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Reviewer's Choice
The Demon in the Freezer, A True Story
Richard Preston
Random House, Inc.
1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
ISBN 0375508562 $24.95 233 pages
B. A. Brittingham
Reviewer
There is a new movie making its garish way through this summer's theaters. It pits against one
another, two vicious murderers from past series---Jason of the hockey mask and Freddy of the
metal-taloned fingers. (One hopes it is a duel to the death of both.) Essentiallly, this flick caters to
the adolescent/ young adult crowd and its huge horror appetite, particularly since we 'oldsters'
already know life's realities are scary enough.
This point is brought home all too precisely in Richard Preston's 'The Demon in the Freezer'. He
begins by focusing on the first person to die in the October 2001 anthrax event. We are then
introduced to the last European outbreak of smallpox (medically known as 'variola') in the early
1970s, one that nearly became an epidemic. The men who stopped it, and the extreme measures
taken to confine it to one small hospital in Germany, are impressive. Although we can sit and read
this with the calm awareness that the World Health Organization declared smallpox eradicated in
1979, Preston's graphic description of both the variola virus's genetic complexity (it has
approximately 200 genes compared with the HIV virus's ten) and its astonishing infectious ability
(patients on upper floors of the hospital contracted it though they had never even seen the original
carrier) have the makings of a true nightmare, one stretching across many Elm Streets.
The reader knows immediately where Preston is taking us: what if those post-911 envelopes sent
to Washington and New York and Boca Raton had been laced with smallpox as well as anthrax?
This was, at the time, a genuine concern, particularly for people like Peter Jahrling. Jahrling is
head scientist at USAMRIID, the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases,
America's principal biodefense laboratory.
Theoretically, smallpox exists in only a pair of places on earth: freezers at the Centers for Disease
Control in Atlanta, Georgia and at Vector, the State Research Center of Virology in Siberia. The
instability surrounding the second location is cause enough for concern even without Preston's
quote from Jahrling, "If you believe that smallpox is sitting in only two freezers, I have a bridge
for you to buy. The genie is out of the lamp."
While every species on earth is plagued by at least one form of its own pox --- monkeypox,
camelpox, pigpox, canarypox, sealpox, toadpox, snakepox, mosquitopox, flypox, locustpox ---
poxviruses do have a necessary, if deadly, purpose in nature, i.e. they prevent overpopulation. As
Preston puts it, "If all the viruses on the planet were to disappear the natural ecosystems of the
earth would collapse in a spectacular crash under burgeoning populations of insects."
However, smallpox has long been a justly feared and rampant human-only killer. D.A. Anderson
put together the team that spent a decade wiping it from the earth. As the international scientific
community debated the question of what to do with known stocks of frozen variola, Henderson
took a firm stance in favor of immediate total destruction. The opposing side was represented by
Jahrling who felt that, in a bioterrorist attack, either genetically altered or "heated up" (vaccine
resistant) smallpox would be completely ineffective against current vaccines. Destruction of
variola samples meant there would be none available for research and a possible new antiviral
drug.
Since the FDA requires testing of all new drugs on animals before human trials, and since
smallpox affects only humans, Jahrling faced the unpleasant task of finding a means of forcing
smallpox to make a trans-species jump. Animal activists beware: the section on how this was
accomplished, and in particular, the story of one exceptional macaque monkey who developed
and survived variola after an injection of approximately one million particles of Harper strain
smallpox, is heartrending. Nevertheless, it was necessary --- without continued work there is little
hope that Mankind could endure potential deployment of the twenty tons of weapons ggrade
smallpox that the CIA believes were developed in the former Soviet Union. These stockpiles are,
like their enriched uranium counterparts, now listed as missing.
While the topical transitions are occasionally abrupt, overall "The Demon in the Freezer' reads as
smoothly as a contemporary spy-mystery novel. Its 'plot' concerns the broad range of
technological possibilities for both humanity's betterment and its demise. Its 'characters' are real
human beings who are also research scientists and public health specialists trying to make
educated guesses on dealing with prospective bioterrorism. Some names, like Saddam Hussein
(the book was published in 2002, pre-Iraqi War) and microbiologist David Kelly, who recently
committed suicide during hearings related to British intelligence reports on Iraq's weapons of
mass destruction, are well known. There is plenty of conflict to keep you at the edge of your
seat.
The only thing missing is the denouement. It has yet to be written. And nothing Freddy Kruger or
Jason Voorhees might concoct could match the global horror of variola intentionally
unleashed.
Rockets, Sulphur, Sputnik and Scramjets.
Peter Macinnis
Allen and Unwin
ISBN: 1865087947 A$24.95 in Australia
David Skea
Reviewer
Any intimate mixture of a fuel and an oxidizer is a potential explosive, and a molecule with one
reducing (fuel) end and one oxidizing end, separated by a pair of firmly crossed fingers, is an
invitation to disaster.
- John Clark, Ignition. 1972
If you were to think that this book is a description of the various rockets that mankind has used
over the years you would only be half right. The book is really more about the history of rocketry
and about what makes a rocket fly: that is, what fuels a rocket. But there's more.
The story starts with gunpowder which was probably used to fumigate houses by the Chinese in
about 700 BC. How it came to be developed for that purpose is a conjecture and how and why it
came to be an explosive fuel is another. However, gunpowder soon fuelled Chinese rockets that
were then used in war, although controlling the flight was not an exact science. But it did put the
frighteners into the enemy. Chinese rockets were adopted by the Mongols and then by the
Mughals, who used them in India as weapons against the English. Seeing a good thing, the
English adopted the rocket as a weapon and used it against the French, the Danes and the
Americans: although it is reported that Wellington was not a great advocate of the rocket, as at
this time control of the rocket was, at best, more of an art than a science and artillery was more
accurate.
The book progresses through solid fuel propellants into the 20th century and the development of
liquid rockets fuels and culminates with discussion on the German V2, Sputnik, and the space
shots that followed. Part of the story here is the mixing of the fuel and the oxidiser and some of
the problems associated with this. Mention is made of red fuming nitric acid (RFNA) and other
'magnificently hypergolic' substances, and of the loss of fingers, limbs and life that the
experimenters of the time were prone to.
Finally to Scramjet, which is a supersonic combustion ramjet. This is a rocket engine that may one
day lift mankind into space. Recently the first flight of a Scramjet, the Australian Hyshot project,
was made at Woomera. A flight witnessed by the author.
I can still remember the excitement when Russia launched Sputnik. I was a young technician
working in a telecommunications facility. Soon after the announcement of the launch several of
the radio engineers gathered in the laboratory and detecting the sputnik signal measured its
doppler change as it passed by. This was enough information to calculate the speed and hence the
orbit and period of the new satellite and although the result wasn't promulgated to the world (no
internet then) the result was one of the first to be so derived.
Reading the book was very easy and I enjoyed it so much that I read it through for a second time,
as it's full of odd facts such as the story of William Huskisson's demise.
I knew Huskisson died as a result of a railway accident involving George Stephenson's 'Rocket' at
the opening of the Liverpool - Manchester railway line and there is a statue of him on the Thames
embankment in London. What I didn't know was that Huskisson, a member of the Tory party,
was withholding support from its leader and prime minister, the Duke of Wellington, and unless a
rapprochement could be made the government would fall, which it did within the month. The
opening of the new railway was considered a suitable venue for the meeting and, had Huskisson
survived, he might well have led the rebel faction back into support of Wellington and saved the
government. Now he is only remembered as the first victim of a steam passenger railway
accident.
The English used rockets against the Americans in the American War of Independence and this
earned a mention in the US national anthem as "the rockets red glare". I knew the words were
there but I didn't know of the connection until I read it in this book.
Then there's the story of Professor Robert Goddard, who was an early American space rocket
pioneer, and who was publicly taken to task in 1920 by the New York Times for suggesting that
rockets could work in a vacuum: the paper only retracted this story in 1969.
This is an entertaining book and one that I'm sure to refer to again so it will remain on my
bookshelf.
Step-Ball-Change
Jeanne Ray
Thorndike Large Print
The Gale Group
27500 Drake Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48331
ISBN: 0786243716 $31.95
Henrietta K. Thomas
Reviewer
The narrator of Step-Ball-Change is Caroline McSwain, a happily married 62-year old mother of
four grown children who teaches ballet and tap dancing in her own dance studio in Raleigh, North
Carolina. Her husband, Tom, is a public defender, three of her children are practicing attorneys,
and the fourth is still wending his way through law school. Life gets pretty hectic at times, and she
and Tom rarely have much time for themselves.
One night, as they were just sitting down for a quiet dinner for two, the telephone rings. It is their
daughter, Kay, tearfully announcing that she is engaged to be married to Trey Bennett, the
youngest member of the wealthiest family in town. Then the other phone rings, and Caroline's
younger sister, Taffy, tearfully announces that her husband, Neddy, has left her for a younger
woman. Another series of hectic times in the McSwain household is about to begin.
The main plot revolves around Kay's wedding, which promises to be a grand affair. While Kay
and her future mother-in-law ponder guest lists and colors, the McSwains are wondering where
they'll find the money to pay their 'fair share' of the costs. Then there's the little matter of Kay's
former boyfriend, Jack, who, of course, is the last to know that Kay is planning to marry someone
else.
Another plot revolves around Taffy, who drives up from Atlanta for an extended stay. She is a
plain-speaking woman, and as she works her way through her marital problems, she reveals much
about herself that Caroline never knew.
"I was popular, you were smart," she says to Caroline at one point. "I jumped horses, you danced.
I got Mother, you got Dad. If I was good in something, you never even went near it. If you were
good at something, I gave it up."
"You got Mother, I got Dad?"
"It's true, isn't it?"
"How did I miss that?"
"I have no idea."
Then there are some even smaller subplots revolving around the two remaining single children,
Taffy's daughter, Holden, and Caroline's son, George, and Woodrow, a contractor, who's working
in the basement shoring up the foundation of the house.
Jeanne Ray tells her stories well. There is much wailing and weeping at appropriate times, but
there is also love and laughter and much wisdom spread around the kitchen table by her
characters. Taffy and Woodrow are my favorites, along with Caroline's son, George, who sees
things from a slightly younger point of view. There's even a dog named Stamp that Taffy brought
with her from Atlanta who makes a royal nuisance of himself.
Tom and Caroline have their ups and downs, but they're both relatively calm as they deal with one
mini-crisis after another. After all, they've been married 42 years and learned long ago to lean on
each other when things aren't going well. Theirs is a very strong marriage which has survived
before through tough times.
The title of the book, Step-Ball-Change, comes from a tap dance routine Caroline teaches at her
school. At first glance, it sounds kind of funny, but as you read the book, it makes perfect sense.
Dance is Caroline's first love, and it is the dancing that brings her and Taffy together at the end of
the day.
Lost
Gary Devon
Alfred A. Knopf
5552457412 $4.95
Jean Carroll
Reviewer
Don't read this book! It will tear your heart out. It will dunk your emotions in a whirlpool of
character interaction, then wring those emotions dry.
This is a suspense novel. It keeps the tension taut as the Chinaman's chain.
The Chinaman? He's a mix of Chow and probably wolf, and half of the duo tracking Leona.
Leona and three kids one of them Mamie, the six-year-old sister of Sherman are fleeing the
Chinaman and Sherman, and also the police. At least Leona is fleeing the police. She is a
misguided rescuer/kidnaper. Her belief in her mission to save the children seldom wavers as she
tried to make it to a place safe from the shadowy figure and the huge animal dogging her
steps..
Sherman is a boy without a conscience, possibly due to a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, but
probably because he never had a conscience to begin with except where Mamie and the Chinaman
are concerned. He is driven by his hate for Leona, and he leaves a trail of tragedy behind him as he
tracks the woman and his sister.
Gary Devon gives each character very human weaknesses and strengths. He head hops smoothly
from character to character to show motivation, and each scene is described in agonizingly minute
detail.
"The bullet entered his head slightly above and behind his left ear, and the air pocketed with the
report. The shot jarred him off balance and his tense face hurtled sideways, blurred like a swiftly
unwinding bobbin of thread. His name was Sherman Abbott; he was twelve years old.
"Thrown out loose by the recoil, his upturned hand wavered daintily in the evening air, his fingers
bent back twitching under the weight of the dangling revolver. Suddenly he slumped as if to
curtsy, then bolted erect. He staggered forward a step or two, weaving from side to side; the
revolver jiggled from the end of his thumb, and he fell headlong in the high grass."
No, this is not the end of the book; it is the beginning, a tremendous hook that keeps the reader
on the line throughout the book.
"LOST" is so riveting you want it to hurry up, hurry up so you can see how it ends, but you don't
want to miss a word along the way. You find yourself wondering what will happen if and when
Sherman and the Chinaman catch up with Leona. What will happen to her? What will Mamie do
when she sees the brother she loves? Can what these characters have done and continue to do
possibly result in a happy ending?
Don't read this book unless you're willing to endure the terror, the suspense, the heartbreak the
author will put you through.
Prey
Michael Crichton
HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street; New York, NY 10022
ISBN: 0066214122 $18.86 (on bn.com)
Marty Duncan
Reviewer
A predator is growing more intelligent, daily. The predator is a swarm of microrobots that is
self-sustaining and using nanotechnology to reproduce themselves. The human engineers and
biologists have lost control of the swarms of microrobots that are loose in the Nevada desert.
Their secret attempt to create a mobile, semi-intelligent drone for military intelligence has
backfired. The swarms have learned to hunt and humans are their prey.
Michael Crichton's Prey seems to echo The Andromeda Strain , his earlier novel. Prey is tense,
but relaxing. The reader somehow knows the protagonist will defeat the swarm and protect his
children. This reader enjoyed the thrill.
Prey is for devotees of science fiction who enjoy the 'discovery' of cutting-edge technology. If you
enjoyed Jurassic Park, or Congo, or Sphere, or The Terminal Man, you will get a rush out of
Crichton's Prey.
Angels on Crusade
Jennifer Macaire
Novel Books, Inc.
www.novelbooksinc.com
ISBN download: 1591051150
ISBN POD: 1591051401
Bill Pottle
Reviewer
Angels on Crusade is the latest offering by historical fiction/time travel author Jennifer Macaire. It
deals with a 25th century prisoner being sent back in time to medieval France in order to save the
crown of France from disaster that is about to befall the bloodline on the 8th crusade.
Isobel is in prison in the 25th century for the manslaughter of a child. Time travel is commonplace
by this time, and journalists often visit the past to interview famous historical figures. However,
sometimes a part of the past is altered and it is up to a lowly corrector to return and set things
right. Faced with returning to the 12th century or spending the rest of her time in prison, Isobel
sets back with a mission to find a 16 year old boy and bring him back to his family.
The book is a combination of science fiction, historical fiction, and romance. Of the three it
succeeds best as historical fiction, and this is fortunate as this is the main focus of the work.
Macaire's greatest strength is how she is able to depict the frailty and hardship of everyday life in
the 12th century. Her attention to detail there is refreshing, and lends a greater degree of
credibility to her story. We constantly hear of characters scratching their heads to ward off lice,
and we are often reminded of just how hungry and dirty these people were. At the same time, she
manages to capture their hopes and joys.
Angels on Crusade is an exciting story that draws the reader in and doesn't let go until the final
flip of the page. Although she makes a few notable attempts to show balance, the criticism of the
Church does become a bit trite by the end. The story ends in an unpredictable way, with some
issues unresolved. There is proof that Isobel has succeeded in her mission, although the way that
this happens is not answered in the story or the epilogue. Some readers may find this disturbing,
however, this just serves to show the ambiguity of the way that small events can influence the
future years later.
All in all Angels on Crusade is well worth reading for those looking for a good historical fiction
novel. Sexual descriptions make the book more suited to older teens and adults, however. This
book can help us all think of our place in the flow of time and how small things we do may alter
the future incredibly.
A Breath of Fresh Air
Amulya Malladi
Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0345450280 $23.95
Shauna Singh Baldwin
Reviewer
I can't think of very many fiction writers who have addressed the 1984 Union Carbide methyl
isocyanate gas leak in Bhopal India or shown its effects on ordinary people. In fact the accident
hasn't received much attention in the West since A Killing Wind, a non-fiction book written in
1987 by Dan Kurzman.
If the Union Carbide gas leak had happened in the USA, killing 8,000 people within days and
blinding or permanently injuring half a million,(1) no one would have dared propose a paltry initial
settlement of $1.14 per person. But it happened in a poor country, so we have a double standard.
In 1989, Union Carbide paid off all its victims with a mere 470 million. (Contrast that settlement
amount with a settlement that took place a month later: Iraq's $27.3 million payment to the USA
for 37 American sailors killed in the 1987 attack on the USS Stark.) And Warren Anderson,
Chairman of Union Carbide is still free. According to a 2002 protest report by Greenpeace,
"hundreds of tonnes of chemicals and obsolete pesticides were abandoned in Bhopal by the U.S.
multinational when it fled the Indian city, after a gas leak at its factory caused the world's worst
industrial disaster." Dow Chemicals, owner of Union Carbide, insists as of May 2003 that the
company is not liable for the spill.
Writers who tie their fiction to political events, and show how the lives of ordinary people are
affected by them take huge risks. "A Breath of Fresh Air" begins with the Union Carbide Gas
Leak in Bhopal, India in 1984 and continues into the present, showing the effects of the disaster.
But Malladi doesn't take us through statistics or details, knowing we Americans are too
squeamish to read about the actual suffering we cause. Instead, she shows us the personal
suffering of Anjali, a middle class woman, and her child. Told from three points of view, Malladi
shows the relationship between Anjali, her ex-husband Prakash and her current husband Sandeep.
Some might say the book is not about Bhopal at all but about dealing with the suffering we inflict
and receive.
Minor blemishes like spelling lieutenant "leftenant", putting all Indian words in italics in this day
and age, and getting the month of Indira Gandhi's Golden Temple invasion wrong are forgivable
in a first novel. "A Breath of Fresh Air" is a well-balanced, pitch-perfect novel you'll read in a few
sittings. Open a box of Kleenex when you come to the end.
Meanwhile, out in the real world, the victims of Union Carbide's gas leak continue their fight for
compensation. In March 2003 a United States court dismissed their claim for damages against the
American multinational. Shed a tear for them as well.
(1) Statistics from Greenpeace.org, as of 2003. Lower estimates are 3300, 4500, 6000.
Ann's Bookshelf
Bluestocking in Patagonia
Anne Whitehead
Profile Trade
186197504X A$ 35.00
In 1895, at the age of thirty, Mary Cameron travelled from Australia by mail boat,
paddle-steamer, steam-train and on horseback to join the fledgling communal settlement called
'New Australia' in a remote region of Paraguay. It was a brave trip for a lone woman to make but
Mary came from good Scottish pioneering stock; she had grown up on country properties in New
South Wales, and had been taught by her father to be independent. Nevertheless, her experiences
in Paraguay and Patagonia over the next six years would have tested even the strongest of women
to the limits.
Mary arrived in Paraguay young, single and idealistic: she left as a married woman and a mother,
in poor health, much wiser about the ways of the world but still idealistic, outspoken and
determined. In A Bluestocking in Patagonia, Anne Whitehead has followed Mary's footsteps, has
listened to her voice in letters, diaries and poems and has found historical records and stories
linked to her life in South America. She also knows much about the people Mary would have
lived amongst and the sort of society she would have experienced at that time. This book is a
fascinating synthesis of all this, and it is an unusual book.
Blue Stocking in Patagonia is as much a modern travel book as it is a biography of Mary Gilmore.
It refers to Chatwin and Theroux and their accounts of Patagonia (some of which the locals now
contest); it skims over South American social history, legend and story; and it provides a rich
background and a valuable picture of the world Mary encountered and of her experiences during
that busy six years of her life.
Mary Gilmore, as the advertising material for this book says, is an Australian icon. She is better
known in Australia for her poetry than for her social views and activism, and there is a
prize-winning portrait of her by William Dobell which hangs in the National Gallery of New South
Wales and which is has been the subject of controversy ever since it was painted in 1944
(although Mary, herself, approved of it). This portrait appears as a shadowy background to the
image of Mary which now graces the Australian $10 note. All of this makes her seem formidable.
And, in many ways, she was.
She was born Mary Cameron in Goulburn, NSW, in 1865. In 1895, already a published writer and
an activist for workers' rights, she left Australia to join the idealistic and already troubled new
society at Cosme Station in Paraguay, and in 1897 she married William Gilmore. All her life she
was a writer, an outspoken political commentator and activist, and a poet. Her most famous
poem, one which caught the public attention and was even set to music, was 'No Foe Shall Gather
Our Harvest', which she wrote in 1940 when Australia was under threat of invasion by the
Japanese. In 1937 she was made a Dame of the British Empire for her services to Australian
Literature, and when she died in Sydney at the age of 97 she was given a State funeral. She was
an advocate of women's rights who thought the title 'Bluestocking' "repulsive" but her first
biographer, William H. Wilde, considered that most people (the men, at least) would have thought
her "a radical bluestocking" and " a somewhat daunting person".
The great value of Anne Whitehead's book is that it shows Mary to have been as human and as
vulnerable as any other woman. Whilst in South America Mary gave birth to her first child in a
rented cottage in a strange town, alone with a drunken midwife. She wrote poignant, loving and
sometimes desperate letters to Will during their frequent work-enforced separations. And she
struggled alone to look after her ailing son whilst she herself was suffering from repeated,
debilitating bouts of diarrhea for which the doctors could find no remedy. Not surprisingly, she
was often depressed. But her courage, and her determination to do any job which would bring in
money so that the family could return to Australia, saw her through.
There are other very human stories about Mary in this book. The poet, Henry Lawson, fell in love
with her at first sight (so he told Mary) but Mary rejected his proposal of marriage, noting in her
diary "a curious immaturity" in him - like a "sappy twig". Her engagement to a man who had
preceded her to Paraguay, fell through disastrously even before she arrived there, and the length
of white muslin wedding-dress material which she had packed in her trunk remained uncut until
she married Will Gilmore two-years later. Other glimpses of Mary as a wife and mother, mostly
through Mary's own writings, show her to have been a woman of her times and to have shared
some of the prejudices and the racism of those times. But Mary was never bound by social
conventions and her experiences during those years in South America made her more determined
than ever to fight for the rights of the ordinary worker, something she did for the rest of her
life.
Anne Whitehead is an excellent story-teller, a well-informed scholar and, like Mary, an intrepid
traveller. I found her accounts of her own travels in South Americas equally as interesting as her
glimpses of Mary's life. And I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good
travel-writing, whether they have heard of Mary Gilmore before or not.
Lady Gregory's Toothbrush
Colm Toibin
Picador
ISBN: 029918000X $19.95
"The greatest living Irishwoman", said George Bernard Shaw of Lady Augusta Gregory after she
had fought the bans and directed his play The Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet: A Sermon in Crude
Melodrama at the Abbey Theatre. Shaw's play, like Synge's Playboy of the Western World, was
"deeply objectionable" to some but was also a huge success at the box-office. And it was another
success for Augusta Gregory and W.B. Yeats in their fight against the censorship of Irish drama,
and in their efforts to encourage Irish writing and establish Irish literature as a valuable part of the
Irish culture.
The paradox of this was that at a time when militant Irish Nationalists were attacking the
landowning gentry, Lady Gregory was both a nationalist (in her passionate love of Ireland and her
literary work) and a landowner who spent a great deal of her time in England.
Colm Toibin's biographical essay (which is based on letters and other writing of Lady Augusta
Gregory held in the Berg Collection of the New York Public Library) shows how Augusta
Gregory juggled these two roles. It shows, too, what a determined, intelligent, generous and
imaginative person she was.
As the youngest, least attractive and accomplished daughter of a strict, Protestant family, she had
not been expected to marry. But at the age of twenty-seven, she accepted the proposal of Sir
William Gregory, a widower, thirty-five years older than herself, who had been a parliamentarian
and Governor of Ceylon and who was, at the time of their marriage, a trustee of the National
Gallery in London. Coole Park was Sir William's Irish estate, but the Gregories spent only the
summers there. It did, however, become the focus of Augusta's literary life and work.
From her writings, Colm Toibin documents her collecting of Irish folk-tales, her growing
confidence in her writing, her reinventing of herself through her love for Ireland, and the influence
of her friendships with, in particular, William Scawen Blunt (who was her lover), John Quinn (an
American who was also her "secret passion"), and William Butler Yeats. Her ambivalent feelings
about some of the battles she and Yeats fought as founders and fellow directors of the Abbey
Theatre also make interesting reading.
This is a slim book but it offers an interesting and enjoyable picture of a remarkable woman and
the important part she played in the revival of Irish literature.
And the toothbrush? Well, I'll let you discover that for yourself, but is was part of the paradoxical
role Augusta Gregory played in creating a literary heritage for all, including those "cavity-riddled"
Irish who most opposed her.
The Travels of Ibn Battutah
Ed. Tim Mackintosh Smith
Picador
ISBN: 0330418793 A$25.00
This is a book to read and savour slowly. Ibn Battutah, set off on his travels from Tangier in
1303, at the age of twenty-one. He was as full of curiosity and as attracted by novel situations and
characters as any modern travel-writer, and perhaps he had a witty and ironical turn of phrase
which kept those who later listened to his travel stories enthralled. So, as tales about his far-flung
adventures spread, the Sultan of Morocco commissioned a young writer to take down Ibn
Battutah's "memoirs": "I took down from him the names of famous people he had met, and we
profited greatly from him", wrote this young man.
No doubt dictated memoirs are rather more formal than travellers tales told to a circle of friends
in a garden. In any case, the style of speech and writing in Morocco was more formal in the
fourteenth-century. Ibn Battutah's memoirs, then, amazing and varied as they are, do not have the
jokey, caricaturing, deliberately reader-friendly sort of style that modern readers of travel-book
might expect.
Below the title on the book's cover is a quote from the Guardian which suggests that it offers "A
picture of medieval civilization without equal in detail and brilliance". This is true, and the picture
is often fascinating, but (for me) the length of the book was also one of its problems. At times it
reads like a name-dropper's long list of famous people met; or an extensive travel itinerary; and it
is still a long and comprehensive account of the travels, even though Tim Mackintosh Smith has
taken his knife to it. I was much more at home with Tim Mackintosh Smith's brief, easy-going,
humorous style than I was with Ibn Battutah's.
Nevertheless, the mixture of anecdotes, fact, magical stories, poetry and personal detail and
opinion in this book has a definite charm. And there are some thought-provoking accounts of easy
travel amongst people whose differing religious beliefs, now, are a major cause of conflict. The
picture of the medieval world, too, is sometimes a picture of places which still exist almost
unchanged since Ibn Battutah saw them, at other times he describes things which have since
vanished due to disasters of various kinds, but mostly due to war. Battutah, as one blurb says,
"dined with sultans, khans and emperors, escaped from pirates, sired children on several
continents: crossed deserts; dodged the Black Death"; and he travelled by every form of transport
then available. Like any modern traveller he feared for his safety on some journeys, ate unfamiliar
and sometimes vile-tasting food, and suffered the resulting diarrhoea: some things never
change.
For serious readers and writers of travel books, this book is a classic - a book to keep on your
shelf and dip into whenever your get itchy feet and the urge for fresh adventures.
Ann Skea, Reviewer
http://ann.skea.com
Christy's Bookshelf
Scars for Life
Michael Kealman
Llumina Press
P.O. Box 772246, Coral Springs, FL 33077-2246
ISBN 1932303804 $9.95
SCARS FOR LIFE is written under the pseudonym Michael Kealman in order to protect innocent
family members. This is a glaring look at domestic abuse from a child's eyes and offers insight into
the sequelae resulting to children who are raised with a parent who abuses the other.
Kealman bases his story on actual childhood events and relates throughout the book the emotional
instability and physical trauma left behind when abuse occurs in a family. He points out that abuse
can be mental as well as physical and can come from any member of the household. He also rather
poignantly states that learning to recognize abuse can be the first step in healing.
Kealman poses these questions, which are quite profound: Where do you store it all? How do you
empty the brain? How are you supposed to forget?
Kealman relates the different ways his siblings dealt with the abuse and the unfolding relationship
between himself and his father, who was the abuser. It is refreshing to read that Kealman took a
terrible situation and made something good of it: he used it as a learning experience for ways not
to behave as a husband and father and, as a consequence, became a better spouse to his wife and
parent to his daughter.
Kealman points out that the abuse cycle can be broken and that there is help available to victims
of abuse. He asks his readers to pass the book on when they are finished, and it is hoped that this
book will help those who are dealing with abuse in their lives, as well as those who are abusing
others.
Treasures In Time
T. C. Newby
PublishAmerica
P.O. Box 151, Frederick, MD 21705-0151
www.publishamerica.com
ISBN 1592865445 $16.95 1-240-529-1031
T. C. Newby's first book Treasures in Time is, itself, a real treasure to read. Ms. Newby magically
weaves past with present to create a compelling Christian romance suitable for all readers.
Emily Taylor, a teacher in Knoxville, Tennessee, returns to her grandparents' homeplace outside
Cumberland Gap, Tennessee for a three-week stay after her grandfather's death. Emily discovers a
chest that belonged to her grandmother containing an antiquated wedding dress, Confederate
uniform, Union soldier's cap, and a diary from one of Emily's ancestors, a young woman named
Rebecca. Hidden inside the lining of the cap is a love letter from a soldier named Stephen Lucas
to his beloved Rebecca. Evan Lucas has returned to Cumberland Gap, Tennessee from a
disappointing stay in New York to restore the Victorian home that has been in his family for
generations. During the restoration, he finds a hidden safe containing the original plans for the
house, old photographs, and a set of silver wedding rings. When Emily discovers that the owner
of the Union soldier's cap is an antecedent of Evan, she gives him the cap, and agrees to help him
with decorating decisions concerning the Victorian home he is trying to recapture. Evan and
Emily are drawn to one another, but both have been hurt from past relationships, so are wary of
their attraction.
Interwoven throughout the present-day love story is the love story from the past between
Rebecca and Stephen, which is divulged through Rebecca's diary. Although Rebecca's family
fought for the Confederacy, Stephen decided to return North to fight for the Union, causing the
young couple to be separated before they could wed. Rebecca's diary reveals much factual
information about the Civil War as well as Rebecca's concern and worry for her beloved
Stephen.
T. C. Newby has written a mesmerizing story delivered with eloquence and style. As a
Southerner, it was refreshing to see the differing views concerning the Civil War (aside from the
issue of slavery) expressed in a noble and understanding way. Rebecca's writings about the war
and her family, as well as her love for Stephen, are captivating. The gentle mysteries as to what
happened to Rebecca and Stephen as well as to whom the wedding rings belonged are revealed
smoothly and with finesse. A wonderful book by this first-time author I would highly recommend
to everyone, including Civil War history buffs.
The Dragon Who Was Bored
Sheryl Nantus
PublishAmerica
P.O. Box 151, Frederick, MD 21705-0151
www.publishamerica.com
www.thedragonwhowasbored.com
ISBN 1592861261 $12.95 1-240-529-1031
The Dragon Who Was Bored, by Sherly Nantus, is not only an entertaining children's story but a
lovely reminder of those gentle fairy tales of old.
Red Vest is a young dragon who does not like to fight with the other dragons or steal treasure,
which are the major past-times for his Clan. As the smallest of the dragons, Red Vest is picked on
by some of the other dragons, so chooses to stay to himself most of the time. Realizing he is
bored, Red Vest visits the Clan's leader, Old Dragon, who is very wise, and asks for his advice.
Old Dragon tells him to go to the bottom of a mountain, to a large tree by the river, and stand by
the path leading into the hills. There, Red Vest meets a young woman named Amanda, who
comes to the river each morning to fill her pails with water. Day after day, Amanda comes to the
stream and listens raptly as Red Vest tells her about his life as a dragon. One day, Amanda does
not come to the river, but her father does. He tells Red Vest that he has forbidden Amanda to visit
him because she loves him and wants to do nothing more than listen to his stories. Red Vest and
Amanda are devastated, but when Amanda disobeys her father's wishes and visits Red Vest the
next day, she finds that love has woven a magical spell over her dragon.
The Dragon Who Was Bored is wonderfully written and a delight to read. Children as well as
adults will be mesmerized by the love story interwoven within the fable of the dragon. This would
make a valuable addition to any child's bedroom, library or classroom.
Christy Tillery French
Reviewer
Cynthia Penn's Bookshelf
Lonetree Ranchers: Morgan
Desire No 1540
Kathie DeNosky
Harlequin Retail Inc
ISBN 0373765401 $4.25
A powerful tale of love and healing -Very highly recommended An angry voice startles Samantha
Peterson, interrupting her attempts to settle into her new home. While her inheritance threatens to
fall down around her ears, Samantha attempts to build a future for herself and her unborn child.
