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| This is a powerful Christian work. I read it back in the 1970s and have never forgotten it. |
This is the best book by one of the best, most evangelical, most Puritan-like writers of our age. Packer's book on the Puritans is worthwhile and his book Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God is a theological classic. And, if he had written nothing else, his essay or introduction to John Owen's Death of Death in the Death of Christ would stand alone as a chunk of gold.
62. Lectures on Calvinism by Abraham Kuyper.
All Christian worldview books, all books on Christian views of politics, science, and culture, all books that show us how to apply Christian thinking in the world derive in part from these lectures of Kuyper, which he delivered at Princeton in 1898. Kuyper is a top shelf Christian thinker. And, you cannot get into other Dutch Christian thinkers without Kuyper.
63. Literary Converts by Joseph Pearce.
Pearce does a great job in this book and several other biographical works in proclaiming God's grace to the field of literature and letters. He covers British Christian writers in this book. It includes sections on G.K. Chesterton, Hillaire Belloc, C.S. Lewis, T.S. Eliot, Christopher Dawson, and others. Pearce also wrote a fine biography of Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
64. Mystery and Manners by Flannery O'Connor.
Along with being among the best of Southern authors and perhaps the best Christian short story writer, Flannery O'Connor left us this wonderful collection of essays about literature, Christian, Southern, and other. This book is a great companion volume to read alongside her fiction.
65. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.
Lewis was so good in so many areas. I am amazed everytime I go back to this book at how wonderful it is. Of course, I really like Surprised by Joy also. And I could mention...well, there is not enough time.
66. The Mind of the Maker by Dorothy Sayers.
Dorothy Sayers' essay "The Lost Tools of Learning" changed the direction of my teaching career. This book is a powerful writing about the impact of God on our minds. It is screaming for a second reading.
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| Don't read this unless you are ready to think. |
67. The Myth of Religious Neutrality: An Essay on the Hidden Role of Religious Beliefs in Theories by Roy Clouser.
Dr. Clouser has promised me lunch with him if I ever get to New Jersey. This book is a incredible piece of philosophical and theological writing. Dr. Clouser is one of the best experts on Herman Dooyeweerd.
68. Nicholas and Alexander by Robert Massie.
Robert Massie wrote a historical biography that reads like a great fiction. This is, perhaps, the best book to start with on reading about Russian history or the Russian Revolution.
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| I once started a chapter by chapter study guide on this work. |
69. The One and the Many by R.J. Rushdoony
I have been greatly influenced by many of R.J. Rushdoony's books. I could have listed a dozen different titles. This book is a survey of Western Civilization and the key thinkers who have impacted it.
70. Orthodoxy and Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton
Much to my regret, I started reading Chesterton not too many years ago. I wish I had read and re-read lots more of him.
71. Our Southern Zion by Erskine Clark
Much of my academic career has involved reading, studying, and teaching about Calvinism in history and the American South. Here those two great historical rivers converge, just as two rivers converge in Charleston, South Carolina, the focal point of much of this history.
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| Prolific with books on many eras of history, including fiction. His main area of expertise is the American War for Independence. |
This book covers the time after Yorktown and leading up to the Peace of Paris.
Thomas Fleming and I have had a few e-mail conversations over the past year or two. He is one of the great historians on the War for Independence. I have quite a few of his books and want to own every one of them. What an amazing man.
73. The Politics of Rage: George C. Wallace, the Origins of the New Conservatism, and the Transformation of American Politics by Dan C. Carter
Another two loves of mine converge: Political history and Southern history. This is one of the most insightful political histories I have ever read. George C. Wallace was a defining figure of twentieth century American politics.
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| Gene Edward Veith and another author in Houston in 2009. |
74. Postmodern Times by Gene Edward Veith
I once had the honor of driving Dr. Veith back to his hotel. (We did a weird u-turn and I drove up over the median.) Dr. Veith has written quite a few books on many topics. He is a wide-ranging thinker and writer. My favorite Veith book is Honky Tonk Gospel, which discusses the culture and Gospel influences in country music.
75. Predestination: The American Career of a Contentious Doctrine by Peter Theusen
This is an outstanding look at America's Christian history from the angle of groups that believed in Predestination. From Puritans to modern preachers, this book covers lots of ground.
76. Principles of Conduct: Aspects of Biblical Ethics by John Murray
Or Redemption Accomplished and Applied or The Collected Writings of John Murray (4 volumes). Murray was a great Scottish Presbyterian theologian.
77. Protestants and the Birth of a Revolution by Stephen Ozment
I have several of Ozment's books on the Reformation. His book When Fathers Ruled is also a gem. He is one of the best modern-day church historians on the topic of the Reformation (another favorite subject of mine).
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| In this case, Iain Murray wrote about his fellow Scotsman, John Murray. |
78. The Puritan Hope and Jonathan Edwards: A Biography by Iain Murray
Another Murray, another Scotsman, another great Calvinist writer. Murray has written quite a few wonderful histories and biographies. In recent years, I have enjoyed his Scottish Christian History and Heroes.
79. The Radicalism of the American Revolution by Gordon Wood
I read this for a graduate course several years back and became convinced that Gordon Wood must be one of the best thinking historians on America's founding era. I have collected several of his works.
80. Rainbow for a Fallen World by Calvin Seerveld
This book contains some really great essays on applying Christian thought to literature, art, music, and all areas of life. Wish I had studied under Seerveld.
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| Beautifully written book. Not as widely known as it ought to be. |
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