Bookviews by Alan Caruba
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keywords: description: Bookviews by Alan CarubaA monthly report on the best in new fiction and non-fiction books. Alan Caruba is a charter member of the National Book Critics Circle and has been reviewing for more than five decades. Bookviews does not review e-books, nor accept galleys, only finished, published books should be sent. To request a review, first email acaruba@aol.com
Blog Archive 2015(5) May(1)Bookviews - June 2015 April(1) March(1) February(1) January(1) 2014(12) December(2) October(2) September(1) August(1) July(1) May(1) April(1) March(1) February(1) January(1) 2013(12) December(2) November(1) September(1) August(1) July(1) June(1) May(1) April(1) March(1) February(1) January(1) 2012(12) December(1) November(2) September(1) August(1) July(1) June(1) May(1) April(1) March(1) February(1) January(1) 2011(12) December(1) November(1) October(1) September(1) August(1) July(1) June(1) May(1) April(1) March(1) February(1) January(1) 2010(13) December(1) November(1) October(1) September(1) August(1) July(1) June(1) May(2) March(2) January(2) 2009(5) December(1) November(1) September(1) August(1) July(1)About MeAlan CarubaI am and have been for a long time a writer by profession. I have several books to my credit and my daily column, "Warning Signs", is disseminated on many Internet news and opinion websites, as well as blogs. In addition, I am a longtime book reviewer and have a blog offering a monthly report on new fiction and non-fiction.View my complete profile Friday, May 29, 2015 Bookviews - June 2015By AlanCarubaMy Picks of the Month
A book Iwould recommend as must reading is Samuel Blumenfelds and Alex Newmans Crimes of the Educators: How Utopians AreUsing Government Schools to Destroy Americas Children ($26.95m WND Books).It has been known for decades that Americas school children have been fallingbehind others worldwide in their ability to read and do math. In 1983 theNational Commission on Excellence in Education said If an unfriendly foreignpower had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performancethat exists today, we might well have viewed I as an act of war. As it stands,we have allowed this to happen to ourselves. This book traces the deliberateeffort to destroy the ability of students to learn to read back many years andreveals why, as a result, half of Americas adult population is functionallyilliterate. Americans, through their government school system have beensystematically dumbed down and today a national standard to maintain this isbeing imposed via Common Core. The result has been a rise in the number ofparents who are home-schooling their children and the rise in tutoring. Whenyou have read this book you will know why too many Americans think the others aroundthem are dumb. Theyre right.
January 1973: Watergate, Roe V. Wade,Vietnam, and the Month that Changed America Forever by James Robenalt ($27.95, ChicagoReview Press) is a densely documented review of the title dates month and theway so many events came together to alter the future. Just prior to JanuaryHarry Truman passed away and later in the month so did Lyndon Johnson. It wasthe month the Watergate investigation revealed the White House payoffs to itsburglars and forced an end to Nixons second term. The Vietnam War was windingdown due to Nixons decision to bomb the North over the Christmas period.Negotiations began again that would end it. The Supreme Court decisionlegalizing abortion would change our culture thereafter. This is strictly forthe reader who enjoys reading the details but it demonstrates how, in a veryshort moment, history can take some dramatic turns. Disruptive Power: The Crisis of the State in the Digital Age byTaylor Owen ($27.95, Oxford University Press) is another challenging read. Wehave encountered new phenomena like WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden that revealinformation about how the government is actually functioning in ways unrivaledbefore. Owen provides readers with a look at the way digital technologies are shakingup the working of the institutions thathave traditionally controlled international affairs, including humanitarianism,diplomacy, activism and journalism.
For thosewhose passion is cinema, they will want to add John Hughes: A Life in Film ($40.00, Race Point Publishing) totheir libraries. Kirk Honeycutt, its author, explores Hughess life and career,with behind the scenes stories and insights regarding the creation of each ofhis films. They include The BreakfastClub, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Home Alone, Uncle Buck, and manyothers. Honeycutt is a former film critic for The Hollywood Reporter and asthis large format, extensively illustrated book demonstrates, other than StevenSpielberg, there was no other filmmakers of the late 1980s and early 1990s whowas as influential and produced such a legacy of films that remain iconic andpopular to the present day. Honeycutt notes that Among his closest associatessome felt his prolific output worked against his artistryjohn never paid anyattention. Perhaps he couldnt. That isthe price and reward of genius. This book guarantees not only his life storyand career, but hours of reading pleasure.
Ive neverbeen there, but it never surprises me to hear people speak of Paris in glowingterms. Youll learn why when you read APassion for Paris: Romanticism and Romance in the City of Light by DavidDownie ($26.95, St. Martins Press.Downie sets out to get to the heart of the citys magic and mystique. Ina unique combination of memoir, history and travelogue, Downie weaves togetherthe lives and loves of Victory Hugo, Georges Sand, Charles Baudelaire, Balzac,and other great Romantics, along with his own, delighting in the citys secularromantic pilgrimage sites to find the answer. Abounding in secluded,atmospheric parks, artists studios, cafes, restaurants, and streets that havechanged little since the 1800s, Downie finds romance around every corner,noting the art and architecture, the cityscape, riverbanks, and quality ofdaily life there. Downie, a native San Franciscan, lived in New York,Providence, Rome and Milan before moving to Paris in the mid-1980s. He divideshis time between France and Italy these days.
The Future and Why We Should Avoid it:Killer Robots, the Apocalypse and Other Topics of Mild Interest ($22.95, Douglas McIntyre,softcover) has been described as a survival guide, part how-to manual, partproduct guide, part apocalypse and part sardonic observation to help usnavigate through these troubled times. But when werent the times troubled?Scott Feschuk, its author, muses on aging, death, technology, inventions,health and leisure. He is a satirist for lack of a better definition, but tohis credit, he is never boring. Fans of MAD magazine have over the yearsenjoyed the writing of Frank Jacobs, credited over five decades with over 575contributions, over 300 issues, to the human readers came to love.
The firstinstallment of MADs Greatest Writers is devoted to Frank Jacobs: Five Decades of His Greatest Works ($30.00, RunningPress) with a foreword by Weird Al Yankovic. As a special treat, the bookfeatures an exclusive interview conducted by former MAD editor Nick Meglin.This is a large format book with page after page of the artwork which istimeless.
Biographies
It iscurious how one of Americas greatest composers and writers of classic musicalsis generally unknown. You would instantly recognize Witchcraft, Big Spenderand The Best is Yet to Come. You may have enjoyed performances of SweetCharity, City of Angels, and Barnum and still not be able to name CyColeman. That is about to change with Andy Propst new biography, You Fascinate Me So: The Life and Times ofCy Coleman ($32.99, Applause Theatre Cinema Books). Propst, a musicand theatre journalist takes the reader into the world and work of this amazingTony, Grammy, and Emmy Award-winning talent. He was a child prodigy in the1930s and was a jazz pianist and early television celebrity of the 1950s. Thispreeminent Broadway composer passed away in November 2004. In addition to thefull cooperation of the Coleman estate, the book is further enhanced byinterviews with performers like Michele Lee, Phyllis Newman, Chita Rivera, aswell as others such as Hal Prince and Tommy Tune. Every major singer hasperformed his songs, from Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Steisand to DameShirley Bassey. If you love music, you will love this biography.
In the1960s when the feminist movement was gaining momentum and spreading, we allbecame aware of Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem who became icons of themovement, but at the same time there was an anti-feminist counterpart who,happily, is recalled and the subject of HelenAndelin and the Fascinating Womanhood Movement by Julie Debra Neuffer($19.95, The University of Utah Press, softcover). She authored FascinatingWomanhood which sold more than two million copies, becoming a celebrity andspokeswoman for the point of view that the greatest role for a woman was as awife and a mother. She preached family values and that the best career washomemaker. From an unknown housewife-turned-media-sensation, Andelin foundherself appearing in magazines, on radio and with TV personalities, Larry King,Phil Donahue, and Connie Chung. Neuffer teaches 20th centuryAmerican history and courses in American religion at Eastern WashingtonUniversity in Cheney, Washington. Ironically, Neuffer grew up in a small townwhere Andelins views would be right at home, but still pursued her career. Shewould come to know Andelin, discovering she knew little about the feministmovement, but both she and Friedan were responding to the unhappiness andturmoil that many American women were experiencing during the 1960s and70s.
