Ten Good Books

Here’s a list of some of my favorite books. Most of these books are short and sweet so high school students should be able to read through them with ease. But before spending your hard-earned cash, why not check your local library to see if you can borrow these books for free? (I’m currently not an Amazon Affiliate so I won’t be gaining a penny if you purchase them and I happen to like libraries.)

A Little History of the World
An engaging overview of world history.

Pocket History of the Church
A nice summary of 2,000 years of Church history.

World Religions: An Indispensable Introduction
Offers a compelling explanation for why Christians should learn about other beliefs and deftly covers a variety of belief systems.

The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism
The longest book on this list, but an excellent defense of Christian belief. Keller is well-versed in a variety of fields.

Confessions
Arguably, the first autobiography in Western literature. In this work, Augustine narrates his conversion to Christianity with great passion and intellectual insight.

Pensees
A classic defense of Christian belief written in proverbial style.

The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible
The topic of biblical interpretation has the potential to put many readers to sleep, but this book is so well written that reading through it is a breeze.

Introducing Paul: The Man, His Mission and His Message
An excellent introduction to Paul’s thinking with an entertaining flair.

Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes
An engaging look at how our Western assumptions influence our interpretation of the Bible. This book is made accessible through the use of many first-hand stories of life in Indonesia.

Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
While this book doesn’t directly connect to the Bible, it’s one of my favorites and I think it’s an important read for high school students. If you like American history even a little bit, you’ll love this book. Franklin was a one-of-a-kind.

Les Bridgeman

After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. My latest book focuses on Paul’s work as a tentmaker and what it means for today.