A short, passionate attempt to discern America’s place in God’s ultimate plan.
In her latest book, the main obstacle faced by Townsend (Thine is the Kingdom, 2011 etc.) is one she quite honestly acknowledges right up front: America has no place in biblical prophecy. Nothing even close to a specific allusion to the United States is made in the Old Testament, the New Testament or the Book of Revelation. “I have searched the Bible for some reference of our involvement or some description of a land mass which would describe the United States,” Townsend writes, but “I could not find it.” Townsend overcomes this seemingly insuperable obstacle in the only way possible: She looks to a higher power for additional information. “I dedicate this book to the Holy Spirit of God,” she writes, “who helped me to write it.” Specifically, she went on a four-day fast in 2009 and received “insight from God” about not only America’s role in coming days of tribulation but also in the confused and stressful present. “If we ever needed God to be part of our lives,” Townsend emphasizes, “we really do need His direction now.” There follows a short but systematic and very readable tour through a great deal of biblical prophetic verses, with particular emphasis on the Revelation. There are questionable portions: An “artist’s rendition of ancient ships on the open oceans,” for instance, shows an 18th century sailing vessel, and in a discussion of the prophet John’s ignorance of the existence of North and South America, readers are told: that “John’s whole earth, in reality, is truly only about half of our planet,” when in actual reality North and South America—and Israel—comprise about one-tenth of the planet. Nevertheless, the book’s central thrust is that, assuming we “take back our nation and reestablish the Godly principles we once had,” God has preserved for the United States a role as “the end-time influence.” Christians, at least, will find these extrapolations interesting, especially, of course, American Christians. A concise, fascinating account of a personal revelation of America’s spiritual destiny.
Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2011
ISBN: 978-1456796570
Page Count: 80
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: Feb. 28, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Less a sequel than an addendum, the book offers a close-up view of the Oval Office in its darkest hour.
Four decades after Watergate shook America, journalist Woodward (The Price of Politics, 2012, etc.) returns to the scandal to profile Alexander Butterfield, the Richard Nixon aide who revealed the existence of the Oval Office tapes and effectively toppled the presidency.
Of all the candidates to work in the White House, Butterfield was a bizarre choice. He was an Air Force colonel and wanted to serve in Vietnam. By happenstance, his colleague H.R. Haldeman helped Butterfield land a job in the Nixon administration. For three years, Butterfield worked closely with the president, taking on high-level tasks and even supervising the installation of Nixon’s infamous recording system. The writing here is pure Woodward: a visual, dialogue-heavy, blow-by-blow account of Butterfield’s tenure. The author uses his long interviews with Butterfield to re-create detailed scenes, which reveal the petty power plays of America’s most powerful men. Yet the book is a surprisingly funny read. Butterfield is passive, sensitive, and dutiful, the very opposite of Nixon, who lets loose a constant stream of curses, insults, and nonsensical bluster. Years later, Butterfield seems conflicted about his role in such an eccentric presidency. “I’m not trying to be a Boy Scout and tell you I did it because it was the right thing to do,” Butterfield concedes. It is curious to see Woodward revisit an affair that now feels distantly historical, but the author does his best to make the story feel urgent and suspenseful. When Butterfield admitted to the Senate Select Committee that he knew about the listening devices, he felt its significance. “It seemed to Butterfield there was absolute silence and no one moved,” writes Woodward. “They were still and quiet as if they were witnessing a hinge of history slowly swinging open….It was as if a bare 10,000 volt cable was running through the room, and suddenly everyone touched it at once.”
Less a sequel than an addendum, the book offers a close-up view of the Oval Office in its darkest hour.Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5011-1644-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2015
Harari delivers yet another tour de force.
A highly instructive exploration of “current affairs and…the immediate future of human societies.”
Having produced an international bestseller about human origins (Sapiens, 2015, etc.) and avoided the sophomore jinx writing about our destiny (Homo Deus, 2017), Harari (History/Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem) proves that he has not lost his touch, casting a brilliantly insightful eye on today’s myriad crises, from Trump to terrorism, Brexit to big data. As the author emphasizes, “humans think in stories rather than in facts, numbers, or equations, and the simpler the story, the better. Every person, group, and nation has its own tales and myths.” Three grand stories once predicted the future. World War II eliminated the fascist story but stimulated communism for a few decades until its collapse. The liberal story—think democracy, free markets, and globalism—reigned supreme for a decade until the 20th-century nasties—dictators, populists, and nationalists—came back in style. They promote jingoism over international cooperation, vilify the opposition, demonize immigrants and rival nations, and then win elections. “A bit like the Soviet elites in the 1980s,” writes Harari, “liberals don’t understand how history deviates from its preordained course, and they lack an alternative prism through which to interpret reality.” The author certainly understands, and in 21 painfully astute essays, he delivers his take on where our increasingly “post-truth” world is headed. Human ingenuity, which enables us to control the outside world, may soon re-engineer our insides, extend life, and guide our thoughts. Science-fiction movies get the future wrong, if only because they have happy endings. Most readers will find Harari’s narrative deliciously reasonable, including his explanation of the stories (not actually true but rational) of those who elect dictators, populists, and nationalists. His remedies for wildly disruptive technology (biotech, infotech) and its consequences (climate change, mass unemployment) ring true, provided nations act with more good sense than they have shown throughout history.
Harari delivers yet another tour de force.Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-51217-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
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