Since she is stranded, Samantha soon realizes how fortuitous Morgan Wakefield's arrival is when
she goes into labor a month early. His subsequent assistance as she births her child bonds them
quite unexpectedly. Following a book's directions for childbirth is much easier than coping with
the strong emotional attachments Morgan forms with mother and child as the result of their
unexpected encounter. Soon he insists on paying Samantha's medical bills and providing a decent
place to stay. Perhaps Morgan has finally met the woman who can bring him healing and an
opportunity for love. Kathie DeNosky continues her ranching series with LONETREE
RANCHERS: MORGAN. Samantha's independence and Morgan's protectiveness come together
with equal measures of struggle and sizzle. Both Samantha and Morgan feel responsibility
intensely, and both are equally burdened by pain from the past. Once again DeNosky displays her
stunning ability to create a tale rich with the promise of new beginnings and the possibility of
forever. Indeed, it is DeNosky's gift for capturing the power of the heart to find redemption and
healing that makes all of her stories incredibly powerful. LONETREE RANCHERS: MORGAN
comes very highly recommended.
The Secret Father
Superromance No 1154
Anna Adams
Harlequin Retail Inc
ISBN 0373711549 $4.50
Powerful family drama - Highly recommended Nineteen-year-old Olivia Kendall is pregnant when
she sees the headline reporting the death of her child's father Zach Calvert. He had been a pilot in
the Navy. In that moment her entire life shifts, and she never even had the chance to inform him of
her pregnancy. Despite pressure from her father, Olivia went on raise her son and to build a
career. Six years later a news broadcast includes a picture of Zach, who is now a small town
sheriff. A life of privilege has not filled her son's desire for a father, but by contacting him Zach
opens Olivia to vulnerabilities she has long set aside. A crash and a head injury robbed Zach of
several years of memory. He still discovers skills about himself that he did not know he had. Now
divorced, Zach struggles to build a life for himself as a non-custodial father. He is absolutely
stunned to meet Olivia and learn that he has a son, but determined to be a good parent to him as
well. While he has no memory of Olivia, Zach cannot resist the powerful attraction between them.
But she still bears the wounds of his unintentional abandonment. Anna Adams creates a beautiful
tale of second chances in THE SECRET FATHER. By limiting Zach's amnesia to a few years,
Adams creates marvelous tension without falling victim to the typical amnesia story devices.
Moreover, Olivia strikes a delicate balance between independence and keeping peace with her
father, never hesitating to assert herself when necessary. Zach is a powerful sympathetic hero as
he copes with a difficult ex-wife and profound parenting challenges. Even the ex-wife proves to
be a wonderful secondary character with combination of cattiness and vulnerabilities. A
powerfully told tale of difficult family relationships, THE SECRET FATHER comes highly
recommended.
Tinker
Wen Spencer
Baen Books
ISBN 0743471652 $25.00
Winner of the WordWeaving Award for Excellence Five years ago Tinker formed a life debt with
elf Windwolf, linking her life essence with his, when he rescued her from almost certain death.
Now wargs attack just at the time of Shutdown Day, when a fifty mile chunk of Pittsburgh swaps
places with a part of Elfhome. The return to earth prevents the usual help because resources like
phones and electricity are temporarily disconnected. Even as Tinker fears for her safety, she spies
Windwolf in mortal danger. Partly because she fears for his life and partly because she fears for
her own due to their connection, she springs to action, eventually rescuing him and saving his life.
For five years Windwolf searched for the fearless little savage that saved his life. He did not
realize the child was a female until she saves his life again. Certainly Windwolf did not expect her
to run a salvage yard or to be a genius capable of building a gate that can span their worlds. And
he certainly did not expect to fall for this human. But Tinker is not just a genius who can build
anything. Her genius puts her at risk and dangerous races want to control the gate that can bridge
dimensions. Nevertheless, as an elf, Windwolf believes that the ends do justify the means so long
as it is done with honor, and he will do anything to protect both his world and his woman. Author
Wen Spencer pens a modern fairytale in this memorable blend of the surreal and the gritty in
TINKER. The exchange of Pittsburgh and Elfhome provides an cleverly unlikely background as
Tinker moves between worlds, between loyalties and between loved ones. Indeed, her ingenuity
and strength of character provides a memorably strong characterization readers will treasure. As
the human and fey worlds collide, Tinker finds herself transformed into something more than she
ever imagined. Moreover, Windwolf allows readers a first hand glimpse at the fey, styled after
Tolkien elves, yet ever reminding readers just how different the fey are from humans in longevity
and perceptions. As mythologies collide, kitsune, notoni, tengu and other oriental influences
provide an eclectic read that brings together mythology, culture and improbability in a convincing
read. TINKER earns the WordWeaving Award for Excellence.
The MacAulay Bride
Nancy Pirri
Awe-Struck
ISBN 1587494248
ISBN 1587494221
Electronic ISBN 158749423X
$4.75
Winner of the WordWeaving Award for Excellence Ten years ago Harrison MacAuley fell in love
with a woman in a photograph. Unfortunately, she was his brother's wife. His brother's crimes
forced him to flee to America from Scotland where he met and married sixteen-year-old Brianna.
Now Harrison must produce an heir by his thirty-first birthday or loose the MacAulay estates.
While he makes a comfortable living as a doctor, Harrison supports a number of cousins on the
family estate that would else wise be homeless. Certainly his brother could not successful manage
the estate should he inherit. In the meantime, Brianna finds herself widowed, but when Harrison
arrives in America determined to whisk her and her two sons away to Scotland, she only complies
because of her children. Harrison states that although she is the boys' mother, she does not have
custody of them, he does. Faced with loosing her sons, Brianna agrees to return to Scotland with
Harrison. She does not wish to wed, so Harrison convinces her to handfast him for a year and a
day and produce his much needed heir. Despite their conflict, Brianna quickly proves her worth to
Harrison despite her assertion that she does not wish for a traditional marriage. Author Nancy
Pirri strikes an unusual balance between an alpha Scotsman and an independent American woman
in THE MACAULAY BRIDE. Brianna's determination to not sacrifice her freedom on the altar
of marriage faces remarkable challenges with the equally determined Harrison. The ancient
tradition of handfasting builds a bridge between worlds and hearts that neither expect. With a
charming secondary plot that includes Harrison's shy sister and her troubled marriage, and his
powerfully rendered grandmother who wants to save the save the world, THE MACAULAY
BRIDE is marvelously entertaining. Certainly author Pirri displays a remarkable story telling skill
that will win the hearts of her readers. Charmingly impossible to put down, THE MACAULAY
BRIDE earns the WordWeaving Award for Excellence.
Hers to Take
Harlequin Blaze 103
Karen Anders
Harlequin Retail Inc
ISBN 0373791070 $4.50
Witty dialogue and a suspenseful plot -- Very highly recommended A.J. Camacho does not like
people sneaking up on him with guns. It makes him testy. So when San Diego Detective Sienna
Parker arrives to investigate his brother's apartment, he disarms her with the lightening speed of
his profession as a Navy SEAL. While he might not play by the rules Sienna holds so dear, with
his stepbrother suspected of selling arms, A.J. and Sienna must join forces to discover the truth.
Meanwhile, Sienna's closest friends challenge her with a bet. They all agree to sleep with the sexy
men in their lives, bring back a souvenir to prove their success. But Sienna's approach to her life
leaves little room for more than a brief fling with her sexy maverick. With a truckload of guns on
the street, her first priority must be to see that justice is served, regardless of the toll it might take
on her and A.J. Three women accept a dare to seduce the sexy men in their lives in the new
miniseries Women who Dare. Author Karen Anders kicks off the sensual feast with HERS TO
TAKE, once again demonstrating her skill in creating breathtaking intensity, resulting in a fast
paced, sexy read fans will adore. Both A.J. and Sienna are strong, resourceful characters
determined to follow their individual code of ethics. A.J. does provides a decided counterpoint to
Sienna's by the book ways, not hesitating to play the maverick in order to get the job done. Witty
dialogue and a suspenseful plot keep the novel moving at a fast pace, with sensual interludes that
will make the reader's toes curl. Be sure to watch for Lana's story in November and Kate's
romance in January. HERS TO TAKE comes very highly recommended.
After Hours
Harlequin Blaze 102
Vicki Lewis Thompson
Harlequin Retail Inc
ISBN 0373791062 $4.50
With her very staid boyfriend out of the country for the week, Eileen Connolly wants to fulfill her
most secret fantasy. She wants sex with a rugged, dark stranger a man she would never have to
see again before she commits to a life time of stability. With her darkest desires fulfilled, Eileen
thinks she could accept Benjamin's proposal and move in with him. But rather than finding her
fantasy man in a bar somewhere, Eileen unexpectedly encounters him in her office after hours
installing telephone lines. He is everything she wants: single, footloose and fancy free and not the
kind of guy like her boyfriend whose life is run by business. Doing an installation rather than
soothing irritable clients brings Shane Nichols a sense of satisfaction. His life is a mess owning a
company that controls his every moment, so working with his hands brings a sense of
accomplishment he had almost forgotten. He has been fantasizing about the blond lawyer in this
office since the first time he caught a glimpse of her, so when she suddenly appears with a
proposition, he accepts. But Shane wants more than one episode of fabulous sex. Now he wants
to convince Eileen that he is the man she needs for permanence. AFTER HOURS is author Vicki
Lewis Thompson at her best with a hot plot, sizzling characterizations and sensuality that leaves
fans begging for more. On one hand, Eileen's determination to limit their relationship quickly gives
way to something more, and she does not belittle nor denounce her involvement with the
telephone installer, even when caught red handed. On the other hand, Shane's determination to be
loved for he is not for what he is strikes a sympathetic cord that earns instant forgiveness for his
mild deception. AFTER HOURS is a daring fantasy of sex with a stranger that could easily slip
into shallow or dangerous, but, with Thompson's skillful pen, this tale sidesteps the obvious and
becomes something intriguing and fun. AFTER HOURS comes very highly recommended.
Standing in the Shadows
Shannon McKenna
Zebra Kensington Publishing Corp.
850 Third Avenue, New York NY 10022
ISBN 0758204531 $14.00
Winner of the WordWeaving Award for Excellence A long way from his job as an FBI agent,
Connor McCloud investigates unfaithful spouses these days. When an investigation with the FBI
went badly wrong, resulting in his partner's death and his own near fatal injuries, Connor spent
two months in a comma. Now only his morose reflections keep him company when he refuses to
answer his brothers' calls. That is, memories that includes thoughts of Erin Riggs, the daughter of
the man who had set him up to die. Now his nemesis, Kurt Novak, has escaped prison and only
Connor understands the dire threat the madman poses for Erin. Her father's arrest led to the
downward spiral of Erin's family. Her mother's psychotic break and her sister's self destruction all
stem from her father's corruption. Now she struggles to pay her mother's bills and save her sister
even as Novak closes his trap. He considers Erin's escape from a kidnapping attempt to be a
personal insult. Now Novak poses as a collector of La Tene period Celtic artifacts, appealing to
Erin's professional skills and knowledge to lure her into his trap. Neither Connor nor Erin have
acknowledged the passion they share. First he had been much too old for her, then her father's
arrest occurred before he could ask her out. Now her father's legacy silently keeps them at a
distance. Only Connor's conviction that she is in danger forces him out of seclusion to protect her.
But Erin's independent nature does not take easily to his determination to become her bodyguard.
Worse, Erin comes to believe that Connor sees nonexistent threats. In BEHIND CLOSED
DOORS, author Shannon McKenna established her gift for combining daring sensuality with
tension filled danger. Her sequel, STANDING IN THE SHADOWS, once again proves her rising
star vibrant, terrifying prose interlaced with sensuality. Specifically, the sexual tension between
Connor and Erin sizzles, even as their passion echoes the deadly passion of a madman. A novel
impossible to put down, STANDING IN THE SHADOWS earns the WordWeaving Award for
Excellence.
Complete Abandon
Cheryl Holt
St. Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010
ISBN 031298460X $6.50
Sensually titillating! Very highly recommended A scandalous observation leaves spinster Emma
Fitzgerald with unfettered desire and outrageous daring. Rather than feeling appalled at
witnessing a tryst between John Clayton, the new Viscount Wakefield, and his paramour, Emma
longs to sample such risque behavior. Unfortunately, she has arrived on a serious mission, as the
Viscount has served eviction notices on many of her elderly and widowed neighbors, as well as
her own family. Temporary distraction does not put her off from her purpose; rather, it prepares
her. Under the prim, proper exterior of a vicar's daughter, Emma conceals passions to match
John's. Her saucy daring and bodacious maneuverings captures his attention, promising an allure
far beyond what John has shared with the jaded women of London. Moreover, John's attempts to
protect while dissuading Emma fail miserably when she turns the situation to her advantage.
Suddenly this bad boy realizes he has met his match in the most unexpected of ways. Cheryl Holt
creates a searing tale of passion in COMPLETE ABANDON. Holt provides an amusing
afternoon's read with vivid characterizations that spring to life. A study of complete opposites,
Emma and John come together with unexecuted hilarity and outrageousness. Emma's sensual
nature sparkles under this bad boy's touch. Remarkably, she does not attempt to tame his
wayward ways; rather, she glories in both his strengths and in his flaws. John, however, has a lot
to learn about women regardless of his varied experience if he wishes to ever keep the heart of
this remarkable woman. Secondary characters likewise sparkle with Holt's characteristic style.
Witty, daring and delightful, COMPLETE ABANDON comes very highly recommended.
Up To No Good Blaze 100
Julie Elizabeth Leto
Harlequin Retail Inc
PO Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269
ISBN 0373791046 $4.50
A sensual feast - Highly recommended Micki Carmichael ran away from home when she was
sixteen, finding motivation to remain on the streets for the last five years while she looked after
her friend Danielle. While Micki had been close to cleaning up her bad habits and reconciling with
her family, Danielle had just escaped a family that substituted material possessions for love. Now
Danielle is going to drug rehab thanks to Micki's intervention. Meanwhile, Danielle has
orchestrated an unusual thank you, arranging for her previously distant brother to provide a week
long fantasy for Micki. Feeling guilty for not being aware of his younger sister's brothers, Bas falls
into her plans for Micki fairly easily. After all, Micki basically saved Danielle's life. With unlimited
funds and a commitment to pleasure, he arranges a marvelous week for them to explore the
possibilities of Micki's fantasy. Unfortunately, neither one of them suspect that someone watches,
and danger will escalate until it becomes obvious that someone wants to get to Bas by attacking
those people he holds most dear. A lively and entertaining read, UP TO NO GOOD showcases
Julie Elizabeth Leto's usual talent for sensual storytelling. While the sizzle definitely satisfies, the
taut plotting keeps the tale moving. Readers who had eagerly awaited Micki's story will discover a
fascinatingly complex character. Her savvy flair and unexpected vulnerabilities certainly capture
both the reader's and Sebastian's heart. A study of opposites, Micki and Sebastian has more in
common than what might be immediately obvious. Their insecurities and lack of self-esteem not
only level the playing field but also bring them together in unexpected ways. Provocative,
romantic and fun, UP TO NO GOOD comes highly recommended.
The Playboy's Protegee
American Romance No 988
Michele Dunaway
Harlequin Retail Inc
PO Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269
ISBN 0373169744 $4.75
Matchmaking and business - Very highly recommended Joe Jacobsen uses his company's
mentoring program to play matchmaker for his grandson Harry Sander. While Harry and Megan
MacGregor have relegated the sparks they throw to animosity, Joe sees things differently.
Certainly his previous matchmaking successes prove his ability. Harry wants a vice-presidency in
the family business, and if his participation in the Jacobsen enterprises program to recruit and
retain upper-level management will pave the way then so be it. That is, until he learns that he will
be mentoring Megan, a woman who has gone out of her way to make him look bad since her
arrival in the company. Megan believes that Harry has not liked her since a year ago when she was
hired and questioned the validity and rationale of his ideas. He has made it perfectly clear that he
would fire her if he could, and now he is to be her mentor. Megan believes that he only has his job
because he is the grandson of the CEO. Further, Megan needs this career opportunity if she is to
continue to care for her mother who has multiple sclerosis. Despite their mutual animosity, Megan
and Harry discover that are a surprisingly effective team in THE PLAYBOY'S PROTEGEE.
Harry's playboy reputation and Megan's outspoken ways quickly reveal surprising depth of
character. As they fight their mutual attraction, however, they also discover that their
vulnerabilities threaten to destroy that which they hold most dear. Once again author Michele
Dunaway displays her consummate skill for combining tenderness and passion in a read impossible
to put down. An endearing read with a delightfully meddlesome grandfather, THE PLAYBOY'S
PROTEGEE comes very highly recommended.
Witching Moon
Rebecca York
Berkley Pub Group
375 Hudson Street, New York NY 10014-3658
ISBN 0425192784 $5.99
Absoltely memorable characters -- Highly recommended In the South Georgian small town of
Wayland, a coven of witches waits to take their revenge. A hundred of year heritage of the town
rising against their own who possess paranormal gifts has left a burning rage and determination
for revenge. Led by Falcon, the coven plans to take revenge on the town whose citizens killed
generations of parents and grandparents. Adam Marshall comes to the Olakimpa swamp, a
privately owned Nature's Refuge, to take the place of its previous ranger, Ken White, who was
killed in an unsolved shooting. Soon after arriving, a mysterious scent leads the shapeshifter to
witness a coven of witches cavorting in the moonlight. The powerful herbs cast on the fire
mesmerize him until he must flee for his life with the coven in hot pursuit. The next morning
Adam returns to the site, to find a woman gathering herbs. Biologist Sara Watson researches the
local fauna for commercial medicinal plants as part of an agreement between the swamp owner
and Granville Pharmaceuticals. Shortly after her arrival in Wayland, Sara begins to have an
awakening of her psychic talents - gifts she has repressed since she was four. As Adam and Sara
struggle to control their mutual attraction they quickly find themselves joining efforts against
danger as the coven targets them next. Author Rebecca York pens an exciting read in
WITCHING MOON. Adam's use of his shapeshifting abilities adds an unusual element to this
police procedural even as his sensuality lends the romance delightful heat. Sara's struggle to
reconcile her abilities with her determination to fit into the ordinary world leads to an intriguing
internal struggle. Indeed, the characterizations, including wonderfully developed secondary
characters, are the novel's greatest strength. While York's knowledge of Wicca seems superficial
at best, and requires the reader to accept paranormal gifts as the sole definition of a witch, the
cult's combined abilities do result in a riveting read. WITCHING MOON comes highly
recommended.
Bad Boys Online
Erin McCarthy
Kensington Publishing
850 Third Avenue, New York NY 10022
ISBN 0758205937 $14.00
A hot read! Very highly recommended Technology and eroticism blend seamlessly in Erin
McCarthy's BAD BOYS ONLINE resulting in an incredibly hot read. McCarthy displays a
refreshing gift for capturing sensuality and exploiting possibility in these novellas, giving reason to
keep an eye on this new author. While office antics might not be recommended in reality, but as
fantasy material they are red hot! In Hard Drive, Mack Stone surprises Kindra Hill while she reads
a sexy email from her online lover. Surprised that his very proper coworker would enjoy such
naughtiness, Mack persuades Kindra to give him twelve hours to prove that the pleasures of
reality supercede what her cyber-lover offers. In Press Any Key, a previous disastrous office
encounter burned Jared Kincaid on the possibility of dating a coworker. Unfortunately, his boss is
determined that Jared and Candy Appleton work out their differences using three hour online
counseling service. They cannot leave the boss' office without the certificate of completion. In
User Friendly, someone hacks Halley's website, replacing her professional photo with an explicit
one. With her catering business on the line, she appeals to long time friend and web master Evan
to fix the site. Soon their passion of an entirely different sort replaces their plots of revenge.
My Big Fake Green-Card Wedding
American Romance No 987
Mollie Molay
Harlequin Retail Inc
PO Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269
ISBN 0373169876 $4.75
Zesty! Recommended Soon to turn thirty, Melina Kostos worries that her traditional Greek family
will choose a husband for her. With her position as a bilingual reception at the American embassy
in Greece about to be eliminated, she needs a job and green card to assure her future. When she
overhears Adam Blake's need of a housekeeper and a nanny, she offers her services in exchange
for a green card. Adam surprises himself by responding it is not really a nanny or a housekeeper
that he needs, but a wife. Soon they agree to a marriage of convenience. Melina and Adam agree
to a story of love at first sight by way of explain their hasty nuptials. He meets her family, they
quickly marry, and within a week fly from Greece to the United States. Despite their mutual
attraction, they maintain their physical distance, at least when they can. But soon Melina realizes
she has fallen in love, and if her marriage to be real, then it is time to seduce her husband. Author
Mollie Molay adds zest to the traditional marriage of convenience plot in MY BIG FAKE
GREEN-CARD WEDDING. While the plot is somewhat predictable, her lively characterizations
and humorous approach lends it an air of charm. As Greek tradition clashes with American
modernity, the result is a delightful afternoon's read. With an adorable child to add her own
charm, MY BIG FAKE GREEN-CARD WEDDING comes recommended.
Pregnancy Countdown
American Romance No 991
Linda Randall Wisdom
Harlequin Retail Inc
PO Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269
ISBN 0373169914 $4.75
Rich emotional complexity -- highly recommended Instead of attending her best friend's wedding,
Nora Summers attends her beloved Grandmother's funeral. After a six hour flight delay, she looks
forward to sleeping in her own bed. At one in the morning, she certainly never expects the tuxedo
clad Mark Walker to meet her plane. Grief, relief and need combine in an unexpected plea that he
not leave her alone. Never mind she broke up with him three years ago not because of his actions,
but because she did not believe him capable of a committed relationship with her. Nor did she
explain her reasoning. Nora broke his heart three years ago, but Mark welcomes an opportunity
for second a second chance. After a night of beautiful love making, he certainly does not expect
her to banish him the same way she did three years ago. He does not know that her family history
has bred distrust and fear that must be confronted if they are to ever be together. But he will have
to work quickly if he wants to convince her that he wants them to be a family. Author Linda
Randall Wisdom pens a tale of deep emotion and profound trust issues in PREGNANCY
COUNTDOWN. On one hand, some readers may grow a bit impatient with a heroine who judges
a man based on past experience and refuses to give him a fair chance or even an honest
explanation. On the other hand, deep emotional scars lend the novel a multifaceted depth and will
spark reader sympathy. In addition, despite the title, Nora's pregnancy becomes not the focus of
the novel, but sharply encourages a need for communication and an opportunity for the
relationship to grow. PREGNANCY COUNTDOWN comes highly recommended.
Room...But Not Bored!
Temptation No 945
Dawn Atkins
Harlequin Retail Inc
PO Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269
ISBN 0373691459 $4.25
Delightful! Very highly recommended Most people dream of a beach house where they can enjoy
the sand and the surf, but not practical Ariel Adams. She does not like salt, sand and mildew.
With her partner defecting out of their consulting business in the name of love, Ariel must strike
out on her own two years ahead of her plan. Her former partner felt so guilty for her
abandonment that she practically gave Ariel the beach house. Ariel accepts the house only because
her financial situation required a tight budget until she can restart her business. Unfortunately,
when Ariel arrives at the beach house, she finds a contractor in residence, complete with a dog
and a plethora of beach toys. Worse, Jake Renner decides that he would rather make himself
indispensable to Ariel than leave. Surely he can distract Ariel from the gaping hole between their
bedrooms with divine muffins and an office with an ocean view. Dawn Atkins talent for
unexpected hilarity and passionate romance dazzles in ROOM BUT NOT BORED. Gritty sand
and wood rot lends Atkin's lastest tale unexpected humor as the ever practical Ariel confronts the
free spirited Jake. Her lengthily lists and determined practicality sharply contrast his low key
approach to life. Indeed, Jake breaks through Ariel's control with his own unique brand of risk
taking and outrageous pleasure, even as he conceals unexpected depths. Moreover, sensuality and
passion lend these marvelously developed characters just the appeal that readers have come to
expect from Atkin's talented pen. ROOM BUT NOT BORED comes very highly
recommended.
Montana Bride
Barbara Clark
Wings ePress, Inc.
PO Box 726, Lusk WY 82225
ISBN 1590881885 $7.50
Trade ISBN 1590888545 $14.95
Tender and passionate -- Highly recommended With a domineering father who wants to comply
with his vision for her life, Megan O'Conner is driven to make a success of Silvertip Ranch so she
can support her niece and nephew. She might be rich, but her father prevents her accessing her
funds until Megan gives into his plans for the children and herself. When Travis Knight arrives to
apply for the foreman position, Megan quickly hires him. Despite their mutual attraction, Travis is
determined to never again all for a wealthy woman. He needs the foreman position to pay his
Aunt Lucy's taxes. However, when Megan's father sues for custody of the children, Travis
proposes marriage. While Megan and Travis agree to a marriage of convenience, they both will
have a hard time walking away with their hearts so involved. Author Barbara Clark creates a
tender tale of love in MONTANA BRIDE. Fans will recall Travis' introduction in RAINBOW
VALLEY. Clark's gift of creating memorable characters dazzles with this alpha hero who has a
unique blend of controlled strength and gentle concern. Megan's genuine love for her niece and
nephew drives her to extremity, yet she never yields to her father's emotional blackmail. In
MONTANTA BRIDE, Clark once again proves her marvelous talent for creating memorable,
romantic tales. MONTANA BRIDE comes highly recommended.
Fire and Ice
Liddy Midnight
LTDBooks
200 North Service Rd W., Unit 1, Suite 301, Oakville, Ontario, Canada L6M 2Y1
Paranormal Novella e-Book/Multiple Formats
ISBN Disk 1553160576 Download $5.00 Disk $6.00
Winner of the WordWeaving Award for Excellence Kept pure to serve a mage's dark purpose,
Trina lives in cold and neglect. Old Kalidah called her Baraka of the North, but Trina knows that
is not her name, nor does she believe she heralds from the south. One day she looses herself in
trance as she gazes into the meager flames of the hearth, and for the first time, she actually sees
the fire spirits. Soon she leaves behind her physical body to dance with them. One among them
shines more brightly than all others. Not long after, Kalidah's plans unfold. She casts a spell on
Trina that heightens her desire even as it renders her paralyzed. Then Kalidah calls forth a fire
spirit. Brand appears in the circle, recognizing the mortal woman who danced in the flames. The
escape, and Brand finds extraordinary pleasure in his new existence and in his joining with Trina.
Unfortunately, he weakens and must return to his own realm. But soon he finds himself called to
her again as she travels to discover her origins. The question remains, however, how they will
ever find a way to remain together. Author Liddy Midnight pens a enticingly memorable fantasy in
FIRE AND ICE. Her method of bringing an elemental spirit into the earthly plane will capture the
reader's imagination. Midnight exhibits unbelievably sensual prose from the harsh sensations of
cold and heat to the fiery passion of Trina and Brand's joining. With surprisingly rich
characterization and a fast moving plot, Midnight succeeds in creating a surprisingly complex and
deep story in this short novella. FIRE AND ICE earns the WordWeaving Award for
Excellence.
West of Glory
Judith Bowen
Harlequin Retail Inc
PO Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269
ISBN 0373710321 $5.99
First single title release -- Highly recommended Daisy Sutherland may not be in the big city
anymore, but she still carries the drive to investigate inconsistencies even when warned away. So
when a constable in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and a resident of the local reservation
both die in a shooting incident, Daisy becomes determined to uncover the truth, rather than follow
the rest of the small town of Tamarack, Alberta's inclination to ignore the questionable
circumstances of the event. The shootout near the Blackfoot reserve leaves local residents
stunned, but no less than Ben Goodstriker. He cannot make sense of the circumstances regarding
the death of his cousin, and eventually agrees to work with Daisy to uncover the truth. When
Daisy suddenly disappears, Ben devotes himself to finding the truth and the woman who has
captured his heart. In her first single title release, author Judith Bowen pens a fascinating mystery
in WEST OF GLORY. Her background in investigative reporting lends the novel a feel of
authenticity and immediacy. Moreover, the strength of the mystery and a plethora of suspects will
pique the reader's interest, despite the slow pace of the beginning. Indeed, Bowen once again
demonstrates her keen eye for capturing the nuances of the heart and the power of a story well
told. WEST OF GLORY comes highly recommended.
Heart of Midnight
Kit Tunstall
Ellora's Cave
eBook/Multiple Formats Sexual Content: E - Erotic Vampire/historical
ISBN 1843604167 Book Length: novella $4.45
Very highly recommended Self sufficient and self reliant until a tragic accident, Catriona suddenly
finds herself dependent upon others for her well-being. Blinded and left unable to bear children in
the same accident that left her parents dead, Catriona recognizes her relative's preference for their
own less attractive daughter, but she underestimates the danger in which she has landed. Told that
she was being sent to an exclusive school in Germany, Catriona is shocked to realize that she has,
in fact, been sold into prostitution. With her aunt in possession of her inheritance, Catriona has no
recourse. The madam has her prepared for her first evening in which the patron's pleasure is
derived by pain. As the man beats Catriona, a stranger intervenes. Unbeknownst to Catriona,
Quintus Midnight arrives through the window, and exits with her the same way. He is the
substance of rumor and legend, himself scared by his past. He literally wears a mask that only a
blind woman like Catriona can see through. But even if she comes to understand and accept the
man, she may find herself unimaginably challenged to accept him as a vampire. Once again author
Kit Tunstall delivers a fascinating tale that readers will find impossible to put down with HEART
OF MIDNIGHT. With several other equally wonderful novels to her credit, Tunstall has
established herself as one of the hottest paranormal authors on the web. With fascinating
characterization and fantastic plotting that exhibits freshness and flair, HEART OF MIDNIGHT
comes very highly recommended.
Cynthia Penn
Reviewer
Diana's Bookshelf
Killing Faith
Keith Gouveia
iUniverse
2021 Pine Lake Road, Suite 100 Lincoln NE 68512
www.iuniverse.com
ISBN: 0595293239 $11.95
Ever find yourself fighting for something you don't believe in? That is exactly the position officer
Robbie Bachetta initially finds himself facing in Keith Gouveia's third novel Killing Faith.
Someone is killing priests in the Catholic Churches, but not just priests, it seems to be isolated to
priests who have not lived up to their sacred vows, such as abstinence and poverty. The killer,
Julian Moore, has chosen Robbie as his contact. Knowing that he would be torn between the law
that he is sworn to uphold and, what he feels is the only justice the priests will see for the actions
committed against so many children, including his own sister.
Question is, just how does Julian know about his sister and the other facts he knows that no one
has had access to? Is Robbie dealing with more than just a serial killer with a pension for priests?
Is Julian even aware of what is really happening? The story is loaded with questions such as these
as the plot builds in a unique and unexpected way.
Keith Gouveia is an author that I have had the pleasure of reading from the beginning of his
career. His talent continues to grow as he finds his voice and what a voice it is. In this, his best
novel yet, he has created a compelling fast paced story rich with wonderfully developed characters
and having the perfect amount of supernatural and horror elements to make it a breath taking ride.
The author is fearless in his examination of some of the arcane practices in the Catholic Church
and the repercussions that those practices have caused within the church itself.
Gouveia has fully grasped how to grab his reader's attention and hold it, even when the scene
before their eyes is pretty gruesome. He writes in such a style that it is pleasurable for both avid
readers as well as those who have stepped away from the pleasure of reading for leisure. With his
pacing and no nonsense style, he is definitely a writer for today's reader.
Pick up your own copy of Killing Faith today and watch with me as this new writer brings horror
to masses in a new and unique style.
Graverobbers Wanted No Experience Necessary
Jeff Strand
Mundania Press LLC
6470A Glenway Avenue #109, Cincinnati, Ohio 45211-5222.
www.mundania.com
ISBN: 1594260125 $27.99
Some things, even when done with the greatest of intentions, just turn out to be a disaster.
Andrew Mayhem just wanted to make some easy money. He needed the money to help cover up
the fact that while driving with expired insurance, he had and accident. Well that and, he really
didn't want to have to explain to his wife what had happened to the video camera.
Andrew isn't a super responsible guy. He really didn't see any reason why he shouldn't have
accepted the offer of $20,000 for finding a key. It was only a key after all. Yes, maybe it was
buried with the woman's recently passed husband, but still in all, he was only retrieving a key.
Quickly things spin out of control, leaving Andrew to track down one of the vilest killers in horror
fiction. The killer delights in leaving the sickest clues to help Andrew along the way.
In Graverobbers Wanted, author Jeff Strand has produced a piece of works the likes of nothing I
have read before. His style is totally his own and, I doubt it could be duplicated. His characters
are so real to life and at the same time, larger than life. The novel contains some of the most
depraved scenes of violence, yet has the most hilarious passages I have read, all in the same page.
I didn't know if I should be laughing or sick to my stomach.
It takes great talent to mix serious horror fiction with comedy, yet Jeff Strand seems to pull it off
effortlessly as he flows seamlessly from one to the other. This is one of the most unique and
entertaining books I have read this year. If you have the stomach for horror at its finest and, a
love of great humor. Jeff Strand is the man with the plan, and Graverobbers Wanted is the novel
for you.
Jeff Strand has earned a place on my top ten best horror authors and Graverobbers Wanted is at
the top of my must read list.
Very Highly recommended.
Witches' Night Out
Silver Ravenwolf
Llewellyn Publications
PO Box 64383, Dept. K728-5 St. Paul, MN 55164-0383
www.llewellyn.com
ISBN: 1567187285 $4.99
It sure isn't easy to be sixteen. Things are even harder when you are an outcast due to having an
alternative religion. That is the position Bethany Salem finds herself facing in Silver Ravenwolf's
Witches Night Out.