Goingfurther back in time, Dorothy U. Seyler tells us about The Obelisk and the Englishman: The Pioneering Discoveries ofEgyptologist William Bankes ($26.00, Prometheus Books) who was a pioneer in the nascent study of thelanguage, history, and civilization of ancient Egypt. Born in 1786, Bankesdiscovered the King List at the Abydos Temple, a wall of cartouches listingEgyptian Kings in chronological order which was vital to the decoding ofEgyptian hieroglyphs. A homosexual, he lived in an era where he as persecutedfor being gay and threatened with imprisonment. Despite that, his pioneeringwork on ancient temples and artifacts now enriches the knowledge of modernEgyptologists. His home, now a National Trust estate, can be visited to enjoyhis art collection and it has an obelisk from Philae on its south lawn. A professor emerita of English who hasauthored ten college textbooks, but this departure is a special treat for itstreatment of Bankes life and his work.
Various Sciences
The Earth from Myths to Knowledge by Hubert Krivine ($29.95, VersoBooks) takes the reader on a trip to the past as it tells the story of thethinkers and scientists speculated and discover how the Earth came to be and,while the planets elliptical orbit around the Sun and its billions of years ofexistence is taken for granted these days, it took a millennia for these truthsto be achieved and known. Krivine introduces the reader to Copernicus, Galileoand Kepler, as well as Halley, Kelvin, Darwin and Rutherford among many others,demonstrating how they often had to get passed religious dogmatism to maketheir discoveries known, celebrating their courage while acknowledging that asoften as not blind luck played a part! It was an epic struggle to overcomeideology and superstition from which the philosophy of science emerged. Krivinedemonstrates that scientific progress is not a sufficient condition for socialprogress, but it is a necessary one. The Earth is not merely a history ofscientific learning, but a stirring defense of Enlightenment values in thequest for human advancement.
The Earthis at the heart of Rare: The High-StakesRace to Satisfy Our Need for the Scarcest Metals on Earth by Keith Veronese($25.00, Prometheus Books). What would happen if the supply of tanalum driesup? While most have no heard of this unusual metal, but without it smartphoneswould be instantly less omniscient, video games would false, and laptops fail.This is the story of Rhodium, Osmium, Nioblum and other such rare metals andhow they are the key components of many consumer products like cell phones andflat screen televisions. Rare delvesinto the economic and geopolitical issues surrounding these conflict mineralsblending tales of financial and political struggles with glimpses into thehuman lives that are shattered by the race to secure them. This book haswarnings of the future as China is the worlds largest supplier of thesemetals, and the U.S., Great Britain, and Japan race to find alternativesources.
You willgain a whole new insight as to human behavior when you read Richard H. ThalersMisbehaving: The Making of BehaviorEconomics ($27.95, W.W. Norton). Thaler is already acknowledged as one ofthe worlds most unconventional economist so his new book is no surprise inthat regard. He distills a careers worth of thinking about dumb stuff peopledo into a witty demolition of the more doctrinaire elements of economics.Thaler looks at the way people actually make their decisions to purchasethings, to save nor not for the future, and countless other choices. Along theway he looks at economic misbehaving in financial markets, the NFL draft, to TVgames, determining along the way which businesses thrive and which do not. Thisbook will make you think far more seriously about the way you go about youreconomic life from buying tickets for a rock concert to picking out a newoffice and planning for retirement.
Whatdrives the habit patterns that can be destructive to ourselves, to society, andthe environment? Thats the question asked and answered in Dr. Peter C.Whybrow, MDs The Well-Tuned Brain:Neuroscience and the Life Well Lived ($27.95, W.W. Norton). An eminent neuropsychiatrist, Dr. Whybrowweaves cutting-edge science, philosophy, history and personal experience toexplore how the human brain is at odds with the enticements of the consumersociety. He calls it the mismatch between who we are and the vibrant culture inwhich we live. Self-interest and the drive to overconsumption are relics of ourevolution, from a time when competition for scare resources was essential toour survival. We are, in addition, creatures of habit, what Dr. Whybrow callsour auto-pilots that permit the brain to work efficiently and withspeedintuitively and without conscious attention. He offers a variety of changes he believeswill produce a better society. For anyone interested in how we think what wethink and how we act on it within the context of our society, this book hasmuch to offer.
The Future and Why We Should Avoid it:Killer Robots, the Apocalypse and Other Topics of Mild Interest ($22.95, Douglas McIntyre,softcover) has been described as a survival guide, part how-to manual, partproduct guide, part apocalypse and part sardonic observation to help usnavigate through these troubled times. But when werent the times troubled? ScottFeschuk, its author, muses on aging, death, technology, inventions, health andleisure.
Advice! Advice! Advice!
I dontknow why, but I have been overwhelmed by a dozen books that have arrivedoffering advice on how to live ones life, get on with ones partner, be a goodparent, et cetera! I have no doubt that one or more of them will prove quitehelpful.
Now,briefly, here they are. Are you FullyCharged? The 3 Keys to Energizing Your Work and Life by Tom Rath ($22.95,Silicon Guild, an imprint of Missionday) With many endorsements, AriannaHuffington says it is about renewing ourselves in the full est sense. Drawingon extensive research, Tom Rath, provides us with the three key pillars thatcan help create a life of more meaning and perspective; being part of somethinglarger than ourselves, valuing people and experiences over mere stuff, andunderstanding that looking after our own well-being is the first step to doingmore for others. 360 Degrees ofSuccess: Money, Relationships, Energy, timethe 4 essential ingredients tocreate personal and professional Success by Ana Weber ($17.95, MorganJames, softcover) is written for corporate professionals who want todramatically improve their level of efficiency, effectiveness and enjoyment atwork and in all other aspects of their life. The author of 17 books as arenowned corporate success coach, Weber has put a lot of knowledge and guidanceinto book that pulls together the kind of insight and advice that can make abig difference for the reader. Another book for the workplace that is wellworth reading is Beyond Measure: The BigImpact of Small Changes by Margaret Heffernan ($15.99, a TED original withSimon Schuster, softcover). The author demonstrates that by implementingsweeping changes, businesses often think its possible to do better, to earnmore, and have happier employees. That is often not the case and she draws ondecades spent overseeing different organizations to conclude that small changesare often far better. They encourage listening, asking questions, sharinginformation. This is a short book with a big message.
Formarriage and parenthood, you could start with Navigating Your Relationship: A Voyage for Couples by H. LaurenceSchwab, M.F.T. ($16.95, Two Harbors, softcover) who brings nearly thirty yearsof experience as a marriage and family therapist in private practice, as wellas clinic and hospital settings to this text that addresses the fact thateveryones relationship sails through choppy waters as some point. If coupleslearn to see each other as co-captains, both needed to be in control of theiremotional destinies, even the toughest storms can be weathered. This book has aperfect metaphor. This is about dialogue and destiny.
Live More, Work Better: A PracticalGuide to a Balanced Life byGayle Hiltendort ($12.95, Bascom Hill Publishing Group, softcover) Afterspending more than 20 years as an overworked professional pouring her heart andsoul into her job, the author decided after sacrificing her health, marriage,and personal relationships for her job to reevaluate and take her life back. Ifthis sounds like you, this is the book for you! Supersurvivors: The Surprising Link Between Suffering and Success ($19.99,Harper Wave, in imprint of HarperCollins, softcover) by David B. Feldman andLee Daniel Kravetz asks why do some people succumb to tragedy while others areable to use it as a springboard for extraordinary accomplishments? The bookoffers a blueprint for human resilience and a window into the science ofachievement. Its a book that Bloomberg Businessweek said was one of the mostvaluable and interesting business books released this year. The authors havegiven voice to individuals from all over the world who have managed to overcomesignificant hardship. If you or someone you know is encountering some setbacks,this is the book to read. Unexpected inspiration from inside the nursing homeis the subtitle of Simple Lessons for aBetter Life by Charles E. Dodgen ($18.00, Prometheus Books,softcover.) These are valuable lifelessons from the unique experiences of nursing home residents. Dr. Dodgen, aclinical psychologist who has worked with this population for 18 years hasdiscovered that when the surplus trappings of lifestyle are cleared away andlives are stripped to their most essential components, people discover newpaths to happiness, peace and fulfillment. It is an inspiring book that is wellworth reading.
For thosewith a spiritual approach to life theres LifeUnstuck: Finding Peace with your Past, Purpose in your Present, Passion foryour Future by Pat Layton ($14.99, Revel, softcover). As she notes,womanhood is not an easy journey and everyone has felt stuck at some point inlife. Layton reassures the reader that God has some much more than this plannedfor His daughters. The founder and president of the Life Impact Network, Laytonhas 25 years in full-time womens ministry and has learned a lot about howwomen think, feel, respond and dont respond. She shares her insight andencouragement as she delves deep into areas women seem to get stuck in themostrelationships, finances, ministry, career, and more.
