SPR’s book reviews of new self-published books
From Canaanites to Israelites by Rudolph C. Evans
From Canaanites to Israelites: The Journey of Ancient Near East History from Realism to Idealism by Rudolph C. Evans is an overview of the Canaanites contributions to theology, as well as their cultural and historical achievements. The Canaanites have gotten short shrift in the historical narrative, and Evans aims to alter that perception in this comprehensive work of scholarship.
Beginning a prospective work of history with “It is my belief that…” perhaps makes it less persuasive than just outlining the facts, but the research in the book is solid and thorough. Evans describes his book as a “Nietzschean interpretation of […]
The Game Changer by Dave Dröge follows the life of flamboyant Henk van Wijnen-Swarttouw, a high-powered businessman whose life is rapidly falling apart. His wife left him, his daughter is an eccentric embarrassment, his business is collapsing, and he might be headed to jail. With everything disintegrating around him, he wants to try to come to terms with at least one difficulty in his life: his activist – and exhibitionist – daughter. In doing so, he may be in danger of unraveling even further.
The Amazing Adventures of 4¢ Ned (Coinworld: Book One) by Benjamin Laskin is an amusing and highly imaginative novel told from the perspective of a nickel coin – you read that correctly – named Ned who’s had the misfortune of being stamped with 4¢ instead of 5. This makes him an outcast among other coins, but hot property for collectors. As coins are ever-changing, Ned learns that he has a troubling destiny, so he teams up with a ragtag group of coins to make sure the inhabitants of Coinworld never lose value.
A stormy night brings a shadowy figure to Professor Nicholas Holloran’s office, and with her comes an offer he cannot refuse. Blackmailed into accompanying the beautiful Captain Salisbury on an expedition, this unlikely pair and their even more unlikely crew set off after a legend even more old and dead than the Mostadic monk who lead them there: Shaifalway – the Well of Youth. Unfathomable adventures across the fathoms continue in the second novel of The Last Prophecy series.
Fair Weather People by Roshni Hemraj Mudliar is a work of fiction about weathering bad people and bad events in one’s life – especially when it comes to earning money. The book begins with a short expose of people most of us know all too well: people who are there for you when you’re doing well, but turn their back when things turn south. Mudliar’s focus is fair-weather people in the workplace. After the introduction, the book then tells the story of a man named Henry, an immigrant, who struggles with difficulties both in the workplace and in his adopted […]
The most powerful stories are those torn from personal experience, and in Molding My Destiny by Patrice M. Foster, readers are presented with a heartbreaking account of an impossible childhood. Parental support and love seem nonexistent, and selfishness is the crucible in which the author is formed. From the mean streets of Jamaica, witnessing the immorality and cruelty of her father, to the feeling of abandonment on American shores, this book is a painful saga of experience that would be too great for many people to overcome.
The Perfect People by Cathi D’Avignon is a wonderful children’s book about inclusion and acceptance. Princess Caitlin is sent out by her father, the king, to find the “perfect people” for a selection of jobs. First, she finds a man who tends a beautiful garden, but who’s deaf and fears that wouldn’t be the best person for the job. Princess Caitlin replies, “Please, sir. The fact that your son cannot hear has no bearing on his worthiness as a gardener.” From there Caitlin finds a group of people with unique abilities, but also disabilities, but they’re each, of course, the […]
There’s a lot of talk about Millennials in the business world, and a slew of books written about them – this is because thinking goes that employing Millennials can be highly beneficial to your business, but some find it a high-risk strategy. Jeremy Kho explains a different angle – how Millennials can deal with these attitudes, and how they themselves can achieve success and riches for themselves, in his new book, The Millennial Roadmap to a Rich Life: The Stress Less Guide to Succeed in Your Financial Life. Kho himself is a Millennial investor, and understands money, and he puts […]