Twilight of Love: Travels with Turgenev
Robert Dessaix
Picador
ISBN: 0330364995 A$40.00 275 pages
Dr. Ann Skea, Reviewer
http://www.ann.skea.com/
"One Saturday morning when I was about eleven or twelve years old, at about the time the first
sputnik began criss-crossing the sky, I went into a bookshop in a suburb of Sydney and bought
myself a Russian dictionary".
So, Robert Dessaix's obsession with all things Russian was born and "in the blink of an eye...the
whole course of [his] life changed". Dessaix studied in Russia, reads and speaks Russian fluently,
and knows Russian literature well but, until now, he has found writing about Russia
"extraordinarily
difficult". It is surprising then, that in Twilight of Love he chose to write about a Russian author
whose work he confesses to never having totally enjoyed, even though he know it
thoroughly.
Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev, the man, however, has somehow become someone Dessaix feels a
kinship with. And following his footsteps around Europe, visiting towns he lived in and houses he
knew well, Dessaix feels empathy and "a glimmer of fellow feeling" for him. Turgenev, it seems to
Dessaix, shared his own feeling of dislocation and strangeness in the place in which he was born,
and
had a similarly strained relationship with the usual conventions of his society. Both, Dessaix
suggests, experienced situations which taught them to "know what wormwood tastes like".
Yet wormwood has little to do with the flavour of this book, which is anecdotal, humorous,
intelligent, literate and entertaining. Twilight of Love is a travelogue which reveals as much of
Dessaix's own character as that of Turgenev. Dessaix's various travelling companions and friends,
superfluous as they sometime seem to Dessaix's main journey, do reflect different aspects of
Dessaix's own life and offer a sort of modern parallel to Turgenev's life and times.
Dessaix begins his journey in Baden-Baden, where he teams up with an old friend (a sophisticated,
married German woman) to visit various Turgenev 'sites'. In France, with its more relaxed sexual
ambience, Dessaix meets a young Frenchman, Daniel, with whom he once had an affair and who
is
now in his "Buddhist phase". With this new companion and his very different perspective, he
tracks
Turgenev to Rozay-en-Brie and to Courtavenel, the vanished castle of which was the place where
Turgenev felt most at home. And in Moscow, it is Irina he meets again - a Russian woman with
whom he has been friends since their studies at Moscow University in the mid-sixties. Irina is
anxious that Dessaix approves of the recent dramatic changes in Russia, and his reminiscences of
earlier times are as interesting as his visits to St. Petersburg and Oryol, and to Spasskoye, to
which
Turgenev had eventually come home and where some of his best-know novels were written.
As well as writing about Turgenev's life and of his friendships with other well-known Russians,
Dessaix focuses his travels particularly on places associated with Turgenev's lifelong love of the
opera diva, Pauline Verdot. Theirs was a three-cornered relationship in which Pauline's scholarly
husband, Louis, was the third party. This unusual and long-lasting arrangement seemed to suit all
three, but whether Turgenev and Pauline ever became lovers has long been the subject of debate.
Dessaix speculates, but comes to no conclusions. Love is love, and it is expressed in many forms -
and whilst this book is a travelogue of sorts, and a literary biography of sorts, it has more the
product of Dessaix's own love of life and literature than of anything else.
Sometimes, like life, Twilight of Love is patchy, and sometimes Dessaix's reflections on his own
past
seemed to me to be random and irrelevant. Mostly, however, this book is an interesting, informed
and easily read meander through some of Turgenev's writing, through Russian history, and
through
the vast range of ideas which attract Dessaix's active curiosity. By the end of it you may, like
Dessaix himself, find yourself "warming to the idea of re-reading Turgenev": or, even, of reading
Turgenev for the first time with Twilight of Love beside you as a sort of rough guide to some of
Turgenev's eccentricities, tribulations and loves.
This new novel by Saxon Bennett tells the story of six disparate women living in Phoenix,
Arizona.
It spans a sometimes-tumultuous four-year period in their often-troubled lives. Vida, the outgoing
and personable fashion model, has a disapproving and dour mate in Kirsten. Edie, the main
character, writes timely articles for Phoenician magazine yet yearns to be a playwright. Her
conversation is often liberally peppered with vulgar and obscene invective while her love life, or
more accurately, her rapacious sex life is one brisk encounter, fling, and affair after another.
Laura, a
young and ostensibly innocent co-worker, is hopelessly in love with Edie. Rounding out this
sextet
are Bia and Juliette who have not only an unusual living arrangement but also a secret they
desperately want to keep forever shrouded. Over the course of the book, the lives of these women
intertwine and conflict in a somewhat soap opera fashion, but it is for the reader to discover what
each woman is seeking so tenaciously and at what cost. "How am I supposed to go on with my
life
thinking that part of my life was a total farce ?" asks Laura.
Bennett's previous books were by and large light and entertaining reading, and her latest book is
virtually the same. The plot development is quite simply stated so it is rather effortless to
differentiate between the characters. However, a novel's characters and its narrative should
seamlessly flow across the pages if it is to meaningfully engage and captivate the reader. At
various
times, the actions depicted here seem somehow too contrived, even stilted, to achieve these
goals.
The premise is appealing, the concepts of friends vs. lovers and real vs. desirable expectations, but
one wishes the author had developed these women in a less superficial manner. The progression
of
these women's lives as they moved through the chapters would have been much more satisfying
for
this reader had Bennett explored with greater depth and detail what it was that drove these
women,
what motivations controlled their lives. Perhaps, more scrupulous editing or an expanded storyline
would have rectified the aforementioned two points.
The dialogue is often humorous, witty at times, revealing more character delineation than the
narrative itself. Each character speaks her lines with those subtle telltale nuances of her
personality.
It is for the reader to decide if, in fact, she actually "likes" any of these women. Are they women
one
knows, admires, despises, or envies? Or, are they more often than not women without any
redeeming qualities? Are they merely products of the contemporary corporate scene or society?
Excess in varying degrees seems to be the byword for several of these women. Is that a good or a
bad thing? Bennett leaves it to the reader to decide.
Bennett remains true to a formula she has created so her fans won't be disappointed with this
latest
work. For those who haven't read her previous fiction, Higher Ground will offer an uncomplicated
bit of escapist reading for a few hours, an opportunity to meet some new characters, and to
experience another lesbian author's writing. Whichever the case may be, one should read this
novel
and determine for oneself what that "higher ground" actually is.
NEW Game Of Business
Mitchell Axelrod
Axelrod & Associates
14 Seaman Road, West Orange, NJ 07052, 800-729-3576
http://www.TheNewGame.com
ISBN: 0973527501 $14.95 90 pp.
Bonnie Jo Davis
Reviewer
If you think you've seen and heard everything there is to say, The NEW Game of Business brings
new distinctions and a fresh perspective to the world of business.
This slim, easy-to-read soft cover book is so good that it should be required reading in business
schools around the world. Every entrepreneur and every company employee, from the janitor to
the
CEO should read and reread this book..
The author's quote in Chapter Five quite nicely summarizes the topic of this book. Mitchell
Axelrod
says this "I help you get from where you are, to where you want to be." The new game in town is
that of reciprocity and no longer does the businessperson with the most toys win.
Consumers are tired of turning on the television every day to more bad news about badly run
businesses. Corruption and scandal seem to rule the day and all this negativity takes a toll on the
economy and well being of those who sell and those who buy. Mitchell Axelrod advises that
thinking
outside the box is so outdated that businesses need to throw away the box entirely and begin
playing
"The NEW Game of Business." This game is inclusive rather than exclusive and it is based upon
service. Reading this book will help teach you the value of throwing out the old rules and writing
a
new script for a new game. A game where everyone wins.
The chapters of this book include: Play by the New Rules... "Caveat Vendidor!" Design a New
Strategy... It's NOT just Business; It's Personal!, Practice New Economics... Good Deals are
Good
Business!, Seek a New Mission... Put People Ahead of Products and Profits!, Send a New
Message... What Business Are YOU In?, Chant a New Mantra... "Serve, Deliver, Serve Some
More!", Find New Solutions... Don't Fall in Love with Products or Services!, Acquire New
Skills...
Master the Tools of the Game!, Build A New Model... Integrate or Disintegrate! and Generate
New
Money... Profit is EVERYBODY'S Business!. The material covers everything a reader needs to
know about generating a profit while gaining lifelong customers and keeping loyal and happy
employees. Apply these proven principles used by companies such as Nordstrom and Starbucks
and
you will find your business growing exponentially while you achieve your dreams!
Mitchell Axelrod is a consultant, professional speaker, talk show radio host and frequently
published
author on the topics of marketing, sales, entrepreneurship, life skills and playing the new game.
For
over twenty-five years Mitch has been consulting with Fortune 500 companies, banks, insurance
companies, small businesses and individuals on how to boost income, increase sales and profits
while
deriving more fun, fulfillment and satisfaction from work.
The Whole Hog
Lyall Watson
Smithsonian Press
ISBN 1588342166 $24.95 261 pages
B. A. Brittingham
Reviewer
For those too young to remember, NBC's Tonight Show was not always MC'd by Jay Leno. Once
there was Johnny Carson. During his thirty-year stint as host, Carson and sidekick Ed McMahon
sustained a casual joking disagreement on the subject of animal intelligence. At the time,
McMahon
was the paid spokesman for Anheuser-Busch (think beer wagon drawn by a team of magnificent
Clydesdales) so his insistence that horses are smarter was understandable. Carson, who
maintained
that pigs possessed more brainpower, once brought an exchange to a quick close with, "Yeah, did
you ever see a pig run back into a burning barn?"
Now we have it on good authority that Carson was correct. We might like to believe the graceful,
noble steed is cleverer than a creature we have come to associate with gluttony, mud and all
manner
of "lesser" barnyard functions, (none of which seem to bother us when we are ordering breakfast)
but naturalist Lyall Watson tells us otherwise. We also learn that there are a good many varieties
of
pig other than the one we've become accustomed to seeing on our plates.
Hogs may look like an improbable subject unless one is familiar with the broad spectrum of topics
covered in this author's previous writings. Watson has given us an in-depth look at the wind
("Heaven's Breath" 1984), a discourse on Japanese wrestling ("Sumo" 1988), and has dealt with
the
interplay between morality and biology ("Dark Nature" 1996.) This, like all his other books, has
its
own unique structure, one designed specifically to support the subject matter.
It would appear that people/ pig history is solidly intertwined. Our evolutions may have even
paralleled one another during the last several million years. Pigs were finally domesticated
sometime
around 9000 BC and Watson lists a number of reasons why this was an advantageous
arrangement.
Pigs are omnivorous, capable of foraging on their own but they also happily recycle kitchen and
field waste. "Pig behavior is far more like ours . . .(they) enjoy company, even that of other
species .
. . (and) are easily trained to come and go . . ." The benefits of this relationship are tilted decidedly
in
favor of humanity, there being are no recorded instances of pigs indulging in a person roast.
Not only have they provided food --- possibly as far back as the late Stone Age --- but there have
been fiscal advantages as well. During the emergence of Amerrica as a country, pig reproductive
proficiency and the ease with which they could be raised saved many a settler from financial ruin,
thus nudging the nation towards prosperity. The growth of Mid-America in general and the city of
Chicago in particular --- you may recall Carl Sandburg's phrase "hog-butcher to the world" ---
was
fostered by the corn-fed pig industry.
And if all that were not enough, there is the matter of medical technology. Due to the similarities
between their circulatory systems, human organ transplants have been facilitated by knowledge
garnered through pig experiments. Because they develop many of the same illnesses we do,
treatments can be tested on them for a look at how people might respond. "There is hardly any
medical discipline that is not already benefiting from studies on specially bred pigs that can cram a
generation into a single year, providing answers to the use of new drugs and procedures that
would
take 20 years to assess in human subjects," writes Dr. Watson.
There is much here to make the reader smile. For all the seriousness of his arguments, one gets
the
impression Watson has a great deal of fun writing. If there is a middle ground between the
author's
assurance that "this is not a textbook" and general informative entertainment, then Lyall Watson
has
staked it out. He makes a convincing case in favor of reassessing something we have grown so
used
to, we have ceased to see or even value it. That pigs are long-used, unappreciated, intelligent
organisms should cause us to speculate on the depths of human callousness. Our large brains
aren't
the only things that conveyed us to this point in our development; we had help from an array of
sources beyond ourselves.
In a society noted for cherishing the under'dog', the pig is long overdue for its turn in the
limelight.
The Final Frontiersman
James Campbell, Atria Books
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
0743453131, $25.00, 300 pp.
Coletta Ollerer
Reviewer
Heimo Korth is a young man whose heart has always been in the wilderness. He longs for that life
while experiencing a type of it as he spends much of his free time enjoying the woods near his
home
in Appleton, Wisconsin. An unhappy home life with a demanding and insensitive father gives him
the
wanderlust for Alaska. He is among many young men who venture into the northern frontiers for
the
adventure in the 70s. What makes him different is that he is only one of the very few who
manages
to make a living there, a rather meager one but a living nonetheless. He builds a cabin in the bush,
in
fact he builds a few. He traps for fur and hunts for food.