Sand in My Sandwich and OtherMotherhood Messes Im Learning to Love by Sarah Parshall Perry ($14.99, Revell, softcover) isabout a perfectionist, uptight lawyer, marry her to a small-town hero with nocollege degree and a very laidback outlook on life, and you have the recipe forsome interesting challenges. Now add three children, two of whom are on theautism spectrum, and you know life is going to be filled with challenges toface and overcome. Thats Perrys life and she pulls some universal truths ofmotherhood from it, addressing them with humajn, poignancy, and a naked honestythat will look and feel familiar to mothers everywhere. For todays new momsthis will prove to be very useful reading.Bruce and Caitlin Howlett have teamed to write Creating Capable Kids: Twelve Skills That Will Help Kids Succeed inSchool and Life ($15.95, New Horizon Press, softcover). Educators, theyshow parents how to guide, teach and incubate child development at home and inschool. They offer fresh, effective ways to rescue children who are strugglingin school and at home. Given the way todays schools literally dumb down theirstudents from the way they teach reading and math, this book could be theanswer to many a frustrated parents questions on how to correct that problem.This is good advice on helping children become motivated, perceptive andresilient.
Stress-free Discipline: SimpleStrategies for Handling Common Behavior Problems by Sara Au and Peter L. Stavinoha ($14.95,AMACOM, softcover) will solve a lot of problems that parents commonly face.From tantrum-throwing toddlers to eye-rolling teens, parents with children ofall ages struggle with challenging behaviors at some point and while adviceseems plentiful, it never seems to apply to your child at the moment. Sara is amom and a journalist and Peter is a dad and pediatric neuropsychologist.Together they help the reader to understand why kids behave badly and howdiscipline can be applied, consistently and calmly, to not only alleviatestressful behavior issues, but also cultivate a positive parent-childrelationship. As they say behavior is communication and discipline iseducation. Using flexible methods, both scientifically tested andparent-approved, the authors render the routine challenges less stressful,while strengthening a parents sense of purpose and peace of mind.
Kid Stuff for YoungerReaders
To get thevery young interested in reading, start them off by reading to them and PeterApels book, Fred Pinsocket LovesBananas ($7.99, Fred Pinsocket Productions) is a good example. First ofall, it is small and very sturdy paperboard so it could take the handling of atwo to three year old. Its colorful illustrations are easy to understand andits text is largely a repetition of the title, devoted to his love of bananas.Apel is a San Hose music artist, singer-songwriter, author, illustrator,magician and, yes, a dad. You can learnmore about the book at www.PeterApel.com/bananabook and download a song to accompany it.By reading a delightful story like this, you will awaken an interest inpre-school children and create a memorable bond at the same time.
Two booksfrom New Horizon Press have a message for specific groups of children. A Home for Ruby: Helping Children Adjust toNew Families by P.J. Neer, PhD, ($9.95) was written for the 400,000children who live in foster care, some of whom have a difficult time adjustingto their new home. Ruby is a beautiful horse but does not behave well and eachof her owners send her off to new farms when she acts up. She is frustrated andscared, but when she arrives at Meadow Green, but her new owner sticks with herand Rudy finally realizes this would be a great forever home and behaves well. Maddy Patti and the Great Curiousity;Helping Children Understand Diabetes is by Mary Bilderback Abel and StanBorg, illustrated by Lorraine Day ($9.95) and as the title makes clear, it isfilled with information about diabetes that a younger reader needs to know.This is particularly true because if one parent has diabetes the childs riskis 15% higher and, if both parents have it, the risk rises to 75% of fallingvictim of type 1 diabetes. It is a delightful story because Maddys grandfatheris a retired doctor and Maddy has the gift of being able to communicate withthe animals on his farm who instruct her on proper care and diet.
For sheerfun for those age seven and up, theres NightBuddies Go Sky High by Sands Hetherington, illustrated by Jessica Love($7.99, www.DuneBuggyPress.com) And the good news is that theres also Night Buddies: Imposters and One Far-OutFlying Machine and Night Buddies andthe Pineapple Cheesecake Scare. NightBuddies is devoted to the nighttime adventures of a young boy named John, whois not ready to go to sleep, and a bright red crocodile named Crosley who turnsup under Johns bed each night. With an imaginary language of their own and aunique set of technological gizmos, this unlikely pair sneaks out usingCrosleys I-aint-here doodad, which makes them invisible to Johns parents.The stories are imaginative and great fun to read.
For theyoung adult reader theres a novel by Deirdre Riordan Hall, Sugar, ($9.99, Skyscape, softcover)about a Puerto Rican-Polish teenager who lives in a dead-end town somewhere inNew Hampshire. And Sugar is very, very fat at the age of 17. She is the bruntof cruel jokes and ridicule everywhere she goes. To survive, she keeps her headdown, does what shes told, and tries to fill up the empty space in her heartwith food. When she meets a young man who seems to like her for who she is,they grow close and a new future opens up for her as she sets herself free withher own determination, bravery, and strength of character. This one is wellworth reading.
Novels, Novels, Novels
I neverfail to wonder at the number of new novels being published every month. It is atorrent of fiction. Here are a few that arrived at Bookviews.
Theres The Organ Broker by Stu Strumwasser($24.99, Arcade Publishing), a story about an underground black market organdealing known as New York Jack. Foreighteen years Jack has been a transplant tourism director, sending wealthAmericans and Europeans in need of kidneys and other organs to third worldnations where they would buy them from transplant centers on the take. Thedeath of a client and a newfound relationship lead to a crisis of conscience ashe is forced to choose between a two million dollar commissionandparticipating in a murder. Jack races to South America, Brazil and beyond, justone step ahead of his adversary and the FBI, in search of one small act ofredemption. You will want to follow thatrace when you read this intriguing novel.
Good newsfor fans of Graig Johnsonss Longmire series as Wyomings beloved lawman takeson his coldest case yet in Dry Bones ($27.95,Viking). When the largest complete T Rex skeleton ever found turns upalongwith a dead rancherin Absaroka County, Sheriff Longmire must solve a 66million year old cold case. When Danny Lone Elk, a Cheyenne rancher is founddead and floating in a turtle pond, he also learns that a T Rex skeleton hasbeen unearthed on his land. Everyone lays claim to it while Longmire seeks tofind the ranchers killer. Longmire is a successful television series onAE. If you love a good mystery, youwill love this latest addition to the series. Far from Wyoming theres Manhattan Mayhem ($24.95, Quirk Books),new short stories from members of the Mystery Writers of America, edited byMary Higgins Clark and featuring an original one of her own. From Wall Streetto Harlem, these stories reflect that crimes and misdemeanors in a tour ofneighborhoods with well over a dozen stories that will prove thoroughlyentertaining from cover to cover.
HillaryClinton is in the news these days having announced her candidacy for 2016. Dr.Alma H. Bond, Ph.D, a psychoanalyst for 35 years have read everything possibleabout Hillary and, as she did with her previous novels about Marilyn Monroe,Jackie O, and Michelle Obama, all On the Couch, her latest book is Hillary Rodham Clinton on the Couch ($22.50,Bancroft Press).
Some ofthe questions Dr. Bond seeks to answer is what her parents were really like andwhat lasting affects they had on her? How does she deal with a womanizinghusband? Is she a genuine person or just acting a role? How effective was sheas a U.S. Senator and as Secretary of State? If Hillary is on your mind, thisbook, billed as a novel, is fact-filled and ready to answer your questions. RexBurwell takes the reading on a romp through a week in the 1920s in Capone, the Cobbs, and Me ($30.00,Livingston Press) as a baseball big-leader Mort Hart is suspected of knowingtoo much by a mob murderer who tries to kill him. Hot-headed Ty Cobb has areason to kill him as well because he suspects Mort is having an affair withhis wife. You are along for the ride as Mort uses his wits to save his skin andthat of the woman he loves. You will get a feeling for the high-flying 1920sand some of its most flamboyant figures. Its fiction, yes, but the suspense ofwhat happens next is a lot of fun.
