Donald Paul Hodel is a name unknown to most political observers, at least those who are not history buffs. This is regrettable because, for decades, from his days organizing and leading Republicans at Harvard College to his home in Oregon where he boosted and led grassroots and state-level Republicans to Washington, D.C., where he lead energy-related and programmatically significant federal departments at the request of President Ronald Reagan to his years of pro-bono service on behalf of Christian nonprofit organizations, Hodel earned the respect and admiration of millions of people.

Fortunately, Hodel remedied that historical shortsightedness with the release of his autobiography, Called to Serve: My Path to President Reagan’s Cabinet and Beyond, on Feb. 2. Nonetheless, Called to Serve is not only for Reaganites, political junkies, Westerners, conservatives, or Christians, for whom Hodel’s explanation of how, after lifetimes as Christians, he and his wife first met Jesus Christ and became witnesses for him, is an inspiration. Indeed, for those interested in the secrets of a long and productive life well-lived, in which the hero suffered “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” at the highest levels and endured unspeakable tragedy not once but thrice and yet persisted with patience, goodwill, humor, and humility while evoking........

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