The story is respectfully and lovingly told by Heimo's cousin, James Campbell. James visits Heimo
often and spends weeks at a time living at Heimo's place. He shares with the reader what it is like
for
him to live in the bush and anecdotally for Heimo and his family. Edna, an Eskimo woman and
Heimo's wife, loves the wilderness. The family does look forward to spending six weeks in town
during the short summer season. They have two daughters, Rhonda and Krin, who were raised on
the frontier and know no other kind of life.
On December 2, 1980, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) was
signed
into law. That changed everything for Heimo and others like him. "They granted renewable
five-year
permits to anyone who built his cabin before 1978".(p191) That meant that Heimo and his family
could continue living in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge until the death of the last immediate
family member. Hence the title, The Last Frontiersman.
The girls are home schooled but Rhonda wants to go to High School in Appleton. Her adventures
there are complicated by her unusual Eskimo appearance. While she is an out-going and happy
girl,
she has to deal with racism and new surroundings of her uncle's home and family. He and his wife
have problems controlling her activities and Heimo returns to bring her back to Alaska. Heimo
and
Edna reluctantly decide to leave the bush and go to live in Fairbanks in order to meet the needs of
Rhonda and Krin as they go into their teens increasingly hungry for the company of children their
own age. Heimo plans to go back to do some trapping occasionally but he and Edna realize that
part
of their lives is over.
Anyone interested in a wilderness existence will enjoy this book. The long cold winter, no
electricity,
water retrieved from the river in large buckets once or twice a day. Food consisted of caught
animals and any basic stores they were able to afford on their infrequent trips to town. Meals were
cooked outdoors in the Arctic summer, on a wood burning stove in the winter. Always the danger
of
a roaming grizzly while outdoors. The only way in or out of their part of the country is by air in
small bush planes. The first cabin Heimo's family occupied was ten by twelve feet. Later he built
one
a little larger. The last frontiersman will be gone from the state of Alaska permanently in a few
years.
This book tells us what it was like.
The Warm Wind of Palestine
Scott Crye
Athena Press
Queen's House, 2 Holly Rd., Twickenham TW1 4EG, United Kingdom
ISBN: 193207757X US $14.95; UK 10.99 254 pages
Jason Crye
Reviewer
It is said that familiarity breeds contempt. With this in mind I hesitantly picked up my father's first
novel, The Warm Wind of Palestine, expecting to know who he based each character on, see
through the nuances in the plot, and ultimately know the ending by the first couple of pages.
Happily, I was wrong.
Mr. Crye has written a heart-warming tale of true friendship. His characters are faced with
situations
that test the limits of their courage, and their trust in each other and themselves.
Dr. Jenna Haabeb is a Palestinian doctor living in middle-America. She lost her family in an
accidental bombing on the West Bank, and to forget about the tragedy, she plunged herself into
her
work, becoming a highly respected researcher in her field. Being an ethnic Palestinian in a post
9/11
America she is forced to deal with prejudice, hostility, and piercing curiosity. She is also strikingly
beautiful, and reminded me of a more innocent version of Hemingway's Lady Ashley in The Sun
Also Rises in that there is not a male character in the book that finds her unattractive. However,
unlike the licentious Lady Ashley, Dr. Haabeb is more disposed to sipping her tea alone than
dominating her would be lovers and painting the town red.
Other characters include: Jack Larsen, who wants to be a father figure to Jenna, but struggles
because his own tenderness makes him feel weak; Steven, the bumbling police officer who is
attracted to Jenna but his advances are stalled by his own prejudice and chauvinism; and
Catherine,
the all-American mom who will do anything for anybody.
Mr. Crye takes these characters on a number of adventures: parties and picnics, a trip to Paris,
and a
tragic accident. Through their discussions and reactions to what befalls them
The Warm Wind of Palestine serves as a vivid picture of the world today. Mr. Crye lightly takes
on
cultural prejudice, women's issues, and Mid-Eastern violence, never preaching, he seems to know
exactly what to say to leave you thinking about the major issues of our times. Sometimes the jabs
are so subtle you almost miss them, for instance there is a joke made about gambling at Bill
Bennett's expense, but only the careful reader will catch it.
The story is slow at first, but it is almost as if you have to slow yourself down to get into the
rhythm
of the narrator's life. The simple prose is easy to read and engaging, though at times one wonders
whether anyone could really be so easy going.
I began reading this book with the assumption that I would dislike it, but its simple style, subtle
humor, and heart-warming story won me over. Let it win you over too.
A Filthy Business
David Compton, Behler Publications
22365 El Toro Road, #135, Lake Forest, CA 92630
ISBN 1933016043, $15.95, 275 pages
Dee Power
Reviewer
"A Filthy Business" by David Compton, sucks you down into the cold war of the sixties to where
you can smell the cigarette smoke and almost taste the cold coffee. Based in Germany, Anders
Desruisseaux is an agent handler for the U. S. Army Intelligence. His job is to recruit and manage
private citizens to spy for the allies as they cross the borders into East Germany and back. He's
nearly ready to hang up his holster and retire when one of his recruits bolts to the bad guys. The
ensuing pages can't turn fast enough as Anders pursues his nemesis, Klaus Auerbach, to a
surprising
but satisfying end. The story is interlaced with insider glimpses of Anders' early training as an
agent.
Fiction based on fact, "A Filthy Business" does a fascinating job bringing to life the stereotype of
"Agent Bond 007" in a believable fashion where the reliance has to be on patience, instinct and
cunning rather than high tech gadgets. One small criticism is that while the bits of German dialog
sprinkled throughout the book may add realism for some, it slowed down the pacing for this
reviewer. If you've ever wondered what the life of a secret agent was really like, "A Filthy
Business"
is a must read.
Affirmations: Joyful and Creative Exuberance
Paul Kurtz
Prometheus
ISBN 1591022657, $10.00 120 pp.
William Harwood
Reviewer
Only a very small percentage of the population have any idea what Humanism is or what
Humanists
stand for. Not only King George's Theofascists, but also an overwhelming proportion of the
moderate majority have been brainwashed that Humanism is a euphemism for dogmatic atheism.
Not
so, explains Paul Kurtz.
After coining the word eupraxsophy, from Greek roots meaning literally, "positive practice of
wisdom," Kurtz explains, "There is no word in the English language that adequately conveys the
meaning of humanism. It is not a religion; it represents a philosophical, scientific and ethical
outlook.
I have accordingly introduced a new term eupraxsophy in order to distinguish humanistic
convictions and practices from religious systems of faith and belief." (p. 35)
Humanists believe in the positive practice of wisdom. "We do not reject any claim to knowledge
prior to inquiry. We insist, however, that claims be framed in testable form and that the burden of
proof rests primarily with the party asserting the claim." (pp. 23-24) In other words the onus is on
persons who believe the universe is produced and directed by an all-powerful god to offer a
reasonable modicum of proof. Unless they can do so, they can no more be taken seriously than
Velikovsky or von D„niken.
"The methods of critical inquiry used so effectively in science need to be extended to all areas of
human interest. Beliefs should be treated as hypotheses and be tested by evidence, logical
coherence,
and experimental consequences. All claims to knowledge should be open to revision in the light of
inquiry. As a result, there is a progressive growth of knowledge." (p. 21) Can anyone oppose the
growth of knowledge? Trick question. Proponents of both religion and the paranormal have
systematically suppressed all knowledge that falsifies their dogmas for as long as they have
existed.
Humanism endorses "common moral decencies." Among them are, "We should not kill or rob;
inflict
physical violence or injury; or be cruel, abusive, or vengeful." (p. 45) Don't the Jewish
Testament's
Ten Commandments embrace similar prohibitions? Not quite. Humanism repudiates such
treatment
of all humans. The Big Ten only prohibited killing, robbing or abusing other Jews.
Humanism embraces tolerance, a word not be found in Theofascist dictionaries: "We may not
agree
with them, but each person is entitled to his or her convictions as long as he or she does not harm
others or prevent them from exercising their rights." (p. 47) Also, "We respect the right to
privacy.
Mature adults should be allowed to fulfill their aspirations, to express their sexual preferences, to
exercise reproductive freedom, to have access to comprehensive and informed healthcare, and to
die
with dignity." (p. 16)
Humanism recognizes that "sin" by any other name means unnecessarily hurting someone.
Obviously, engaging in joyful, shared, nonconsequential, uncoerced recreation does not qualify.
"Yet
there are the disciples of 'virtue' and the crusaders against 'sin' who consider the main problems in
life to be the extirpation or control of the erotic. Erotic-phobia is only one aspect of a broader
hedonic-phobia, or distaste for pleasure. Those who oppose the erotic are the enemies of human
life." (p. 80)
Probably Kurtz was unaware just how literal that last statement really is. If the joy-haters of the
Theofascism currently crippling America and other countries are not stopped, they are going to
exterminate the human race by overpopulating Planet Earth until humankind can no longer feed
itself. Will the current greatest threat to the survival of the human species be flushed down the
toilet
of history on November 2? We can only wait in dread.
Kurtz concludes his advocacy of sanity in the words, "It is time that we turn away from the
ancient
dogmas and doctrines of the past, and reach out to a new future. Using science, reason, and free
inquiry blended with empathy and caring, it is possible to build a new civilization not mired in the
false illusions spawned in the infancy of the race .. Humanism can help humankind achieve a new
stage of human development."
Between Trapezes: Flying into a New Life with the Greatest of Ease
Gail Blanke
Rodale Press
Rodalestore.com Betweentrapezes.com 800-848-4735
ISBN: 1579549284 $22.95 256 pages
Peter Hupalo
Reviewer
Between Trapezes: Flying into a New Life with the Greatest of Ease by Gail Blanke is written for
people in transition who are looking for guidance and inspiration.
Blanke says people seldom appreciate the opportunities created by changing life conditions.
Rather,
we want to be in a settled, predictable, stable state. Blanke writes: " the real thrill in life is not in
the landing it's in the flying. The really exciting parts of life appear when you've left the past
behind
but you don't yet know what the future looks like."
Blanke argues that the time between trapezes is magical, but that most of us don't like in-between
times. "These 'not knowing times' present opportunities to open yourself up to an infinite array of
new possibilities. These are the times when you get to decide, and when you get to create a new
self any self that you want to create, without limits."
Yet, we often imagine the worst-case outcomes, or at least a really bad outcome. While on the
Oprah show, Blanke walked on stage, and Oprah told her staff to "Get the bench." Blanke
immediately thought this must be akin to "Get the hook," but rather saw that Oprah was going to
sit
with the audience and allow Blanke the full hour to talk from the stage. Instead of meaning she
was
being benched, it meant Oprah trusted her with the show.
"We swim in a sea of interpretation. Something trivial happens, and we being only
human instantly imbue it with meaning, not always correctly," says Blanke.
Blanke writes: " sometimes it's a good idea not to think too much about some things. Sometimes
it's just a good idea to get out and do it."
Blanke suggests five steps to help you build a new life:
1) "Build the castle first." Picture what your ideal future looks like. Blanke suggests writing down
a
list of ten things that constitute your dream life.
2) Let go of the old ideas and concepts that no longer serve you. Blanke suggests you "cast
yourself
against type." For example, if you see yourself as shy, become gregarious.
3) Discover new possibilities.
4) "Never confuse falling with failing."
5) "Get the bench! Practice distinguishing between fact and interpretation."
In addition to using her own experiences as a public speaker, author, coach, and Avon executive,
Blanke discusses stories about other people going through life changing experiences.
When speaking to college majors, Blanke said they shouldn't worry too much about their major
and
deciding a future. Blanke writes: "The greatest value of education is that it enables you to form a
habit of discovery, a habit of learning, a habit of opening up to new possibilities, despite the fears
that we all share in confronting the unknown."
Between Trapezes: Flying into a New Life with the Greatest of Ease is a good book to help
people
struggling with change in their life who are looking for inspiration and motivation.
Too Dangerous To Teach
Isobel Kleinman
Trafford
ISBN: 1412002761 $25.49
Ben Jonjak
Reviewer
While reading "Too Dangerous to Teach" I couldn't help but think of my own experience in high
school. During the course of my high school career, there were three student suicides. Because I
graduated from a class of 106, I have to assume that this has to be some astronomical
magnification
of the national average. The local newspapers and families kept calling these events tragedies, but
somehow that word didn't seem appropriate to me. An attempted suicide is a tragedy and a failure
involving many levels of a child rearing community. One achieved suicide is negligence, two is
gross
negligence, and three is criminal.
To my perspective, these "tragedies" were happening primarily due to the way students were
being
mistreated by the incompetent, power-hungry and self-deluded faculty and administration of my
high
school. Many students were depressed and confused, much to the indifference of the
administration.
The administration simply allowed a truly horrible environment to develop, one in which children
were treated with disrespect and unintentionally led to exhibit spiteful, backstabbing behaviors
rather
than caring or nurturing ones.