SeventhStreet Books have published a number of novels. Ill start with Stone Cold Dead by author James W. Ziskin($15.95, softcover) who continues his Ellie Stone Mystery series. The date isDecember 21, 1960, the shortest day of the year as 15-year-old Darleen Hicksslips away from her school bus. It departs without her and she is never seenagain. On New Years Day 1960 Ellie Stone receives a late-night callerIreneMetzger, the grieving mother of Darleen Hicks who tells her the local policewont help her because they believe she has run off with some older boy andwill return when shes ready. Ellie takes on the case and you join her as shebegins a chilling journey to a place of uncertainty, loss, teenage passion, andvulnerability, a place where Ellies questions are unwanted and put her life indanger. Mark Pryor is back with a Hugo Marston novel, The Reluctant Matador, ($15.95, softcover). When a 19-year-ldaspiring model disappears in Paris, her father, Bart Denum, turns to Marstonfor help. Marston, the security chief at the US embassy, makes some inquiriesand learns that the daughter was in fact an exotic dancer and she has left forBarcelona with a shady character she met at a seedy strip club. When Marstonand a friend, a former CIA agent finally track the man in Barcelona, they findBart Denum standing over his dead body. Spanish authorities arrest him and thequestion is whether Marston and his friend can find the real killer and locatethe missing daughter. See Also Murder: AMajorie Trumaine Mystery by Larry D. Sweazy ($15.95, softcover) begins witha grisly killing in 1964 in Dickinson, North Dakota where Erick and LidaKnudsen are found murdered in their bed with their throats slit. Their twosons, ages 19 and 20, live in the same house but claim to have heard nothingwhile they were asleep. When Sheriff Hilo Jenkins finds a strange copper amuletclasped in Eriks hand, he turns to Marjorie Trumaine, a skilled researcher, tohelp unravel this mystery. It just gets uglier, but in a way that will surprisethe reader. One things for sure, its never boring.
Theauthor of Traitors Gate, CharlieNewton ($15.95, Thomas Mercer, softcover) has already established himselfamong the top novelists around these days. His debut novel, Calumet City, wasnamed a Best Debut in 2008 by the American Library Association and nominatedfor the Edgar, Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, And Thriller awards. The next, StartShooting, generated similar praise. His newest novel is a gripping thrillerthat takes the reader to the tense days leading to the first shots of World WarII. A survivor of a brutal massacre that left her family dead, Saba Hassounehbecomes the Raven, a freedom fighter hunted throughout the Middle East by theBritish colonial powers and the religious mullahs. As she plots a major attackon one of the British oil refineries, the plot of the story will keep you gluedto the page and turning them to find out what happens next.
Thats it for June! Tell your book-loving friends, family and co-workers about Bookviews.com where a wide variety of unique non-fiction and fiction can be found every month, sure to provide you with news of a book you want to read. And come back in July! 752 comments: Wednesday, April 29, 2015 Bookviews - May 2015By AlanCaruba
My Picks of the Month
Its stillearly in the year, but by far one of the best books to have been published in2015 is Senator Mike Lees Our LostConstitution: The Willful Subversion of Americas Founding Document($27.95, Sentinel, an imprint of the Penguin Group). Lee (R-Utah) is thechairman of the Senate Steering Committee and an appointed advisor to SenateMajority Leaders Mitch McConnell. A former Supreme Court clerk, he serves onthe Senate Judiciary Committee. When you read his book, you will give a silentprayer of thanks that someone so knowledgeable about the Constitution and sodedicated to it has been elected to defend it. Indeed, Senators and other U.S.officials take an oath to defend the Constitution, but it has long been honoredmore in word than deed. This book is especially important because we are livingthrough a period widely understood to be one of lawlessness in the highestoffice of the land; a fearful situation in which the President has simplychosen to ignore the vital and stipulated role of the legislative branch in thecreation of policy. If you have never read the Constitution or were onlybriefly taught that its first ten Amendments are our Bill of Rights, this bookwill provide you with an understand that opens your eyes to the great issue ofour time that the way the Constitution has continued to serve all Americanseven though it has been under duress since the days of Franklin D. Rooseveltwho created a huge federal government with asserted powers not found in theConstitution. Want to really understand what is happening at the highest levelsof government in America today? Read Sen. Lees extraordinary and veryinteresting book on the subject.
I havebeen reading Larry Bells commentaries on the Forbes magazine site for a longtime. He is aProfessor of Architecture at the University of Houston, but he is known to hisreaders as one of the most perceptive writers about the global warming/climatechange hoax with which we have been living since the late 1980s. He brings ahost of facts along with his opinion, making him invaluable to those trying tosort out the lies. His latest book is ScaredWitless: Prophets and Profits of Climate Doom ($22.95, Stairway Press,softcover) and if you have been promising yourself you want to know the truthabout the alleged threats to planet Earth, then this most certainly is the bookto read. You will learn how and why billions have been squandered by ourgovernment and others on the apocalyptic myths that have been repeatedendlessly in the mainstream media. There is no scientific basis to much of whatis still being taught in our schools and presented as climate policy by thegovernment and the many environmental groups that profit from keep everyonefrightened. Bells book is easy to read which is a blessing when you considerthe science it addresses and presents.
Everyone is African: How ScienceExplodes the Myth of Race byDaniel J. Fairbanks ($18.00, Prometheus Books, softcover) examines the researchabout DNA and the origins of the human race, all of which concludes that we area single human race, sharing most of our DNA and differing only in terms ofmutations that occurred after our ancestors migrated from Africa sixty toseventy thousand years ago. Fairbanks is the dean of the College of Science andHealth at Utah Valley University, a research geneticist, and author. What hehas to say will upset those who cling to race as an important difference, butwhat they are really addressing are cultural and social differences, not racialones. The science presented is comprehensible even to someone without abackground and the conclusions the book arrives at should be more widely known.
Fewcriminal acts and events evoke more fear and outrage than shootings at schoolsthat take the lives of students and teachers. Two comes swiftly to mind,Columbine High School in 1999 and Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012. Peter Langmanis a psychologist who has made an intensive study of the shooters in these andsome 48 our incidents. His book, SchoolShooters ($31.00, Rowman and Littlefield) provides a wealth of informationand insight regarding the gunmen, mostly younger and white, mostly psychoticand psychopathic. In general they lacked the normal constraints on suchbehavior being either narcissistic, lacking empathy, or seeking to empowerthemselves to offset feelings of inadequacy. The one thing I concluded fromreading this book was that all were what we would call losers in somerespect, failing in school, unable to hold jobs, in trouble of one sort ofanother. Langman to his credit says there is probably no way to identify thenext school shooter or protect against the next shooting.
Science isone of those topics we hear about all the time, but unless you studied it inschool or college, it is also one of those topics about which many of us have avery limited knowledge. You can improve yours by reading The Story of Science: From the Writings of Aristotle to the Big BangTheory by Susan Wise Bauer ($26.95, W.W. Norton). A best-selling writer andhistorian, Bauer introduces the reader to the development of great sciencewriting as she walks you through thirty-six seminal scientific texts spanning2,500 years, making them more approachable in a narrative of the humanunderstanding of our world and beyond. This book connects the dots, positioningimportant scientific texts in both their historical and scientific contexts.
Over theyears I have received many cookbooks and one of the best publishes of them isPelican Publishing Company of New Orleans. Among their latest is Kit Wohls New Orleans Classic Celebrations ($16.95).Anyone who has ever visited New Orleans comes away with memories of thefabulous cuisine that its many restaurants offer. Wohl is an author,photographer, and artist. She works with chefs, restaurants, and hotels aroundthe nation and this book is her tenth. It features a hundred color photos toillustrate its many fabulous recipes such as Le Petite Grocerys blue crabbeignets, onion soup from Arnauds, and Moscas Chicken Grande. They haveeasy-to-follow instructions for the home cook and the photos alone would makeone want to head to the kitchen to prepare and share any one of the wonderfuldishes. Pelican has a series devoted to classic recipes for desserts, brunches,seafood and appetizers, among others. A great gift for oneself or the foodieyou know will love it.
I love abook that exists just to be fun. That is a perfect description of Find Momo Coast to Coast ($14.95, QuirkBooks, softcover) by photographerAndrew Knapp and his border collie Momo who came to fame in 2012 when Knappbegan sharing photos of him on Instragram. Together they made their literarydebut in 2013 with Find Momo as that enjoyed playing hide-and-seek around theworld. This new book chronicles a 15,000 miles tail-waggingly fun adventureacross the U.S. and Canada. The photos are a splendid way for anyone old oryoung to get acquainted with both nations as both famed sites and those littleknown are visited and Momo peeks out at you after you finally find him in thesetting. It never ceases to be entertaining.
Memoirs and Biographies
I havebeen a fan of Dana Perino from her days as the press secretary to George W.Bush and now as one of the Fox News show, TheFive. It doesnt hurt that she is simply quite beautiful, but I have alwaysbeen impressed by, first, her ability to deal with the White House press duringthe Bush years and, now, for the unfailingly wise interpretation of events andpersonalities about which she is asked to comment. Her new book is And the Good News Is ($26.00, Twelve)is a memoir as well as a sharing of lessons she has learned in her life. Itwould make especially good reading for any young woman who likewise admiresher, but the book will surely please any reader because it is filled with goodhumor plus behind-the-scenes stories from her days in the White House and nowat Fox News. We learn for example that her father expected her to pick out twonews stories from the Denver Post or Rocky Mountain News and be prepared todiscuss them a dinner. She credits that will learning how to articulate herthoughts and present her views persuasively. There is no doubt that she washired for some very challenging jobs in her government career because otherssaw she had significant skills. She has had a full life to this point and oneabout which you will enjoy reading.
