Tiger Force: A True Story of Men and War
Michael Sallah & Mitch Weiss
Little, Brown and Company.
1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
ISBN: 0316129972, $25.95, 383 pp.
B.A. Brittingham
Reviewer
It may have been worse than My Lai, with unknown casualty numbers spread across more than a half year, yet most Americans remain unaware of it. Authors Michael Sallah and Mitch Weiss have attempted to remedy this ignorance, first through their series expose in the Toledo Blade, and now through their full-length book, "Tiger Force". Like many human endeavors, the creation of this elite fighting unit occurred with the best intentions. Initially an ordinary reconnaissance platoon, part of the Army's 1st Brigade, 1st Battalion/327th Infantry, Tiger Force's mission was to track Vietcong. At some point in 1966, military planners expanded the duties of the 327th's recon platoon: it was to operate independently, engaging, destroying and striking fear into the enemy whenever located. To distinguish its forty-five members from ordinary soldiers, and to advertise their new name, they were outfitted in special tiger-striped fatigues. Soft brimmed jungle hats replaced helmets and in defiance of Army regulations, Tigers were allowed to grow beards. Many carried sidearms. Eventually some sported necklaces of human ears.
While the original members of Tiger Force had undergone survival and guerrilla warfare training, casualties and attrition through transfer or standard leave eventually took a significant toll. Replacements received little instruction other than "watch your leaders and learn." This may work in the civilian job world, but not in a foreign jungle with enemy snipers drawing a bead on inexperienced invaders. Morale declined, confusion over orders increased, the upper echelon's demand for daily body counts along with their disinclination to take action against reported abuses, all worked detrimentally on the various personalities in Tiger Force. For a period of approximately seven months, they rampaged through their assigned areas killing anything they encountered. The hundreds of deaths included men, women, infants, even water buffalo. No attempt was made to separate innocent peasants from active Vietcong, NVA soldiers, or sympathizers. Dozens of Vietnamese died in bullet-sprayed huts, which were then torched; others were killed when Tigers dropped grenades into small protective bunkers, or simply executed captives. War affects combatants differently, bringing out the best in some. Others, particularly in Vietnam, which psychiatrists eventually dubbed "The Teenage War' due to the relative youth of its participants---eighteen vs. World War II's average inductee age of twenty-four---are so fractured by battle that they act out their fears and angers. Many such psychological disturbances are in place long before being exacerbated by the stresses of combat.
But, there are war rules, are there not? Rules of engagement that are explained to soldiers during basic training and again when they are sent into the field? Unfortunately, for members of Tiger Force and their victims, the people most responsible for maintaining clear-headedness failed miserably. Obsessed with reporting results that would improve their career prospects and covering up those which might have a negative impact, field officers who knew about Tiger atrocities, chose to look the other way. Sometimes they went so far as to encourage them. In one instance, prior to a major operation, Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Morse renamed his battalion's A, B, and C companies "Assassins, Barbarians, and Cutthroats." It may only have been a series of names, just words designed, according to Morse, to engender "togetherness and esprit within the units." For those hovering at the edge of emotional instability, it was evidence of command mind-set and blanket permission to commit murder. Were individual soldiers also at fault? Yes. But the purpose of leadership is to map an acceptable road through the complicated expectations and ethics of war. Not only did field commanders fail their subordinates during the conflict, their superiors---those in the power circles of Washington---did so a second time.
In March 1972, the Army's Criminal Investigation Command passed a file known as the Coy Allegation to one of its most tenacious agents, Gus Apsey. The complaint, already a year old at that point, stated that one of Tiger Force's most notorious point men, one Sam Ybarra, had severed the head of a crying Vietnamese baby in order to confiscate a Buddhist necklace as a trophy. Because the incident had occurred nearly five years earlier, Apsey was told to give highest priority to the case. Doggedly, he invested the next three years in finding and interviewing most living members of the disbanded Tiger Force. Based on their statements, he issued a fifty-five page final report.
Despite verbal testimony in which soldiers corroborated events previously reported---often implicating themselves in the process---no charges were ever brought, no actions ever taken in the matter. It was decided that America needed to heal itself by moving beyond everything Vietnam-related. And so, the dirty little undeclared war in Southeast Asia was permitted to bury one of its dirtiest secrets. Over a quarter of a century later, Sallah and Weiss made a point of excavating it. The result was a Pulitzer Prize winning series, public recognition of the cover-up, and this book. Is it too late for this to serve any purpose? In light of our current involvement in Iraq and the moral disputes over what constitutes prisoner torture, our acknowledgment of uncivilized conduct in past wars should, if seriously studied, provide groundwork for avoiding it this time around. Not that anything will ever manage to make war "civilized." Still, throughout history there have been many "true stories of men and war." An enlightened society celebrates the excellent ones, learns from the ugly ones, and works to evolve past the human darknesses that generate them.
Suicide Girls in the Afterlife
Gina Ranalli
Afterbirth Books
PO Box 6068, Lynnwood, WA 98036
0976631083, $8.95, 120 pages, www.afterbirthbooks.com
Cameron Pierce
Reviewer
Considering that Gina Ranalli's books account for over twenty percent of Afterbirth's catalog (as of November 2006), her work serves as a wonderful representation of what Afterbirth has released, and perhaps an accurate compass for discerning the road this young publishing company will continue to pave. Suicide Girls in the Afterlife opens with the suicide of Pogue Eldritch and her consequent admittance into the Sterling Hotel, a sort of purgatory where newcomers to the afterlife are holed up while Heaven and Hell undergo repairs. Banding together with an "alien-human hybrid" named Jane 62, teenage loudmouth Katina, and other misfits, Pogue and gang encounter Satan (a goth), Jesus (a hippie), along with a plethora of other surprises. While Suicide Girls is strictly a surreally fun romp in the vein of Tim Burton's dark-yet-endearing Nightmare Before Christmas, Ranalli's belief in the themes she presents, primarily that of rising against Those In Power (be they the rich upper class or otherwise), is obvious. Suicide Girls in the Afterlife might be the product of a newcomer author and publisher, but it is a promise of what to expect when the Ranalli-Afterbirth duo hit full stride. Recommended for readers tired of fantasy and horror cliches, or just those looking to try something new.
Ten Journeys through the Unknown
Heather Beck.
Saga Books
Box 190, Carmangay, T0L 0N0 Alberta, Canada
1894936582 $16.99 www.sagabooks.net
Carol Butler
Reviewer
There I was. In the worst situation possible. I needed help. The answer came in the form of a book. This is beyond a review - how one author saved my sanity.
School had been in for a month and a half but my ten-year-old son, Thomas had hardly got past the first couple of weeks. He caught Chicken Pox in the middle of September which meant he couldn't attend school. Most boys Thomas' age would be delighted to stay home from school- but not my son. He's a self-proclaimed "bookworm' who loves English, math, science, and just about every other subject.
The whining began on Thomas' second day in bed. With a spot-covered face, Thomas complained about being bored and missing school. He wanted to be entertained. As a stay-at-home mother my duty was clear- to keep Thomas occupied or lose my sanity in his constant whining. I called my neighbor for backup. She has an eleven-year-old boy and a thirteen-year-old daughter. If anyone could help it was my neighbor. Kindly, she leant me her son's book- Ten Journeys through the Unknown by Heather Beck. I was reluctant to allow my son to read the book. In between the staring eyes on the cover and the scary inscription on the back I was sure this book was not for the faint-hearted. I screened one story from the collection of ten. I wanted to make sure the whining wouldn't turn into screaming in the night. After reading "Curses Never Die" I was addicted. The story is about a brother and sister who live in Hawaii with their famous writer of a mother. Justin and Erin grew up by the ocean and love scuba diving. During a dive something strange happens. Justin and Erin find a sunken ship with a multi-colored diamond inside. Chaos follows when Justin and Erin steal the cursed diamond.
I was happy to allow Thomas to read Heather Beck's Ten Journeys through the Unknown. I was even anxious for him to read "Curses Never Die" so I could hear his opinion of the story. Needless to say, Thomas loved it. The whining stopped and he began to enjoy his time off from school. I also enjoyed having Thomas home. One day he'd read a story from Ten Journeys through the Unknown and then the next day I'd read one to him. Thomas and I have both agreed on the reasons why we love Ten Journeys through the Unknown so much. All the stories have intriguing names which piqued our interest. "Gnome Genome", "Curses Never Die", "Cold Territory", and "Eyes of Red" are just some of our favorites. Beck's writing is even more impressive than her choice of titles. Every page is creatively written, realistically portrayed, and impressively phrased. What surprised Thomas and I the most about Beck's writing is the ideas behind each story. The stories unfold brilliantly and effortlessly. Every story stretched the boundaries of our imaginations. Beck has certainly re-invented the vampire, werewolf, gnome, and curse. She has also created some new creatures that are intriguing.
Ten Journeys through the Unknown has been read and returned and Thomas is now back at school. But Thomas and I will always remember the time we spent together. Beck saved my sanity and for that I thank her. Hopefully, she'll have a new book out on the market in time for the flu season!
101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life Vol. 2
Selected and Produced by David Riklan
Self Improvement Online, Inc.
20 Arie Drive, Marlboro, NJ
0974567272 $14.95 www.selfgrowth.com
Christina Francine Whitcher, Reviewer
http://www.CFrancine.bizland.com
How do I help myself? Many of us make statements like this. Sure, we ask friends and family, but they don't always know how to help themselves. If only we had a mentor, a wise sage to bestow their wisdom upon us. Maybe there's someone in your life that drives you crazy. Don't you wish you knew the right thing to say to that "Negative Nelly," "Venting Victor," or "Billy Blamer?" Some of these people are co-workers and family. They can't be, or you don't want to eliminate them from your life, or maybe you're bored and wonder where all the joy in life went? What if you looked at boredom differently such as a wake-up call? One author in this book suggests looking at boredom as a an indication that you're ready for more. What can you do? Whom do you turn to? You need experts right? Well the ones in this book freely give their philosophies, inspirations, and recommendations on all kinds of situations. David Riklan is the president and founder of Self Improvement Online, Inc., the leading provider of self-improvement and personal growth information on the Internet. He founded his company in 1998 and maintains four websites on self-improvement and natural health. Riklan earned a degree in chemical engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo and 20 years in sales, marketing management, and training for companies such as Hewlett Packard and The Memory Training Institute. He took his first self improvement class at age 16. The title suggests just what the book is about and is the second of two books. Respected authors offer a guide for life, not only for the existing part, but for the real living part. Note the word "living" as in "Man we're really living!" This is the handbook, the how-to on finding joy in existence and self. Some advice in this book may be familiar and serve as a reminder to what you already know, however with the bountiful amount you're apt to come upon a lot that you don't.
Chapters I Especially Liked:
Chapter 3 'The Passionate Warrior/ by Cathi Watson. She breaks down each decades in life, gives them a title, and asks readers to create a title for themselves to support their mission in life. Hers is 'The Passionate Warrior.' www.cathiwatson.com
Chapter 8 'Balance Your Body, Mind and Sprit in Five Minutes a Day' by Theresa Murphy and Dennis Mahoney. Here readers are asked shown activities that will center themselves. Here's one: "Put three small, distinctive objects like colored stones or marbles into a container. One represents body, one mind, and one spirit. Each day pull one out and spend at least five minutes on that category, doing something for you." www.lessonsinviolenceevasion.com
Chapter 92 'Dance With Your Heart: How to Befriend Your Heart and the World around You' by Shirley Cheng. This author gently teaches readers how to achieve spiritual affinity with oneself, and ultimately with others around them. Her advice means readers need to look inside themselves and accept, love, understand, and think positive about what they find there. Shirley then encourages them to dance with their heart, to release where they are at the core. Excellent advice. http://www.shirleycheng.com
The cover of this volume is like the contents-comfortable. The colors are a pleasant, blue with a light yellow and a friendly sunflower picture. A full table of contents and a handy author index makes for quick, easy reference. A page toward the back explains who 'Self Growth.com' is, what they do, and provides their regular mailing address, email, and web address. The back cover lists all 101 contributing authors. Help yourself by going to more than one mentor, to the right answer for your exact problem, and do it in a timely fashion. This is not the sort of book you read from cover to cover and in one or two sittings. It is more the type you read a little here, a little there, pick out a chapter here, and a chapter there, and then mark them. You may find certain chapters call you back repeatedly and cause you to grab a pen and piece of paper. This is a hands-on, action-inspiring partner in helping yourself. A must-have book for everyone because everyone has an aspect they are attempting to improve about themselves, a need to be content, and something they want to share and contribute to the world. I'm thinking of buying a bunch to give to family and friends. I know a few of them have "Billy Blamers" and "Negative Nellys" that they are not sure how to deal with. As for me, I now know how to handle the "Billy Blamer," whom I care about. An extraordinary book. Highly recommended.