Bethany's problems are compounded by the fact that her boyfriend, Joe, has recently passed in
what others are calling a freak auto accident. However, she thinks there is more to it than that
and, is determined to get to the bottom of what really happened. The main problem is she isn't
sure whom she can trust. The hatred that grows inside of her makes it impossible for her to even
turn to her group of friends, who are also witches. Nevertheless, she knows she needs the strength
of the coven to get to the bottom of how Joe died. Therefore, she calls them together for the
Thursday night gathering, which hasn't taken place since the death, and they perform a ritual
calling the magickal Hounds of the Wild Hunt, to catch the killer.
As things unravel and secrets are brought to the surface, a web of deceit threatens to tear the
friends apart. The subplots that are revealed make it highly enjoyable as the reader changes their
mind over and over as to who they think played a part in the death of Joe.
Will Bethany solve the case before things fall apart or even worse before the Hounds turn on her
and the others who called them.
This chilling mystery was written with a teenage audience in mind and, is perfectly suited for that
audience, but it also has enough action and intrigue to entertain adult readers as well. Even I was
not able to figure out the whodunit until the author was ready to reveal that information.
Silver Ravenwolf has gracefully written a highly griping story that is sure to be a one sitting read
for most readers, as it is too compelling to put down. This compulsive page-turner is filled with
rich characters that young readers can identify with and, who come to life under the talented pen
of the author. Her eye for detail and background in the craft make Ravenwolf the perfect author
for such a novel, as she has proven here.
My daughter, at eleven, has been enthralled by the book from the moment I put it down. Showing
that even with the short attention span of children her age, this author has what it takes to
entertain her audience. And I must thank Silver Ravenwolf for writing a piece of fiction that
depicts witches as the loving tender people that they are.
I recommend this book to readers of all ages. Set aside an evening and be prepared for the author
to dazzle you as you step into the world of Bethany Salem and her coven of teen witches.
How To Be A Ghost Hunter
Richard Southall
Llewellyn Publications
PO Box 64383, Dept. K728-5 St. Paul, MN 55164-0383
www.llewellyn.com
ISBN: 0738703125 $12.95
Ever wonder if there is a way to verify the truth behind claims of housings? Or perhaps you have a
fascination with the paranormal? In How to be a Ghost Hunter author Richard Southall,
fifteen-year paranormal investigator provides the answers to any questions on the matter that you
may have and, many you wouldn't have even know to ask.
The book opens with a very fascinating introduction that walks the reader through some of
Southall's experiences, including how he began his career in this field. There is quite a bit of
information as well as accounts from actual places that can be visited. I recommend that even if
you normally skip introductions, that you should take the time to read this one in particular.
The next section covers the definitions and differences between ghosts, spirits, entities and
poltergeists. A plethora of information can be gleamed from this section and I suggest reading it a
few times, as there is a lot to absorb. I wasn't even aware that there were so many different types
of haunting and would venture to guess that most amateur ghost hunters are not as well.
Next the reader is given all of the steps needed to actually investigate an area claimed to be
haunted. This section also tells one what to look for in the initial interviews to be aware if you are
being lied to or not. As well as giving suggestions on ways to keep all of your information
organized.
There is a section on paranormal photography as well as a separate section on electronic voice
phenomenon. In each of these sections you will find definitions, origins and ways to determine
fraud, as well as ways to properly capture each.
In the next part it outlines what one needs in a ghost hunting kit. Time is taken to explain what
each item is used for as well as approximate costs.
The last chapter talks about how to find or form a paranormal group. Yet the author takes us a
step further and includes an appendix with forms and questionnaires that one might need, should
they decide ghost hunting is right for them. An additional appendix gives web sites where one can
find additional information and resources.
In How to be a Ghost Hunter author Richard Southall has created the most thorough and, useful
guide available to those who are considering ghost hunting. It is written in a down to earth easy to
follow style, making it useful to people of all levels. I recommend this to all who are interested in
ghost hunting, no matter the level of mastery, as well as those who are just interested in
ghosts.
Stranger On The Loose
D. Harlan Wilson
Eraserhead Press
www.eraserheadpress.com
ISBN: 0972959831 $13.95
Society is a strange beast at best but when viewed through the stories of D. Harlan Wilson the
absurdity of human interactions is impossible to ignore. If you have ever watched people
interacting and shook your head in dismay then you will surely enjoy the observations made by the
author. Is reality really being thrown out or is it merely being examined in a new and genius
light?
In the pages of Stranger on the Loose the reader will find twenty-eight short stories written as
only D. Harlan Wilson can. Or perhaps they are twenty-eight chances for the reader to examine
their reality a little closer. Be it reading for pleasure or introspection the author delivers. Wilson
and Kafka's works are in a category all their own and Harlan is without a doubt the irrealist for
today's readers. No one has even come close to capturing the style that Harlan seems to write
effortlessly and with grace.
My favorites: Digging for Adults, which takes a brutally accurate look at children and how they
interact with other children as well as their parents. Read this one a few times if you are a parent
and think hard on your responsibilities. "Fie," Said Her Knight in Shining Armour, which is
possibly about the warped view most have on love or the dangers of being a nosy postman. Of
course it could mean something all together different to anyone else that reads it and attempts to
make an interpretation.
I recommend A Stranger on the Loose to all readers. Everyone will find it highly enjoyable and a
few will walk away with more than just an entertaining read. Just as his imagination runs on a
different plain as his reality, D. Harlan Wilson also writes on two different plains. One loosely
based on reality and the other somewhere far stranger but truly delightful. Imagine life viewed
through a mirror in a funhouse: somewhat familiar, slightly askew, disturbing from some angles,
defiantly hard to look away from.
Once you have read and adored A Stranger on the Loose pick up The Kafka Effekt also by D.
Harlan Wilson as I am certain you will be clamoring for more.
Dead Heat
Del Stone, Jr.
MOJO Press
PO Box 140005 Austin, TX 78714
ISBN: 1885418108 $TBA
My all time favorite monster is the living dead, zombie, or whatever they happen to be calling
them today. Very rarely do they actually make it into a novel, being more of a silver screen type
monster. It is even more rare that an author actually produce a work of fiction about zombies that
impresses me. Dead Heat, by Del Stone Jr., did just that, totally impress me.
It all starts with an accidental release of some recombined DNA from a research facility in
Australia. Once lose, the dead begin to rise up, and it spreads. Generally, what you find are the
mindless flesh eating machines that we all know and love. There are also small pockets of humans
who have remained uncontained. But more important is Hitch, who is a zombie, not exactly your
ordinary run of the mill zombie. Something is distinctly different about Hitch. He can think,
doesn't crave flesh, and seems to have some sort of power over his mindless brethren.
There is something else out there, not human, but another thinking creature who seems to be
calling out to Hitch as he travels the country on his vintage motorcycle. What he goes through
while trying to find this creature make up the meat of the fascinating story, and when he does get
there the climax is definitely filled with pay off.
The author knows exactly what amount of attention to detail is needed and, at what point in the
story to make it a fast paced thrill ride. The side adventures Hitch has to overcome make the
journey to the end, a splendid reading experience.
It totally amazed me when I found out that this was a debut novel. The author has already fully
grasped every element needed to grab hold, and entertain readers from start to finish. I am left to
wonder why we haven't seen more from this very talented word craftsman.
Love horror? Zombies? Or perhaps you are just looking for a good story? Dead Heat by Del
Stone Jr. easily fits the bill of all three and, probably many more. Add this to my list of must reads
that come with my highest recommendations.
I have always had a favorite zombie movie, and now I have a favorite zombie book, thank you
Del.
Evidence of Murder
Samuel Roen
Pinnacle
www.kensingtonbooks.com
ISBN: 0786015535 $6.50
Imagine if you can, a family member being lost to a deranged killer. Now take it a step further,
and imagine it happening twice. When Jim Larson's wife did not return to work after her lunch
break, he feared the worse. After what happened to his sister Sonja Larson, who was lost to serial
killer Danny Rolling in Gainesville, his wife was especially cautious around strangers.
Jim's worse fears turned out to be true when a body was found, it was in such a state that dental
records were needed for identification, but he knew it was his wife. That is when the hunt began,
to bring to justice the man responsible for taking the life of his wife Carla, a woman who was in
the wrong place at the wrong time.
Samuel Roen in Evidence of Murder brings to his readers a compelling story of loss and tragedy
and, he does so in a manner that has the utmost respect for the victims' emotions. The amount of
research needed to write a true crime story is enormous, and when that task is complete, it is up
to the author to present it in a way that will hold the attention of the reading population. Also,
one must remain true to the facts, and not be insensitive to the family involved. Samuel Roen has
accomplished all three and for this, he receives my highest praise for all of his hard work.
Moving away from the subject matter, I want to say that Mr. Roen has told a very engaging story
that reads as seamlessly as any piece of fiction would.
Evidence of Murder is a classy and engrossing true crime novel and, I recommend it to anyone
who loves true crime, mystery, or is just looking for a very well told story.
Darkfall
Stephen Laws
Leisure Books
276 Fifth Avenue New York NY 10001
www.dorchesterpub.com
ISBN: 0843952180 $6.99
There are some things that we are told as children not to worry about. I distinctly remember my
mom telling me that as long as we weren't out in a storm, there was no reason to be afraid. In fact,
I tell my daughter that with some degree of confidence to quell her fears when a nasty storm rolls
in, we all do, but should we? Author Stephen Laws, in his novel Darkfall, gives his readers a
reason to take pause each time they see storm clouds rolling across the sky.
Alec Beaton, the janitor for the Fernley House office block is not in the best of spirits. As he sits,
drinking alone in the boiler room. The sounds of the office parties celebrating Christmas Eve on
the floors above bleeds down, brewing his resentment. The storm outside intensifies and a
booming invades his ears. Fearing the boilers may be defective; he ventures up to evacuate the
office. As he travels from floor to floor, he discovers the office is now completely empty.
Detective Jack Cardiff is called in by another officer to come investigate the disappearances at the
office block, all the while the storm is building. Building into something that no one had
anticipated. Well, almost no one, Rohmer and his team appear on the scene flashing badges and
stating that they are now in charge. The team seems to be oddly calm and, not surprised at all by
the disappearances or other oddities as they carry on with their own agenda.
Stephen Laws has done a brilliant job with Darkfall. From the beginning of the novel, the lingering
dread and general sense of something creepy starts to build and build, not stopping until the final
passage. The attention to detail and characterization is astounding as he builds one of the scariest
and truly unique storylines I have read in a long time. He adds to that, a cast I grew to care deeply
about, allowing me to feed my own fear with that of the characters.
If you miss this novel you will be missing the quintessential horror novel of the year. As an avid
reader of horror, I am left to wonder how I have missed Laws books in the past. I am pleased to
inform you that my quest to find and read his works is a quest I will take on with sheer
delight.
Stephen Laws knows horror and brings it to his readers in spectacular form in Darkfall.
When is the movie?
Eternity
Tamara Thorne
Pinnacle Horror
www.kensingtonbooks.com
ISBN: 0786013109 $5.99
Sometimes the beliefs of other people can be a touch hard to swallow. The isolated mountain
town of Eternity is full of such people and beliefs.
Zach Tully is a broken man looking for a change. After many successes in solving cases involving
serial killers, his last case ended in the death of his wife and son. Now he is on his way to the quite
tourist based small town of Eternity. Before he even arrives, he is told that the town has a history
of unsolved murders. Of course, that bit of truth is nothing compared to what he hears once he
arrives. The town is full of eccentric people who believe, or pretend to be famous people from
other times. He finds the myths and legends that surround the town to be absurd. However, as he
investigates the latest spree of murders, he can't help but see the resemblance of this case and that
of the unsolved Ripper case of old.
Even though Tully was asked to come to Eternity and act as sheriff, he finds that when he arrives,
the help offered is minimal, and at times, the town's officials seem a hindrance. It seems to him,
that they are more concerned with the tourism, which is centered around the little Stonehenge on
Ice Mountain. The council is made up of the town lifers and, the even more secret, and protected
Brotherhood, who meets at little Stonehenge. As the number of murder victims steadily climbs, no
one is free of being a suspect or a target.
In Eternity, Tamara Thorne has again created a wonderfully developed cast of characters sure to
amuse and entertain all readers. The history she has created behind the town of Eternity seems as
real as any legend I have come across in humanities studies. The unique style that Thorne brings
to her writing allows it to be thrilling, make you chuckle at the humor, and then flip back to
thrilling again.
This is a cross genre book that I highly recommend to all readers of, mystery, thrillers, horror,
suspense, and probably a few I am leaving off. Tamara Thorne continues to impress me with her
story telling and, remains on my top five must read list.
The Sorority - Eve
Tamara Thorne
Pinnacle Horror
www.kensingtonbooks.com
ISBN: 078601539X $5.99
What is in a dream? Eve Camlan has been plagued by bad dreams since childhood. Those dreams
changed after what she sees when her and two friends at cheerleading camp, Merilynn Morris and
Samantha Penrose, decide to investigate Applehead Island and the legend of the ghost of Holly
Gale.
The event scares Eve so much that she tries to totally block it out; but now as a college freshman,
she is drawn to the sorority Gamma Eta Pi at Greenbriar University. The sorority has its own
legends and dark secrets which all seem to center around the same island she visited so long ago.
There is also another secret society formed of the most powerful and evil sisters in the sorority
called the Fata Morgana. As if that was not enough, she sees two familiar faces, faces of old
friends that threaten to bring up long suppressed feelings and images.
Of course the bigger question is just why is Eve so drawn to this sorority? There are clearly
several things amiss from the very beginning.
The cast of characters is lively and eclectic. Eve is the type person who I would classify as na‹ve.
It is very easy to find yourself wanting to help her, and feeling terrified at what may happen as she
is drawn into the arms of her new sisters at Gamma Eta Pi. On the other end of the spectrum, you
have the president of the sorority Malory Thomas, a delicious treat and perhaps the darkest most
power-driven female character to grace the pages of horror fiction. There is a well-rounded cast
of supporting characters who are sure to both delight and horrify all readers.
The writing style is evil yet humorous. Tamara Thorne has created a wonderful, gripping, and
deeply disturbing story in The Sorority - Eve. The splendid news is this is but the first part of a
trilogy being released by Pinnacle Horror this year. It is my recommendation that you set aside a
day to enjoy this book as it is a compelling read that will hold you from cover to cover and then
be prepared for, The Sorority - Merilynn released July 2003, and The Sorority - Samantha to be
released in August 2003. I'm on my way to get the second part and have them reserve the third;
so should you.
The Sorority - Merilynn
Tamara Thorne
Pinnacle Horror
www.kensingtonbooks.com
ISBN: 0786015403 $5.99
It has been said that some people can sense things around them, or know things before they
happen. To some it is a blessing, to others a curse. Merilynn Morris has the gift, and while most
people might love to have her abilities, they do come with a cost, tying her to a legacy of death
and evil.
In The Sorority - Merilynn, author Tamara Thorne, not only picks up effortlessly where the first
book in the series, Eve, ended but adds more character insight and history to Merilynn, who may
have just played a supporting role in the first novel, but now takes center stage in her full
mysterious glory.
Trying to figure out just what is going on in their new home at Greenbriar University, Meriilynn
and her new roommate, a former roommate of Eve, learn they have quite a bit in common. As the
friends work hard to put the pieces together, the answers become clear, and there is only one
solution. However, it rests on Merilynn to solve it before time runs out.
Again the reader is graced with Malory Thomas, president of the sorority and head of the Fata
Morgana. She adds such a graceful, sensual element of evil to the story line, even if the reader
doesn't like her character personally, there is no doubt they will love reading about what she does.
Brittany, who is Malory's familiar, is such a light spirited, yet still evil character she provides not
only a great contrast, but some very humorous situations as well.
Tamara Thorne is a storyteller of the finest quality with her characters realistic and well rounded.
The story itself is griping and well paced, making it a one sitting page-turner.
The only difficult part of reading this series has been waiting for the release of each subsequent
part, and now I eagerly await the conclusion, The Sorority - Samantha, coming in August
2003.
Again and still, I give this series my strongest personal recommendation based on now having
read the first two parts, and I know that the third can only be the cherry on top. If you haven't yet,
pick up both parts one and two, now available from Pinnacle Horror and reserve your copy of the
final part, and join me in my excruciating wait. You can believe I will be here commenting on it as
soon as I can get it in my hands.
The Sorority - Samantha
Tamara Thorne
Pinnacle Horror
www.kensingtonbooks.com
ISBN: 0786015411 $5.99
Be prepared for a phenomenal conclusion well worth the wait endured. It was a difficult task to
review the second part without spoilers but I fear it may be next to impossible here. With that said
anyone who has not read the first two in the series, Eve and Merilynn, should be warned there will
be spoilers in this review.
*Spoilers*
When Merilynn with the help of the ghost of both Holy Gale and Eve sets out to find the answers
that will both destroy the evil sorceress and free the spirits she has collected in Applehead Lake, it
leaves her childhood friend Samantha and her new friend Kendra to try and put together the
pieces of what lies beneath the dark sisterhood they are now a part of.
Suspicions are high and the girls must be wary of everything they say and do, with the
disappearance on Merilynn, Malory and her familiar Brittany seem to watch every move they
make. There is a battle of grand proportions on the horizon that leaves many questions needing to
be answered. Just what is so special about Merilynn? Will her background that has been shroud in
secrecy hold the answers needed before it is too late and all is lost?
*End Spoilers*
In the final part of the trilogy author Tamara Thorne sinks her teeth in the meat of the myths
surrounding this story. I was totally in awe of the way she tied everything together and weaved a
complete background for not only the haunting ghost story, but also the powerful evil that ruled
at Greenbriar University, and still took it a step further with the fascinating history of Merilynn
and her parents.
I have been so totally engrossed with each part of this series and I may be repeating myself here,
but I just feel compelled to say that Tamara Thorne is an excellent storyteller. Her work is griping
and entertaining, dark and at times humorous, as well as having just the right amount of sensual
tension.
This series has earned a place in my top five must read recommendations and Tamara Thorne is
now on my list of authors whose work I must collect.
(Interview With Tamara Thorne)
DB: Where did you grow up, and was reading and writing a part of your life?
TT: I grew up in southern California, in a pleasant suburb outside of Los Angeles. My mother
read to me every morning from infancy on. I have memories of sitting in her lap at the breakfast
table, my legs so short they ended at her knees, and looking at the books as she read. She went
straight for the classics -- all the Oz books, other books along those lines. I remember early on
being fascinated by the Gump -- the creature made out of a couch and a moosehead, among other
things, in one of the Oz books. It was marvelously scary. I'm told I could read at a very early age.
I don't know if it's true, but I never remember a time without books. I loved them. By early
elementary school I was collecting ghost story books, fiction and non-fiction, and digging into
folklore. By second grade, I was into Bradbury, and starting to write stories of my own. Early on,
I'd discovered how much fun it was to scare other kids with stories about local haunted houses,
haunted storm drains, haunted trees. For me, everything was better if it was haunted.
DB: Who were your earliest influences and why? (By this, I mean non-writing related
influences)
TT: Non-writing related influences? There weren't many. My mother, my brother, Houdini, Daniel
Boone. Anyone who'd tell me a ghost story.
DB: Why do you write? More specifically why horror.
TT: I write because I write. I can't help it. I'd do it whether I was paid to do it or not, and I'd
rather not write for income if it meant writing something I wasn't interested in. Fortunately, I'm
paid to write what I love. Horror is sort of an all-inclusive word. I don't run from it, but I do think
of it as frequently more genre-oriented than I am -- werewolves, vampires, and Frankenstein's
monster. My primary interest is the ghost story. It always has been and always will be. I'm
probably more interested in haunting on a scientific level than on a spiritual level. Someday
quantum physics will likely legitimize lots of things today's scientists deny. That's the problem
with science. If it can't be explained, it doesn't exist. That would make me a Fortean because I
think there are things that occur that can't be explained at this point. But they do occur. To deny
that is as closed-minded as to say, all creaking steps and cool winds are haunt-related.
Growing up, I wrote lots of science fiction, but in sixth grade, I happened on Shirley Jackson's
The Haunting of Hill House. After that, there was no going back. The eternal search for good
ghostly novels had begun.
And I did do lots of satire (very political by high school) and bad punning. I still do indulge in the
bad puns, even in very serious books. They creep in. They make me smile. I like to smile.
DB: Who are your favorite writers and why?
TT: Ray Bradbury for writing so vividly that I'm still nostalgic for my imagined boyhood in 1930's
Greentown, Illinois. Shirley Jackson, Richard Matheson, Mark Twain, from the early days, plus a
host of science fiction authors. Oh and two huge influences were Arthur Conan Doyle (I nearly
had Sherlock Holmes memorized) and H. Rider Haggard -- the Alan Quatermain books. Later, I
discovered a great master of fear: Fritz Leiber. And then came Stephen King. I think he's
wonderful. Gore Vidal. Nelson DeMille, Jeff Long. Whoever wrote Andersonville. I love Neil
Gaiman -- American Gods is on the all-time favorites list. Christopher Lamb and James Blaylock
give me great pleasure.
DB: Do you have any hobbies? What are they? How do they enhance your writing?
TT: Ghost hunting, folklore researching. I guess it's not truly a hobby, since it's also research for
the books I write, and now I'm planning a non-fiction book on hauntings. We like to explore
lesser-known haunted places (but will settle for well-known ones) and if we're spending time away
from home, we hunt down the best "haunted" hotel room we can find to stay in. We take lots of
photos. Sometimes things happen, sometimes not. I seek out ghost stories professionally now, but
that's been my hobby since I was maybe five years old.
My particular interest is in western and southwestern haunts and folklore, and that takes me into
old gold rush areas, mining camps, and things like that. So that's a special interest. I'm also a fiend
for American music, primarily ragtime, which dates from the late 1890's to about 1930. I have a
1913 player piano (cut down to have a mirror since it lived in a tavern and the piano player need
to keep an eye on drunken patrons) that I restored and play, badly. But I only restored one piano,
so that's not a hobby. I have a nice collection of rags and early jazz on CD.
I (along with my like-minded husband) collect certain horror movies (ghostly or funny ones, we're
not into slashers, unless they're oozing over-the-top goofiness ala Evil Dead II). We also collect
humor -- we're endlessly entertained by movies like Airplane! and Blazing Saddles.
DB: The characters in Sorority seem to jump off the page with realism, are you a follower of the
let the charters go where they may method of writing. Who were your favorite characters and
why?
TT: My characters often disagree with what I have planned, and they know best. Sometimes they
do things that blow me away -- things I'd never choose for them. But they have free will, so I
always let them do what they want and develop their own interests, even if I think they're
nuts.
My favorite characters in Sorority are Merilynn and Professor McCobb. Merilynn fascinates me
because she never does what I think she'll do. Professor Dan S. McCobb is John Houseman,
raised from the dead. He -- or rather his wife, Vera McCobb, originated as a very minor character
in THE FORGOTTEN. I fully expect the McCobbs will be on the road in an RV when I get
around to doing the road-trip oriented sequel to CANDLE BAY. Of course, characters don't do
what I expect. That brings me to a surprise favorite -- Brittany. I'll refrain from spoilers, but she
originated as a jab at a certain similarly named singer. Then she went and became her own person
. . . or something. What she does in the final half of Samantha, the last book in the trilogy,
shocked me so much that I ended up giggling and scratching with glee. I had no idea she was so,
uh, clever.
DB: Was there any characters that were not intended to have such a big role but just decided they
had more to be said?
TT: I don't think I've ever written a book where minor characters haven't come to the forefront on
their own. Professor Tongue was supposed to be a walk-on, but he became quite the fixture. And
Kendra. She just appeared in the first few pages. I had no idea she existed, but she's the glue -- the
storyteller -- of the trilogy. The subconscious mind is a lifesaver!
DB: Is the story based on any truth? If so, did you do hands on research and could you tell me
about it? If not, can you tell me what inspired it?
TT: The lake story -- the vision of the lake containing a long-ago flooded town -- is entirely based
on stories my mother told me. She lived in a town in northern California (not too far from
Icehouse Mountain in the book, ETERNITY) as a girl. It was rebuilt on higher ground in order to
create a reservoir. Years later, my parents returned to the dam and swam above the drowned
town. My mother describes the eerie spectacle of the treetops. The sight of the church steeple
spooked her so much that she waited on the banks while my father explored some more. There
are hundreds of drowned towns across Northern America. They're fascinating.
The heavy research was into Skull and Bones type secret societies. That's something I simply
enjoy -- all that New World Order conspiracy stuff. Both Bushes were in Skull & Bones, as well
as other US presidents and many other high-powered types. Fata Morgana is a feminine Skull &
Bones. The only vaguely overt reference, though, is a story Professor McCobb tells about
Shawkinaw, an old tale told by local tribes about a trickster raven that loves to blow things up.
Many other resources added to the fun, not the least of which was the movie Animal House.
The heaviest research was into Arthurian legends. Lots of them, from various sources, ancient and
modern. The epic poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight provided me an excuse to go at green
man mythology from a new slant. Sir Thomas Malory's L'Morte de Arthur paid off, as did
everything from The Once and Future King to movies like Excalibur and Camelot -- and let's not
forget Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I loved the Arthurian myths as a kid, so it was grand to
have an excuse to dig back in.
DB: You mentioned that you do research of haunting can you tell me a little about your real
beliefs on ghosts and hauntings?
TT: Yep. It's a case of life-long interest becoming a real part of my work. I love it when that
happens. I began collecting folklore books and books of ghost stories in the early primary grades.
I've never stopped, just expanded my areas of interest. Next year's THUNDER ROAD takes on
the mythology that has evolved into modern myth -- ufology. I've stayed at the Little Al-ie-Inn
(not sure if that's spelled right) by Area 51 in Nevada. Oh, what a great, Hunter S.
Thompson-style adventure. I explore the vortices and other alleged anomalies, but it's always
really been about the ghosts.
Personally, I'm a Fortean. That's a skeptic, but the word is being abused so much that if I say it
people think I mean I'm a debunker. Not at all. But I'm not a believer either. I'm an observer. You
have to rule out all the logical reasons for something strange before you can consider the peculiar.
And I've seen plenty of things that are peculiar. (That doesn't mean some or all don't have rational
explanations, just that I'm pleasantly surprised I haven't found some yet.) I gave David Masters,
the ghost-hunting hero of HAUNTED, all my personal opinions. He really tries to stick to them . .
. but he sees too much. He reappears in THE FORGOTTEN briefly and he's rationalized things
down a bit again. He's also got a part in the book I'm working on now. We'll see how things work
out for him there.
I've never seen anything that leads me to think I'm dealing with a thinking spirit. I've seen things
that I believe to be fueled, even manipulated to some degree, by emotionally upset living humans.
And I've experienced things that are obviously just imprints, reruns. I don't believe in demons, I've
never seen anything that would lead me to believe -- but I do think we create our own realities to
some extent and that someone who believes may well encounter something that fits the mold. I
would experience something different. Priestly exorcisms work if people believe in them and put
their intent behind them. My version -- Rude Sailor -- works just as well to keep leachy anomalies
off me when I'm messing with them. Everything is energy. Anomalies are virtually always
energy-related. Hauntings take on new life (or death?) under the influence of a sent of mega
power lines nearby. It feeds them. Ores in the earth play a part, especially magnetic ores. I think
quantum physics will legitimize parapsychology to a great extent, but the mystery will always be
deliciously lurking in dark corners. We can never know for certain. That's what I love.
DB: I notice that you managed to slip humor into the work as well, which definitely added to the
compulsive readability, is this generally the case with your works?
TT: I can't help it. If I try to be dark and serious for long, my inner child (pretty much a rude
10-year-old boy that would love hanging with the Southpark kids), gets annoyed. He starts
whispering bad things to me. They get out. Mostly, the humor is from the characters, not from
me. I just write down what they say. However, I'll take responsibility for all the horrible pun
names (most have to be spoken aloud to be caught, but some are overt) and sleazy street names
(see BAD THINGS for the best of those -- they sound so nice in Spanish!), and so forth. I live for
puns. There aren't so many in SORORITY -- since it's pretty light to begin with, I don't have the
urge as strongly as I do in a more serious book like THE FORGOTTEN, BAD THINGS, or
ETERNITY. Oh, those are shameless. No apologies. I love shameless. Basically, I write to amuse
myself. So I just do what I love to do.
DB: Malory, is my favorite villain in a very long time can you tell me what it was like for you to
write her?
TT: Oh, how I love to be in evil minds. Even though I don't like the word "evil" -- it's too
religious. But then Malory is evil. (You'll find negative and positive things in most of my work --
but when I pull out the supernatural stops, good and evil can exist too.) My favorite characters
are bad guys who have good qualities. In SORORITY, the Force is nature -- the Forest Knight
form of green man. Nature is neutral. It can be used for good or ill. Malory draws on it for evil.
Running around in Malory's -- or any nasty character's head -- is wonderful and freeing. It's an
outlet for all sorts of aggressions. After maiming and torturing characters all day, I'm relaxed and
happy in real life. Then some bible-thumpers knock on the door, my inner
Jack-Nicholson-in-The-Shining comes to life, and must be fed more characters. If it's not fed, I
become incredibly rude to those who dare disrupt me to try to force their beliefs on me. Dammit
Jim, I'm a heathen, not a Mormon!
DB: Did you intend for the book to have an erotic flare to it?
TT: I wouldn't call it intent, exactly. It just happens sometimes, especially in the lighter books.
(Serious leads in my books are rarely shown doing anything beyond foreplay -- I feel like I'm
intruding on their privacy.) But the baddish people and the light more-supernaturally inclined
stories are usually loaded with sex. I like sex. It keeps me amused. I love to come up with kinks
and try to write them un-obscenely. It's a challenge. And sex and bad puns, well, that's just about
the best thing on earth. In fiction and in real life!
DB: What are your thoughts on the sub-genre of erotic horror?
TT: Um, fine with me. What I like to read tends to be massive stuff with lots of elements of all
sorts of things in it. I get bored with just romance or just R-rated sex or just cowboys riding the
range or just cops patrolling. I want a little of everything in a big fat novel. When I read or watch
porn, it's seriously dirty stuff, with my honey. The lightweight stuff, ala Cinemax, just annoys me.
As the great Tom Lehrer wrote in his song, Smut, "I like it more when it's hardcore!" Tom Lehrer
is on my most-admired list, along with George Carlin, Jacques Vallee, Roald Dahl, Ray Bradbury,
and Carl Sagan.
DB: What's next?
TT: In October, Cemetery Dance's Devil's Wine will appear. It's poetry by horror writers,
including King, Straub, and Bradbury, which explains why I decided to write some poetry!
(Usually my poetry is of the Nantucket variety.) Next summer THUNDER ROAD appears. It
came out under my previous name, Chris Curry, originally, but hardly anyone saw it. It's a favorite
of mine, definitely doesn't fit the genre. It's a modern-day western with UFOs, serial killers, and an
old west touristy ghost town. And religion. It's sort of a mini-apocalypse book and it let me
explore modern ufology lore in relation to older folklore. Today's aliens are yesterday's
leprechauns. That sort of thing.
The next new novel is cloaked in secrecy for the moment, but I'm hard at work on it, and there's a
lot of reality in the fiction. Yes, ghosts are involved. The real ghost stories that go with the locale
I chose are so good, that they've infiltrated my fictional ones and I'm having a blast writing it.
Diana Bennett
Reviewer
Fortenberry's Bookshelf
Raising Kids in an Age of Terror: A Father's Strategy on the War on Terrorism
C. Brian Silver
Writer's Club Press
c/o iUniverse
2021 Pine Lake Rd, Suite 100, Lincoln, NE 68512. www.iUniverse.com
ISBN: 0595263984 $13.95
This is one of those books you wish never had to be written, but begrudgingly admit has to be. It
is a sad state of affairs in our world that such a book even need exist. It says a lot about what we
have allowed to happen to our world. Nonetheless, Raising Kids in an Age of Terror is a timely,
alarming book about very real potential threats to our society and our society's most vulnerable
members, our children. It provides ideas and solutions to the question: How can I protect my
family from terrorists?
Brian Silver has done a good job on providing a clear and very concise book on a broad and
confusing topic. There is a lot to the War on Terrorism and the "war front" is literally global and
unfortunately ends right on our doorstep. Silver explains briefly the nature of the war and the
origins of the war. He neatly outlines a lot of the risks and areas of danger, offers concrete actions
and precautions we can take, and lists agencies and organizations we can contact for more
information. These can be as common as disaster planning and first aid to as advanced as
biochemical attacks and nuclear threats. He also urges us to act proactively through voting,
awareness, involvement, organization, and citizen activities. He provides names and addresses of
numerous groups that can help.
Silver walks a fine line in this book. He isn't hysterical, but the concern is palpable and overflows
the pages. He isn't overtly religious and correctly points out the wild blathering of the evangelicals
about this being the End Time and looming Armageddon, but he also offers prayers and believes
in God's plan. Not a rightwing ideologue, he nevertheless seems pleased with the administration's
tightening of laws and liberties and actively promotes things such as the TIPS program, Ashcroft's
plan which was later found to be unconstitutional and invasively fascist, hence ended. He tries to
remain neutral in his politics, but praises Bush and his administration in their handling of the War.