We alllook at actors and actresses, especially during award shows, and think whatfabulous lives they have. Lisa Jakub tells a very different story in You Look Like That Girl: A Child ActorStops Pretending and Finally Grows Up ($24.95, Beaufort Books). From theage of four, she had a very successful career, appearing in forty movies andtelevision shows over the course of 18-years in which she had appeared inblockbusters like Mrs. Doubtfire and Independence Day. Her was indeed a life of red carpets, luxury,celebrity filled dinner parties, and all the things people think are fabulous.However, like many actors I knew, I failed miserably at feeling successful. When we signed autographs we worried we wouldbe failures if we never signed another one. When we were auditioning, we worriedwe would never work again. When we were working, we worried that the film mightbe terrible and could ruin our careers. Sounds like fun? Hardly. In a chaptertitled Professional Pretender, Jakub says I think that there should beOscars given for coal mining. There should be a red carpet night for 011operators and orphanage employees. These were real jobs that real people wereliving. Here is a completely candid, honest look at the life of a child actorand ultimately how and why Jakub walked away from it to have a life based inthe pursuit of reality.
The NaziHolocaust is fading into history except for those who survived it, their lovedones, and for the nation of Israel that rose from its ashes. It also producedmany memoirs and each reminds us of the horrors of the 1930s and 40s. It alsoreminds us of the personal courage of people to survive a hatred we are seeingmirrored in todays headlines of a comparable Islamic campaign to kill theMiddle Easts Christians. An ImprobableJourney: A True Story of Courage and Survival During World War II by SusanSchenkel, Ph.D. ($12.95, Brightfield Books, softcover) is based the lives ofher parents, Leon and Siddi Schenkel. Siddi was only 16 when she was left onher own in Nazi Germany and, like Leon, she had found her way to Samarkand,Uzbekistan to escape the fate that before six million European Jews. That iswhere they met and fell in love. Together they faced starvation, homelessness,epidemics, and harassment from the Soviet police. Despite this, they had ababy. After the war they returned to Germany and a displaced persons camp fromwhich they eventually made their way to America. This memoir is a small pieceof history, but reading it will provide a unique window in those times andinsights toward our present times.
Reading History
We thinkof it as the mansion that overlooks Arlington National Cemetery, but for a verylong time before it was known as the George Washington Parke Custis Mansion andit was one of the most recognized buildings in the region, visible from almostanywhere in Washington, D.C. It was built by the step-grandson of Washington.It would become the home of his daughter, Mary Anna Custis Lee and her husband,General Robert E. Lee who had lived there for thirty years. Mrs. Lees Rose Garden: The True Story ofthe Founding of Arlington by Carlo Devito ($17.95, Cider Mill Press) tellsof its transition from a treasured Lee family home, to hallowed ground. Lee wasalready an acclaimed general at the time the Civil War broke out. Choosing thelead the South, it would also cause him the loss of the mansion. Its vastgrounds were chosen as a national cemetery not just for their location, but asa rebuke to Lee. This is a short book, but it is filled with the drama of thelives most intimately involved with the mansion and provides a wonderful lookat the pre-and-post Civil War era. They come alive as real people faced withtheir personal and the national dramas.
Wars arethe punctuation marks of history and they generate much telling of it. Wholelibraries could be filled with those about World War II and you can add Hell from the Heavens: The Epic Story ofthe USS Laffey and World War IIs Greatest Kamikaze Attack by John Wukovits($25.99, Da Capo Press). In our times we have the Muslim suicide bombers, butduring WWII the Japanese had their own suicide killers who flew aircraft loadedwith explosives into war ships. The Laffey gain fame as The ship that refusedto die, but not until thirty-two of its crew had died, over seventy werewounded, and the ship was gravely damaged. On April 16, 1945 he was attacked bytwenty-two kamikaze aircraft, marking the largest single-ship attack of thewar. Nine of the aircraft were shot down in the 80-minute battle and, despitethe damage, the ship managed to return home. This year marks the 70thanniversary of the attack. The hero of the story is the Laffeys commander, F.Julian Becton, who took an inexperienced crewmany just barely out of highschooland prepared them for battle with rigorous training drills. The wholecrew were, of course, heroes and testimony to the greatest generation thatfaced a fanatical, determined enemy and defeated it.
Althoughthey were on the wrong side of the law, we still have a strange sweet spot forthe bad boys, the criminals who made history in their own way. That is why theMafia became part of U.S. history after some of its members migrated fromItaly. The era of Prohibition became a unique opportunity to make a lot ofmoney providing the booze that a Constitutional Amendment had banned. BillFriedman has written a massive tome, 30Illegal Years to the Strip ($19.99, available from Internet book outlets,ebook $9.99. It looks at the careers of the most powerful gangsters in Americanhistory; men whose names like Al Capone, Charlie Luciano, and Meyer Lansky arewell known thanks to the popular culture of films and television. The criminalsof that era would go on to build 80% of the early Las Vegas Strip gamblingresorts from the Flamingo in 1946 to Caesars Palace in 1966. This is anintensely researched book about three decades of organized crime starting withProhibition and how these hoodlums changed course to set in motion the mostfamed gaming capital in America. Under different circumstances they might havebeen regarded as business leaders, but they also occasionally ordered themurder of those that threatened their lives and livelihood. During WWII, Lucianoand Lansky would have been regarded as heroes for ordering dock workers tocooperation with U.S. Naval intelligence to thwart the German U-boat attacks onallied ships. Chapter by chapter this is fascinating history.
Getting Down to Business(Books)
If andwhen the nation encounters a financial meltdown, it wont be because lots ofwell- informed people did not issue warnings. The latest is Michael D. TannersGoing for Broke: Deficits, Debt, and theEntitlement Crisis ($18.95, Cato Institute). Tanner is a senior fellow withthe libertarian Cato Institute, an expert on health care reform, social welfarepolicy, and Social Security. His latest book points to a federal governmentthat continues to grow and the overspending for which it has become famous. Atthis writing, we have an $18 trillion debt.In sum, Tanner warms could end up a financial basket case like Greece.The entitlement programs represent 47% of federal spending today. The additionof the Affordable Care Act only adds to deficit to the tune of a trillion ayear. This book will be read by those who take such matters seriously, but itspredictions will affect everyone. If Tanners book doesnt keep you up atnight, Philip Kotlers ConfrontingCapitalism will ($26.00, Amacom). Kotler is a professor of Internationalmarketing at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, buttrained initially as an economist, being taught by the University of Chicagosfamed free-market evangelist, Milton Friedman, and later under Paul Samuelsonat MIT. Suffice to say, he has terrific credentials, but he also has a host ofreservations about the capitalist system that has made the USA the wealthiestnation on planet Earth and which has survived depressions and recessions oncethe government got out of the way and let it work. Kotler serves up a bookfilled with reasons, trends and predictions that suggests trouble ahead, but Ihave to say I have been reviewing books for over fifty years at this point andhave seen this kind of thing before. Is he right? Maybe. Your move!
Peoplelove to read books by people who have achieved great success and that is a gooddescription of John Sculley, the former CEO of Pepsi and Apple. If you wouldlike to join that multi-millionaire club, you might want to read his book Moonshot! Game-Changing Strategies to BuildBillion-Dollar Businesses ($27.95, Rosette Books). The books targetaudience are entrepreneurs, investors and young business leaders. Sculley,unlike the academics noted above, has been there first hand and his book saysthat all those high tech industries are going to disrupt virtually everyindustry in some fashion. Moreover, the traditional business plan has beenirrelevant and is being replaced by the customer plant. Indeed, the best way inthe future to success is to provide superb customer service and, best of all,this is the best time in history to build a billion-dollar business. Now thisis the kind of book I like reading!
There isno end to books offering advice on leadership skills and for anyone in theworld of business or any other activity they can often be very helpful. A Higher Standard was written byGeneral Ann Dunwoody (U.S. Army, Ret.) and is subtitled Leadership skills fromAmericas first female four-star general ($25.99, Da Capo Press) and it isjust that. She relates her 37 years with the military and what she learnedalong the way, sharing her view they men and women must pursue excellence,demonstrate integrity, and cultivate endurance. Best of all it is filled withpractical business advice such as never ignoring a mistake and holding thosewho make them accountable. She says leaders arent invincible and should try tobe, while at the same time learning to recognize your advocates, patronizers,and detractors. She advises on the best ways to form a winning team. And muchmore. She was the first woman to become a four-star general so she knowswhereof she speaks. For those in the management ranks, you might considerreading Laurie Sudbrinks Leading WithGRIT: Inspiring Action and Accountability with Generosity, Respect, Integrity,and Truth ($35.00 Wiley). How do youknow this is worth reading? Consider the publisher, Wiley, one of the topbusiness book publishers. Then consider the author who brings twenty years ofcorporate experience in human relations, management, sales, marketing andtraining to this book. This is a practical leadership guide and, at the sametime, will show you how to approach your job and life with a positive feelingabout who you are and where youre going. Those who master leadership skillsand attitudes go onto to become leaders and this book is a good place to start.
