Book "Sleep - It Does a Family Good" by Dr. Archibald D.Hart

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This is a Family & Relationship/Health book written by Dr. Archibald D.Hart and published in 2010 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and they were kind enough to send me a copy for reviewing through their Tyndale Blog Network Program.

The book is divided in three parts. In the first one, named “Understanding your family’s need for sleep”, the author shows some impressive numbers, like 3 out of 4 people in USA having some kind of sleeping problem. He also mentions when talking about animals in general, that for some species, food and sleep are equally vital for survival. The second part of the book is named “Determining your family’s sleep problem”. Here Dr. Hart teaches how to evaluate sleep habits and how to analyze sleep disorders like apnea, RLS or sleepwalking. The third part is “Overcoming your family’s sleep deprivation”, where the author teaches how to help our children to sleep better, talk about marriage and sleep patterns and how to manage what he calls a “sleep bank”.

Overall the book is a “wake up call” (sorry for that, Dr. Hart!), showing how important a good night’s sleep is for our sanity in general and for our spirituality. After reading this book you will never again think that sleeping is a waste of time!

My rate is 4 stars.
Number of Pages: 217 (It took me approximately 7 hours to finish this book).

Book "The Revolutionary Paul Revere" by Joel J. Miller

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This is a biography from Paul Revere written by Joel J. Miller in 2010. It was published by Thomas Nelson also in 2010 and they were kind enough to send me a copy for reviewing through the BookSneeze.com Book Review Bloggers Program.

The book tells us the story of Paul Revere, an apprentice in this father’s silversmith, husband, father of sixteen children, soldier, entrepreneur and war leader. Miller describes with vivid language Paul’s financial struggle, the grieving father when burying his child and the fearless activist fighting for something he thought was a just cause, using his talents. But although this book was supposed to be a biography, it is also an American history book, giving some insight view on the infamous Boston Massacre, the Tea Party, the Battle of Lexington and Concord etc.

Joel J. Miller did a magnificent research job and he had all the elements necessary to compose a very boring book, but instead he transformed his research into a very enjoyable reading experience. It is a very inspirational book where we learn a lot about loyalty, hard work, and willing to help your community. I am not that much into Biographies but definitely this book is an excellent reading choice and also a learning opportunity for all history lovers or anyone wanting more information of the Revolutionary War.

My Rate: 4 stars

Book "Christmas" by Agatha Christie

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This is a Mystery book written by Agatha Christie in 1938. It was also sold with different titles, as “Murder for Christmas” and “A Holiday for Murder”.

The book features detective Hercule Poirot trying (and succeeding) to solve a murder. A wealthy old man (Simeon Lee) invites his family (sons and granddaughter) to gather at his home for the Christmas party. Not all family members are on good terms with one another. An unexpected guest (Stephen Farr) arrives claiming to be the son of his former partner. So the house is full of potential suspects, and at Christmas Eve there is a commotion on the bedroom where the old man stays and everybody hears crashing of furniture followed by a scream. When they arrive at Simeon’s room, it is looked and they have to break the door down. Inside they find the old man dead, his throat slit and a great pool of blood.

Poirot is called to investigate and the questions, as usual, are the same: Who killed the victim? How was the victim killed inside a locked room? Is there any connection to the theft of diamonds? What is the meaning of the small triangle rubber and the peg that were found inside the room? Poirot explores the nature of the victim and the way these characteristics come out in his children. During his investigation, he tries to avoid another murder and barely succeeds. Poirot is able to unmask several characters that are impostors and solves the crime.

Main characters: Hercule Poirot, Colonel Johnson, Superintendent Sugden, Simeon Lee, Alfred Lee (son), Lydia Lee (Alfred’s wife), George Lee (son), Magdalene Lee (George’s wife), David Lee (son), Hilda Lee (David’s wife), Harry Lee (son), Pilar Estravados (granddaughter), Stephen Farr (partner’s son), Horbury (Simeon’s valet), Tressilian (butler).

If you are a Christie’s fan, you will love this book. It is a very easy and fast reading, also very entertaining, excellent plot.

