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Publisher Crawling

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I am working on a new feature for Discerning Reader. Every week I’ll troll through a long list of publishers and bestsellers lists to try to find new or upcoming books that look like they will be of particular interest. Since Discerning Reader isn’t quite ready to handle the column yet, I thought I’d post it here. This is a sample of what the column will look like.

The Pirate Queen: Queen Elizabeth I, Her Pirate Adventurers, and the Dawn of Empire by Susan Ronald
Hardcover
HarperCollins
496 Pages
Available July 1, 2007

Claims to be a fresh look at a paradoxical historical figure who continues to fascinate. She played a strange but critical role in the furtherance of Protestantism shortly during the late Reformation.

Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power by Robert Dallek
Hardcover
HarperCollins
752 Pages
Available now

This one is written by a prominent historian and deals with a couple of fascinating figures. Sounds promising to me!

God’s Gold: A Quest for the Lost Temple Treasures of Jerusalem by Sean Kingsley
HarperCollins
336 Pages
Available June 1, 2007

“God’s Gold explores the fate of the greatest biblical treasure in history, the central icons of the Jewish faith looted from the Temple of Jerusalem.” Sounds like yet another attempt to convince us that someone has found biblical treasures (or is on the very verge of finding them).

The Political Teachings of Jesus by Tod Lindberg
Hardcover
HarperCollins
Pages TBA
Available June 15, 2007

The book’s summary is not yet available. But I think we can probably guess.

The Case for the Real Jesus: A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ by Lee Strobel
Softcover
Zondervan
288 Pages
Available September 30, 2007

Strobel, an unlikely apologist, will continue his “The Case For…” franchise and evaluate the arguments and evidence being advanced by prominent atheists, liberal theologians, Muslim scholars, and others.

Jesus of Nazareth by Joseph Ratzinger
Hardcover
DoubleDay
400 Pages
Available now

The new pope’s first book written as pope. I wonder how many meetings it took to decide whether his name or title would appear more prominently on the cover. Ratzinger says “This book is…my personal search ‘for the face of the Lord.’”

Protestant Theology at the Crossroads: How to Face the Crucial Tasks for Theology in the Twenty-First Century by Gerhard Sauter
Paperback
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
188 Pages
Available now

I haven’t heard of the author before but it sounds like it should, by rights, be interesting.

John Donne: The Reformed Soul: A Biography by John Stubbs
Hardcover
W.W. Norton
576 Pages
Available now

Looks like an interesting biography of a fascinating and important figure. This book has already been widely reviewed in major media outlets and has been reviewed positively.

The Dawkins Delusion?: Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine by Alister E. McGrath and Joanna Collicutt Mcgrath
Hardcover
IVP Books
144 Pages
Available July 30, 2007

Alister and Joanna McGrath take on the grumpy Richard Dawkins and his mega-selling The God Delusion. But will anyone still be reading Dawkins’ book when this one is released?

1-3 John: New Testament Commentary by John MacArthur
Hardcover
Moody Publishers
304 Pages
Available now

The latest entry in MacArthur’s commentary series which is, at long last, nearing completion.


  • Other side of the Wall

    On the Other Side of the Wall

    A story is told of a convalescent woman and the lovely vine that grew in her yard. Confined to her property during her long recovery from an accident, she turned her attention to the little plot of ground behind her home. She planted the vine on a cool spring morning, dreaming of the day when,…

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    A La Carte (November 22)

    A La Carte: John Mark Comer / Praying imprecatory Psalms / The news media is broken / John Piper on seeing God / No good deed will remain hidden / Pre-Black Friday sales / and more.

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    A La Carte (November 21)

    A La Carte: Lessons from Trump’s and Harris’s social media campaigns / What is my spiritual gift? / The messages we receive / 10 mistakes I’ve made in preaching / Big Kindle and book sales / and more.

  • Finn

    I’m a Grandfather!

    Yesterday Abby and Nathan welcomed their first child into the world: Finnegan Safir Nicholas Elfarrah. Because they live just minutes away, Aileen and I were able to be there shortly after his birth to rejoice with them and to meet our first grandchild. We are thrilled beyond measure. And he is cute beyond belief. They…

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    A La Carte (November 20)

    A La Carte: Pray till you pray / Do children need to consent to puberty? / Pleading for Sodom / A thought experiment / 10 mistakes when reading the Bible / Kindle deals / and more.

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    A La Carte (November 19)

    A La Carte: Good night, my son / The longing for justice following sexual assault / Daughter of encouragement / Mistakes I made as a theological student / The dangers of disordered love / Kindle deals / and more.