When thosebig bucks begin to come in, you might want to read Paul Sullivans The Thin Green Line: The Money Secrets ofthe Super Wealthy ($27.00, Simon Schuster). I will hold onto this onein case I hit the Lotto Power Ball. Sullivan is the Wealth Matters columnistat The New York Times and draws on his experience writing about todays OnePercent to show others how to make better financial decisions. Indeed, he makesa distinction between being wealthy and being rich, the former being havingmore money than you need to do all the things you want. Being rich, on theother hand, says Sullivan means being financial secure even in hard times. Hisbook looks at how we think about money and wealth, and being honest with ourfears and insecurities, as a way to arrive at rational decisions. He discussesboth spending and saving money which is something to which we often do not givemuch thought. If you intend to get rich or already closing in on that level ofsecurity, this is a book worth reading.
Increasingly,people and industries here in the West are looking at doing business in Asia.Mark L. Clifford has lived in Asia for twenty-five years as a journalist,author, and policy advisor, witnessing and chronicling the ups and downs ofAsias spectacular economic rise. His new book is The Greening of Asia: The Business Case for Solving AsiasEnvironmental Emergency ($29.95, Columbia University Press) and it looks atthe way, for example, Chinas environment, its air and water, has suffered in thequest to embrace a free market economy and join the rest of the world in thepursuit of a growing, successful economy. Clifford is an advocate for greensolutions to issues such as energy use and pollution, so his book, whilecelebrating the success Asian business is enjoying, also is filled withwarnings about the price it will pay for it. The problem with that is that windand solar energy cannot even begin to meet the needs of Asia or anywhere elsefor that matter. Europe is already divesting itself of these power sources andreturning to coal and considering nuclear power to meet its growing needs.
There willnever be an end to books on investing and that is because changes in thebusiness community, new technologies that generate new investment options, andother factors all need to be addressed. Ken Fisher, a billionaire, best-sellingauthor, and Forbes PortfolioStrategy columnist is well worth reading for his insights and advice. His newbook, Beat the Crowd: How You CanOut-Invest the Herd by Thinking Differently ($29.95, Wiley) is the bookanyone contemplating investing or already doing so should read because heexplores our contrarianism as an investment strategy rather than following theherd is worth understanding. Wall Streets definition of contrarian investingis simplistic and wrong, says Fisher, one of the most successful money managersin history. His firm controls nearly $65 billion in assets. He defines it asbeing smarter than the crowd by finding and leveraging valuable informationthat isnt already priced into a stock.His book reveals how to train your brain to battle the media, the crowd,your friends, and your neighbors. Independent thought is the key to successfulinvesting says Fisher. Theres nothing magical about this and he says that youjust have to be right more often than wrong. A 60% success rate keeps you wellahead of most. It is filled with the most basic knowledge of the market toknow whether you are a novice or serious investor. Stocks are your long-term wayto own the benefits of the changes occurring thanks in large part to new anddeveloping technologies shaping the economy. This is definitely the book toread on this subject.
Novels, Novels, Novels
DavidIgnatius is a prize-winning columnist for the Washington Post who has more than twenty-five years experiencecovering the Middle East and the CIA. He is also the author of several novelsthat have put him in the ranks of our best. He cements that reputation with The Director ($16.95, W.W. Norton,softcover) that begins when a disheveled youth walks into the Americanconsulate in Hamburg and demands a private interview with the new CIA director.The consulate is dismissive until he tells them the agency has been hacked andthat he has a list of undercover agents names as proof. At this point you willbe reading a fast-paced thriller that feels like it was ripped from theheadlines as we read about such hacks. The new Director has only been in officefor a week when he receives word that the agency has been hacked and that noone is safe. What the young hacker wants is an exchange of the information hehas for protection from the people trying to kill him. A young, tech-savvyagent is assigned to the case, but the Director begins to have suspicions ofhim. This is a cyber-espionage novel that guarantees a story you will not wantto put down until the last page.
Anotheraction-packed novel is Scott McEwens TheSniper and the Wolf ($24.99, Touchstone, an imprint of Simon and Schuster).McEwen is the coauthor with Chris Kyle of the huge bestseller of AmericanSniper which went on to become an Oscar-winning blockbuster film. This novelwas co-written with Thomas Kolonair. Together they have created aheart-pounding military thriller, the third inspired by Special Ops missions.In this story, hero Gil Shannon joins up with an unlikely Russian ally in orderto stop a terrorist plot bent on destruction across Europe. Shannon is hot on thetrail of a Chechen terrorist when his mission is exposed by a traitor high upin the U.S. government and he must turn to a Russian counterpart. Together theydiscover his goal is to upend the U.S. economy and the stability of the Westernworld. The hunt takes Shannon from Sicily to the Ukraine to Russia and you getto go along as he must get to the one sniper who might be his equal and whowants to kill him. The fact that the story is based on events from real lifemakes it a page-turner. Thrillers abound and Charlie Newtons Traitors Gate ($14.95, Thomas Mercer, softcover) takes the reader to the days just before the first shots ofWorld War II. A survivor of a brutal massacre that left her family dead, SabaHassouneh becomes The Raven, a freedom fighter hunted throughout the MiddleEast by the British colonial powers and religious mullahs alike. When she meetsEddie Owen, a petroleum engineer, their attraction is immediate, but theirgoals are diametrically opposed because she is eyeing British refineries as apoint of attack. The must resolve their personal issues and, in doing so,determine who will own the skies of World War II.
VictoriaShorr intended to write a non-fiction account of the life of a belovedBrazillian legend, the one-eyed bandit Lampiao and his lover, Maria Bonita, butinstead she opted to tell their story In Backlands($25.95, W.W. Norton), bring to life the story of this Robin Hood hero whosegang avoided capture for a long time by living in the Sertao, the name whichtranslated into the title of this story. They did indeed steal from the richand give to the poor in the early decades of the 20th century,outwitting the authorities for twenty years. They were regarded as heroes bypoor farmers and struggling merchants. The author devoted ten years toresearching the story, concluding that the lives of Lampiao and Bonita lentthemselves better to a fictional format. The facts remain true, but her lyricaltelling of them makes this a story well worth reading.
Mysteryand murder combine in The Fatal Sin ofLove ($11.50, Back Bay Press, softcover). Somebodys killing chocolatelovers in Boston and China. When a wealthy Back Bay widow dies in her sleep,nobody suspects that its just the beginning of a carefully laid out plot tohijack the multimillion dollar inheritance that the Chinese American dowagerleft to members of her far-flung family. Well, nobody but amateur detectives AnnLee and Fang Chen. Written by G.X. Chen, who wasborn in Shanghai and raised in HongKong. A trip back to the mainland China in 1965 trapped her there for decadesunder Communist rule. After the Cultural Revolution, she became a best-sellingauthor. These days she has a masters degree from the University of New Mexico,having left China in 1989. She is now an American citizen,this is her fourthAmerican novel. The good news is that there are more to come. This is agreat way to learn about another culture while enjoying a great mystery aswell.
Thatsit for May! Come back next month for more news of books you may not hear orread about elsewhere. Tell your book-loving family members, friends andco-workers about Bookviews.com so they too can benefit from its eclectic newsabout the latest in non-fiction and fiction.
My Picks of the Month
Does itseem like all we hear about these days is how fat Americans are? Most surelythat accounts for the dozens of diet books I receive. Imagine then how pleasedI was to read Harriet Browns Body ofTruth: How Science, History, and Culture Drive Our Obsession with Weight andWhat We Can Do About it ($25.99, Da Capo Press). In its introduction shesays, Were in the midst of an epidemic, one thats destroying both thequality and the longevity of our lives. Im not talking about overweight orobesity. Im talking about our obsession with weight, our never-ending questfor thinness, our relentless angst about our bodies. Her book tackles the myths and realities ofthe obesity epidemic and exposes the biggest lies driving the rhetoric ofobesity. How nice it would be to have a day in which we are not constantlywarned about eating sugar or wheat when candy and freshly baked items are amonglifes greatest pleasures. Her book offers ways to think about weight andhealth with more common sense, accuracy, and respect. You are not likely to read or hear about thisexcellent book in the mainstream press because of the billions that the dietcraze represents in advertising and revenue for physicians, pharmaceuticalcompanies, and diet programs. All the more reason to read it and learn thetruth.
