John Shelby Spong, Rescuing the Bible from Fundamendalism: A Bishop Rethinks The Meaning of Scripture (1990) I am only 14 years behind, reviewing a book that came out in 1990.  Nevertheless, this book was new to me (and the first written by Bishop Spong that I have read).  I found this to be an excellent read for those in its target audience:  those Christians who do not believe that the Bible should be interpreted literally, but have not yet developed a biblical understanding to replace literalism.  . . . Read the full review here.

James W. Sires, Habits of the Mind: Intellectual Life As A Christian Calling (Intervarsity Press 2000). I am currently reading this book, and am still only about 1/4 of the way into it.  It looks promising though, to the extent that Sire's thesis is that Christians need to have breadth of intellectual thought, and he is opposed to Christian anti-intellectualism.  He also appears to draw from a wide-ranging group of sources.  More to follow. . .

John Shelby Spong, A New Christianity For A New World: Why Traditional Faith Is Dying and How a New Faith is Being Born Rev. Spong does not think small.  I am thus far about 1/3 through the book.  He has laid out the problems with Theistic Christianity, using his terms.  I am not sure that I agree with all of them, or at least with the extent.  I am also not sure that God is as impersonal as he believes.  I am withholding judgment until the end, however, as he has not completely explained his view of the future of Christianity at this point . . .

	Michael Mott, The Seven Mountains of Thomas Merton (Houghton Mifflin 1984). I read this before I read any of Thomas Merton's writings.  At the time, I was more familiar with the mystic and meditative traditions of Buddhism than with Christianity.  It was an eye opener, to understand the common elements across what would otherwise seem to be very different religious traditions.  In any event, this is a well written book that provides an excellent introduction into Catholic monasticism, which seems a very different, but strangely appealing, world to my Protestant eyes.
	M.K. Ghandi, The Story of My Experiments With Truth (commonly called "Ghandi's Autobiography") My copy of this book is a 1948 printing from the Public Affairs Press, with pictures of Ghandi on the fly leaves, and a photograph of Ghandi's worldly possessions at the time of his death (all of which would fit in a shoe box).  This is a great book to read, particularly for anyone interested in how to change minds without demonizing those on the other side.  To me, who is far too wedded to his possessions, the ideals espoused by Ghandi (and by Thoreau, see below) provide a noble aspiration.
The Annotated Walden, Philip Van Doren Stern, ed.	Henry David Thoreau, The Annotated Walden (Phillip Van Dorn, ed.) My first foray into Thoreau was high school, at which time I wanted to head my essay with "Why is this man going on about seeds?"  Come back to Thoreau as an adult, and you see a view of a man struggling with pre-modern, pre-mechanized America, almost mourning the loss of what is around him, even before it is gone.  The annotated version of this work is particularly interesting.  After all, Thoreau does "go on" about seeds a little TOO long, once in a while.

	A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. (ed. James M. Washington, HarperCollins, 1986) Personally, I am a sucker for large source books.  I like the feeling that I've got ALL of what someone has to say.  These are the collected writings of Dr. King, who reminds us of what Christianity should be like -active and non-exclusive.  So much of modern liberal and progressive thought has come out of Christianity, and the best impulses of Christians, that it makes me sad to see modern liberals and progressives treat Christians in general as second-class humans.  Dr. King provides, to me, a cogent connection between the fundamental goodness of Christianity and modern liberal and progressive thinking, and he does so in a practical manner that everyone can understand.
	Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings, 1832-1858; Speeches, Letters, and Miscellaneous Writings; The Lincoln Douglass Debates (Library of America, 1989)   Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings, 1859-1865; Speeches, Letters and Miscellaneous Writings; Presidential Messages and Proclamations (Library of America, 1989). This is another valuable item in my library.  Abraham Lincoln's faith was deeply personal, and his struggles show through his letters and speeches.  His writings are also informed by a deep knowledge of human nature, and humor.  These books, in a set spanning from Licoln's early career to his death, are well worth reading, particularly the major speeches and debates.
	Gordon S. Wood, The Radicalism of the American Revolution; How A Revolution Transformed A Monarchical Society Into A Democratic One Unlike Any That Had Ever Existed (Alfred A. Knopf 1992). I really enjoyed this book.  It places the American revolution in context, and demonstrates the real advances in democratic and populist thinking that resulted from the American experiment.   Wood traces not just the revolution, but its aftermath and the development of American institutions, and demonstrates how those institutions differed in structure and outlook from those of Europe.