Armstrong's War
Lee Pierce
Robert Hale Publishers
Clerkenwell House,
45-47 Clerkenwell Green, London, EC1R OHT
1846174368 $20.99
Like many teens, Badger Armstrong did not see eye-to-eye with his father, Bale. Of course, Badger, actually Bale Jr, didn't earn his nickname for nothin.' After one argument too many with Dad, he stormed outta Deaf Smith County, Texas, took on the alias 'Quick Jim Butler,' and followed the gunslinger's trail. Now, fifteen years later, grown up, and ready to settle down, he returns home, only to find his father a frail old man who does not recognize him, and nearly kills him, thinking Badger an intruder. Newcomer and neighboring rancher, Mort Quarry is ready to take over the Armstrong spread by force--and with it the rest of Deaf Smith County. Worse, it's Badger's younger brother, Chris's turn to defy Bale. Chris goes to work for Quarry. On top of all of that, Badger falls head-over-heels in love with Quarry's daughter Melinda. Anybody who enjoys a good western is going to keep turning the pages of this one, "Armstrong's War,' by Lee Pierce, published by Robert Hale in London.
The story's a lot like watching a good ole shoot-em-up on TV. The good guy (that is Badger) is going to straighten out the entire mess, But the fun of sticking with the plot is finding out how. With spies planted in the Quarry and Armstrong camps, people switching alliances, and bullets flyin', Pierce keeps the reader guessing how Badger will eventually regain his father's ranch and respect; and send Mort Quarry to his proper punishment. The suspense lasts until the final gun fight. To add to the fun, Pierce reveals 'Armstrong's War's' story through the eyes of well-drawn characters, both major and minor. He leaves a couple of surprises for the reader, too. What will Badger marry Melinda? Just what will Quarry's punishment be? And what is Chris's fate?
Pierce uses clear and simple language to give the eventual answer. 'Armstrong's War's' opening sentence; "The crack of a pistol shot shattered the morning silence.," immediately catches the reader's attention. The only drawbacks to 'Armstrong's War,' come when Pierce lapses into telling the story instead of showing it happening. On occasion the pacing of the characters' thought processes becomes unbelievable. Melinda also makes some plot-altering choices a little too rapidly. Still, Armstrong's War is a good read. Its twists make it unpredictable enough to enjoy, while staying nicely with the good-guy-beats-bad-guy theme at the heart of the Western genre.
The Mountains Won't Remember Us
Robert Morgan
Scribners
0641670036, $12.00
Dan Schneider, Reviewer
www.Cosmoetica.com
Not all bad writing is bad. That statement may confuse people who are longtime readers of mine. What I mean by it is that all writing that is considered bad is not necessarily badly written. There are writers whose work avoids the obvious cliches, easy stereotypes, bad music (especially in poetry), and the glaring maladies that kill a written work, which tends to fail in only a handful of ways, yet whose writing is just painfully dull, and essentially pointless, and far from being good. In fact, even though it is 'better written' than most bad writing, often the worse writing has better potential because at least it is individuated. Yet, this sort of bad writing, the type I am concerned with, is just words that describe dull people, duller, events, and has not an ounce of transcendence, nor anything memorable in their narrative nor even phrasing of things. When you get finished reading their work the reader is left wondering what the reason was that the writer felt compelled to share this information about characters that are no more interesting than the fat lady who lacked the grace to hold in her fart while you were standing in line at your local supermarket. These writers lack what is called style, and this stems in part from the fact that they lack any real inspiration. Their work is the sine qua non of the term generic. What separates a good, or great, artist from a lesser practitioner is that they have their own style. One does not mistake Frederic Edwin Church for Henri Matisse, nor is Ernest Hemingway taken for Herman Hesse, nor is Walt Whitman ever mistaken for Sylvia Plath. These generic writers write simply to advance their names, not to enlarge the scope of human knowledge nor enjoyment. It is, in a sense, an act of selfishness that propels them, and dooms their unfortunate readership to a waste of their time, time that will and can never be retrieved. In short, generic writing, even if it douse not violate the most flagrant bounds of execrability in writing, is still, in its own way, bad.
One such work The Mountains Won't Remember Us, a 1992 collection of tales documenting the history of southern Appalachia, and its generic author is Robert Morgan, a professor of English at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and a writer whose later novel, Gap Creek, apparently became a notorious Oprah Winfrey Book Club Selection. In a fair and just cosmos I would not have to state a single word after that last sentence to compel you to accept the truth that Morgan is a generic writer, at least I prose, although I doubt his published poetry is any better. Another sin that most generic writers suffer from is an inability to be concise. Stories that a good writer might nail in three thousand words will take the bad, generic writer eight thousand to tell, so rapt with needlessly overdescribing their fictive cosmos in stilted and perfunctory ways that the meat and center of the tale is buried and the generic writer's reader is long turned off to completing their work, which becomes a task, not a joy. Such was the case with my reading The Mountains Won't Remember Us. Morgan is not a workshop bad writer, nor a PC bad writer, nor even a hipster PoMo bad writer. He's simply a generic bad writer, whose tales of the Blue Ridge Mountains of the South, and the several generations of people that inhabit them, simply are narcoleptic.
The book is comprised of ten short stories and the titular novella. The earliest tales deal with the late Eighteenth Century, and slaves and Cherokee Indians abound, and the later tales bring the reader up to sometime in 'the present', presumably the late Twentieth Century. Thus, we proceed from Indian skirmishes, and mass murder to the trailer park trash so often found in stories by better writers, like Raymond Carver and Russell Banks. One would think that this approach to documenting an area would yield positive results, given that many writers, in recent years, have written short story cycles-cum-novels of place, with varying degrees of success, from great outings like Monica Wood's Ernie's Ark and Edward Jones' Lost In The City, to lesser works like K.L. Cook's Last Call. Yet, Morgan's book is simply a collection of unrelated stories following the vagaries of mostly poor white folk. And none of them goes anywhere. Yet, one would not know that truth from reading the typically generic blurbs and intellectually inert critical feints that the book received, such as this one, culled from online:
With one eye on the land itself and the other on its inhabitants, Morgan poignantly portrays a history of change, of transformation in the landscape, in humanity's relationship to the earth, and in people's relationships with each other. His intimate knowledge of the region he portrays makes this collection a valuable social history. At the same time, Morgan offers a moving theme to that which is universal and eternal- the majestic immutability of the earth and the heroic human struggle to live, love, and create new life. Focusing on one people in one place, Morgan addresses the themes that matter to all people in all places: birth and death, love and loss, joy and sorrow, the necessity for remembrance, and the inevitability of forgetting.
Look at how generic this blurb is, which recapitulates the man's writing, but also shows how dull writing is constructed, with trite and overblown verbs and modifiers as poignantly', 'transformation', 'valuable', 'universal', 'eternal', 'majestic', and 'heroic'. It gets little better in the actual stories. Five of the tales have female lead characters and the range of ages of the speakers vary from the preteens to octogenarians, yet, despite that, there is a blandness to the perceptions each character recognizes and every word they speak. The dialogue is atrociously banal. Yet, even worse is the fact that none of the tales take off, and their endings are non-moments. The tales simply end, but not in Chekhovian zero endings, which use their relative narrative 'silence' to allow the great reverberations of the tale told to echo, but in what could only be called 'negative endings', as in negative numbers, not awful events, that simply seem to reveal the writer had no clue on how to wrap up his tales.
In the first story, Poinsett's Bridge, we follows the building of a stone bridge in South Carolina, during the post-Revolutionary war days. The main character, a stonemason feels he is a part of history, even though he questions the treatment of the people who build the bridge, as well that of the slaves. Yet, nowhere does the narrator connect the dots, nor have an epiphany. Yes, sometimes epiphanies can be contrived, and a clueless narrator is the way to go, but a good writer makes that cluelessness something to marvel at, and the tale leaves a gem of a notion within the reader precisely because its point is missed by the main character. This does not happen in this tale, which ends this way, as people pour over the bridge: I looked back and there was the prettiest carriage you ever seen, with a black driver all in livery carrying his long stiff whip. They was lanterns of polished brass and glass on the corners and shiny black fenders. You never seen people dressed up like them inside, ladies with parasols and dresses so low you could nearly see the nipples on their bosoms, and men in top hats and silk cravats. And behind that carriage was other carriages, and buggies, and a whole bunch of wagons carrying supplies and servants. It was some big party from the Low Country coming up for a picnic in the mountains. I've heard Fremont, the general and governor of California, was in that party. He was just a boy then. I stood back and let them pass, and they ignored me just like I was air. Then when I did get started up the turnpike finally, stepping around cowpiles and horse apples, my strength coming back a little at a time, I met more drovers coming down the mountain. It was like they had opened a flood gate and flocks of sheep came along, baaing and pushing and jumping over each other, turning the road to dirty wool. And then a drove of hogs came, nosing and grunting, squealing when prodded by boys with sticks. I thought I had seen it all by then, but all of a sudden around the bend come a flock of turkeys, all gobbling and squawking. And behind them a bigger flock of geese come waddling, driven by more boys and followed by an old woman who carried a sack on her back. 'We's come all the way from Kentucky,' she said. Finally I thought I had the road to myself. I knowed I'd have to hurry if I was to get home by milking time. Clara was going to be mad, but they was no point in putting off the bad news. 'Watch out, watch out, sir,' somebody called behind me. It was a man in a buggy pulled by a shiny Morgan that just clipped along. He had a sack on the seat beside him. And I recognized Sam the peddler from Spartanburg. He used to come around with a pack on his back, and we almost always bought cloth and buttons and such from him and asked him to stay for dinner. And now he was driving a fine buggy with a carriage horse. After he passed it seemed late in the evening. The road was already nearly in shadow. They was a buckeye laying in the tracks, but I couldn't tell if it was mine. It had been stepped on by a cow and I let it go. But I seen something shiny in the dirt ahead. It was my light mason's hammer. Them big rough boys had dropped it there as they run away. They didn't have no use for a mason's hammer, and thought it was too heavy to carry. I picked it up and wiped the grit off the handle and head, then started again for home."
You get glimmers that something is happening, but the character does not, yet neither does the reader, for the story never turns away from the narrator, and outward. One of the most effective tools in a writer's arsenal is to switch gears, and sometimes a single sentence, or even word, can turn a tale inside out and redeem the flaws that came before. This does not. Reading this end is almost like being brought to the moment of orgasm, and then your partner falls fast asleep. Virtually every other tale in the book suffers from the same lack of prescience and skill, as well as the manifest dullness of the rote descriptions. As example, Watershed deals with white settlers' disposition of the 'Indian Question' in typical bloodthirsty fashion. Death Crown follows the vigil a woman keeps over her retarded great-aunt on her deathbed. She is her aunt's favorite, and this complicates their relationship. Frog Level deals with modern infidelity, and a scorned woman, whose Vietnam veteran husband is followed by her, all about town, and reveals nothing but Morgan's desire to dully describe the local color. The Bullnoser deals with a man who is out of work, and his mother, who lament the fact that his dead father left them in debt, by losing money to a scam artist that the son tries to avenge. Mack is the present day penultimate tale, told by an old man with a bad heart, and focuses on the man's love for his titular dog, a collie. And all the other stories, frankly, were so dull that I forgot what they were about the moment I turned the page.
But, worst of all, if only for its inordinate length, is The Mountains Won't Remember Us, the novella, and really should be seven to eight pages, not the 73 pages it is. It follows the life of an old woman who has been twice married and lives in a nursing home, and has lost her foot. Yet, she is haunted by the circumstances surrounding the death of her first fiance in World War Two. The reader, however, is haunted by the idea that a really good writer could have done much more with the often interesting premises that Morgan sets up, yet lets go flat as stale soda. I couldn't help that last line. Perhaps reading so much formulaic, generic, and lifeless workshoppy writing is infectious. If that's the case, I will end before I accidentally recapitulate any of Morgan's 'style', so to speak, and end with .
