Gifted Hands

Title: Gifted Hands

Author: Ben Carson & Cecil Murphey

Pages: 232

Genre: Biography/Autobiography

Letter Grade: A-

Synopsis: This is the story of a young pediatric neurosurgeon who is the best in his profession. He attempts (and usually succeeds) at surgeries that no other doctor is willing to attempt. The African-American surgeon (Ben Carson) grew up very poor in inner-city Detroit. With the motivation of his mother (who only had a third grade education) and his own desire to be the best, he rises above the stereotypes and graduates from Yale and then the University of Michigan with his medical degree. He has spent most of his time as a surgeon at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore. He shares numerous experiences where the reader is left with no doubt that the Lord was guiding him. His faith in Christ is very apparent from this book.

My Review: I really enjoyed this book (I read it in only 2 days!). His story is inspiring and amazing and he never fails to give credit to the Lord for his successes. There are a few sad stories but most of them are simply miraculous. He obviously feels very strongly about his Adventist faith and comes across as a little preachy at times. The book is an easy read and one that will not soon be forgotten.

From the Book: "(p. 119) I learned something from that experience. No knowledge is ever wasted. To quote the apostle Paul: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28). The love I learned for classical music helped draw Candy and me together and also helped me get into one of the best neurosurgery programs in the United States. When we work hard to acquire expertise or understanding in any field, it pays off. In this case, at least, I saw how it certainly had yielded results. I also believe that God has an overall plan for people's lives and the details get worked out along the way, even though we usually have no idea what's going on."

A Train to Potevka

Title: A Train to Potevka

Author: Mike Ramsdell

Pages: 345

Genre: Thriller, Autobiography

Letter Grade: B+

Synopsis: This is the story of an LDS CIA agent who works covertly in the Soviet Union and Russia. Although he classifies it as a work of fiction (because of the sensitive nature of many of the stories), I would classify it as an autobiography. The stories told are incredible and often inspiring. He was blessed with many miracles during his trials. The main story is of a covert operation in a Siberian town that goes wrong. Mr. Ramsdell is forced to evacuate the city and go to Potevka on a slow peasant train. Although the book mainly follows his journey and adventures in Russia, he intertwines many other stories from his youth in Bear River, Utah and family life.

My Review: I enjoyed this book. While reading it, it is apparent that the book has been written by an "amateur" and not a professional writer. That's not to say its not well written though. The book is inspiring and draws heavily upon Mike's LDS mission and church experiences. When he breaks away from his stories about Russia, the book slows down but it always seems to pick up again. This book has a hard-to-explain human quality that really makes the stories easy to envision and hard to put down.

From the Book: "When I was younger, I always thought that after a person reached a certain age of maturity, life's troubles would finally be behind him. Yet, for whatever reason, the Good Lord apparently has a different plan for some of us."

The Cold War

Title: The Cold War

Author: John Lewis Gaddis

Pages: 266

Genre: History/Non-fiction

Letter Grade: B+

Synopsis: Most people in my generation know very little about the Cold War. This is a book written by a Professor of History at Yale University specifically for people who do not remember the fear of life during the Cold War. The book describes how the Cold War began, how the world was divided during the Cold War, the major political decisions that were made during the Cold War and how the Cold War finally ended after 45 years.

My Review: I really liked this book. It was a little dry at times (it is a history book), but most of it was very readable. The book is organized by concepts and by time. This means that once a new chapter is started, the book often goes back in time to explain a new concept. I would have preferred the whole book to be written on a time line and to not go back and forth between decades. I almost even shed a tear at the description of the Berlin Wall being breached.

From the Book:

• "(p. 48)

President Truman: We will take whatever steps are necessary to meet the military situation, just as we always have.

Reporter: Will that include the atomic bomb?

President Truman: That includes every weapon we have.... The military commander in the field will have charge of the use of the weapon, as he always has.

• "(p. 82) And so, to paraphrase Kurt Vonnegut, it did indeed go. The Cold War could have produced a hot war that might have ended human life on the planet. But because the fear of such a war turned out to be greater than all of the differences that separated the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies, there was now reason for hope that it would never take place."

• "(p. 257) Gorbachev was never a leader in the manner of Vaclav Havel, John Paul II, Deng Xiaoping, Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Lech Walesa - even Boris Yeltsin. They all had destinations in mind and maps for reaching them. Gorbachev dithered in contradictions without resolving them. The largest was this: he wanted to save socialism, but he would not use force to do so. It was his particular misfortune that these goals were incompatible - he could not achieve one without abandoning the other. And so, in the end, he gave up an ideology, an empire, and his own country, instead of using force. He chose love over fear, violating Machiavelli's advice for princes and thereby ensuring that he ceased to be one. It made little sense in traditional geopolitical terms. but it did make him the most deserving recipient ever of the Nobel Peace Prize."
  

The Radioactive Boy Scout

Title: The Radioactive Boy Scout

Author: Ken Silverstein

Pages: 209

Genre: Biography

Letter Grade: B+

Synopsis: This is the biography of David Hahn as a teenager outside of Detroit, Michigan. He was a science genius and spent much of his life attempting to build a model breeder reactor, which is quite different than a normal nuclear reactor (and much, much more difficult to build). This book chronicles his achievements, first building his own fireworks, brewing moonshine and creating a self-tanning lotion. Eventually he sets his sights on obtaining every element on the periodic table. Most of his peers, teachers and scout leaders didn't see just how ambitious and ingenious David really was. The methods that he used to obtain radium, thorium, americium, uranium, lithium and many other elements is very impressive but very scary as he took little thought towards protecting himself. Eventually he does build a neutron gun and a highly radioactive nuclear reactor (not a real breeder reactor).

My Review: I really enjoyed this book. I believe that I first heard about it in an IEEE magazine. There is really a lot of chemistry in the book and those interested in chemistry would probably enjoy this book even more than I did. David's scientific ambition is very impressive. Unfortunately for him, this ambition didn't translate well into schoolwork. It's a little nerve wracking the kinds of things that can go on right under your nose (in his case his parents' nose).

From the Book: "(p. 105) But David had discovered a secret, which had been first revealed to him when he read in his Boy Scout materials about polonium and americium: Many household and consumer items contain radioactive elements. Perhaps they contained only small quantities and certainly not in a pure form, but David figured he could devise means of isolating and gathering radioactive elements from store-bought goods."

Sarah

Title: Sarah

Author: Orson Scott Card

Pages: 390

Genre: Historical Fiction

Letter Grade: A

Synopsis: This is the story of the prophet Abraham's wife Sarah. Card follows her from a young child to when Abraham leads their only son Isaac to the hills to be sacrificed. He describes Sarai's marriage to Abram, their life in the wilderness and time in Egypt. After their time in Egypt, they return to the land of Canaan and descriptions of the wickedness of Sodom and the righteousness of Salem (Melchizidek's city) ensue. Sarai's emotions and feelings are brought to life throughout the book as she struggles to find out why she has not been blessed with children and to accept that God wishes her to give her handmaiden to Abraham.

My Review: I really, really enjoyed this book. I have read a handful of other books by Orson Scott Card but they were all science fiction books. I was impressed with how this one turned out. Sarah is an example of faith and obedience that everybody can appreciate. Because Card is a Mormon, his views and the liberties that he takes with what little is written in Genesis and the book of Abraham is very believable. Although, the book is fictional, Card has made the book of Genesis come alive for me.