Have you read Galatians recently?

Oakes, Peter.  Galatians.  Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2015.  ISBN: 978-1-4412-4651-6

Commentaries are by nature books written about other books.  While many works of literature have commentaries (think of all that has been written discussing Shakespeare or Chaucer), when you think of  individual commentaries, you are likely thinking of a book on individual books of the Bible.  That is the case here.  Peter Oakes has written a commentary on Galatians that works on many levels.  He provides a nice overview of the book, highlights the major themes that he sees in Paul's letter, and then he digs into the individual chapters and verses.

Peter Oaks does a very credible job of setting Galatians in context of its time and location while relating the letter to the rest of Paul's letters.  He provides his own translation of the text and setts the major themes in relation to each other.  He works on developing the reader's understanding of how each part of the letter interacts and reflects with the rest of the letter.  He syntheses and documents other commentaries on Galatians without losing his own vision of the book.  The major quibble I have with Oakes' commentary is the abrupt ending.  An afterword would have been a nice addition.  Otherwise, a good choice for developing your understanding of Paul's Letter to the Galatians.

WW II Bombing Reassessed, Again

Overy, Richard.  The Bombers and The Bombed: The Allied Air War Over Europe, 1940-1945.
        New York: Viking, 2014.  ISBN: 978-0670025152

Years ago,when I was about 12, I got hold of my dad's Compact History of  the United States Air Force and managed to read it from the beginning with the Wright Flyers to the end of the Korean War and developments to 1960.  A large portion of that book dealt with the bombing of Germany and other locations in Europe and Asia during WWII.  So when I started reading The Bombers and The Bombed, I was entering semi-familiar ground. 

While Richard Overy does not write a justification for the Allied/German bombing campaigns; neither does he write a scathing condemnation of the bombing campaigns.  Rather Overy seeks to provide background on what Allied and German air forces concepts of bombing were in context of that time, the goals they thought achievable, the resources they had, and what was actually accomplished.  Alongside the bombers, Overy provides description and statistics on the effect the bombing had on the various populations being bombed, covering, England, Germany, Italy, and the rest of Europe in six chapters and an epilogue. 

Richard Overy writes serviceable prose with a purpose; he aims to show via the evidence presented that bombing does not win wars alone despite the stories told by air force generals and air power advocates.  He provides plenty of statistics and documents his assertions.  If you have an interest in World War II air war or air power in general, you are likely to enjoy reading The Bombers and The Bombed.