"Band of Brothers" by Stephen Ambrose

This is the book upon which the HBO mini-series about World War 2, of the same name, was based. As anyone who has seen the mini-series can attest, it is an amazing, powerful set of movies. It documents the accomplishments of E company from the 101st airborne from their training all the way to their capture of Hitler's own Eagle's Nest. The book is just as amazing.

I am left in awe at the greatness of these men who fought. And yet, I appreciate the honesty employed by Stephen Ambrose as he writes. I feel that he is honest about the foibles and character flaws of the people he portrays while still making them seem incredible. I can admire a great person with human-like shortcomings more easily than a super-person with no flaws.

One reason that I love to read about WWII is that these are generally people who are my age. I am 26 and if those events were unfolding at this exact moment, I would probably be fighting the war. Therefore, it is easy to read and put myself into the same situations. I feel that I can truly understand the way their minds work. I can also understand why they do a lot of the things that they do, because I can't help but realize that I would have done the same in a similar situation. Thank goodness, I won't ever have to. Actually, thank them.

"Everything Bad Is Good For You" by Steven Johnson

Although I can be fairly cynical on occasion, I am ultimately an optimist. I see the world around me, the trends, the movements, the people and I can't help but feel encouraged. While I would have to be ignorant to deny that there are many problems in the world. I strongly believe that things keep getting better. Unfortunately, this view can ofttimes put me in the minority, especially at church.

Here is a great book that puts forth a similar argument, and very well indeed. Steven Johnson counters the oft heard arguments that video games and television are turning society into a bunch of mindless technology-consumers. He demonstrates, through actual studies where data is available, that popular media is not causing us to become idiots. Quite the opposite, modern trends in media are actually making us smarter.

"Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown

Was this book written by a different author than The Da Vinci Code? It sure seems like it. I previously read The Da Vinci Code. I enjoyed the story, but I thought that Dan Brown was a very poor author. Angels and Demons on the other-hand, is a very good book. You get the same element of half-fact, half-fiction that adds a lot of depth to the book. I found myself reading the book with my laptop on hand so I could check what elements of the story were in fact true. It was a great read.