A CNN pollwhose results were released in March showed that nearly half of Americansbelieve race relations have worsened over the course of the presidency ofBarack Obama, the first half-black man elected to the White House. The pollfound that 39% believe relations between blacks and whites have gotten worse,not better, since Mr. Obama took office in January 2009. Just 15% say relationshave improved. It found that 45% of whites think relations have worsened while just26% of blacks think so. If race relations in America is a subject of interestand concern to you, then you will want to read Colin Flahertys new book, Dont Make the Black Kids Angry(available from Amazon.Com and other Internet book outlets, $19.72, softcover,$6.99 Kindle.) I reviewed Flahertysfirst book, White Girl Bleed A Lot: The return of racial violence in America which caused a sensation became a bestselleras it documented and revealed how the nations press consistently failed to reporta trend in attacks on whites by blacks that were based entirely on racial bias.His new book looks how Americans are being led to believe that it is whiteracism that is causing comparable attacks, but not being told about theattacks such as a thousand Asian immigrants were brutalized for five yearsbefore the local newspaper took notice or the 40,000 blacks that rampagedthrough a Virginia beach town with little media coverage. A thousand suchevents are reported in his new book by this award winning reporter. At a timewhen all we read and hear about are black youths being shot by local police,barely being told they attacked the officers who acted in self-defense, thisbook has much to say and explain the state of race relations in America today.
The globalwarming hoax is finally beginning to give up the ghost thanks to 19 years inwhich the Earth has been in a cooling cycle based on the Suns reducedradiation, also a natural cycle. Al Gore got the hoax going bigtime with hisbook, An Inconvenient Truth, that was filled with absurd claims that thenorth and south poles would be melted by now, that polar bears would be extinctand all manner of weather-related events would produce chaos. Philip M. Fishmanhas written A Really Inconvenient Truth:The Case Against the Theory of Anthropogenic Global Warming ($19.95, MPSPublishing, softcover) that is intended to be read by those who may not havethe scientific background or knowledge to make sense of all the claims. Fishmanexplains all the basics you need to know from the way the scientific methodworks to the aspects of climatology, the study of long-term trends thatconfirms that, yes, there were warm cycles, just as there were cold ones. Theseare the facts the Warmists who are still making claims about global warmingdont want you to know. The surprising thing about this highly readable book isthe breadth of knowledge it covers without requiring you to read hundreds ofpages. At 114 pages it is a breeze to read. Fishman makes no predictions, thecommon trait of the Warmists. Instead, he lays out the science-basedinformation you need to know to refute the convoluted logic that Theoristshave used to spread their Gospel.
If all theheadlines these days have you concerned about the future of America, you arenot alone. Fortunately, James Langston has taken a careful look at what isoccurring in his new book, America InCrisis ($11.46 at Amazon.com, softcover). Lumbering through a moralwilderness of incivility and unreason we are losing the best of ourselves tofear and uncertainty, says Langston as he asks if we have lost our sense ofright and wrong, but notes that, as a nation, we have gone from fear to faithcountless times. Langston offers someinspirational analysis of the issues and challenges of our times. Youngerreaders in particular would benefit from reading Langstons book that cites ournations history throughout, providing a sense of clarity and insight regardingour present problems.
Ourheadlines are filled with news of barbaric acts perpetrated by the IslamicState (ISIS) in its quest to create a new caliphate from which to conquer anddominate the world. Beheadings, crucifixions, kidnappings and slavery are itsstock-in-track. A genocidal attack on Christians throughout the Middle Eastmakes one ask why are they doing this and Hector A. Garcia, PhD provides ananswer in Alpha God: The Psychology ofReligious Violence and Oppression ($19.00, Prometheus Books,softcover). The author, a clinicalpsychologist, examines religious scriptures, rituals, and canon law,highlighting the many ways in which our evolutionary legacy has shaped thedevelopment of religion and continues to profoundly influence its expression.The author focuses on the image of God as the dominant male in Judaism,Christianity, and Islam. This is not light reading, nor does it provide muchcomfort, but it does provide an interesting look at the way religions reflectearly human societies and affect our present ones.
Bookviewsis generally a boost-dont-knock report on new books. I am going to make anexception to that regarding Coal Wars:The Future of Energy and the Fate of the Planet by Richard Martin ($28.00,Palgrave Macmillan) because, while it acknowledges that coal provides 45% ofthe worlds electrical power, it also embraces the totally debunkedenvironmental claims that it is causing or will cause global warming byputting too much carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. The fact is that CO2levels have been increasing but the Earth has, at the same time, been in acooling cycle of some 19 years. It is not warming and, more importantly, theamount of CO2 in the atmosphere was far higher centuries ago and its vegetationand animal life thrived. At present it represents a miniscule 0.04% of theatmosphere. We could use more, not less CO2 for healthier forests and increasedcrops. The fact that Martin is the editorial director of Navigant Research,the premier clean energy (solar and wind) and analysis firm reveals his biasand the flawed theme of this book. My suggestion is that you ignore it and allthe other claims of so-called climate change. The Earths climate has beenchanging for 4.5 billion years and coal has nothing to do with it. What does?The Sun!
Onlyreceived one childrens book this past month, but it is well worthrecommending. Wild Ideas: Let NatureInspire Your Thinking ($18.95, Owlkids Books) by Elin Kelsey is, says thepublisher, aimed at youngsters age 4 and up, but the earlier ages will need aparent to read it aloud to them because its vocabulary is for older readers atleast 7 and up. A picture book, it is illustrated in ways to stimulate theimagination while its text features examples of how various animals from birdsto whales solve problems. It generates respect for other species at the sametime it teaches the young reader how to solve their problems. Its artwork makesit fun and its text is imaginative and inspiring.
On thesubject of teaching, if you are a teacher or know one, Caroline Alexander Lewishas penned a short, pithy book, JustBack Off and Let Us Teach ($16.99, Dog Ear Publishing, softcover) assertingthat if America wants to reform public education and regain its status in theworld if must begin to value the good teachers and find ways to remove the poorones from the classroom. Or as she puts it, unions should not provide jobsecurity for bad teachers. Both descriptive and motivational, her book definesfive skills effective teachers must either have or acquire. For 22 years shewas a teacher and a school principal before moving on to develop new programsin other fields. I would call this book must reading for any teacher.
Acollection of quotations by Russ Kick is aptly named Flash Wisdom ($14.95, Disinformation Books, softcover) as his selectionfrom poets, philosophers, scientists, and others provides pages of instantinsight regarding all aspects of life. This is one of those books you keephandy to energize your mind with quotes that open doors on the best way to liveones life. Keep it bedside or on your desk.
Memoirs and Memories
We live ina culture that thrives on celebrity news of their lives. This has been truethroughout history when the royalty were fair game for discussion. In the Company of Legends by JoanKramer and David Heely, with a foreword by Richard Dreyfus ($24.95, BeaufortBooks) who together have won five Emmy Awards in addition to the twenty Emmynominations they received, as the producers of many television programs. Theirbook focuses on the famous folk about whom they produced TV profiles. Theyincluded Katherine Hepburn, Johnny Carson, Frank Sinatra, Ronald and NancyReagan, Jane Fonda, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart and BetteDavis, among others. Noted film history, Robert Osborne, said of their bookthat it is a kings ransom of fascinating stories about colorful, bigger thanlife people we know, but didnt knowtold by people who actually knew thecelebrities they write about If you love Hollywood and its legendary actorsand actresses, you will love this book.
If yourea fan of Cindy Williams, one half of the comedic duo, Laverne Shirley, you will have to wait one month to pick up acopy of Shirley, I Jest! A Storied Life ($22.95, Taylor TradePublishing, an imprint of Rowman Littlefield) by Cindy with DaveSmitherman, relating her life from her blue collar roots to unexpected stardom.She went from waiting tables at Whisky a Go Go to starring in one of the mosticonic shows on television. This is an almost quintessential American story ofsuccess and she earned it. Like many bitten by the acting bug, she loves it andstill loves her theatre roots, performing in many shows across the nation inaddition to starring on Broadway in The Drowsy Chaperon. What makes her book sodelightful is that she never took herself or her fame that seriously,demonstrating throughout her wonderful sense of humor while sharing amusinganecdotes about some of the most famous actors in Hollywood.