Of course this was written prior to the on-going Iraqi war and occupation, so one wonders if this
blind faith in leadership has since been shaken by cold hard facts of misconduct, lies, and poor
planning. Nevertheless, Silver does attempt a middle ground and tries to remain levelheaded about
a terrifying and emotional subject. The tragedy of 9/11 shook this nation to the foundation and
scared everyone. It is hard not to get emotional when you feel your family is threatened. I applaud
him for the attempt to provide solid information and real plans about a frightening subject without
wielding the bludgeon of ideology and hysteria. It is a triumph for rationalism.
The New World Order Exposed
Victor Thorn
Sisyphus Press
P. O. Box 10495, State College, PA 16805-0495
ISBN: 0970195028 $12.99 www.babelmagazine.com
Victor Thorn has written an explosive new book. The New World Order Exposed is exactly what
it says it is, a long hard look at the reality behind the smoke and mirrors of the on-going
realignment of the world. The New World Order, first publicly put into governmental policy by
President Bush the First, has been a long time in the making and continues to this day. It is a
rather unholy alliance of the uber-wealthy, businessmen and politicians who are out for amassing
power and whom Thorn refers to as The Controllers, for obvious reasons. These men, working as
a cabal to further their own power and designs, are the ones who constantly bring dismay and
disbelief into the news with an endless series of banking, corporate, governmental, and military
scandals which they somehow seem to always escape from without spending the rest of their lives
in jail. The well-known warning concerning the "military-industrial complex" is hitting a home run
here. Thorn's stated goal is to wake up the reader to what is really happening in the world and he
does so dramatically. Wake them up and give them nightmares for years to come. It is truly
appalling some of the things he documents in his book.
It is a fascinating book, even if it is one of the alarmist-style conspiracy type texts which finds
everything happening for secret, organized, and evil reasons. But one of the things that stands out
most about this book and frankly puts it ahead of most of the books of this ilk is the immense
amount of facts he has supporting what he says. It isn't wild claims and boogeyman scare tactics.
This isn't UFOs and Atlantis rising. When he offers a statement he usually backs it up with tons of
quotes, figures, and copious amounts of excerpts from other books, government reports, news
articles, etc. There are over 500 pages of facts crammed in here and it can be an enlightening read
at the very least, or a downright frightening read for almost any rational human being.
There is far too much ground covered in this book for me to summarize, but I'll mention a single
example. Some of the more fascinating areas of the book cover the war equals profits subject.
Thorn points out just how nefarious our secret agencies, their black budgets, and their endless
covert operations are. With amazing insight he chronicles connections between these agencies and
our wars, drugs trafficking, and other illegal activities. It suddenly becomes crystal clear how why
we are constantly dragged into pointless, costly wars in strange locations without any strategic
importance or threat to ourselves, such as Vietnam, Central and South America, and Afghanistan.
It is quite odd that in all such cases our military/clandestine involvement also coincides with a
marked increase in illegal drug activity, such as production and trafficking in cocaine or heroin.
For instance, in Vietnam we had the Golden Triangle explosion, while in Afghanistan the evil
Taliban had eliminated the poppy crop, literally. These religious zealots killed everyone involved
in the drug trade and burned the crop almost out of existence there. But shortly after our conquest
and occupation of Afghanistan, poppy production made a miraculous recovery and is now the
number one export and cash crop of the region (most strange since we control the entire country).
Why is this allowed? This book answers these questions and raises a lot more. It is a powerful
indictment of the rampant criminality of the world today and its direct connection to our secret
extra-governmental agencies.
If I must find fault with the book, it lies in Thorn's style of delivery. Instead of letting the facts
speak for themselves, which they do, and the horror soak in quietly, he will sometimes
overemphasize the point he is making. He'll write an aside that says something like Do you
understand what I'm saying?, or Do you get it?, or See what's really happening? We definitely get
it. Worse, he sometimes makes a statement and follows it with many exclamation points. It is
distracting and unnecessary, since the facts themselves are so disturbing and horrifying they need
no additional emphasis. Furthermore, it detracts from the point he is making and could be
perceived as juvenile, thus weaken the credibility of the claims. I know this is the furthest thing
from his mind, he is simply trying to hammer home points, but it does hurt the integrity of the
book a bit. I do wish this one aspect of the book would have been toned down or eliminated
altogether by good editing.
Nevertheless, this is an extremely powerful book and should be a must-read for anyone interested
in politics or the way of the world today. For those of us familiar with the high-power world of
money and politics, it is actually only an opening up of some familiar ground and an in-depth look
at some very known worries and problems. But for the common reader, this may very well be the
wake-up call they need. It will blow the lid of the average Joe's perceptions and understanding of
the world at large. This book rips the cloak off the truth and exposes an awful lot of dirty
manipulations and illegalities on-going amongst the elite power barons today. It also connects a
long series of dots stretching way back that explain why and how things are occurring, and most
frightening of all, what may be the outcome of it all if we do not begin to say no and act
immediately. I recommend this to anyone interested in their own quality of life and especially in
their children's future. It will change the way you think, act, and live.
Small Business Bookkeeping System Simplified
Daniel Sitarz
Nova Publishing
1103 West College St., Carbondale, IL 62901
ISBN: 0935755748 $14.95 www.novapublishing.com
I never thought I'd utter these words, but I've found a system that makes business bookkeeping
easy. I usually run screaming for the hills when accounting comes my way, but Daniel Sitarz has
provided the best guide to date for the "little guys" of business. Small Bookkeeping System
Simplified is exactly what it says it is. The author is a lawyer who somehow has broken away
from the typically arcane mumobojumbo of business- and legal-life and written a clear and concise
guide for the average everyman. This is very possibly the easiest, briefest system for accounting I
have ever encountered.
Sitarz states that his book details a "calendar year-based modified single-entry accounting system
that can can be used by any business with less than $1 million annual income." he adds, "This
system has been designed to make accuracy, clarity, and ease-of-use its primary objectives." That
is all that needs be said. He gives brief, easy-to-follow instructions for recording expenses,
deductions and non-deductibles, payroll, accounts receivable and payable, inventory, property and
equipment, profits and losses, taxes, etc. These instructions are very brief, thorough but not
exhaustive. The rest of the book simply provides blank weekly expense and income record
balance sheets for your use.
So, like I said, what could be easier? It takes only minutes to read and then you are off and
running. No wasted time, no wandering, no confusion. Sitarz has written several business books,
so this is not new territory for him. But if he can simplify business for us this well, I hope he keeps
writing them for years to come. We need all the help we can get.
Thomas Fortenberry
Reviewer
Gary's Bookshelf
The Guide To Identity Theft Prevention
Johnny R. May CPPO
1st Books Library
1663 Liberty Dr., Bloomington In 47404-5161
www.1stbooks.com.
ISBN 0759647631 $17.95 1-800-839-8640
Living in Florida where we have so many seniors, I felt that all seniors should read and take
precautions against the criminals who prey on them. Seniors are the target of so many scams such
as roofers, telephone fraud, banking swindlers who con seniors to draw out money from their
accounts, but the worst by far is identity theft. "The crime of identity theft has reached epidemic
proportions. While estimates vary, somewhere between 500,000 and 750,000 consumers will
become victims of identity theft this year-and the number is growing."
The author tells of the many ways thieves steal a person's identity. "It has often been said that the
best offense is a good defense. You must understand the identity thief's mode of operation if you
are to successfully defend against an attack." One of the easiest protections is do not put up the
red flag on your mailbox because this gives the thief an open invitation to take the outgoing bills
you may have. With that information the crook can get a credit report on you and all kinds of
other information, all just because you put the red flag up on your mailbox.
The author also provides many ways to protect yourself against an identity thief. "While no one
can guarantee you will not become a victim of identity theft, you can greatly minimize the chances
of becoming a victim by implementing the safeguards mentioned."
THE GUIDE TO IDENTITY THEFT PREVENTION has a lot of simple things all of us can do
to stop the identity theft criminal from succeeding.
Israel On A Car Phone
Warren Siegel
iUniverse
5220 S.16th ST Suite 200, Lincoln, NE 68512
www.iuniverse.com
0595223656 $15.95 1-877-288-4737
Siegel hooked me as a reader from the first page in which he parodies the classic novel "Moby
Dick" by Herman Melville. Unlike Melville's novel, which I have never liked since taking a lit
course in college where I had to analyze it to death, this book is simply a delightful novel of a man
named Israel who retires from the garment industry in New York at the age of 79, and comes to
live with his son, daughter-in-law and their son in Miami. Instead of tossing in the towel, Israel
tells them he wants to learn to drive. Later when he buys a car and installs a cell phone is when
the real fun of the novel begins. Israel is hooked to listening to talk radio and later he responds by
calling in on his car cell phone.
Readers should be hooked from the first page as I was with this opening paragraph. "Call me
Israel. Wait, I know what you're thinking. Not another endless book about obsession and large
fish. No need to worry, this is not a story about a whale or any other kind of fish. Hey, all right, I
know they're mammals, bear with me. I'm not even talking whitefish about which I am somewhat
compulsive. And there are no exotic harpooners in this tale. The only thing I ever harpooned was
another potato latkes with a long fork and a boarding house reach at Passover dinner."
ISRAEL ON A CAR PHONE is a brilliant novel with great writing and well fleshed out
characters that tackle lots of issues comically.
Magnolia A Wilting Flower
Barbara J. Robinson
Publish America
P.O. Box 151, Frederick, MD 217505
www.publishamerica.com
ISBN 1591294304 $19.95 1-240-529-1031
I received this book through the mail and had no idea of how good it was. I have, like many of us,
always had appreciation for teachers. Without many of them, where would we be as a society? I
began reading this novel and was hooked as I was spellbound with the movies "Dead Poet's
Society," "Mr. Holland's Opus," or "Finding Forester," in which the focus in all of them is the
influence of teachers. Robinson has written a very touching story of a girl's coming of age. Her
hard life will either make or break her. At a young age she has to deal with the death of her father
and later her mother's remarriage. One thing that kept her going was her father's belief to have a
good life you had to have a good education. "Somewhere along the hard row that Magnolia
seemed to have to hoe, she had learned how important reading and writing skills were for a good
education and future; though, she actually had no idea, at the time, just how important those skills
would really become to her someday. Magnolia still had many of life's lessons left to learn, and
sadly, she would learn a lot of them the hard way."
When All Reason Fails
Richard Sebastian
Publish America
P.O. Box 151, Frederick, MD 217505
www.publishamerica.com
ISBN 1592868444 $19.95 1-240-529-1031
Sebastian has masterfully written a novel of how relationships slowly fall apart. Sebastian has
created a very clever story that flows along to its shattering conclusion where you have to read
carefully or its impact is completely lost and it's a doozy of an ending that is one of the most
memorable in recent fiction.
Told on multi levels that complement each other, the book has a lot to say about men, women,
and how we are so different about most things in life. Robert, the protagonist, is a complex
character. On the one hand, the reader can not stand him at all because he is on a conquest to
have sex with as many women as he can. On this he is very similar to Victor Newman of the hit
CBS soap "The Young and the Restless." Newman has married just about every woman on the
show, then tosses her aside in search of the next catch. No female can hold his interest for very
long. Robert is very similar. He seems crude and disgusting on his quest. Anything dealing with
sex is very graphic. Robert is such a low life character that he asks women he has been to bed
with about other sexual aspects of their lives. He wants all the details in as graphic terms as they
will tell him.
But Robert is also very much like Harry Angstrom of the John Updike novels of the "Rabbit"
series of novels, where, by the last book "Rabbit at Rest" the reader has very mixed emotions for
the Harry Angstrom character. On the one hand, you hate him on the other you like him. Such is
the case here with Robert, because of his journals that are spread throughout the novel.
It is in these writings by the character that make him more complex. He does have emotions, is
worried about getting older, wants a real relationship, and wants to know different things about
women that most men ignore about women.
There also are religious undertones that some readers will pick up, but the beauty of this novel is
that it is written by a man who has great insight into how women feel and what they want in a
relationship.
WHEN ALL REASON FAILS is a book that is bound to brew a lot of controversy. It also would
make a very fine movie.
Gary Roen
Reviewer
Gorden's Bookshelf
The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown
Doubleday
A division of Random House, Inc.
1745 Broadway, New York, NY
ISBN: 0385504209 $24.95
The hype is greater than the story but 'The Da Vinci Code' is one of the best
technical/action/thrillers in the last decade. The majority of readers will never notice the slightly
choppy narration. The story hook is just too strong. In my opinion, the story is the key to any
good novel and 'The Da Vinci Code' delivers a great story.
Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is asleep in his Paris hotel room when he is awakened by
the police. A curator has been killed in the Louvre. They found him posed naked on the floor in a
locked wing of the Louvre with cryptic markings, a riddle, and Langdon's name written next to
the body. The police think Langdon murdered the curator and try to trap him in a lie. French
cryptologist Sophie Neveu knows Langdon didn't murder the curator but to prove it they have to
solve a two thousand year mystery using the riddles left by the murdered curator, the paintings of
Da Vinci, and the secrets of the Priory of Sion whose members included Sir Isaac Newton,
Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo Da Vinci among others. Langdon and Neveu must race the
police, a religious fanatic, and a murderous mastermind to find the truth.
'The Da Vinci Code' is a great story. It delivers a complex technical mystery based on real
historical details with a fast paced action storyline. It is very easy to recommend this novel to
anyone.
LXG the League of Extraodinary Gentlemen
K. J. Anderson
Pocket Books
A division of Simon & Schuster, Inc
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
ISBN: 074347676X $6.99
Novelized movies are one of my favorite types of stories to read. The movie studios find good
writers and without the limitations of the movies the stories are usually more logical and
smoother. 'LXG' fixes many of the problems that the movie had but it doesn't fix all of them.
The novel uses many of the fictional characters created by classic storytellers of the past and
re-writes them into an action/adventure story. A mysterious villain, using the name Fantom, is
trying to start a world war by staging crimes using high-tech weapons and kidnapping. A group of
heroes is assembled under the leadership of Allan Quartermain. The list of heroes includes names
we all recognize, Captain Nemo, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the invisible man, Dorian Gray, a
vampire, and Tom Sawyer.
'LXG' is an enjoyable light read. The story has problems but fits for those times you are sitting in a
waiting room or for relaxing with a cup of coffee. The story is simple but if you understand that it
is reading to escape the times when boredom is a problem, it is an easy recommendation.
S.A. Gorden, Reviewer
http://www.paulbunyan.net/users/gsirvio/content.html
Harold's Bookshelf
Train at Home to Work at Home
Michelle McGarry
iUniverse, Inc.
2021 Pine Lake Road, Suite 100, Lincoln, NE 68512
ISBN: 0595284507 $17.95
In "Train at Home to Work at Home" author Michelle McGarry lists 27 occupations that can be
done working out of your home. Each occupation is first described in order to give you some
sense of what the occupation entails. After the description is a section with an extensive list of
programs that offer distance training. Within that section the programs are described, complete
contact information provided, and the details of the program are given (including costs). This
section is followed by one that provides more information including suggested books,
organizations, and web sites.
This book provides information on different work-at-home occupations. It does not provide
information on how to perform those occupations nor does it pretend to provide any training. It is
a resource book that points the reader to some of the better work-at-home ideas and how to get
the training you will need in order to be successful at the venture.
A System of Biblical Psychology
Franz Delitzsch
Wipf and Stock Publishers
199 West 8th Avenue, Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401
ISBN: 1592442234 $55.00
In 1855 Franz Delitzsch published his original "System of Biblical Psychology". In 1861 he
published a second, updated edition, and in 1866 it was translated from the German to English.
This particular translation was first published in 1899 and this is the newest printing of that
publication. From the beginning the reader must understand the word psychology as it is used
within the work. Franz Delitzsch takes the position that the Bible provides an exhaustive
examination of human nature. Throughout the stories, wisdom, and poetry is an account of human
nature and how human act and react in various situations. With that in mind, an examination of
the Bible shows a well-defined system of psychology, a complete treatise on human nature. As
such, a study of Biblical psychology should have as its purpose to "bring out the views of
Scripture regarding the nature, the life and life-destinies of the soul, as they are determined in the
history of salvation".
Franz Delitzsch thoroughly examines this relationship between man and God, man and self, and
man and his fellow man as viewed through the lens of the Bible. Major headings include
pre-existence, creation, the fall, man's natural condition, the regeneration, death, and resurrection
and consummation. The section on man's natural condition is particularly interesting. In it he
discusses the personality, the soul, the powers of the soul, development of the threefold life, soul
and blood, heart and head, health and sickness, natural and demoniacal sickness, and superstition
and magic.
After each section Dr. Delitzsch included an appendix with appropriate information for that
section. This is a nice touch as it provides the related information at the point in the book where it
was studied. If you want to understand Biblical psychology as it was understood in the late 1800s
you can't go wrong with this book. In a single volume it presents the complete understanding of
the main-line theologians of the time and forms a solid basis for a historical study of Biblical
psychology. This is a very highly recommended book for anyone interested in this area of
study.
Total Fitness for Women: Proven Strategies to Trim Down, Firm Up and Get Fit
Joe Luxbacher, Leslie Bonci, and Kim King
Wish Publishing
PO Box 10337, Terre Haute, IN 10337
ISBN: 1930546556 $14.95
For women of all ages, "Total Fitness for Women" provides a roadmap for better fitness. Whether
you want to lose a few pounds, a few inches, define your physique better, or want better
endurance and more energy, you will find guidance, encouragement, and practical information
throughout this book. The authors have provided multiple tables to guide the reader in
appropriately determining their current state of fitness and correct path to better fitness. They also
took every appropriate opportunity to dispose of useless or harmful myths.
Of particular value was the comprehensive view of fitness. "Total Fitness for Women" examines
fitness not only from the point of view of muscular fitness but also aerobic fitness and flexibility.
With this definition in mind a complete program is discussed that includes aspects of each.
Through the information presented in the book the reader can create their own unique fitness
program so that it becomes a lifestyle they can live with. They even discuss kids and fitness,
fitness in pregnancy, and age and fitness. "Total Fitness for Woman" is a recommended read
mainly because of the holistic approach it takes to fitness that is often overlooked in other
titles.
Color-Blend Applique
June Townswick
Martingale & Company
20205 144th Ave NE, Woodinville, WA 98072
ISBN: 1564774503 $27.95
Beautiful. That pretty well sums up what comes to mind when looking at the designs in this book.
Author June Townswick discusses using many different fabrics on a single applique shape to get a
nice blended effect. She describes the various techniques that she uses and the construction of the
design right down to the type of stitch. Using this technique she presents photographs of some of
the most beautiful quilts I have ever seen. They simply have to be seen to be believed! This is a
very highly recommended book to anyone who would like to do something unique and end up
with a true conversation starter. If you have any interest at all in applique you owe it to yourself
to pick up this book and examine the possibilities presented here.
Bed and Breakfast Quilts: With Rise and Shine Recipes
Mimi Dietrich
Martingale & Company
20205 144th Ave NE, Woodinville, WA 98072
ISBN: 1564774392 $29.95
"Bed and Breakfast Quilts" contains photographs and detailed construction plans for a variety of
quilts from various Bed and Breakfast establishments. Each is photographed on location so you
can get an idea of how it might fit into a particular room decor. Mimi Dietrich also includes some
background and thoughts about each of the quilt designs at the beginning of the book before
taking the reader off on a more detailed look at them. The directions for each quilt are complete
with patterns, directions, materials, cutting, assembly, and finishing instructions. They often even
include ideas on pillowcases to match. After each quilt she includes a short recipe for a favorite
breakfast snack or drink.
A couple of my favorite quilts in the book are Starry Night and Garden Comfort. Garden Comfort
is not one of the designs that I would typically think of when I conjure up thoughts of a quilt but it
is absolutely beautiful. "Bed and Breakfast Quilts" is a highly recommended read for anyone
interested in quilting or quilt designs.
Successful Resumes
Janet Nickart
Made E-Z Products
384 South Military Trail, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442
ISBN: 1563825201 $14.95
There are many books on the market about how to prepare a resume and many of them conflict
with each other. "Successful Resumes" is like the condensed version of some of the best. There
are larger, more complete books on resumes available but if you don't have the time to wade
through a four hundred page book then this is the best way to get the quick condensed version. It
includes sections on how to use "action" words to get the reader excited about your resume. It
details how to create the cover letter, what to do with a reference letter, the elements of a
successful resume, and common mistakes. It even includes sample letters for how to answer a
classified add, samples of resume types (chronological, functional, or combination), and how to
write a follow-up letter. One of the unique items in this book is that it contains page after page of
forms you can use to help organize your data and get it into an appropriate format. The author
finishes with a section on how to become your own career consultant. While not as extensive as
some of the other books on getting a job and resumes, it is much more practical than most.
Instead of providing a lot of information and no practical walk-through on preparing your resume,
this book gets right to the point and contains the best practical method to actually put the resume
together that I have seen. This practical aspect of the book makes it a recommended read for
anyone planning to start producing and sending resumes of any kind.
Squeezing Your Size 14 Self into a Size 6 World
Carrie Myers Smith
Champion Press, Ltd.
4308 Blueberry Road, Fredonia, WI 53021
ISBN: 1891400304 $TBA
While it is about dieting and weight loss as an attempt to try to fit in to a world that demand a
certain body shape for women, that is not the entire purpose of this book. "Squeezing Your Size
14 Self into a Size 6 World" is about trying to fit yourself into other people's ideas of what you
should be. The book is about breaking free from the molds you are trying to squeeze into just to
satisfy others. Throughout the book Carrie Smith provides a gentle coaching method to get you
to start breaking free and living a life true to yourself.
The book starts out by correcting false conceptions of reality - Barbie is not real, most magazine
images are fake, don't base your idea of reality on fantasy, don't compare yourself to other
women. Of course it does not end there but goes on into other ways that women tend to try to fit
into the molds of others. Examples of these include games like the perfection game, reward and
punishment, and head games you use to fool yourself into thinking you are healthier than you
really are. All the head games are basically things we do to ourselves or that others do to us in
order to alter our perception of reality. She concludes the body size section with a simple, yet
profound statement. Don't give yourself away to the marketing hype, your true size is the size you
were meant to be - the size your body is most happy with. Instead of striving for a size, strive for
well-being.
Other suggestions include getting rid of clutter, both physical and mental. Decide what is
important and get on with your life. She then turns back to the striving for well-being and
discusses using your eating personality to your advantage, choosing a personal trainer, and myths
and misunderstandings about exercise, strength training, etc. This is a recommended book for
anyone who wants to proclaim independence from the commercial and social entrapments of life
and become who they were meant to be. Will it work? I don't know. For many people it is an
intense struggle to try to overcome the constant bombardments of the media trying to force you
into a mold that will create a regular stream of monetary income for them. This book shines a
light onto the correct path, but it is not an easy walk in our current social environment.
Stalking the Divine
Kristin Ohlson
Hyperion
77 West 66th Street, New York, NY 10023-6298
ISBN: 1401300251 $23.95
Wow! Take a walk with Kristin Ohlson through a path of self-discovery that also results in a
sensitive inside look at the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration. Ohlson stopped by a Christmas
mass and found the Poor Clares quite by accident but became interested in the sixteen cloistered
nuns in the small monastery in Cleveland, Ohio. As Kristin Ohlson seeks to understand this small
group of nuns at a monastery in Cleveland, Ohio she comes to an understanding not only of their
faith but her own faith as well.
Both an autobiographical look at this period in Ohlson's life and a general biographical account of
the nuns, the story is deeply moving, beautifully written and one of the best biographical stories of
the year. "Stalking the Divine" is a highly recommended read.
Practical Christian Theology: Examining the Great Doctrines of the Faith, 4th Edition
Floyd H. Barackman
Kregel Publications
PO Box 2607, Grand Rapids, MI 49501
ISBN: 0825423805 $23.99
In this amazing outline study of the Great Doctrines of the Christian Faith author Floyd H.
Barackman does a thorough job of examining each doctrine and the Scriptural basis for it. I've
seen several books on Biblical and Church doctrine but none have covered as many doctrines in as
much detail in a single volume. This is possible mainly because of the outline format of the book.
Mr. Barackman does not spend a lot of time discussing the details and implications of each
doctrine but basically states the position and provides the Bible verses that support that position.
He also mentions other doctrinal positions and why he feels that they are incorrect (also with
Bible verses to support his position).
Just who is Floyd H. Barackman that he should be writing a book like this? He was an Instructor
of Systematic Theology at Practical Bible Training School in New York where he taught for
twenty-five years. He has pastored several Baptist churches and authored several Bible study
materials. With this strong Baptist background the doctrines have a decidedly Baptist slant at
times, but each position is still put forward professionally and the Biblical basis supplied.
As a single volume reference on Christian doctrine "Practical Christian Theology: Examining the
Great Doctrines of the Faith" is a monumental work and very highly recommended.
The New Brain: How the Modern Age is Rewiring Your Mind
Richard Restak, M.D.
Rodale Press
33 East Minor St., Emmaus, PA 18098-0099
ISBN: 1579545017 $23.95
Over the past couple of decades medical science has devised various, non-invasive techniques to
study the brain in real-time. As a result our knowledge of exactly how the brain functions has
vastly expanded. With this ability to examine the process of thinking, learning something new, or
making a major decision neurological researchers have come to the conclusion that the brain is in
the process of a major change and the "new" brain is emerging. Already our brain is functioning
very differently from what it did only a hundred years ago.
Dr. Restak, a neurologist, neuropsychiatrist, and clinical professor of neurology at the George
Washington Medical Center, provides a trip through this new world in his book "The New Brain".
Dr. Restak does a great job of presenting the information in sufficient detail to give a good
understanding of the current research, and implications of that research, without going too far into
scientific detail and losing the reader. One of the more fascinating pieces of research is the ability
to tell when someone is lying by examining their brain wave patterns.
"The New Brain" is a fascinating read and a great synopsis of current research in the area of
cognitive sciences. It is a recommended read for anyone interested in this subject.
Music Theory for Guitarists
Tom Serb
Note Boat, Inc.
PO Box 6155, Woodridge, IL 60517
ISBN: 0972472304 $21.95
"Music Theory for Guitarists" is exactly as the title advertises. Tom Serb walks the reader through
the basics of sound, rhythm, notes, rests, time classifications and signatures, pitch, clefs, scales
and modes, chromatic scales, intervals, triads, chord inversions, extended chords, transposition,
and chord progressions and cadences. Just under half of the book is dedicated to music theory
itself without any particular application to guitar work. This is the section that covers things like
notes, rests, and other items that apply to music in general. On page 41 he starts moving the
reader into applying this knowledge to guitars and further developing your knowledge of music.
For the serious guitarist who wants to know more than how to strum a handful of chords as
backup, is a recommended text.
The Jabez Prayer Experiment Lab Manual
Jay Dennis and Marilyn Jeffcoat
Zondervan Publishing
5300 Patterson SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49530
ISBN: 031025194X $12.95
This is a lab manual designed to help the reader implement the Jabez Prayer Experiment. The
Jabez Prayer Experiment examines the Biblical character of Jabez and his prayer to God to "Do
something so big in my life that it is obviously from you." To make such a request of God was a
powerful experiment in prayer. Then, if that was not enough of an experiment, Jabez continued by
asking God to "Increase my influence and opportunities for you, and give me a sense of your
continual presence and direction. Protect me and keep me from falling into Satan's traps."
Using the devotionals in this book you are lead through the process of discovering for yourself the
power of prayer. I would suggest that it be used in conjunction with the book "The Jabez Prayer
Experiment" but it can be used by itself. This is a recommended purchase for any Christian unsure
about their prayer life or anyone wanting to strengthen their understanding and practice of
prayer.
The Millionaire Mentor: A Simple Way to Get Ahead in Your Work and in Life
Greg S. Reid
Possibility Press
One Oakglade Circle, Hummelstown, PA 17036
ISBN: 0938716492 $10.95
"The Millionaire Mentor" is a complete business motivational book and basic plan for getting
ahead in life both wrapped up in a story format. While reading the story you end up absorbing
motivational goal oriented techniques that you can apply naturally to life. While it focuses on
mentoring as a way to get ahead by helping others, this is an excellent book for anyone wanting to
make a change in their life but lacking the motivation to follow through or knowledge of how to
proceed. Short but powerful, it is a recommended read.
The Ultimate Cooking with 4 Ingredients
Jean Coates
Cookbook Resources
541 Doubletree Drive, Highland Village, TX 75418
ISBN: 1931294364 $19.95
In "The Ultimate Cooking with 4 Ingredients" author Jean Coates treats the reader to a plethora
of simple, yet tasty, recipes. This is a particularly great cookbook for those with little cooking
experience or for someone who wants to put together a balanced, healthy, home cooked meal
without a lot of fuss. The instructions for preparation of each dish could not be easier. If you are
used to the books with three or four paragraphs of preparation instructions you will be pleasantly
surprised to find that these recipes can all be completed with only three to four simple steps.
I tried a few recipes and found that among my favorites were Potatoes Supreme, Hawaiian Pork,
and Cola Chicken. Based on the ingredients list the Cola Chicken sounded so unlikely to taste
good that I just had to try it and it turned out great. I also liked the way that Coates broke down
the main dishes into the categories of chicken, beef, pork, and seafood instead of lumping them all
together under the "Main Dishes" category like most cookbooks do.
The recipes often take advantage of mixes like a box cake mix or stuffing mix in order to keep the
ingredients list down to four. But for the new cook or one who does not have a lot of time or
want a lot of fuss making dinner it meets all the important requirements - quick and easy to
prepare, goof-proof, minimal cleanup, and tasty. This is a highly recommended read and especially
so for the novice cook or the hurried family cook or the college bound student.
Mark's Story: An Introduction to the Gospel of Mark
Dr. Marvin G. Baker
Innovative Christian Publications
PO Box 20, Grand Haven, MI 49417
ISBN: 0972925600 $9.95
"Mark's Story: An Introduction to the Gospel of Mark" is basically the Gospel of Mark related in
a person-to-person storytelling fashion. The text is easy to read even for a ten or eleven year old
reader and would be of great value to anyone seeking to teach their children the common stories
of the Bible as related in the Gospel of Mark. While the idea is good and I could see this book
being given to young readers to start their journey into learning the Bible, there is one thing that I
find annoying about the book. The writing style itself is somewhat choppy. It seems that the
writer felt each quote had to be followed or preceded with "He said", "they said", "it said", or
something similar. Just open the book to any page and you will find things that are redundant (i.e.
page 18 "'He didn't say, but I think we can find him', was the response." Obviously it was the
response since it was in answer to a question.), and full of things that break the natural flow of the
material. Even with that caveat it is still a recommended read for young or marginally literate
readers.
Great World Religions: Islam
Professor: John L. Esposito
The Teaching Company
4151 Lafayette Center Drive, Suite 100, Chantilly, VA 20151-1232
Format: CD, Tape, DVD Lectures: 12
$TBA
Professor John Esposito gives one of the most even-handed expositions of Islam I have ever
encountered in "Great World Religions: Islam". There seems to be a proliferation these days of
books and tapes professing to explain the religion of Islam. For the most part they do not explain
anything about Islam but take a few verses out of the Quran (or Koran) to "prove" that Islam is a
religion of evil, hatred, and violence. Professor Esposito does a thorough job of providing an
understandable, and accurate portrayal of Islam without any of the prejudice that is typical of
other works. This fact alone makes this a highly recommended course among the choices
available.
Professor Esposito starts with a discussion of Islam of yesterday, the Islam of today, and the
challenges that Islam is facing for the future. From there he moves into a discussion of the five
pillars of Islam. These pillars are the basic tenants that are consistent among all branches and sects
of Islam whether the believer is Sufi, Shiite, Sunni, or some other division.
With that foundation firmly laid he then moves on to the life and teachings of Muhammad, the
Muslim community and their faith and politics, and the revivalism of the last part of the 20th
century. Additional areas of discussion include the divisions within the Muslim community among
conservatives and reformers, mainstream Muslims and extremists in terms of interpretation of the
law, relations with the west, and the role of women. Probably one of the most enlightening
lectures is the one on women and change in Islam. In it Professor Esposito points out that there
are Muslim countries where women have been ambassadors, parliamentary members, and even
judges. The lecture series concludes with lectures on Islam in the West and the future of
Islam.
This is easily the most accurate, even-handed, and thorough survey of Islam that I have seen to
date. The extent of coverage, breadth and depth of Professor Esposito's knowledge, recognition
of the various groups and beliefs within Islam and scholarly treatment of the subject makes this a
very highly recommended lecture series and the only one on the subject that I could recommend
to date.
Great World Religions: Judaism
Professor: Isaiah M. Gafni
The Teaching Company
4151 Lafayette Center Drive, Suite 100, Chantilly, VA 20151-1232
Format: CD, Tape, DVD Lectures: 12
$TBA
In discussing Judaism as a religion you have to start with defining just what constitutes Judaism.
The immediate question is whether it is a religion, related to a geographic region, or an ethnic
group. Over time it has consisted of various parts of each of these. In "Great World Religions:
Judaism" Professor Isaiah Gafni attempts to look at this aspect of Judaism as well as many others
and what it means to be a Jew.
In the series of twelve lectures he discusses how the various stages of history have shaped
Judaism and how it is practiced. If you want a clear understanding of the various aspects of
Judaism including terms like Tanak, Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim, Midrash, Mishnah, Talmud, and
Halakha as well as the Jewish calendar and life cycle you will find complete explanations here.
