My Suggested Bibliography, Part 3

Well, I warned you that I was probably going to come back to this whole bibliography thing again... I just didn't think it would be this soon. Here goes another couple...

11. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

To say that this book is a war novel is like saying that McDonald's food might not be good for you; both are dramatic understatements. I would go further to say that this book is THE war novel. It is so profound as to make pretty much every war novel since a poor copy of it. Considering the breadth of this genre, that is saying a lot, but when you read All Quiet, you will know I am not exaggerating.

Remarque shows you the hearts and minds of the young men who found themselves charging out of their classrooms into the trenches, in search of honor, glory, reward, true meaning. What they find is something nearly beyond words and altogether different. Though some may have excaped the shells, they were all of them scarred. It describes war in both the graphic, terrible detail, but also in a deeply introspective way which is almost unnaturally clear and free from over-emotionalism. Since Remarque does both, and with such acuity, this novel transcends any one war or period and speaks to all wars. Just read it. Just..... wow.

12. A History of the American People by Paul Johnson

If I listen carefully, I can hear a shriek rise up from my students as they read this one. For those who don't know, this is the history book we utilize at the Garden School for our Humanities class. Nearly without fail, the students groan and moan about how boring it is and how they despise it. However, I have found it to be a remarkable historical study.

Johnson is actually a British man who was a bit put out that in his British education, he learned almost nothing about these peculiar American folks across the pond. As he read more, he fell in love with not only America for what it is, but with Americans for who they are, as well. His scope of study is enormous, as he weighs and considers a huge range of factors, from economics to geography to politics to philosophy to the arts to biographies and then some. The author just put an insane amount of info into these roughly 1,000 pages, and he does it in a human way. It is not really just some kind of steroid-enhanced report, but a carefully woven and warmly written essay about what makes America great.

13. LOMBARDI. by John Wiebusch

This one is going to surprise some people, I am sure. It can not be considered a classic in any sense, and I doubt history will make it such. There are only a handful of people who probably even know it exists. For me, though, it holds a special place, and I take it off the shelf and re-read it at least once a year.

The book was originally published in 1971, about a year after Vince Lombardi died of cancer. This book is an oral history; a collection of interviews given by friends, family, bosses, players, competitors, and anyone else who knew Lombardi enough to talk about him. He was a giant among men... at least among coaches, and the Superbowl trophy bears his name as an acknowledgement of what he meant to the NFL. Aside from his achievements as a coach, he was a good man. He stood for goodness and decency and hardwork and integrity and teamwork and discipline... in a way that stands apart from the typical coaches trying to get more points on the scoreboard.

I honestly don't think a typical gal will care much for this book. Frankly, I am not sure how many guys would really care much, either. As a man, however, I find it touching and inspirational as I read about the tremendous impact this man Lombardi had. It goes beyond the simple guy things for me, as I confess that I have have wanted to coach football for more than 15 years now. Crazy? Sure. Can't deny that might be a bit out of character for me. I cannot imagine a coach who I would want to emulate more.

14. Nothing Like it in the World by Stephen Ambrose

This is a book about the construction of the American Transcontinental Railroad. That sounds kind of simple, really, but it is more than that. Ambrose is a polarizing figure among historians, but his books are so readable and yet studied, that they are worth the time. It's not just that he knows a lot about these subjects, but that he enjoys them, as well. In this book especially, you can pick up on the author's enthusiasm over what he is writing about.

You see, there is a part of me that aches to be a part of something historic, or challenging, or nearly impossible. I want to look back and say, with bravado, "yeah, I did that" or "I was a part of ..." Maybe it is climbing Everest, or ridding the world of hunger or working on a crab boat in the Bering Sea or whatever... Well, many of these men who worked on this railroad could hold their heads aloft after its' completion. It was an incredible, unprecedented undertaking that could only happen at that time in America. When you read it, you just marvel at what kind of a challenge it was, and what a triumph it was when it was finished.

15. Is There a Meaning in This Text? by Kevin Vanhoozer

I have probably gone too far into the deep end for most folks with this one... but that is kind of the point. One of my favorite areas of Theology or Philosophy is that of Hermeneutics (the science and art of interpretation), and this book finds itself under that umbrella. It is really pretty heady stuff that has such a broad scope, it is almost dizzying to read.

In a very small nutshell, Vanhoozer is dealing with the effects of deconstructionism on modern Biblical (or literary) interpretation. The guy is ridiculously intelligent and, to be frank, I am not even sure that I understood all of what he was even saying. That is part of why I enjoyed the book as much as I did, and why I want to give it another read or two. It really showed me the limit of what I really understood, and it made me want to step it up another notch to really understand what it is saying.

I preach to my students that you have to have a couple of these books in front of you regularly... to keep you growing. For me, this book is one of those. For many of my students, if they hear that I couldn't get it, they would be scared to even try it. All I can say is that I hope they will never shy away from any book or subject or class if it is something that they really want to learn or understand. Nobody knows it all. Nobody. But you don't have to be a scared know-nothing either.