Life Is a Test
Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis
Mesorah Publications
4401 Second Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232
142260196X $21.95 http://www.artscroll.com
Fern Sidman
Reviewer
Prozac, Zoloft, Wellbutrin, move over. Your days are numbered. The pharmaceutical industry will lose billions in revenue after readers get their hands on this book. Simply put, Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis' new book, "Life Is a Test - How To Meet Life's Challenges Successfully," (Mesorah Publications) is the spiritual equivalent to the myriad of anti-depressants on the market. There is no question that Rebbetzin Jungreis has her finger on the pulse of the people. I would surmise that from her vast experience counseling those facing a multitude of challenges that life presents, she decided to write this book as an answer to a collective cry for help from a lost generation, totally unequipped to understand the true meaning behind life's trials and tests. Fear not reader, for it is Rebbetzin Jungreis to the rescue. Your soul is about to get the ultimate work out, so get ready to stretch your spiritual muscles and become reinvigorated as you read "Life Is A Test". This is Rebbetzin Jungreis' fourth book and its magnitude of depth, focus and analysis of our personal and communal struggles sets it apart from any other treatises on this subject. It is written as a trilogy, combining three books in one and takes the reader on a trajectory that is permeated with such a genuine sense of warmth and love that can only be termed palpable. In a society immersed in grotesque materialism, decadence and loss of any real and meaningful direction and purpose, we are clueless about what life is really about and more importantly, who we really are and what our potential could be. Rebbetzin Jungreis is the consummate storyteller and it is through this treasure trove of true stories do we begin to understand that our identity is not inextricably tied to our careers or professions or the external superficialities that our culture imposes upon us. Rebbetzin Jungreis utilizes the timeless wisdom of the Torah to illustrate her points and to lead the reader on the road to true self-discovery.
The book begins with the saga of Sam, Phyllis and daughter Kelly (names changed to protect anonymity), yet they could be any one of us. What follows is the story of the personal transformation of these three individuals that is beyond miraculous. By the middle of this book, the reader will feel a tangible connection to these people. Sam is a man who suffered a tremendous financial loss in business and was forced to declare bankruptcy. He and his family are secular Jews who turn to the Rebbetzin for guidance at this stressful juncture in their lives. Sam's cynicism is all encompassing, as it oozes from every pore of his body, while wife Phyllis is concerned with social status and personal appearance. Daughter Kelly is a 35-year-old single career professional that has had her share of painful relationships and is dubious about the prospect of ever getting married. Through a series of counseling sessions with Rebbetzin Jungreis, rife with personal stories of her own tests and challenges and those of her family, the Rebbetzin explains that each of us is actually blessed by G-d with tests to assist us in realizing our full potential. Rather than falling prey to depression, despondency and hopelessness when we are tested by G-d, we have the G-d given power to change our lives for the better. For each of us our potential is different, as we are custom made by G-d and no two people are exactly alike and we must know that G-d would never test us if we did not have the wherewithal to pass. As the Rebbetzin states, "G-d actually makes a portrait of what He intends us to become and equips us with the necessary tools with which to realize His purpose. All of the tests, trials, and tribulations of our lives are orchestrated by the One Above so that we may fulfill this goal, and if you wonder whether you have what it takes to succeed in this mission, be assured that G-d never makes mistakes - the very fact that it is He Who created you is proof positive that it is within your capability to fulfill this charge."
Sam, Phyllis and Kelly soon learn the sublime truth of this Divine message and through their attendance and participation in the Hineni Torah classes; all three become closer to G-d. They learn to appreciate and understand the power of prayer, as they embrace the Torah and commandments. They begin to experience the kind of happiness and joy that no amount of money could buy. They begin to understand what life's tests really mean, what message G-d is sending them and they begin to deal with problems and pitfalls with great equanimity. The second installment of this book deals with interpersonal relationships and the tests that are indigenous to them. Rebbetzin Jungreis speaks with the authority of a clinical psychologist and marriage counselor as she imbues those she counsels with a solid spiritual foundation and practical nuances that will assist them in making the right choices. Whether it comes to looking for qualities in a prospective life partner, to dealing with a marriage riddled with constant strife and infidelity, to attempting to bring a potential intermarriage to a screeching halt, or dealing with a rebellious, disrespectful and irreverent teenager, Rebbetzin Jungreis explores these issues with the kind of depth and aplomb that is seldom spoken about by television and radio psychologists and gurus.
The third and last section of "Life Is A Test" speaks of communal and global tests. The Jewish nation stands at a critical and dangerous precipice in history. Global anti-Semitism continues to dramatically increase, while natural disasters such as tsunamis and Katrinas become more prevalent. The events of 9/11 still haunt us as it stands as an eerie reminder of the beginning of the age of terrorism. Madmen, such as Iranian President Ahmadinejad threaten to vanquish the State of Israel and to annihilate the Jewish people, while the world remains silent. We are told by Rebbetzin Jungreis that the putrid stench of hatred against Jews is reminiscent of Europe in 1938. Rest assured that these assessments are not being promulgated by paranoia, but by someone who lived through that nightmarish period and knows from whence she speaks. Rebbetzin Jungreis implores us to recognize these "wake up calls", to realize that the times that we are living in are indeed the times of "Chevlei Moshiach', the birth pangs of the coming of our righteous Messiah. We are being importuned by Rebbetzin Jungreis to recognize that these birth pangs can be long and excruciatingly painful or they can be short and abbreviated, yet it depends on us.
It is clear for all who have eyes to see and ears to hear, that Rebbetzin Jungreis is a true Torah scholar. This book is replete with a voluminous amount of passages from the Torah, Talmud and Kabbalistic sources and each is given more than ample explanation as she delves into complex sources with such ease and finesse. What is most remarkable is her knowledge of Gematria - (mathematical equivalents for Hebrew letters) and how they apply to our times. Please don't skim this book - you'll miss tons of amazing insights, and while we're on the subject of amazing and mind blowing insights, please take note of the meaning of the number 11 on page 231. You will never forget it. Rebbetzin Jungreis' message is clear, uncompromising and unremitting. Only through a sincere return to G-d, only through genuine and heartfelt prayer, only through performing acts of kindness, only through learning Torah will our lives and values begin to take shape. Only then can we begin to experience the kind of contentment, serenity and tranquility that our souls long for. Only then can we understand what real happiness and joy means, only then can we save our nation from the plethora of insidious haters who rise up to destroy us and only then will we merit G-d's redemption on a personal and collective scale. "Life Is A Test" is a must read for anyone seeking answers to the vicissitudes of life, for anyone who has grappled with issues of self-discovery, and frankly, for just plain anyone. This book is a significant historical and religious contribution to the corpus of books on Jewish thought and will be a welcome addition to any library. A thumbs up ! Five stars !
Space, The Frontiers of Modern Defense
Squadron Leader KK Nair
Knowledge World Publishers
4A/5A, Daryaganj, New Delhi, India
8187966440 $25.00
Karen Braithwaite
Reviewer
Ever since the US National policy on space was publicly revealed in Oct 2006, there ranges a furious debate on the subject of space militarization and weaponization. The debate had begun much earlier, it got fired as never before since the policy was declared. Most of it unfortunately, is based less on facts and figures and more on hearsay and 'dooms-day' prophecies. Some of it is also based on emotion rather than reason. It is here that the book, "Space, the Frontiers of Modern Defence" makes its mark. It has neither fiction, nor speculation, nor rumours to support its point- it makes its point on the solid cornerstone of facts and data. The analysis of the author is supported by over 60 charts and illustrations which force one to finally accept the author's viewpoint. For e.g., most generations have grown up believing that the Soviets in the early ages beat the US in the space race, the author arrives at the opposite conclusion after critically examining the launches and the number of payloads of both the contenders. The author actually proves that the Soviets trailed by an entire generation of space systems. A lot of misconceptions and needless speculation on the subject are laid to rest by the author, on his solid base of authentic data.
Apart from the US and the Russians, the author also explores the space militarization and weaponization programmes of Asia, ranging from those of the Chinese and the Pakistanis, to those of the Iranians, North Koreans etc. The chapter on space law is especially useful to view the entire affair from a legal as well as a military perspective. The book, in spite of the subject has widespread appeal. The language is simple and the emphasis apparently is more on acquainting both the layman & the expert with the issue considering that technical jargon or complicated space theories etc is absent across the book. Coming from India's leading expert on space, and at 256 pages, the book is an invaluable compendium of facts and analyses for both military and civilian policy makers in addition to students, soldiers etc. Great reading.
Alone On The Darkside
John Pelan, editor
Roc
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
0451461053 $7.99
Kevin Filer
Reviewer
What makes good horror fiction? That's the wrong question. A better question might be, what makes good fiction horror? The rules are the same for fiction of all genres. Captivating premises, strong, vivid characters, and clean, clear prose are all essentials. And, of course, story, story, story. The story's the boss. But what makes a story horror? One is reminded of former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, who when explaining the definition of pornography famously remarked, "I know it when I see it." Editor John Pelan knows it when he sees it. He knows good fiction. He knows horror fiction. He brings the two together in his latest anthology, "Alone on the Darkside."
The fifth volume in the acclaimed Darkside anthology series continues to impress. This installment contains a rich assortment of original stories sure to please fans of the macabre. The Darkside series seems to have firmly established itself as one of the leading platforms for the evolution of modern horror. If a fan wants to know which voices in dark fiction are "current," he or she need only pick up the latest volume. Pelan once again shows himself to be able to connect with gifted writers at the top of their game, some new, some veteran, all talented. Though "Alone on the Darkside" has something for horror fans of every stripe, as is the case with any anthology, some stories are better than others. Yet what has distinguished these books from lesser anthologies is that even the least enjoyable of the bunch are pretty darn good. And the best are quite memorable.
The most notable stories from this volume include Gerard Houarner's sexy nightmare "Skins," about one man's date experience on the set-up from hell; "The Cheerleaders, the Geek, and the Lonesome Piney Woods," d.g.k. Goldberg's haunting tale of a young girl's lingering loss of humanity; Hank Schwaeble's "Mugwumps," a clever, crisp morality play about a lawyer who thinks he's found the answer to his client problems in the form of a strange creature; and Michael Kelly's sobering commentary on the nexus between mortality and anonymity, "Warm, Wet Circles." Additional stories by Brian Hodge, Mark Samuels, Lucy Taylor, David Riley and others are certain to have admirers, as well. All in all, "Alone on the Darkside" serves up a strong roster of entertaining frights and thought-provoking haunts. Mr. Pelan's latest ensemble assures us that the modern horror story is alive and well, and in good hands. Just in time for Halloween, no less.
5 Minutes to Maximizing Real Estate Technology, A Desk Reference for Top-Selling Agents
John D. Mayfield
Thomson/ South-Western
5191 Natorp Boulevard, Mason, Ohio 45040
139780324539271 $29.95
Mark Nash
Reviewer
John Mayfield's latest title in his "5 minutes to" real estate agent-broker series is technology. Offering both new and experienced practitioners a functional overview of how technology and real estate consumers have merged to create a new and required skill-set for those looking to grow in the marketplace. Mayfield, a proficient techie, pens articles's for the Hewlett Packard's Web site. An added bonus is a ROM that offers sample information from the text version, to illustrate in a technology format, how top producing agents have embraced their clients call for them to be pro-active in blog-sphere, podasts, e-mail, virtual tours and computers. 5 Minutes to Maximizing Real Estate Technology is written and designed to be results-driven.and as a textbook for brokerages to offer as a real estate technology course. Each chapter offers learning objectives, review exercises and web resources. Photos help both the reader or an educator see the actual computer or web graphic to illustrate one of Mayfield's excellent points. But never does the text get bogged down in tech-speak, something many readers and students will appreciate.
Chapters in this book feature: Which computer is right for you?, Developing a Technology Budget for Your Real Estate Career, Software Applications, New Technology Tools for Today's Tech-Savvy Real Estate Agent, Printing Options, Cellular Phones and Smartphones, Digital Cameras and Other Multimedia Resources, New Marketing Trends in Real Estate, Web Site Tips for Real Estate Professionals, Creating a Paperless Filing System, Folders, Files, and Backing Up, Building the Perfect Database, E-Mail, Using Microsoft PowerPoint, Tips, Tricks and Shortcuts, Technical Help, How to Become a Mobile Real Estate Professional,and Broker Technology Issues. Also included are acknowledgements, a forward, an introduction, a summary and conclusion. This book is an excellent resource for any agent or broker looking to ramp-up their business technology, without being over-whelmed by geek-speak. Perfect for new or experienced agents, real estate educators, trainers and a must-have for every real estate brokerage's professional development library.
The Worst Hard Time
Timothy Egan
Houghton Mifflin Company
21 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003
061834697X $14.95
Michael Riggs
Reviewer
The First Hard Time: Inconvenient Truth and the Dust Bowl
The Worst Hard Time is an expertly rendered blend of history and first rate journalistic coverage of the lives of those who stayed through the Dust Bowl years. John Steinbeck's fictional Grapes of Wrath immortalized the suffering and redemptive beauty of the "Okies" who fled the environmental disaster on the Great Plains. Egan's book chronicles the lives of those who stayed behind, endured the disaster, and survived. Like Steinbeck, Egan uses the wrenching and often inspirational stories of individual people to weave a larger narrative of failed public policy, failed market economics, and failed environmental policies.
