What I Am Reading

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In case any of you are interested, I often have folks ask me what books I am reading. I try to keep several books going from a variety of literary genres. Here are a few of the ones I’m working through at the moment. I hope you find this helpful!

The Border, by Erika Fatland

Given the chaos Russia has created in the world with its invasion of Ukraine, Fatland’s work offers tremendous background and current perspective on the history and ongoing influence of Russia. Her journey around the vast border of this enormous country includes fascinating interviews of people from all over the fourteen bordering nations and the countless ethic minorities influenced by this massive Russian presence, physical and historical. It’s a very helpful and essential resource for today’s controversial political realities. 

The Swerve, by Stephen Greenblatt

This is a deep and terrific dive into the hidden history of an ancient poem, On the Nature of Things. It’s remarkable rediscovery and the story that lies behind it, provides a terrific perspective on our current view of life, history and how we all think about the world that surrounds us. 

The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, by Paul Kennedy

An oldie but a goodie. More a work of economic theory than a treatise on history, Kennedy traces the great powers beginning in the 1500’s and delves deeply into the hidden, more fragile nature of international power, militarily, industrially and economically. As with The Border, Kennedy’s work is timely (even though he wrote it in the late 1980’s!). He offers vital insights through detailed history and economic statistics to the merging conflict between Russia and the rest of Europe and the United States. Further, the trajectory we discern from his analysis essentially predicts the rise of an authoritative figure like Putin. How we handle the future likely will reflect what we need to learn from this well-documented past. 

Love, 

David

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David Jordan
Senior Pastor