Chivalry by Zach Hunter

Let me begin this review by telling you why I chose to review this book. I have a son who will be entering the teen years sooner than I can imagine :) and I thought this might be a good book to read with him, or at least to guide discussions. Those were my preconceptions; as I began the book I realized it is not the type of book I thought it was.

I got off on the wrong foot with the author in the foreword where he attempts to redefine the word "chivalry". He states, "We're going to turn this old notion of chivalry upside down and make it about men and women. We're going to tear down old ideas about only men having the responsibility to be chivalrous and instead imagine a society that is civil--both male and female." Not that I don't embrace the idea of encouraging civility, politeness, respect, etc. by all members of society, but that simply is not chivalry. The word chivalry is steeped in tradition, history, and does not need to be redefined. I wished that the author had just chosen a different word to use.

The author goes over 10 different kinds of codes of chivalry, one in each chapter. Some are illustrated by others' life stories, some backed up by a degree of Scripture. Some of these are such as, "I will respect life and freedom," "I will honor truth and always keep my promises," "I will live and die with honor," and others.

So--did I like the book? Ahhhh, ummm, I have to at this point say that I am definitely not the demographic that this book was written for. :) I am 42 years old and my college years are long behind me. The author is a college-aged fellow, as I read the book I think that when I was a college student I would have thought that his words were much more profound than they seem to me now. Reading it at this age I kind of felt like I was listening to a valedictorian's speech or something like that. Perhaps the value of this book is to be read by its intended audience :) upper high schoolers through college students. It's written to Christian kids to encourage them in how to follow Christ in their lives. There were a couple of topics which seemed kind of superficial or simplified to me and one segment which I did not agree with. I probably would not recommend the book, but I'm sure there will be some people who are inspired by it.

I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher for the purpose of this review. I was not required to write a positive review.