Before the prolonged drought of the mid 30's, the Great Plains was the scene of an agricultural and market boom that created a crop based equivalent of strip mining. Grain speculators showed up by the hundreds to take advantage of high crop prices, cheap land, and advances in farm mechanization. Known as "suitcase farmers", these speculators bought up land, hired out labor, reaped their profits, and left town. Those farmers who stayed behind invested heavily in land and in equipment, and at first enjoyed previously unimaginably high standards of living. Newspapers sprang up: restaurants featured dishes for more prosperous palates, and for the first time Plains dwellers could attend operas and go to museums.
When farm prices fell as a result of overproduction, farmers at first tried to maintain their prosperity by bringing more acres under cultivation. As one of the Great Plains' cyclical droughts took hold, the race to cultivate became a desperate and self-defeating struggle for survival- one that ended in sand dunes in Kansas and Texas, and dust storms so intense that they twice blackened the skies in Washington D.C. This toxic brew of free market ideology, unsupportable debt, and climate variation was made much worse by the public policy of the period. The national and state governments of the day took the view that the market was the best regulator of human affairs, and regulatory bodies were naive in regarding the land as an inexhaustible resource, not subject to rapid change as a result of human intervention.
Policy minded scientists like Hugh Bennett, at first regarded as hopelessly Quioxtic, lobbied hard at what we would now call the grassroots level, as well as in the smoke filled corridors of power, to get people to realize that denuding the Great Plains of native grasses was the source of the problem, and only a massive replanting would halt the soil degradation. Bennett finally made his case to Congress by using delaying tactics until a massive Dust Storm brought premature twilight to the Congressional Committee room itself. As the skies darkened in D.C., political attitudes became more enlightened. Such paucity of political and ecological imagination becomes the stuff of high drama in Egan's retelling.
Sitting Bull had predicted the crisis of the Plains years before the Dust Bowl, but no one listened. Today, the Plains are only partially recovered from what was arguably both the greatest climatological disaster in American history, and at the same time a uniquely American form of catastrophe. For the Dust Bowl did not come about purely through a variation in weather, but through uniquely American dispensations of free market politics, opportunistic speculation, and debt-driven growth that ultimately exhausted the habitat and the infrastructures supporting an energy and input draining way of farming.
To write good history, historians must be careful not to confuse the voices of the past with those of the present, nor judge the actions and intentions of past peoples by present standards. Yet historians themselves live in an age, a time, a place-in the midst of a particular present. It is our present- one of climate change, global warming, and growing ecological consciousness- that informs Egan's choice of subject. Through this book, we hear the voices of the Dust Bowl survivors as clearly as echoes borne by the wind, whispers in the quieted rooms of grief, urgently spoken warnings and admonitions. We recognize these recently gone people for who they are- our nearest, most valuable neighbors.
A Memory of Dragons
Annabel & Edgar Johnson
Argo Books
88 Old Pump Rd. Essex, VT 05452-2742 USA
0689312636 $TBA
The narrative begin commences with a note from eighteen year old genius PaulKillian to the Department of Western Affairs Division of Information (Subversive Activities). Killian is turning over a set of disks the government has been seeking. Recording of the disks, Project #0014, begins on Monday. Killian is paid a visit by two official looking persons who flash IRS badges. It soon becomes clear that the agents are not interested in taxes he mayowe on his salary earned at MARJOMAC R & D Division. When Paul asks to see an authentic ID the pair offer BCI identification cards. Bureau of Coordinated Intelligence is not a group Paul has even heard of before. On the other hand the pair, and BCI apparently know quite a lot about Paul Killian and his ability to concoct widgets. In fact Paul is asked to snoop around MARJOMAC Corporation, the nation's largest defense center and keep his eyes open for signs of subversives.
To register for the draft, or not, nightmares, Leslie Sanderman, a special keyring, a bicycle and not a car for transportation, HR pain in the neck Willy Pomeroy, Senator's son JB Ewell, a mud spattered Fiat whose driver actually understands Paul's bicycle; all move the account along. Twenty two gelignite charges, a distraught little boy, Thea Sanderman, a determined group wearing green shirts, a man with proven ties to the PLO, and a single casualty to the second civil war are all part of the tale.
Writers Annabel & Edgar Johnson first wrote the manuscript for this book back in the 1980s. It was first published in 1986. A Memory of Dragons is a young adult novel that is as pertinent today as it was when first issued. Paul Killian is a troubled young man, a genius, product of a abusive home, sufferer of amnesia, and possibly the cause of his father's death. As the United States struggles with thoughts of dividing the country East and West with many wanting the land to remain intact and a determined group bent on western cessation Paul Killian is caught up in a life and death struggle.
Filled with everyday along with out of the ordinary, believable, albeit not always likeable characters, gritty convincing communication, well detailed settings and a gripping storyline A Memory of Dragons is a work sure to please many adults as well as readers in upper grades and high school. Writing is crisp, right on and as relevant today as it was when first offered. The conspiracy, misery and misguided action of those who would thwart our way of life are portrayed in the words of the authors prior to our understanding of 9-1-1, or any of the activity taking place in the world today. The book might well have been written yesterday. A Memory of Dragons is a must read for those who enjoy subterfuge, trickery and intrigue. This book is a good addition to the personal pleasure reading shelf, the middle grade and high school classroom reading list and the school library. Enjoyed the read, happy to recommend.
Truck: A Love Story
Michael Perry
HarperCollins
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022
0060571179 $24.95
Stacie Penney
Reviewer
Summary: Over the course of a year, Michael Perry twines his life around the rebuilding of an International. The Take-Away: Mike's previous books have been about the people and things he has observed in life. This title reflects what's going on within himself, primarily explaining how his love for a time represented by a International. The International -- once a hard-working farm truck, now a lawn ornament -- has been moved to his brother's shed. In their spare time, between jobs, writing assignments and family, Mike acquiesces to his brother's superior knowledge of trucks. Unless, it involves left hand lug nuts with left threads. Then Mike's collection of odd knowledge wins out.
The International isn't the only love in Mike's life, but also a time that only exists in peoples memories. Mike longs for a simpler time, when a fictional woman named Irma Harding graced the marketing material for variance home appliances and cookbooks. The world seemed simpler, a world that a man could be a man and trucks were used as work vehicles, not a means of transportation. Mike paints the world he misses in broad strokes, but with careful attention to the detail that truly makes it special. Perhaps most importantly, Mike regales his readers with the stories of people falling in love, his brothers and himself. Each bachelors in their own right, each married to strong women who complement them.
Mike's book isn't one to race through in an evening. Each section is meant to be savored, with a bit of reflection on what life really means, and how I'm going to make my life mean that as well. The lessons I drew from the pages probably weren't his intent in writing them. Often, though, that's were I find life's best lessons to be located -- where no one means them to be. Recommendation: Buy a copy for yourself and for the readers on your Christmas list.
Godism: Discovering the Power to Live
S. Roystone Neverson
Outskirts Press, Inc.
10940 S. Parker Rd. - 515, Parker, Colorado 80134
1598001744, $15.95, 196 pages
Tami Brady
Reviewer
Godism reads as a guide to living. Like life itself, it is a complex weave of beliefs, issues of morality, commentary on modern life, and spirituality. Topics include everything from life purpose, mental and physical health, living your dreams, worldly achievements, the presence of natural laws, being part of your community, the value of all human beings, meditation, and countless other important life issues. Basically the overall premise of this work is to live a moral positive life to the fullest possible. Simple to say but this is often not so easy to practice in everyday life.
This book is a nice gentle reminder that we need to always be aware of how we are living. Too often we get caught up in gaining material possessions or bogged down in negative thinking. Then we wonder why our lives and the world around us are so bad. We completely forget that we have a choice and that we can choose to try to make things better, follow our hearts, and live our dreams. We either add to the problem or serve as part of the solution.
A Feast for Crows
George R.R. Martin
Bantam Dell
A Division of Random House, Inc.
New York, New York
055358202X, $7.99, 1104 pages
Victoria Kennedy
Reviewer
Queen Cersei Lannister is now the Queen Regent. She's determined that she will be her murdered father Tywin Lannister's successor and sets about trying to get rid of anyone in her way. The two Stark sisters Sansa and Arya are safe, but still in hiding. Nothing much is happening and what little action there is shifts back and forth across the kingdom and stars mostly minor characters. ( I love Mr. Martin's books, but sometimes the hordes of characters he installs in them are a little difficult to keep up with.) Although the book continues the saga begun in the first three books, it lacks some of the major characters such as Tyrion Lannister, Lady Catelyn Stark, Jon Snow, and Rickon Stark. Apparently Mr. Martin had initially written a much larger tome, but his publisher thought it was too long and made him break it up into two books. (The next installment is titled A Dance With Dragons.)
Personally I feel that Mr. Martin should have done some heavy editing and put it all into one volume. It would have made for a much more interesting story. In order to understand what is going on you must start at the beginning of the series with A Game of Thrones and work your way through. It is an excellent series and I don't think that you will be disappointed. It is a tad too violent for my taste at times, but that seems to be the trend these days. The story is great so I try to overlook it. A Feast for Crows is George R.R. Martin's fourth book in his fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. The previous books are A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords.
Our Misunderstood Bible
George E. Mendenhall
BookSurge, LLC
5341 Dorchester Road, Suite 16, Charleston, SC 29418
1419637223 $10.99 50 pages
Burton H. Wolfe, Reviewer
http://burtonh.wolfe.googlepages.com
Professor G.E. Mendenhall's heretical view of the Bible
Professor George E. Mendenhall and I view the Judaeo-Christian Bible from two different perspectives. Mendenhall, Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Michigan, finds that the narratives, especially those in the Old Testament, "are bound up with the historical experiences of ancient human beings" (quoted from his introduction). I view all of the "books" of both the Old and New Testaments as fiction: the propaganda of ancient Hebrew scribes promoting beliefs in the precepts and customs of their particular sect.
Why, then, have I bothered to read and review Mendenhall's latest book? I have done so because Mendenhall challenges traditional translations and interpretations of the Bible and, in the process, he corrects prevailing ignorance and nonsense generated by theologians and so-called "scholars" who often turn out to be quacks perverting historical facts and even the scriptures upon which they claim those "facts" to be grounded.
Over the years Mendenhall's challenges to traditional renditions and interpretations of the Bible, as well as to standard assumptions in the works of writers dealing with ancient history of the Near East (or Middle East), have led many scholars in the field to call him a "heretic." The standard bearers are not happy about Mendenhall's getting in their way with his findings in such prior works of his as Law and Covenant in Israel and the Ancient Near East, The Tenth Generation: The Origins of the Biblical Tradition, and Ancient Israel's Faith and History. His critics, however, have enjoyed no success in refuting Mendenhall's facts and interpretations. They are based not only on his vast knowledge of ancient languages and customs, but also on his frequent participation in archaeological expeditions that have resulted in findings not consonant with traditional beliefs.
Revelations in Mendenhall's latest book, Our Misunderstood Bible, may prove to be the toughest yet for traditionalists to deal with; and he thinks that the blunt manner in which he expounds them is the reason why publishers told him the book is "unmarketable" and he had to resort to bringing it out via the BookSurge division of Amazon.com. I doubt it. The book is simply too skimpy for marketing to book stores and libraries. When a book is as tiny as this one, it is impossible to print the title and author on the spine, and that becomes a big obstacle to sales and distribution as well as to library shelving and cataloging. It is to be hoped that Mendenhall will expand upon the themes in this little but important book, so that it can become a standard reference work shelved in many libraries. Here are samples of Mendenhall's challenges to traditionalist views of the Bible:
+ "God" was originally "Yahweh," worshipped by the ancient Hebrews as their creator and protector. Hence, when Christians pray to "God" to "forgive us our trespasses," they confess that they and people of today known as Jews have inherited the same Creator and stand together as "all Hebrews."
+ Christians who promote "creationism" to deny evolution "make the name of God ridiculous."
+ The story of Noah's ark is merely a revision of the "Epic of Gilgamesh" written at least a thousand years earlier, rendering the ongoing "search for the ark on Mount Ararat" a farcical pursuit. Nevertheless, Mendenhall maintains as part of the theme of his book, the story indicates the ancients' knowledge of a true historical event [in his view a series of river floods, in this writer's view the tale of one great flood].
+ The prediction of a son to be conceived by a "virgin" emanates from a mistranslation of the semitic word almah, referring to a member of a royal household and not to a virgin.
+ The term "commandments" in the "Ten Commandments" is a mistranslation of a word that the ancient scribes used to indicate commitment to the precepts for ethical conduct which they set forth, and they had no intention of presenting those precepts as any kind of order from God.
Because of the difficulties entailed in disseminating such a tiny book, I have to doubt that this valuable work of Mendenhall's will get much attention. That is a shame. I can only hope that he will find a way to expand upon his findings and produce a much larger, footnoted book that will be accepted by a publishing house committed to providing the promotion, distribution, and sales which this latest work of Mendenhall's deserves.
