EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK: Warren Smith’s Quarterly List of Books Worth Noting
Books about investing, the atom bomb, and two novels
Editor’s Note: Most Saturdays we feature this “Editor’s Notebook” column. MinistryWatch President Warren Smith will offer his opinion on stories in the week’s news or, sometimes, offer a behind-the-scenes look at how and why we do what we do. However, once a quarter (or so), we use the ‘Notebook” for Warren Smith’s list of books either released in the past quarter, or those he just got around to reading this quarter. To read last quarter’s list, published in November, click here. 
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger. I do not read as many novels as I should, and I read almost no contemporary fiction. However, thanks to my friend Claire Gibson (a fine novelist herself), I have recently discovered William Kent Krueger. His stories are often crime mysteries, faith-friendly without being sentimental. This book won the Edgar Award for best novel of 2013, a prestigious award presented by the Mystery Writers of America.
The Hiroshima Men by Iain MacGregor. I have lived in Los Alamos, and my son was an Air Force weapons officer. So, I have been interested in nuclear weapons for a long time, and I thought I knew the story of the Manhattan Project. This story opened my eyes to aspects of this story I had not fully considered. Particularly revealing are MacGregor’s profiles of journalist John Hersey (who wrote the landbook book Hiroshima) and Senkichi Awaya, a deeply committed Christian who was also the mayor of Hiroshima when the atomic blast occurred. This book examines moral and ethical questions rarely considered in histories of The Bomb.
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Postliberal Protestants: Baptists Between Obergefell and Christian Nationalism by Hunter Baker. This small book has many virtues. Chief among them is its ability to define clearly such phrases as “liberalism” and “postliberal” and “Christian nationalism.” Recommended for anyone who finds the current political environment confusing, frustrating, and/or discouraging. I interviewed Hunter Baker about this book for the MinistryWatch podcast, and I highly recommend you give it a listen.
The Good Investor by Robin C. John. The co-founder of Eventide Funds tells his personal story, and he makes a strong biblical case for investing your money in ways that “confront injustice, love your neighbor, and bring healing to the world.” Robin John will be a guest on the podcast next week, and we are offering this book as our donor premium for the month of September. To get a copy, click here.
The Last Gentleman by Walker Percy. As I said above, I do not read as much fiction as I should, and most of the fiction I do read is older. That is the case with this novel, which I am re-reading 45 years after first picked it up. Almost no one considers this book to be Percy’s best novel. (That honor usually goes to The Moviegoer, though some say The Second Coming or Love in the Ruins.) But this book was my on-ramp to Percy’s work and it has a soft spot in my heart. The Last Gentleman was published in 1966 and follows Will Barrett, a young Southerner adrift in New York, grappling with existential disorientation and a vague sense of purpose. Percy explores themes of alienation, faith, and the search for meaning in a fragmented modern world, blending humor, satire, and philosophical depth. To read an appreciation of Percy I did for WORLD Magazine on the anniversary of The Moviegoer’s publication, click here.