How does the Jewish calendar relate to the standard calendar in use today? How has this calendar
caused difficulties for the Jewish community as they try to determine when and how to make
necessary adjustments? What is the significance of the bar mitzva or bat mitzva in a Jewish child's
life? What is the significance of the marriage ceremony traditions and the ketubah?
Professor Gafni also discusses Judaism as it is practiced today. Why is it so different from the
Judaism practiced in the Bible? How did the destruction of the second temple change the practice
of Judaism in so many ways? What are the contemporary issues and challenges to Judaism today
and how does it differ from challenges in the past?
Throughout the book he carefully details historical challenges and change within the Jewish
community so you can understand how it moved from the calling of Abraham to the Judaism
practiced today. He also examines other important factors that affected Judaism; from Jewish
philosophers to mystics to the differing groups within Judaism.
With extensive coverage of all the most important aspects of Judaism you come away with a good
understanding of the basics of the belief, what it means to be a Jew, and the history of Judaism.
This is a very highly recommended course for anyone interested in a basic understanding of
Judaism.
Great World Religions: Buddhism
Professor: Malcolm David Eckel
The Teaching Company
4151 Lafayette Center Drive, Suite 100, Chantilly, VA 20151-1232
Format: CD, Tape, DVD Lectures: 12
$TBA
"Great World Religions: Buddhism" is an excellent study in the basics of Buddhism. While it can
easily take a lifetime to gain a complete understanding of the nuances of Buddhism, Professor
Eckel provides a solid foundation. The course takes a pretty much historical path as it walks you
through the early life of Siddhartha Gautama, who became the first Buddha, then through his
insights and teachings, and finally through the movement of Buddhism through Tibet, China and
Japan.
Two of the common teachings of Buddhism that are covered in the course include the problem of
suffering and moving to the cessation of suffering (or nirvana). It also has a thorough discussion
of the Buddhist community including monks, temples, and an order of nuns. Professor Eckel also
discusses the effects of two historical movements within Buddhism - Mahayana and Tantra.
Mahayana Buddhism in particular has an interesting teaching concerning the bodhisattva. These
are Buddhas who are ready to enter nirvana but choose to come back instead in order to help
others escape the cycle of death and rebirth.
When most people in North America think of Buddhism they think of the Dalai Lama or Zen
Buddhism. These particular branches are also covered in the lectures as he discusses the
movement of Buddhism through Tibet and China into Japan and the change Buddhism had on
those cultures as well as the effects those cultures had on Buddhism.
Professor Eckel studied at Oxford University before moving to India where he studied Sanskrit.
After completing his Ph.D. he returned to the United States to teach at Ohio Wesleyan University
and Middlebury College in Vermont. From there he went to Harvard to become an associate
professor of religion and then from Harvard to Boston University where he teaches Comparative
Religion, Buddhism, and the Religions of Asia.
This is a highly recommended course for anyone wanting a basic understanding of Buddhism from
its inception to the various forms practiced today.
The Best of Cooking with 3 Ingredients
Ruthie Warnall
Cookbook Resources
541 Doubletree Drive, Highland Village, TX 75418
ISBN: 1931294119 $19.95
This is a great cookbook for those with little cooking experience. Most other cookbooks have
one, or at the most two recipes per page because of the space needed for complex preparation
instructions. That is not the case at all with this cookbook. These recipes are simple enough that
they only require two to four sentences to explain how to prepare the dish from start to
finish.
Of course, when you are limiting yourself to only three ingredients you find that you end up with
a lot of side dishes and vegetable recipes. But, there are plenty of main dishes so a well-balanced
meal can be prepared. A few of my favorites include Rosemary-Roasted Potatoes, Honey-Orange
Glazed Chicken, and June Ballard's Cajun Chicken. To keep the ingredient list to just three the
recipes take advantage of many mixes like box cake mixes or stuffing mixes. Basically it hits all
the high points for the new or hurried cook - quick and easy to prepare, goof-proof, minimal
cleanup, and tasty results.
Another nice feature is the section with complete menu suggestions. Ruthie Warnall has compiled
a suggested Valentine Dinner Menu, Easy Dinner for New Brides, Easy Sunday Dinner, Quick
Gourmet Dinner, Pot Roast Dinner, Turkey Dinner, Chicken Dinner, and Romantic Dinners for
Special Occasions. Each of the dinners contains only items from the cookbook and so are all easy
to prepare with minimal fuss.
Comb bound so it lies flat when you are working with it, it is a recommended read for new cooks
(or college kids just out of the house) and those with a tight family schedule.
Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value
Bill George
Jossey-Bass
989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741
ISBN: 0787969133 $27.95
It seems that in the business environment everyone is suggesting one leadership style or another as
a basis for becoming a great leader within your organization. Bucking that trend, author Bill
George points out that to reach your greatest potential as a leader you have to be yourself. You
can't be your best if you are too busy being someone else's idea of a great leader. Be authentic,
and if you choose to emulate another person's leadership style then don't choose a style that
represents who you really are. In short, the only way to create lasting value is to be yourself.
With that slant on things clearly established from the beginning Mr. George starts an examination
of the issues of leadership. For example, he discusses understanding your purpose and values,
leading with heart, being true in your connected relationships, and exercising self-discipline. While
many books also encourage long hours of work as an integral part of good leadership, Mr.
George notes that in reality a balanced life makes you a better leader. This balance has to be there
between work, family, friendships, and community service. Other areas discussed include
employee motivation, setting correct priorities in the realm of business (customers, employees,
and stockholders), the Seven Deadly Sins of business and how they can destroy your business
overnight, and ethical dilemmas.
This is a persuasive and motivating call to ethical leadership - how to become an effective leader
and create an effective values oriented company while still competing in the marketplace.
"Authentic Leadership" is a refreshingly independent voice among the crowd and a highly
recommended read.
Angels, Angels Everywhere
Larry Libby
Zonderkidz
Zondervan Publishing
5300 Patterson SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
ISBN: 0310703425 $12.99
"Angels, Angels Everywhere" is a beautiful children's book from author Larry Libby and
illustrator Corbert Gauthier. Consistent with prior efforts from Mr. Gauthier, the illustrations are
bright and colorful and sure to keep a child's attention focused on the book. The purpose of the
book is to answer common questions that children have about angels. Some of the questions
addressed include, "If angels are everywhere, why can't we see them" and "Will I be an angel
when I die". Along with each answer there are specific Biblical references to related passages
about angels. Mr. Libby also does an excellent job of looking at various incidents in the Bible
where angels are involved in giving messages, helping people, consoling people, and the many
other tasks. This book will not only bring a basic understanding of the nature of angels to your
child but is also sure to bring a peaceful, protected feeling to young children. "Angels, Angels
Everywhere" is a highly recommended read.
101 Questions and Answers on Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto
John Renard
Paulist Press
997 Macarthur Blvd., Mahwah, NJ 07430
ISBN: 0809140918 $16.95
In "101 Questions and Answers on Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto" author John Renard
organizes the 101 questions into nine different sections. These nine sections are Beginnings and
Early Sources, Development and Spread, Doctrines and Practices, Authority, Law, and Ethics,
Spirituality and Popular Piety, Religion and Artistic Expression, Internal Diversity and External
Relations, Women, Family, and Society, and Chinese and Japanese Traditions Here and Now. The
author does an excellent job of bringing the reader a basic understanding of each tradition using a
Frequently Asked Questions format. The answers are well thought out and well written so they
are as clear as possible. If you are looking for a basic understanding of any or all of these
traditions and how they are both similar and different you can't go wrong with this book. "101
Questions and Answers on Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto" is a recommended read.
Cooking with 5 Ingredients
Barbara C. Jones
Cookbook Resources
541 Doubletree Drive, Highland Village, TX 75418
ISBN: 1931294100 $19.95
If you told me that someone had made a book of recipes that only take five ingredients and three
steps to make I would not have believed it contained so many delicious recipes. From appetizers,
to breads, to brunch, soups, salads, sandwiches, vegetables, side dishes, main dishes, and sweets
just about any type of recipe is represented here. This is a great cookbook for the novice cook or
people in a hurry. The recipes are so simple that even a young teenager can prepare a complete
meal without any problems.
Some of the recipes that I really liked were the Roasted Garlic Dip, Mini Reubens, Green Olive
Spread, Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken, Ranch Chicken, Sweet and Sour Spareribs, and Peanut
Butter Fudge. It was really hard to pick favorite recipes from this book because everything I tried
was great. This cookbook has already become one of my personal favorites. It has everything that
I look for - comb bound so it lies flat, easy recipes to follow, easily acquired ingredients, minimal
cleanup, and very tasty. This is a highly recommended cookbook for anyone to have around the
house to prepare that elegant meal that looks and tastes like you have slaved in the kitchen all
day.
Harold McFarland
Reviewer
Harwood's Bookshelf
Treatise on the Gods, Second edition
H. L. Mencken
Random House
available new or used from Amazon.com
080185654X $19.95
"The ancient and curious thing called religion, as it shows itself in the modern world, is often so
overladen with excrescences that its fundamental nature tends to be obscured. When we hear of it
in everyday life, it is usually in connection with some grandiose pretension by its priests or
practitioners or some unseemly scandal among them, religious only by courtesy." (p. 3) "In its
pure and simple form religion is not often encountered today. It is almost as rare, indeed, as pure
democracy or pure reason." (p. 5) "It is highly probable, indeed, that the first priest appeared in
the world simultaneously with the first religion; nay, that he actually invented it." (p. 11) "The
common people have always rejoiced over a show of piety in their rulers; it flatters them to have a
sign that the inferiority they must suffer on this earth has its compensation in equality before
God." (p.25) "That is the hallmark of a priest to this day; he has a god working for him." (p. 34)
"There is every reason for believing that this emergence of the priest as infallible law-giver goes
back to the earliest days of religion." (p. 35)
Before anyone asks, "So what else is new?" let me point out that Mencken published the
foregoing in 1930, when the promulgation of pseudoscience, hypocrisy and power-lust posing as
religion was as prevalent as it is today, but far less widely recognized. Mencken was an innovator
whose willingness to be seen as a one-eyed man in the country of the blind set the precedent for
literally thousand of later writers whose definitive falsifications of every element of religion are no
further away from anyone in the western world than the nearest university library.
"So far I have said nothing whatever about the soul, nor about the theological theory, so familiar
to modern man, that it never dies, but goes on serenely after the death of its owner, maybe in
Heaven, maybe in Hell, and maybe lingering somewhere between. The omission has not been
accidental but deliberate, for I can find no reason to believe that early man had any conception of
such an entity." (pp. 36-7)
Today we know that the ancient Jews had no "soul" or "afterlife" concept until sometime after the
Babylonian Captivity. But for Mencken to separate "soul" from religion in 1930 was innovative
and even daring. It would be unrealistic to say that without him, scholarship would not be where
it is today. But he set the precedent of "telling it like it is," and while critical analysis of religious
documents can still be labeled as "heresy" or "blasphemy" by the Sky Fhrer's most braindead
sycophants, the general public accepts even scholarship that tells them things they do not want to
know as a legitimate activity. At least to some degree Mencken (and Clarence Darrow of
"monkey trial" fame) can be given credit for that evolution in human thought.
Mencken was one of the first writers to show that the "all gods are the same god" dogma requires
intensive self-brainwashing: "The God of the Episcopalians is an elderly British peer, courtly in
manner, somewhat beefy, and, in New York, vaguely Jewish. The God of the Mormons shaves his
upper lip, and believes in large families and a protective tariff. The God of the Methodists is an
agent provocateur, forever fingering His pad of blank warrants. The God of the Baptists is
amphibious, and, in some of His aspects, almost identical with the Neptune [actually Poseidon] of
the Greeks." (p. 55) "When a Georgia Baptist drops ten cents into the plate of a touring
rhetorician for the Foreign Missions Board, it is not primarily because he yearns to save the
Chinese from Hell, but because he likes to dwell upon the fact that his own god is much more
potent and respectable than the Chinese gods." (p. 58) Perhaps out of prudence, given the
necessity of placating his publisher, Mencken did not point out that only the Christian god has
three heads.
"The earliest records of all the historical peoples, from the Sumerians to the Celts, are full of
references to this Earth Mother, and she survives among savages today, and even in Christendom.
The Virgin Mary, in all probability, descends from her, for in very remote times she was already
looked upon as the mother of the other gods." (p. 61)
While Mencken did not identify any specific society as "savages," the very use of such a word
denotes a degree of cultural prejudice, as does his reference to "semi-civilized Hindus." (p. 59)
And there is no lack of evidence in many of his writings of what is now termed anti-Semitism.
Fortunately, we no longer demand perfection from critics of religion, any more than we expect it
from politicians and other manipulators of the masses.
Historians certainly preempted him. But Mencken may have been the first writer to convey to a
mass audience the reason God the Father replaced Goddess the Mother as humankind's presiding
deity, and fathers replaced mothers as family despots: "the greatest single discovery ever made by
man, to wit, the discovery that babies have human fathers, and are not put into their mother's
bodies by the gods . Primitive society, like many savage societies of our own time, was probably
strictly matriarchal . Man's view of the entire cosmic process changed as his view of the process
of life changed. He needed a new god to mirror his new sense of importance." (pp. 71-75)
Mencken goes on to describe the evolution of religion, in chapters titled "Its Evolution," "Its
Varieties," "Its Christian Form," and "Its State Today." He offers a reason why priests and other
professional pushers of god mythology respond to the discoveries of scientists and non-dogmatic
biblical scholars "by denouncing the proponents of the new spirit as no more than priests of a new
and heathenish cult . Science, we are told, has become a religion on its own account, with a
theology like any other." (p. 255) His explanation for incurable believers shutting out scientific
reality accepted even by an overwhelming majority of theists is, "In part, I suspect, it is simply
cowardice . Everyone can recall Presidents who carried the appetites and attitudes of the village
grocery-store or the small-town lodge of Elks into the White House." (p. 256) Again: So what
else is new?
Mencken had no patience with the pathetic rationalizers whose delusion that reality and
superstition could both be true was in recent times carried to its ultimate absurdity in Stephen J.
Gould's imbecilic Non-Overlapping Magisteria theory. Even seventy years ago, Mencken
recognized that, "The truth is that every priest who really understands the nature of his business is
well aware that science is its natural and implacable enemy." (p.257)
And so says every person with a functioning human brain.
Elmer Gantry
Sinclair Lewis
available new or used from Barnes and Noble
0451522516 $7.95
The timing of Elmer Gantry (1927) is consistent with its being a fictionalization of the careers of
Billy Sunday and Aimee Semple McPherson. But parallels with real-world history played little
part in the book's success. At a time when a large majority of believers were repulsed by the antics
of flamboyant "hot gospel" evangelists, Elmer Gantry touched a lot of receptive nerves. If
McPherson was the archetypal sucker-fleecing hypocrite on the "pin your contribution to the
curtain and you'll be cured" faithhealing circuit, there were also plenty of others. And if
McPherson did not suffer the fate of Sharon Falconer, a lot of moderate worshippers believed she
deserved to do so.
When the movie, Elmer Gantry, was released, the suggestion was raised that Gantry was modeled
after Billy Graham. Since Graham was still a child when the book was written, the suggestion was
nonsense, but it probably sold a lot of tickets.
Ultimately, the identification of Gantry and Falconer as real people is peripheral, even irrelevant,
to the book's appeal. Lewis portrayed barnstorming preachers as lying humbugs, and every time a
Jimmy Swaggart or a Jim Bakker is exposed as exactly that, persons tempted to write a book on
such a subject are faced with the reality that it has already been done incomparably. While Lewis
portrayed all religion as something less than a force for good, he did so in a low-key manner that
had moderate believers rationalizing that the book's target was only extremist, flamboyant
religions, not their own conservative sects. Lewis won a Nobel Prize for his literature, and Elmer
Gantry leaves little doubt that it was well deserved.
Judas, My Brother
Frank Yerby
available new or used from Barnes and Noble
0440142903 $TBA
Apart from Uncle Yeshu, Messiah, on which I cannot comment, since self-praise is not a reliable
recommendation, Judas My Brother is the only novel about Jesus the Nazirite that can be
recommended for its accurate depiction of the social conditions under which Jesus lived and died,
and for its artistic merit. The scene in which Jesus stands upright on a floating outhouse door,
giving watchers the impression that he is walking on water, can be excused on the ground that, in
a historical novel, anything that conceivably could have happened is legitimate. And while the
equivalent scene was the closest the gospel author dared come to having Jesus emulate Joshua's
parting of the Jordan River, it nonetheless could have happened the way Yerby described.
Yerby depicts Judas the Sicarius ("daggerman") as the victim of bad press, and credits him with
noble motives for doing what the Christian gospels say he did. Yerby either was unaware, or did
not agree, that the author of Mark invented Judas's betrayal for the purpose of convincing
Vespasian that the terrorist among Jesus' lieutenants was "really" Jesus' enemy and had ultimately
betrayed him.
The novel is not completely free from superstition. In what I can only interpret as an endorsement
of astrology, Yerby's narrator reads Jesus' horoscope and tells him that he is destined to become
the greatest criminal in human history, with temples erected in his name, graven images made in
his likeness, and himself elevated to the status of a pagan god. He also tells him that his people,
meaning the Jews, will one day "die in the chambers of the choking smoke." Was there no way,
other than by validating astrology or "prophecy," that Yerby could have portrayed Jesus as the
ultimate cause of the atrocities committed in his name? Perhaps not. But the imperfections are
minor. Judas My Brother is good history and excellent storytelling.
We of the Never Never and The Little Black Princess
Jennie Gunn
available new or used from Barnes and Noble
0380877910 $TBA
When author Jennie Gunn wondered why Bett-Bett "shutim eye quickfella" in the presence of her
uncle Goggle-eye, Bett-Bett explained, "Him little bit father belong me." In the 1920s that was as
close as Gunn dared come in print to acknowledging that, among the Aboriginal tribe on her
husband's acreage, a wife was automatically sexually available to all of her husband's male
relatives. By Gunn's time, the fact that a child had only a single father was known. The "little bit
father" status of all of her mother's intimates was a holdover from a much earlier time when it was
still believed that children were jointly fathered by every man who had deposited his sperm into
the child's mother.
The social conditions described in We of the Never Never no longer exist. The book is as useful a
source for a period of Australian history as is The Grapes of Wrath for American history, even if
Gunn is no John Steinbeck.
Stranger in a Strange Land
Robert Heinlein
available new or used from Barnes and Noble
0441790348 $7.99
Michael Smith was born on Mars to human parents, and after all of the other humans died he was
raised by Martians for twenty years before being returned to his home planet. And because Mike
was able to recognize what he found here as less than ideal, the reader is enabled to see it as
perhaps he has never seen it before.
There is no more effective way to view the insanity of this planet's anti-sexual culture than by
looking at it through the eyes of a Martian. And when that perspective is spelled out by one of
science fiction's Big Three giants, it becomes so impossible to continue believing that victimless
recreation can be immoral, that only the incurable brainwashed can retain such a mindset.
For sixty years science fiction was the only genre through which ant rational moral philosophy
could be sneaked past the theocratic censors. Clarke and Asimov did it effectively. But no one
matched the unassailable logic of Robert Heinlein. Anyone who still believes that sexual recreation
involves moral questions not applicable to tennis or golf either has not read this book, or is
incurable.
Living History
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Simon & Schuster
Rockefeller Center, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, NY 10020
ISBN 0743222245 $28.00
The bad news is that Hillary Clinton is a godworshipper, and therefore a scientifically illiterate
ignoramus by definition. The good news is that she belongs to the only major political party
dedicated to preserving and protecting the basic human rights that the feebleminded, theofascist
serial killer in the White House is hell-bent on exterminating in the name of the imaginary
playmate he shares with Osama bin Laden.
Ms. Clinton must have been keeping a diary since her childhood. It seems unlikely that she could
have written 562 pages of such detailed autobiography otherwise. Since she is a public figure, no
doubt that is what a lot of people wanted and expected to get. Bestseller status surely could not
have been attained if a majority of readers had found the book disappointing. Personally I do not
give a flying fig whom she had lunch with on the 93rd of May, 1981-and-a-bit. While I looked at
every page, I skimmed without really reading as far as page 524. On that page she wrote:
"In the end, Al Gore won the popular vote by over 500,000 ballots but lost the presidency in the
Electoral College. The Supreme Court voted 5-4 on December 12 to stop a recount of votes in
Florida, effectively sealing victory for Bush. Seldom if ever in our history has the people's right to
choose their elected officials been thwarted by such a blatant abuse of judicial power."
Clinton also spells out her views on the political atrocities of which she was an inside observer,
including the desperate efforts of morally retarded Republicans (tautology) to show that a
Republican president's attempt to overthrow the Constitution differed in no significant way from a
Democratic president's lying about an issue that should have been none of the law's business. That
was what I wanted to read, not simply because I agree with her, but because that is the kind of
writing that interests present and future historians. Unfortunately, such material comprises only a
small proportion of Clinton's book.
I recommend books that make significant points concerning contrary-to-fact belief systems, and
the attempts by incurable dogmatists to impose their myths and delusions on whole populations
that disagree with them. On that basis, Living History does not qualify. But I do not dispute that
the book achieves what its author set out to do, and anyone who wants to know about the
personal life of a prominent politician will find it here. While this book will not hurt Clinton's
political career, it is unlikely to win her the support of persons who are not already her
admirers.
Can Hillary Clinton become America's first woman President? She does not mention such a
possibility, but presumably does not rule it out. While she is unlikely to be influenced by the
opinion of someone who is not even an American, I nonetheless urge her: Go for it.
The Battle for God
Karen Armstrong
Knopf
NY
ISBN 0679435972 $27.50
Karen Armstrong states in her introduction, "Because of the dearth of myth in our modern
society, we have had to evolve the science of psychoanalysis to help us deal with our inner
world." (p. xiv) That was an early warning that the author of The Battle for God was not overly
endowed with the ability to distinguish between sense and nonsense. If the separation of fools and
their money by the glorified cold reading of psychoanalysis is a science, then so are tealeaf
reading, facilitated communication, and pyramidology. And further to demonstrate her inability to
question her cultural conditioning, she described Christianity as a monotheism. A religion with
three paramount gods, hundreds of second-ranking gods called angels and devils, and thousands
of third ranking gods, called saints, is a monotheism? Oh come now. After that, her
pseudo-learned use of the article "an" before "historical," as if the initial letter were silent as in
"honest," was a minor irritant. One would expect such inadequacy from a former nun, but from an
Oxford graduate it is, to put it mildly, puzzling.
Fortunately, those imperfections turned out to be atypical in an otherwise excellent book.
Armstrong is far from incompetent in the field of history. Her chapters on the rise of the kind of
thinking we today label fundamentalism are detailed, accurate, and enlightening. And while I do
not share her view that the various fundamentalisms she describes are not throwbacks to a more
primitive stage of human evolution, she makes a good case that they in fact began as a reform of
the secularized religions that the founders of the new hate cults found unsatisfactory. Armstrong
traces the development of fundamentalism in American Protestantism, Egyptian Sunni Islam,
Iranian Shi'ite Islam, and Israeli Judaism, and does so with consummate skill.
"Fundamentalists have gunned down worshippers in a mosque, have killed doctors and nurses
who work in abortion clinics, have shot their presidents, and have even toppled a powerful
government . Fundamentalists have no time for democracy, pluralism, religious toleration,
peacekeeping, free speech, or the separation of church and state. Christian fundamentalists reject
the discoveries of biology and physics about the origins of life and insist that the Book of Genesis
is scientifically sound in every detail." (p. ix) She certainly got that right. But I get the impression
that she comes within an inch of apologizing for belief systems responsible for unspeakable evil,
by showing that their practitioners are products of their environment. If she is right, then Osama
bin Laden is not evil, merely culturally brainwashed, and George W. Bush is not evil, merely
zealous.
Armstrong writes, "There is an assumption that 'Islam' and the West are quite incompatible, their
ideals utterly opposed, and that 'Islam' is at odds with everything that the West stands for. It is,
therefore, important to realize that this is not the case." (p. 151) But it is the case. All Muslims,
not merely terrorists, adhere to the Koran as they understand it. And the Koran states
unambiguously that non-Muslims are infidels predestined to a Hell no less sadistic than that of the
Christians, and killing them is a godly act. That the Tanakh similarly promotes the hatred of
non-Jews, and the Gospels promote the hatred of non-Christians, does not make Islam any less
evil. The only morally evolved Muslims, Christians or Jews are those who do not follow the
teachings of their sacred writings.
Since it is fundamentalists who accept scriptural inerrancy, it is the fundamentalists who represent
the true spirit of religion. Armstrong is very much an apologist for compromise with fanatics who
are determined that, if they are not exterminated first, those who disagree with them are to be
exterminated. Their extermination is therefore necessary for our own survival. But
"extermination" does not have to mean homicide. That is fundamentalist thinking. Education can
also work. It has simply never been tried. If, instead of trying to suppress religion, the Soviet
Union had required all children to study the Judaeo-Christian Bible as critically as they would
study a will signed by "Howard Hughes," and to compare the Bible's talking snake and talking
donkey with the talking horses of Gulliver's Travels, religion would now be as dead in Russia as it
is among natural scientists in every country in the world. And with religion dead, the Frankenstein
monster of fundamentalism would likewise be dead.
Armstrong observably agrees that education can cure the societal cancer that is fundamentalist
religion or why did she bother writing? The one theory she does not consider is that
fundamentalists are moral cowards, so terrified of the inevitable finality of death that, without the
mind-deadening opiate of an afterlife belief, they would lose control of their bodily functions. So
they invented a form of religion in which the Bible's fourteen endorsements of a flat earth could
not be compared with scientific reality, because where science disagreed with religion, science
was wrong. By rejecting scientists' evidence that an increasing percentage of the Bible is fiction,
they never have to face the reality that its promise of pie in the sky when they die is also fiction.
Fundamentalists live in a world in which the universe is less than ten thousand years old and
evolution is heresy, because the alternative would be to live in a world in which they had to be
institutionalized and diapered.
Moderate adherents of all of the religions Armstrong analyses have praised her book. Their ability
to recognize that she is right is, after all, what makes them moderates. For while she has ceased to
be a nun, she apparently has not ceased to be a godworshipper. She imagines that fundamentalism
can be, and should be, educated away without educating away religion. My advice is: Don't hold
your breath.
But Armstrong's refusal to see religion per se as the cause of ninety percent of all man-made evil
for at least 3,000 years, and a threat to the very survival of the human species, does not diminish
the value of a book that is as useful to humanists as to religionists. Her analysis of the rise of
Zionism, Ayatollah Khomeini and the Moral Majority is definitive. This is valid history, perhaps
influenced but certainly not tainted by the author's basically pro-religion mindset. Definitely
recommended.
In Search of Our Humanity: Neither Paradise Nor Hell
Valerii A. Kuvakin
Prometheus
ISBN 1573928852 $36.00
"When I am seriously talking to myself about my self (i.e., about myself), then any object or ideal
content remains on the surface, evaporates, or must be evaporated, because I should distinguish
myself as my self, "insoluble" and "nonvaporized" one. "Yes," the inner voice says. "Certainly," it
says that on the occasion of a concrete decision in a concrete situation. But what is important is to
whom it speaks. Where is this instance, to which the inner voice appeals any time? This instance is
a personality." (p. 72)
Does the term "glossalalia" come to mind?
There was a time when I spent hours pondering the question of whether the world I perceived
actually existed, or was an illusion projected for my benefit by a celestial puppetmaster simply to
test my reaction. Was I the only reality, with everyone and everything else ceasing to exist the
instant they departed from my field of vision? I must have devoted hours a day, day after day, to
pondering those questions. Then I had my tenth birthday, and found that I had outgrown such
childish fantasies.
As an education student, I learned that other people had had similar thought patterns. Most
outgrew it, but at least one who never did was one of my professors of educational psychobabble.
As the price of obtaining a teaching certificate, I was compelled to sit through the same
meaningless mind-wasting nothingness I had outgrown years earlier. If Valerii Kuvakin is typical
of the species, then professors of philosophy can be equally devoted to non-issues they do not
recognize as the adult equivalent of imaginary playmates.
This book is incomprehensible gibberish, contentless doubletalk, and a waste of a perfectly good
tree.
William Harwood
Reviewer
Hodgins' Bookshelf
A Wolf to Remember
Kali Brazier-Tompkins
Dreamcatcher Publishing Inc.
Suite 306, Dockside, 1 Market Square, Saint John, NB, Canada, E2L 4Z6
ISBN 1894372158 Can.$18.95, U.S.$14.00
This reviewer's first duty toward this book is to note its beautiful cover, with wolves in profile
howling at the night sky. Their voices can be heard after even half a century after the fact, I
find.
I thank Gardie, my wife, for identifying the key word, "fable", needed to formulate this work's
genre. I'd thought of "fantasy", but fables are more associated with talking animals, such as we
have here.
There's an Author's Note beginning, "This novel is set in the future. The events ... are entirely
fictitious". The latter statement is far truer than the former, for if you can accept the work's
fictions at all, I think you will find them not at all futuristic.
Ms. Brazier-Tompkins's works may someday win praise as capital-L Literature for such
sometimes inscrutable passages as Chapter Five's first few pages, printed in italics. Having written
"A Wolf to Remember" at age 12 - according to information I've been given - she has some
maturing still to do. For the present, then, let me paraphrase someone's remark: "The wonder is
not that she's a good novelist, but that she writes novels at all."
"Disneyesque" and "anthropolingual" I'd already coined, sort of, to help describe this tale. It's
about a set of wild animals, in reality having mouthparts entirely unworkable for speech as we
know it, but to which are nonetheless attributed just such speech powers, specifically in
English.
These highly imaginary wolves also have the power to "time-bind" in S.I. Hayakawa's parlance,
whilst retaining most other lupine characteristics. By my understanding, "time-binding" is what we
do in bundling and passing to new generations the wisdom and experience of bygone times.
Actually, a real wolf time-binds to a degree when, say, it nips the hindquarters of an erring cub in
place of our admonitory "No!" Educating the young on the scale of human child-rearing and
schooling is, however, unknown among non-human species.
If your kids are young enough to believe in Harry Potter, they're probably young enough to
believe in talking, time-binding wolves. I, however, being nearer the far end of the age scale, have
felt hard pressed to continue reading after discovering this book's character.
In fact I soon wished I'd been more discreet in proposing to review what I'd naively expected to
be something of a biological study a la Farley Mowat, or a realistic drama like "Dances with
Wolves".
One must apply particularly heavily Samuel Taylor Coleridge's observation on "that willing
suspension of disbelief", although what he says is true, in varying degrees, of all works ascribing
anthropomorphic abilities and characteristics to non-human species.
The ancient Latin saying, "De gustibus non est disputandum" (unless I've erred) means "There is
no disputing/accounting for tastes." "A Wolf to Remember", which may well be good in its genre
- for as a realist, I'm a poor judge of that question - will certainly appeal to some tastes, whether
or not yours and mine are included. Conceivably, teens may LOVE this work.
Actually, the book may grow on even an adult reader. Upon first encountering "talking wolves"
one may groan, but perseverence can pay off. Eventually I found myself really enjoying the work
as my acceptance grew ... until ...
Author Kali Brazier-Tompkins must be warmly congratulated as a child, now a teenager, who
glories in a phenomenally early first publication. What a felicitous entry into the writing life! Now,
if she can just keep those creative juices flowing ... No problem there, though, if we may credit
"About the Author" notes on page 213. I quote in part: "She is currently at work on her 6th and
7th novels in the series." Wow! - but in that case talking wolves may be with us for many years
yet.
- To all of which, however, success in the marketplace with this first offering must surely be vital.
I'd like to encourage her, but yet I must be true to my readers' interests, for which a reviewer
ultimately labours.
In novel building, solid months of hard work at writing and self-editing are needed. A full year
seems about par for the course, even for adult authors, while some may take several years for the
task. Thus a well written, full length novel's demands must create an unimaginable burden for a
young person who, simultaneously, is also loaded with schoolwork. Either the book or the
schoolwork, if not both, must almost certainly suffer.
Some of the editorial workload can and should be borne by a really attentive, active line or copy
editor, but a reviewer sees all too many failings of that breed, whose chief purpose supposedly is,
after all, to prevent the publication of errors, lies, misinformation, slanders, etc.
"Pobody's nerfect", then. Putting a book together at all during one's school years must take a
small miracle; making it perfect would require a great one.
Despite some glitches, Dreamcatcher Publishing also deserves kudos for placing its faith in a
young, unheard of author in this way. Extreme youth may prove a great marketing asset, though,
if it's well promoted while it's still a fact. Consider the instant renown of the Dionne Quintuplets,
who were already famed at birth, merely for staying alive!
The manufacture of author celebrity such as almost all publishers nowadays crave is possible
through the act of energetic publication itself, although few publishers beyond Dreamcatcher seem
to recognize the fact. For too many, an acceptable new author must have a lurid past in high
political office, in movies/TV, in major crime, or in bigtime pro sports. Good writing? Those other
publishers seem to say, "Who cares?"