[Note: You will find a sketch of Mendenhall's fascinating career, preceding a lengthy two-part interview I conducted with him, on "Shots from Wild West," the web site of Wild West Publishing House - http://burtonh.wolfe.googlepages.com. Go there (by typing or pasting that URL into your web address bar if clicking on it does not work) and, after the site appears, scroll down to the link title "The Common Origin of and Split Between Arabs and Jews." Click on that link title to bring up the biographical sketch and the interview.]
Silver is a small, freckled, orange-haired eleven-year-old. Her family disappeared whilst on a train-trip to London and since then she has been looked after by her aunt Mrs Rockabye. Actually, Mrs Rockabye is like the wicked stepmother in Cinderella, so she makes sure that Silver does all the work and she keeps her in the cellar and feeds her on scraps. Mrs Rockabye's chief ally is her pet rabbit (called Bigamous "on account of his habits") who, unless Silver can bribe him with carrots, spies on her every move. Silver's Elizabethan ancestor, Roger Rover, was knighted for being a successful pirate and bringing back great treasures for the queen. One of these treasures was a wonderful Alchemical Timekeeper and Silver, although she does not know it, is its guardian and is the holder of the secret of Time.
There are, however, people in the world who know about Silver and who want that secret. Abel Darkwater, a sinister, mysterious watch-maker, intends to steal Silver's secret by using hypnosis and dreams to enter her mind. Regalia Mason, a scientist who controls the powerful Quanta company and who intends to take time from those who have time to waste and sell it to important, wealthy people who never have enough of it, plans to kidnap Silver in order to obtain her secret. Both know that the Time Tornadoes and Time Traps which have begun to severely disrupt our world can be controlled by the Timekeeper, and both know that to have such control would give them immense power.
Adults who have read Jeanette Winterson's Lighthousekeeping, will already know her superb story-telling skills and will recognize the child Silver from that book, and hear echoes of Adam Dark in the name of Abel Darkwater. But Tanglewreck is a book intended for children and the characters, like the wicked aunt, the dark villain, and the incompetent thieves (called Thugger and Fisty), have a pantomime simplicity and pantomime humour about them. Nothing about Tanglewreck, however, is old-fashioned, dull or fixed. The children are thoroughly modern and they live in a recognizably modern world of fast food and technological gadgetry. There are elements of magic, too, which is fashionably modern in children's books, but it is magic with a strongly scientific twist. Time travel and Space travel, as well as being an imaginative dream, are seen as real possibilities based on quantum physics . Black holes are encountered, as well as worm-holes and parallel universes. And Dinger the cat, who was bought at Quantum Pets, is in the curious state of being both alive and dead.
Silver's adventures take her from her home, Tanglewreck, to London and back again. But they also take her to the ancient underground world of the Throwbacks (which has a curious resemblance to the maze of sewers below London), and along the Star Road to a place called Philippi, where Time stand still. Gabriel, a Throwback boy becomes her companion, and together they have some truly frightening adventures. Yet, of course, they survive, the secret of the Timekeeper is revealed, and all is resolved. The ending, however, is not the happy-ever-after fairy-tale ending of pantomime. Silver has to make difficult choices, she has to trust her "true heart" rather than follow her dreams; and her final happiness is realistically and satisfyingly tinged with sadness. Altogether, this is a thoroughly engaging book for young adults and also for adults readers who enjoy well-written, well-told, imaginative stories.
The Human Touch
Michael Frayn
Faber
0571232175 $59.95
You have to admire Michael Frayn's courage. He has taken on all the major problems that philosophers have argued about over the centuries; all the major assumptions about the universe which underlie the scientific experiments on which we spend billions; and all the ethical credos on which we base our judicial system; and he has come to the conclusion that we make it all up. He may, of course, be right. But his totally anthropocentric view of the universe - a sort of unified field theory of philosophy - suggests that none of the truth we think we have discovered over the centuries is necessarily true: that whatever is out there (and he agrees that there is something out there which we see, feel, smell, hear etc.) may, for all we know, just be meaningless chaos. It is difficult to determine what sort of reader this book will satisfy. It is too esoteric for the casual reader. It probably covers too many highly complex arguments in simplified form for those who like thought-provoking books. And most serious philosophers will find it prolix.
Of course, Frayn writes fluently and well. And he adopts a ploy that is common in philosophical argument, which is to try and make extremely complex, abstract ideas more understandable by using concrete examples drawn from everyday life. So, philosophers talk about the behaviour of billiard balls; or the existence of their left sock (as Tom Stoppard demonstrated in Jumpers); or, as Frayn does, about their choice of marmalade on their breakfast toast and the seemingly automatic rising of a man's cock. He does follow his arguments through and he offers interesting scenarios drawn from myth and literature as freely and easily as he uses philosophical, psychological, scientific and religious arguments. He is no novice to philosophy and he covers a huge amount of philosophical debate with admirable ease and precision. Yet, although this book discusses such fascinating human dilemmas as how, exactly, we make the decisions we do make, and whether we can or do control our lives, Frayn's discussion is shaped, always, to lead to his own conclusion that "every path eventually leads us back to where we started": that the human touch ("our part in the creation of the universe", as the subtitle of the book says) prevails and we make it all up inside our own heads. If that is the case, then why bother with the arguments in this book at all? Clearly, most people don't, and they get along just as well as those who do. Those who are curious about life, however, and want a quick overview of Philosophy, might just as well read the first and last pages of each chapter to see what Frayn is discussing, then think things out for themselves. That meticulously careful thinking and arguing process is what philosophy is: and it can't be learned from books, however persuasively they are written.
The Laughter of Foxes, second edition
Keith Sagar
Liverpool University Press and University of Chicago Press
1846310113 $30.00
This is not, nor can it be, a critical review, since my own extensive study of Ted Hughes' work leaves me very much in agreement with Keith Sagar's interpretation of Hughes's imaginative purpose, methods and achievement. Keith Sagar is unique amongst scholarly critics of Ted Hughes' work. Hughes regarded him as a friend and they met and corresponded with each other for more than twenty years. Hughes also valued his judgment to the extent that he reinstated some dropped Cave Birds poems in the sequence at his instigation and, much later, used him as a sort of "devil's advocate" (Hughes' words) to refine the theory which lies at the heart of Shakespeare and the Goddess of Complete Being. The letters which they exchanged are now in the archives of the British Library. Sagar was the first to see Hughes's work as part of "the great tradition of Western Literature". He was the first, too, to see how the underlying purpose of Hughes' work reflected that of Blake and Lawrence and, in particular, Jungian concepts of the role of imagination in healing and individuation. And Sagar's own books, The Art of Ted Hughes and The Achievement of Ted Hughes (which includes essays by other authors), are still the most readable, most widely used and most useful works of criticism, analysis and explanation for school and university students.
The Laughter of Foxes (first published in 2000 and now revised and updated) builds on this sturdy critical foundation and it is both broader in scope (covering the whole opus of poetry and plays) and deeper in its analysis of the underlying patterns which drove and shaped Hughes' work. Chapter 1, 'The Mythic Imagination', outlines Hughes' abiding concern with the progressive and devastating alienation of Western Man from Nature. Hughes described this as our "exile" from nature, and he believed that it cuts us off from our own inner world as well as from the world around us. Sagar shows how Hughes' quest for healing through the imaginative powers of myth and poetry shaped his writing; and how it led him ever deeper into the explorative use of powerful energies which other artists have called 'duende' and 'mana', or have dealt with through mythic and religious symbolism and ritual. "We can say of Hughes", writes Sagar, "what Hughes said of Eliot, that every poem must be read, chronologically, as part of 'the series which makes up the poet's opus'. In The Laughter of Foxes, Sagar demonstrates very effectively how such a reading can be done, especially in Hughes' plays, where his exploration of the Orphic myth of loss, search and redemption has universal meaning but also had particular meaning in Hughes' life.
In Chapter 2, 'From Prospero to Orpheus', Sagar deals with the poetic relationship between Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath. He outlines the way in which both were shaped by their "childhood landscape". He examines their collaborative goals and working methods. And he looks at the way in which their shared lives influenced their work, and how Plath's death changed Hughes' perception of his own poetic purpose. An interesting aspect of this discussion is Sagar's detailed account of the way in which Birthday Letters reflects Hughes' altered view of his own role in fostering Plath's greatest achievement, her Ariel poems: how the "birth of the new creative self" for Sylvia - which they had both regarded as justified "at almost any cost" - becomes, in these poems, an altogether "darker, more confused and doubtful, more fatalistic" process.
Chapter 3, 'The Evolution of 'The Dove Came', is rather different to the other chapters. Here, Sagar challenges the way in which poetry is usually taught, suggesting that the common practice of "artificially detaching the poem from the poet, and from the creative process encourages the belief that, as milk comes from bottles, so poems come from books", and it completely ignores "the complex and fascinating process by which they came into being and got into books". His own approach, demonstrated on a poem he chose "almost at random" from Hughes' opus, offers a superb example of how a poem can and should be read. Using successive manuscript drafts, Sagar illustrates the way in which the poem changed and evolved as Hughes strove for a language of utmost simplicity and truth. And his approach is very like Hughes' own examination of the evolution of Sylvia Plath's poem, 'Sheep in Fog', which is published in Winter Pollen (Hughes, Faber & Faber, 1988).
Chapter 4. 'From World of Blood to World of Light', charts the refining of Hughes' poetic methods, from his early adoption of bloody Orphic ritual (which was spelled out in Gaudete but which appeared everywhere in the harsh realism of his depictions of nature) to his later, more sophisticated adoption of mythic, alchemical and cabbalistic rituals as frameworks for his poems. My own work on the Cabbalistic aspects of Birthday Letters and Howls & Whispers ( http://ann.skea.com/THHome) shows just how deeply Hughes finally immersed himself in the World of Light, since Cabbala is essentially an ancient spiritual discipline which emphasizes the rescue and redemption of light from the darkness in our fallen world. Sagar's analysis demonstrates Hughes' lifelong progress towards such detailed and disciplined use of visual imagination and memory, and the beautiful simplicity of language he ultimately achieved. Throughout The Laughter of Foxes, Sagar' quotes extensively from Hughes' poetry, plays and essays, and from the letters which he and Hughes exchanged. As an Appendix, he includes 'The Story of Crow'. This is the mythic framework within which Hughes intended the Crow poems to exist, but which he never completed. It is brought together here from Hughes' notes and from his introductions to readings of Crow poems. Crow, too, can be seen as one more step in Hughes' struggle towards an understanding of the human psyche and towards healing our rift with Nature.
At the front of the book is a poem, 'The Healer' by Mark Hinchcliff, which beautifully conveys the influence which Ted Hughes and his work have had on individuals like Mark, on schoolchildren like those Mark teaches, and on all the budding writers who attend creative writing courses at Lumb Bank - one of several centres which Ted Hughes helped to establish in order to foster poetry. The Laughter of Foxes, with its realistic picture of the sort of dedication and hard work entailed in creating any serious work of art, is valuable reading for all such delvers into the world of imagination. It offers a perceptive, and often inspired, reading of some of Hughes's most important work and with its informed and convincing account of Hughes' life and work it is an essential and enlightening resource for scholars at any level. Disclaimer: Although my Timeline of Ted Hughes' life and work is published at the front of this book I have received no financial gain from its inclusion and will receive none from sales of the book.
Ann Skea
Reviewer
Bethany's Bookshelf
Skinning The Cat
Joan fitting Scott
Infinity Publishing.com
c/o Buy Books On The Web
1094 New Dehaven Street, #100, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2713
3872 Bellaire Circle, Fort Worth, TX 76109 (author)
0741433583, $9.95, www.buybooksontheweb.com 1-877-BUY-BOOK
"Skinning The Cat: A Baby Boomer's Guide To The New Retiree Lifestyles" is just in time to address the needs of the 'beginning to be of retirement age' baby-boomer generation. This invaluable and quite practical guide for men and women wanting to turn their retirement years into healthy, productive, interesting, quality-of-life enhancing years is presenting in two major sections. Part one deals with such issues as continuing to work, starting a new job or business, working part time or cyclically, not working and just recreating (as in taking up golf or playing tournament poker), volunteerism and philanthropy, travel, returning to school, and taking a sabbatical before returning to work. Part two show just where and how to find help in choosing among the various and diverse retirement options by taking advantage of coaches, classes, retreats, and self-help groups. A very special feature is the suggested reading list for further study and ideas. If you, as a member of the baby boom generation, are about to reach retirement age, then give "Skinning The Cat" a very careful reading it could well mean the difference between enjoyment and boredom, becoming productive or simply going to seed after you reach 65 and the social security years of your life span.