But when I spoke out to this effect, people were appalled. Who was I, a sixteen year old know it
all,
to make these suggestions? How dare I be so disrespectful. How dare I speak out.
Similarly, at the heart of "Too Dangerous to Teach" is a discussion of the consequences of
speaking
out against the majority and holding firm to a higher moral standard than is being exhibited. After
reading it, I believe that if Isobel Kleinman (or her alter-ego Elizabeth Feinman as it appears in the
book) had taught in my school, there would have been at least one pair of open ears willing to
hear
my concerns. And who knows, maybe one responsible voice could have made all the
difference.
"Too Dangerous to Teach" is a very interesting recollection of the frustrations of a Phy. Ed.
teacher
during the course of a full career. The book is refreshing in its openness and honesty; although, it
does not really resemble a true novel in its organization. Each chapter is a series of anecdotes
surrounding the difficulties of things such as: the inherent dangers and problems of teaching
archery
to fifty children, getting funding for extracurricular activities, and, of course, run-ins with
administrators who really don?t have the first clue as to what you are dealing with. There is a
common thread to the book, but this is not a "plot-driven" novel. This is more an example of
literary
non-fiction, and the draw of the work is the documentary style insights you get from Kleinman's
experience. Reading it is very much like sitting down with the an experienced teacher and listening
to her impart to you virtually everything she learned about her profession, both comical and sad,
during the course of her lengthy career.
The book is written in a clear, if not especially daring voice. The stories are told in a
conversational
tone that isn't at all preachy, and the events dealing with human behavior are of the type that are
too
absurd to be made up. You never doubt the work's authenticity, and although this book does
nothing
special stylistically, it doesn't need to. This is a recollection of events told in a way to gain
credibility,
and stylistic experimentation would have detracted from that.
Above all, this book feels very true. The atmosphere of a modern school is recreated, and I had no
difficulty visualizing the faces of my teachers and principal in the places of those that Kleinman
described. Being a single person's account, it is natural to begin to suspect that the author could
have intentionally or unintentionally misconstrued or misrepresented various conflicts in her favor.
However, the accuracy of what is presented is unimportant in the matter of details. What is
important is that the main character of the story is clearly very responsible and conscientious
regarding the care of her students, and that the currently accepted standard of school
administration
got in the way of her doing her job to the best effect.
I think this book would resonate strongly with anybody in the teaching industry whether they are
the
type of responsible teacher Elizabeth Feinman is or not. I could see this book being of great
interest
to anyone who is starting a career in teaching, and I can foresee that books like this will be great
for
sociologists four hundred years from now who are trying to reconstruct the sources of the flaws
in
our culture.
It is hard to pinpoint exactly what it is in human nature, or culture, that makes such a mess of our
school system. Part of it comes from people who lose track of just what it is they are trying to
accomplish, that is, they forget that the children come first. Part of it might be from a socially
conditioned drive for power and stature. I don't know, and neither, do I think, does Isobel
Kleinman,
but in "Too Dangerous to Teach" she provides the raw material from which a conclusion might
one
day be drawn.
"Too Dangerous to Teach" contains a lot of material, and, in all fairness, probably runs a bit too
long. I couldn't help but think that somebody could make a great fictional novel from this vast
work
of recollections. There are so many characters that I began to lose track of who was who. A more
"Hollywood" version of this story would combine the personality traits of various groups and
present them in a single antagonist. The advantage of that would be that the more important
themes
of the work would be brought to the surface where they might be more effectively explored.
However, having personally seen enough Hollywood garbage, I found the raw quality of
Kleinman's
writing to be rather relaxing. It is nice when you can enjoy a story without feeling
manipulated.
After my own experience in high school, there is really no criticism of modern schooling that is
too
strong for my liking. Both teen suicide and school shootings are major issues today that were
almost
unheard of as recently as fifty years ago. "Too Dangerous to Teach" is both funny and frustrating,
and it only goes to further show that there is something inherently wrong in the system. Changes
must be made, but unfortunately, the public reaction is far too frequently a scolding of the
messenger
rather than an acknowledgement of his/her report. Sure, a major overhaul of public education is a
big time undertaking. But in the end, don't you think the kids are worth it?
A Bit On The Side
William Trevor
Viking
375 Hudson Street, New York,NY 10014
ISBN 067003343X $24.95, 245 pages
Peter Lamal
Reviewer
As exemplified in the collection A Bit On The Side, William Trevor is one of the few masters of
the
short story. In common with such other great short story writers as Alice Munro, Hemingway,
and
Updike, Trevor's short stories approach the depth and complexity of novels. This is particularly
true
of a collection of short stories when they are linked, as in A Bit On The Side, by an underlying
theme. In Trevor's case the theme of individuals who have experienced deep disappoinment,
frustration, and rejection. Trevor's main characters lead lives almost devoid of positive social
reinforcement.
The economy of speech of Trevor's characters is a central feature of the economy of his writing.
In
"Big Bucks", for example, a character hears "a statement made through what was being left
out."
Another characteristic of Trevor's writing is his detailed descriptions of characters' immediate
surroundings, particularly when they are most strongly experiencing disappoint and frustration.
"Big
Bucks" also provides examples of this.
Sometimes we cannot determine whether a character's stated reason for doing or not doing
something, is the real reason. Just as in our own lives. Is the reason Michael gives in "Big Bucks"
for
not marrying the young woman he left behind in Ireland the real reason? In "On the Streets" a
man
accosts his ex-wife on the street from time-to-time. He is unable to recover from a long-ago
humiliation he suffered at the hands of a couple, which he has repeatedly described to his wife,
now
ex-wife. He now describes the revenge he finally exacted on the couple. Or is his claim of revenge
false? In either case, he has, if only briefly, been able to to have the attention of another
person.
Trevor was born and spent his childhood in provincial Ireland and much of his writing conveys the
extremely circumscribed lives once led by the rural Irish. Most of them, as in "The Dancing
Master's
Music," accept, sometimes not willingly, their barren presents and the certainty that their futures
will
be nothing but more of the same.
In addition to other short story collections William Trevor is the author of the highly regarded
novels Felicia's Journey and The Story of Lucy Gault.
Dreaming of Amerika
Gabe G. Kubichek
Llumina Press
PO Box 772246, Coral Springs, FL 33077-2246
1-866-229-9244, orders@llumina.com
www.llumina.com
ISBN 1595262741 $26.95 320 pp.
Liana Metal
http://lianametal.tripod.com
Very Highly Recommended
Gabe Kubichek tells his true story about his childhood dream to go to America. His life story
starts
in 1933 in Hungary and ends now, in America. More about Gabe's dream at
http://www.llumina.com/store/dreamingofamerika.htm
DREAMING OF AMERIKA, Gabe's first book , is set both in Hungary and America. Gabe
grows
up in Hungary during the years of the Depression, World War 2 and the Russian occupation, but
his
dream is to flee to freedom. After the failed Revolution of 1956, he flees to Canada and becomes
an
American citizen in 1970.
The book is divided into 19 chapters , all of which include historic events combined with the
author's
memoirs of the different periods of time he describes in detail. It is a well-constructed story of
excellent quality whose high authenticity of facts makes it an interesting and enjoyable read. The
content originality is enriched by the historic references and the photographs the author presents
throughout his book. The style of presenting the story is highly appealing ,yet simple and clear at
the
same time, showing that Gabe is able to achieve his goal, that is, to inform readers about the
turbulent events he witnessed and entertain them as well.
It caters to all adult non fiction lovers, especially those who are keen on history or/and memoirs
from people who managed to fulfill their dream fighting against odds. However, the target
audience
may be wider: This book will also appeal to the female readership who enjoy reading love stories,
as
this story is packed with Gabe's love affairs and it is interesting to see a man's perspective on this
issue. There is also a tint of the 007 spy character that adds mystery and action to the whole story
and makes it more interesting.
DREAMING OF AMERIKA is undoubtedly a good story that has also got historic value and will
satisfy the demanding reader. This book is available from Llumina Press, Ingram, and Baker
&Taylor.
The Submarine: A History
Thomas Parrish
Viking Penguin
ISBN: 0670033138 $29.95 576 pp.
Michael Riggs, M.D.
Reviewer
Thomas Parrish is one of those rare writers who writes to invite, and despite the title of his latest
work, he demonstrates that the best writers of the history of science do not produce the last word.
The Submarine, like the author's previous Encyclopedia of the Cold War and American
Codebreakers, leads readers into sharing a sense of fascination, into an urge to dig deeper and
know
more. Parrish's particular area of expertise is military history. It seems to me that, especially
recently,
we have been deluged with books about this subject, and as a person who normally prefers other
kinds of history, I avoid the "chaps and maps" books with nearly the same enthusiasm that I do
Tom
Clancy. Had I not received The Submarine as a gift, and had I not read the first few pages in the
presence of the giver, I would have missed a great book.
I do like books on the history of science and technology, especially recent ones. Science has a
social
dimension, a story, and the history of technology has become, especially lately, almost coextensive
with the social history of organizational culture. Bureaucracies determine funding, and the history
of
bureaucracy is much more to my taste than is yet another map of the Battle of X. When someone
writes a sentence such as "Something on the surface of the earth has always made us try to leave
it",
however, I am well and truly hooked.
Replete with anecdotes, aphorisms and warnings from Leonardo Da Vinci, tales of corporate and
contracting scandals, The Submarine commanded my attention for more than five hundred pages,
taught me more about naval warfare than either a history degree or any of my previous reading,
and
made a mockery of my firm resolutions to read for no more than an hour past bedtime. For
general
readers, and for those who, like me, must learn history by other means, The Submarine is the
vehicle
of choice.
The Miradors-Descensions Of a Man
B. Elwin Sherman
Publish America
ISBN: 1413718833 $19.95 163 pp.
Shirley Roe, Reviewer
www.allbooks.bravepages.com
A MIND LOST OR A SOUL DISCOVERED? This is the question this reviewer asks after
reading
B. Elwin Sherman's memoirs. The portrait of a time when nurse becomes patient, analyst becomes
the analyzed and the tortures and tribulations of Ego attempt to conquer the emerging Muse of
the
Soul.
I feel the fullness of being empty
Right now there is comfort in feeling numb
Empty space is not the same as no space.
(And later-)
I'm living in a glass ship
Outside, it is night and a storm whips up
On the deck of my ship, someone lights a lamp
It flickers, then is gone.
But on the far horizon, a beacon sweeps the sky.
The Miradors is a literary work, set apart by its originality of thought and style. It reads like
narrative mixed with poetry; varied, free verse and rhymed sometimes reaching didactic
proportions.
From gut wrenching emotion to light and humorous observation the reader is enlightened and
exposed to a subject, often avoided. The author's personal experience gives life to his work and
his
literary skills are beyond reproach. He carries the reader along on his tumultuous journey with the
subtle, gentle hands of the caregiver. Each reader will draw a different experience from this book,
but the words will haunt you long after you close the cover.
Do not let the subject matter keep you from one of the best reads on the market today. Most
impressive, highly recommended.
Writing Basics
Liana Metal
http://www.ebookad.com
http://lianametal.tripod.com
Ebook $4.50, 90 pp.
Bill Savanis
Reviewer
Very Highly Recommended
Would you like to write for online and print publications but you are not sure how to go about it?
Read this ebook which is specially written for new writers, and learn all the basics you need to get
started. You won't miss!
WRITING BASICS is an innovative writing guide for new writers and not only. It is simple and
clear and it is a 'must' for those who wish to break into publishing, both in print and online. There
is
a market roundup included, as well as tips from various writers.
The author, Liana Metal, uses her own experiences to show readers how to achieve a good
presentation of their work and how to promote it, and there is reference to a lot of other essential
issues such as rejection, creating an ebook, and ways to market your articles/book.
WRITING BASICS caters to all writers, old and new, who are not familiar with online
publishing.
However, some parts of the book focus mainly on the new writer, giving away tips and
suggestions
on a variety of topics which are the 'essentials' in this competitive field. This book is s real
page-turner!
You can get it from http://www.ebookad.com
Related Titles: Where to Promote your Book Online, Dallas Franklin
Bethany's Bookshelf
Hope For The Home Front
Marshele Carter Waddell
One Hope Ministry
PO Box 68188, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23471-8188
0972948805 $12.00 www.hopeforthehomefront.com
Written by the devout Christian wife of two decades to a career military sailor and commissioned
officer in service to America, Hope for the Home Front: God's Timeless Encouragement for
Today's
Military Wife is a faith-inspired testimony and advice guides for dealing with the particular trials
and
tribulations of spouses separated by their loved ones by vast distances and even the threat of death
in
service to one's country. Topics addressed include how to confront fear with faith, raising children
when their father is absent for long periods of time in service to one's country, learning how to
stay
together when duty forces a couple to be apart so much, and more. A deeply powerful testimony
that combines personal experience, trust in God's plan, and practical wisdom into a heartfelt
whole.
