BEN'S HISTORY CORNER
BBB Rated Books of 2006
This is a feeble stab by a first year PhD student to pick the best books on history, religion, and culture published in 2006. People who are interested in America’s relationship to the world, especially its peculiar religious traditions, might find some of these books worth reading.

A Nation among Nations: America’s Place in World History.
Thomas Bender (Hill and Wang)
The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C. S. Lewis
Alan Jacobs (HarperSanFrancisco)
The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South
Philip Jenkins (Oxford)
Blessed Among Nations: How the World Made America.
Eric Raughway (Hill and Wang)
The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times
Odd Arne Westad (Cambridge)
Fundamentalism and American Culture. Second Edition.
George Marsden (Oxford)
A Secular Faith: Why Christianity Favors the Separation of Church and State
D.G. Hart (Ivan R. Dee)
American at the Crossroads: Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy
Francis Fukuyama (Yale)

Christmas Greetings, 2006

This year was marked by our move from Saint Paul, Minnesota to the glorious city of Camden, New Jersey. After moving to the most dangerous city in the United States this summer, you’ll be happy to hear that after our sensational arrival the wonderful researchers from the “Worst Cities in America Report” decided that Camden was now only the fifth most dangerous city in America. Naturally, we’ve made a small career out of taking credit for the city’s miraculous turn around. Ben thought about using his newfound popularity in the community to run for city council, until he discovered that the infamous Camden City Hall still required a well-placed $10,000 “donation” to get on the ballot. Despite that great setback, it feels surprisingly ennobling to take part in an urban revitalization project (and we haven’t been robbed yet!). Ok, so we live in a recently renovated waterfront loft (see picture on card) next to the state aquarium and minor league baseball stadium, and so far we’ve loved every minute of life on the east coast.

Well almost. Ben discovered that graduate school life is more complex than leisurely reading books on the recliner while sipping on latte’s all day long. His PhD studies in diplomatic and international history at Temple University are going along splendidly (so long as we don’t linger on how long it will take to finish). Toni is enjoying driving across the Benjamin Franklin Bridge everyday to her fun marketing job in Philadelphia, although her long working hours highlight the norm out east. But life on the east coast has its advantages. A Saturday in New York’s Times Square, a Sunday at the beach in Atlantic City, or weekend jaunt down to North Carolina to visit Toni’s sister and Ben’s brother is like driving to Duluth, Rochester or Chicago from our old home in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

This year also marked our first transatlantic flight to Europe as husband and wife. We enjoyed a romantic weekend in Paris along with our good friends the French student rioters (Who wants to visit the Sorbonne anyways?), a trip to Berlin, Germany (Ben’s high school stomping grounds), and a lovely visit to Seville and the Spanish coast with Ben’s brother and his wife.

We hope you will have a wonderful holiday season this winter. Amidst the move and all the other changes in our lives we found comfort in the Savior’s words from long ago: “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”