One of my fellow staff members, Charles Smith, asked me the other day to send him a list of my favorite 15 books. This proved to be a challenge. However, after some thought, the following represent my 15 favorites with comments as to why:

My 15 Favorite Books in no certain order (except for # 1)

1. THE BIBLE (nuff said)

2. SEARCHING FOR GOD KNOWS WHAT--Donald Miller (Opened my mind to a new generation of writers)

3. HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE--Dale Carnegie (Kept me in ministry)

4. THE RISE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT--Edmund Morris (Inspired me to action)

5. THEY CALL ME COACH--John Wooden (Inspired me to organize my life)

6. NOW I REMEMBER--Thorton W. Burgess's Autobiography (Representative of all of his children's books that I read in childhood and have read to my kids.)

7. BEAR--Bear Bryant (Have read 12 times)

8. HOW SHALL WE THEN LIVE--Francis Schaeffer (My intro to what would come to be called post-modernism)

9. THE HOLY LONGING--Ronald Rolheiser (Changed my life spiritually)

10. MY TURN AT BAT--Ted Williams (Read several times in my teen-age years-gave me a love for hunting and fishing)

11. TRUMAN--David McCullough (Character above all)

12. UNVEILING GLORY -- Jeff Childers and Fred Aquino (Best work on Christology written for the person in the pew)

13. BRAVE NEW WORLD--Aldous Huxley (They thought 1984 was the prophecy. The prophecy turned out to be this book, written in 1931.)

14. RUMORS OF AN UNKNOWN WORLD--Philip Yancey (Best treatment of reductionism I have ever seen.)

15. THE LANGUAGE OF GOD: A SCIENTIST PRESENTS EVIDENCE FOR BELIEF--Francis S. Collins (Opened my mind to the fact that a person can love Jesus and see evolution as a beautiful work of God.)

Other Favorites

THE GLORY OF THEIR TIMES--Lawrence Ritter (Fantastic interviews conducted in the 1960s with turn of the 20th century baseball players)

SEX GOD--Rob Bell (a marvelous theology of sex replete with lots of stories and humor)

EISENHOWER: 1890-1952--Stephen Ambrose (Volume one of the life of one of the 20th centuries great world figures.)

LINCOLN David Herbert Donald (I think it the best of the Lincoln biographies)

GRANT AND LEE--Gene Smith (have read several times, very poignant)

A FAREWELL TO ARMS--Ernest Hemingway (depressing story, but anticipated the late 20th century's abandonment of moral values)

THE ABOLITION OF MAN -- C. S. Lewis (another book that anticipated postmodernism)

JOHNNY UNITAS: MY OWN STORY--Johnny Unitas (read several times as a teenager and young adult, took me inside the mind of one of the all-time great quarterbacks)

WHEN PRIDE STILL MATTERED --David Maraniss (the best biography on Vince Lombardi. A close second is VINCE, which I also enjoyed)

TO AMERICA, PERSONAL REFLECTIONS OF A HISTORIAN--Stephen Ambrose (probably the most popular historian of the late 20th century, this book, his last, was the closest we would get to his autobiography)

DOUGLAS SOUTHALL FREEMAN--David E. Johnson (fascinating biography of the greatest biographer of the first half of the 20th century.)

ROONE--Roone Arledge (a celebration of creativity and risk taking)

THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE--Peter Senge (the best business book I have ever read. Addresses aspects useful for all organizations.)

INSTANT REPLAY--Jerry Kramer (describes in detail a players perspective of one of the most storied seasons in NFL history)

THE OLD BALL GAME: HOW JOHN MCGRAW, CHRISTY MATHEWSON, AND THE NEW YORK GIANTS CREATED MODERN BASEBALL--Frank Deford (Christy Mathewson was nicknamed "the Christian gentleman"; he was America's first sports hero and the Roger Staubach of his day.)

WALTER BENJAMIN AT THE DAIRY QUEEN--Larry McMurtry (the autobiography of one of the great American writers of the second half of the 20th century)

LIFE ON THE VINE—Phillip D. Kenneson (a marvelous treatment of the fruit of the Spirit)

Five things I think I think (a tip of the hat to Peter King for this idea)

1. I’m a big Pat Summitt fan, so I thoroughly enjoyed her book REACH FOR THE SUMMIT. She wrote it about ten years ago, but it is still relevant. The TENNESEE coach, college basketball’s winningest, has much to say when it comes to discipline and hard work. Most importantly my daughter Abby was all ears when it came to listening to this book on a recent trip. Favorite story: after a listless performance on the road, Pat Summitt said not a word. When the team returned to Knoxville about midnight, Summitt, had the team watch film for e hours, then she had them dress out for a two hour practice at 4:00 A. M.—followed by classes of course.

2. My daughter, Abby, and I watched the scariest movie that I remember from my childhood—DIE MONSTER DIE. The movie starred Boris Karloff. I remember seeing it at the Winnsboro movie theater one summer afternoon. I had trouble sleeping for days after I saw it. After seeing the movie this week, I don’t want to say that it was cheesy, but I almost fell asleep.

3. A much better movie, which my entire family enjoyed, was THE STRATTON story with Jimmy Stewart. Based on a true story, it tells the story of Chicago White Sox All-Star pitcher Monty Stratton who lost his leg due to a hunting accident, and returns to pitch.

4. I have heard for the past few years about so many friends editing family videos on their computer. They make it sound easier than brushing your teeth with an electric toothbrush. Let me tell you, it is complicated! I tried this week to do some editing, and found out that my computer did not have the software to do so. So I installed Pinnacle 10, and still am having trouble. Just to be safe, I have checked out from the library books like VIDEO FOR DUMMIES, VIDEO FOR MORONS, and VIDEO FOR REAL DUMMIES AND MORONS. Stay tuned.

5. For all of you desiring to see our fearless softball team play a doubleheader Monday night, I have some bad news. Because I love my wife, and more importantly, because I fear her, I am going to accompany her to a banquet, given by her school. I will miss both games. I had been scheduled to hit 8 home runs, knock in 20 RBIs, and participate in 10 double plays. I am sorry to let the team down. Hopefully, they will manage to compete without me—and remember who I am come Tuesday morning. I think Wally Pipp once missed a start due to his wife’s schedule. A guy named Lou Gehrig filled in that day.

Have a great weekend!