Keeping Company With Jesus
Jackie L. Smallbones
Augsburg Publishers
100 Fifth Street, Suite 700, Minneapolis, MN 55402-1210
0806651571 $9.99 1-800-328-4648 www.augsburgbooks.com
Written by Jackie L. Smallbones (an associate professor of religion and Christian education, who
has
taught biblical studies for more than twenty years in her native South Africa and the United
States),
Keeping Company With Jesus: Reflections on Gospel Stories is a straightforward guide to
developing a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. The author's navigated rough times in her life,
including dealing with unemployment and breast cancer, by holding fast to the words of Jesus and
reflecting on his love, and the suffering he endured for all of humankind. Each chapter reflects
upon
a specific passage of the gospels, and a different aspect of how keeping company with Jesus
affects
both one's worldly and spiritual life. Questions for reflection and discussion round out this
thoughtful work of love, reverence, and devotion.
Ditch The Diet And The Budget
Cynthia Yates
Harvest House Publishers
990 Owen Loop North, Eugene, Oregon 97402-9173
0736914609 $10.99 1-800-547-8979
Award-winning humor columnist Cynthia Yates presents Ditch the Diet and the Budget ... and
Find
a Better Way to Live, a no-nonsense guide to helping oneself trim expenses, cook and eat
healthier
foods at lower cost, and improve the overall quality of one's life in large and small ways alike.
Yates
explores seeking a Christian reconnection with the Holy Spirit of God, reconstructing one's
patterns
of interacting with others so as to take more control over one's own life, applying the 50 percent
principle to cut one's expenses in half, and much more. A postive, can-do attitude and resource
for
engineering penny and pound-wise savings in one's life.
A Good Friend For Bad Times
Deborah E. Bowen and Susan L. Strickler
Augsburg Publishers
100 Fifth Street, Suite 700, Minneapolis, MN 55402-1210
0806651512 $12.99 1-800-328-4648 www.augsburgbooks.com
A licensed social worker and a professional bereavement counselor pool their years of experience
in
A Good Friend for Bad Times: Helping Others Through Grief, a Christian resource for helping
friends and loves ones cope with terrible loss. Offering both general and specific advice, especially
for dealing with the cruel reality of death, A Good Friend for Bad Times emphasizes the
importance
of being there, and describes helpful means of emotional and physical suppport in the first weeks,
the
first month, and the first year after experiencing a death. Highly recommended.
Fasting
Carole Garibaldi Rogers
Sorin Books
PO Box 1006, Notre Dame, IN 46556-1006
1893732649 $12.95 1-800-282-1865 www.sorinbooks.com
Fasting is a spiritual guide, and not intended specifically as a medical or scientific treatment of the
subject - biological matters pertaining to fasting are only briefly summarized. It focuses upon
religious and spiritual motivations for fasting; issues of fasting for weight loss or due to starvation
and poverty are left to other books. Exploring the ancient spiritual tradition of opening one's eyes
through limitation, Fasting discusses the practice as used in Christianity, Islam, during Yom
Kippur,
Lent, and Ramadan, for the purpose of making political statements or simply for personal
discipline
and enrichment. A reader-friendly guide that incorporates history, the personal experiences of
those
who fast, the mind-body spirit connection that can be obtained through fasting, and more.
Total Truth
Nancy Pearcey
Crossway Books
1300 Crescent Street, Wheaton, IL 60187
1581344589 $25.00 1-800-323-3890 www.crossway.com
Total Truth: Liberating Christianity From Its Cultural Captivity questions the modern American
cultural attitude of keeping religion a private matter. Claiming that Christianity's truth is best
served
by being brought into the public sphere to maximize its influence, Total Truth delves into complex
theological and behavioral questions. Examining how feminism contributed to the privatization of
Christianity, the power of evangelicalism, flaws in modern scientific theory, and more. While the
ideas presented in Total Truth are strong, and sometimes appears to discount the unshakeable
reality
that America is and always will be a nation of plural faiths, the passion in the author's conviction
to
improve human life on physical and spiritual levels through the power of religious virtue is
undeniable.
Let Me Hold You Longer
Karen Kingsbury, author
Mary Collier, illustrator
Tyndale House Publishers
PO Box 80, Wheaton, IL 60189
1414300557 $14.99 1-800-323-9400
Let Me Hold You Longer is a beautiful, rhyming picturebook about the all too transitory joys of
childhood and growing up. Warm, playful color illustrations add depth to the wistful verses that
are
a joy to read aloud to young ones. "The last piano lesson, / last vacation to the lake. / Your last
few
weeks of middle school, / last soccer goal you make. // I look ahead and dream of days / that
haven't
come to pass. / But as I do, I sometimes miss / today's sweet, precious lasts...
A Is For Ark
Colleen & Michael Glenn Monroe, authors
Michael Glenn Monroe, illustrator
Story Time Press
c/o KSB Promotions
55 Honey Creek, NE, Ada, MI 49301
0975494201 $17.95 www.storytimepress.com
A is for Ark: Noah's Journey is an alphabet book that combines the basic letters with the Biblical
tale
of Noah's voyage to save all the animal species on Earth from a great flood. Whimsical color
illustrations of the many birds and beasts as well as Noah himself add a charming touch to this
simple story, told with humor and grace. A truly fun way to introduce young ones to the
alphabet.
The Color Of Me
Linda L. McDunn, author
Barbara Knutson, illustrator
The Liturgical Press
St. John's Abbey, PO Box 7500, Collegeville, MN 56321-7500
0814629520 $16.95 1-800-858-5450 www.litpress.org
The Color of Me is a picturebook that deals with a powerful theological question: What color is
God? Amid a peaceful rain and a large gathering, a small child discovers the answer. God's
creation
and goodness embodies all people, all races, all colors. The starkly vivid illustrations, featuring
thick
black outlines and rainbow hues, underscore a profound message of faith, acceptance, love, and
spiritual wholeness.
God Believes In You
Holly Bea, author
Kim Howard, illustrator
Starseed Press
c/o H. J. Kramer
PO Box 1082, Tiburon, CA 94920
1932073086 $15.00
God Believes in You is a children's Christian picturebook with an abiding message of faith and
love.
Following the adventures of a bull mastiff named Buddy, who must cope with a day at obedience
school, the veterinarian, an unfriendly encounter with fire department dalmatians, and more, God
Believes in You closes with the profound message that even though life can be challenging, God
is
always there for Us. Slightly stringy and whimsically enjoyable color illustrations bring the
heartwarming tale and its simple message to vibrant life.
Susan Bethany
Reviewer
Betsy's Bookshelf
Living With Grief
Brook Noel and Pamela D. Blair, Ph.D.
Champion Press
4308 Blueberry Road, Fredonia, WI 53021
1891400088 $8.95 1-877-250-3354 www.championpress.com
Living With Grief: A Guide for Your First Year of Grieving is a brief yet compassionate book
written by expert authors who have dedicated their lives to working with people who have
survived
great loss. Simple tips and advice for dealing with difficult times and seemingly overpowering
emotions reverberate with timeless wisdom - don't worry about contacting people, expect to be
distracted, understand that grief has no schedule, counsel on how to deal with troublesome
dreams,
what to do when faith is shattered, and more. A plain-terms guide to coping with an often harsh
reality, highly recommended.
What's A Parent To Do?
Henry David Abraham, M.D.
New Horizon Press
PO Box 669, Far Hills, NJ 07931
0882822500 $14.95 1-800-533-7978
Written by a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, What's A Parent To Do? Straight Talk on
Drugs and Alcohol is a no-nonsense self-help guide to the extremely difficult task of preventing
and dealing with epidemic drug abuse among children. Drawing heavily from the author's thirty
years of experience treating substance-abusing young people and their families, What's A Parent
To Do? covers how to protect one's children from drugs ranging from tobacco, alcohol and
marijuana to acid, anabolic steroids, narcotics, psychostimulants, and other unsavory body- or
mood-altering chemicals. Written in plain, non-judgement terms that focus primarily on helping
families stay clean and healthy, What's A Parent To Do? is an absolute "must-have" for any parent
or caretaker in today's unfortunately drug-saturated culture.
Betsy L. Hogan
Reviewer
Betty's Bookshelf
Color Play: Easy Steps to Imaginative Color in Quilts
Joen Wolfrom
C&T Publishing, Inc.
PO Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549
www.ctpub.com
157120105X $27.95 144 p.
If your quilting problem is poorly thought-out color schemes, then Color Play: Easy Steps to
Imaginative Color in Quilts (by Fox Island [WA] resident Joen Wolfrom), may be just the help
you
need, to take your quilts from "Whatever..." to "Wow!" Wolfrom spends the first two chapters of
Color Play taking apart and explaining the various colors that are found in nature and how they
are
combined, using the Ives Color Wheel (the yellow-magenta-turquoise color wheel used in
fabric-dying, print-making, and photography) to show you exactly why they work so well
together.
In the next six chapters, she explains and demonstrates how to use color to express moods,
feelings,
and seasonal images, while the last chapter includes instructions on how to use color to produce
illusions of depth, luminosity, luster, shadows, highlights, and transparency. Scattered throughout
the book are pages and pages of gorgeous color photos of quilts made by various quilters and
textile
artists that show the various principles of color usage, worked out in fabric.
Smashing Sets: Exciting Ways to Arrange Quilt Blocks
Margaret J. Miller
C&T Publishing, Inc.
PO Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549
www.ctpub.com
1571201106 $23.95 96 p.
Are the patchwork sampler blocks that you've made in various classes languishing in a drawer
somewhere because you can't face putting together one more boring quilt top - and frankly, if
you've
seen one sampler top, you've seen them all? Well, you need to go out and buy a copy of Smashing
Sets: Exciting Ways to Arrange Quilt Blocks, by Seattle professional quilter/author Margaret J.
Miller.
Miller doesn't believe in boring quilts, and throughout her book's pages, she encourages quilters to
"reach for the unexpected" when putting blocks together, by showing them how to use various
methods of setting blocks in their quilts' interiors as well as innovative ideas for bordering them.
Smashing Sets includes graphed design ideas, color photos of finished quilts, appendices of
reproducible blocks, and a resource/bibliography list, and is filled with ways to make viewers take
a
second look at your next quilt top, even if it does include traditional blocks.
Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles
Anthony Swofford
Scribner / Thomson Gale
PO Box 9187, Farmington Hills, MI 48333-9187
http://www.gale.com/scribners/
0743235355 $24.00 272 p.
Anthony Swofford begins his war narrative with these words: "As a lance corporal in a U.S.
Marine
Corps scout/sniper platoon, I saw more of the Gulf War than the average grunt. Still, my vision
was
blurred -by wind and sand and distance, by false signals, poor communication, and bad
coordinates,
by stupidity and fear and ignorance, by valor and false pride. By the mirage. Thus what follows is
neither true nor false but what I know [italics his]." And what he knows about war now bears
little
resemblance to what he thought he knew on the day he enlisted at the tender age of seventeen and
a
half.
Swofford and his siblings were raised on military bases by a highly disciplinarian father who'd
served
in Vietnam and, according to Swofford's own remarks, taught his kids the meaning of unattainable
expectations and failure and subsequent punishment. This made Swofford long to prove his
manhood by joining the military. And in his mind, only the Marines (at least, the heroic mirage
he'd
made of it for himself) would do. "...I needed the Marine Corps to save me from the other life I'd
fail
at - the life of the college boy hoping to find a girlfriend and later a job."
And when Desert Storm began brewing and the U. S. Marines of Surveillance and Target
Acquisition Platoon, Second Battalion, Seventh Marines, arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on
August
14, 1990, Anthony Swofford was right in the middle, wearing cammies the color of desert sand
and
a high-and-tight haircut so short his head looked like a jar with a lid of hair twisted on. He was
going to war, to kill rag-heads and impress girls and become a man! He had only been twenty for
two days.
Then, gradually, reality began to intrude. He discovered that he no longer had freedom of speech:
Marines do what they're told and say what they're told. He found sand in his food, his gear, and
even
his body crevices. He watched as comrades-in-arms turned from decent human beings into
animals,
desecrating corpses and abusing each other. And surrounded by pain and death and fear and
ugliness, he found out that the mirage of manhood he had expected to find at the operating end of
a
sniper rifle was a myth.
Jarhead is the story of Swofford's arrival at this disillusionment, stripped of macho posturing and
told in searing, grit-edged words that seesaw between poetic expression and acidic vomit. It
leaves
very little to the imagination and will surely gross out the weak-stomached, upset the easily
offended, and disgust the ultra-patriotic, but maybe-for a moment- it will also give other tortured
war survivors a place to say, "I was not alone. Someone else felt like that, too. Thank God."
Being a soldier is an honorable and necessary occupation, but it isn't glamorous. Those who want
to
offer several years (or perhaps all) of their lives to the military need to do it with their eyes wide
open. They need to see the thrill and the service to your country and the chests swelled with pride
and the snappy uniforms side by side with the vomiting and the crying and the fear and the stench
of
death. And they need to know that being a soldier isn't either/or, it's both. There are many books
and
movies that will show them the first part. We need movies like "Saving Private Ryan" and books
like
Jarhead to show them the rest. It's important.
