A few years ago, I had the idea to share the books I’ve read during the year. I didn’t do it. A couple years ago someone suggested I share books I'm reading. I didn’t do that, either. 

This year the idea came back, so I’m gonna’ do it. 

The following are books I’ve read this year. All kinds. You may or may not be interested in them. You may or may not like them the same way I did, or you may like them more than I did. 

You may even be offended by my reading some of them. 

Oh well. It’s an experiment. 

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They are in the order that I read them this past year (roughly; it’s hard to be exact because I tend to read a few at a time). 

As you can see, this year there are quite a few books about Abraham Lincoln (that's the case almost every year) and the Republican party (unique to this year). I’ve been fascinated and interested by how the "party of Lincoln" has morphed and changed since its founding just before the Civil War. 

There are also three plays I had to read for a class I was taking. 

Then there is a mix of books on healing, missions, and devotions. 

I rated each book on a scale of 1-5 stars. None of the books have only one star, because if I didn't like a book, I simply stopped reading it and moved on. 

Maybe something will inspire or interest you. 

Books for 2023

1. “ReaganLand: America’s Right Turn 1976-1980” by Rick Perlstein and Samantha Desz

3 stars

If you want a very detailed account of what happened in the late 1970’s that led America to elect Ronald Regan by an overwhelming majority, this is a good one to read.  It also covers, from the authors’ research, how the “Moral Majority” got founded and why. Warning: it is often a bit cynical about conservatives’ reaction to the turmoil of the 70’s. 

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2. “God and Race in American Politics: A Short History” by Mark A. Noll

3.5 stars

This was a fascinating look at the overlap of politics, race and religion from the time of pre-Civil War slavery up to recent political history. It dives into the minutia of the different strands of protestant Christianity, and how those various camps viewed slavery, the Civil War, segregation and more. 

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3. “Lincoln’s Battle with God: A President's Struggle with Faith and What It Meant for America” by Stephen Mansfield

5 stars 

This was definitely one of my favorite books of the year. Even prior to 2023, I have probably read more about Lincoln than any other figure in history. And yet, I still mistakenly thought he was a Christian. I was surprised - and saddened – to learn that for most of his life, he was very emphatic about not being a follower of Jesus. He even wrestled with whether God existed at all. 

But an invitation to a church service, the loss of his son, and desperation in his role as President all led to him searching for - and possibly finding - the God of the Bible revealed in Jesus. 

I don’t want to spoil the ending. Read it. 

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4. “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde

4 stars 

This is a famous play that I had to read for a class. I really liked it. Very funny.

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5. “Black Republicans and the Transformation of the GOP” by Joshua D. Farrington

3 stars

I started reading this book in 2022, but had to stop because it was so detailed and hard to follow. There are so many names, so many characters, and so many twists and turns since the founding of the party. 

Here’s an excerpt from the book’s description on Amazon: “Black Republicans believed that a two-party system in which both parties were forced to compete for the African American vote was the best way to obtain stronger civil rights legislation. Though they were often pushed to the sidelines by their party's white leadership, their continuous and vocal inner-party dissent helped moderate the GOP's message and platform through the 1970s. And though often excluded from traditional narratives of U.S. politics, black Republicans left an indelible mark on the history of their party, the civil rights movement, and twentieth-century political development.”

One big take-away from this book was that there is a danger whenever one party has the exclusive vote of any demographic, whether that be the black community, evangelical Christians, etc. 

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6.  “My Bondage and My Freedom” by Frederick Douglass

5 stars 

An autobiography by the famous slave-turned-abolitionist who helped steer Abraham Lincoln’s understanding of what black people really  needed.

He’s written a few books. This one was a sobering and chilling account of what it was like to grow up as a slave separated from family members, how he began fighting back against his master, and how he finally made the plan to escape. The second part of the book details what it was like to be a free man trying to find his way in the North. 

