Title: “Jesus on Trial: A Lawyer Affirms the Truth of the Gospel”

Author: David Limbaugh

Rank: 8

Blurb: “Limbaugh, a practicing attorney and former professor of law, approaches the canonical gospels with the same level of scrutiny he would apply to any legal document and asks all the necessary questions about the story of Jesus told through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.”

Review: “If I were a cross-examining trial lawyer, it wouldn’t take me but a couple of expert scholar witnesses to shred Limbaugh’s primary basis-in-fact by illustrating that: 1) Peter didn’t write the books of Peter, 2) John didn’t write the Gospel of John, and 3) numerous pastoral letters of the Pauline epistles are pseudepigrapha (a fancy way for Christian scholars to refer to forgeries within the Bible). With all of this forgery going on within Limbaugh’s primary source of fact, one of his primary ‘witnesses’ has now been reduced to a shambles.”

Customers Also Bought: “Duck Commander Faith and Family Bible”

Footnote: We’ll give you Jesus if you give us the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus on Trial [Amazon]

Buy or Die [Stinque@Amazon Kickback Link]

Title: “World Order”

Author: Henry Kissinger

Rank: 17

Blurb: “Henry Kissinger has traveled the world, advised presidents, and been a close observer and participant in the central foreign policy events of our era. Now he offers his analysis of the twenty first century’s ultimate challenge: how to build a shared international order in a world of divergent historic perspectives, violent conflict, proliferating technology, and ideological extremism.”

Review: “Hillary Clinton wrote a very favorable review in the Washington Post.”

Customers Also Bought: “The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy And Its Geostrategic Imperatives” by Zbigniew Brzezinski

Footnote: This is what happens when you let the Bastards get away with it.

World Order [Amazon]

Buy or Die [Stinque@Amazon Kickback Link]

Title: “Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life”

Author: William Deresiewicz

Rank: 38

Blurb: “Excellent Sheep takes a sharp look at the high-pressure conveyor belt that begins with parents and counselors who demand perfect grades and culminates in the skewed applications Deresiewicz saw firsthand as a member of Yale’s admissions committee. As schools shift focus from the humanities to ‘practical’ subjects like economics and computer science, students are losing the ability to think in innovative ways. Deresiewicz explains how college should be a time for self-discovery, when students can establish their own values and measures of success, so they can forge their own path.”

Review: “Although a liberal arts education, as he advocates, may provide tools for developing a ‘meaningful life’ so will reading, work experience, marriage, parenting, travel, volunteering in one’s community, and other significant life experiences. Personal traits such as curiosity, confidence, honesty, determination, and open-mindedness — if nurtured in childhood and maintained through life — are at least as important as knowledge and skills.”

Customers Also Bought: “SpongeBath Food Safe Biodegradable Antimicrobial Sponge Cleaner”

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Title: “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success”

Author: Carol Dweck

Rank: 80

Blurb: “Dweck explains why it’s not just our abilities and talent that bring us success — but whether we approach them with a fixed or growth mindset.”

Review: “The irony of Dweck’s book is that if the reader understands and believes what she’s saying, then after the first chapter that reader has no reason to keep reading.”

Customers Also Bought: Inevitably, something by Malcolm Gladwell.

Footnote: Our mindset prevents us from accepting poorly expressed ideas like “fixed” and “growth”, as well as notions of “success” that require measurement.

Mindset [Amazon]

Buy or Die [Stinque@Amazon Kickback Link]

Title: “The Art of Public Speaking”

Author: Stephen Lucas

Rank: 60

Price: $128.86

No, that’s not a typo: $128.86. For a paperback.

Blurb: “Utilizing the full suite of resources, students learn to internalize the principles of public speaking, build confidence through speech practice, and prepare for success in the classroom and beyond.”

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Don Pardo, Longtime Saturday Night Live Announcer, Dead at 96 [TVLine]

Title: “Instinct: The Power to Unleash Your Inborn Drive”

Author: T. D. Jakes

Rank: 92

Blurb: “Modern life can seem like being lost in a jungle. With distractions and dangers emerging from every direction, it’s easy to lose focus. Over time, we lose touch with one of our most powerful, purposeful, God-given attributes — the desire to be fruitful and multiply, what Bishop T. D. Jakes calls our ‘instinct for increase.'”

Review: “First I need to clarify two things. One — I am not an Oprah fan at all.”

Customers Also Bought: “The Lady, Her Lover, and Her Lord” by T. D. Jakes

Footnote: While the book itself appears to be a meditation on “trust your instincts”, we’re drawn to the call for Righteous Shagging.

Instinct [Amazon]

Buy or Die [Stinque@Amazon Kickback Link]