One last thought: R.I.P. ["Rest In Peace"] is traditionally placed on graves in which the dead lay.
This has never made much sense to me. Dead bodies do not thrash about, looking for peace; only
the living do that. After reading Jarhead, it makes even less sense. It's not those who die in war,
but
those who survive it, who need peace. Anthony Swofford went off to college when he left the
Marines, and he became a teacher. Now, he lives in Portland, Oregon, where he is currently
working
on another book. Rest in peace, Anthony Swofford. You need it, you've earned it, and I hope you
find it.
Betty Winslow
Reviewer
Buhle's Bookshelf
The Financial Universe
Christeen Skinner
The Alpha Press
c/o International Specialized Book Services
920 Northeast 58th Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, OR 97213
1898595445 $25.00 1-800-944-6190 www.isbscatalog.com
The Financial Universe: Planning Your Investments Using Astrological Forecasting is not a
typical
financial guide. It deals specifically with using planetary bodies to predict cycles in the
marketplace,
both positive and negative. Offering suggestions and warnings that potentially reverberate up
through the year 2020, The Financial Universe even contemplates the astrological sign of America
as
a nation, and considers the implications of this birth sign on the future of American finances as a
whole as surely as what this means for one's own private investments. A fascinating compendium
for
astrology buffs, although lacking in economic advice other than astrological forecasting - the
reader
is already presumed to be familiar with the basics and the risks of the financial market.
Wall of Silver
Richard Kellogg
Avery Color Studios
511 "D" Avenue, Gwinn, MI 49841
1892384280 $16.95 1-800-722-9925
Former air force man and outdoors lover Richard Kellogg presents Wall of Silver, a
treasure-hunting
memoir. Following his instincts into an abadoned mine, he kicks off an amazing adventure
interlacing detective work, memories, and a keen command of knowledge; it reads as fast-paced
and
fluidly as a novel. An introductory disclaimer warns the reader that Wall of Silver is meant strictly
for entertainment value, and the sites it describes are private property, protected by trespass laws;
neither the author nor the publisher sanction any activity taken to locate the property or places
referred to. Wall of Silver is intended expressly for entertainment value only, and lives up superbly
to
that purpose.
Inside a U.S. Embassy
Shawn Dorman, editor
American Foreign Service Association
2101 E. Street N.W., Washington, DC 20037
0964948826 $12.95 1-202-338-4045 www.afsa.org
Inside a U.S. Embassy: How the Foreign Service Works for America is an anthology of brief
essays
and personal testimonies penned by experienced professionals and published by the American
Foreign Service Association itself, that reveal the role a U.S. embassay plays oversees and the
demands placed upon its public servants and diplomats. Focusing on individual stories rather than
cold facts or an excess of statistics, Inside a U.S. Embassy Includes profiles of the wide range of
U.S. embassy responsibilities, from ambassador and mission director to refugee coordinators,
consular officer, security officer and more. Brief true tales include typical days in the life of the
foreign service as related in one-day journals from individuals worldwide, and amazing glimpses
of
the foreign service in action during moments of crisis. A fascinating revelation of the tireless men
and women who labor to represent America abroad.
Willis M. Buhle
Reviewer
Christina's Bookshelf
Welcome To Fred
Brad Whittington
Broadman & Holman Publishers
535 Maddox-Simpson Pkwy, Lebanon TN 37090-0756
ISBN# 0805425551 $12.99
Think clean can't be engaging? Not after reading this story. Whittington addresses an age old
question while providing a playful read.
Being the son of a preacher who moves around a lot sure can alienate a guy. Mark struggles with
other dilemmas too. For one, he's entering adolescence and for another, he's not so sure he
believes
the Bible is completely correct. An uncomfortable place to be. Add a town no bigger than a
postage
stamp that's behind the times when hippies and bell-bottom pants are cool, and you get sufficient
ingredients for an intriguing state of affairs.
This is a coming of age story written in first-person through the eyes of the main character, Mark
Cloud. He's eleven when the story begins and in his later teens when it ends.
Mark tolerated most everything about being the son of a Baptist preacher, except for one. He'd
grown accustomed to spicy conversations halting when he walked by and to being at the church
often, but he didn't like moving. They moved from house to house and from town to town, more
than Mark figured they needed to.
When they moved from Fort Worth Texas to Ohio, the place was a land of stylish 60's. Life for
Mark became grand. He even made a best friend named Marc. Because he and his friend shared
the
same name, only the spelling was different, Mark came to naming Marc "M." "M" was an
African-American boy, which didn't matter, and lived next door. They did things together like
hitting
nails to watch sparks fly, riding their bicycles to the library, exploring, and reenacting episodes of
the
television series, I Spy. One late Saturday afternoon while playing, I Spy, Mark accidentally
discovers a homeless woman who lived in a box down an alley behind a theatre. "M" didn't feel
comfortable around her, but Mark felt drawn, probably just curious. He decided she needed him
and
did things like bringing her food and giving her money, what little he had. He soon learns she's
using
the money to buy alcohol so, doesn't give her any more. He takes to calling her The Creature, but
not to her face, only with himself and "M." When The Creature becomes ill, he cares for her and
learns her real name, and of how she came into her situation. This nauseates him for he's eleven
years old after all. Little does Mark realize he'd eventually learn more about this woman years
later.
Just as school ended for the summer, Mark's father announces they're moving back to Texas, this
time to a place called Fred. He'd broken his own rule and become attached to this home. They'd
lived in Ohio longer than a year. Mark didn't want to go.
Fred is different than Fort Worth and like a different planet when compared to Ohio. The guys
wore
their hair short and chewed tobacco, even the one's Mark's age. He felt like an outsider and they
called him a Yankee.
Before long, Mark finds himself again dealing with his situation and the male Fredonian
equivalents.
He doubts if he'll ever fit in, yet does find a way to make a few dollars. He sells copies of a
newspaper called GRIT. He also doubts if he'll work up the courage to tell Jolene how he feels
about her, or live if he takes another ride with Darnell Ray in his pick-up truck.
He'd just about given up on being cool when his father decides they're taking a family trip to
California. Mark's hopes rise, and he feels this might be his last chance to mingle among the cool
and
hip. He searches for trendy clothes, helps fix the ever-failing station wagon along the trip, and
keeps
his patience with his two sisters.
Time in California turns out differently than Mark had hoped, but he learns a few things, and finds
an
answer to the question he'd carried for years. The response and solution is no where near what
he'd
guessed, and neither is the source. That's surprising as well.
An unordinary story readers will thoroughly enjoy. It's impossible to read without laughing or to
put
down. Charming. Witty. Fun.
Milton's Dilemma
Patricia Gatto & John De Angelis
Illustrator: Kenneth Vincent
Providence Publishing Company
834 Tanglewood Drive, Tanglewood Lakes, Greentown, PA 18426
ISBN# 0965166198 $15.95 32 pgs.
Think bullying is just a right of passage and harmless? Think again. We've all experienced either
being bullied, being the bully, or standing idly by while someone else was. The child bully has been
around since the beginning of time. If the picking and bullying isn't stopped, victims may take
matters into their own hands, and that could mean with a gun or a knife.
Patricia Gatto and John De Angelis describe a bullying as aggressive behavior repeatedly targeted
at
a child of lesser physical or emotional strength.
"There are three types," says Gatto, "physical, verbal, and social. Remember, a bully needs an
audience, tends to be over confident, have a low frustration level, needs to be the center of
attention,
lacks empathy, and portrays a fearless nature and physical strength, qualities often admired by
their
peers."
Their book, Milton's Dilemma, was born when Gatto and De Angelis felt compelled to help
victims.
They present the reader with an age-old problem. The audience aim is mainly grades K-5, parents,
educators, and anyone dealing with children.
Ten-year-old Milton Hastings, Jr. recently moved. His mom said things would be different, but
this
move proved to be the worst. Milton had lost his dad, and his mother seemed to have
changed.
Before long, a bunch of boys at school began to tease Milton. They thought it an entertaining
game.
Milton eventually attempts to tell his mother because he can't take it any longer, however his
mother
is busy with her new job at a bookstore. She's the sole provider and must not loose her new
position.
Milton retreats to a far corner of the bookstore and falls asleep. When he wakes, a large worn
book
sits floating in the air before him. As if that weren't magical enough, a gnome springs from the
pages
and tells Milton he'll help him with his bully problem. Milton enjoys his revenge on the three boys
until one of them is in real trouble. Meanness isn't in Milton's makeup and he flees to the bully's
aide.
Can he help or is it too late? Will he be sorry? Maybe the gnome decides it is too late. The deed is
to
be finished.
Along with their book, Gatto and De Angelis visit schools, and provide tips for intervention by
adults. They believe every child has the right to a safe and healthy learning environment. They also
visit community events, wrote a screenplay called, 'Relocating Tony' and an article called 'Brace
Yourself for the Bully.' They are members of the society of Children's Book Writers &
Illustrators,
are founding sponsors of the 'Two River Film Festival,' are members of Penuinters, Inc., are active
in
a number of community and charity events for children, and are currently pilot testing a program
called Author Pal involving authors and children.
Endorsements include:
--Judge Marjorie O Rendell, First Lady of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
--Robert S. Conquest, MSW, a Certified Therapeutic School Social worker who provides the
'FORWARD' of Milton's Dilemma.
--The book is listed as resource material on the US Department of Health and Human Services
(HRSA) website, 'Stop Bullying Now!'
For more information visit:
http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov
and the Gatto and De Angelis' website:
http://www.joyfulproductions.com
A Few Facts To Consider:
22% of kids in grades 4-8 say they have trouble with their studies because they are teased and
bullied by other kids.
- TIME For Kids, Oct. 27, 2000
Each day about 160,000 kids miss school because they're afraid of being picked on.
--TIME For Kids, Oct. 27, 2000
School psychologist and psychotherapist Israel Kolman says adults have some mistaken attitudes
toward children's aggression and that, unless real injury is involved, adults should allow children
to
get along by themselves and "should refuse to get involved in children's disputes and send them to
work it out with each other instead."
--American Teacher, Feb. 2001
More than a quarter of teen students who responded to a survey in Fall 1999 by USA Weekend
(the
largest survey of its kind) report that they don't feel safe from violence on school grounds.
Some Survey Results:
4 in 10 students live in homes that have guns; more than half say they could access those
weapons.
* 7 in 10 would feel happier if schools were safer; more than half say they would learn more.
* 1 in 10 say students carry weapons at school.
--USA Weekend, April 2000
Gatto and De Angelis' book and programs are insightful, entertaining, and important. Our children
are precious and deserve the freedom to be themselves, to get an education without fear and to be
safe. An anti-bullying program needs to be implemented wherever children and teens gather such
as
in schools; one of the largest places of offences.
Milton's Dilemma is recommended for those with children and/or who work with them. Children
need adults who care about them no matter who they are, where they're from, or what they look
or
think like.
One of the most important topics for a book, or program, I've ever reviewed.
Moon Days Creative Writing About Menstruation
Cassie Premo Steele, Ph.D.
Ash Tree Publishing
P.O. Box 64, Woodstock, NY 12498 USA
ISBN# 1887714405 $12.95
Some cultures regard woman's puberty as taboo and something we should be ashamed of; not all.
Steele profiles various cultures' ways of viewing womanhood, especially the Western one. Here, a
woman is to look, act, think, and dress like a man. How did this come to be and who says
so?
This book is about ending the silence and stigma that occurs concerning menstruation. Many
women
today still grow quiet when the subject comes up. Steele's book brings voice, an openness on the
topic.
The book moves through four phases, just as a woman and their bodies do. The first phase is
"Early
Moons" those first periods. The second phase is "Waxing Moons: Coming to Light." It moves
from adolescence to adulthood; of feelings, dreams and consciousness. It also discusses the
position
our culture places women in as daughters, wives, mothers, sister, and patients dealing with sons,
husbands, fathers, brothers, and doctors. The third phase is "Full Moon Celebrations." This
section
provides the differences in how mainstream cultures differs from "natural" or "normal." The forth
phase is "Re-entering the Dark: Poetry and Prayer." Here, poetry emphasizes the power of being
female, suggests menstruation is more than physical. The back of the book contains notes, a
bibliography, and a listing of contributors, including their picture and Biography. There are 27
contributors in all.
As a woman reading Steele's book, I nodded often and said, "Hmm-hmm, yes, that's true" often.
Steele removes the baggage and gets to the bare truth. I liked her book so much I shared it with
my
daughters; ages seventeen and twenty, as well as women friends and relatives. I've always wanted
my daughters to be comfortable and proud of being female, to not view themselves as weak or
less
than men. Women and men are just different. One is not better than the other. We discussed being
women, shared our thoughts, concerns, and dreams. Steele provided a springboard.
Readers will find themselves nodding in agreement, and recalling their first period and everything
happening around it. Most will smile, some shed tears, but all will feel a kinship with other
women.
A book to be treasured and shared by females everywhere. Like having a conversation with a
wise,
strong and loving mother. Perfect for mothers and daughters, or as a gift. Empowering and
passionate. Highly recommended.
Dark Challenge
Christine Feehan
Dorchester Co., Inc.
200 Madison Avenue, Suite 2000, New York, NY 10016
ISBN# 0505524090 $6.99
Julian Savage was a dangerous Carpathian who had spent century after century away from his
people in order to protect his twin brother. He was a powerful hunter who learned how to do his
job
well which was to hunt and destroy vampires. His was a lonely existence though and he felt
weary.
He knew his future was bleak. The Carpathian species was dying out due to a lack of females. The
males desperately needed a lifemate. If they didn't find one, and most didn't they were left to either
give in to the mounting urge to become a vampire or end their existence by meeting the
dawn.
Just as Julian decided he couldn't take the bleakness of his world any longer he is given an
assignment by the prince of his people. He is to find and protect a certain Carpathian female who
is
rumored to be the target of a society of human vampire slayers.
As Julian neared this female a need jumped in his heart. There came an excitement in his soul he'd
never experienced before. Was it possible? After all of the gray centuries with no color, the
struggle
to hood onto emotion, to not become numb and void, and eventually loose his soul, could it be his
lifemate? Only a handful of the males were blessed to find their lifemate, their other half.
Desari had lived a long time too and unlike many Carpathian females she had time to learn her
own
mind, a chance to grow and know who she was before being pressured into finding a mate. Too
many females had mated young in order to ensure the continuation of their race. Desari enjoyed
her
career of singing and she controlled her own destiny thank you very much.
This book is a mixture of genres. It's classified as paranormal romance. If you like blends and
romance too, you'll enjoy this story.
NOTE: This book is the fifth of a series, although each stands well on it's own.
Christina Francine Whitcher, Reviewer
http://www.CFrancine.bizland.com
Christy's Bookshelf
Dr. Zastro's Sanitarium - for the Ailments of Women
Ludmilla Bollow
Behler Publications
22365 El Toro Road #135, Lake Forest, CA 92630
www.behlerpublications.com 800-830-2913
ISBN 1933016019 $16.95 346 pages
Ludmilla Bollow has authored plays produced in more than fifty theaters across America and the
world. The recipient of numerous play-writing awards, she has written two books of published
plays
as well as published articles, short stories, and poetry in magazines and journals. Her latest
writing,
Dr. Zastro's Sanitarium, draws the reader into the world of medicine and women during the late
1800's.
Dr. Zastro, a renowned physician of the 1880's, specializes in hypnosis and electromagnetic
healing
utilizing machines that employ electrical stimulus. Every year, Dr. Zastro selects six women, each
with a different ailment, for treatment at his sanitarium for a period of three weeks. Although Dr.
Zastro is devoted to the care of women, he holds the popular belief among males of the 19th
century
that females are the inferior sex. As a disciplined, self-isolating physician, Dr. Zastro is initially
irritated by independent, free-spirited Yana Kejako, who has come to his sanitarium for treatment
of
an arm injury due to a horse-riding accident. Half-gypsy and half-Irish, Yana is an anomaly among
women of the late 1800's: she is not afraid to speak her mind or question those in authority and
does
not submit to males. Although the two are diverse culturally and in mindset, they are drawn
together
with a passion that cannot be denied and which is freeing for both. When it seems they have found
common ground through their love, an unforeseen event threatens to separate them forever.
Ms. Bollow has written a spellbinding story filled with yearning desire and heart- wrenching loss.
Her characterizations are deftly portrayed and her depiction of the developing romance between
Yana and Dr. Zastro delivered with sensitivity and sensuality. This historical peek into the views
and
practices of the medical field during the late 1800's regarding the treatment of women is
fascinating
to read, as is the manner in which females were perceived and treated by men. A compelling
book, recommended without reservation.
Jeannie, a Texas Frontier Girl, Book Four
Evelyn Horan
Publish America
P.O. Box 151, Frederick, Maryland 21705-0151
www.publishamerica.com 1-301-695-1707
ISBN 141373443X $14.95 116 pgs.
At the young age of 17, Jeannie moves to her horse ranch and begins to live her life's dream, with
the help of Slim, her ranch foreman. Changes take place in Jeannie's life over the next three years
with her friends and family. She faces a personal loss and must decide what to do about the oil
found
on her property. She receives two marriage proposals, which is surprising to Jeannie, who has
been
concentrating on running her horse ranch and nothing else.
Will Jeannie decide to marry, and if so, who? Will she pump oil on her land? You'll have to read
the
book to find out!
The last in the Jeannie series, this book will bring tears and laughter but leave the reader with that
warm, comforting feeling of having visited with an old friend. An outstanding series for adult and
child alike, filled with characters who have become family, with plenty of warmth and love, and
rounded out with enough historical information to edify while entertain. Highly
recommended.
Hidden Prey
John Sandford
G.P. Putnam's Sons
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
www.penguin.com
ISBN# 039915180X $26.95 393 pages
Lucas Davenport is now working as a statewide troubleshooter for the Governor of Minnesota.
Married to Weather, their son, Sam, is growing like a weed, and a new member has been added to
their home: Lucas's 12-year-old ward, Letty West.
A Russian is found shot dead with fifty-year-old bullets, and Lucas finds himself heading the
investigation with the aid of the FBI and Russian agent Nadezhda Kalin. Although the case seems
a
dead-end at first, slowly the clues start to come together, leading the investigators back to an
earlier
time period when there was a strong Russian underground in Minnesota. As the case unfolds and
the
investigation draws closer to the truth, more murders are committed. Could the Russian mafia be
at
play, or the Russian underground? Or was it simply a case of an attempted burglary gone bad?
One
eyewitness holds the answer but that person is not forthcoming and Lucas isn't having much luck
locating this witness.
Gone is the edgy and somewhat randy Lucas Davenport from the past. Although Lucas is
mellowing
and beginning to happily settle into a contented family life, he is as fresh and vibrant as ever. A
little
disconcerting was the absence of Letty during the entire book as well as one small referral to
Lucas's
first daughter. It would be nice to see more of these two characters, presumed to be an integral
part
of Lucas's life. The plot is a good one, the pace is snappy and fast, and the characters, as always,
never disappoint.
Hear No Evil
James Grippando
Harper Collins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022
www.harpercollins.com
ISBN# 0060564571 $23.95 310 Pages
Attorney Jack Swyteck is reluctant to represent Lindsey Hart in the murder charge against her
until
she reveals that he is the biological father of her adopted son. Lindsey has been indicted for the
murder of her husband, Oscar Pintado, a naval officer stationed at Guantanamo, Cuba. Oscar's
father, Alejandro Pintado, owner of Brothers for Freedom, a group that rescues Cuban refugees,
is
strongly pushing for the conviction of his daughter-in-law.
Jack's investigation leads him to Cuba several times, with twists and turns around every corner
and a
client who is not above lying to her lawyer. As Jack attempts to unravel the mystery behind the
murder of Oscar Pintado, he also begins to try to search for more information about his Cuban
mother, who died giving birth to Jack.
This installment may be considered by some to be the weakest yet in the Swyteck series. Although
Jack is described as being "among the best Miami's criminal trial bar had to offer," he has a
propensity to let questions go unanswered, does not confront his client over lies told, and when an
important clue is revealed early on in his investigation, does not follow through. Jack comes
across
as depressed, slightly jaded, and cynical. In prior books, his best friend, Theo, has offered some
comedic relief, but doesn't help much in that regard this time out. There are no "warm" characters
other than the adopted son of Lindsey and Oscar, who is deaf. Although the plot is good, this did
not quite measure up to the former books in the series.
Christy Tillery French
Reviewer
Debra's Bookshelf
A Puzzle in a Pear Tree
Parnell Hall
Bantam
ISBN: 0553584340 $6.50 349 pages
As Christmas nears in small-town Bakerhaven, Connecticut, both Cora Felton--the public face of
the
syndicated Puzzle Lady column, though not the brains behind the operation--and her
cruciverbalist
niece Sherry Carter are roped into participating in Yuletide festivities. Cora finds herself miscast
as
one of eight maids-a-milking in a production of The Twelve Days of Christmas, and Sherry is one
of
a number of young women playing the Virgin Mary in a live Nativity. When a series of acrostics
(not
crossword puzzles in this fourth installment of the series) is found with clues threatening the
"leading
lady"--apparently Becky Baldwin, star of the play and Sherry's rival for the affections of
newspaper
reporter Aaron Grant--and when one of the Virgins Mary turns up dead, Cora is more than eager
for
another round of amateur sleuthing. Also joining Bakerhaven's small and ineffectual police force
in
trying to solve the town's most recent rash of murders is Englishman Jonathan Doddsworth, a
detective with Scotland Yard who happens to be in Bakerhaven visiting his estranged family.
Meanwhile, regular cast member Harvey Beerbaum, Bakerhaven's other cruciverbalist, appears to
be
as suspicious as ever of Cora's alleged puzzle-solving abilities. In the future, however, he is apt to
be
more trusting: this time around Cora is finally forced into solving a puzzle in the presence of
onlookers, an occasion in the Puzzle Lady's universe similar in import to Clark Kent having to
change clothes in a crowded locker room.
The mystery in Hall's A Puzzle in a Pear Tree will keep readers happily guessing to the end,
though
they may be disappointed finally in a solution that is difficult to credit. But the most surprising
thing
about the book is the dramatic change in the character of Cora Felton. Portrayed in the first three
books of the series as a chain-smoking lush, Cora doesn't pick up a cigarette or a bottle for the
first
200 pages of this installment, and we never see her drunk. It is odd that this change in Cora's
habits--if it is indeed to be a lasting alteration in her character--has occurred without comment,
but it
is nevertheless welcome: Cora's more usual celebration of her self-destructive habits and the
author's
treatment of them as charming, even comical, have been serious impediments to my enjoyment of
the
series. In A Puzzle in a Pear Tree we get the clever crime solver without, for the most part, the
unfortunate habits that would render her noisome and obnoxious--and too close to an early
death--in
real life.
The eleventh book in Lemony Snicket's wonderfully miserable Series of Unfortunate Events opens
with the much oppressed Baudelaire siblings hurtling down the freezing waters of the Stricken
Stream atop a toboggan. Rather than meeting their deaths by cracking their heads against one or
more sharp rocks, however, as one might suppose likely, our heroes soon find themselves aboard
the
Queequeg, a leaky submarine under the command of the boorishly loud Captain Widdershins. The
craft is manned by the Captain's stepdaughter and by Phil, the unusually optimistic former
employee
of the Lucky Smells Lumbermill whom the Baudelaires first encountered in The Miserable Mill,
the
fourth book of Mr. Snicket's series. (Of the Gorgon Medusa, for example, a figure of Greek
mythology whose glance turned people to stone, Phil says, "She was probably nice, when you got
to
know her." His rosy view of the world is comical, but it is not an attribute one looks for in an ally
when one is fighting an evil villain and his henchmen.) As has been usual for them since the day
they
learned of their parents' death in a fire, the Baudelaires are hounded throughout this newest
installment in the series by the wicked and shiny-eyed Count Olaf and his stylish girlfriend Esmee,
both of whom have developed a new and presumably "in" villainous laugh with which to frighten
the
non-villainous. The Baudelaires are troubled as well by various horrific phenomena, most notably
the
Medusoid Mycelium, a poisonous mushroom that waxes and wanes dangerously in the grim
grotto
of the book's title.
The mysterious Mr. Snicket, as in previous volumes of his researches into the Baudelaires'
misfortunes, amuses with his clever wordplay, educates with his tangential discussions of
vocabulary, and, indeed, alarms us on his behalf with hints dropped into the narrative of his own
harrowing life on the run. ("And a small, ceramic bowl, with a tight-fitting lid to keep something
important inside, might be difficult to find in the laundry room of an enormous hotel," Snicket
writes, for example, "particularly if there were a terrible villain nearby, making you feel nervous
and
distracted." Clearly Snicket has lived to tell the tale, but at what cost?) In the end the Baudelaires'
lives remain miserable, but perhaps slightly less miserable than they had been, and they are at least
a
tiny bit closer to uncovering the secrets of the VFD, the enigmatic organization that is a force for
good in their world. They are closer too, we must hope, to finally defeating Count Olaf and his
troupe of wicked henchmen. There are, after all, only two books remaining in the series.
While written for pre-teens, the Snicket series (penned in fact by author Daniel Handler, who has
also written some delightful books for adults) is bursting with allusions that will amuse parents.
The
books are fantastically clever and a joy to read aloud. (If you don't have children to read them to,
you may want to rent some.) The Grim Grotto is slower going in its first third than it might be--it
should perhaps have been shortened--but it is yet a delightful addition to the series. I urge readers
unfamiliar with the books to give them a try. (Don't count on the soon-to-be-released movie
version
to retain the linguistic playfulness of the original, which is the series' principal charm! Read the
books first.)
