Book Reviews

From The Catalyst Summer 2014

Oil and Honey: The Education of an Unlikely Activist
By BillMcKibben
Times Books, 2013

Reviewed by Mishka Lysack

First, a confession. I’ve re-read Bill McKibben’s Oil and Honey not twice but three times. Why? McKibben’s most recent book is a compelling and deeply engaging journey into environmental activism and creation advocacy. It’s also timely, as public discussions about the environment, pipelines and coal, and accelerating climate change are on the rise.

From The Catalyst Summer 2014

Tax Is Not a Four-Letter Word: A Different Take on Taxes in Canada

Edited by Alex Himelfarb and Jordan Himelfarb

Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2013

Reviewed by Dennis Howlett

Who would have thought that a book about taxes would make for some very interesting summer reading? But Tax Is Not a Four-Letter Word, edited by father and son team of Alex and Jordan Himelfarb, is just that. This collection of essays covers a broad range of topics. It looks at how important our tax system is to the kind of society we create and how it can be used to reduce inequality and fight climate change.

From The Catalyst Summer 2014

Shopping for Votes: How Politicians Choose Us and We Choose Them

By Susan Delacourt

Douglas and McIntyre, 2013

Reviewed Katherine Scott

Susan Delacourt has written an illuminating and evocative book about the drift of consumer culture into Canadian politics – where voters no longer think of themselves as citizens but as taxpayers who shop among politicians for those who target their individual needs at the lowest cost.

From The Catalyst Summer 2014

Blue Future: Protecting Water for People and the Planet Forever

By Maude Barlow

House of Anansi Press, 2013

Reviewed by Sheila McKinley osu

​Maude Barlow’s Blue Future is global in scope, incisive in analysis, and challenging at every turn. The third book in her series on water (preceded by Blue Gold and Blue Covenant) stands well on its own. Barlow alerts us to the devastating effects of the bottled water industry, industrial farming, mining operations, power generation, and a water-intensive consumer lifestyle, all of which seriously threaten what we once thought of as a limitless resource.

From The Catalyst Summer 2014

On God’s Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasn’t Learned about Serving the Common Good

By Jim Wallis

Brazos Press, 2013

Reviewed by Brad Wassink

In On God’s Side, Jim Wallis delivers a thorough reproach of religious leaders across the political spectrum.

Wallis uses the common good to show that in order to solve the crises of our time, we need people of faith to get more, not less, involved in the political process.

From The Catalyst Summer 2014

Abraham Kuyper: Modern Calvinist, Christian Democrat

By James D. Bratt

Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2013

Reviewed by Joe Gunn

Would reading 450 pages of Dutch social, political, and theological debates from the late 19th and early 20th centuries help us further understand what CPJ means by “public justice?” Reading James Bratt’s book leads me to a resounding “yes!”

From The Catalyst Summer 2014

Jesus on Justice: Living Lives of Compassion and Conviction

By Don Posterski

World Vision Canada, 2013

Reviewed by Karri Munn-Venn

​Jesus on Justice offers a clear and compelling illustration of our Christian calling to seek justice and love mercy by modeling our lives on Jesus. Understanding that “Jesus was a cultural maverick, a social revolutionary and a religious innovator,” this “biblical action guide” addresses a range of issues through the lenses of exclusion, prejudice, power, and advocacy.

From The Catalyst Summer 2014

The Lucky Ones: African Refugees’ Stories of Extraordinary Courage

By Anne Mahon

Great Plains Publications, 2013

Reviewed by Ashley Chapman

Imagine Edward Snowden working at your local 7-Eleven. It’s not actually that far a stretch for those in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Anne Mahon’s The Lucky Ones is named for African refugees who’ve found safety in the prairie capital, but their stories turn the title on its head.

Really, the lucky ones are the long-time C

What does is mean when you say “thank you”? Kathy Vandergrift reviews Margaret Visser’s exploration of this oft-stated social ritual.

Annie McKitrick’s review of The 100-Mile Diet: A year of local eating by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon.