Book Reviews
Lifespan
Reading With Raymond
Why We Age - and Why We Don’t Have To
Raymond Saadi
Ask Peter Kreeft: The 100 Most Interesting Questions He’s Ever Been Asked By Peter Kreeft Sophia Institute Press $18.95 So, who is Peter Kreeft, you may ask? And that, dear reader, is your first question and a good one. Kreeft is a convert to Christianity and professor of philosophy at Boston College who has written 80 books from which, I’m certain, you’d find the answers you’d seek. This book simplifies that task by posing the most often asked in one volume. “Why are you a Catholic?” is not the first one, but it’s a good start. “What is your favorite proof for the existence of God?” “Why does the church resist the ordination of women?” All good questions, but some defy answers: “How should I vote?” and “What language will we speak in heaven?” I hope it’s Cajun! BC
By David A. Sinclair, Ph.D. Atria Books $28 If we don’t have to age, then how do we avoid it? That question was posed to a 111-year-old veteran of World War II recently on T.V. His response; “Be nice to everyone.” It’s not unusual now to see people reach 100 and even more, so maybe the author has something there. Much of his references are rendered alphabetically; NAD, STAC, PNC1, NAMPT, etc., but the most interesting appears to be NMN, a compound made by our cells and found in foods such as avocado, broccoli and cabbage. Sometimes the answer isn’t a new drug, but too much of an old one, as in the case of the author’s elderly mother whose weak heart left her nearly unable to walk. The culprit, digoxin, which has been used by doctors for over 200 years in small doses for ailing hearts (and in large doses for murderers.) Once discontinued, his mother recovered in a matter of weeks. So, what should we do? Ask your doctor. BC
The Great Big Doorstep By E.P. O’Donnell LSU Press Edition $25 Commodore Crochet and his family salvage a great big doorstep floating down the river, a sign surely, that they will soon find a wonderful house before theirs collapses. Trouble is, Commodore (Commando in the book), a good-hearted ne’er-do-well has big plans for building or buying a grand house to go with their wonderful doorstep but only ends up becoming a ditch digger while his long-suffering wife, secretly grows oranges and Easter lilies on her neighbor’s properties. If you’ve seen the stage version of the story, you don’t need me to tell you how absolutely funny it is. The play, adapted from the book by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett is true to the characters, locale, and situations playgoers will find familiar and prompt laughter as they read. BC
What It’s Like to Be a Bird c o r p o r at e l aW ~ W i l l s & s u c c e s s i o n s ~ e s tat e p l a n n i n g ~ r e a l e s tat e
Daniel J. Walker William A. Eroche Daniel L. Hoychick 1340 W est t unnel B lvd ., s uite 306 H ouma , l ouisiana 985.868.2333 ~ WWelaW . com
42 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • October 2020
By David Allen Sibley Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group $25.39 Have you ever sat in the early evening listening to the birds chattering and one bird’s strange chirp has you wonder what bird that is? And your wife immediately tells you. What? Has she been reading Sibley’s new book already? Never fear my friend. Get your own copy and soon wife, friend and neighbor bird watcher will be asking you to I.D. birds. Seriously, Sibley’s book is not only informative, but his strikingly beautiful paintings of the birds poised at any moment to fly away will tempt you to change places. BC
