Briar Patch Books

Category: Contemporary Nonfiction

  • The casualties in industry’s assault on science

    The book Denis DuBay reviews here was published in 2008, but it is, unfortunately, just as relevant today as it was then. By Denis DuBay.  DOUBT IS THEIR PRODUCT: HOW INDUSTRY’S ASSAULT ON SCIENCE THREATENS YOUR HEALTH. By David Michaels. Oxford University Press, 2008.  384 pages. $29.95.  Once upon a time, seemingly in another galaxy…

  • Challenging questions

    The Rev. Dr. Charles P. McGathy, aka Chuck, takes a look at a provocative book about the existence of Jesus as a historical person. By Charles McGathy DID JESUS EXIST?: THE HISTORICAL ARGUMENT FOR JESUS OF NAZARETH. By Bart D. Ehrman. HarperOne. 361 pages. $26.99. Bart D. Ehrman, the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of…

  • Suffering and comfort

    The Rev. Dr. Charles McGathy, “Chuck” to most who know him, takes a look at an audio book that tackles one of the most difficult books in the Bible – and some of the most difficult questions for struggling human beings. By Charles McGathy THE BOOK OF JOB: When Bad Things Happened to a Good…

  • A new greatest generation?

    I hope those who have access to the Greensboro News & Record will read a column I wrote on today’s Ideas front. The article talks about the importance of a new book written by members of the U.S. Naval Academy class of 2002, which I review briefly below. It also gives information about two appearances…

  • They make a case, but it’s hard to listen to it

    Paul O’Connor is back in North Carolina, back in the UNC classroom, and back in the midst of the noisy political season. By Paul T. O’Connor IT’S THE MIDDLE CLASS, STUPID.  By James Carville and Stan Greenberg. Penguin Audio. 6 CDs. $29.95. Read by the authors but adapted. Also available in hardcover from Blue Rider…

  • Obama, commander in chief

    By Paul T. O’Connor CONFRONT AND CONCEAL: OBAMA’S SECRET WARS AND SURPRISING USE OF AMERICAN POWER.  By David E. Sanger. Read by Robertson Dean. Random House Audio. 13 CDs, 15 hours. $50. Also available in hardback from Crown. Given the way President Barack Obama has used the American military, whether in the Afghanistan surge, the…

  • Understanding, with compassion

    Chuck McGathy is the pastor of a small Cooperative Baptist congregation in Piedmont North Carolina. Earlier, he spent many years as a chaplain in the U.S. Navy. He’s used to ministering to people with different beliefs and experiences of religious faith. Here, he finds a book that is surprisingly insightful and useful in helping others…

  • Let’s mess with Texas

    On part of his cross-country drive this summer, Paul O’Connor was accompanied by Gail Collins, a well-known New York Times political columnist. Well, Gail wasn’t really in the car with Paul, but her voice was, reading her latest book on CD. Its subject is a big one: Texas, and its influence on American politics. And…

  • Civilization’s lessons

    Paul O’Connor is sojourning in Oregon. I’ve tried to tempt him back to North Carolina with reports of fried squash, but to no avail. At least he continues to read and review books.  I suppose he’ll return when the semester begins at Chapel Hill. By Paul T. O’Connor CIVILIZATION: THE WEST AND THE REST. By…

  • Toward understanding religions

    By Charles McGathy No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam (Updated Edition). By Reza Aslan. Random House. 338 pages. $17, paperback. Professor Reza Aslan is an internationally acclaimed scholar of religions. This book is an updated edition of his first book, which has been called by Blackwell, the noted British seller…