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7. “Arsenic and Old Lace” by Joseph Kesslering

4 stars 

This was another play I had to read for a class. So cleverly written. Very funny. 

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8.  “Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit” by Chris Matthews

4 stars 

I read a good amount about John F. Kennedy in the past, but very little about Bobby Kennedy. I sort of assumed some of the same beliefs, philosophies and behaviors that were true of Jack would be true of Bobby. But I was wrong. Bobby seemed to be a man of great integrity who was very passionate and sincere about caring for the vulnerable and oppressed. This book documented Bobby’s growth and transformation as he found his way in politics, ran his brother’s Presidential campaign, went up against the mob, dealt with his brother’s assisination, and then found his way again as a Presidential nominee going up against his own party. 

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9. “American Values: Lessons I Learned from My Family” by Robert Kenndy, Jr. 

4 stars 

Of course, RFK Jr.’s biography of his family is biased, but it’s still a fascinating look at someone who had an upfront seat for decades. Each chapter is about a different member of the family. He combats some myths that are floating around about his grandfather, and the chapters on his mother and his father make the book worth it. 

There were points where I was inspired as a dad when I heard stories RFK Jr. told about his mom and dad. 

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10. “To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party” by Heather Cox Richardson 

3.5 stars

This book is focused on the various factions and divisions over the last 160+ years. It follows the liberal streams, conservative streams, and seems to ask the question, “what does it actually mean to be the party of Lincoln?” 

This book sort of reads like a biography on a political party and I liked it. 

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11. “Emotionally Healthy Discipleship” by Pete Scazzero 

4.5 stars

I read (listened to) this one three times – once when we were deciding whether to do it for the Fall campaign, once in the summer when preparing for the sermon outline, and once during theFall when our church was actually going through it together. Each time I got something different out of it. 

I only wish his examples were more varied and not just church leader scenarios. 

If you didn’t get to read it, do so.

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12. “Macbeth” by Shakespeare

2 stars

I’m not a fan of Shakespeare. I can appreciate the brilliance behind his storytelling, but the dialogue is brutal for me.

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13. “Lincoln’s Last Trial:The Murder Case That Propelled Him to the Presidency" by Dan Abrams and David Fisher  

4 stars 

This was about Abraham Lincoln as a lawyer before he ran for president. He defended a killer who claimed it was self-defense, and Lincoln had a relationship with both the killer and the victim. It was a very compelling trial drama, and also showed how winsome and likable and smart Lincoln was in the courtroom. 

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14. "The FBI and J. Edgar Hoover: The History and Legacy of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Under Its First Director" by Charles River 

2 stars 

I thought this would be more interesting than it actually was. Maybe it wasn't nuanced enough. Too many broad strokes. I don't know. 

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15. “Jim Elliot: Missionary Martyr” by Susan Martins Miller 

4 stars

This was the first biography I read about the famous missionary who, along with four friends, was killed by a tribe of Auca Indians in Ecuador in 1956 - the very group they felt called to reach with the gospel. 

It’s a fascinating look at how you can know - if you are able to know -  whether God is calling you to a certain mission / group / endeavor. It’s also a very inspiring example of what it means to wrestle with God about whether to get married or remain single. 

Probably because of his willingness to die for the gospel, I used to see Jim Elliot as a faultless man very few of us could emulate. This book depicts him as a bumbling human who did silly and even foolish things, but who had a radical devotion to Jesus that all of us can - and should - emulate 

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16. “Revelation for the Rest of Us: A Prophetic Call to Follow Jesus As a Dissident Disciple” by Scot McKnight and Cody Matchett

 4.5 stars

The book of Revelation has a bad rap. Many have tried to use it to figure out end-times time-tables or to identify which political figure may be the antiChrist.  As a result, many Christians avoid it entirely. 

The authors do a great job of deconstructing what has become the traditional American perspective but is actually not the orthodox perspective when you look at the last 2,000 years. 

They explain what this letter meant for its original readers and point us to follow Jesus like the early church did in our respective “Babylons” - whether that be in Syria, Japan or the United States. 

