Category Archives: Book Review

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Book Review: The Tin Ticket – The Heroic Journey of Australia’s Convict Women, by Deborah J. Swiss

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Chapter 2: Crown of Thieves

‘Crown of Thieves’ opens well enough for Agnes and her friend Janet. They have freedom to enjoy, but too soon the 2nd chapter continues the narrative of despair and forced labor that petty thieves were required to fulfill as payment for their crimes. First in Glasgow and then in Kilmarnock, where their hopes for a better life were cut short as a consequence of their short careers in petty crime. In such a setting, in such a time, there was little for street kids to do in order to survive and so to petty thieving they often returned. It was their undoing in a society that knew little of compassion and nothing of social welfare.

From Kilmarnock, via the trial in Ayr, the lives of Agnes McMillan and Janet Houston were propelled in an entirely unexpected direction – transportation to Van Diemen’s Land for a period of seven years. In reality there would be no return. They were convicts headed for Tasmania, Australia, as it is now known. The chapter ends with their arrival in London and Newgate Prison.

The Tin Ticket brings to life the harsh realities of life for the homeless and poor of Britain. They were products of a harsh system that punished those that could do little to help themselves and seldom was help offered to enable them to lift themselves out of their predicament. Certainly deserved criminals were transported to the penal colonies, but far too often it was those who fell through the cracks of an unsympathetic society that were punished for what they had become in order to survive. The recorded history of transportation takes on a human face through the stories of Agnes McMillan and Janet Houston. It is a reminder that convicts were real people and often not all that criminal at all.

Buy this book at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0043RSIWI/

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Not My Review: The Kind of Preaching God Blesses by Steven J. Lawson

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The link below is to a book review of ‘The Kind of Preaching God Blesses,’ by Steven J. Lawson.

For more visit:
http://www.challies.com/book-reviews/the-kind-of-preaching-god-blesses

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Not My Review: Let’s Get Visible – How to Get Noticed and Sell More Books by David Gaughran

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The link below is to a book review of ‘Let’s Get Visible – How to Get Noticed and Sell More Books’ by David Gaughran.

For more visit:
http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/review-lets-get-visible-how-to-get-noticed-and-sell-more-books-by-david-gaughran/

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Book Review: The Tin Ticket – The Heroic Journey of Australia’s Convict Women, by Deborah J. Swiss

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Chapter 1: The Grey-Eyed Girl

Well I lasted one day before reading some more of this book – but I did finish one of the other books I was reading first and posted a book review of it, so that wasn’t too bad. I’ve convinced myself anyway, so I can now continue reading this book as well.

The first chapter begins the story of Agnes McMillan Roberts, a convict sent to Van Diemen’s Land (now known as Tasmania) from Glasgow in Scotland.

This first chapter paints a terrible picture of conditions for the poorer families of Glasgow in the 1820s. The early years were tough years for Agnes and her childhood was cut short by the abandonment of her parents – first her father, then her mother (who basically stopped being one). In the place of family, Agnes aged 12 found support in a ‘street gang’ of young girls and this led ultimately to her arrest for burglary. Her partner in crime and life was 13-year-old Janet Houston, who took the younger Agnes under her wing.

Fighting to survive the elements in a filthy city, petty crime was one of very few options open to Agnes and she took it. She was to pay the penalty for being a survivor, a penalty that she was required to pay because society failed to care for the less fortunate of her day. Her small gang of young girls were arrested at the scene of their crime and quickly sentenced.

Agnes and Janet were sentenced to 18 months forced labor at a woolen mill, working 15 hour days, 7 days a week. They were basically slaves, child slaves and poorly treated ones at that. Life at the mill was 18 months of torture, a slave labor that no child should have to endure. Yet this was the life that beckoned for thousands of children across Britain during the so-called Industrial Revolution. Child exploitation and exploitation of the poor were signs of the times.

