Review of The Great Eight

I just finished The Great Eight by Scott Hamilton (Thomas Nelson Publishers). This book is a combination of biography and self-help. Hamilton, along with his co-author, mixes the two genres so that the events of his life serve as examples for the eight principles that he tries to communicate throughout the book. From the first page to the last, Hamilton preaches the gospel of happiness. It almost seems as if every situation of our lives can be fixed by being positive and “not taking anything too serious.” While the idea of mixing life lessons with biographical snippets is intriguing, this book was not organized very well. The events are not in chronological order and the book has a very random flavor to it. There is nothing new in the principles that Hamilton offers. Most of them are old adages about never giving up and being positive. There is not much spiritual content to this book. With key endorsements from William Shatner and Donald Trump, the reader immediately knows what kind of book he is dealing with. One of the best aspects of the book is Hamilton’s confirmation of the complete sovereignty of God in all things, including his suffering. The average reader may not find The Great Eight to be very edifying. Two exceptions to this general statement are those who really enjoy figure skating and those who have survived cancer (or who have had a loved one survive cancer).

Review of "For These Tough Times"

I recently finished reading "For These Tough Times" by Max Lucado. I was impressed with the over-all effort on Lucado's part to fight the so-called prosperity gospel. He showed that everyone goes through tough times - and as Christians, we are guaranteed that we will suffer for the Gospel. Overall this was an easy read. This was both good and bad. While the book went quickly and could be easily read in one day, its 79 page frame does not lend itself to in depth interaction. In my opinion, there are very few writers in America that can paint an illustration as well as Lucado. This book is no exception. While this was a pretty good book, there were some weak points. It seemed as if Lucado was too lenient on sin. More than one his reply to the sin in Christians was that "nothing can separate us from the love of Christ." Which is true, yet an oversimplification of the battle with ongoing sin. He also tended to show the cross as merely a way that God showed His love to us. While this again is true, the main point of the cross was to satisfy the wrath of God against the sins of believers - not to merely show love. From reading other Lucado books, I know that he feels this way as well. Overall, I would only have to give this book three stars out of five. The subject matter with which Lucado was dealing warranted a longer book. I would have liked to have seen Lucado deal with some of the deeper philosophical and theological issues surrounding suffering. I would have also like to have seem him interact with more scripture - as the quotes in this book were few and far between. Although I know that the economy is rough and the price of just about everything is going up, I could not see myself paying the full suggested retail value of $10.99. Luckily, many bookstores and websites will have coupons or sales programs which will relieve some of the cost.