Category Archives: Uncategorized

This interesting narrative starts in the final hours of the life of Pope Francis.  It describes how news of his death affected people in Rome, how the College of Cardinals gathered over the next days to mourn the pontiff and elect … Continue reading →

My daughter and I always like to listen to Audible books on long trips.  This year’s 4000 mile round trip to Yellowstone gave us a chance to get two books in—one really good, one really bad.  Despite his fame, John Grisham’s The Widow was … Continue reading →

Matthew 4: 18-22 August 2, 2026 Preached St. James UMC, Danville J. Michael Smith This is the first time I have ever been appointed to a church named after a saint:  St. James.  I have been appointed to four different churches named, … Continue reading →

Tam is a mess. She is a young career woman who works for a company that values men. (nothing new) She is engaged to be married to a jerk. (nothing new) She has lost contact with the best friend she … Continue reading →

Sybil Von Antwerp is a 73-year old cranky old lady, rather reclusive, unpleasantly opinionated, estranged from her daughter, and coldly formal to her kindly neighbor. Before retirement she was a lawyer. She is also divorced. But there is more to … Continue reading →

Written in 1985, this book became an American classic—deservedly so.  The narrative follows two retired Texas Rangers who decide to leave Lonesome Dove and venture to Montana for a new chapter of their lives.  They are accompanied on this journey by a … Continue reading →

Father Pernin was a priest in Peshtigo, Wisconsin in 1871.  On the same night at the Great Chicago Fire (October 8, 1871) an even more deadly fire occurred in this lumber town along the northwest shores of Green Bay.  No one knows … Continue reading →

From the beginning I felt that this novel had problems.  But to write the review, I needed to sit down and list the qualities that a good political novel should have (in my opinion.)   Overall, The Boomerang is not a satisfying political novel.  It … Continue reading →

Yet another novel reminds me that I haven’t always paid attention to history as it was being made in my own lifetime.  In this case, the genocide in Bosnia. Yugoslavia was a tacked together country in Europe that existed between 1918 … Continue reading →

The scholar Khlevniuk provides us with an important biography (2015) that utilizes previously unknown letters, reports, memos, diaries, etc. in describing one of history’s most influential figures.  During the years Stalin ruled the Soviet Union, the country was the largest country … Continue reading →