Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman

Jon Krakauer uses 416 pages to make the audacious claim that he has found the Nietzschen Ãœbermensch in Pat Tillman — and thus feeds the roaring literary fire of condemnation for the Bush administration in particular and religious conservatives in general. In a facile and sloppy argument that makes liberal use of argument by anecdote, he goes out of his way to package and sell his vision of the ideal man. This provides the opportunity for contrast against his straw-man of the modern religious conservative who is (here we go again) an unenlightened coward, motivated only by power and control of the weak. Here is Pat Tillman as the literary device — constructed and packaged to advance the consummate liberal ideal: an Emerson reading gay rights advocate who used his prodigious strength and pugnacity only to defend the weak, all while scorning any faith that claims it knows anything with certainty.

Open: An Autobiography by Andre Agassi and J. R. Moehringer

Some books I read are entertaining. Some books give me a new perspective on certain facets of the world. Some books give me the ability to brag to others that I read them. This book did all of this. In particular, it forced me to ask bigger questions than the subject matter: tennis. A book that taught me a lot about tennis would've still been extremely valuable to me. Tennis has played a huge role in my life: it taught me self-confidence; taught me how to win. It is also the means of blessings I hold most dear: a loving father, close friendship, and opportunity to work hard at something and get better at it. When I remember having fun as a kid, I remember tennis. So naturally, my experience was very different than Agassi's. He was forced to the tennis. It is like he woke up and he was surrounded in a tennis matrix. Fear held him in a like a prisoner who is kept in the middle of the desert with the knowledge that his escape would only lead to certain death. So while he was given much, and made into a super athlete his mental state was left very fragile by his pathological father.

Bold Love

Dan Allender's Bold Love was given to me at the right time and has revolutionized the way I love, live, and forgive. Often in the most unexpected places, I would be hit by a quote that would leave me speechless, and I would have to close book and just think for several minutes. Is there someone in your life who is difficult to love? If so, I recommend this book. Read the review if I've piqued your interest.

Team of Rivals Review

Pulitzer winner Goodwin has long demonstrated a feel for biography as a gateway into the past. In Lincoln, one of our greatest presidents, she has found an ideal subject for her attention. Read on to learn more about it.

Bella

Bella is a film about living. This is a beautiful and moving film which touched so many emotions deep within me. It is difficult to know how I would’ve viewed this film if I wasn’t a father of two young girls, but I think this film can touch everybody on some level. The themes in this film circle around love, embracing life, and family.