My rate is 5 stars.

Pages: 246

To buy this book, use the following link:

Movie "Combating the Commandant of Confusion" (2010)

This is a Christian DVD movie published in 2010 by Thomas Nelson and they were kind enough to send me a copy for reviewing through the Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers Program, the new BookSneeze Program.

The Commandant of Confusion and his helper Chaos decided to steal a secret weapon from the Bible’s Team, and that helps them to put on the full armor of God. But they do not pay proper attention to the warning label and do not follow instructions closely.

Bibleman is a Christian super hero. He combats various villains with his friends Cypher and BibleGirl. This particular episode is a live action show and as such, has limited production resources. The show also was made in a short-budget, but what really matters after all is the message that is transmitted to the target audience, the little kids. The theological content is excellent and the movie teaches the kids to trust in God. If you want to expose your children to this type of message instead of the “sex, drugs and rock&roll” type of movie, this is the correct choice. Just do not expect high quality or Broadway type production or you will be disappointed.

My rate is 4 stars.

Length Of Movie: 60 minutes

Book "The Map - The Way of All Great Men" by David Murrow

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This is a "Christian theology" book written by David Murrow and it was published in 2010 by Thomas Nelson and they were kind enough to send me a copy for reviewing through the Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers Program, the new BookSneeze Program.

“The Map” is a book in two parts. In the first part of the book, David Murrow develops a mystery story, where he is contacted by a Welsh Vicar named Benson who asks him to meet with an old priest who knows of a guide to Christian manhood. The author goes on to search for that guide. On several occasions during the search, Murrow narrowly evades the enemy and becomes increasingly nervous. David knows that the opponents represent evil, but he has very few clues to identify his enemy. He becomes aware that the world needs this map.

In the second part of the book, the author explains the three journeys every great man must make through submission, strength and sacrifice. He analyzes several Biblical heroes, such as Paul, David, Moses and Samson and relates their stories to the map. He also offers practical and “down to earth” strategies for integrating these ideas into our life.

One of the biggest lessons from the book to me was the thinking that “When a fellow Christian points out our weakness, we should respond with humility, not self justification”.

Having a bachelor degree in Theology, I was initially skeptical that this book could bring something different, the so called “Map embedded into Matthew’s Gospel”. But I have to confess that the author made his point in a magnificent way. Overall, "The Map" is an excellent book, very worthy reading and very rewarding. The idea of teaching Christianity through a mystery story is very effective.

My Rate: 4 stars

Pages: 236

Book "A Dangerous Fortune" by Ken Follet

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Book "Obstacles Welcome" by Ralph de la Vega

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This book was published by By Thomas Nelson on 2009 and they were kind enough to send me a copy for reviewing through the Thomas Nelson Book Sneeze Program.

This is the life story of Ralph de la Vega, who, starting with nothing, built his American Dream with hard working and determination. He tell us how he came to America from Cuba and all his struggle in order to succeed in USA. Ralph teaches us the importance of having strong values. He also says which are the pillars of success. According to him, we should look for opportunities everywhere, as every experience is an opportunity to learn and to shine, but nothing comes without sacrifice. His pyramid of principles (Integrity, Credibility, Teamwork, Attitude, Excellence and Vision) is a set of values that are the base for his work. He also mention that you can learn how to be a leader.

I started reading this book thinking it would be a boring biography, but Ralph did a magnificent job on writing about his personal life and experience coming to USA at the age of 10 from Cuba and escalating all the steps to the top of his career as Chief Executive Officer of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. This is a very inspirational book showing that the American Dream can be achieved mostly by anyone who propose to work hard and with strong values. It really teaches you who to turn adversity to advantage in business and life.

Pages: 262

My Rate: 5 stars

Book "The Last Battle" by C.S.Lewis

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This is a fantasy novel for children written by C.S.Lewis. It was first published in 1956.