Suspect
Michael Robotham
Doubleday
ISBN: 1582881294 $TBA 351 pages
The suspect of Michael Robotham's title is Joe O'Loughlin, a perceptive and well-meaning
psychologist who, at the age of forty-two, has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
The
news sends him into a spiral of self pity until a more immediate and terrible threat arises. Joe finds
himself cast as the prime suspect in the unusually vicious murder of a young woman with whom
he
happens to have had an unpleasant history. Joe assumes at first, as we all probably would, that his
innocence will eventually become evident to the dogged detective who has taken a dislike to him.
But as the evidence against O'Loughlin adds up, the possibility of a lifetime of incarceration
becomes
terrifyingly real. With the police unwilling to credit his claim that a volatile patient of his is
somehow
behind the crime, Joe is forced to try to unravel the real killer's elaborate plot against him while on
the run.
Robotham tells the story of Joe's descent into a nightmarish conspiracy in spare, highly readable
prose that advances the plot quickly. Joe's back story is fleshed out in brief reminiscences that
never
interrupt the flow of the narrative. The only disappointment in the book comes in the pivotal
scenes
of its penultimate chapter, when the dramatic action is too rushed and as a result difficult to
follow.
That aside, Robotham's Suspect is a gripping, well-written thriller that readers will be loath to put
down.
Mixed Nuts
Lawrence J. Epstein
PublicAffairs
ISBN: 1586481908 $26.00 305 pages
In his highly readable book Mixed Nuts, author Lawrence Epstein tracks the history of the
comedy
team from its origin in minstrel shows, through vaudeville, radio, and film, to its current
incarnation
in television sitcoms. Along the way Epstein discusses a host of old favorites--from Burns and
Allen
to Laurel and Hardy, Hope and Crosby to Martin and Lewis--as well as many teams readers will
probably never have heard of. The book provides brief accounts of the teams' backgrounds and
history, sometimes quoting material from their acts (Epstein provides, for example, a version of
Abbott and Costello's "Who's on First," which was a pleasure to read), and explaining the teams'
appeal given the social milieu of their eras. Gracie Allen's likeable character, for example, a
non-threatening woman who maintained her dignity despite her trademark illogic, was "a perfect
symbol for women caught between Victorian morality and modern mores." Jackie Gleason's Ralph
Kramden, struggling to afford the accoutrements of middle-class life in the post-War period,
appealed to an audience that was striving for, or had only recently achieved, similar goals.
Comedy
teams were affected not only by the historical circumstances of their times, of course, but more
specifically by technological change. The advent of radio, free entertainment for the masses, is
said
to have killed vaudeville, but old vaudeville stars who could adapt to the new medium--whose
rate
of delivery was right for performance on air, whose humor did not depend on visual cues and
appealed to a broad audience--teams such as Burns and Allen, thrived in radio.
Epstein's account of the comedy team is a quick and absorbing read. Though it is the product of a
mountain of research, including dozens of interviews (with the likes of Jerry Stiller, Sid Caesar,
and
Soupy Sales), the book wears its erudition lightly. Mixed Nuts is filled with interesting bits of
information, from the poignant--the tragic death of Lou Costello's infant son--to the just plain
neat:
Homer Simpson owes his "D'oh," for example, to Laurel and Hardy. Most importantly, however,
in
tracking the development of the comedy team, and in identifying for readers the strands that link
current comedy teams--such as Frasier and Niles Crane of the sitcom Frasier--to their comic
forbears, Epstein enriches our appreciation of comedians present and past.
Oracle Night
Paul Auster
Picador
ISBN: 0312423667 $14.00 243 pages
Writing twenty years after the fact, the narrator of Paul Auster's Oracle Night tells readers in
detail
about a nine-day period in his life, in 1982, that began with his purchase of a particular blue
notebook, unusual for having been made in Portugal. The narrator, novelist Sidney Orr, is
recovering from a near fatal illness at the time of the purchase, and he hasn't written anything for
months, but the graph-paper pages of the notebook inspire him and he writes in it feverishly for
hours on end, transported by the notebook such that he becomes wholly unaware of his
surroundings. Sidney writes a story about a certain Nick Bowen, an editor at a successful
publishing
house who responds to a nearly fatal freak accident by abandoning his life and setting out to a
randomly selected location, Kansas. He takes with him only what he happens to have been
carrying,
a manuscript of a previously unknown work--entitled Oracle Night--by a long dead novelist. Nick
reads the manuscript repeatedly, and Sidney's would-be readers (and Auster's real-life readers) are
told the story of this Oracle Night, that is, the novel within the story within Auster's novel.
Auster's Oracle Night, as the above suggests, is a Russian nesting doll of a novel. In addition to
the
principal stories mentioned above--Sidney's own story told twenty years hence, his short story, the
novel within that story--other tales are slipped into the narrative--the reminiscences of various
characters, stories told second-hand, Sidney's account of his courtship of his wife, delivered in
footnotes. In some cases we are given cause to doubt the veracity of the stories, thus removing
them
that much further from the present "reality" in which narrator Sidney Orr is writing his account.
(There is cause too, I think, for doubting Sidney's own story, which may be the point of the whole
exercise.) What is remarkable about Auster's book, apart from this clever nesting of tales, is that
each of the stories one encounters in the novel is so compelling, so vivid in the telling, even the
brief
ones, that one tends to forget while reading them that they are part of a larger whole. Written in
deceptively simple prose, Auster's novel is a complex rumination on truth and storytelling,
interesting enough to read in a single sitting, complicated enough to inspire late-night dorm room
conversations about what he's really getting at.
Miriam the Medium
Rochelle Jewel Shapiro
Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 0743244788 $23.00 309 pages
Phone psychic Miriam Kaminsky may be able to predict the future and to ask advice of the
occasional visiting spirit, but she has at least as many problems as the rest of us. Her husband's
pharmacy is hemorrhaging money. Her previously overachieving daughter, who is too
embarrassed
by her mother's profession to mention it to her friends, has taken up with Great Neck's resident
bad
boy, a shaven-haired hoodlum who doesn't "do" parents. And Miriam herself has become an
object
of interest to a broken-hearted client, thuggish restaurateur Vince Guardelli, who just may have
fitted an acquaintance or two in his past with cement shoes. As her family's financial difficulties
escalate, Miriam must decide whether to sell her psychic abilities on a larger stage, a lucrative
option
which might further alienate her daughter and disappoint the spirit of her paternal grandmother,
her
psychic mentor, whose shimmering image appears to Miriam frequently.
Rochelle Shapiro's charming debut novel introduces readers to the unusual demands and
work-a-day
business of an occupation with which most of us won't be familiar. Her Miriam is a fully
sympathetic
character whose psychic ability is portrayed as more often a curse than an advantage. Not only is
the
information Miriam receives psychically often incomplete and misleading, but her talent colors
people's perceptions of her: Miriam is either fraud or freak, psychic spy or potential savior. It is a
burden with which Miriam's creator is herself familiar, for the book is at least to some extent
autobiographical: Great Neck resident Rochelle Shapiro is likewise a psychic whose talent was
first
recognized by her paternal grandmother. Let's hope there's another great read waiting for us in
Ms.
Shapiro's future.
The Bookshop
Penelope Fitzgerald
Flamingo
Gerald Duckworth and Co. (c) 1978
ISBN: 0006543545 16.99 pounds 156 pages
Having lived for more than eight years in the East Anglian coastal town of Hardborough, Florence
Green determines, in 1959, to purchase the aptly named Old House, a damp and decrepit and
indeed
haunted property more than 400 years old. Her decision to open a bookshop in the building, while
approved by a certain Edmund Brundish, the town's most respected scion, is opposed by an
unfortunately more influential resident of Hardborough, Violet Gamart, who has the vague plan of
turning the Old House into an art center. Florence's defiance of Mrs. Gamart's will begins an
undeclared war between the two women, only one of whom knows for certain that a war is in fact
being waged. Penelope Fitzgerald's The Bookshop chronicles the quiet but persistent opposition
Florence faces in opening and running the shop as well as her encounters with the odd cast of
presumptuous characters who populate Hardborough.
The Bookshop offers some very nice writing, as Fitzgerald's description of a horse forced to
submit
to having its teeth filed: "Once released, the horse sighed cavernously and stared at them as
though
utterly disillusioned. From the depths of its noble belly came a brazen note, more like a trumpet
than
a horn, dying away to a snicker." But the book as a whole is not entirely satisfying. The characters
are too outspoken to always be credible, including the precocious eleven-year-old who works in
the
bookshop with Florence. The poltergeist who punctuates the silence of the Old House with its
rapping serves no obvious narrative purpose. And the jumps in the narrative, with motivations and
intervening action left to the imagination, make the story feel incomplete.
Debra Hamel, Reviewer
http://www.tryingneaira.com
Diana's Bookshelf
Science: True Tales Series
Children's Press, A Division of Scholastic, Inc.
1-800-621-1115
Box 1795 Danbury, CT 06816
www.scholasticlibrary.com
ISBN# 0516233939 $21.50 Set of 5 books $107.50 48 pgs.
Awesome Science by Katherine Gleason ISBN# 0516237276
High-tech Inventions by Mary Packard ISBN# 0516237284
Medical Marvels by Catherine Nichols ISBN# 0516237268
Natural-born Killers by Linda Casterline ISBN# 051623725X
Up Close by Louise A. Gikow ISBN# 0516237292
If ever there were a set of books tailor made for me, this is the one. Science has always held a
deep
fascination for me. I remember as a child in junior and senior high school taking as many electives
of
the subject as were offered a trait that stayed with me throughout college. However science is
not
always as loved by children as it was by me; why even my own daughter has taken a favor to
subjects of a less technical nature. This series helps to show everyone the fun and magic found in
the
different aspects of Science, while unmasking some of the mystery and making it widely accessible
for children in, but not limited to, grades two through four.
All of the books in this set have a durable hard binding, with sturdy pages. In addition to being an
informative chapter book, they each have a glossary and section with information on how to find
out
more about the things covered. Throughout the book the glossary words are darkened to make
spotting them and thus discussion of the new vocabulary easy.
Awesome Science is broken into four chapters. The first covers the fascinating study of DNA,
explaining the basics of this complex topic in a way that a child can easily grasp, yet covering
ideas
that I remember from my high school studies. In Chapter Two we look at the battle against fat
and
obesity. With this being an ever-increasing problem in our society, it is great to show children that
Scientists are doing their part to help us all overcome the battle of the bulge, as well as showing
ways they can handle that battle for themselves. Chapter Three looks at Dolly, the worlds most
famous and controversial sheep, and introduces children to the fascinating study of cloning.
Chapter
Four starts with an introduction of the last known thylacines or Tasmanian tigers and discusses
the
efforts that are being made to bring back this wonderful animal using the processes of cloning the
DNA.
High-tech Inventions is also broken into four chapters. Chapter One gives children a great look at
the way computers used to be and even explains their inner workings, making it an utterly
fascinating read. Chapter Two looks at the use of cockroaches in robotics technology, giving a lot
of
information that was used in making many robotics items. I wasn't aware that so much work had
been done with the very insects that I as a Floridian try so hard to vanquish. Chapter Three looks
at
the environmentally friendly mode of transportation called the Segway HT, which operates
without
the use of a steering wheel, only by using a gyroscope. Chapter Four tells readers about Michael
Moshier who designed his own personal flying machine, using his knowledge of past machines
and
modern technology.
Medical Marvels a four-chapter book as well. Chapter One looks at the amazing story of Phineas
Gage, a man who had a metal rod enter his left cheek, pass through his brain and exit through the
middle of his forehead, cracking his skull. Although he fully recovered, he was a different man in
terms of personality and endeavors to explain why the transformation happened. Chapter Two is
the
story of conjoined twins Mohamed and Ahmed Ibrahim, who were joined at the head. It is the
miraculous story of how modern medicine allowed these brothers to finally look at each other.
Chapter Three is the heart warming story of Diamond Excell, born without shoulders or arms, and
of inventor Ivan Yaeger who created the electronic arms that would allow her to hug her mother.
Chapter Four is a story that is so near to my heart and one that has very recently come to an end,
that of the only man who will ever be Superman to so many people, Christopher Reeve. The
chapter
tells the story of his tragedy and struggle to recover straight through to the triumph of his
movements, something that is miraculous indeed for a quadriplegic. He was a great man that did a
lot of work for the betterment of life for all in his position. Although he may be gone from us
now,
his courage and perseverance still lives on, and there may yet be those to recover from their own
tragedies due to the hard work he did for them all.
Natural-born Killers is you guessed it four chapters. Chapter One is about the work of William
Withering who is responsible for the medical use of foxglove to treat dropsy and other heart
related
conditions. I found it to be rather interesting that a poisonous plant can actually be used to heal.
Chapter Two is about Bill Haast and his work with snake venom. He had the correct assumption
that snake venom could be used to treat health conditions in humans. Chapter Three is about John
Daily who studies poisonous frogs, and maps his research using the compounds of the poison to
make a strong painkiller that will have fewer side effects. As someone suffering from arthritis I
found his work to be of particular interest. Chapter Four is absolutely fascinating. It is about
foods
made from Bt plants. These are plants that contain Bt, which is a pesticide that kills insects that
eat
the plants. Currently the dilemma is that these foods are not labeled and thus consumers aren't
fully
informed about what they are eating.
