Friday, July 30, 2004
Thomas Jefferson: A Life
Okay, I'm starting to get bored with the Revolutionary War. I don't have much of an interest in obtaining this book, as I did with the Washington and Adams biography. But this is a great read and offers a slightly different perspective on that era in history. Thomas Jefferson: A Life gives a perspective from a statewide level, namely the state of Virginia, where Jefferson served as governor during the war. But the era which looms much larger in this book is Jefferson's stint as ambassador to France from 1784 to 1789. Reading about his life there was an eye opener as I tend to look at American history from a 20th Century perspective. My mind sees Jefferson as one of the founding fathers of a great nation, serving in a foreign country. To his contemporaries, he was merely a learned politician from a mediocre confederation of backward states. A hick abroad, if you will. It was also interesting to read of his political struggles. Today, a vast majority of Americans probably think well of the man. (His picture is on the nickel, after all.) Back in his day, he had as many opponents as Bush or Clinton ever did. Anyway, if you want a peek into the thought that went into the creation of the United States, you should definitely check it out.
Labels: CheckItOut, PresidentialBioReadingList, WillardRandall
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Colossians
Just another volume of The Concordia Commentary Series--the thinnest one to date. It's a solid work of conservative Lutheran theology, meant for pastors and other folks who can read Greek. But I was able to skip over the language sections and get some tidbits out of it. There was nothing spectacular in the work, or at least nothing that grabbed my attention like the Luke volumes of the series. Still, if you want a commentary on Colossians with some depth to it, you should check it out.
Labels: CheckItOut, ConcordiaCommentary, PaulDeterding
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