From The Apple Orchard
Lee Jackson
Images Unlimited Publishing
PO Box 305, Maryville, MO 64468
0930643003, $13.95 www.imagesunlimitedpub.com 1-800-366-1695
Now in a newly revised and expanded second edition, "From The Apple Orchard Recipes For Apple Lovers" by Lee Jackson is a tribute to the versatility and palate-pleasing nutritional value of the apple. There are more than 150 recipes to prepare apples for delicious consumption that range from Apple-Banana Smoothie; to Apple Horseradish Sauce; to Applesauce Loaf Bread; to Baked Squash with Apples; to One-Crust Honey Apple Pie; to Apple Pandowdy; to Quick Apple Jelly. Enhanced with the inclusion of a descriptive listing of apple varieties, an 'Apple Guide', and an easy-to-use 'Recipe Index', "From The Apple Orchard" is a welcome addition to personal and community library cookbook collections and an absolute 'must' for apple enthusiasts everywhere!
Sweet Curdle
Cathryn Cofell
Marsh River Editions
M233 Marsh Road, Marshfield, WI 54449
0977276821, $10.00 www.marshrivereditions.com
"Sweet Curdle" is a compilation of poetry by Wisconsin poet, public speaker, workshop facilitator, and literary activist Cathryn Cofell. She has served as an advisor to the Wisconsin Governor for the creation of a state Poet Laureate, as the founding Chair of the Wisconsin Poet Laureate Commission, and as a board member of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets. Cathryn's skill and imagination are reflecting on every page with poems that fully compel the reader's rapt attention and total appreciation. 'Emergency Exit': She walks away, around the outside circle/of the concert hall, toward the man exactly//opposite. He is far enough off to be only/a hulking figure in a brimmed hat, faceless//as a drop of rain, yet close enough to mean/the rest of her life made beautiful.//She moves toward him deliberate as prayer, but even/as our distance grows, I see she can barely//hold back, that only the crowd, this mass of bodies/and nerves keeps her from dropping her bag,//her cumbersome shoes, from running full tilt into those/arms she moans about, tossing like witchcraft,//her own arms wild open to embrace, this moment/of all things possible, this sweeter than any end.
These Trespasses
Jim Reese
The Backwaters Press
3502 North 52nd Street, Omaha, NE 68104-3506
0976523116, $16.00 www.thebackwaterpress.homestead.com
An Assistant Professor of English and the Director of the Plains Writers' Tour at Mount Marty College, Jim Reese demonstrates and documents his undeniably talents as a poet and wordsmith with the compilation of his work comprising "These Trespasses". This is a poetry that doesn't have a delicate bone in its whole literary body. Here are a series of highly recommended and distinctive poems that are vivid, blunt, candidly descriptive, and compelling in their engagement with the reader. 'At The Bar With Bella': "Give me a shot of Cuervo/with training wheels," she said./"And fill this guy up."//That's all it took. She had me./I watched her hammer one back and then another./She sucked on the limes, tore them to their rind,/then ordered a bloody beer/and slid to the stool next to me.//"Wedding cake and funeral ham/are my two favorite kinds of food./I'm serious," she said. "Think about it."//So I thought about it./And she made all the sense in the world.
Susan Bethany
Reviewer
Betty's Bookshelf
Before I Knew You
Shelley R. Lee & Denise Lehman
Bowling Green Pregnancy Center
441 Frazee Ave., Suite A, Bowling Green, OH 43402
0978675703 $20.00 www.BeforeIKnewYou.com 419-354-4673
If you've ever had a small child ask you, "Where do babies come from?", you'll appreciate Shelley R. Lee's new picture book, Before I Knew You. This sensitively-written hardcover book features a dad telling his child all about how he was formed and the stages he went through, using appropriate language, and illustrated with tasteful-yet-accurate watercolors by Denise Lehman. No more trying to explain things that really need to be pictured, but are usually shown too graphically for a small child! Although religious terms are not used in the story (making it suitable for public school use), nothing is said that conflicts with a Biblical worldview, either. Before I Knew You was written by Ms. Lee as a fund-raiser for the Bowling Green [Ohio] Pregnancy Center, where she is the director, and it can purchased from there for $20 Center (see contact info below). Eventually, further information will be available at their website at http://www.BeforeIKnewYou.com. Nice job, Ms. Lee!
52 Family Time Ideas
Timothy Smith
Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Ave. South, Blommington, MN 55438
0764202405 $12.99 www.bethanyhouse.com
Parenting experts say that spending time with our kids is the best way to make sure they turn out right. However, talking about it is easier than doing it. For those who are not all that creative, coming up with quality activities is hard, and "family time" may end up being spent in front of the TV more often than not. Timothy Smith, president of Lifeskills for American Families and father of two, has a solution. Actually, he has 52 solutions, ideas that can be used to make "family time" more than just entertainment, in chapters with intriguing names like Sand Castles or Monuments, It Takes Time to Grow Up, Heart Guard, and May I Serve You?. Most of his ideas take simple, inexpensive props like pens, paper, plastic grocery bags, yarn, cardboard boxes, and paint, although a few do involve watching a particular movie such as Toy Story, Shrek 2, or Finding Nemo, or going somewhere on an outing. There are also activities for holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Independence Day. Each idea includes the following elements: materials needed, main point, warm-up, Bible readings, today's slogan, avtivity, family discussion, adapting for [younger children and teens], prayer, and a (small) journal space for recording memories. For those parents who'd like to have everything on hand so they can choose an idea spontaneously, knowing whatever they need is in the house, there's a master materials list in the back. My four children are grown up now my youngest child is 20 - and all I can say is, I wish we'd had this book available when they were younger. It would have helped make family night much more productive and a lot more fun!
Junie B., First Grader: Aloha-ha-ha!
Barbara Park
Denise Brunkus
Random House
1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
0375834036 $11.95 www.randomhouse.com/kids
Junie B. Jones is one of the most rambunctious and just plain cute kids in beginning chapter books today, and Barbara Park tells her stories in hyper-excited first person style, which makes them great for animated reading out loud. In Junie B., First Grader: Aloha-ha-ha, Junie B. and her family (minus baby brother Ollie) is vacationing in Hawaii, and the excitement starts before her family even leaves. Junie B. cannot keep from bubbling over with news in show-and-tell. Her classmates are jealous (most of them) and her teacher is at his wit's end trying to keep a lid on Junie B. during the days preceeding her trip. To distract her, he gives her a disposable camera and a blank book and tells her to take photos of her trip and make a photo journal to share with the class when she returns. When the family actually leaves, Junie B.'s parents have their hands full, starting with the airplane trip, where she annoys the grumpy ladies in front and back of them. On the ground, she is full of questions and loud remarks (shown by Barbara Park in caps, to make it obvious Junie is SHOUTING) that raise eyebrows and attract all sorts of attention. Hawaii turns out to be full of unexpected adventures for Junie B., too. She gets stuck in her new parrot-shaped rubber swim ring and has to wear it for days when she won't let her parents cut it off. During a snorkeling trip, the aquatic life scares her into swimming away, which scares her parents. Their hike ends in disaster when Junie B. pins flowers in her hair, which attract a bird that ends up tangled in her hair. And as they go from activity to activity, she grumbles about having to be quiet all the time. Gradually, though, she begins to have a good time. Along the way, her photos (courtesy of Denise Brunkus's talented fingers) start out pretty lame, but by the end, she's got a whole story of her trip in captioned photos, ready for show-and-tell. She ends her story by saying, "Hawaii was the time of my life." Junie B. Jones's exuberant style of talking and funny expressions make Park's series a hit with beginning readers, whether they read them to themselves or have a favorite adult read them out loud and Junie B., First Grader: Aloha-ha-ha is a nice new addition.
The Snow Princess
Ruth Sanderson
Little, Brown, and Company
1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
0316779822 $16.99
This fairy tale, inspired by a Russian opera, transports its readers to the icy north of Russia, where Father Frost and Mother Spring and their lovely little daughter, the Snow Princess, live. The Snow Princess, who loves her home, has the power to call up snow - from dancing flakes to terrible blizzards and as she grows up, she learns to use her power wisely. However, when she becomes curious about the world outside, she decides to go out on her own to see it. Her parents reluctantly let her leave, but send her off with a warning ringing in her ears: "Remember this, you must never fall in love. You are safe from death so long as love for a man does not enter your heart." Eventually, she finds herself near a village, where she becomes fascinated by a particular family (and by a young man in that family). After spending hours watching them, she accidentally meets the young man and ends up attending the Winter Festival with him. Realizing she is in danger of falling in love with him, she goes away to forget him. Loneliness and fear of death struggle within her and she finally returns to the village to see and talk to Sergei. As the days pass, she lives as a human girl named Katia and falls in love with Sergei. When her father sends a threatening dream, she must decide what to do. Then Sergei disappears in a storm, and Katia has to find him. Will she remain the Snow Princess, with a frozen heart, or will she allow her heart to thaw toward Sergei and live and perhaps die as Katia? I enjoyed Sanderson's use of language in this story, but I enjoyed her wonderfully detailed illustrations even more. From the faces of the various characters to their Russian costumes to the snowy scenery, Sanderson expresses the fairy tale atmosphere of this classic Russian story with a sure touch. I especially like her use of white and various shades of blue to indicate the changing faces of snow in the story. The Snow Princess makes a lovely addition to Sanderson's other fairy tale picture books.
Betty Winslow
Reviewer
Brenda's Bookshelf
The Caged Virgin: A Muslim Woman's Cry for Reason
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Free Press
London
0743295013 $13.57
This is a hard-hitting book written originally in Dutch by feminist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and recently translated into English. In this work Ali gives her reasons for denouncing Islam, the faith of her youth, to become an atheist. The reasons revolve around the treatment of Muslim women. Evidence of her work as an interpreter for immigrants to Holland, as a film producer with Theo Van Gogh (who was subsequently murdered), and as a politician are catalogued. As a politician and feminist Ali calls for reform in the treatment of women, most notably in the area of female circumcision. Ali graphically describes this ghastly practice, calling for it not to be tolerated. She discusses domestic violence and even includes a chapter entitled "10 Tips for Muslim Women who want to leave". Caged Virgin gives an interesting insight into Islam and its poor treatment of women. In the beginning Ali is particularly aggressive and at times her book seems more of a personal vendetta than a "Call for Clear Thinking" (the title of the last chapter). Many sweeping statements lack substantiation and I have no doubt some Muslims will find this work deeply insulting. Notwithstanding, as Ali explains in the preface: "Withholding criticism and ignoring differences are racism in its purest form (and this traps) people who represent these cultures in a state of backwardness." Ali succeeds in highlighting some important women's issues.
Mere Christianity
C. S. Lewis
Harper Collins
London
0006280544 $9.72
I recently set out to read and review all of C S Lewis' works. I started with Miracles, a heavily philosophical book, and then read Mere Christianity. The latter is an eminently accessible read and, although first published in 1952, gives a wonderfully refreshing account of Christianity and what it means. C S Lewis is an individual and a deep thinker. In this account he steers clear of jargon and puts complex matters across in very simple terms. Difficult topics are usually illustrated two or three different ways, and often with unexpected humour.
The chapter on the Trinity (a notoriously difficult concept to explain), entitled 'The Three Personal God' is the best I have ever read on the subject. Lewis likens God to a three dimensional cube "In God's dimension so to speak, you find a being who is three Persons while remaining one Being, just as a cube is six squares while remaining one cube" (p162).
Another chapter I found very interesting is the one entitled 'Nice People or New Men'. Here Lewis proceeds to answer his question "If Christianity is true why are not all Christians obviously nicer than all non-Christians?" (p207). Lewis is never preachy or condescending and remains 'denomination-free'. Mere Christianity will undoubtedly continue to be enjoyed by Christians as well as others looking to find out more about the subject. Other titles in the Signature Classics Series include: The Four Loves, The Great Divorce, The Problem of Pain, The Screwtape Letters and Surprised by Joy. I look forward to reading them all!
Finding God in Unexpected Places
Philip Yancey
Hodder & Stoughton
London
0340864095 $12.89
I enjoy Yancey's probing style and non-conformist approach to Christian writing, so looked forward to reading his latest book Finding God in Unexpected Places. I was disappointed, however, as this book did not measure up to other works like Soul Survivor or Disappointment with God. True to form Yancey points readers in unusual directions evidenced by section titles such as 'Finding God without really looking' and 'Finding God on the job'. A section entitled 'Finding God in the rubble' deals with Yancey's experiences at Ground Zero. Here he encounters the practical and untiring work of the Salvation Army. Another chapter deals with the author's correspondence with a Muslim man torn between Islam and Christianity. In 'Finding God in a Fractured Society' he meets an unusual and eccentric Good Samaritan in the city of Atlanta who "simply wake(s) up each day and asks God to use her" (p119). It is in 'Finding God among the headlines' that the author seems to lose his way and I struggled here to always 'Find God in Unexpected Places'. Towards the end of the book Yancey seems to regain his form in 'Finding God within the Church'. Other works by the same author include The Jesus I Never Knew, What's So Amazing About Grace and When Life Hurts.
