Interdisciplinary Book and Film Reviews

  The Jurassic Park film series began in 1993 and ended in 2022. There are six major films in the series. 1. Jurassic Park 1993 2. The Lost World: Jurassic Park 1997 3. Jurassic Park III 2001 4. Jurassic World 2015 5. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 2018 6. Jurassic World: Dominion 2022 About the Series Box Sets Available Six Movie Collection 4K Blu-Ray ON AMAZON Six Movie Collection Blu-Ray DVD and Digital    on AMAZON Genre : Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Origins : Jurassic Park is a novel created by Michael Crichton. John Hammon is a wealthy investor whose company, InGen, owns Jurassic Park, which is a theme park on a beautiful island with dinosaurs created by geneticist, Dr. Henry Wu. Crichton's second book is Jurassic World. The film series is based on the characters created by Michael Crichton. Jurassic Park Trilogy   1. Jurassic Park 1993 Novelist: Michael Crichton (1990) wrote the first of two books available - on AMAZON Film Director: Steven Spielberg Some lead...

  Code Name: Lise:  The True Story of the Spy Who Became WWII's Most Highly Decorated Woman By Larry Loftis Reviewed by Geoffrey W. Sutton Lise was the code name for Odette Samson. She's living in Somerset England with her children at the outset of World War II. Her husband is off at war. Because she was raised in France, her language and experience make her a potential candidate to help the resistance organised by Britain's War Office referred to as SOE (Special Operations Executive). The story moves quickly from training to deployment. Relying on a trove of records that include interviews and official communications, Loftis creates a vivid thriller of a determined young woman focused on carrying out her risky responsibilities as a courier under threat of the Nazi boot. As the story progresses, she falls in love with her commanding officer, Peter Churchill. Despite many thrilling escapes, she and Peter are eventually captured by Hugo, Germany's master spy catcher. Disg...

  THE DEMON-HAUNTED WORLD Science as a Candle in the Dark By   Carl Sagan   Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton Carl Sagan injects readers with two treatments followed by booster shots throughout the 25 chapters of The Demon-Haunted World . In the end, enlightened readers will see science, not as a mere candle, but as a brilliant search light in the murky world of opinions, conspiracies, and myths. The first repeated treatment is a healthy dose of skepticism aimed at beliefs that led so many of our ancestors astray or worse, led to horrendous unnecessary deaths. The second treatment is the inspiring and hope-filled vial of scientific discovery catalyzed by curiosity and wonderment and guided by the light of the scientific method. For the most part, Sagan moves us quickly from one topic to another but there were times when I wished he’d cut some of the UFO stories. I get it. People are gullible and believe all sorts of things about aliens. Of course there’s...

  Citizens of London The Americans Who Stood With Britain in its Darkest, Finest Hour   By Lynne Olson   Reviewed by Geoffrey W. Sutton   Lynne Olson tells the exciting story of three Americans in Britain's wore torn capitol whose passionate embrace of the British solitary stand against the Nazis served as a catalyst that would eventually link America and Britain in an incredibly close fighting force against the enemy. Olson’s masterful presentation reveals how three different men— George Winant, Edward Murrow, and Averell Harriman—interacted with Churchill, Roosevelt, and a cast of other Anglo-American leaders on the world stage between 1939 and 1945. As she describes these relationships following the course of the war, we learn the crucial role of close connections and trust in the arduous melding of an international allied force to defeat the axis powers. The three men are different. Winant is a respected diplomat with an amazing ability to emp...

                                                               Do I Stay Christian?    By Brian D. McLaren   Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton   “He’s an atheist now.” “She came home from that church in tears.” “We’re agnostic. We just don’t know.”   In the past decade, it seems like young adults have been fleeing church as if there was an active shooter in the sanctuary. I am privileged to remain friends with former university students on social media. I see some have left evangelical churches and some declare themselves atheists. I interact with older friends across the USA whose adult children have given up their evangelical beliefs. Some felt welcomed in mainline congregations but others appear to be in some vague spiritual place that I couldn’t quite locate.   Brian D...

  The Woman Who Smashed Codes    A True Story of Love, Spies,     and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America's Enemies By    Jason Fagone   Reviewed by    Geoffrey W. Sutton Elizebeth Smith (1892-1980) is the woman who smashed the codes of Nazis in World War II. Her story, told by Jason Fagone, reads like one of the best mystery novels.  I recommend  The Woman Who Smashed Codes  to anyone interested in the contribution of women to science and democracy. And to anyone interested in the intriguing world of spies, the foundations of Western intelligence agencies, or World War II.  Elizebeth (spelt with an “e” not an “a”) was often overshadowed by her high profile husband, William Friedman, the dean of American Cryptology. Elizebeth is an American Hero--this book tells her story. Elizebeth Smith of Huntington Indiana began her professional career as a Quaker schoolteacher. She, and her husband t...

  Gender Identity & Faith Clinical Postures, Tools, and Case Studies For Client-Centered Care   By   Mark A. Yarhouse &   Julia A.   Sadusky Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton Gender Identity & Faith   is not for everyone. Yarhouse and Sadusky have written a guidebook for mental health professionals who need a resource to help patients and their families who are seeking assistance with two identity issues—gender identity and religious identity. The authors are not focused on changing gender identity. Instead, they provide readers with specific ideas to help their patients explore their perceived conflicts between gender and religious identity. Although the authors use the words religious and conventionally religious , the book is focused on Christian patients who perceive a conflict between two salient components of their self-identity. Most Americans are religious and most Americans identify as Christian. It is general...