Dark Victory (Various)

In Dark Victory (the sequel to The Long Halloween), a strange new killer is on the loose.  The standard rogues gallery has been broken out of Arkham, the mob is recovering following their defeat in Halloween, and the newly-created Two-Face (formerly Harvey Dent) has escaped.  When someone starts killing cops on holidays, Gotham seems ready to fall apart at the seams.  Can Batman find this 'Holiday killer' before it's too late?  Or will going it alone prove too much to handle this time?

I enjoyed The Long Halloween, and Dark Victory is much in the same vein.  Same author/artist team, same general theme (a mystery woven over many issues), and same good storytelling.  Many rogues make an appearance, which is always fun, and we get introduced to the first Robin.  Overall, a good read.

Rating: A

The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (Edmund Morris)

The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, the first in a biographical trilogy by Edmund Morris, covers from Teddy's birth (1858) through Teddy's ascendancy to the Presidency (1901).  We learn about his personal life and political.

Personally, we learn:
- how he transformed himself through hard physical exertion from a sickly, asthmatic child to 'rugged' man, capable of impressive physical feats
- his love of nature/the wilderness
- his childhood in New York City (and travels to Europe)
- the college years at Harvard
- his first marriage (his wife, Alice, would later die after giving birth to his first child)
- his hunting trips and cattle ventures in the Dakota territory, and how he fell in love with the Badlands, west, and 'cowboy' image
- his second marriage (to Edith, which would produce five more children)
- his literary career (Roosevelt wrote dozens of books, about war, biographies, and accounts of the west)

Politically, we get overviews of his terms as:
- New York state assemblyman (1882-84)
- Civil Service Commissioner (1888-95)
- New York City Police Commissioner (1895-97)
- Assistant Secretary of the Navy (1897-98)
- Colonel in the Army, leading the 'Rough Riders' in the Spanish-American War (1898)
- Governor of New York (1898-1900)
- Vice President (1901)

Theodore Roosevelt was an impressive character.  This account, largely positive (though, admittedly, I've never seen a negative account of TR), shows just how impressive he was.  He read voraciously (several books a day), could absorb an amazing amount of information, trained himself to overcome his physical shortcomings, and took on corruption and the political machine of the day.  He was also a Renaissance man, learning about many things to include natural science, history, politics, cattle farming, hunting, military matters, and more.  He was larger-than-life in several respects.

This is a great read.  It won the Pulitzer; it's easy to see why.  Morris did an impressive amount of research, and writes very well.  I look forward to the other two books.

Rating: A

Leadership

Several weeks ago, I attended a men's retreat through my Church.  The speaker at that event, Drew Derreth, gave a series of excellent talks on leadership.  Below is a summary.

Talk 1- The Path Leaders Take

The path leaders take is one from strength to weakness, from pride to humility, from trying to trusting.  Following a path to please God can, if we're not careful, turn into keeping God pleased, and become a treadmill of strength and trying to earn the impossible.  Grace flows downhill, and in the Bible, Samson, Gideon, David, and Jesus are all examples of how their ascent corresponded directly with a humbling descent (in their hearts)- a dying to self necessary (paradoxically) for life, and a learning to trust rather than to please.

Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 1:27, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Philippians 3:7-11

Talk 2- The Target Leaders Aim For

"What is the problem with the world?  I am." - G.K. Chesterton

Leaders should aim for the heart.  We need to change the root of the tree (or people) and not focus on the fruit.  People respond to events based on their heart/perception.  Leaders often focus on the response, but should focus on the heart, as that's what's driving the response.  Our hearts are either anchored in Christ (leading to change) or detestable things (leading to destruction).

Scriptures: Mark 7:14-23, Jeremiah 17:5-10, Ezekiel 11:19-21, Matthew 7:16-20, Psalm 51

Talk 3- A Case Study of the Heart

The heart is deceitful and wicked above all things.  We need to be mindful about this, and not trust in man but in the Lord.

Scriptures: Jeremiah 17:5-9

Talk 4- The Tools Leaders Use

"Start where you are.  Use what you have.  Do what you can." - Arthur Ashe

God uses the 'nobodies'- and leaders need much less than they think they need.  Every part, no matter how small, advances the mission; God can and does use an ass to speak every Sunday.  There are many needs in this world- God starts by raising leaders who see the need (simply identifying the need may be an indication that you should lead an effort to fill it).  As we proceed, however, we must keep our focus- if we lose sight of who God is or who we are, we start to distort everything.

Scripture: Matthew 18

Talk 5- Sunday Worship

In the sermon's Scripture passage (John 5- Jesus talking to a woman at a well), Jesus crosses natural (gender, national, ethnic, moral) barriers to exalt the marginalized and outcast.  The heart of a leader considers people- especially the outcasts.  Jesus sees through physical need to true spiritual need.  The Gospel has a bipolar nature to it- we both grab it and push it away at the same time.  Peter does this in Luke 5, the woman does it in John 5, and it shows both our need and our hearts (as we recognize a need but desire to fill it in our own way- which ultimately cannot satisfy).

