Reviews – Half A League Onward

Posted on July 4, 2020July 4, 2020 by Dave Dentel

Say It Isn’t So, Jeeves! Author Shows Wodehouse was No Nazi Collaborator.

 by Dave Dentel

Anyone who has read P.G. Wodehouse, or watched any of the copious film and television adaptions of his works, knows that the British wit is not just hilarious—he’s delightfully frivolous.

Though his stories and novels do represent some of the best humor writing of a certain era, it’s a stretch to say that they aspire to literary aims such as critiquing society or forwarding any sort of political agenda. For the most part, Wodehouse wrote with one overarching goal in mind—to give his readers a good laugh.

You can imagine how much it dismayed me, then, to learn that for a time Wodehouse’s reputation was tainted by a very serious allegation. This master of upper-class English mirth was actually accused of turning traitor by collaborating with the Nazis during World War II.

Posted on June 14, 2020 by Dave Dentel

Indian Scholar: Bible Built the West—Let It Transform the East, Too

Christians in India circa 1870.

By Dave Dentel

It may have been the dust jacket design that threw me off. The title is set in ornate lettering and illuminated with a medieval-style vine-and-serpent motif, which led me to think this was a book about the ancient origins of the Bible and how it emerged in its present form.

Instead, The Book That Made Your World examines a much more familiar theme—how the Bible influenced and accommodated the rise of Western civilization. But what makes it different, and unusually potent, is that its thesis is propounded by an Easterner who sees this historical influence as a good thing.

Posted on May 12, 2020May 12, 2020 by Dave Dentel

Thriller Examines the Nature of Evil on the Eve of World War II

By Bradley Weber—Night Paris Street

By Dave Dentel

When I picked up A Coffin for Dimitrios, I was expecting a light alternative to the nonfiction I had been plodding through.

Having seen the 1940s movie version, and being a fan of between-the-wars detective thrillers, I was all set for author Eric Ambler to sate my palate with an easily consumed tale of trench-coated protagonists tracking down international rogues and bringing them to justice.

Posted on March 22, 2020March 22, 2020 by Dave Dentel

Scholar: American Founders’ Faith as Complex as It was Genuine

By Dave Dentel

Of all the things one could claim about America’s Founding Fathers, among the least controversial is to assert that their bold experiment in democracy also brought about expanded civil liberties—most notably for religious freedom.

But what inspired this achievement? More to the point, just what sort of personal faith did these men adhere to, and how did it affect them?

Posted on February 24, 2020February 25, 2020 by Dave Dentel

Author Depicts American Revolution as Clash of Personalities

Bunker-hill-Philbrick-review-2-24-2020 By Dave Dentel

Can an event as violent and fraught with emotional turmoil as the American Revolution ever be examined in a way that does justice to both sides?

Nathaniel Philbrick certainly strives for this ambitious goal in Bunker Hill: A City, A Siege, A Revolution—the first book in his trilogy on the American War for Independence.

Posted on January 22, 2020 by Dave Dentel

Book Chronicles How Early Navy Embodied Constitution’s Defense of Common Rights

By Dave Dentel

In the campaign to ratify the U.S. Constitution, one argument advanced by proponents of the document is that it would create a stronger federal government better equipped to defend the nascent republic from foreign belligerents.

The prescience of this thesis is borne out in Ian W. Toll’s book, Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Foundation of the U.S. Navy.

Posted on June 25, 2018March 5, 2020 by Dave Dentel

Apologetics Survey Weaves a Story You Can Believe

Man has been rebelling against God since well before the law was given on Mount Sinai, depicted here by Dore.

Godless despotism reached its apotheosis in the 20^th century, killing millions and wreaking destruction on a scale unequaled in human history.

These crimes no doubt did much to taint the flavor of atheism associated with this murderous movement and the particular political forms in which it was manifested: fascism and communism.

Posted on June 22, 2017June 22, 2017 by Dave Dentel

Amazing Maybe, But Grace Not So Much

Jesus music without Jesus—the acclaimed 1975 album from a notorious cult.

Posted on September 7, 2016September 8, 2016 by Dave Dentel

Saving the Planet from People: Book Chronicles “Fatal Cult of Anti-humanism”

Starving Irish beg for aid during the 19th century potato famine.

Posted on May 7, 2014March 5, 2020 by Dave Dentel

Classic Sci Fi Goes Deep

Note: This was originally posted December 24, 2012.

By Dave Dentel

When a good friend agreed to introduce me to classic science fiction I had long ignored, I didn’t realize how quickly his generosity would deliver a brilliant pay-off.

Robert A. Heinlein’s 1941 tale delves into the nature of both religious and materialistic inquiry.Also worth reading:
“How Star Wars Ruined Sci Fi”

Already I’ve encountered a Heinlein story with surprising insight into one of my favorite nonfiction topics—the intersection of science and faith.

While it’s no fable of intelligent design, Robert A. Heinlein’s 1941 tale “Universe” certainly delves into the nature of both religious and materialistic inquiry. In fact, the adventure aspect of the story serves as a backdrop for exploring how human beings comprehend reality and their purpose in it.

Truly Lost

Indeed, the point of “Universe”—which employs a now-familiar narrative about multiple generations of space colonists inhabiting a massive and drifting ship—is that these travelers are lost not only in physical space but also in how they perceive their cosmos.