Also to this book's credit, its wolves walk on all four legs and are far more like real animals than
is, say, Wile E. Coyote in the Roadrunner series of animated cartoons. Nor do these wolves have
opposable thumbs like Wile E.'s. On the other hand, they can count up into the thousands, on
page 9 saying, "I mean, that was last year, right? Year three thousand...thirty?"
Regarding their system of dates, note that wolf years also are sometimes called "springs".
Many wolves figure in this complex tale. Because multiple births are the norm, even a restrained
story about wolves may be heavily populated. In case readers require aid to keep the array of
characters sorted out, a table of animals on pages 209-210 lists 29 wolves, two cougars, and a
lynx; while pages 211-212 list 13 "Wolf Gods", however improbable it may seem that wolves
have a religion.
In fact, not all the gods are lupine; there is for instance "Felis - she is the cat god. Her bird [most,
or perhaps all gods created by Brazier-Tompkins have them] is unknown to wolfkind." I also
notice a god of dogs, one of coyotes, and one specifically for red wolves (which seems more of a
subspecies than a colour, in wolves.)
On page 1 the Prologue begins, "He was Athwart the Seer." That statement may plunge some
readers into immediate confusion. To a sailor it may say something like, "He was straddling the
Seer." Here, though, "Athwart" is simply a lupine name - not the sailor's word meaning on a
horizontal line transverse to a vessel's length; a configuration such as a canoe's or boat's thwart
may take.
This sailorly/wolfish name problem could have been rectified easily, had it been caught in the
editing process. Using just a few keystrokes, a word-processing "find & replace" command could
have changed "Athwart" to (say) "Ashbert", a name of the same length.
The wolf version might be pronounced either ATHwart or athWART; we aren't told. Further, two
wolves are named Athwart, the first being not a seer but the leader of pack 3, sector 9 (see p.
209), who figures very largely in the book's first half.
At its outset the novel looks at life from the point of view of young wolves - whelps - still
dependent on their parents, much as human teens are. In Chapter One a juvenile sibling trio
ventures from the home den and blunders into the lair of a far more powerful, dangerous cougar.
When this top predator magnanimously lets them go, they slink home in awful fear of what Dad
will say, like human teens caught smoking and sent home with a teacher's note.
It slowly becomes evident that the territory where all these wolves live or have lived corresponds
to Western and eventually Central Canada, plus a sliver of Alaska where an arctic white wolf
began her life. We also read references to Ontario, Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, and
Manitoba, roughly in that order.
However, these wolves sometimes measure land in "sectors". Sector Nine seems to be in
Northwestern Ontario, while Sector Twenty represents, I think, coastal B.C.
The Seer is grandson to the pack leader of the same name, connected through Chihuahuan -
apparently the three-year old wolf in the table on page 209. On page 1 she is "Chihuahuan the
Knowledgeable". It is she who turns out the be the "Wolf to Remember".
The wolves' names - obviously chosen by the book's author, not by any wolf the world has ever
seen - are of eclectic origin. "Chihuahuan", for instance, could signify an animal from a state or
city of northwestern Mexico, although the story's character has evidently never been that far
south. "Athwart" may or may not be from sailors' jargon. "Fohen", "Tonth", and others might
have been created by the wolves themselves, while "Garth" is in use as a human forename.
Here's another fault needing editorial regulation. Three-year old (in the table on page 209)
Chihuahuan is described on page 3 as "just over two years old." Is it really necessary to specify
numbers of years, though? "An adolescent wolf" would furnish the flexibility to allow aging as the
story progresses. Anyhow, allowing the clash doesn't seem the best choice.
A further flaw concerns the place occupied by mankind in this tale. The Author's Note warns us,
"You are about to enter a land with earth that has not yet felt the tread of human feet, or the
touch of human hands." However, well established humans with guns appear on page 15 and
bedevil much of the rest of the book, so that the most practical rectification would be to alter or
remove the Author's Note.
Occasional beautiful phrases are not enough, by themselves, in a novel; consistency and meaning
are essential. Phrases, statements, and descriptions must not trip each other up - unless, perhaps,
the author is attempting special effects, e.g., attributable to substance abuse.
Although they're difficult to overlook, I prefer to forgive for as long as possible such peculiarities
as have been mentioned above. Let us, then, get on with examining more of the story line.
The human factor is here to stay, all right. Two men shoot and kill two wolves, then skin and
behead them for trophies. That episode leads to Chapter Five's two-page mystical passage,
already mentioned.
The passage seems a paradigm or exemplar of "belles-lettres", although I find its meaning
confusing. Can these be thoughts of a wolf telling its thoughts from a spider's perspective? In any
event, both the first and last paragraphs read as follows: "This is the Land of Mists, the Second
World, a web of creation and destruction, and the place beyond where Death's albino shadow
holds sway." (Mmm - wish I'd written that, understand it or not!)
Of course many other paragraphs also appear between the first and second uses of this one.
Capital-D Death is wolves' albino god of death, to help explain that quotation to some
extent.
(The same words will also both begin and end further italicized passages in Chapters Ten and
Fifteen - but, noting the Chapters 5, 10, 15 pattern, I checked but there IS no Chapter
Twenty.)
The spider's/wolf's "Second World" appears to hover, perhaps like Limbo (not the dance, but the
Roman Catholic conception), between First and Third Worlds, where one is at first definitely
living, and at last definitely dead. Anyhow, "mystical" describes it.
Humans intervene further. Although they again shoot wolves, they now do it with tranquilizer
darts, and take the drugged animals into captivity.
It's here that the surviving southern wolf pack meets an Arctic cousin named Aurora Borealis,
almost totally the colour of snow. She won't last, though, and may be virtually irrelevant.
The hunters have in this case been hired by a comparatively humane "wolf expert", possibly a
research scientist, a park official, or a zookeeper; unsurprisingly, the wolves, held at first in small
cages, haven't a clue what his game may be and we're not much the wiser, either.
The wolves are however fascinated by their keeper's innocently blue eyes. Did someone say
wolves are colourblind?
It appears that the wolves' "prison" could be a zoo (a zoological park), for throngs of humans
stand outside the fence, idly gaping - or so, anyway, the wolves interpret that human
inactivity.
On the other hand, pens holding other animal species aren't mentioned. What sort of zoo has only
one exhibit? No explanation is provided, though.
One day, a frustrated Chihuahuan throws herself at the fence where humans gather - and by
chance she cracks a dry wooden post. The others having been informed of the opportunity so
presented, the wolves conspire to break out.
They do it pretty well too, but their leader, Athwart the alpha male and Chihuahuan's father, is
shot. This is still Canada, though, where pistols are closely regulated and people very seldom
carry rifles or shotguns except during hunting season. How could Athwart's shooting happen, and
even before the wolf's escape? Who had a gun at the ready?
The surviving wolves split up to flee in all directions, Aurora heading northwest and seemingly
out of the tale after only a brief acquaintance, while the others run generally southeasterly.
A wolf-hunt is fantastically, even impossibly quickly put into full cry, with all the trappings of
hounds arrived from noplace, men (who in real life would have to be assembled by a series of
phonecalls), horses (which must have been fetched from more or less distant paddocks, saddled,
and ridden to the zoo's gates), and more guns.
Would the zookeeper really have turned bloodthirstily against his own livestock? So we may have
to assume, but the point isn't clarified of his part in the hunt; he simply fades from our view.
During her solo flight Chihuahuan kills the lead hound sent after her, then eludes the others.
Forget any hints of futurism, anyhow; the guns mentioned seem quite ordinary 20th century
"thundersticks".
With his dying breaths (page 64) Athwart, a particularly active time-binder in Hayakawa's term,
has instructed his survivors, calling both Tapheen "leader now" and Chihuahuan "leadern [female
leader] now". Perhaps this is the origin of the discord that develops later between those two
nominees, although it's touchy, domineering Chihuahuan who will make it a festering
problem.
Thereafter, Athwart reappears several times in Chihuahuan's dreams to encourage and counsel her
further, steering her toward (probably Central) Ontario for a better life.
At last a sort of peace returns to the remainders of the pack as the human threat recedes and a
pitiful few wolves reassemble. Yet a new sort of struggle develops.
Chihuahuan - she is now the alpha female for lack of any competition, and is sometimes called
"leadren" (female pack leader) in accordance with the dictates of her father, Athwart - begins
playing what amount to bitter mind games against Tapheen, an older and seemingly beaten-down
male who had been beta (second) to Athwart's alpha, and who had been a drifter of mysterious
origins before joining Athwart's pack.
Thus Chihuahuan asserts herself by needling and nagging, chipping away at Tapheen's self-esteem.
She grows all the nastier when he declines to fight back, and snarls more disagreeably than ever
when the hapless Tapheen mildly asks where she's going. (What a wretch Chihuahuan turns out to
be! Having had enough of that stuff to last a lifetime, this part of the book I could very well do
without ... but again, it may perhaps be to someone else's taste.)
Chapter Eleven begins, "Chihuahuan had made her transfer [might `transition' not have been
better?] from mischief-making cub to the dominant wolf in record time." She accepts her elevation
grudgingly and as a martyrdom, though, not as an honour to gladden her heart, or as a kindly
bequest from her father.
Tapheen she simply dismisses. "Not a month had passed and Chihuahuan was every inch the
leadren." Why? "Her father had decreed it, and so it must be." This, then, is your "Wolf to
Remember", and don't you forget it!
Another apparent mixup that careful editing might have cured occurs on page 89. In a nocturnal
seance, Chihuahuan's dead father poetically instructs her to await sunrise on the morrow, and then
"Follow the sun east." Yet a few lines later she tells her only two followers, "We are to go east
tonight, while the sun sleeps."
Moreover, she overstates Athwart's "Your brothers need you" as "My brothers have run into
trouble again." (Actually, don't social animals need EACH OTHER?) By page 91 the same
message will become, "Her brothers were in danger."
Anyway, away they go at night on her say-so, with no mention of moonlight to guide their feet.
They're off to Ontario and Sector Nine, which Athwart has revealed as Chihuahuan's
birthplace.
Chihuahuan and Tapheen squabble when they need food. She wants to fish in a nearby lake,
whereas Tapheen says it will be too cold; that he wants to hunt on land. In an all too human,
certainly unlupine fashion, they use all the verbal arguments they can think of. When Tapheen hits
upon a most practical point, though, he doesn't know how to defend it. He says the fish will be in
deep water, whereat Chihuahuan says he can't possibly know that (true only if he's never studied a
fish.)
In fact fish are slippery, highly mobile, and very timid. They head for safety in a flash, if attacked.
It might be very different in a linear, shallow stream, where one wolf could stand upstream and a
partner downstream, trapping fish between them. An open lake, though, is a very tough
environment for mammalian fishing, other than by otters or seals born to the challenge, or by
humans using baited hooks and/or nets.
Neither wolf seems to consider catching frogs, turtles, or non-venemous garter snakes. Often
resting along the shore or nearby on land, these would have made much more feasible prey.
Near the halfway point of this tale, I come at last to our parting of the ways. The divisive issue is
once again, but now in final fashion, the old one of lupine speech.
I've gone along thus far with the notion of talking wolves because I realize they do have a set of
stances/movements/gestures and sounds, probably even smells, with which they communicate
certain pretty basic ideas. For instance, they can convey hatred and threats by raising the hackles
of their necks, lowering their heads, growling, and snapping in the air; they can convey fear by
cowering, and submission by lying down and lowering the head; they can convey love by licking
and nuzzling, haapiness by wagging their tails and (I swear!) grinning, and so forth.
Now, to this point I have succeeded in telling myself that the book has its wolves converse in
English only metaphorically, as an aid to both the writer and the reader, while actually
communicating in real wolftalk.
However, on page 98 Chihuahuan, who probably has never followed even rudimentary ESL
(English as a Second Language) training, begins eavesdropping upon a couple of
English-speaking deer hunters - AND SHE UNDERSTANDS THEIR EVERY WORD!
I thus learn that the metaphorical speech idea is no longer tenable. In this tale, wolves iterally both
speak and understand English - astounding though it is! (We have an intelligent, wolflike dog who
sometimes tries hard to talk, but who manages only to says "ooo-owoo".)
Worse still, logic says that if both wolves and men are fluent in English, the obvious thing for
them to do is sit down and talk together, resolving all the differences that at present make them
deadly enemies!
That's an inevitable absurdity beyond which I am unprepared to go, but it's exactly where the
book's logic leads.
For a last time, though, I repeat that other readers may react quite differently to "A Wolf to
Remember", possibly enjoying every word and nuance. As examples, it's evident that folk at
Dreamcatcher felt that sort of response strongly enough to invest in it. Good - I hope it
works!
Pete Hodgins Sr.
Reviewer
Lori's Bookshelf
Heart's Passage
Cate Swannell
Regal Crest Enterprises
PMB 210, 8691 9th Avenue, Port Arthur, TX 77642-8025
ISBN: 1932300090 $17.95
Jo Madison, skipper of a pleasure cruiser in the Whitsunday Islands of Australia, is a woman
hiding in plain sight. She has a shady and violent past, but for several years she has put it behind
her and settled into a peaceful life. When she is assigned to captain a cruise for a lesbian U.S.
senator and her entourage, she meets Cadie Jones, the mercurial senator's girlfriend. Jo and Cadie
feel an immediate connection and become fast friends, but all isn't well for long. The senator is not
who she presents herself to be, but then again, neither is Jo. When Jo's former associates come
after her, everyone is in danger, and whom can Jo trust?
This romantic triangle, the political intrigue, and the Great Barrier Reef setting add up to a
rollicking fun read. Debut novelist Swannell manages to make Cadie's voice sound American,
while somehow, Jo's has the Aussie inflection. There are some twists and turns to the plot, not all
of which can be predicted, and the villains are appropriately villainous while the heroines are
winsome and plucky. A satisfying read which I heartily recommend.
Maybe Next Time
Karin Kallmaker
Bella Books
P.O. Box 10543, Tallahassee, FL. 32302
ISBN: 1931513260 $12.95
As a child prodigy, musical genius, and later, world-class concert violinist, Bree Starling seems to
lead a charmed life. She has it all: fame, fortune, women falling at her feet, but she doesn't know
who she is or where she belongs except when she's playing music. "She was a musician, she was
haole, she was Hawaiian, a mainlander, an islander the list was long and it swirled like an
arpeggio, different notes for different pieces of herself. The arpeggio became a chord and for a
shining moment she understood all mysteries and magic, all wonder and music" (p. 37).
Through music she has managed to live a life that is, if not fulfilling, at the least busy and
remarkable. But her world crashes in dissonance when a wrist injury keeps her from playing her
beloved violin. When one of the most important people in her family dies, she is left to deal with
the brokenness of her career, her life, and her past.
A story of intense grief, MAYBE NEXT TIME doesn't pull any punches. Kallmaker has taken on
not only a tough subject, but she's chosen a difficult structure in which to tell the tale. The story of
the journey Bree takes to her childhood island home in Hawaii is punctuated by glimpses
backwards of her early years, the deaths of her parents, her first love, her many losses, and the
singular joy she felt when she lost herself in playing violin. The reader can experience that
movement, back and forth from past to present, like the shift in an orchestral piece or as
something jarring and irritating. Bree is, however, a fascinating character, so full of sadness and
pain that one can't help but hope she is not as self-destructive as she appears. Even when she does
something despicable or destructive, she is still a sympathetic character, and we hope for her
healing and redemption.
The story unfolds, solving the puzzles of Bree's life in a satisfying way, but first, we're put through
the wringer of angst and grief, finally emerging, relieved, but not unscathed. MAYBE NEXT
TIME is a memorable and intense tale a little different from what Kallmaker has done in the past,
and I applaud her for stretching her narrative powers.
Lori L. Lake, Reviewer
www.lorillake.com
Magdalena's Bookshelf
That Old Ace in the Hole
Annie Proulx
Fourth Estate
ISBN 0007151519 $45.00
Bob Dollar is a young, innocent man of twenty five who accepts his first job as a scout for Global
Pork Rind, a hog farm developer looking to put more hog farms into the Texas and Oklahoma
Panhandle region, a depressed area full of quirky individuals with strong character "some
flat-assed place." . The reader discovers the panhandle along with Bob slowly, through the
memories and recollections of its inhabitants and Bob's observations. This is not a fast paced read.
Proulx's prose is, as always, thoroughly researched and very detailed. If you are used to focusing
solely on character and plot, it can take some getting used to. Proulx turns the Panhandle into a
major character in this novel, and the backstory of this landscape is as fully developed, if not
more, than Dollar's. Right from the start the novel plunges into deep description one imagines
Proulx driving along herself past "the skyscrapers, mosques and spires metamorphosed into grain
elevators, water towers and storage bins." We follow along with Bob past the towns each with its
own motto, "nodding pump jacks and pivot irrigation rigs (one still decked out in Christmas
lights) to the left and right, condensation tanks and complex assemblies of pipes and guages "
(2).
As for Bob, his naivety remains charming and avoids appearing strained or artificial, despite the
continual knocks he takes in his new role. This is partly due to the kitschy nature of the story.
Bob's parents abandon him on his uncle Tam's doorstep, and he spends his childhood amidst his
uncle's Americana junk resin and polymer objects, parasol handles, bakelite jewellery, dolls and
old clothing. There are rituals around the nightly viewing of Antiques Roadshow, and Tam's
partner and live in friend Bromo have an odd relationship like two cherries on a stem. There is
also Bob's friend, the outlaw Orlando, who gains muscles in prison and produces a high selling
CD called "Live Fart Rock Hits from Prison." The locals are almost all colourful and it might be
too much if we weren't experiencing it through Bob's own very open mind enjoying the strange
kitsch with the same kind of relish that Uncle Tam gets from a resin brooch.
Although perhaps slightly less important than the Panhandle as a character, Bob is compelling
enough. Like Proulx herself, Bob is a man in love with the detail of life. From the words of the
cross word puzzles he does as a child "ocelot, strabismus" to the dogmatic pursuit of
steadfastness in the face of his own parents' abandonment, Bob is best at observing. He observes
the Panhandle both as an outsider, and then as he begins to participate in the discussions of the
people who live there, opening his ears, his mind, and his heart, he begins to make the
observations of an insider.
Arriving at the home of garrulous LaVon Fronk, "her voice grainy and oleaginous at the same
time, like course-ground peanut butter." (65) Bob rents a cheap outhouse without electricity and
running water and finds a kind of peace as he observes the landscape, the people and their habits.
LaVon is a kind of local historian who knows everyone and everything, and in her own unique
dialect, she delivers up an image of the Panhandle which Bob adds to the one he is getting from
his visits to local cafes. Between LaVon's family history, the story of windmill maintenance men
Habakuk van Melkebeek and Ace Crouch, and the book Bob reads about Lieutenant Albert's
Expedition into the Panhandle, Bob begins to love the place in his own way. Bob also creates his
own fiction of being involved in luxury property development at the suggestion of his Pork Rind
boss, the slimy Ribeye Cluke. Cluke is more of a charicature than a realistic character as he
rebukes Bob's detailed letters with sarcastic and nasty responses:
Dear Bob Dollar. Don't try to line up any properties. Just put in your time letting people see what
a swell guy you are. You never can tell they might just decide to sell all on their own. ..Be sure
to tell the office if a miracle happens and one of these people decides to sell Comment on
everything you can think of, and tell us what you intend to do next week. Hot dog, you'll really
give us fits of joy then!" (238)
It seems almost impossible that Bob could continue to want to work for this company, giving it
his best effort. The locals can't quite believe it either when Bob confesses his true profession,
although many had pegged him for the bad liar but good person that he is. Some of the locals
become particularly angry about the existing pork farms horrific smelling places which cause
equally horrific health problems, and this provides a bit of suspense and helps the second half of
the novel move along more quickly. While the overall thrust of this novel is an environmental one
complete with good guys who care about nature and the land they live on, and bad guys who
want to exploit and destroy it, the "message" is almost besides the point. The land matters, but
what matters more is the unique, the sincere, and above all, and here is that word again the
quirky. Bob is, above all, a man who cares enough to go out of his way to get a stranger a lost
Indian hitchhiker home to his daughter. He cares enough to think about spending his life looking
after Evelyn Chine the woman scout for Global Pork Rinds who uses some very nasty tricks to
make her sales. He cares enough to hang on for the final story about LaVon's grandfather. Bob's
observations are close enough to make the Panhandle come alive to the reader:
Bob saw again what beautiful country it was when he looked past the clutter of tanks and pumps,
colored by yellow light so thin and clear it slipped off the sky in huge slabs and in narrow
straw-colored pipes glancing off flying birds, windshields and plat glass, throwing winks from cars
and trucks. And it was crazy country too, some of the flattest terrain on earth, tractor-chewed and
rectangled, rugged breaks and plunging canyons, sinister clouds too big to see in one look, rusty
rivers, bone white roads and red grass the oddly named bluestem.
The combination of Austin Powers style comedy with a very serious main character and intense
scenery descriptions makes for an enjoyable and even languorous read. One feels with all of
Proux's books that there is so much research behind them that they stand as much as a kind of
snapshot history as a novel. This has been part of the problem with seriously overwritten books
like Accordian Crimes one feels that perhaps she just can't leave out any of the interesting detail
she has come across, even if it doesn't quite work. In That Old Ace in the Hole however, the
research, plot and characterisation work well together. Bob is a detailed observer, and the
character supports the research. The kitsch fits the fun and sadness work well together.
The Wolves in the Walls
Neil Gaiman
Bloomsbury
ISBN 0747569533 A$29.95
Neil Gaiman has an uncanny sense of what scares us. All of his books those written primarily for
adults and those written primarily for children, tap deep into the nightmare place something very
familiar and yet distinct from our normal day to day operations. Things are close, but not the same
the laws of physics have broken down people are not who they seem, and walls house other
creatures. His latest book, The Wolves in the Walls, is simultaneously funny, frivolous, and deeply
frightening and readers remain divided. We laugh at the humour, and there is really nothing
overtly scary in the story, which is free of nastiness the wolves who live in the walls are pretty
benign and do no more damage than the cat in the hat does when he pays a visit (though they
don't clean up after themselves). And yet, there is something about this book which is frightening
at the deepest level. Perhaps this is a scariness which will affect adults more than children, who
are probably used to the seriously unpleasant cartoons you get on television and may miss the
familiarity. Adults however will recognise their own nightmares (dreams/myths) in this work, as in
Coraline, American Gods, and The Sandman series this is, at base, what makes Gaiman's work
so original and powerful.
The Wolves in the Walls follows young Lucy, who hears some strange noises at night coming
from the walls of her old house. She tells her family, and her mom dismisses it as mice, her dad as
rats, and her irreverent brother, as bats. But Lucy knows that the "clawing, gnawing, nibbling, and
squealing" are wolves, and is worried when her family keeps telling her that when the wolves
come out of the walls, it's all over. Then the wolves come out, and it is all over the family flees
the house, and the wolves take over, making a huge mess as they eat up the homemade jam, spill
popcorn all over, watch television, wreck the walls, and party hard. Meanwhile the displaced
family sit at the bottom of the garden and talk about where they will go, until Lucy bravely goes
back for her pig puppet, and realises that there are other options. The switch between the family
and the wolves is handled supremely, and the whole structure and illustrations of the book are set
up in such as way to confirm the nightmarish quality with the kind of varying font and sized text
you find in ransom notes, along with collagey images, slightly out of focus characters, and a
strong sense of the bizarre. There is humour all throughout the book, which parents can play on,
making this a very pleasurable read outloud experience. Lucy's brother in particular gets some
good lines as he threatens to sleep with his neck exposed so that the "bats" can turn him into a
coffin sleeping vampire, or move to outerspace with the foozle's and squossucks. There is also
visit at the bottom of the garden from the Queen of Melanesia, who drops by the help with the
gardening and is surprised "what?" along with the rest of the family by Lucy's suggestion to
reinhabit the house, albeit in the walls. The wolves themselves are also a hoot, literally as they ruin
the second best tuba with jam damage, and the mother and father seem very hip and fashionable,
even in abstract.
The book's ending is inspired, and if you read it properly, your children will laugh outloud, and
completely forget how similar the book's dark mirroring of "real life" is to their dreams. This is a
very different kind of children's book full of subtle textual and visual puns, from the mountain of
jam to the wisdom of the pig puppet. This is one to reread often noting the many details you
may have missed in earlier readings. The Wolves in the Walls is a children's book to treasure not
for its sweetness, its pretty pictures, or its warm message there is little of that, but purely for
power of its narrative and imagery, and for its recognition of the unconscious an important
source of all of our creative life.
Magdalena Ball
http://www.compulsivereader.com/html
Marya's Bookshelf
Grape Thief
Kristine L. Franklin
Candlewick Press
2067 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge MA 02140
0763613258 $16.99, www.candlewick.com
Slava, commonly known as Cuss because of his ability to swear in some fourteen languages, is
determined to get at least one box of grapes off the grape train this year. His best friends Perks
and Skinny are in on this with him. The train comes into the town of Rosyln just once a year,
selling grapes straight out of the box car, and all the boys in town have a go at stealing some
grapes; it is the done thing. So, Cuss, Skinny and Perks carry out their attack and besides a bump
or two they get away with a box of grapes. As he is running away from the train, Cuss sees
something in a dark alley that tears his heart out. He sees his two elder brothers beating up a man
who has been paying court to their sister. They know that the man is a crook, someone they don't
want anywhere near Mary and they want him scared off. In the scuffle the man falls, and in the fall
he breaks his neck. In just a moment of time, Cuss's brothers have become fugitives. It isn't the
law that they are afraid of as much as the mob, for the dead man was a crook with powerful and
dangerous friends who would come after Matt and Joey seeking vengeance.
Cuss is told by his brothers to "get home, little brother. Double time." This he does, and by the
morning his brothers are gone. Cuss is not told where Matt and Joey are. Their location has to be
kept a guarded secret so that the mob cannot find them. Losing Matt and Joey is hard on Cuss's
family for there are fewer people bringing in a wage and there are rumors going around about the
boy's disappearance. After the killing Cuss notices other changes taking place all around him.
There is more violence in the town of Roslyn, more bootlegging and bootleggers.
For Cuss the hardest thing to bear is knowing that his widowed mother is going to pull him out of
school sometime in the near future. He loves school and does well, delighting in the process of
learning. With difficulty Cuss's mother keeps him in seventh grade, even though she could do with
the wage that Cuss would be bringing in if he were working. She thinks that seventh grade is
more than enough not seeing that "seven years of school was not enough" for this boy who loved
to learn. Cuss is a truly living and breathing boy to anyone who reads this book, as are all the
characters; Ma with her "old country" remedies and gentle little Philip who loves animals. The
author clearly cares about them and about the people who were the inspiration for her characters.
The Croatian, Italian, Swedish, and other immigrants who people her story had a hard life and yet
they still had the ability to give loud and colorful weddings like the one Cuss's mother gave for
Mary. We can feel only pity for a pair of young men who were very much in the wrong place at
the wrong time, and who made the foolish decision to 'rough up' a dubious character who was
showing too much interest in their sister. They were trying to protect her and ended up causing a
great deal of trouble for the family.
Kristine L. Franklin has given us a book we can read again and again, one we can share with
others, and also one which, in the end, has a message of hope. Cuss did try to do the right thing
by his family, and the right thing found him.
Duel of the Ironclads: The Monitor vs. The Virginia
Patrick O'Brien
Walker and Company
435 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
0802788424 $17.95 www.walkerbooks.com
In a day and age when metal is used to build so much it is hard to imagine how revolutionary and
unique the first iron ships were. Wooden ships were all the world had known in shipbuilding for
so long. It was in fact it was the lack of resources which drove ship builders to really try the new
ideas. In the American Civil War, the South did not have the means to build as many wooden
ships as the North could. They decided to try to build something different, something that would
last, and that would be able to sink the North's wooden ships without itself being as vulnerable as
the wooden ships were. Ironically, the Southern ship builders used the hull of a Northern ship, the
Merrimack, on which to build their very first ironclad. They renamed her the Virginia. Northern
spies alerted the generals in Washington about this new threat and the alarmed Northerners got to
work building their own ironclad. This extraordinary vessel, the Monitor, had a revolving turret,
something that had never before been seen on a ship. The Virginia had a brief time when it was
able to attack some Union ships. Then the Monitor arrived on the scene.
What followed was an epic battle between these two remarkable vessels. Patrick O'Brien is an
exceptional storyteller, showing us through his narrative both the times and these two remarkable
ships. Never again would any navy think about iron ships in the same way. The author also tells us
about the people who played an important role in this change. His exceptional watercolor and
gouache illustrations bring to life the action of the battles, they show us how the ships were built,
and reveal the significance of the famous duel between the Virginia and the Monitor. An
afterword at the end of the book describes where the remains of the Monitor can be found.
The Trouble with Jeremy Chance
George Harrar
Illustrations by Elizabeth Thayer
Milkweed Editions
1011 Washington Avenue, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55415
1571316469 $6.95 www.milkweed.org
When Jeremy does something, he never seems to do it in a half hearted way; whether it is proving
his courage, or showing that he is well and truly upset with you. It is 1919 and "The War to End
all Wars" is, at long last, over. Best of all, Jeremy's older brother Davey is on his way home from
the battlefields of France. Jeremy and his father have had a hard war too, for Jeremy's mother was
one of the many casualties of the Spanish Influenza, catching the dread disease and dying from it
so suddenly that nothing could be done to save her.
Just when things should be looking up, a terrible disagreement develops between Jeremy's father
and their next door neighbor, elderly Mr. Cutter. Because of the argument, Pa builds a "spite
fence" and Jeremy finds himself caught in the middle of these two men, both of whom he cares for
very much. Then his father goes too far. Pa accuses Jeremy of being disrespectful, whips him, and
forbids him to go and visit Mr. Cutter. Jeremy is appalled at this unfair treatment. He knows
something about Mr. Cutter and the reason for his side of the argument and yet Pa won't let him
speak. The unfairness of it is just too much.
What follows is an adventure to beat all adventures. What is truly wonderful is that the most
outrageous part of Jeremy's adventure is actually true and the author mentions this fact in the
afterword of the book. We are taken back into a time of great change and we are able to see the
huge disparity between the country life and the city.
Though Jeremy undoubtedly has a knack for getting into trouble and for making some dubious
decisions, he also has a big heart and great courage. He feels things deeply and is a sensitive boy.
The author has created a wonderful character to show us that parents can also make mistakes,
that they are not infallible. They too can be unfair, but they can also be capable of saying that they
are sorry. The author has succeed so well in getting inside the head of this bright and likeable boy,
whom we can identify with, laugh about, and remember long after we have put the book
down.
Grape Thief
Kristine L. Franklin
Candlewick Press
2067 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge MA 02140
0763613258 $16.99 www.candlewick.com
Slava, commonly known as Cuss because of his ability to swear in some fourteen languages, is
determined to get at least one box of grapes off the grape train this year. His best friends Perks
and Skinny are in on this with him. The train comes into the town of Rosyln just once a year,
selling grapes straight out of the box car, and all the boys in town have a go at stealing some
grapes; it is the done thing. So, Cuss, Skinny and Perks carry out their attack and besides a bump
or two they get away with a box of grapes. As he is running away from the train, Cuss sees
something in a dark alley that tears his heart out. He sees his two elder brothers beating up a man
who has been paying court to their sister. They know that the man is a crook, someone they don't
want anywhere near Mary and they want him scared off. In the scuffle the man falls, and in the fall
he breaks his neck. In just a moment of time, Cuss's brothers have become fugitives. It isn't the
law that they are afraid of as much as the mob, for the dead man was a crook with powerful and
dangerous friends who would come after Matt and Joey seeking vengeance.
Cuss is told by his brothers to "get home, little brother. Double time." This he does, and by the
morning his brothers are gone. Cuss is not told where Matt and Joey are. Their location has to be
kept a guarded secret so that the mob cannot find them. Losing Matt and Joey is hard on Cuss's
family for there are fewer people bringing in a wage and there are rumors going around about the
boy's disappearance. After the killing Cuss notices other changes taking place all around him.
There is more violence in the town of Roslyn, more bootlegging and bootleggers.
For Cuss the hardest thing to bear is knowing that his widowed mother is going to pull him out of
school sometime in the near future. He loves school and does well, delighting in the process of
learning. With difficulty Cuss's mother keeps him in seventh grade, even though she could do with
the wage that Cuss would be bringing in if he were working. She thinks that seventh grade is
more than enough not seeing that "seven years of school was not enough" for this boy who loved
to learn.
Cuss is a truly living and breathing boy to anyone who reads this book, as are all the characters;
Ma with her "old country" remedies and gentle little Philip who loves animals. The author clearly
cares about them and about the people who were the inspiration for her characters. The Croatian,
Italian, Swedish, and other immigrants who people her story had a hard life and yet they still had
the ability to give loud and colorful weddings like the one Cuss's mother gave for Mary. We can
feel only pity for a pair of young men who were very much in the wrong place at the wrong time,
and who made the foolish decision to 'rough up' a dubious character who was showing too much
interest in their sister. They were trying to protect her and ended up causing a great deal of
trouble for the family.
Kristine L. Franklin has given us a book we can read again and again, one we can share with
others, and also one which, in the end, has a message of hope. Cuss did try to do the right thing
by his family, and the right thing found him.
