply being stories that one could read in other biographies. The 'faith' aspect simply arises through Delffs' commentary on the things that Elizabeth did. So, we get some an...

Published by Bridget Williams Books Ltd: Wellington, NZ, 2017. This book is the life story of Tuai, a now-obscure Māori chief who lived in the era of early European missionary work in New Zealand. As a young man Tuai, along with another young Māori named Tītere, travelled to England, living with missionaries in both London and the district of Madeley and learning much about European culture and beliefs (he often wore European clothing), before returning home and acting as a go-between for his tribe in their dealings with Pakeha. Tuai's ability to speak English made him quite an important and well-known figure in his day, with his death even announced in some English newspapers. Not a lot is known directly about Tuai; what he did is now mostly determined through reading European letters that happen to mention him in passages. The fact that the authors have managed to reconstruct his life from these is quite impressive, although in order to 'pad out' his life to full book len...

Published as an audiobook by Head of Zeus, 2016. Uploaded to Audible 07-12-2017. Narrated by Scott Brick. First published by Penguin Press: USA, 2004. If you know the musical Hamilton you may also know that creator Lin-Manuel Miranda based it on a biography of Alexander Hamilton he read while on holiday. This is that biography. It is extremely thorough - a few chapters in and Chernow was still filling in details from the opening song. It is also an interesting portrait of a fascinating man, narrated well by Scott Brick in this audiobook version. As a Hamilton fan myself, the element of the book I enjoyed the most was picking out the differences between the stage version and this one, seeing when Miranda had tweaked history a little to fit the themes of the musical or to stream-line things a bit. Aaron Burr, for example, who ends up shooting Hamilton in a duel, is a much more prominent figure in the musical than in the book. We get some mentions of him throughout, but the main interact...

Published by Auckland University Press: Auckland, NZ, 2021 (2020). I am fascinated by the historical figure Te Rauparaha, one of the greatest of the Maori warrior chiefs who were living around the time of the first European settlers. Te Rauparaha achieved a lot in his life, particularly in the area of warfare, and as such he is a very controversial figure (depending on which iwi you talk to). Born as the youngest child in his family (when younger children were not expected to do as much) Te Rauparaha led his tribe, Ngati Toa, to settle Kapiti Island, and from there launched a series of campaigns which ended up conquering much of the lower North Island and the majority of the South Island! He is most famous now for writing the haka 'Ka Mate' (sung by the All Blacks), but his life has so much more to it than just that! This manuscript, translated carefully from te Reo (and with extensive editorial notes) by Ross Calman, was written by Te Rauparaha's son Tamihana Te Rauparaha....