J's Pages

Follow the Devil / Follow the Light is the story of a walk through hell. Joe Muggeridge comes home to his Seattle apartment, only to find a demon waiting for him. The demon, Morte Magari, pressures/lures Joe into hell to see his deceased sister Nora. What follows is a journey where Joe encounters the sins and illusions of our modern society, both played out in hell and reflected in his own life. What he is slow to notice, however, is how the grace and power of God also pervades the adventure. 

I enjoyed the book. It reminded me of some of C.S. Lewis' stuff and, of course, Dante's Inferno. While Follow the Devil / Follow the Light isn't quite as good as those classics, I did appreciated a vision of hell that illustrated our current era and culture. I saw myself in more than one of Joe Muggeridge's failings, but also had that constant reminder of heavenly love and forgiveness. 

Check it out.
LibraryThing link

Labels: CheckItOut

// posted by John @ 5:43 PM 0 Comments

George Herbert Walker Bush was the last American president from the "Greatest Generation" and, according to Jon Meacham, the "last gentleman." Mr. Meacham presents a portrait of George Bush as a man born to wealth and privilege, and raised to compete, succeed, but also to serve his community--be that be his immediate neighbors or the entire world. 

Mr. Meacham starts by presenting Bush's ancestors, showcasing how they were driven to work hard and win the things they wanted. George faithfully followed his family's values, earning respect and admiration from the people around him. When America entered the Second World War, Bush enlisted and served. Afterwards, he chose not to seek an easy road, working for relatives and relying on family wealth and connections, but rather opted to seek his own fortunes in the oil industry and later in politics. (Granted, the Bush family fortune and connections did make that a lot easier than it would have been for someone coming from a background of poverty.) Even when things didn't go the way as planned--such as the 1980 Republican presidential nomination--Bush adapted and endeavored to succeed in the opportunities that followed. 

Mr. Meacham argues that during his presidency, Bush was misrepresented. He recounts his reserved personality and patient actions were contrasted to the more flamboyant presidency of Ronald Reagan, and that Bush was portrayed as being a weaker leader. Mr. Meacham then goes on to show how Bush endeavored to reach his goals and conduct his presidency in the way that he intended, rather than bowing to other pressures. That part rang true, as I remember agreeing with the media narrative during those years that Mr. Bush was rather ineffective, but how I grew to respect him more as I compared him to subsequent presidents. (and subsequent Bushes) 

All in all, I found Destiny and Power to be a good and enjoyable account of George Bush and 20th Century American history. Check it out. 

LibraryThing link

Labels: CheckItOut, PresidentialBioReadingList

// posted by John @ 3:45 PM 0 Comments