The story begins during the reign of King Tirian, last King of Narnia. After a long period of peace and prosperity, a centaur named Roonwit warns Tirian that strange things are happening to Narnia. An ape named shift convinced a simple donkey called Puzzle to dress in a lion’s skin and pretend to be Aslan. The Narnians are convinced that Aslan returned, and Shift uses Puzzle as his pawn to order the Narnians to work for the Calormenes and cut down Talking Trees for lumber. The money goes into “Aslan’s treasury”, held by Shift. King Tirian and his friend unicorn Jewel realize the lie when they hear Shift telling that Aslan and Tash, Calormene’s god, are one and the same. When Tirian accuses the ape of lying, he is overpowered by the Calormenes and they bind him to a tree. He calls on Aslan for help and has a vision of Digory Kirke, Polly Plummer, Peter, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, Eustace Scrubb and Jill Pole, although he does not know who they are. In the other hand they also see King Tirian, but they cannot speak to him. Fell minutes later (by Narnia time), Jill and Eustace arrive in Narnia. They release the King and rescue Jewel and Puzzle. Some dwarfs are also rescue, but they refuse to help. Only one dwarf, Poggin, remains faithful to Tirian, Aslan and Narnia. They prepare to fight the Calormenes. As the battle progresses, all the animals are killed and Eustace, Jill and Poggin are thrown into the stable where the false Aslan was kept. Tirian, earlier on, had thrown Shift into the stable and Tash, who was haunting the stable, swallowed the ape whole. Tirian drags Rishda Tarkaan, the leader of the Calormenes, into the stable. Tash appears and snatches him up under an arm. Peter, Edmund, Eustace, Lucy, Jill, Polly and Digory appear before them. Susan stopped believing in Narnia, so she does not appear in Narnia. Peter orders Tash to leave. Aslan appears and they watch at the stable door as all of the people and animals, including those who had previously died, gather outside the barn and are judged by Aslan. Those who have been loyal to Aslan or the morality upheld by Narnians join Aslan in Aslan’s Country. Those who deserted him become ordinary animals and vanish. As the children watch, all vegetation is eaten by dragons, salamanders and giant lizards and Father Time calls the stars down from the skies into the sea, which rises to cover Narnia. Aslan leads them to his country, which is revealed to be the “real” Narnia. There they meet the primary characters from earlier novels and the series ends with the revelation that “ for them, it was only the beginning of the true story, which goes on forever, and in which every chapter is better than the one before.”

The main characters in this book are Aslan, Eustace Scrubb, Jill Pole, Prince Tirian, ape Shift, donkey Puzzle, Peter, Edmund and Lucy Pensieve, dwarf Poggin, centaur Roonwit, Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer..

This is absolutely a must-read book. It makes you want to read all the books from this series “Chronicles of Narnia”.

Pages: 224

My Rate: 5 Stars

This is the link to buy the book:

Book "The Gospel According to Lost" by Chris Seay

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Book “The White Horse King – The Life of Alfred The Great” by Benjamin Merkle

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This is a biography from King Alfred of Wessex written by Benjamin Merkle in 2009. It was published by Thomas Nelson also in 2009 and they were kind enough to send me a copy for reviewing through the Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers Program.

The book tells us the story of Alfred, fifth son of King AEthelwulf from Wessex, far in line of succession to the throne and not likely to end up being the heir of the throne. Merkle describes with vivid language the struggle of Alfred, losing his mother and all his brothers one by one till he became king of Wessex in 871AD and later king of the Anglo-Saxons. We see his learning experience with the Dane Vikings invasion on Britain. The book teaches us the importance of Alfred on the development of military tactics, planning of roads, economy, and his effort on spreading Christianity, even among his enemies. He was also very important on the revival of literacy, education, and law codes.

Benjamin Merkle did a magnificent research job and he had all the elements necessary to compose a very boring book, but instead he transformed his research into a very enjoyable reading experience. It is a very inspirational book where we learn a lot about loyalty. If only our politicians have half the willing that Alfred had for protecting his people, we would be in a better place now. I never learned properly ancient British history and I am not that much into Biographies but definitely this book is an excellent reading choice and also a learning opportunity.

Pages: 256

My Rate: 4 Stars