Biography-Memoir – Page 8 – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream by Doris Kearns Goodwin

By Scott J. Pearson | September 6, 2021September 24, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Former US President Lyndon Johnson is one of the more difficult to understand presidents. He reached the heights of politics through an assassination. He changed America permanently through the Civil Rights Acts of 1964-5. Pragmatically, he attempted to build a nation based on equal opportunity through the Great Society. He had an unparalleled genius for administrative leadership in the Senate and Oval Office. Yet he led the nation down a horrific course in Vietnam and…

Biography-Memoir History

Napoleon: A Life

By Scott J. Pearson | August 19, 2021August 19, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

This book is widely regarded as the definitive biography of Napoleon Bonaparte in the English language. After listening to this book, I find no reason to disagree. Napoleon was and is a huge figure in European history. He conquered swaths of territory and reformed national systems. He can only be compared to Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great in terms of impact. He did not wrestle England, his archenemy, to the ground economically or militarily.…

Biography-Memoir Religion-Philosophy Writing-Communication

Albert Camus and the Human Crisis

By Scott J. Pearson | July 25, 2021July 25, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Albert Camus is one of my favorite literary figures of all time. I favor authors rooted in the Christian and classical literary traditions, and Camus fits this description well – even though he made no profession of faith after childhood. (Another fascinating and controversial book contends that Camus sought baptism just before his sudden death.) To me, Camus’ words capture the human condition very well. This biography, born out of college classes Meagher taught, attempts…

Biography-Memoir

There’s a Hole in my Bucket: A Journey of Two Brothers

By Scott J. Pearson | July 7, 2021July 7, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

At first glance, two things stand out about this book. First, the featured two brothers are great-grandsons of the famous JRR Tolkien, who wrote The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Although this fact will attract much attention, it is fairly tangential to the unfolding of this tale. The author Royd’s journey takes him on the movie set of The Lord of the Rings, and some characters play small roles in this tale. The book is…

Biography-Memoir Religion-Philosophy

Freeing Jesus: Rediscovering Jesus as Friend, Teacher, Savior, Lord, Way, and Presence

By Scott J. Pearson | June 12, 2021June 12, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Theological memoirs (or memoirs in theology) have been “a thing” since St. Augustine of Hippo wrote his autobiographical and masterful Confessions in the fourth century. Butler Bass adds her voice to the mix with her story. In so doing, she hopes to encourage us to rediscover the Christian God and the Christian faith. While acknowledging the limitations of any experience-based, somewhat arbitrary categories, she organizes her work according to six personality traits of Jesus. None…

Biography-Memoir History Leadership

Wilson by A. Scott Berg

By Scott J. Pearson | June 1, 2021September 24, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Both Woodrow Wilson and World War I are generally overlooked by American historians because FDR and World War II tends to overshadow them. However, as Berg makes clear, both set the stage for the American century by transforming an isolationist country into the dominant player on the world stage. The son of a Presbyterian minister and a university president, US President Woodrow Wilson led America into this change. Although Congress never accepted his major creation…

Biography-Memoir

Miles: The Autobiography

By Scott J. Pearson | April 25, 2021April 25, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Miles Davis is known worldwide for musical genius expressed on his trumpet and through his musical groups. He was a figurehead in many countries for jazz, the quintessentially American cultural expression. In this autobiography, he teamed with Troupe to tell his story just before he died. With Troupe, he talked openly about his struggles with drugs, women, and racism. He spoke bluntly about the people who surrounded him and shared insight into the creative forces…

Biography-Memoir Religion-Philosophy

A Burning in My Bones: The Authorized Biography of Eugene H. Peterson

By Scott J. Pearson | April 17, 2021April 17, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

An ascetic is someone who eschews physical comforts in favor of a vivid spiritual life. Eugene Peterson, a Presbyterian pastor whose books won him fame, fortune, and respect, was a modern-day ascetic. He sought to run his ministry and career in an attempt to live as a (Protestant) saint. He eschewed leading his church and his life like a business and instead favored a life away from the limelight. Collier’s biography – achieved with the…

Biography-Memoir HIV/AIDS

Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir

By Scott J. Pearson | April 2, 2021April 2, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

“What am I going to do without him?”…“Write about him Paul… That’s what you have to do.” In a world before triple-drug therapy (HAART) was enacted and allowed individuals to live a normal lifespan with HIV, Monette and his lover Roger Horwitz contracted HIV, which ineluctably progressed into AIDS. Professionally, Horwitz was a lawyer and a lover of literature; Monette was a writer. Both were educated at Ivy League schools. This work is the first…

Biography-Memoir

J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography

By Scott J. Pearson | March 6, 2021March 6, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

J.R.R. Tolkien is most well-known to the public as the author of the famous trilogy Lord of the Rings, surely one of the best works of art ever written in the English language. This work by Carpenter serves as his authorized biography. Tolkien’s professorial and academic life as an Oxford don dominates most of the narrative, but always lingering behind lies his unique love of language (philology) – particularly “sub-creating” worlds with language. Carpenter achieves…