"Washington: A Legacy of Leadership" by Paul Vickery

I love history and I particularly enjoy studying the Presidents; their lives, their presidency, their careers, and their families.  One of the most beloved Presidents, perhaps second only to Abraham Lincoln, is the father of our nation and our first President, George Washington.  Recently I was given the opportunity to read the new book Washington: A Legacy of Leadership (The Generals) by Paul S. Vickery.  This volume is part of a series that includes some of our nation's best generals.  Other volumes include biographies of Douglas MacArthur and others.

One must be aware of an important point before reading this book.  This is a book about Washington as a military general.  Little attention is given to his life as a child or adolescent or as a private citizen or President.  Though Vickery dedicates an entire chapter to Washington's Presidency, the far majority of his book regards his life as a General (in fact much of the chapter on Washington as President is viewed through the lens of him as a general).

But this is what I found so fascinating about this book.  To limit one's study of Washington as a general allows the reader to focus more on an aspect of Washington's life that is at times ignored.  Growing up I knew that Washington was the general of the Revolutionary War and learned about Valley Forge and some of the other important parts of the War led by Washington, but I spent the majority of my learning of Washington in his role in the founding of the nation (particularly the Continental Congress) and his work as our first President. 

Vickery walks the reader throughout Washington's career as a military leader, his ambition, his faults, his mistakes, his triumphs, and his victories from his enlistenment to his retirement.  It is a fascinating story and Vickery has done his historical homework.  Everything is footnoted and the author reminds the reader of the crucial role Washington played.  If certain battles played out differently or if Washington made a different decision in particular parts of the war, perhaps the United States of America as we know it would have never happened.

What I found most fascinating about the book was Vickery's description of the plight of Washington's army.  It seemed like they were always starving, always broke, sacrificing everything, walking barefooted for countless hours, and suffering in the cold of winter and the heat of snow.  Perhaps what makes Washington so great was his ability to continue to inspire his men to keep going and to keep fighting.  Vickery quotes some of Washington's speeches and letters showing us how he did it.  Truly amazing!

For those who love history, studying the Presidents, or the Revolutionary War, this is a great book and I would recommend it.  It would be a great addition to your library and a great resource for students and budding historians.


I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”





For more:
Reviews - "Decision Points"  
Reviews - "Ronald Reagan"  
Reviews - "The Audacity of Hope"  
Reviews - "Going Rogue" 
Reviews - "Abraham Lincoln: A Man of Faith and Courage"
Reviews - "The Story of Abraham Lincoln"
Reviews - "The Preacher and Presidents"
Reviews - America:  The Last Best Hope - Volume 1  
Reviews - "A Century Turns" by William Bennett
Reviews - "A Patriots History of America" 
Reviews - "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine 
Reviews - "American Gospel"
Reviews - "Lincoln's Advocate"
Reviews - "Manhunt"  
Reviews - "Sarah" 
Reviews - "Breach of Faith"  
Reviews - "Max on Life" by Max Lucado 
Reviews - "Slave" by John Macarthur
Reviews - "The Jesus Inquest" by Charles Foster 
Reviews - "Finding Our Way Again" by Brian McLaren 
Reviews - "Outlive Your Life" by Max Lucado
Reviews - "The Hole in Our Gospel" by Richard Stearns 
Reviews - "Saint Patrick" by Jonathan Rogers
Reviews - "A Century Turns" by William Bennett
Reviews - "Sir Winston Churchill"
Reviews - "On this Day in Christian History"
Reviews - "No He Can't" by Kevin McCullough 
Reviews - "Storm Warning" by Billy Graham

My View: Theology Nerd Book Survey

I came across an intersting blog asking a number of questions regarding what books we would recommend and enjoy.  The title was "Theology Nerd Book Survey," and consisted of 6 questions.  I thought it would be fun to play along and so I offer the following.  It would be interesting to see what your list would be.


1  A Book You Get Excited Just Look At:
 
  Death by Love: Letters from the Cross (Re:Lit) by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears


2.  Your Favorite Book By Your Favorite Living Theologian:
 
    There are too many great theologians to choose from here.  Here's one:

   Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance by Bruce Ware


3.  A Classic You Can't Leave Behind:


   Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen
 
  
4.  Best Book to Cross Your Eyes in 2011:

   Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine by Greg Allison


5.  Favorite Book to Give a Budding Theology Nerd:

    Raised with Christ: How the Resurrection Changes Everything by Adrian Warnock


6.  A Book You Can't Wait For!: 

   Erasing Hell by Francis Chan



HT: Homebrewed Christianity  


For more:
Reviews - My Top 5 Essential Works of Theology of the Past 25 Years  
Reviews - My Top 5 Must Reads   

Reviews - Top 10 Reads of 2010 
Reviews - Top 9 Reads of 2009 
Reviews - My Best of 2008 

"John Knox"

One of my favorite Reformers is John Knox and am a descendent of one of his colleagues in the Scottish Reformation, John Craig.  Recently I picked up the book John Knox by Rosalind K. Marshall and engulfed myself into the life of this reformer.  This is one of the better biographies of this sometimes ignored Reformer and most lists that include bibliographies on Knox include this book for good reason.

Like most good biographies, Marshall begins with the birth and childhood of Knox (which we know little of) and traces his steps as the historic record allows.  Marshall has clearly done her homework referencing both primary and secondary works.  Throughout the book we gain insight into his life through his letters, early biographies, and own writings along with the writings of his contemporaries and historians.  One can come to this book with confidence that they are getting an accurate historic account into this man of God.

One of the things I loved about the book is the author's attempt to set the record straight.  Like many controversial figures like Knox, there is a lot of misconceptions about the man.  Marshall corrects the record on many of these issues regardless of what light Knox will be painted in.  For example, she corrects the accusation that Knox was in an adulterous relationship - something Knox was accused of throughout his life and sought to correct the record himself near the end of his life.  Likewise, Marshall points out that Mary, Queen of Scots may not have been as anti-Protestant as Knox and others have believed.  I was certainly under the impression that she was very Catholic and anti-Protestant and thus Knox's vehement hatred of her understandable, but Marshall shows that while Mary was a devout Catholic, she wasn't the devilish Jezebel that Knox painted her as.  Here we see Knox's stubbornness and the dangers of confusing politics and the gospel.

I really enjoyed this book and enjoyed diving into Knox's life - warts and all and would recommend it to anyone seriously interested in studying him.  Marshall isn't concerned so much with his theology, but with his life.  There is a lot in here about the political scene because of Knox's involvement in it and there is much said about Knox's relationship with French Reformer John Calvin and others.  So those wanting insight into Knox's theology will not find much here, but if one wants to know more about Knox the man, you will find plenty here to sink your teeth into.


For more:
Reviews - "Five Leading Reformers" 
Reviews - "The Theology of the Reformers" 
Reviews - "The Unquenchable Flame" 
Theology - An Introduction of the Life and Works of Scottish Reformation John Craig - Part 1 
Theology - A Short Summary of the Whole Catechism - Introduction
Theology - A Short Summary of the Whole Catechism - Chapter 1
Theology - A Short Summary of the Whole Catechism - Chapter 2
Theology - A Short Summary of the Whole Catechism - Chapter  3
Theology - A Short Summary of the Whole Catechism - Chapter 4.1
Theology - A Short Summary of the Whole Catechism - Chapter 4.2
Theology - A Short Summary of the Whole Catechism - Chapter 4.3
Theology - A Short Summary of the Whole Catechism - Chapter 5.1
Theology - A Short Summary of the Whole Catechism - Chapter 5.2
Theology - A Short Summary of the Whole Catechism - Chapter 6.1