Neil Mercer

Merton' autobiography of faith is a good story but it is really slow for the first half of the book. It begins getting interesting once Merton enters graduate school and he has his first encounter with pre WWII communism. When communism and graduate school does not satisfy Merton's spiritual/intellectual quest he begins to look towards the Catholic Church. An intriguing section towards the end of the book has to do with Merton's involvement with the friendship club in Harlem before America joins WWII.

During this horrendous election cycle I have become angry, depressed, and struggled with the racism in this country. In my despair I sought out a teacher who knew what it meant to suffer and respond to a horrible situation in a honorable way. After reading this book I have learned more about MLK Jr. than any history class. MLK Jr. had an abundance of grace and truly walked the talk. This book should be read by everyone to showcase the life of a true Christian.

This is by far the most intense, emotional, and heart wrenching fictional book that I have ever read. It is fictional so there are aspects of the book that are fantastical but I believe that this adds to the experience. Colson Whitehead does an amazing job combing many of the atrocities that the USA has committed against African Americans into the singular experience of Cora. Through Cora the reader gets to experience first hand the rape, despair, and heart break that white Americans caused among the African American community. I found the that the adjustment to new circumstances and the hope that comes right before tragedy very poignant especially considering current events. Throughout US history we have grown complacent when, slavery was not allowed above the 32nd parallel, slavery was abolished in 1865, after the Civil Rights movement, and after the first Black president was elected. After each of these events there has been a resurgence of white-supremacy. I have learned from this book and the events over the past year that it is imperative that we never stop fighting for equal treatment of all human beings.

This is a great introduction to using the BUGS software with a plethora of examples but only does ok as an introduction to Bayesian Analysis. I would recommend picking up an introduction to Bayes, if you are not a Bayesian, to read along with this book.

I learned SAS from this book when I got my first SAS programming job. By using this book I quickly became a quality Data Analyst that was contributing to the company. Skim, study, read and practice the skills in this book and you will have very strong SAS skills.