A Review of '5 Cities That Ruled The World' by Douglas Wilson

Douglas Wilson presents a very in-depth and intriguing portrayal of 5 cities around the world that have, at one point in time, in fact ruled the world. The 5 cities are Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London, and New York. Now, this is through each city's involvement in the start or elevation of different beliefs, practices, spirituality, military stature, and so on.

Each city is given a chapter's worth of facts, explanations, backgrounds, and stories of what their respective importance was to the world at a certain part of time.

In his introduction, Wilson asks the reader to remember these basic principles when looking at these cities: "1-Cities are objects in the world that can be found. 2-Cities, like the men and women that live in them, have life spans, and that life span is approximately 250 years. 3-Cities are moral agents. 4-Cities are loved by their sons and daughters. 5-Cities are the world." With these principles in mind, it is easy to understand how Douglas Wilson could present these 5 cities as he does. Also, Wilson does suggest that there are summarizations and generalizations about each city, for example, that Jerusalem taught us the importance of spirit; Athens, thinking and reason; Rome, the importance of law; London, literature; and New York business and commerce. These are also presented in his introduction, so going into this book, there is no misunderstanding that each city is categorized in one way.

I found the book very deep, in facts and in presentation. I could tell that Mr. Wilson is very passionate about the history of each city, and how we can learn from successes and failures of the cities.

I had a hard time keeping up with some of the things that were presented, but that is from my lack of understanding, not at all with anything Douglas Wilson presented.

I believe this is a great book for history buffs, and for those that are interested in learning about the 5 cities place in the world's history.

I am a member of the Thomas Nelson's Book Review Blogger's program, which can be found at

http://brb.thomasnelson.com/.

Thank you, and enjoy.

Matthew 22:39

A forward came through my email a while ago. I say 'through', because like most forwards, I let them pass right to the trash. Anyways, this one was a little different, because it came up in a later conversation. The summary of the email was something like this: 'The prime minister of Australia has taken to banishing Muslims from the continent'. Sounds silly, right. Banishing a group of people, because of something they believe in. But, then the conversation continued. Maybe the President of the United States should do the same. Deport Muslims from the country.

See, the idea is so general, it's ridiculous. I lean on this thought for my defense of that statement:there are missionaries that believe in the Lord God our savior who are in foreign countries, risking their lives to share the gospel with non-believers. Their lives are at risk because governments do not want them to share their "religion", and are willing to kill for these acts. And we say 'this is awful, these atrocities'.

So, what's the difference. People of Muslim faith want to live in our countries. They want to enjoy the same freedoms and privileges we do. And I'd say most of them aren't even trying to convert us to believe in their 'God'. And we want them out? Where is the 'neighborlyness Jesus spoke of in Matthew?

Muslims are not terrorists. Terrorists are terrorists. Terrorism is selfish acts done by those who have twisted their "faith" to make it work for them. Let's not be as selfish.

A review of Eli Gold:From Peanuts To The Pressbox

Eli Gold knew what he wanted to be when he was just a kid. A sports broadcaster. And he took advantage of every opportunity that came his was to reach his goal.

This is Eli's story. Growing up in Brooklyn, skipping class, working at Madison Square Garden. Eli knew he had to make things happen if he was going to work in sports. He had an understanding mother, and great idols and mentors that helped him along the way.

There are some great sports stories provided, from the world of major and minor league hockey, minor league baseball, college and professional football, and NASCAR. Eli Gold has been here, there, and everywhere during his career as broadcaster, play-by-play, statistician, and many other positions.

Sports fans will find this to be a great read, full of interesting stories, funny, sad, and entertaining. A bit jumpy at times, but overall, I was thoroughly impressed.

I am a member of the Thomas Nelson's Book Review Blogger's program, which can be found at

http://brb.thomasnelson.com/.

Thank you and enjoy.

So much to say, so much to say, so much to say...

I'm reading "Real Church" by Larry Crabb right now. I think I'm going to like it, because I can see myself relating to it. The only thing about that statement is, I don't think it's that I so much relate to Larry, but that I can find myself relating to just about any book I read or have read. I've only gotten through the first 2 chapters, and already I find myself saying 'I totally get where this guy is coming from, I totally get and agree with what he is saying!' The problem is, at this point, I don't really know where he is going, and what he is fully saying. I'm a premature agree-er.

my very first, and maybe signs of things to come!

so, I'm a blogger now. I don't know what that means, except that maybe facebook and twitter cannot contain me. I tend to ramble, which is probably good for something like this. I don't know where tis will go from here. time will tell. cheers!