Up Close is a chapter book, with four chapters. Chapter One is about Antony van Leeuwenhoek
and
his fascination with studying things under his homemade microscopes. It is interesting to see that
he
was so ahead of his time as well as being so detail oriented. Chapter Two is about the scientist
and
tools they used to study the belemnites eaten by the giant ichthyosaur. After research it was found
that like many of today's animals, after eating they would regurgitate the hard shells as to not hurt
any of their own internal organs. Chapter Three is about Kellar Autumn and his study of the
gecko
and its ability to climb walls. This study may well be something we all find a use for, in a more
powerful adhesive gecko tape. Chapter Four is about Dennis Kunkel and his study of how places
such as Mount St. Helens can recover after a natural disaster. It is curious indeed to watch as life
begins to reemerge in a previously lifeless area.
All of these books are geared toward teaching second to fourth grade students Science and
accomplish this in a way that makes learning fascinating, as it should be. Even as an adult reading
the books, I found that each and every chapter offered me a bit of new information in such vivid
words and pictures that the experience will stay with me long after I close the covers. This
collection
is something that should find a home in all classrooms as well as homes with children of this age
range, even a little younger and older would surely benefit from this learning adventure. This is
Science made fun, no easy task in this world of MTV, Video Games and instant gratification. Yet
it
gives the still wannabe Scientist inside of me a glow like that of a Bunsen burner that books such
as
these might just open the door for the next generation or explorers of information and seekers of
answers to step through.
Getting to Know the U.S. Presidents Series
Mike Venezia
Franklin Watts, A Division of Scholastic, Inc.
1-800-621-1115
Box 1795 Danbury, CT 06816
www.scholasticlibrary.com
ISBN# 0516296701 $26.50 Set of 6 books $156.00 32 pgs.
George Washington ISBN# 0516226061
James Madison ISBN# 0516226096
James Monroe ISBN# 051622610X
John Adams ISBN# 051622607X
John Quincy Adams ISBN# 0516226118
Thomas Jefferson ISBN# 0516226088
I remember as a child how intimidating it was learning about the presidents. We were spoon fed
cold
hard facts regarding their lives and deeds, then expected to memorize and regurgitate them on
demand. Up until now there really hasn't been a fun and non-intimidating way for kids to approach
this until Getting to Know the U.S. Presidents Series written and illustrated by Mike Venezia,
which
is sure to set the standard for a long time to come.
What makes this series so special is a writing style, which blends historical facts with humor,
making
it fun to learn. As a parent, I know my child retains a lot more when they are attentive and the
best
way to hold her attention is to make things either fun or funny, which Mr. Venezia has down to a
science. In addition to the text being designed with a child at heart, the illustrations are absolutely
hilarious and adorable.
The books themselves are sturdy and designed in a way that they will last for many generations. If
there had been tools such as this when I was a child, I am certain learning about the presidents
would have been among my favorite parts of history. This is truly the child's presidential reference
set that no home or school should be without.
Watching Nature Series
Edana Eckart
Children's Press, A Division of Scholastic, Inc.
Box 1795 Danbury, CT 06816
www.scholasticlibrary.com 1-800-621-1115
ISBN: 0516255665 Entire set of six $96.00
Watching the Moon, 24 pgs Hardback $16.00 ISBN# 0516275984
Watching the Seasons, 24 pgs Hardback $16.00 ISBN# 051627600X
Watching the Stars, 24 pgs Hardback $16.00 ISBN# 0516276026
Watching the Sun, 24 pgs Hardback $16.00 ISBN# 0516275976
Watching the Weather, 24 pgs Hardback $16.00 ISBN# 0516276018
Watching the Wind, 24 pgs Hardback $16.00 ISBN# 0516275992
Catching the attention of young children long enough to read them a book is often a chore. It's
hard
to compete with the likes of Spongebob Squarepants, Pokemon, or whoever is hot right now.
Usually when I receive a book to review I like to test it on the target audience if that audience is
someone other than myself, and that is exactly what I did with this series. Our test subject-my
rambunctious never sits still for a minute niece-age three.
From the very first volume, she was absolutely captivated by the stunning photos, which held her
attention long enough for me to slowly read the text on the page to her, allowing the words and
their
meanings, as well as how they interact with the corresponding picture to fully sink in. Even when
I
was done reading to her, she would often continue looking at the photos and commenting on each
one, as well as asking questions not only what they showed, but what I read as well. I have to tell
you that having a book that instigates as well as encourages such participation in reading from a
child is a treasure, and one that a young reader, or a child which a parent or teacher wishes to
encourage to develop into a reader would be blessed to have.
Each of these wonderful books give a bountiful amount of information, as well as including a list
of
words for the child to learn and additional ways to find information on each topic covered
between
the covers, helping the child to learn without even being aware they are something that is no easy
feat, yet pulled off here beautifully. The series covers, the moon, seasons, stars, sun, weather, and
wind; all topics of interest to a child who is trying to understand how the world around them
works.
I highly recommend these volumes to anyone with children up to second or third grade, as well as
being an excellent resource for daycares and schools. You and your young reader can't go wrong
with the Watching Nature series written by Edana Eckart.
You Wouldn't Want Series
Illustrated by David Antram
Franklin Watts, A Division of Scholastic, Inc.
Box 1795 Danbury, CT 06816
www.scholasticlibrary.com 1-800-621-1115
Each book 32 pgs, Hardback $26.50
You Wouldn't Want to Sail With Christopher Columbus by Fiona Macdonald
ISBN# 0531123553
You Wouldn't Want to Sail on a 19th-Century Whaling Ship by Peter Cook
ISBN# 0531123561
You Wouldn't Want to be an American Colonist by Jacqueline Morley
ISBN# 053112357X
You Wouldn't Want to be a Mammoth Hunter by John Malam
ISBN# 0531123545
Sometimes being a parent has some really cool perks. I have always enjoyed reading to my
children,
and books like the ones in the You Wouldn't Want series always put a smile on not only my face,
but
my daughters' as well. These books are some of the best I have come across with illustrations,
which
are sure to bring a smile to your face and make your children chuckle. The text is highly engaging
and so much fun to read to your children, and they will enjoy reading them to you as well.
The new additions to this series are:
You Wouldn't Want to Sail With Christopher Columbus speaks of young boys in the late 1400's
and
their dreams of exploring the world. It tells of the perks of traveling by sea as well as the various
goods you can acquire and sell. Readers will also see why exploring was different than they might
have expected, and not at all as glamorous as they might have thought. Explorers had to seek
funding, prepare fleets, sail the ship which is no easy task in and of itself, navigate with some
rather interesting tools, work hard and live in unpleasant conditions, help your crew deal with not
only being homesick but also being stuck on the ship for months at a time, deal with the peoples
of
unexplored areas, load the ship and then make it home safely. When it is all over I would venture
to
guess that most who explored would have to seriously wonder if it was worth it and if they would
really want to do it again.
You Wouldn't Want to Sail on a 19th-Century Whaling Ship tells the story of a 14-year-old boy
who
is embarking on the whaling ship named the Essex. It is his dream to be a whale hunter, but little
does he realize what it entails. Such as, having to pay for any clothes that you may need, swabbing
decks, serving meals, dealing with bitter cold weather, killing whales, slipping around in whale
blood
(yuck), the ship being rammed by whales, and facing starvation and the distinct possibility of
cannibalism. While this story may be filled with some gruesome bits that might bother squeamish
children, it is action packed and informative.
You Wouldn't Want to be an American Colonist teaches about the lost colony of Roanoke and
then
about the hardships of the next voyage. In no way does it sugar coat anything, detailing the trials
and
tribulations experienced, starting with the hard voyage over. It talks about the problems with the
land, the weather and the bugs. It tells of many of the things they suffered and possibly killed half
of
the settlers, such as polluted water, and invasions from both the Natives and the Spanish. It also
gives an idea of what happened when the settlers branched out and explored the area and were
hampered by famine and starvation. This is guaranteed to get across much of the same
information
we teach our younger children in a way that they will retain it.
You Wouldn't Want to be a Mammoth Hunter, now that is something I knew without reading the
book, but then I never have been much for physical labor. This book starts by showing the various
animals present during the ice age and also how people lived during this time. The description of
the
dance that the mammoth hunters would do had both me and my daughter laughing out loud. The
tools used to hunt these massive beasts are also discussed. It also looks at the uses for various
parts
of the animals aside from the meat, such as bone houses made from their bones, and clothes made
from their skin. There is a great fun section about the mammoth and its habits followed by the
hunt
and kill. Aside from the dangers involved from beast itself, you have to be weary of others who
want
to steal your catch, but then there is the feast! This book, as all the others, is a lot of fun and
packed
with loads of information.
All of these books give a real glimpse into various lives in a way that puts them into perspective,
but
also entertains children while they learn. When it comes to this set of books I can't express enough
just how much fun they are. This is definitely a reading experience that neither you nor your child
will want to miss.
Diana Bennett
Reviewer
Emanuel's Bookshelf
Burned Alive
Souad
Warner Books
ISBN 0446533467 $24.00 227 pp.
Honor killings are an every day occurrence in many countries such as India, Israel, and Palestine.
Unfortunately, over five thousand of these horrific murders plague the world by victimizing
women
throughout the world. "Burned Alive" is just one of many tales of these atrocities.
In this book, author Souad tells the tale of what is was like growing up an unwanted female in a
violent, patriarchal society. In her village, men are treated like kings while women are treated like
garbage. The birth of a female child is cause for grief, not celebration. In her small village, her
brother and only male in the family is treated like royalty while she and her sisters are exposed to
treatment worse than slavery. The author describes her own father as an evil and abusive man.
When
the author recalls a time when she accidentally let the sheep escape, she writes the following about
her father:
He pulls me by the hair and he drags me on the ground into the kitchen. He strikes me while I
kneel,
he pulls on my braid as if he wants to pull it out, and he cuts it off with the big scissors used for
shearing wool. I have hardly any hair left. I can cry, yell, or please but I'll get more kicks.
When the author does the unthinkable and shames the family by getting pregnant before marriage,
her brother-in-law is given the duty of killing her. She describes in great detail how she had been
doused with gasoline, lit on fire, and left to die. Her escape from her family, her village, and
ultimately her country is a source of motivation.
"Burned Alive" is not the best book written on the subject of honor-killings or on atrocities
committed against women. While the topic is important for readers to become aware of, the
writing
is the book is rather lackluster for such a powerful subject. However, for readers who are not
aware
of how thousands of the female population is murdered simply for being female, the book will
serve
as an interesting introduction to this shameful yet important issue.
Gettin' To The Good Wood
E. Joyce Moore
LessisMoore Publishing Company
http://get.me.to/goodwood
ISBN # 1883111757 $20.00 340 pp.
When I first started reading "Gettin' To The Good Wood" by E. Joyce Moore, I have to admit
that I
was a little skeptical. As far as I was concerned, the book already had two strikes against it. 1) It
is
self-published, which in this industry can be synonymous with poor quality. 2) The author does
not
necessarily have the credentials to write a self-help book on relationships. But as I began reading
this
author's work, I realized that my pre-conceived notions were wrong. Dead wrong. In fact, by the
time I was done, I was thoroughly impressed and had learned quite a bit.
"Gettin' To The Good Wood" is a unique collaboration of essay-styled advice and personal
experiences meshed with poetry in between. The book is divided into four sections titled Your
Relationship With You, Relationships and God, Male/Female Relationships, and Other
Relationships.
In Section One, Moore stresses the importance of knowing yourself before exploring relationships
with others. She delves into subjects such as anger management, the need for closure from
previous
relationships, and the need to forgive.
In Section Two, the author discusses the need to have a relationship with God and the reason to
pray for a mate, primarily from a Christian perspective. She gives biblical examples and quotes
passages from various scriptures.
In Section Three, my personal favorite, the book digs deep into the male/female relationship
phenomena. The author elaborates on the dating scene, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases,
the
realism of cohabitation versus marriage, and the difference between love and sex. Moore even
reveals her humorous side when she suggests using the following approach after a man insists on
sex
before a woman is ready: "Great. Let's plan the wedding for this weekend. We'll need to make a
list
of what we need to do; I'll call my Mom tonight. What's that? What am I talking about? Well, you
want to have sex. I don't want sex before marriage, so I thought you were asking me to No?
Okay,
well, you've answered your own question."
In the final section, the author discusses other relationships, such as those in the corporate world,
relationships with other family members, and even relationships between races.
While Moore readily admits that she is not necessarily a relationships expert, she still does her
homework and quotes experts like Dr. Phil when proving her point. The book does have a few
problems though. It could use some fine-tuning from a professional editor. The poetry seems a bit
out of place. And the writer's Christian perspective can be a turn-off for those who may not have
the
same belief. But don't throw the baby out with the bath water. The good definitely outweighs the
bad. The author takes a complicated subject and explains it in everyday, plain English so that you
won't have to run to a dictionary after reading every other sentence. It's the kind of book you
would want your s
