443. Title: Prequel
Author: Maddow, Rachel
ISBN-10:
ISBN-13: 978-0-59344452-8
Date Finished: 2024-09-13
My Comments: This is an excellent description of how Hitler and the Nazi's tried to destroy democracy in the U.S. before and during WW2 and replace it with fascism. It looks too much like what is happening with Project 2025 today. It details the failure our our justice system to prosecute many in congress or to even allow the publication of what people discovered about these events. Highly recommended.

Amazon Description: Inspired by her research for the hit podcast Ultra, Rachel Maddow charts the rise of a wild American strain of authoritarianism that has been alive on the far-right edge of our politics for the better part of a century. Before and even after our troops had begun fighting abroad in World War II, a clandestine network flooded the country with disinformation aimed at sapping the strength of the U.S. war effort and persuading Americans that our natural alliance was with the Axis, not against it. It was a sophisticated and shockingly well-funded campaign to undermine democratic institutions, promote antisemitism, and destroy citizens' confidence in their elected leaders, with the ultimate goal of overthrowing the U.S. government and installing authoritarian rule. That effort worked-tongue and groove-alongside an ultra-right paramilitary movement that stockpiled bombs and weapons and trained for mass murder and violent insurrection. At the same time, a handful of extraordinary activists and journalists were tracking the scheme, exposing it even as it was unfolding. In 1941 the U.S. Department of Justice finally made a frontal attack, identifying the key plotters, finding their backers, and prosecuting dozens in federal court. None of it went as planned. While the scheme has been remembered in history-if at all-as the work of fringe players, in reality it involved a large number of some of the country's most influential elected officials. Their interference in law enforcement efforts against the plot is a dark story of the rule of law bending and then breaking under the weight of political intimidation. That failure of the legal system had consequences. The tentacles of that unslain beast have reached forward into our history for decades. But the heroic efforts of the activists, journalists, prosecutors, and regular citizens who sought to expose the insurrectionists also make for a deeply resonant, deeply relevant tale in our own disquieting times.

444. Title: Paul the Pharisee
Author: Crossan, John Dominic
ISBN-10:
ISBN-13: 978-1-59815-217-3
Date Finished: 2024-10-03
My Comments: Crossan compares the authentic letters of Paul with the stories about Paul in Acts, and finds great differences. I enjoyed the comparison, but I was not as impressed by the evolution story I think he was trying to write. I agree that the story is there, but I would have appreciated more detail here. A longer book?? Still, recommended.

Amazon Description: Paul the Pharisee celebrates not just the New - Paul as Jew but the New - New - Paul as Jewish Pharisee. Granted past Christian, Jewish, and Roman matrices of interpretation, this book explores the historical Paul through the fourth matrix of Evolution. (Think of those matrices as four Russian nesting Matryoshka dolls.) We are not on the Titanic; we are the iceberg. What, then, does Pauline “resurrection” have to do with human evolution?

445. Title: God-Like:
Author: Brewin, Kester
ISBN-10:
ISBN-13: 978-0-9935628-7-7
Date Finished: 2025-02-13
My Comments: A description of Artificial Intelligence and a history over the last 500 years of how people have tried to make something intelligent, as humanity is. The front cover advertises "An excellent writer." with which I disagree. He has some good ideas but much of the book is comments on quotes from others. It is badly edited with many typos. Some of the sentence construction may be British English, but is probably just poor editing. My main take-away is that we are allowing big corporations to develop Artificial Intelligence that will soon take over the world. These corporations have more power than nations so are not being properly constrained. This is a great successor to "Superintelligence" by Nick Bostrom. Even with it's faults, it is recommended for it's ideas.

Amazon Description: In the year 1600, a monk is burned at the stake for claiming to have built a device that will allow him to know all things. 350 years later, having witnessed 'Trinity' - the first test of the atomic bomb - America's leading scientist outlines a memory machine that will help end war on earth. 25 years in the making, an ex-soldier finally unveils this 'machine for augmenting human intellect', dazzling as he stands 'Zeus-like, dealing lightning with both hands'. In this profound and urgent new book, leading thinker on technology Kester Brewin shows how AI is both stunningly new and rooted in the most ancient human desires. Hailed by the UK government's own lead on AI as 'god-like', as we finally welcome this stunning technology amongst us - with Frankenstein and Faustus, from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel to the underbelly of Silicon Valley - Brewin skillfully leads us through the myths, machines and monsters that have influenced the development of our greatest and most longed-for invention, and how we can learn to live alongside it

446. Title: The Color of Compromise
Author: Tisby, Jemar
ISBN-10:
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-59726-1
Date Finished: 2025-07-21
My Comments: This is a reasonable history of Black Lives in the US from the time black people first got here. Some of the details are pretty gruesome. My only criticism is that the writing is bland. For a subject with this much controversy, I thought the writing should have been more emotional. Still, a pretty good read and recommended.

Amazon Description: The Color of Compromise is both enlightening and compelling, telling a history we either ignore or just don't know. Equal parts painful and inspirational, it details how the American church has helped create and maintain racist ideas and practices. You will be guided in thinking through concrete solutions for improved race relations and a racially inclusive church. The Color of Compromise: Takes you on a historical, sociological, and religious journey: from America's early colonial days through slavery and the Civil War Covers the tragedy of Jim Crow laws, the victories of the Civil Rights era, and the strides of today's Black Lives Matter movement Reveals the cultural and institutional tables we have to flip in order to bring about meaningful integration Charts a path forward to replace established patterns and systems of complicity with bold, courageous, immediate action Is a perfect book for pastors and other faith leaders, students, non-students, book clubs, small group studies, history lovers, and all lifelong learners The Color of Compromise is not a call to shame or a platform to blame white evangelical Christians. It is a call from a place of love and desire to fight for a more racially unified church that no longer compromises what the Bible teaches about human dignity and equality. A call that challenges black and white Christians alike to standup now and begin implementing the concrete ways Tisby outlines, all for a more equitable and inclusive environment among God's people. Starting today.

447. Title: Restoring Humanism to Religion: Why Religiousness Matters More Than Belief
Author: Galston, David
ISBN-10:
ISBN-13: 978-15981-5071-1
Date Finished: 2026-01-24
My Comments: A description of why we should replace the creeds and dogma of religion (Christianity) with the mystery and openness to change found in spirituality, which the author calls "religiousness". If we don't change the basis of religion, we will probably lose it altogether as church attendance statistics indicate. This is my kind of book and highly recommended.

Amazon Description: Restoring Humanism to Religion explores the decline of traditional religious beliefs and institutions, particularly Christianity, and advocates for a shift toward "religiousness," defined as human spirituality rooted in compassion, solidarity, and humanism. Galston critiques the historical and theological foundations of religion, emphasizing the need to move beyond dogmatic beliefs, authoritarian structures, and the concept of original sin, which have often led to anti-humanist practices.