Friday, April 20, 2012

THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH: THE EVIDENCE FOR EVOLUTION by Richard Dawkins


NONFICTION (SCIENCE)

The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins (Free Press, 2009, paperback $16.99)

Reviewed by Laird Addis, Jr.

The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins, subtitled The Evidence for Evolution, is a wonderfully entertaining description of the multiple kinds of facts that make up the basis for the evolutionary account of life on earth.  I never tire of reading Dawkins’s books, for he is the best writer around on evolution for the non-specialist.  He uses examples and pictures in a convincing way as he tells his story of how many kinds of evidence—from DNA studies to carbon dating to the fossil record to embryology (“How could complicated organisms like humans have come from single-cell organisms?  You did it yourself in only nine months.”)  to direct observations of evolution in laboratories and nature, and much more—all come together to ground the only plausible account of how life developed from its origin more than three billion years ago.  Like Darwin, Dawkins does not try to explain the origin itself, but only how life evolved once it did exist.  There are hundreds of books on evolution, and I have read many of them, but this is possibly the best single book one could find for anyone wanting to understand how scientists know of the fact of evolution.   

Saturday, April 7, 2012

COURAGEOUS by Randy Alcorn


(NOVEL)
 
Courageous by Randy Alcorn (Tyndale House, 2011).
Also available on Kindle and as an audiobook.


Reviewed by Kevin Penrod, Jr.

Randy Alcorn based this book on the screen play written by Alex and Stephen Kendrick. The story focuses around a group of men who are police officers and one who is having trouble with finding work. This book deals with their struggles as officers, husbands and fathers and keeping God at the center of their lives. They all have their own struggles throughout this book and somehow learn to overcome them.

I highly recommend this book. Is you are looking for a book that has everything: action, comedy, sadness, and a guest appearance from the Carpenter-King himself, this is the book for you. I recommend the book over the movie because there is a lot more to it. The book includes subplots, characters, and back story not in the movie. A very powerful inspirational read.