The only thing I didn’t like about the book was the very end when the authors started to name names in the evangelical world and identified leaders who, in their view,  push Christians to fight more for political power than to follow the crucified Savior. It’s an important point to make, but tey could have made it without sticking labels on people. Or maybe not. 

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17. "The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery" by Eric Foner, Norman Dietz

4 stars

Lincoln believed slavery was immoral, and argued that point years before he became president. But he wasn’t sure what role the government should play in stopping its spread, much less abolishing it, for quite some time. He even said things that are controversial - even racist - by 2023 standards, like advocate for freed slaves moving to Africa or South America. 

This book documents his journey of understanding what was best for African-Americans, what he should do, and what priority the abolition of slavery should play in the Civil War.

It’s also a book about all the players and all the moves leading up to the Emancipation Proclamation and onto the passage of the 13th Amendment. 

It’s definitely a thought-provoking book for anyone who can look at something the bible clearly calls immoral but who is not sure what role the government should play in stopping it. 

While Lincoln did say controversial things by our standards, he was extremely open-minded and allowed black abolitionists like Frederick Douglas to teach him. And that humility is a big reason why I read so much about him. 

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18. “Republican Rescue” by Chris Christie 

3.5 stars

Some would call him a sell-out. Some would call him courageous. Either way, I wanted to read his version of what happened to the Republican party.

I’m usually not a fan of reading books by people who are planning to campaign for an office, but I didn’t know much about his life or his policies, and he was our governor. 

It was fascinating to read why he went from helping with Trump’s campaign — even coaching him for his debates —  to being one of Trump’s most outspoken critics. 

What happened? 

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19. “Christ The Healer” by F.F. Bosworth 

4.5 stars

I’ve read many books on healing. This is one of the best. It’s an old classic that argues God is a healer and we cannot separate that aspect of his character from him as a comforter or our Prince of Peace. Therefore, to pray “If it’s God’s will to heal you..” would be like praying, “If it’s God’s will to give you peace….” 

Without drifting into the name-it-and-claim-it territory, he does argue that we must receive Jesus as our Healer just like we must “cast our anxieties” upon Him for our peace. We have a part to play. 

There is one chapter that does a great job debunking the belief that the thorn in Paul’s flesh could have been an illness or disease. I for one have come to the conclusion that whatever Paul’s thorn was, it could not have been an ongoing physical disease. 

If you battle chronic ailments, I encourage you to read this. You may not be able to accept everything, but it is sure to move you to have more expectation from Jehovah-Rapha (the Lord who Heals You). 

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20 “The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism” by Tim Alberta 

5 stars

For the last few decades conservative Christians have been on guard about the progressive social gospel being taught in some “liberal” churches. But this book makes the case that there is a social gospel being pushed in conservative circles as well - a different kind of social activism that has sent the message to a watching world that conservative policies and ideologies are what makes us righteous. 

Tim Alberta is a Christian journalist whose father was a conservative pastor. After his father passed away right before the Covid pandemic, Tim went on a journey interviewing many pastors and leaders from American evangelicalism - some of whom have lost their souls in the pursuit of political power, and some of whom have lost their churches in pursuit of Jesus.

I don’t agree with his assessment on everything, but I do agree with his overall conclusion – in an effort to win the culture wars, the church as a whole has lost in areas that count the most in God’s eyes. And we’re not winning the culture wars, anyway 

It’s time to repent of following the Americanized Jesus for political power and come back to the crucified Jesus who calls us to come and die and love the broken culture he has placed us in. 

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21. "Dawning of Indestructible Joy: Daily Readings for Advent" by John Piper

3.5 stars

This was a good devotion for the Advent season. Simple and short meditations. Keep it in mind for next year. 

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That's it. All the books I read this past year. Maybe something in there will spark something for you. What were the best books - or worse books - you've read in 2023? Put in the comments below.