Reading this chapter you can’t but feel for Agnes and her friend Janet. Abandoned by society, with no hope for survival except by embracing a world of what you could call the underbelly of 1820s Glasgow. To survive they turned to a life of petty crime. Sure they were by definition criminals, but it is difficult to feel anything but pity and compassion toward these young girls given the circumstances in which they lived. From out of the frying pan and into the fire though was the result, in what is just a terribly sad childhood for these young girls.

This first chapter leaves you asking yourself just who were the real criminals in all of this? Are the parents the real criminals? Are the upper class to blame for this? Is it the government’s fault? Is it society as a whole? 1820s Glasgow certainly makes me glad to be living in 21st century Australia.

Buy this book at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0043RSIWI/

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Book Review: Humble Orthodoxy – Holding the Truth High Without Putting People Down, by Joshua Harris

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‘Humble Orthodoxy – Holding the Truth High Without Putting People Down’ by Joshua Harris is a relatively new release, having been published on the 2nd April 2013, by Multnomah Books. I have the Kindle edition, which is available at Amazon and is linked to at the bottom of this review – other editions are linked to from that page. It is a relatively short work at just 96 pages, so it won’t take an extended commitment to read it.

The foreword is written by J. D. Greear, a senior pastor at The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina and author of ‘Gospel: Recovering the Power that Made Christianity Revolutionary.’ The foreword is only short, which given the overall size of the book is probably a good thing, however it is a good quick read. I quite liked his thoughts concerning the Pharisees and Pharisaism, both of which are still in existence today.

In my youth as a young Christian (which is not always the same), having come to an understanding of the doctrines of grace, I found myself being very much the opposite of what this book calls for – a humble orthodoxy. I guess it shouldn’t surprise me as I was surrounded by plenty of Reformed Christians who behaved in the same way. Thankfully, over time, the Lord has been slowly transforming me by His grace and showing me a better way. Perhaps it would have been good for me to have had this book back then at the beginning of my Reformed walk – I may have been spared acting out with such displays of arrogant Pharisaism that I thought then were the very proofs of my orthodoxy.

I don’t believe that we ever completely leave the spirit of Pharisaism behind, not entirely. I see it rising to the surface on far too many occassions to think I can be free of it entirely in this fallen world. However it is no longer displayed with pleasure, though I continue to see it so wherever I look in Reformed circles – at least that’s how it appears to me. It has been a source of much grief in my own life over the years, not only personally, but through what I have seen displayed both individually and corporately throughout my experience of the Christian life. So this book when I first happened across it was one I was very keen to grab and read. I bought it for my ebook library and immediately began to read it.

Right from the beginning of the book, with the recommendations from various Christian leaders and with the short foreword already mentioned, I knew I wasn’t going to be disappointed with the thrust of the book. Humble Orthodoxy is certainly a good way to paraphrase the right approach to holding the truth, proclaiming the truth and defending the truth. But it is not only a good way to paraphrase it, it is a good and proper way to live it also.

There is no call to hold a lesser view of the Truth or a lesser version of the Truth, but to seek it out and to hold it and defend it. It is the attitude and manner in which that is done, that is the thrust of this book. I like the picture of doing so as with a tear in the eye, as living a humble orthodoxy in all areas of the Christian life, whether among God’s people or among unbelievers. Humble orthodoxy is what we should be seeking and maintaining at all times and in all places. Humble orthodoxy begins with knowing our proper place before God, seeing ourselves as God sees us and then living accordingly. With this mindset, which comes through the experience of knowing ourselves through the eyes of our gracious Lord and Saviour, will also come the right attitude towards others and ourselves. We will acknowledge and live in such a way that shows we haven’t ‘arrived,’ but are continuing on the journey towards a more humble orthodoxy. The experience of a dependant and an experimental Christian life in this fallen world propells us forward towards a more humble orthodoxy each and every day.

This is a book, being as small as it is, that will make a very useful tool for reminding me to pull my head in and to remember my proper place before the Lord and others. It will be re-read over the years and Lord-willing become a godly corrective whenever I need such to be applied. There is also a helpful study guide at the end of the book which can be used individually or as part of a group.

