Book Reviews
Brief Review of What Works: Gender Equality by Design
What Works: Gender Equality by Design by Iris BohnetMy rating: 4 of 5 stars I read a lot of books and journal articles about bias and inequality. It's pretty common for those sources to offer a lot of recommendations for overcoming bias that sound like...
Complex Simplicity: How Psychology Suggests Atheists Are Wrong about Christianity
Complex Simplicity: How Psychology Suggests Atheists Are Wrong about Christianity by Lucian Gideon Conway IIIMy rating: 5 of 5 stars This book was a wonderful breath of fresh air in its genre. I've been reading and listening to apologetics materials for a long...
What is Psychological Apologetics?
I've been explicitly focusing on psychological apologetics for a few years now, but it just dawned on me that I've never clearly defined it, at least not in writing. While I'm not strictly the only person doing psychological apologetics, I am doing it more actively...
The WEIRDest Apologetic in the World
The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous by Joseph HenrichMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Ten years ago, the author of this book, Joseph Henrich, wrote a journal article with the same title as...
Five Views on Psychology and Christianity
Psychology and Christianity: Five Views When I tell people that I work in the field of psychology, they almost always ask how I can still be a Christian in that field or they wonder whether I really am a Christian. Many psychologists are opposed to religion,...
The Coddling of the Righteous Mind
I've been meaning to read Jonathan Haidt's books, The Righteous Mind and The Coddling of the American Mind for quite a while. In fact, I considered applying to work with him for my PhD because his research is so relevant for apologetics. Alas, I...
Review: Awkward: The Science of Why We’re Socially Awkward and Why That’s Awesome
Awkward: The Science of Why We're Socially Awkward and Why That's Awesome by Ty TashiroMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I stumbled on this book on Amazon and thought it might be interesting and it certainly was, although I'm not sure everyone will think so. The...
Review: When Prophecy Fails: A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group that Predicted the Destruction of the World
When Prophecy Fails: A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group that Predicted the Destruction of the World by Leon FestingerMy rating: 3 of 5 stars In 1954, a group of social psychologists heard about a small cult group who believed aliens were...
Talking to Strangers Review
Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know by Malcolm GladwellMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I wanted to read this book because Malcolm Gladwell is such a great conversationalist and writer that I was sure what he had to say about...
12 Rules for Life Book Review
12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. PetersonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars Jordan Peterson came to fame rather suddenly a few years ago because of a political controversy, but he's more than just a pop-sensation. He's a legitimate clinical...
Logic’s End: An Apologetics Fiction Book Review
Logic's End by Keith A. RobinsonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars This book is an apologetics fiction book and I was super excited to read it, but at the same time, I didn't have very high expectations. Overall, I'm a bit torn on my thoughts about this book...
Review: Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary War to Influence and Persuade
Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade by Robert B. CialdiniMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I'm often asked for recommendations for books on apologetic and evangelism methods. There are some good books out there, but none that really focus...
Review: So the Next Generation Will Know: Preparing Young Christians for a Challenging World
So the Next Generation Will Know: Preparing Young Christians for a Challenging World by Sean McDowellMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I decided to read this book, but after reading it, I'm glad I did. It's a must-read book...
Review: The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide from the Country’s Foremost Relationship Expert
The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide from the Country's Foremost Relationship Expert by John M. GottmanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars The author, John Gottman, is well known for his scientific research on marriages. Because of this, I have cited...
Review: Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible
Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible by E. Randolph RichardsMy rating: 5 of 5 stars I know I said my next entry would be on the Enneagram, but that was before I knew I could post my GoodReads...