Scripture: John 5, Luke 5

Thoughts

This talk was just what I needed.  I've read a fair number of leadership books (Christian and secular), and they all go quickly to action- "do this, not that."  This series of talks took a step back and looked and the foundation and heart of the matter.  To be effective as leaders, we need to learn that it's not about us, and the more we grow, the more we'll be required to lessen- to sacrifice ourselves.  Our focus should not be on behaviors but on the heart that produces them, and we need to start where we are- and not wait for some ill-defined point in our future- and do what we can with what we have.  In all, I came away humbled and saddened for how wrong my focus in leadership had become. May mine be a godly grief, which produces repentance, and not a worldly grief, which produces death (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Iron Man

Shame on me;  I've reviewed many superhero movies to date, but I've missed some of the 'core' films in the genre.  I start to rectify that here.

Released in 2008, Iron Man is the origin tale of the title hero (and, incidentally, kicked off Phase 1 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe).  In it, we see Tony Stark go from self-absorbed hedonist to hero intent on using his genius and fortune for good.  The catalyst to his transformation was being captured and held hostage by terrorists, almost losing his life to shrapnel, and learning that his captors had somehow obtained his Stark Industry weapons.  As Tony develops his new persona, he learns that another threat may in fact be controlling the terrorists- a threat that may cost him his life.

The movie was well-received, and deservedly so.  The pacing is good, as is the acting (Robert Downey Jr. is amazing), effects, and overall premise.  The humor is especially good, and makes for an entertaining ride.  Featuring more story and less action than recent Marvel films, I found watching this a refreshing change of pace from the modern overstuffed superhero offerings.

Rating: A

The River of Doubt (Candice Millard)

The River of Doubt recounts Theodore Roosevelt's mapping of a previously unexplored river in South America following his election defeat in 1912.  Ultimately lasting months, costing lives, and bringing Roosevelt to the brink of suicide, the journey of over more than one thousand miles of river proved to be more than anybody bargained for.  The ill-prepared expedition encountered disease, deadly animals, swarms of insects, hostile natives, unknown plants, unforgiving climate, deadly rapids, near-starvation, and more as they battled against the unrelenting terrors of the Amazon rainforest.  Would Roosevelt survive?  History, of course, shows that he did.

Having previously read (and enjoyed) Millard's book about Garfield (reviewed here), I was excited for this one.  It didn't disappoint, though it wasn't quite up to par with her prior book.  The River of Doubt was informative, well-written, and exciting; on the downside, it got monotonous (the same challenges kept presenting themselves- over and over and over), seemed overly dramatic in places, and provided a lot of background about things that could detract from the main story- like facts about impressive rainforest ecosystem interrelationships, a short history of Indian tribal relations, or discussions of the continent's formation.  It is good, in the end, and interesting- just not as spellbinding as I had hoped.

Rating: A-

Basic Christianity (John Stott)

I've been a Christian for 28 years and have read the entire Bible in at least five different translations (KJV, NKJV, NIV, NASB, ESV), but it never hurts to revisit the basics.  In Basic Christianity, famous English theologian John Stott does just that.  In four parts, he lays out:

- Who Christ Is (the claims, character, and resurrection of Christ)
- What We Need (the fact, nature, and consequences of sin)
- What Christ Has Done (the death and salvation of Christ)
- How To Respond (counting the cost, reaching a decision, being a Christian)

Stott makes a number of great points here.  There are a lot of misconceptions about Christianity today (some of it brought on by certain Churches, admittedly), and I recommend Basic Christianity to Christians and non who want to understand what it's really about.  Check it out- you may be surprised.

Rating: A

God Loves, Man Kills (Various)

The story upon which the movie X-Men 2 was partially based, God Loves, Man Kills is the story of Reverend Stryker and his quest to eradicate mutants from the Earth.  To recruit assistance and validate his endeavor, he launches a 'crusade' to publicly proclaim the abomination and menace he believes mutants are and hold for humanity, respectively.  Little does the crowd know, though, that Stryker has captured Professor X and intends to use his mutant powers to destroy the rest of the X-men . . . will he succeed?

I was attracted to this book because of the title, which I believe neatly sums up reality.  I also enjoyed X-men 2 and so wanted to read the source material.  I wasn't disappointed; God Loves, Man Kills is a good book.  The story is compelling, though it bothered me that the Reverend so twisted Scripture (regrettably, that's not uncommon in the real world, too).  I enjoyed seeing the mutants (my personal favorite, Nightcrawler, features heavily here) and Magneto team up to counter Stryker's threat.  The book was very short, so it wasn't as epic as I had hoped, but it is a worthy read nonetheless.

Rating: A-