Faraway Summer
Johanna Hurwitz
Illustrated by Mary Azarian
HarperCollins Publishers
1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019
0380732564 $4.95 www.harperchildrens.com
For Hadassah, or Dossi, being sent to Vermont for two weeks in the summer is a great adventure.
At first she is very angry with her sister for arranging everything without discussing the matter
with her first. After all Dossi is not a child anymore. Still, the matter is all arranged and before she
has time to think about it too much she is off Rutland, Vermont. It would be hard to imagine a
family who are more unlike Dossi and her sister Ruthi than the Meade family. For the poor little
city girl, the bustling farming Vermonters with their large meals and easygoing ways are so far
removed from what she is used to. She imagines that they are rich because they have more food
on the table at one meal that Dossi and Ruthi see in one week. We are able to see very clearly
how the more wholesome lifestyle of the Vermont family highlights the miserable conditions that
Dossi is forced to accept in her tenement life in New York City. It is with great relief that we read
a letter from Ruthi telling Dossi that she is going to get married. The sisters will be able to have a
better quality of life and most important of all, Ruthi will no longer have to work at the Triangle
shirtwaist factory.
Through her experiences Dossi learns all sorts of new things about herself and others. She also
teaches her new family about her world and her culture and the youngest of the Meade sisters,
Emma, learns how much she can hurt others if she is not careful. It is a process of sharing, one
that everyone gains something from.
Told from Dossi's point of view, through her letters, and her diary entries, this is charming book
which gives a very clear and detailed picture of life in the tenements and in a farming community
in the early 1900's. The author has also added a bit of local Vermont color by telling the story of a
local artist and eccentric who came to be called Snowflake Bentley. In an Author's Note at the
back of the book, Johanna Hurwitz, provides some further historical information about the actual
events and people that she describes in her book.
Hero of Lesser Causes
Julie Johnston
Tundra Books
P.O. Box 1030, Plattsburgh, NY 12901
0887766498 $9.95 www.tundrabooks.com
The summer of 1946 seemed to be going in the same direction that so many summers before had
gone. Keely and her brother Patrick went swimming, lounged about, read, and dared each other
to do outrageous things. They baked in a heat-wave and Keely decided to try riding the neighbor's
horse. Then Patrick got sick and Keely's world was turned on its head. The bright, lively spark
that was her brother was barely a glimmer, robbed of its fire by the dreaded disease, polio. Keely
tried every trick in her repertoire to get Patrick interested in life again but he was paralyzed from
the neck down and he wished he was dead. There was very little that caught or held his interest
these days and much that made him angry and frustrated. Where had the Patrick she had known
all her life gone? Keely and Patrick had often talked about being heroes and now she wanted to be
a hero more than ever. She wanted to save her brother. The problem was as Keely said: "What
was the point of dreaming up a silver stallion if I couldn't even make it go?" Patrick refused to be
saved from himself. Then Keely meets boy called Alex and things start changing.
Keely is the kind of girl who sometimes tries too hard. She wants to please, wants to help, and
wants to do the right thing. Often the end result is a disaster, and often it is downright funny. With
a quirky sense of humor and a keen eye, she sees things that others might miss, but she doesn't
always see what is right under her own nose. Desperate to help Patrick she resorts to all sorts of
tricks and ploys. In the end, it is something quite out of her control that helps Patrick come out of
his shell.
Beautifully written and with a keen understanding of how hard it can be to grow up, Julie
Johnston has created a book which will stand the trial of time. We are able to both laugh and cry
with Keely as she stumbles about trying to make sense of her very puzzling and complicated
world. We love her for her efforts to help her brother and want to comfort her when she makes an
all out mess of things. As Peggy, Patrick's nurse, says to Keely one day: "when it comes to saving
the world, I'll bet my money on you every time." Keely is a true hero, throwing herself into the
fray even when she thinks she is losing the battle.
Luba: The Angel of Bergen-Belsen
As told to Michelle R. McCann by Luba Tryszynska-Frederick
Illustrations by Ann Marshall
Tricycle Press
P.O. Box 7123, Berkeley, CA 94707
1582460981 $16.95 www.tenspeed.com
"I have found that inside every human being there is a hero waiting to emerge." These are the
words of Luba, the woman who was to become known as the Angel of Bergen-Belsen. In 1944
Luba had no idea what destiny had in store for her. In fact she was wondering "Why was I
spared?" Her husband and little son had been taken from her by Nazi soldiers and their fate was
unknown. She was lying on a hard bunk in a cold shed in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp,
ill-fed, and lost in spirit and sick at heart.
Then Luba heard something. She heard a child's cry outside, somewhere in the cold night. When
she went out and looked for the source of the cry, Luba found fifty-four miserable children. They
were of all ages, including several infants. It was as if she was being given the answer to her
question; this was why she had been spared. Here was her reason for living. Luba took it upon
herself to take care of the children. Somehow she found food and clothing for them all. She
begged and bartered for whatever she could and the children survived. Most remarkable of all was
the fact that Luba managed to keep their presence a secret. If the camp authorities had found out
what was going on, the children and Luba would have been killed.
Simply written, but with the attention to detail that could only come from first hand stories,
Luba's story is incredibly powerful and moving. Bold oil paintings cleverly accented and textured
with collage give the text great warmth and humanity. In addition to the story itself there is an
author's note which explains who the children in the story were and how they came to be at
Bergen-Belsen. This is followed by a Prologue which neatly explains the basic outline of World
War II and how the concentration camps came into being. At the end of the book an Epilogue
tells us what happened once Bergen-Belsen was liberated by the allied troops and what Luba did
with her life following the end of the war. This section is followed by an excellent section entitled
"World War II and the Holocaust" and a Bibliography.
This is a book about a truly remarkable woman, whose courage and determination, not only saved
the lives of those five-four Dutch children, but also teaches us all something about the power of
loving children and caring for others.
The Jupiter Stone
Paul Owen Lewis
Tricycle Press
P.O. Box 7123, Berkeley, CA 94707
1582461074 $15.95 www.tenspeed.com
It is very easy to think only of the here and now. Have I done my homework? Did I forget to turn
off the computer? Is the plane supposed to leave at 10:10 or 10:30? In this book we begin
somewhere far away, we begin in something so big that it cannot as yet be measured. We begin in
space. We are taken away from the here and now and we forget about the laundry and the
computer. We are taken on a wonderful journey. We take a journey with the simplest of objects, a
stone. This stone has stripes on it, and it "looks like the planet Jupiter" says a boy who finds it
says.
But, before the boy finds this stone it has to travel through space, land on earth, and spend
millions of years on earth as passive visitor. If it could see it would see evolution at work; the
early fishes, the dinosaurs, early man. Instead, we the reader, get to see these things as the stone
lies there. We get to see a boy pick up the "Jupiter stone" on a beach. So excited is the boy by the
stone and its stripes that he writes a letter. We can only guess what he says in the letter. What we
know is that the "Jupiter Stone" is taken on another journey, back to space, where it came from.
It is launched into that sea of blackness and carried off to....who knows where. And then, it lands
on another planet and is found.
With just a few words Paul Owen Lewis tells the most extraordinary story. All the little details of
everyday life seem to melt away as you read this book. The stone becomes the center of a great
and infinitely more important story. The acrylic illustrations which accompany the minimal text
are truly remarkable, both subtle, and taught in their clarity. In many of the double page spreads
the stone is the focus, it is always in the same place, and we only see the rest of the world 'out of
the corner of one eye' and yet it is enough; we know what is happening around the stone. This is a
book to be pored over and discussed, timeless and ageless.
Maisy's Snowy Christmas Eve
Lucy Cousins
Candlewick
2067 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA, 02140
076362196X $12.99 www.candlewick.com
It is Christmas Eve and it is snowing. In fact, it is not just snowing but it is snowing very hard and
it is very cold as well. All of Maisy's best friends are coming over to her house for Christmas.
Cyril gets there using snowshoes and Charley and Tallulah get there on a sled. Eddie the elephant
tries to get there on foot but he gets stuck and on no time the snow starts to cover him up. Maisy
and her friends start to celebrate Christmas hanging up their stockings, cooking delicious food,
and decorating the tree, but they soon get so worried about Eddie that they decide to go out
looking for him. When they find poor Eddie he is almost completely buried in the snow and his
friends have to find a way to get him out.
Once again Lucy Cousins has created a charming Maisy book which will delight Maisy fans and
certainly hook any newcomer to the Maisy stories. Her bright and simple gouache illustrations
have a universal appeal and give children the sense that Maisy and her friends is truly one of
them.
Felix and the Worrier
Rosemary Wells
Candlewick
2067 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA, 02140
076361405X $12.99 www.candlewick.com
Snug in his bed, Felix is a very happy and comfy little boy guinea pig. He has had his warm cup of
Mitey-Vite, he has his special animals next to him, and his Mama has read him his bed-time story.
All should be well and yet...a small yellow creature called the Worrier has come to plague him.
The Worrier tells Felix that there is a black spot on his tooth and the poor little boy spends the
rest of the night worrying about the black spot. In the morning Felix's mother shows him that
there is no black spot in any of his teeth at all. All that worrying was for nothing. What is truly
awful is that the pesky Worrier keeps on coming back and making up reasons for Felix to worry
about something or other. He is so convincing that Felix does worry, he can't help worrying. Then
it is the night before Felix's birthday and the Worrier is up to his old tricks. This time though,
there is something in the house which ends up worrying the worrier!
A perfectly paced book for little people who have those everyday fears, Rosemary Wells has
brought back a character who is a real charmer. Illustrated in her multimedia style with bright and
cheerful colors and with an eye for detail, Rosemary Wells gives us the perfect outcome to an
everyday problem.
The Animal Hedge
Paul Fleischman
Bagram Ibatoulline
Candlewick
2067 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA, 02140
0763616060 $16.99 www.Candlewick.com
Once there was a farmer who lived with his sons on a thriving farm. The farmer had cows, sheep,
chickens, and other animals, and they were his great love. He loved to watch them grow and
would sing songs about them. Each of his three sons also sang songs as they worked; one sang
coachman's songs; one sang the songs of a traveling fiddler; and the third sang sea shanties.
They were all happy until a terrible drought came and dried up the land. One by the one, the
animals had to be sold off in the market. Then the farm itself had to be sold and the farmer and his
sons moved to a little cottage surrounded by a hedge. They had no land to farm any longer and
the farmer took up a trade, sharpening tools to put food on the table. In his spare time the farmer
began to trim the hedge. It seemed to him the as he trimmed, the hedge began to look a bit like a
cow. Before long he had a whole yard full of hedge farm animals. It was as if the hedge was
magical, as if it could turn itself into things.
What follows is the extraordinary tale of how an ordinary hedge becomes a messenger of dreams
and hopes. This unique tale is captivating and leaves one feeling enriched. Bagram Ibatoulline has
created lush and warm illustrations in the style of American folk art with great attention being
given to detail. He has so successful created the folk art illusion (the paint even has the crackle
effect) that we are often convinced that we are looking at a painting that has been hanging on
someone's wall for decades. A delightful book that will warm the heart.
You Can Do it Sam:
Amy Hest
Illustrated by Anita Jeram
Candlewick
2067 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA, 02140
0763619345 $15.99 www.candlewick.com
On a cold and snowy morning, very early, Sam and his mother are baking cakes. Sam is a small
and young bear, who can hardly wait for the cakes to be ready. When the cakes are done, Sam
and his mother put the cakes in twelve red bags and out they go into the cold morning, into Mrs.
Bear's truck. Then Sam has the biggest job of all. Sam is to take each cake, in its red bag, to each
house on Plum street "uphill and down, up and down" all by himself. His mother tells him that
"You can do it Sam" and so he does. Against the white expanse of snow we watch the little bear
in his red boots, red jacket and carrying the small red bag, march his way towards a house. Back
in the bright green truck, a hug and bear kiss from his mother and Sam is feeling as proud as can
be because he "did it" all by himself.
With clear acrylic colors the illustrator has created a delightful snowy world where the two bears
are the only ones who are awake, the bright colors of their clothes and the green truck contrasting
with the muted colors of the outdoors. We are given a sense of the sleepiness that the two bears
venture out into, a gentleness that is also expressed in the singsong text. This is quiet time when
the world is hushed. Sam and his mother make their surprise deliveries before everyone is awake
and then return to their own warm home for a little comfort of their own. Within this charming
atmosphere of coziness is Sam's little story of achievement, of his well-earned feeling of pride. A
delightful book to read in the wintertime.
Bye, Bye!
Nancy Kaufmann
Illustrated by Jung-Hee Spetter
Front Street
862 Haywood Road, Ashville, NC 28806
1886910952 $15.95 www.frontstreetbooks.com
It is a big day for the little pig. He is going to school and Daddy is taking him. There are lots of
things to do in school but the little pig cannot stand to be separated from his father. He needs
hugs, comforting and a story. He needs to be played with for a little while and nose rubbing.
Then, the inevitable does happen. Daddy leaves and little pig finds himself on his own. What is
surprising is that he discovers that being without Daddy is not so bad after all. Soon enough he is
playing with the other little animals and having such a good time that he doesn't notice the time
passing. For any small person who has been afraid of something new this book will be familiar and
true to life. The bright colors of the illustrations and the cheerful characters are comforting and
lively. A charming little book.
Song for Eloise
Leigh Sauerwein
Front Street
862 Haywood Road, Ashville, NC 28806
1886910901 $15.95 www.frontstreetbooks.com
The daughter of the powerful Lord Baudoin, Eloise is to be married. As is so often the way of
things, it is a marriage to bind families, to pay a debt of thanks for a life saved. For Eloise it is a
giving up of her happy life in her family home. She has to travel to the colder, windswept
mountain fortress of Lord Robert, a man she knows so little, and who shows the world very little
of his inner self. Separated from her family and the places she loves, Eloise closes in on herself
and ceases to be the cheerful, sunny person she once was. Then someone from her childhood
comes to her new home. It is one of the boys who used to work around the house who is now a
troubadour, wandering the countryside and singing his beautiful songs. As soon as they see one
another, Thomas the singer and Eloise the Baroness have eyes for no one else. Robert is not
deceived and he is enraged when he sees the way in which Thomas looks at his wife. Only a fool
would dare to fall in love with the wife of such a man as Robert, the Baron of Rochefort.
Beautifully evocative and pictorial prose makes this a haunting and thought-proving book. Short
descriptive paragraphs throughout the book give us a picture of daily life in the countryside of
France at the time of the story, telling us about the doings of various personalities in the village as
they go about their work and play. The story is told from the point of view of several characters
who often converge and cross paths as the story unfolds. A truly remarkable piece of work.
Dear Emma
Johanna Hurwitz
HarperCollins
1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019
0060298405 $15.99 www.harperchildrens.com
For Hadassah (or Dossi) Rabinowitz, life after a two week holiday in Vermont has changed a
great deal. Before she left Dossi and Ruthi lived in just one room in a crowded apartment in a
poor tenement building in New York City. While she was away Ruthi got engaged and it wasn't
long after Dossi returned to the city that the marriage took place. Now Ruthi no longer has to
work in the Triangle Shirtwaist factory, instead she is a housewife. Dossi finds herself having to
tell Ruthi and Ruthi's new husband where she is going and when she will be home. Chaffing under
these new restrictions Dossi rebels. Then tragedy strikes and Dossi finds herself having to take on
the role of caregiver for her grief-stricken and desolate sister. It is a role she has never had before
and there are new challenges that confound and worry her.
With a real understanding of the times and the people who lived them, Johanna Hurwitz has
created a wonderful sequel to "Faraway Summer," her first story about Dossi Rabinowitz.
Through Dossi, we are able to see, hear, and smell the New York City tenements. We can
experience life in the streets of such areas in the early 1900's and understand the often appalling
conditions and varied problems that the largely immigrant residents faced on a daily basis.
Throughout the book there are pictures of postcards of New York City showing scenes of the
great metropolis as it looked when Dossi lived there. We can imagine the sisters in Vermont
looking at the postcards and putting them in the album that Dossi gave them for Christmas.
Including the postcards in the book helps to bring the story to life, and gives it a feeling of
realism.
At the back of the book there is an author's note which adds further information about tenement
life and which also includes a description of how the author gathered her material.
Pagan's Crusade
Catherine Jinks
Candlewick
2067 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140
076362019X $15.99 www.candlewick.com
Pagan Kidrouk looks like a street urchin when he first arrives at the doors of the Order of the
Temple in the great city of Jerusalem. Just sixteen years old, Pagan has had a very checkered life,
one full of hardship, cruelty, vice, and little kindness. Pagan has little reason to trust people, to
find goodness in them, to even grow attached to anyone. Jerusalem in 1187 is a city of holy places
on the one hand and a city of beggars, thieves, corruption and poverty on the other. Pagan finds
himself in the employ of the almost saint like Templar knight, Lord Roland Roucy de Bram. In his
sarcastic and often witty way Pagan calls his new master "Saint George," often finding the pure
and honorable ways of the knight hard to accustom himself to. Pagan himself views the world in a
very different light, seeing only the grime, the misery, and the corruption.
As Lord Roland's squire Pagan must accompany him when the knight escorts a group of pilgrims
from Jerusalem to the River Jordan and back. These were difficult times when pilgrims were often
attacked by infidels and the Templar Knights were needed to protect the pilgrims as the traveled
through the Holy Land. No sooner are Lord Roland and Pagan back in Jerusalem when terrible
news arrives. The greatest Infidel of them all, Saladin, has crossed the River Jordan and taken one
of the cities. Then Acre falls. It is not long before Saladin is at the very walls of Jerusalem itself
and Lord Roland finds himself leading both the Templar knights and playing a large role in the
future of the great city. It is at this time that Pagan learns that he is capable of new emotions;
Pagan discovers that he can feel both pity and that he can care for someone else.
Written from Pagan's point of view and in his own voice, complete with his sarcasm and his
disdain for those around him, "Pagan's Crusade" is an extraordinary book. We can laugh, feel
shocked, and feel pity all at the same time. The author shows us, through Pagan's eyes, how harsh
life was in the time of the crusades and how distorted each side's view was of the other. It is only
when they are face to face, that they see and hear that they are in fact not that different. We too
learn that Infidel and Christian were much alike. When Jerusalem was taken from the Muslims
terrible crimes against its people were committed by the Christians. Now, in turn, Saladin's
soldiers are having their revenge. Except, when they get to Jerusalem, Saladin shows the world
that he can be generous. As we close this first book in a series of four, we are left with two
thoughts. One is to wonder what Pagan and his master will do next, and the other is to ponder on
all the things that men have done in the name of religion.
Marya Jansen-Gruber
Reviewer
MyKaela's Bookshelf
Mary's Alphabet Garden
Mary Batson
417 Clover Lane, Fort Colling, CO 80521
Phone 1-888-220-7390, Fax: 970-495-6863,
ISBN TBA; $TBA
Mary's Alphabet Garden is so much fun because it's like a mystery book. You can find things in
the pictures from what you read in the story. And it teaches you about the alphabet. I really had
fun looking at the interesting pictures!
MyKaela resides in Merrill, WI with her pet bird, Lemon, her brother, and her parents. Edrich is a
contributing author and child entrepreneur. She may be reached at http://mykaelaedrich.com
Do you have young children at home or know someone who does? Mary's Alphabet Garden is the
perfect addition to any home library. Each page starts with a BIG letter of the alphabet, followed
by a simple, yet cute poem about some part of Mary's garden with the following page showcasing
the very item the poem spoke of. But that's not what makes this book so special. The pictures
seem to be water color paintings that use the theme of many famous books, such as "Where's
Waldo?". In other words, the young reader is engaged in actually "discovering" the object spoken
about in Mary's two-line poem. I heartily recommend this book for all young readers.
Ame the Elephant, Terrorized by Evil Mice
J. A. Louthain
Alexie Books
P.O. Box 3843, Carmel, IN 46082
http://alexiebooks.com
ISBN 096794128 $TBA 1-800-322-6202
AME the Elephant, Terrorized by Evil Mice is a remarkable book. I love how Louthain was able
to retell the story of 9-11 in a non-threatening environment. Ame was minding his own business
when he was attacked for no apparent reason. Instead of retaliating and hating all the mice, Ame
tries to understand what has taken place. After finding out the cause of his attack, Ame has no
choice but to fight the terrorists and take down their leader. Not only does the story of AME the
Elephant, Terrorized by Evil Mice captivate the minds of young children, it teaches them about
diplomacy, politics, and how Elephants live! And finally, as parents read this story to their young
children, they will walk away with a new sense of understanding and appreciation for the decision
the president of the United States made to enter into war with Iraq.
--Alyice Edrich
Alyice Edrich is a freelance writer and the Editor-in-Chief of The Dabbling Mum.com - - A
national publication for BUSY parents. http://thedabblingmum.com
AME the Elephant, Terrorized by Evil Mice reminded me of 9-11. Ame was a hero and he
reminded me of how Todd Beamer saved the white house when he fought the bad guys and his
plane crashed in Pennsylvania. I liked how I got to learn about Elephants, too. It was a very good
book.
--MyKaela Edrich
Alyice Edrich
Reviewer
Paul's Bookshelf
The Kafka Effekt
D. Harlan Wilson
Eraserhead Press
16455 E. Fairlynn Drive, Fountain Hills, AZ 85268
ISBN 0971357218 $13.95 http://www.eraserheadpress.com
This is a group of very short, and very strange, stories.
The hair growing out of a man's body are all hair-sized clones of Marlon Brando, except for his
head and face, which are covered with clones of Michael Wincott, an underrated actor who
usually plays a villain. To fight a major case of acne, a man has a baby's bottom grafted on to his
face. A man tries to convince his feet not to eat him. A group of professors are trapped in a
port-a-john and work to liberate their minds from the boundaries of reason. Dr Thunderlove is a
pediatrician whose eyes just happen to be outside his head, perched on the ends of gray-green
stalks a half-foot long. A man's ear holes turn into mouths, with teeth and tongues that can taste
and talk. At a cocktail party, a man throws himself through a door despite there being a sign on
the door that says Open Me Up And Walk Through Me. A man's brain snekas out of his head at
night, and the man searches bars and strip clubs for it, sometimes for days. A hermaphrodite gets
himself pregnant and gives birth to twins.
I believe that you get the idea. Think William S. Burroughs and Franz Kafka when reading these
stories, but read them in small doses, because they are not for everyone. For those who like weird,
mind-blowing literature, this is definitely worth reading.
Web Craze
Ron Cox
Cox Publishing
P.O. Box 99065, San Diego, CA 92169
ISBN 0966258657 $23.95 http://www.roncoxpub.com
Matt Carrigan, a twenty-year veteran of the CIA, is fed up with the spy business and wants out.
After escaping from an Iraqi prison, where he had spent the previous two years, Matt wants
nothing more than to go back to America, quit the Agency, and see if he can rekindle a romance
with Lisa Avery, his old girlfriend. Of course, it's not that easy.
He is enticed into one more assignment. All over the country, older people are suddenly and
inexplicably killing their loved ones. These people are the epitome of Mr and Mrs Average
American. It gets serious when all 300 people in a small town in Wyoming are discovered
murdered. The initial thought is that this is the beginning of a militia takeover of America. That is
quickly dismissed when the phenomenon of people banding together and committing random acts
of murder starts happening all over the world.
It is discovered that the phenomenon is spread by the Internet. A person doesn't have to go to any
particular web site, just being on the Internet at all for even a couple of minutes is enough for
anyone to be taken over. A national alert is broadcast, telling people to stay off the Internet, and
attempts are made to shut it down, but no one can get to every corner of the Web.
The cause of the phenomenon is a hacker virus, which grew and mutated while on the Web. It
combined with a very popular shoot-em-up computer game, then expanded to the point where it
can recognize, and deal with, any attempt, anywhere, to stop it.
Matt and Lisa race against time in the Pentagon, practically the last safe place in America (the
President is already in a safe bunker in Utah), to deal with the virus. While they are separated for
a time, Lisa somehow gets infected and disappears. Matt has to find her without killing her (she
certainly wants to kill him), while being the only one who can sit in front of a computer for any
length of time to enter the proper anti-virus commands, due to his mind-control abilities.
This one is really good. It's eerily plausible, it's well done, it would make a great movie and about
the last half of the book is one long roller coaster ride. The reader will never again look at the
Internet in the same way. Political suspense fans will love it.
Paul Lappen
Reviewer
Rick's Bookshelf
The Amazing World of Carmine Infantino
Carmine Infantino with J. David Spurlock
Vanguard Productions
390 Campus Drive, Somerset, NJ 08873
ISBN 1887591125 $19.95 creativemix.com/vanguard
If you have read any comic books in the last roughly 60 years, odds are that you have seen the
work of Carmine Infantino, even if you were not aware of it at the time. In a genre filled with
look-alike artistic styles, he has stood out as a true original. Now we are given a career overview
by the artist himself, and his incredible body of work.
Mr. Infantino is not long winded in his writing style, instead allowing what he has created to do
the talking for him, and I found that to be refreshing, lavishly illustrating the book in beautiful
black and white and a stunning center spread in full color. The strips and books he has worked on,
the characters he has created, or co-created, reads like a veritable who's who of comic mainstays.
Characters such as Green Lantern and Flash in the 1940's, through to Adam Strange, Deadman,
Batgirl, and The Elongated Man in the 1960's, all for DC Comics. In the 70's, it was Daredevil,
Spider-Woman, and Star Wars for the cross-town competition, Marvel Comics. However, it may
be his work on two characters in particular for which he will always be remembered-The Flash,
and the 'New Look' Batman.
Super-Heroes fell out of favor in the 1950's, and the comic industry languished in tepid romance,
lame humor, and books which had to provide a moral, lest the young readers minds become
perverted and they all turn into juvenile delinquents. The only remaining heroes, Superman,
Batman, and Wonder Woman, became vague reflections of themselves.
In the 1960's, sensing the time might be right for the rebirth of the super-heroes, DC Comics
decided to revive one of their heroes for the 1940's, but in name only. Turning to Carmine to
handle the rebirth, he redesigned and reinterpreted The Flash for a whole new generation, his fluid
art styles making him move with a style and grace that made him an instant hit, and opened the
floodgate for more heroes to follow.
Batman needed help as well. In wanting to make him more palatable, the powers-that-be devolved
him from a creature of the night, to one having interplanetary travels, and fighting criminals on
giant props. Sales were ebbing, and on the verge of cancellation, when the edict went out that
Batman had to be reinvented-and that job also fell on the mighty pencil of Carmine Infantino.
Carmine, along with editor Julie Schwartz, turned him back into the world's greatest detective and
added the yellow circle around the bat emblem on his chest. Sales stated to climb quickly, and
paved the way for the Batman TV series with Adam West and Burt Ward as the Dynamic
Duo.
Only the space limitations that I have here keep me from mentioning his other accomplishments in
detail, but they include: being Publisher and President for DC, helping to establish the first
company crossover when their Superman met Marvel's Spider-Man. His ghost writing on
Superman: The Movie, the work on strips for newspapers, and advertising, the ground breaking
characters and formats he pioneered during his tenure in charge at DC-there is no end to this
things that all became possible due to the amazing abilities of the man to whom all comic fans owe
a thanks.
The Amazing World of Carmine Infantino is an appropriate title for this compelling book covering
the career of a remarkable creator in one of the truly original American art forms, and I am glad to
see it get the recognition which it so richly deserves.
The Dream Chip
William Thien
Xlibris Corp
www.xlibris.com
ISBN 0738863130 $20.99 1-888-7-xlibris
What if it was possible to digitally store the thoughts, memories, and life experiences of those
about to die? Would you want to know what your sweet Aunt Edna really thought about the
family? Would you want to see her life through her eyes? Would you want your thoughts and
memories to be saved? Before you say no, what if you are a physicist, a mathematician, or an
engineer, and your thoughts and memories could be combined with others of the same persuasion,
and perhaps come up with a cure of cancer, or AIDS, or solve the problem of interstellar space
flight, or even time travel? That is the idea behind The Dream Chip by author William Thien, and
is ingenious in its execution.
This is the story of David O'Rourke, an employee of The Timelink Corporation in the role of an
uploader -- one of the ones responsible for the transferring of information from the recently
deceased. It is a thankless job, and one made all the more difficult by the intervention of Daniel
Wozel and his neo-political organization called The Civicrats (a very neat name by the way), a
group of laid off bureaucrats due to another piece of software provided by Timelink-The
Common Council Software Program.
Now this is a neat idea -- software that allows the individual citizen to have an actual voice in the
day-to-day decision making of government. Imagine having your opinion actually be heard in all
facets that affect you instead of having a representative whom you have to hope has your best
interest in mind. This has an effect of massive streamlining the employee heavy government, and
the formation of the aforementioned Civicrats -- and they take the term disgruntled former
employee to a whole new level. Their involvement, stalking, trying to stop the memory transfers,
massive political rally's and more show that Wozel and his followers are not to be taken
lightly.
William Thien has constructed a fast moving story which will keep you enthralled with each page,
never an easy task, especially when told in first person, yet he manages to pull it off, and should
be proud of what he has accomplished. His writing style is fresh and easy to read; never being
wrapped up in technobabble, into which a book such as this could easily devolve.
There are those who might consider this science fiction due to the topic matter, yet I think this
almost borders on science fact. How far are we from this type of software being a reality? I would
be willing to wager we're closer than any of us might think.
The Dream Chip by William Thien is a book that I found hard to put down once I stated, and I am
sure you will as well. I wonder if William Shakespeare was alive to read this book, if he might be
inclined to say, "To sleep, to sleep, perchance to dream chip, aye there's the rub." It would be
fitting.
The Shroud
Jacqueline Druga-Marchetti
Dead End Street
Deadendstreet.com
ISBN 1929429797 $15.95
The Second Coming of Jesus is a hot topic in the media, the success of the Left Behind series of
books is testament to that -- with no pun intended by the way. From coverage running the gambit
of the major news magazines to supermarket tabloids, a plethora of experts, theologians, and
psychics are all telling us that 'the end is nigh' and all the signs predicted in the book of Revelation
are happening. They say how any second now, the clouds will part, and Christ will appear
surrounded by Angels and in all of his Heavenly Glory. Or maybe not. Maybe (if you believe in all
of this), as theorized in the incredible novel The Shroud by Jacqueline Druga-Marchetti, the
Second Coming will take place in a laboratory and the only Angels will be scientists in lab
coats.
It seems that the Vatican, in trying to help their recent image problems, have allowed a few DNA
samples to be taken from the Shroud of Turin. After numerous attempts to fertilize the cells fail,
one batch begins to grow at an alarming rate, and suspended in artificial embryonic fluid, a clone
of Jesus reaches adulthood in just weeks. With the 'birth', Christ once again walks the Earth,
claiming He is the one they think He is. He performs miracles, and as word of His Return reaches
out to the populace, many flock to Him, to follow the reborn Christ. But is he the Son of God?
Revelation claims that before the return of Jesus, first is the rise of the Anti-Christ. Who was it
really born in the watery lab experiment, and what has truly been released upon the world?
This is a powerful book, written by a master of storytelling. The characters that inhabit the world
created by Ms. Druga-Marchetti are as real as anyone I actually know is. Her pacing makes for a
true page-turner of the highest level, making this a book that is next to impossible to set down. I
like that she doesn't just tell a story, but brings you into her world, making you think, regardless
of your religious viewpoints. Could this happen? I think so; we have, or are close to having, the
technology. Should this happen might be a better question, and one I have my own personal
opinion on the matter, and I am going to keep it that way. This is the kind of subject matter that
readers need to make for themselves; far be it for me to even attempt to sway a viewpoint -- not
on this topic.
From the eye-catching cover all the way to the last period on the last page, this book held me
captive as few have ever had -- and believe me, that is no easy feat. When I found out this was the
first in what is going to be an ongoing series, I was left clamoring for part 2, 3, however many
more there are going to be -- I will be there for each and every one hopefully. This has, in my
opinion, the potential to be every bit as big as the Left Behind series, and if there is any justice in
the book buying community, it will be. This is a story that you can't just read, it won't let you -- it
makes you feel and think, and how much more can you ask for? Buy this book, it's that
simple.
Hababy's Christmas Eve
Jamie and Joy Farr
Illustrated by Alice io Oglesby
Publish America
www.publishamerica.com
ISBN 1592864864 $16.95
There are those of you who might know Jamie Farr as Corporal Max Klinger on the classic TV
show M*A*S*H, or saw him on his many appearances on countless game shows. Well, now Mr.
Farr can add one more credit to his resume -- that of an author of a wonderful new children's
book.
Mr. Farr, along with his wife Joy, have crafted a story which is a delight to read, even for this
many decades past the intended audience reader. This is the story of a camel family in the Middle
East: the father, Habeebee, the mother, Habeeba, and their child, Hababy. As they are preparing
their Christmas celebration, Hababy, along with three of his friends are treated to a story of
another Christmas Eve many years ago.
Filled with beautiful illustrations by Alice io Oglesby which perfectly convey and compliment the
words, this story will show young readers the story of the birth of the baby Jesus in a new point of
view. If that was not enough, they will also manage to learn a few things about camels and how
things are in another country, without even being aware that they are, a compliment to the authors
and illustrator to be sure.
This book is an enchanting tale, and one that will be read by younger readers year round, not just
during the holiday season. As a gift, or for your own children or grandchildren to read, pick up
Hababy's Christmas Eve by Jamie and Joy Farr-they will thank you for it.
