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2. We have read in the club the following books on a similar subject:
a) Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society by John Horvat Solution: family-based guilds
b) The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation by Rod Dreher Solution: all of us should become Benedictine
c) The Restoration of Christian Culture, by John Senior. Solution: go back to the 19th century
d) Strangers in a Strange Land: Living the Catholic Faith in a Post-Christian World, by Charles J. Chaput. Solution: living a Christian life
e) Christus Vincit: Christ's Triumph Over the Darkness of the Age, by Athanasius Schneider. Solution: go back to before the 2nd Vatican Council
f) The Idol of Our Age: How the Religion of Humanity Subverts Christianity, by Daniel J. Mahoney. Solution: Reject humanism
g) Beheading Hydra: A Radical Plan for Christians in an Atheistic Age, by Dwight Longenecker. Solution: Avoid isms.
h) The Marian Option: God’s Solution to a Civilization in Crisis, by Carrie Gress. Solution: Pray the Rosary.

How do these books compare with this one?

It seems to me that your personal opinion taints this particular question considerably, the solutions that you propose for the books seem to me more like a parody of the individual books than anything serious. I would prefer if we could keep this discussion on a respectful level instead of downplaying the work of well meaning authors to hopeless illusions and making fun of them.
But maybe my first impression of this question is too harsh.

Sebastian wrote: "It seems to me that your personal opinion taints this particular question considerably, the solutions that you propose for the books seem to me more like a parody of the individual books than anything serious. I would prefer if we could keep this discussion on a respectful level..."

Where do you see a lack of respect?

I'll explain. I don't think you can find any lack of respect in summaries such as "Pray the Rosary" (which is what the Virgin Mary suggested in Fatima) or "living a Christian life." So you must have taken exception at some of the others.

"All of us should become Benedictine" as a summary of "The Benedict Option" cannot be considered disrespectful, as it says the same as the title of the book, and is a good summary of what the book asserts: that all of us should follow in some way the rule of St. Benedict.

"Go back to the 19th century" as a summary of Senior's book. But this is what he says in his book: "break your TV set... don't listen to recorded music... never use a mechanic typewriter..." And he doesn't say "never use a computer" because his book was published in 1983, when personal computers were just appearing. So what he was in fact saying was: "Reject all technology invented after the end of the 19th century." It seems to me that the summary is correct.

"Beheading Hydra" contains a list of many -isms that we should reject. So why would there be a lack of respect in summarizing the book as "Avoid -isms"? (Specially when we agree with it).

Have I missed something?

Manuel wrote: "Sebastian wrote: "It seems to me that your personal opinion taints this particular question considerably, the solutions that you propose for the books seem to me more like a parody of the individua..."

Well if I look for example at "The Marian Option: God’s Solution to a Civilization in Crisis, by Carrie Gress. Solution: Pray the Rosary.", the solution seems to me look a over generalization, while she certainly encourages to pray the rosary, the book is about a lot more than just adding another devotional practice to your life. She goes in her book into details of the Marian apparitions, which are also about a lot more than just praying 50 hail marys a day. And thus for me the solution that book provides is more of a meditation about how we can align our lives to the messages from the apparitions, to transform our lives towards a direction of peace and to make our spiritual life more marian, with all the implications that come with that. And I don't want to claim, that what I just wrote is a proper summary, what I want to highlight is rather that a book like this deserves, that we put more thought and detail into a summary.

Or if we look at "Beheading Hydra: A Radical Plan for Christians in an Atheistic Age, by Dwight Longenecker. Solution: Avoid isms.".
While he certainly goes into details about certain "isms" and their dangers and implications, reducing the solution to avoid a bunch isms, is a gross over simplification of the case the author makes, from my point of view. As I can see a broader case of trying your best in your day to day life to be conscious about your faith and how your faith dictates your actions, thus by highlighting where we can fall from orthodoxy and where the culture we live in embeds heretical views in our minds, we can learn to be aware of why we think the way we think and thus why we live the way we live. Which is a lot more than to just avoid a bunch of things.

To me the solutions sound like if someone would summarize the Gospels with: Love everyone or whatever , because even though the love of God and of our neighbor, which includes also our enemies, is an essential part and love is the golden thread that goes through the whole bible, summarizing it with love everyone would sound more like a parody than a serious attempt to summarize it.

I haven't read the other books, but I am pretty sure that the author of "The Restoration of Christian Culture" wants to not turn everything back to the 19th century and the author of "The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation" probably doesn't want everyone to become a benedictine monk.

As I said, maybe I took this the wrong way, but the question felt to me a bit unfair and bitter towards the authors of the books and also shapes the question in way that sounds to me like: Alright the previous books we read were all pretty dumb as they didn't provide any serious solution, let us see what this guy tries to suggest, which sounds to me like not giving this a real chance.

Again maybe I am a bit too sensitive on that side, so I am open for criticism.

Manuel wrote: "I'll explain. I don't think you can find any lack of respect in summaries such as "Pray the Rosary" (which is what the Virgin Mary suggested in Fatima) or "living a Christian life." So you must hav..."

No I think that is a fair point, to make especially about the books I haven't read. I think I would still enjoy a little more nuanced summaries, but that can be personal taste as well.
Sorry if I took this out of proportion.

Sebastian wrote: "Well if I look for example at "The Marian Option"...

I understand your point. Any summary of a book in a single paragraph must be somewhat unfair. But this is different to considering that such a summary must be an abasement of the book, as you imply.

By now we have discussed nine books in the club about what's happening to our civilization, which has abandoned Christianity, and what we can do about it. Any attempt to describe so many books in a longer way would be an overload. It's true that we didn't accept everything the books said, but there were many coincidences.

On the other hand, if you want that information, you can always look at the discussions themselves, or to our reviews of the books in Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. For instance, if you look at my review of "The Marian Option" you'll see that there was no intention of slashing the book with that summary:
/review/show...

Sebastian wrote: "It seems to me that your personal opinion taints this particular question considerably, the solutions that you propose for the books seem to me more like a parody of the individual books than anyth..."

We are always open to volunteers to craft discussion questions.

Sebastian wrote: "Manuel wrote: "I'll explain. I don't think you can find any lack of respect in summaries such as "Pray the Rosary" (which is what the Virgin Mary suggested in Fatima) or "living a Christian life." ..."

Sebastian, when we read an earlier book (Marian Option) and this list was posted, I had a similar reaction to yours! (Oversimplification, I probably said.) I understand the need for a quick / nutshell summary, but a few sound a bit tongue in cheek to some of us!

Summarizing the plot or, the main idea of a book in a few words is very difficult. This afternoon I will write to Mrs. Esolen to see if the author of the book will join the discussion, which would considerably enrich the debate on this book.

Just coming in here to comment that on iPad the comments show up truncated. I don't have access to a desktop these days. Wondering if anyone has the same problem on mobile....

Thank you for reaching out to Prof. Esolen, Fonch. His books have been so helpful/inspiring to us in our 23+ years of homeschooling.