Raise Up Off Me: A Portrait of Hampton Hawes

by Hampton Hawes and Don Asher

A memoir by the be-bop pianist that I like so much. The writing is not politically correct at all. Interesting nonetheless.

Misquoting Jesus

The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why

by Bart D. Ehrman

This is a book which explains that there are no originals of the books of the New Testament, just copies of the copies of the copies. He talks about how changes occurred and explains the different types of changes.

If you don't want to read the whole book, (which I highly recommend that you do) just read the intro and pages 152-155.

The second and third centuries A.D. (before the New Testament was put together in its whole form) "were particularly rich in theological diversity among the early Christians. In fact, the theological diversity was so extensive that groups calling themselves Christian adhered to beliefs and practices that most Christians today would insist were not Christian at all."

This is a book that I will eventually get for my own.

The Rescue Artist

by Edward Dolnick

Now this is more my type of book. It's about how a guy, Charley Hill in Scotland Yard goes about recovering stolen paintings. It follows The Scream by Munch that was stolen in 1994. It describes how Hill recovers the paintings as well as a few descriptions of some of the thieves and why they steal paintings that are almost impossible to sell because of how well they are known. The book moves quickly and is very interesting.

Dream Boogie -The Triumph of Sam Cooke

by Peter Guralnick

A copious and complete biography. I found it a little bit dry at times though there were a lot of good reviews about the book. If you want to know everything about Sam Cooke, this is the book to read.