Unleashed - Book Review

I wanted to like this book more than I did. There are a couple reasons why this book just didn't resonate with me the way I wanted it to:

a) This book is a reprint of McManus' formerly titled The Barbarian Way. I did not know this going into the book, so when McManus kept referring to "the barbarian way" and being barbarians, it confused me. I thought he was talking about a previous book he had written, but then I went back to the front of the book and saw this book had been published in 2005 as The Barbarian Way. Why the book was reprinted with a new title is beyond me. McManus doesn't seem to have any updated introduction to the book to explain the title change.

b) It took me until about page 129 (the book is only 141 pages) to begin to grasp what McManus was saying in regards to "the barbarian way." The anecdotes he gave throughout the book just weren't clicking with me, nor were the pages and pages of explanation. I feel like McManus could have more easily communicated the idea without the need for so many words. But then the book would have only been about 10 pages long.

What did click with me was when McManus says we need to be free to be ourselves. "We need to let ourselves become the unique individuals that God created us to be. We need to stop trying to be what everyone else wants us to be and stop worrying about what everyone else thinks. Civilized people measure one another by their robes and signet rings. The barbarians measure only heart and actions." (page 133)

Another thing I liked was when McManus compares "barbarian" Christians as a crash of rhinos. (Did you know that a group of rhinos was called a "crash"? Neither did I.) Rhinos can only see 30 feet in front of them, yet the whole group of them goes full speed ahead at 26 miles per hour without apprehension. Barbarian Christians should band together like rhinos. Even though we can't see the future, we just have to move forward with confidence. Stop wasting time and just go.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”