Brenda Daniels
Reviewer
Buhle's Bookshelf
Electrical Contracting, second edition
Michael Sammaritano
The Estimating Room
275 Madison Avenue, 6th floor, New York, NY 11216
0977154106 $79.50 www.theestomatingroom.com
Written by Michael Sammaritano, an electrical and general contractor of forty years' experience, Electrical Contracting is a no-nonsense, in-depth guide to the world of electrical contracting for anyone in the business field, from novice electrical contractor to seasoned professional. Now in an updated second edition, Electrical Contracting is a "how-to" manual for the nuances of running a successful electrical contracting business; emphatically not a "how-to" or "do-it-yourself" for performing actual electrical installation. Chapters go far beyond the basics of contracting and its markets, delving into sales and how to make an accurate estimate, how to negotiate a balanced contract, how to control costs while doing the job, how to collect money from recalcitrant clients, quick start tips and checklists for undertaking jobs, and much more. An absolute "must-have" for entrepreneurs in the field, filled cover to cover with the wisdom of firsthand experience.
Para
Stuart Moore
Penny Farthing Press
10370 Richmond Avenue, Suite 980, Houston, TX 77042
0971901244, $19.95 www.pfpress.com
Stuart Moore's "Para" is a superbly drawn, 192-page graphic novel offering riveting science fiction at a sophisticated level that is as compelling as it is entertaining. When a super collider is fired up, disaster occurs which blights the life of the project head's little girl. There's a government story that the accident resulted in massive and lethal radiation, closing the site to inspection for more than a decade. But when the decade is over and the little girl is now a young woman, she teams up with her dad's best friend, a grad student, and a government agent to see what they can find out in the bowels of the underground experimental structure with its miles of corridors and various control rooms. But it seems that the government wasn't candid all those years ago about what really went wrong. And now the very earth itself is at risk for annihilation. "Para" is a superb example of what a graphic novel can bring to science fiction storytelling and is enthusiastically recommended for action/adventure science fiction fans and enthusiasts!
The Alcoholism And Addiction Cure
Chris Prentiss
Power Press
c/o Yorwerth Associates
410 Fieldstone Drive, Bozeman, MT 59715
0943015448, $15.95 www.power-press.com
Alcoholism continues to be the most pervasive and widespread addiction in the United States. The number of alcoholics in the country is numbered in the millions. Traditional treatments for alcoholism have relapse rates as high as 80%. Except for one 'Passages'. This three step treatment program originates from a substance abuse treatment center based in Malibu, California, and is the basis of "The Alcoholism And Addiction Cure: A Holistic Approach To Total Recovery". Co-founder of 'Passages', Chris Prentiss deftly lays out just how to create a personalized, holistic treatment program to completely cure a dependency; explains the four causes of dependency; shows just how thoughts, emotions, and beliefs serve as key factors in the recovery from dependency; and how the stimulation of the body's self-healing potential can lead to the permanent elimination of dependency. A critically important and thoroughly 'reader friendly' instructional guide to recovery from alcoholism or addictions to other drugs or substances, "The Alcoholism And Addiction Cure" is a core addition to personal, professional, substance abuse treatment center, and community library Health & Medicine reference collections and reading lists.
Willis M. Buhle
Reviewer
Burroughs' Bookshelf
LeRoi
Mel Mathews
Fisher King Press
PO Box 222321, Carmel, CA 93922
0977607607 $16.95 www.fisherkingpress.com
The first in a series of seven novels by author Mel Mathews, LeRoi is a novel following the seemingly ordinary man Malcolm Clay, whose car breaks down and whose cell phone suddenly dies, stranding him by a garage and a diner. Malcolm has lived a seemingly successful life, but at what cost? An introspective allegory about the search for prosperity of the soul, a need that lingers despite fulfilling the needs of the body, LeRoi tracks its self-assured, at times sardonic, yet inwardly incomplete protagonist on a journey of expanded awareness. Also highly recommended are the sequels of Malcolm's adventures, "Menopause Man" and "SamSara".
March Into The Endless Mountains
Ray Ward
Weldon Publications
432 Pennsylvania Avenue, Waverly, New York 14892
0927417516 $19.95 www.marchintothenendlessmountains.com
Written by USAAF veteran Ray Ward, March Into The Endless Mountains: The Beginnings of War on the Western Frontier of America is a historical novel about the years leading up to the Revolutionary War on America's frontier. The main character is a double spy, caught between two cultures in a pivotal moment of history. American Indian, Tory (British loyalist), and frontiersman perspectives on the brewing war for independence make March Into The Endless Mountains come alive with a palpable impression of the daily life and hard choices of the era. Highly recommended.
Tinera of Vieste
Joseph Dale Bacarti
ProMotion Publishing
9921 Carmel Mount Road, #355, San Diego, CA 92129
1579010555 $16.95
First-generation Italian author Joseph Dale Bacarti presents Tinera of Vieste: An Italian Love Story, a novel set in the small Italian town of Vieste during the sixteenth century. A pair of young lovers, Tinera and Belgardo, flee the oppression of the regional governor and seek refuge with a group of gypsies, in what is the first of a succession of adventures. A convoluted plot keeps Tinera of Vieste brimming with surprises, even as it affirms the abiding and transcendent power of love.
Bodyguard Principles
Frank Sciacca, Jr.
Infinity Publishing.com
1094 New DeHaven Street, Suite 100, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2713
074143167X $19.95 www.buybooksontheweb.com
Written by professional security operations expert Frank Sciacca Jr., Bodyguard Principles is a straightforward, methodical manual on what it takes to be a bodyguard. Filled cover to cover with information on methods, concepts, and theories directly applicable to a profession with no room for error, Bodyguard Principles covers expectations for standard conduct, what skills are needed and expected (including investigative as well as protective skills), how to conduct a proper vehicle inspection, internet and online concerns, dealing with suspicious packages, and much more. Bodyguard Principles presupposes the reader has training in physical self-defense with or without weapons, and focuses upon the broader principles and methodologies of providing security rather than in-depth coverage of any martial arts. Written in plain, no-nonsense terms, Bodyguard Principles is a "must-have" for anyone seriously considering a career as a professional bodyguard or security provider.
John Burroughs
Reviewer
Carson's Bookshelf
Chernobyl: Confessions of a Reporter
Igor Kostin
Umbrage Editions Inc.
515 Canal Street #4, New York, NY 10013
1884167578 $35.00 www.umbragebooks.com
Written by prizewinning journalist Igor Kostin, who braved severe radiation to take the only existing photograph of the Chernobyl plant on the day of its catastrophic destruction, Chernobyl: Confessions of a Reporter is a compilation of black-and-white and color photographs that Kostin continued to take for twenty years of the plant, the forbidden zone surrounding it, and the people who worked there. For the first time, Kostin presents Chernobyl's story in words as well as pictures, yet it is the photographs that utterly dominate Chernobyl: Confessions of a Reporter, captured images ranging from men transporting radioactive blocks with their naked hands to the evacuation of villages and the construction of the sacrophagus. A singularly compelling visual glimpse into the heart and aftermath of tragedy.
Pomegranate Roads
Dr. Gregory M. Levin
Floreant Press
6195 Anderson Road, Forestville, CA 95436
0964949768 $18.00 www.floreantpress.com
Written by Dr. Gregory M. Levin, Pomegranate Roads: A Soviet Botanist's Exile from Eden is part memoir, part botanist's testimony to a lifetime devoted to researching, collecting, and striving to better understand the humble yet delicious pomegranate. The collapse of the Soviet Union left Levin cut off from his remote Soviet agricultural station and considering himself effectively "exiled from Eden". From the lore of the fruit that tempted Persephone and possibly Adam and Eve, to Levin's trek across Central Asia and the Trans-Caucasus in search of wild and endangered pomegranates, to tidbits of folklore to health benefits to pharmaceuticals connected to the pomegranate, Pomegranate Roads truly astonishes the reader with the many secrets of a seemingly ordinary edible fruit. A handful of black-and-white photographs and an inset section of color plates illustrate this one-of-a-kind celebration of the pomegranate, written as much for lay readers as for fellow botanists.
Professors As Con Artists
Don D. Davis
Prytaneum Press
PO Box 2281, Amarillo, TX 79105
9780907152033 $10.00 www.prytaneumpress.com
Written by veteran challenger of the academic system Don D. Davis, Professors As Con Artists is a little black book that concisely details several glaring flaws in the modern academic system that severely choke the system's ability to produce educated experts and worthwhile academic publications. Love of money is the root of evil - and the monstrous financial incentive provided by monetary research grants drives some of the most egregious corruption. The lack of blind reviewing for grant proposals and submissions for publication in academic journals cause papers to be published or proposals to be awarded money on basis of authorship (is the author a Ph.D.? Is he connected to a well-heeled university?) rather than merit; the immense pressure to "publish or perish" upon professors cause them to delegate nearly all aspects of teaching undergraduate courses to less qualified TAs; and any graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. is literally at the mercy of their advising professor, usually forced to surrender co-authorship of their dissertation, perform legwork for the professor's research, or suffer sexual harassment. Davis especially advises anyone seeking their Ph.D. not to use their own original idea, since their advising professor will most likely take co-author credit for it, but rather to go along with the professor's legwork "guidance" and defer research on original ideas until after the coveted Ph.D. is achieved. Davis also proposes immediate and effective reforms, such as mandatory blind reviewing, blanket prohibition of any professor-student sexual contact, prohibition of joint authorship claims between a professor and the dissertation of his student, and the end of having graduate students teach university classes. A "must-read" for college students and officials everywhere, and particularly valuable before one sinks one's life savings into a college education for oneself or one's children.
Michael J. Carson
Reviewer
Cheri's Bookshelf
The Walls of Westernfort
Jane Fletcher
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
430 Herrington Road, Johnsonville, NY 12094
1933110244 $15.95
In Jane Fletcher's novel, The Walls of Westernfort, Natasha Ionadis, a devoted Guardswoman, is willing to die for her beliefs and volunteers for the ultimate sacrifice. Fletcher explores serious themes in the Celaeno series and creates a world that loosely parallels the one we inhabit. Despite being female, the rulers of Celaeno are as susceptible to human foibles, and senseless wars, as are the political leaders on Earth. Fletcher weaves a plausible action-packed plot, set on a credible world, and with appealing multi-dimensional characters. The result is a fantasy by one of the best speculative fiction writers in the business. In this volume of the series, the Chief Consultant Pereira, current leader of the Sisterhood believes she has the goddess given right to rule the world and to regulate everything in it. Threatened by rebel heretics, the Sisterhood requests volunteers to carry out a risky assignment to rid the world of the blasphemous heretic leaders, and Natasha's name has been put forth as a worthy candidate. On her mission, Natasha will pose as a heretic along with two other temple guards and thus get close to the women she must assassinate. What happens to a young woman who would do anything in honor of the goddess Celaeno, when she signs up for the mission?
Natasha believes the religious teaching of the Sisters without question. Impressionable, pious, and perhaps brainwashed, Natasha's heart and soul swell with love for the Goddess. However, as she gets to know the heretics, Natasha's faith falters to the point where she doesn't recognize herself nor does she know what she truly believes anymore. Further complications include matters of the heart as Natasha wonders if she can not only maintain her celibacy, and more importantly do what she started out to do. Despite taking place on an imaginary world, while reading Jane Fletcher's brand of speculative fiction, the line is blurred where the reality ends and the fantasy begins. I strongly recommend that you get caught up in the loves and lives of heroines you'll adore. The Walls of Westernfort is an interlinked yet standalone novel that will leave you sated but begging for more. Luckily, there is The Temple at Landfall and Rangers at Roadsend to read until Jane Fletcher puts forth another in The Celaeno Series. The Walls of Westernfort, a 2005 Golden Crown Literary Award Winner, is as engaging as it is well written and should not be missed. I can't wait for the 2007 release of Dynasty of Rogues. Fletcher is also known for The Lyremouth Chronicles.
Distant Shores, Silent Thunder
Radclyffe
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
430 Herrington Road Johnsonville, NY 12094
1933110082 $15.95
If there were ever a series that created a yearning to visit a particular peninsula in Massachusetts if only to catch of glimpse of Sheriff Reese Conlon, her loving partner, Dr. Tory King, Rookie Officer Bri Parker, and now Dr. KT O'Bannon, and Pia Torres, PT, OT, CMT, then Radclyffe's Distant Shores, Silent Thunder will clinch it. After being immersed in the first two novels, Safe Harbor, and Beyond the Breakwater, and the fourth in the best-selling Provincetown series Storms of Change, one can only hope that Radclyffe never tires of writing about these characters because readers will never tire of reading about them. It's not easy to keep a series fresh, but Radclyffe is proficient at bringing in new blood while keeping us abreast of old favorites, to satisfy and yet fuel the insatiable hunger for the ultimate escapism of getting lost in a book.
