Thursday, April 13, 2017

The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency - Chris Whipple

This book is particularly informative for those who are not terribly interested in politics, as it explains in basic terms how each president since Nixon utilized his chief of staff, some very successfully and some less so. In about 30 pages, Whipple narrates how each president became acquainted with and chose his first chief of staff, and then he highlights the personalities of president and chief, primary events, successes and failures, and successors if there were any. If this writing formula is not your cup of tea, you will not enjoy this book. It suited me exactly, as I could not have even named a chief of staff, then or now. Since politics is a bore to me, I chose this book to become a little more educated. The book held my interest, chapter after chapter. It was a story that unfolded decade after decade, leaving me with more appreciation of the inner workings of the White House. One appealing thing Whipple did was to connect with former chiefs of staff much more recently to get their perspective of their times of service. It makes for interesting reading to see how those men now regard their presidents and themselves. I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

KJV - Compact Thinline Bible

This little Bible is about 5” x 7”, so it is very packable. You might think the type would be minuscule, but it is not bad at all. Passages even have headings, such as “Jesus’ Prayer in Gethsemane,” “Jesus’ Betrayal and Arrest,” and “Jesus before Caiaphas” in Matthew 26, and Jesus’ words are in red. While there is no concordance, there is a one-year reading plan and “30 Days with Jesus”, listing one long gospel passage (mostly from Luke) for each of 30 days. There are seven maps, including World of the Patriarchs, Exodus and Conquest of Canaan, Land of the Twelve Tribes, Kingdom of David and Solomon, Jesus’ Ministry, Paul’s Missionary Journeys, and Jerusalem at the Time of Jesus. The cover is two tones of Leathersoft, which apparently is a kind of bonded leather. It certainly feels like leather and has beautiful stitching where the two tones come together and around the outside border. I have not had a new KJV in many years and wanted one to take on travels, so this one is perfect. I received this book for free in exchange for my unbiased review through the Thomas Nelson BookSneeze Program.

Monday, April 3, 2017

Quiet Time for Your Soul - Sheila Walsh

This exceptional little devotional is composed of vignettes accompanied by five pertinent Scripture passages. The passages are spot on and are aimed at comforting and encouraging the reader, with themes such as gratitude, humility, the encouragement of God’s Word, and Jesus’ love. I have not seen many devotional books structured in this way and was impressed with the thoughtfulness demonstrated in the choices of verses, as each set of five worked well together to emphasize the theme. The two things I wished for were a table of contents and an attached ribbon bookmark. I received this book for free in exchange for my unbiased review through the Thomas Nelson BookSneeze Program.