Many of our readers have told us how much they appreciate the writings of John R. Erickson, the author of the popular Hank the Cowdog series of children’s books. Over the next few months, thanks to the University of North Texas Press, WORLD is publishing as part of our Saturday Series chapters from Erickson’s Through Time and the Valley. The book, first published in 1978, recounts Erickson and Bill Ellzey’s journey in 1972 on horseback through the Texas Panhandle’s isolated Canadian River valley.

Worthy: Celebrating the Value of Women by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Eric Schumacher: Starting in Genesis, Fitzpatrick and Schu­macher guide readers through the Biblical story in order to illustrate the essential role women play in God’s redemption plan. Women have worth because they, like men, are God’s image bearers. Many Christian women struggle to see their worth after being ignored, abused, dismissed, and disparaged, even within the Church. God uniquely called women to be “priestly helpers,” and Scripture is filled with unlikely and humble heroines.

Also in this issue, Mary Jackson reviews four books about women, so here are some highlights from a book about men by Leon Podles, a retired federal investigator with a doctorate and six children. His Losing the Good Portion: Why Men Are Alienated From Christianity (St. Augustine’s Press, 2019) investigates why men are less likely to attend church and listen to sermons than women—not just in 21st-­century America but in many cultures at many times. 

When Kim Jong Un took over as North Korea’s leader in 2011, no one knew what to make of the Swiss-educated 27-year-old who loved the NBA. Would the younger Kim lead reforms in the Hermit Kingdom?

The Little Blue Cottage by Kelly Jordan: All year long a quaint blue cottage on the bay sits unoccupied until a little girl and her family arrive in the summertime, filling the house with the smells of pancakes, bacon, and sunscreen. Each year, the girl boats, fishes, flies kites, and shelters from summer storms inside the little cottage.

The Nesting Dolls by Alina Adams: The Nesting Dolls, out on July 14, is a fascinating multigeneration tale that moves from Stalin-era Siberia to Brighton Beach, N.Y., in 2019. The story focuses on the women in a Russian Jewish family who face incredible obstacles just to survive. Adams shows the horrors of Stalin’s Soviet Union and the desperate choices some people made. The book ends with Zoya, a young woman who grew up in the United States. She has a private-school education and privileges her parents and grandparents could only dream of.

Dan Crenshaw spent a decade as a Navy SEAL and lost a right eye in Afghanistan. He gained national celebrity in 2018 when a Saturday Night Live comedian made light of his sacrifice and Crenshaw showed character by gracefully responding. Now he’s a member of Congress with a new book out—Fortitude: American Resilience in the Era of Outrage (Twelve, 2020)—that is far above the typical self-serving book by a rising politician.