What endears Radclyffe to her followers goes beyond telling an exciting story in a great setting and tapping into all aspects of human nature. The award-winning author has her fans eating out of her skillful hands by giving them characters who are so real it's either impossible not to search every cruiser or bike for Reese and Bri or to hope if you ever need a doctor in an emergency that Tory or KT will come to the rescue. If you enjoy witnessing the mending of a broken heart and spirit, falling in love, or aspire to having forever with one special person, you will love Distant Shores, Silent Thunder. Radclyffe eloquently puts into words what it feels like when a woman loves another woman with her body, heart, and soul, and it's riveting. Distant Shores, Silent Thunder takes us on the tumultuous journey of a woman when her career and confidence are shaken for the first time and redeems her in every way possible. It is easy to forgive Tory's ex-lover, Dr. KT O'Bannon, her past transgressions because Radclyffe has us falling in love with her transformation. Fate has landed the surgeon a low blow but in the process has taught her what's important in life. KT meets a therapist who not only helps restore the use of her hand, but who restores faith in matters of the heart. KT and Pia are perfect together and as far as love interests go, it's a match made in heaven, but can heaven really be found on Earth?
Whether the scene is between Reese and Tory, Bri and Allie, or KT and Pia, Radclyffe keeps the pace fluid while doing each couple justice. It's wonderful to follow Reese and Tory's pre-marital bliss with baby Regina. Even when Reese's oft-dangerous job and other threats loom on the horizon, the couple's relationship remains solid. Bri shows great promise as an officer and Reese is very proud of her, while Reese is Bri's hero and mentor. Bri's character is put to the test in more ways than one. Is Bri strong enough to remain faithful to her lover studying art abroad in the face of stiff competition by a persistent, desirable fellow officer Allie? Then there is the pleasure of rooting for KT and Pia and hoping they will have their ever after. Further keeping the interest for continual sequels, new characters are always popping up as well, and Counselor Trey Pelosi shows great promise of future story lines. Few authors write medical drama better than those who have lived it. Radclyffe's medical expertise enhances the clinical scenes dramatically but her writing is never condescending or over-the-top. There is that perfect balance so that everyone can enjoy and understand what's going on. She also writes police procedurals with the same flourish. It is no surprise that Distant Shores, Silent Thunder was awarded a 2005 Lammy and was a Goldy finalist in the Romance category. Storms of Change continues the saga and is touted as being Radclyffe's best work to date. This reviewer thinks that every work is her best, only it just keeps getting better. Romance is a leading seller in fiction and Radclyffe has yearning, love, sex, and satisfaction down to an art. Distant Shores, Silent Thunder earns five plus stars and is one of those books you can read more than once and enjoy it more each time.
Gold Mountain
Anne Azel
PD Publishing, Inc.
P.O. Box 70 Clayton, North Carolina 27528
1933720042 $13.99
A tantalizing blend of Chinese Canadian flavors is the best description of Kelly Li's world in Anne Azel's, "Gold Mountain." Azel writes from the heart, and her soul pours out, eloquently and intimately, onto each page. Reading about other cultures is like taking a vacation without the need to leave home. Azel, a gifted author, clearly understands the intricacies of traditional Chinese values and employs that depth of comprehension to enrich this adventure for her readers. Equally as compelling as Kelly's Chinese world is that of Jane Anderson's Caucasian background. Azel depicts both cultures so accurately that it doesn't matter what nationality, religion, or orientation the reader relates to because differences and similarities between and among varying ethnic traditions become transparent. Kelly and Jane are at opposite ends of the spectrum, but as their story unfolds, it appears that Yin and Yang converge to become one.
In the 1800s, many Chinese people referred to the New World as Golden Mountain. Their goal was to gain passage, line their pockets with gold, and wealthy and proud, go back to China. Rather than returning to their homeland, some stayed, but the government made it virtually impossible for them to bring their families from China to join them. In the early 1900s, at the height of the head count, Jimmy Li came and was relentless in building his Golden Mountain as he bought up red brick buildings. All he lacked was a son to inherit his fortune. In 1955, Jimmy Li adopted a son, Jason, whom he revered, but he treated Kelly and her half sister, Sarah, as non-entities. Kelly is keenly aware that she's different. During her teenage years, she remains in the closet. She doesn't date and has no life away from home, but she studies hard every free moment. Kelly works in the back of her father's Chinese take-out until she finds her way out of the kitchen and into law school. Smart and accomplished, she becomes a successful defense attorney. One day in court, she meets Officer Jane Anderson who is a witness for the opposition on Kelly's case. Their paths cross more than once, and mutual attraction takes over where fate left off. It seems a match made in heaven--until Jason Li's murder. Officer Anderson is called to the scene, and their growing affection hits a road block. As Kelly's life falls apart, she laments, "Because I couldn't face my own shame, I had hid the truth at all costs. The costs had been very high: my sister's sanity, my father's death, my aunt's hate, my lover's scorn, and now my fall. The Golden Mountain that my father had so carefully built was no more than ice eaten away by the salt tears of secrets and lies." (p. 81).
This is but one of many passages penned as beautifully; Azel says more in three sentences than many authors say in three pages. Jane, a widow with a young daughter, disappointed her family when she went into law enforcement rather than a more acceptable position as a nurse or other traditional female profession. She redeemed herself when she married Chris and had a child, but his untimely death left her free to follow her heart. What would her family think if they knew that she was a lesbian . . . and that her late husband knew the truth about her? What if she falls in love with the woman of her dreams, but secrets and lies tear them apart? "Gold Mountain" proves that Azel has what it takes to raise the bar in lesbian fiction. Ms. Azel mixes drama, romance, mystery, and the timely topics that lesbians face in our society: bigotry, religious injustice, and the imperative that all countries, not just Canada, legalize gay marriage. She tells the story in a most convincing and satisfying way, while staying true to two cultures. I applaud her efforts. Azel is improving her craft by developing her own style and distinctive voice. If you long for originality in theme, characterization, and plot, then "Gold Mountain" is for you. Azel tells an important, timely, and intriguing story, which entertains even while encouraging the reader to think and explore new ideas and issues. "Gold Mountain" is a five plus star read.
Bio: Anne Azel was born in England but has been a Canadian citizen for many years. She has traveled all over the world and uses her stories to reflect many of her experiences. "Travelling," she says, "has been both rewarding and very hard work." Anne says: "To me, writing is a way of sharing experiences and also a way to creatively record my travels. I find it very relaxing to write, and I have met some truly amazing people since I started to post my stories some years ago." Anne has previously published Seasons (two editions), Murder Mystery Series, Journeys, and Encounters: Book I and Encounters: Book II. Anne, now retired, continues to write. She lives in Northern Ontario. Her interests include canoeing and painting.
Pipeline
Brenda Adcock
Regal Crest Enterprises, LLC
4700 Highway 365, Suite A / PMB 210, Port Arthur, Texas 77642
1932300643 $15.95
"Pipeline" by Brenda Adcock captured my attention from the first six lines and held me captive for the entire ride. Joanna Carlisle is tough, lives life on the edge, and before retirement, she was one of those work-obsessed women who put her career before her family with disastrous results. Jo didn't know what she had until it was gone. The reclusive photojournalist, part-time sleuth is leading a relaxing life out on her Texas ranch until her ex shows up after a fifteen-year absence. Jo feels a familiar pang when Cate discloses the reason for the visit, but her stubborn, self-destructive nature thwarts her ability to repair past regrets. Will Jo learn from her mistakes?
Cate Hammond, an attractive and successful attorney, manages to get back under Jo's skin. Adcock flawlessly weaves the past and present to show the love lost between two passionate women who are so right for each other, the reader prays for reconciliation. "Pipeline" is a classic romance as much as it is a mystery. When Cate enlists Jo's help, Jo, against her better judgment, gets in over her head while investigating the attempted murder of her estranged journalist son, Kyle. She risks her life uncovering the unscrupulous stench of the men running the ABP meat packing business. Watching Jo take on the villains is as compelling as reminiscing about Jo and Cate when they were happy together. Jo's lack of concern for her own safety shows a caring woman of substance, even though she has trouble expressing her love in as many words. There's also the hope that Jo and her son will renew their relationship.
Every scene shows who Jo is and what makes her tic. Adcock's characterization is consistent, convincing, and gives the reader well-rounded, three-dimensional characters. Despite Jo's foul butch mouth or her penchant for pushing away the people she loves, the flawed, yet heroic, woman clinches the reader's wish for her happiness. "Pipeline" is touching. I highly recommend you get a copy of this five star romantic mystery that is hot without being sexually explicit and intriguing without being gory. Adcock successfully validates older women in our youth obsessed society. At 57, Jo is just as feisty, sexy, and adventurous as women who are half her age. Discovering "Pipeline" by Brenda Adcock is just the beginning of what I hope is a one of many memorable reads by this talented author. I can't wait for "Reiko's Garden," due May 2007, and "Redress of Grievances," tentatively due August 2007.
Cheri Rosenberg
Reviewer
Christy's Bookshelf
1106 Grand Boulevard
Betty Dravis
Just My Best, Inc.
Wilmington, Ohio
1932586393 $18.95 www.jmbpub.com/betty.htm
Author Betty Dravis has written an intriguing "faction" as she calls it, eloquently weaving fiction with her own personal history. The end result is a powerful peek into family dynamics and relationships. When 16-year-old Billie Jean Sloane elopes with Cal Taylor, the Sloane family is taken aback. But when Billie Jean flees from an abusive Cal to the sanctum of her family's home at 1106 Grand Boulevard, the family gathers around her in an effort to be supportive. Pregnant and depressed, Billie Jean is taken by her Aunt Tommie to Arizona, where she learns a thing or two about the male species. But always in the back of Billie Jean's mind is her former husband Cal, the man with whom she feels a strong connection. After several failed marriages and numerous relationships, Billie Jean eventually returns to the family fold and embraces her siblings. Through them, she learns some pretty important life lessons, one being the subliminal impetus that drove her to marry an abusive man. "1106 Grand Boulevard" is a fascinating read, reminding this reviewer of the very popular, iconic "Peyton Place" and other books (as well as movies and TV series) of like nature. What better way to spend time than to become absorbed in one woman's life journey and the lessons she learns along the way? Filled with great characterization and an enticing story, this is a must-read, can't-put-down.
T An Auto-Biography
Feather Schwartz Foster
Illustrated by Kathe Gogolewski
Red Engine Press
Key West, FL
0978515838 $9.95
Take an amazing journey during epic times of growth and change in America, beginning with the birth of the Model-T Ford in the early 1920's and continuing on to the present. Leading the reader on this fabulous journey is T, a witty, amiable Model-T Ford, who relays his life's journey, from transportation for a doctor who makes house calls, to a family car, on to a delivery car for a grocery store, as a race car, and more. Along the way, T meets exciting historical figures and has some amazing adventures. Charmingly illustrated, "T An Auto-Biography" is a wonderful book to be enjoyed by parents and children alike, and a must-have for every home, school and library.
One Incredible Dog! Kizzy
Chris Williams & Judith Friedman
Moo Press/Keene Publishing
P.O. Box 54, Warwick, NY 10990
0976680556 $15.95 US www.KeeneBooks.com 845-987-7750
Kizzy is an amazing dog, representative of the R.E.A.D. (Reading Education Assistance Dogs) program of Intermountain Therapy Animals. This program is aimed at helping those who have problems reading through a specially trained dog who listens in a non-judgmental manner. During one day, Kizzy visits an elementary school library, a woman who suffered a stroke which affected her speech, a child who stutters, a home for troubled teenagers, and a classroom for children learning English as a second language. Kizzy plays with and listens to those with problems reading, and each not only benefits from her services but enjoys her company. This is a heartwarming book about a friendly, lovable dog doing a wonderful service for a special group. Told within a delightful story and appealingly illustrated, this book rates a special place in any child's room.
The Fallen
T. Jefferson Parker
William Morrow/HarperCollins Publishers
0060562382 $24.95 www.harpercollins.com
San Diego homicide detective Robbie Brownlaw lived an ordinary life until he was thrown out of a sixth-floor window. Brownlaw survived but developed synesthesia and now sees voices as colored shapes which relay the true emotions behind spoken words. Brownlaw has learned to trust his condition and feels he has his own internal "lie detector". He has also developed a friendship with the man who threw him from the window but finds his marriage beginning to fall apart. When the body of ethics investigator Garrett Asplundh is found in his car beneath the bridge where he proposed to his wife, the general consensus is suicide. After