Rick Mohr
Reviewer
Roger's Bookshelf
The Right Thing
Jeffrey L. Seglin
Spiro Press
ISBN 1904298974 $17.95
Thought-Provoking
Jeff Seglin, with his university degrees in Theological Studies and English, has been a popular
writer in a number of business publications for years. His followers enjoy a style of writing that is
comfortable, easy to relate to, and complete with concepts to engage the mind. Five years ago,
while a Resident Fellow at the Center for the Study of Values in Public Life at Harvard
University, he began writing a monthly column on ethics for the New York Times. This
opportunity was a natural for Seglin, whose writing and objective observations benefit from a
foundation of deep thinking about vital business issues.
This book is a collection of 46 of the columns Seglin wrote in the Times. Rather than a
chronological sequence, the presentation is organized into six parts: Ethics Policies and Life in the
Corporation; Hiring; Bosses; Privacy: Lying, Cheating, and Stealing; and Leading by Example.
The columns are presented like a series of essays, one "chapter" following another without
starting on a new page. This design gives the reader a sense of flow, that all these issues
addressed by Seglin are tied together.
Readers will read thought-provoking pieces on a wide variety of topics, each of which could
stimulate worthwhile conversations among corporate executives. The purpose of the essays is to
raise ethical questions that people in business were likely to face. Discussion of the issues
presented by corporate executives, managers, and virtually every member of an
organization can build a productive openness and a process for dealing with situations that arise.
The exploration of these issues, dilemmas, and implications will be valuable for university students
about to enter the business world especially those who desire to move into leadership positions
where they may confront ethical considerations on a fairly regular basis to resolve, advise, or
mediate.
There are no black-or-white answers in this book. Seglin is careful to point out that "The
discussion of ethics in business is one that at its best should be ongoing and always challenging
assumptions." This book will be a useful tool to foster those health discussions.
The Commitment Chronicles: How You Can Stay Happily Married
Cheryl McClary
Top Shelf Press
ISBN 0972714405 $14.95
Erma Bombeck, Ann Landers, and Dr. Phil
Imagine morphing together Erma Bombeck's irreverent and funny writing style with Ann Landers
advice-to-the-lovelorn and Dr. Phil's in-your-face attitude. Enter, stage left: Cheryl McClary, a
PhD professor of Women's Health and holder of a juris doctor degree.
This combination could be dangerous even explosive! And it is. Warning: this book is not for
the faint (or feint) of heart.
Cheryl (after reading this book, you'll feel like you're sitting in her kitchen, so we'll go with
first-name basis) wrote this book for women, but a few men will find it valuable. Cheryl would
suggest, however, that most men won't understand it because, you see, we're clueless. Yes, I'm a
man. My wife gave me this book to read, suggesting that a book reviewer like me might find it
interesting. Oh, boy.
To sum up Cheryl's philosophy, men are dolts. Well, she didn't use that particular word, but she
employed a wide range of synonyms. We don't know how to be husbands, lovers, fathers, or any
of those things. We have to be trained, led, managed by a capable woman. The capable part
comes from knowing yourself loving yourself before looking outside. Women get so many
messages that diminish them, self-love and strength is vital.
Every woman who has been birthed and raised by another woman, passing mental and
psychological garbage down through the ages needs to read no, absorb this book. Put it under
your pillow after bedtime reading and hope for osmosis.
Now, men. Read this book. Reality: It will only help a little bit in understanding your woman.
You won't get as much out of it as a woman will, but if you pay attention you will cower and love
with a slightly higher level of effectiveness. My wife insists that I am not clueless, though over
dinner tonight she did admit that I used to be. Now I'm a step beyond clueless (and I am like the
handsome, wonderful man Cheryl has been married to for 23 roller-coaster years): I'm
trainable and receptive. The rewards are worth the struggle. Be sure to check out page 149 for
the list of lessons we can learn from the unconditional love of dogs.
There is no index. You don't need one. But you will find value from the bibliography and the rich
collection of resources in the back of the book. This is a wonderful recovery guide for misguided
women, confused men, and relationships that can benefit from the nurturing that comes from real
love.
Does Your Broker Owe You Money?
Daniel R. Solin
Alpha Books.
ISBN 0028643909 $21.95
In-depth Insight and Assistance for the Beleaguered & Bewildered
Most investors in the stock market lack the sophistication to really understand what their broker is
doing or not doing with their hard-earned money. If brokers are not well- trained in how to
serve their clients and/or they're more focused on lining their pockets rather than their clients'
pockets, investors can lose their shirts and then some. When their world crashes around them,
these troubled people go to professionals like Daniel Solin.
During this painful time, investors learn what they should have known long before. Sometimes
they can recoup some of their losses, sometimes not. Understanding the playing field before
suiting up means a considerably better chance at winning the game (or at least playing well). Solin
teaches readers in page after high content page what brokers do to damage their clients.
Unconditional trust in your broker may not be the wisest move. The potential for fraud is
rampant. You'll learn about churning, frontrunning, unauthorized trading, and a host of other
malpractices that create risks beyond the market itself for the unwitting investor.
Solin is a trial attorney with over three decades of experience. He has recovered millions of
dollars for investors who have been mistreated by brokers even those employed by well-known
and respected brokerage firms. He doesn't always win, so readers should not get the idea that
Solin is some sort of guardian angel. The good, the bad, and the ugly are presented in stories and
case studies, with the outcomes explained. Reading this book will help you protect yourself. An
educated buyer is a wiser and safer buyer.
The book is almost a page-turner, but not quite. It wasn't written to be a fun read. You'll probably
want to do some highlighting, some page-turning, and some note-taking. As a result of using this
book as an educational tool, you'll be better equipped to ask questions, to insist on certain
information, to protect yourself just a bit better than the average guy or gal with money in the
market.
A glossary, index, and solid explanations of risks and arbitration make this book a valuable
resource.
Adaptive Coaching: The Art and Practice of Client-Centered Approach to Performance
Improvement
Terry R. Bacon and Karen I. Spear
Davies-Black.
ISBN 0891061878 $39.95
Research-Based Approach Raises Coaching to a New Level
Over the past decade, the concept of coaching in the business world has become so ingrained that
it's part of the landscape. A wide range of conversations, methods of feedback delivery, and
relationships have been accepted as coaching in a rather loose collection of techniques and
results. As we move into an increasingly challenging period for employers, leaders must become
substantially more effective at this process we describe as coaching. A whole new generation of
leaders must be taught, coached, and brought to a higher level of performance.
Bacon and Spears, experienced in coaching more than 2,000 individual clients in Fortune 500
companies, share their knowledge and experience. Their researched-based approach emphasizes
the skills needed by coaches and that coaching styles must be adapted to what the client needs.
The eight styles they identify are directive (teacher, parent, manager, philosopher) and
non-directive (facilitator, counselor, colleague, mentor). This model alone will expand, deepen,
and enrich the work done by the vast majority of coaches in the corporate world.
The book offers even more, delivering checklists, assessment tools, tips and tools, and a wealth of
sample coach-client dialogues. Recognizing the special opportunities the future will hold, the
authors include insights into coaching across cultures, across generations, as well as coaching
women, minorities, and C-level executives.
An epilogue with even more perspectives adds value to this volume, as do the reference section
and comprehensive index. This is not a book for readers who simply want to gain a few insights
into improving their coaching effectiveness. You'll learn, but you'll be overwhelmed. Adaptive
Coaching is like a college textbook on the topic. It's a heavy, deep, and thorough treatment with
relatively small type. The $39.95 price suggests that this is more than the average airplane reading
management book and it is. If you're serious about the critical and fine art of coaching in the
complicated corporate environment, you'll gain considerable knowledge, insight, and growth from
this book.
Corporate Conversations: A Guide to Crafting Effective and Appropriate Internal
Communications
Shel Holtz
ISBN 0814407706 $27.95
Valuable Handbook for Reaching Employees
Today's employees want to be informed, included, and even consulted regarding corporate
decisions, directions, activities, and issues. If they are not connected with their employer, people
will leave the organization to seek employment opportunities where they can be more engaged.
Anything and everything a company can do to relate more closely with the people who matter will
make a difference.
An experienced corporate communicator, Holtz emphasizes that internal communication in a
company is much more than just publishing a newsletter or magazine for employees. The
behaviors communicators influence are "the ones that would support the company bottom-line
business efforts." There's more to this process than reporting birthdays, babies, brides, and
bowling scores. Employees must be reached with compelling, understandable, and credible
messages that are easy to access, grasp, and absorb.
This easy-to-read handbook explores a number of facets of employee communications. Readers
will learn about the types of communications, planning, and traditional communication tools.
More modern approaches of online communication are discussed, along with insights into the
sustainability of the communication process. Holtz devotes chapters to special situations such as
communicating bad news, and change. Chapters on organizing and budgeting, as well as
measuring the value of communication, provide some professional tools that will be useful to the
reader.
The value of the book is enhanced by appendices on messaging policies and resources, as well as
a good index. The text, written in a relatively conversational style, is seasoned with case studies
from two fictitious companies one that does communication right, and one that misses the mark.
The book is current and is designed with enough white space to make it comfortable to read and
benefit from.
While I might have organized the chapters a bit differently, that's an easy task for a wise reader to
accomplish. The content is here valuable for the newcomer to the field, the seasoned
professional who could benefit from a refresher, and the manager or executive who just needs to
learn and appreciate a little more about how to communicate more effectively with a workforce
that's hungry for information and interaction.
Doctor Travel's Cure for the Common Trip
James Feldman
Sage Creek Press
121 East Front Street, Traverse City, Michigan 49684
ISBN 1890394300 $19.95
Fun, valuable handbook for anyone who travels
James Feldman has been there, done that. In fact, he's highly experienced in being there getting
there. A veteran traveler and travel planner, he's learned the secrets that can turn a potential
nightmare into an enjoyable journey. Readers will learn more travel tips than they could imagine
even existed. Even the most seasoned traveler (I log between 100,000 and 200,000 miles each
year) will benefit from what's in these pages.
Unlike some other books in this field, this one is funny, easy to read, and a real trip in itself. The
design makes reading this volume a real pleasure. Take it on your next flight and watch your
seatmate look over your shoulder.
Note: This book was written before 9/11/01, so travel has taken on a whole new dimension since
its publication. Don't let that concern you. There is still an incredible amount of valuable
information, advice, and insight in these pages.
Highly recommended.
Taking Charge When You're Not In Control
Patricia Wiklund, PhD
Ballantine
ISBN 0345433343 $25.00
Did you ever get the feeling that you just were not in control of what was happening to you, but
you had to do something? Wouldn't it be nice to have a professional advisor sitting next to you to
guide you through the process? Meet Patricia Wiklund, a PhD psychotherapist who is nationally
recognized for her expertise, effectiveness, and ability to help people make a difference in their
lives.
Wiklund starts by helping readers understand that control is a myth. You can't always be in total
control of every situation that will confront you, so you need some helpful coping mechanisms to
empower yourself. In chapter after chapter, Wiklund shares techniques, seasoning her advice and
insight with anecdotes, illustrations, and exercises.
When you apply what you'll find in this book, you may not be in control of the situation that
surrounds you, but you'll be in better control of yourself. Your self-strength will enable you to
survive the challenges with better outcomes. Valuable book for anyone feeling a bit overwhelmed
by life in general or some particular aspect of life that's sending you into a tailspin. The contents
of this book will enable you to pull out of that tailspin and smooth your flight.
The Ultimate Guide to Getting the Career You Want
Karen O. Dowd and Sherrie Gong Taguchi
McGraw-Hill
ISBN 0071402934 $14.95
A Book for the Times
The employment market has been challenging over the past few years. Thousands upon thousands
of people have been laid off, down-sized, mis-employed, under-employed. Recent surveys suggest
that 30-40 percent of those who are employed are dissatisfied and looking for something better.
What is better? It's more than just money.
As we sit on the threshold of another wide open labor market, filled with bountiful opportunities
for exciting career development, this is the time to take a deep breath and determine where you
really want to go with your work life. Who are you, really? What's important to you in a career?
Why? What do you have to offer---what are your strengths, your core competencies and how
do they relate to what you'd like to do?
Curl up with this book and benefit from some enjoyable time with two authors who have invested
a significant part of their lives counseling others in career design and development. In addition to
other significant positions, Dowd served as director of Career Services at the Darden Graduate
Business School of the University of Virginia and Taguchi served as director of the Stanford
MBA Career Management Center. These backgrounds tell you that this book will be most
valuable for educated professionals, though there is plenty of content to be helpful to less
educated workers or those on the way up.
The book is organized in a comfortable, easy-to-use format. First the authors help readers
understand their history what brought them to where they are today. If you're like most people,
the past hasn't always been pretty. Understood. Dowd and Taguchi put the good, the bad, and the
ugly into perspective as they focus you toward the future. In the second section of the book, you'll
gain some deep understandings of who you are now what drives you, what's important to you.
With this foundation in place, the authors take you into your future career, building your
confidence along the way.
This book is not light, fun reading. You'll sit down with a serious how-to textbook that will take
you through a tour of the career design and management process that will exceed anything you've
done before. There's some deep stuff in these pages that make this book worth far more than the
$14.95 list price.
As if the text weren't enough, you'll benefit from five appendices, notes, and an index. Lots of tips
on websites, writing resumes and cover letters, opportunity evaluation guides, and compensation
negotiation tips. Anecdotes, case studies, exercises, and exercises add even more. If you are
analyzing where you want to go next in your business or professional career, invest some time
with this book. If your work includes advising others on their careers, this book, dog-eared,
belongs on your reference shelf.
The Productive Narcissist: The Promise and Peril of Visionary Leadership
Michael Maccoby
Broadway Books
ISBN 0767910230 $26.95
Insightful, thought-provoking, intriguing
In these confusing and uncertain times, the cry goes out for more visionary leaders. We need men
and women who can lead us out of the darkness of despair and short-term Wall Street thinking
into the clear air of vision, goals, and high achievement. Enter the narcissistic leader. Narcissists
admire themselves, they believe in themselves. They have complete confidence in themselves,
even though they may think they can do more than they really can.
The dictionary tells us that narcissism is "a psychological condition characterized by
self-preoccupation, lack of empathy, and unconscious deficits in self-esteem." Maccoby a
psychoanalyst, anthropologist, and consultant takes us further. He explains that "narcissistic
leaders are not a product of their time; rather, they are a product of their personalities, and are
psychologically suited to rise, and fall, during disruptive times." Sometimes their grandiosity
serves them and their organizations well especially if they (or their organizations) are
protected by counterbalancing aides or confidants. Sometimes that grandiosity can be their
downfall.
In this enjoyable and education book, Maccoby describes several psychological styles and how
they influence leadership behavior. He concentrates on the productive narcissist, results-focused
aggressive leaders who can valiantly lead their organizations to the brink of destruction. The good
news---bad news juxtaposition is explored in page after page, with enlightening examples from the
lives of historical figures like Napoleon to today's leaders whom we read about in the newspapers
daily. Not only does he name names, but Maccoby goes deep into who these leaders are, what
they did, why they did it, and the impacts of their behavior. It's a fascinating read that will have
you bobbing your head with understanding and insight.
This book will be valuable to leaders and not just narcissists. Human resource professionals,
executive coaches, and venture capitalists will find the knowledge in these pages to be quite
useful. A self-test, with full explanation of scoring and meaning, adds value to the book.
Index.
Roger E. Herman, Reviewer
www.hermangroup.com
Stephanie's Bookshelf
The Scars Are Complimentary
John Edward Lawson
Rack and Ruin Productions
5103 72nd Place, Hyattsville, MD 20784
$2.50 www.johnlawson.org
John Edward Lawson has beautifully put together a small book of poetry of the unusual and
grotesque. I'm not much of a poetry reader, but 'The Scars Are Complimentary' was definitely an
eye catcher for even the largest loather of poetry. I read through 20 pages of wonderfully
intertwined words veering from maggots to Greek mythology; my favorite being 'Constellation
Hope':
"At one million light-fears
Per second time races past
Present-tensed muscles contorted
In the struggle to keep
Up with the future it's all
Downhill from the graveside"
I found a few of his poems sickly comical, especially the first in the book, 'Body Found Under
Pier, Details on Page A-17' and 'Mondo Verde', while others like 'Motivational Balm' gave me a
queasy, gory feeling. Most of the poems seemed to revolve around how disgustingly greedy and
selfish the world we live in is, but he describes it hauntingly. John's poetry is intelligent,
breathtaking and sure to make you wonder what goes on in his fascinating mind. I'm thrilled that
'The Scars Are Complimentary' was the first poetry book to have placed on my bookshelf.
Hell on the Installment Plan
Various Authors
The Dream People Publications
5103 72nd Place, Hyattsville, MD 20784
$5.00 www.dreampeople.org
Ah, yes, three mesmerizing stories by the creative minds four brilliant writers sit before me as I
type. 'Hell on the Installment Plan' is a sharp and ghastly chapbook put together by a group of
very talented writers.
The first story is 'Re-Possession: My Life as a Soul Thief', written by Abel Diaz and John Edward
Lawson. It's a clever and freaky tale about Sal, a man who hunts down the souls of those who
have borrowed something from the devil, only to run and hide until they are found and a
contraption called 'The Soulfucker' sucks their soul from their bodies.
I was left disappointed with this story. Not that I didn't like it; I absolutely loved it! It had a 'Blade
Runner'-gone mad kind of feel about it. It was original, intriguing and raw, but it ended when I
felt there was so much more to be explored. If the storyline were made into an entire book, I'd be
the first one to grab a copy.
Next up is a story by Susanne Brydenbaugh called 'Mercy Jacking', where a group of guys rob a
store and end up dragging along a witness as they escape, this witness being an elderly man who
knows much more about the robbers than the fact that they robbed a store. The bizarre man seems
to know everything about them, messing with their minds, giving them the option of freeing him,
or killing him.
The story was very well written and the old man's mysterious vibe made it a page-turner until it's
shadowy end.
'Brimstone Cowboy' is the last of the shorts. Tim Curran does a marvelous job in this tale about a
tattered man, Adam Glor, who's life has sunk into the depths of a horrid world and is offered a
chance to trade places with one of the Devil's cowboy, bounty hunters, who is tired of his
job.
If you in the mood for a creepy night of intelligent, chilling shorts, 'Hell on the Installment Plan'
would be right up your alley- heading straight to hell.
Unknown Pleasures: Dark Erotica
Jeffrey Thomas and Mark Howard Jones
The Dream People Publications
5103 72nd Place, Hyattsville, MD 20784
$6.00 www.dreampeople.org
Dark, sexy and unusual are the three words that sum up this page-turner turn-on by authors
Jeffrey Thomas and Mark Howard Jones. The three stories within 'Unknown Pleasures' sent my
mind on an intense, sensual journey into 3 completely different worlds driven by the lust of many
different and excellently introduced species.
From the scaly to the damned and winged, many strangers in the book get a literal "taste" of the
strange and forbidden. These stories consist of the human and the alien he wishes to penetrate,
unaware of the freakish mating ritual the alien has in store for him, sex between two lovers who
aren't quite prepared for the alien species who is watching and a steamy relationship between and
angel and one of the damned.
Not only was this chapbook a great read, but it also had me squeamish with both fear and desire.
'Unknown Pleasures' is definitely a book for those of you who like your sex with a side of the
bizarre.
The Best of Dream People Poets
Various Authors
The Dream People Publications
5103 72nd Place, Hyattsville, MD 20784
$5.00 www.dreampeople.org
Editor Jennifer C. Barnes has brought together an extremely talented group of authors in this
symphony of spell binding words. 'The Best of the Dream People Poets' is a decadent mix of
poetry ranging from dark and spooky, to intelligent and beautiful.
The publication is a nice mix of death, angels, life and everything in between. The poems are
magnetic, perfectly woven and will make you ponder yourself and everything in general. One
example is a poem by J.D. Nelson, which I really enjoyed called, 'Butter You Beef':
Good for the heart
Good for the sons
& daughters
of skilled artery surgeons.
Let's pull
Real good jazz
Out of thick
& thin air
dreams of
cement mixers
filled w/ millions
of Buffalo Nickels
who's hungry
for a Frisbee full
of hippie chili?
I've got chips
'The Best of the Dream people Poets' is not you average poetry. I've always been unfortunate to
run into poetry of the sappy and broken hearted, however this collection was a smart, refreshing
delight-a great escape into the vivid and some-what strange minds of those who call themselves,
The Dream People, and what a fitting title it is.
Stephanie Simpson-Woods
Reviewer
Sullivan's Bookshelf
America Declares Independence
Alan Dershowitz
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ISBN 0471264822 $19.95
Dershowitz delves into the U.S. Declaration of Independence document from different
perspectives: were its authors Christians as present-day political right wingers claim? What did
Thomas Jefferson, who penned this 'founding paper,' have in mind when he wrote of "Natures
God and the God of Nature"? And what about the Declaration's other incongruities?
"I have always been intrigued," says Dershowitz in his introduction, "by the Declaration of
Independence. Though an important document of liberty, it is a hodgepodge of political, religious,
and historical theories. It invokes the law of nature, as if nature speaks with a single moral voice,
and the law of nature's, silent God, rather than Christianity's God of revelation. It describes rights
as 'unalienable' and declares that 'all men are created equal,' and yet it presupposes the continued
enslavement of men, women, and children who were certainly being denied the unalienable right
to liberty 'endowed' to them by their Creator. [....]"
As ever. Dershowitz. a Harvard law professor, often seen on TV, is outspoken. Yet his points in
this volume are well taken.
Perhaps nearly half the book is taken up with the fact that Jefferson, Paine, Franklin, and Adams,
among others of the founders, were not Christians in the truest sense of the word but 'deists' or
Unitarians. They believed in a God, one Who started the world and everything in it but then
stood aside to let it work on its own much like a clock. And though the founders recognized
Jesus, many thought him not divine. In short, Dershowitz shoots down the notion that the
founding fathers were all traditional Christians and, to prove it, had mentioned 'God' in the
Declaration.
Next, the law professor goes near the double-edged sword of believing in a Natural God or God
of Nature. That concept allowed the nation to break away from its parent, Britain. But it also
allowed for slavery as 'natural.' So, that argument used by Jefferson, and others, that men's rights
were derived from Natural law or Nature's God was a spurious premise, without foundation or
basis in fact, set forth in the Declaration. Use of such a cause was a real stretch, though
completely acceptable back in l776 when the Declaration of Independence was written and
adopted.
What law, therefore, would Professor Dershowitz have had Jefferson refer to in the Declaration
to justify the breaking away from the Old World? Experience! And his case is thoroughly
convincing, expecially in light of today's world.
This book also digs into Jefferson's own ambivalence in what he writes and says about slavery and
how he acted, or didn't. On one hand, he spouts platitudes like 'all men are created equal' yet owns
slaves himself. Moreover, he had slaves flogged for the transgresson of seeking liberty. What's
more, at Jefferson's death, he did not free all his slaves as had George Washington, for instance.
The conclusion is that Jefferson was deeply conflicted about slavery and about race matters in
general.
Professor Dershowitz has written nummerous other volumes, including CHUTZPAH, LETTERS
TO A YOUNG LAWYER, and REVERSAL OF FORTUNE: INSIDE THE VON BULOW
CASE. This, his current effort, is recommended!
Boyd: The Figher Pilot Who Changed the Art of War
Robert Cooram
Little, Brown and Company
$27.95, ISBN 0316881405
The fist Gulf War and the recent Iraqi War used the 'maneuver' method of combat successfully.
Warfare in those conflicts was wrapped up in a matter of days. John Boyd, the subject of this
book, developed that concept of fighting.
Boyd is the stuff of legend. He was a fighter pilot in the Korean War, shooting down a MIG
aircraft. After that police action, he got curious about how fighter planes function technically
during combat. He conceived, after intensive study, interesting theories about energy and its
relationship to maneuverability, referred to as E-M. At first, design engineers and other pilots
fought Boyd on this, but like with about everything else he did, he was later proven correct.
If there ever was a maverick in the U.S. Air Force or in the Pentagon, where he spent many years
during his career, it has to be John Boyd. This little known man was extremely clever. And he was
a strong believer in knowing precisely what you're talking about before speaking. Because of that,
he figuratively shot down many a dissenter, sometimes a superior, and most often a general, with
facts about fighting aircraft. Of course, he also had the benefit of having been the foremost
instructor at what was the post-Korean War 'Top Gun' flight school for fighter pilots.
Over the long haul, boyd pushed, cajoled, or wrangled the Air Force into passing over its
swing-wing combat planes, like the F-lll and the Bl Bomber, and going for a lighter, pure fighter
airplane. His work eventually brought about the current F-l5, F-l6, and F-l8. He was also
instrumental, again against great odds, in bringing the ugly but highly effective A-l0 (Warthog)
close-air-support fighter to reality in the Air Force's arsenal.
Mavericks don't get promoted, at least not very often. Yet, amazingly, Boyd finally made it to full
Colonel. But it was a long, hard struggle. His many followers, military and civilians, known as
Boyd's acolytes, remained in low ranking positions, too. But these proteges got a lot of good
work done, as Boyd would say, even if they sometimes had to use back channels at the Pentagon
and in the U.S. Congress to get it done.
After Boyd's procedural battles, during which the blue suiters, Air Force higher ups, the domestic
enemy so-to-speak, were constantly adding doodads to each of the new jet fighters that Boyd was
pushing for, making these planes heavier and less nimble in the air; he shifted his attention to that
of ground combat. After developing his 'maneuverability' concepts, which were to be used by the
Army and Marine Corps, he delivered numerous briefings on this topic to various units of those
ground forces. Once more, higher ups, mostly colonels and generals, who had learned 'high
diddle-diddle, straight up the middle' (as Boyd derisively called such old-fahsioned tactics), would
not accept Boyd's new concept of maneuver warfare. Oddly, the U.S. Marine Corps was the only
military force to fully embrace Boyd's ideas, though even some top Marine generals were opposed
to the new form of combat.
In later years, Boyd was given awards for his E-M theory of aerial combat and for other
outstanding work he did for his country for which, after he retired with over two decades of
service in the Air Force, he took little or no compensation other than travel expenses.
This unique colonel is mostly remembered today by the Mairne Corps who was grateful to him for
the warfare tactics of maneuverability.
Boyd's family life was a total disaster: it was fraught with his children suffering from mental
illnesses, his frequent absence from home, and his seeming lack of compassion for his family.
Suffice to say, he was a hard drinking, smoking, talking, working obsessive who was tough on
those who worked for him, those he worked with, and those he worked for. But most of them
came to admire, even to love, John Boyd, character that he was. He died of cancer, one of the few
battles he didn't win, in l995. As an honor, he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
"Boyd was," writes the author, "one of the most important unknown men of his time. He did what
so few men are privileged to do: he changed the world. But much of what he did, or the impact of
what he did, was either highly classified or of primary concern to the military. The only things he
ever published were a few articles in specialized Air Force magazines and an eleven-page study.
His most important work was a six-hour briefing. Thus, there is almost nothing for academics to
pore over and expound upon. That is why today both Boyd and his work remain largely unknown
outside the military."
This tome is difficult to put down. It's a saga of struggle against mighty forces that has implica-
tions for today's military, especially the Pentagon, which stinks to high heaven in its weapons
procurement activities. The military/industrial, and as one of Boyd's acolytes, Chuck Spinney,
added upon his recent retirement, congressional complex is truly out of anyone's control. In
many ways, Boyd's story concerns the virtue of persistence, even against the greatest of
adversaries, the military establishment. He, despite any and all his negative qualities, epitomizes
this concept of never giving up. He, therefore, deserves much more recognition than he's received
to date.
This volume is clear, lucid, gripping, and one of the most well written that this reviewer has read
in years. The reviewer plans to seek out the author's other writing to read and enjoy, also.
Coram lives in Georgia. This book is highly recommended!
Jim Sullivan
Reviewer
Taylor's Bookshelf
Parenting Principles From The Heart Of A Pediatrician
William T. Slonecker with Chris Slonecker
Broadman & Holman Publishers
127 Ninth Avenue, North, Nashville, TN 37234
0805427244 $12.99 1-800-251-3225
Knowledgeably written by William T. Slonecker (a pediatrician of forty-eight years' experience)
with the assistance of Chris Slonecker, Parenting Principles From The Heart Of A Pediatrician is
an instructional and informational guide to not only the practical realities of raising healthy
children, but also to the instilling of spiritual values and the teaching young ones to better know
and love God. From building trust, to setting standards, balancing rewards and punishment, and
putting God and faith in His love foremost, Parenting Principles From The Heart Of A
Pediatrician is an excellent and recommended resource for parents of all denominational
backgrounds.
The Hidden Jury
Paul M. Lisnek
Sourcebooks Inc.
1935 Brookdale Road, #139, Naperville, IL 60563
1570719489 $16.95 1-800-432-7444
The Hidden Jury by trial lawyer, educator, author, trial consultant and communications expert
Paul M. Lisnek is a fact- and advice-filled expose of how the American court system truly works,
with all its virtues and pitfalls. From mock trials that have a disproportionate impact on the final
verdict; to the trial services that only the wealthiest clients can afford; to techniques used by
lawyers to present their case and sway observers' minds as forcefully as possible; to the real
workings of power within the courtroom, The Hidden Jury is very strongly recommended reading
for anyone involved in, or pursuing a career with, the American criminal or civil legal system
today.
Coercing Virtue
Robert H. Bork
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20036
0844741620 $25.00 www.aei.org
Former U.S. solicitor general Robert H. Bork criticizes the expanding power of judicial activism
in the United States, Canada, and Israel in Coercing Virtue: The Worldwide Rule Of Judges.
From the inception and history of judicial review down to its modern-day abuse as a tool for
judges to narrow the freedoms protected by constitutional governments, Coercing Virtue is a
stringent wake-up call to the very real danger of losing liberty should the branches of government
fall too far out of balance -- especially in this modern era of global terrorism and international
organized crime cartels.
A Muslim Woman In Tito's Yugoslavia
Munevera Hadzisehovic
Texas A&M University Press
Drawer C, College Station, TX 77843-4354
1585443042 $27.00 1-800-826-8911
Ably translated by Thomas J. Butler and Saba Risaluddin, A Muslim Woman In Tito's Yugoslavia
by Munevera Hadzisehovic is the gripping and true story of a woman who observed first hand the
horrific Serbian injustice toward Muslims; the callousness of the Communist Party toward a
hard-working citizenry, as well as the detrimental and destabilizing effects of an intolerant state
government. A gripping, dark, and forcefully honest presentation of social ills from a personal
point of view, A Muslim Woman In Tito's Yugoslavia is recommended for inclusion in Islamic
Studies, International Studies, and 20th Century European History reference library
collections.
Reaping The Whirlwind
Michael Griffin
Pluto Press
22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012
0745319157 $19.95 www.plutobooks.com
First published shortly before the September 11th attacks, Reaping The Whirlwind: Afghanistan,
Al Qaida, And The Holy War by Michael Griffin is now in a newly revised edition, including a
blow-by-blow account of the September 11th hijackings, and examination of financial ties
between the Bush administration and Saudi sponsors of Osami bin Ladin, a close study of the
American war in Afghanistan, and much more. A logical and thorough study of policies,
ideologies, personalities, and motivations that culminated in the destruction of the World Trade
Center and led to a declared "war on terrorism", Reaping The Whirlwind is an important
contribution to Contemporary Islamic Studies in general, and International Terrorism Studies in
particular.
Groping For Ethics In Journalism
Ron F. Smith
Iowa State Press
2121 State Avenue, Ames, IA 50014-8300
0813810884 $44.99 1-800-862-6657 www.iowastatepress.com
Now in its fifth edition, Groping For Ethics In Journalism by Ron F. Smith (Professor of
Journalism, University of Central Florida - Orlando) is a scholarly, thoughtful, and
thought-provoking exploration of diverse and complex issues affecting the practice of professional
journalism today. Intended for journalism students, faculty, and professionals, Groping For Ethics
In Journalism covers such matters as objectivity, corrections, the very real issue of faking the
news, financial concerns and other conflicts of interest, issues of privacy, the government's eye,
and much more. No university level Journalism Studies collection can be considered complete or
up-to-date without the inclusion of Professor Smith's Groping For Ethics In Journalism.
Protecting The Brand
Talcott J. Franklin, J.D., M.A.
Barricade Books, Inc.
185 Bridge Plaza North, Suite 308-A, Fort Lee, NJ 07024
1569802572 $19.95 1-800-592-6657 www.barricadebooks.com
Written by private practice lawyer Talcott J. Franklin, Protecting The Brand is a concise, no-frills,
instructional guide to promoting, maintaining, protecting, and utilizing trademarks while insuring
and safeguarding that brand name and its consequent recognition value in the highly competitive
market place. Individual chapters cogently address the general use of brands, brand strategy,
trademark enforcement, brand standards, risks and benefits of licensing, and more. Protecting The
Brand is very highly recommended reading -- especially for anyone with an intellectual or
product-based concept to protect.
John Taylor
Reviewer
James A. Cox
Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129
phone: 1-608-835-7937
e-mail: mbr@execpc.com
e-mail: mwbookrevw@aol.com
http://www.midwestbookreview.com
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