Buy this book at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009MYAX98/

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Not My Review: A Curious Man by Neal Thompson

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The link below is to a book review of ‘A Curious Man,’ by Neal Thompson. This is a biography of Robert Ripley, ‘believe it or not.’

For more visit:
http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/05/10/a-curious-man-the-strange-and-brilliant-life-of-robert-believe-it-or-not-ripley/

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Not My Review: The Book of My Lives by Aleksandar Hemon

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The link below is to a book review of ‘The Book of My Lives’ by Aleksandar Hemon.

For more visit:
http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/books/the-book-of-my-lives-20130510-2jcz6.html

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Not My Review: The Banner of the Passing Clouds by Anthea Nicholson

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The link below is to a book review of ‘The Banner of the Passing Clouds,’ by Anthea Nicholson.

For more visit:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/10/banner-passing-clouds-nicholson-review

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Book Review: The Tin Ticket – The Heroic Journey of Australia’s Convict Women, by Deborah J. Swiss

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This is going to be a book review with a difference, though not entirely different for At the BookShelf. In times past I have passed on my thoughts concerning a book chapter by chapter, which is what I plan to do with The Tin Ticket. Why? Well I’m not going to be reading all of the book at the same time. I’ll be breaking it up by reading other books as well, so it will be difficult for me to keep my thoughts together and provide a coherent review at the end of the book, whenever it may be that I actually finish it. So I’ll be posting instalments of my varied thoughts as I go along.

I came across this book in the most unlikely of places really, for I found the book in a Killer Whale Museum in Eden, on the New South Wales south coast, in Australia. I wasn’t expecting to come across a small, but healthy Australian history bookshop there. I didn’t even intend to buy myself a copy of this book, though I did intend to buy it for my mother as a birthday gift when I spotted it. I have since found it to be far cheaper at Amazon and you will find it via the link at the bottom of the post. Anyhow, I packed the book away after the holiday to the south coast (about 4 weeks ago now) in preparation to pass it on to my mother when I saw her next.

A couple of days ago I was speaking to my mother on the phone and the subject of her birthday gift was raised, in a roundabout way. I like to make her guess what the gift might be by dropping clues that I know will result in her having no idea, but leave her intrigued at the end of the conversation. The somewhat cryptic clues all resolved around a tin ticket, so the gift being a book I’m sure was never arrived at. She is keen to know what the gift is now though. Sons that like to tease their mothers, how cruel children can be 🙂

The conversation got me to thinking though – I would like to read the book myself, but without pre-using the gift I had bought my mother. So I thought about an ebook version that I could get for my Kindle and went online to check out the Kindle bookshop at Amazon. Sure enough, there it was – so I bought myself a copy. It wasn’t just that I had purchased a traditional version for my mother and wanted to read what I was giving her. I am something of a student of history, especially Australian history, so once the book had passed my eye back in Eden it was really only a matter of time before I got myself a copy – I did almost buy two copies in Eden, but stopped myself because I prefer digital books over traditional books these days – book space is an issue at my place as I have hundreds and hundreds of them all over the place in bookcases.

Though reading a number of other books at the moment, I couldn’t resist having a look at The Tin Ticket any longer, so last night I started to read it. I did cut myself off having read just the acknowledgements and the introduction. That was quite a feat of self discipline let me tell you.

The introduction is a pretty good read and a great way for the book to open I thought. It really has me keen to find out more about these convict women who were treated so poorly by an English justice system that was so quick to have petty criminals shipped off to the colonies in Australia. So my interest has been aroused by the author’s own awakening interest in the women convicts of Australia as described in the introduction. Just enough of a glimpse is given in the introduction to whet the appetite and tease my natural curiosity.

However, I must wait to read more until I complete at least two of the other four books I’m currently reading – which shouldn’t be too much longer. Certainly no longer than a week. Surely I can last a week before reading more? I guess time will tell.

Buy this book at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0043RSIWI/

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Not My Review: Drone Warfare – Killing by Remote Control by Medea Benjamin

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The link below is to a book review of ‘Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Contol,’ by Medea Benjamin.

For more visit:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/09/drone-warfare-medea-benjamin-review