Noteveryone is famous, but that doesnt mean they have interesting stories totell. Binoculars: Masquerading as aSighted Person by Philip F. DiMeo ($24.95, New Horizon Press) is anexample. For more than 17 years he pretended to be a fully-sighted person and,despite his growing loss of sight, he drove a car, went to college, became asocial worker, a cartoonist, and a coach for two sports teams. As he visiongrew worse, a physician diagnosed him as having retinitis pigmentosa, an eyedisease with no known cure. This is his first person account of what it waslike to finally come to deal with that harsh reality, but he had the help of aloving wife and, with his guide dog, Ladonna, a yellow Labrador, became what hecalls a perfect match. His blindness closed some doors in his life, butopened others. This is a truly inspirational book.
Missing Persons: A Life of UnexpectedInfluences by BrucePiasecki is self-described as a memoir of past, present, and future ($17.95,Square One Publishers, softcover). Piasecki says This book is a product ofmemory and creativity, not of chronology and fact. He regards memory as anart form that is accessible to us all. It is through memory that we triumphover loss, and it is memory that renders the impossible probableand the deadmerely missing. Piasecki takes us from his impoverished childhood to hissuccess as an internationally renowned businessman, as well as a husband,father, friend, and writer. Its been an interesting life for him and you canread along for an interesting journey through it.
Reading History
If thereis one thing I love to read it is history. I never come away without havinggained a new or renewed insight to the state of humanity. Understanding the present is impossiblewithout know the past.
ThomasFleming is already regarded as one of our nations preeminent historians andwith good reason. In his latest book, TheGreat Divide: The Conflict between Washington and Jefferson that Defined aNation ($27.99, Da Capo Press) he grabs your attention by pointing out thatthat Washington and Jefferson had dramatically different backgrounds anddiffering opinions that left their imprint on the presidency. As Fleming notes,Jefferson was an avid bibliophile who attended the College of William and Mary,and went onto study law in his twenties as America inched toward rebellionagainst British rule. Washington, by contrast, was Jeffersons senior by elevenyears and had spent his youth as a land surveyor and began his military careerin the French and Indian War. While Jefferson avoided military service in theRevolution, Washington relentlessly led America to victory. Suffice to saythere was much disagreement between the two. Washington came to see him as anenemy and with good reason. Jefferson was all about his love for the Frenchrevolutiona bloodbathand his own ambitions. Suffice to say this is a totallyfascinating insight into the two men and their colleagues who brought about anew nation.
Knowingthe past of Afghanistan as well as its present is the subject of AbdullahSharifs book, Sardar: FromAfghanistans Golden Age to Carnage ($12.95 @ Amazon.com and other Internetbook outlets, softcover), a personal account of his return to his former homeafter joining the U.S. State Department in 2009. He had been back in 2007 andwas horrified by what he saw. In his absence of thirty years, his birth nationwas in ruins, the result of invasion by the Soviet Union and the struggles withthe Taliban after it withdrew. This is his memoir of his memories of the nationhe left in 1976, the golden age to which he makes reference, to its presenttimes. As he notes, his book is not that of an expert, but rather of a U.S.diplomat speaking for himself, unofficially of the devastation and corruptionhe found and an effort to explain the nations culture so that the U.S. cantake steps to help Afghanistan became an independent nation. For his efforts,he was awarded an Expeditionary Service Award and Meritorious Civilian ServiceAward. The Governor of Kandahar Province, Tooryalai Wesa, Ph.D, described hisbook as filled with priceless observations and you will come away with a farbetter understanding of the nation than from reading official or academicwritings on this subject.
Americamay be a young nation by comparison with others, but it has a long, richhistory and The Lost World of the OldOnes: Discoveries in the Ancient Southwest by David Roberts ($27.95, W.W.Norton) begins with his discovery in 2005 with two of his mountaineeringfriends of what turned out to be a settlement beneath an overhanging cliff athousand feet above a Utah ranch. It was an enormous granary and, given itslocation, raised the question of how the ancient natives could have lugged aton and a half of corn up a sheer cliff. The region around the Four Corners isfilled with such mysteries, including why the natives abandoned their homelandin the 14th century. In 1996, Roberts authored In Search of the OldOnes, which became an instant classic and this one is likely to be regardingin the same way. Heres a way to enjoy the mountain climbing and explorationwithout having to do more than turn the pages of this interesting andentertaining book.
Douglas McIntyre is a Canadian publisher that quite naturally publishes booksabout Canada. I suspect most Americans know very little about Canada other thanit forms our northern border and that its hockey team is one of the mostvaluable franchises in the NHL. You can repair that gap in your knowledge, forexample, with Allan Levines Toronto:Biography of a City ($36.95). It starts on the packed streets of today,whose 2.79 million residents makes it North Americas fourth largest city and afar cry from its earliest days as Little York, comprised of the lieutenantgovernors muddy tent which he shared with his wife and six children. Foranyone who is interested in the development of a dynamic city this book willprove very entertaining. Ill bet most Americans are unaware that there havebeen three Canadian astronauts. In CanadianSpacewalkers ($29.95) Bob McDonald tells us the story of Chris Hadfield,Steve MacLean and Dave Williams, all of whom stepped outside to confront theuniverse in zero gravity. A science journalist and commentator on CBC NewsNetwork, he has received many honors for his work and when you read his bookyou will understand why as he takes you along on a trip that explains what ittakes to be a spacewalker. The book is greatly enhanced by a hundred colorphotos. If space and science is your interest, this book is ideal.
University of Oklahoma Press
Universitypresses are often overlooked as sources of interesting books that you might notfind in a bookstore or on the site of one of the Internet book outlets. TheUniversity of Oklahoma Press is a good example.
We usuallythink about the wild West in terms of the many movies and television showsfilled with cowboys and villains, bank robbers and sheriffs, but that period inour history, from between 1800 and 1920 also represents one of extraordinaryinvention, innovation, entrepreneurship and business. The names of many of themen who shaped our history are well known, from Buffalo Bill Cody to LeviStraus, famed for the slacks we loved to wear. Theres the banker J.P. Morgan,the brewmaster Adolf Coors, religious leader Brigham Young, and inventor CyrusMcCormick whose reaper transformed the task of harvesting crops. OutWhere the West Begins: Profiles, Visions Strategies of Early WesternBusiness Leaders by Philip F. Anschutz ($34.95) brings together a montageof men who believed they could enrich themselves at the same time theycontributed to a still young nation. Many, once they made their fortunes,helped build libraries, parks, and other cultural institutions. You will readof fifty men whose lives opened up the nation to growth and wealth.
Therecould hardly be a more timely book, ReligiousFreedom in America: Constitutional Roots and Contemporary Challenges ($45.00,hardcover, $24.95 softcover) as edited by Allen D. Hertzke, a professor ofpolitical science and a faculty fellow in religious freedom with the Institutefor the American Constitutional Heritage at the University. Nine writerscontributed to this examination of an issue that is being argued in the courtsover issues of same-sex marriage and contraception mandates in ObamaCare, aswell as other aspects of the practice of religion. The many perspectives of theissues are well served in this book written from the point of view ofhistorians, social scientists, and jurists who examine the laws, oftendescribed as messy and you will understand why and learn about the tug of warbetween the free exercise of religion and the governments need to apply theConstitution and laws equally and fairly.I thought that Do Facts Matter?Information and Misinformation in America Politics by Jennifer L.Hochschild and Katherine Levine Einstein ($29.95) would provide some answers tothe nations current state of politics, but what I found, unfortunately, was anacademically dense examination of what occurs and why when voters areuninformed or misinformed. Both are professors specializing in government andpolitics, Hochschild at Harvard University, and Einstein at Boston University. Thiscould have been a far more lively examination of the issues to which it isdevoted, but it is so concentrated on its own facts that it never provides alarger, more comprehensive presentation or maybe the topic just defies that?
Novels, Novels, Novels
AllanTopol has penned yet another bestselling novel, The Washington Lawyer, ($16.95, Select Books, softcover). A lawyerby profession, it is a wonder he still found the time to pen eleven novels ofinternational intrigue, plus a two-volume legal treatise on the Superfund law.This novel, unlike many written by lawyers, is not about some courtroom drama.Its about a lawyer, Andrew Martin, who is a long-time friend with SenatorWilliam Jasper who needs help. A sex tryst at Martins beach house in Anguilla hasgone awry and a congressional staffer and former model, Vanessa Boyd, is dead.Martin must decide how best to protect his reputation and the Senators. Whatunfolds are hairpin plot turns as human vice and political power collide andrace toward catastrophe for both men. Heres is an intriguing and entertaininglook inside the circles of power with which the author is familiar and includesthe element of Chinese spying because that is as critical today as Sovietspying was during the Cold War. If youre looking for a great read, you willfind it in this novel.
I thinkthe ladies will like Chasing Sunsets($22.99, Howard Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster) more than the guys.Karen Kingsbury has more than 25 million copies of her books in print. This onefeatures Mary Catherine, the only child of married parents but generallyneglected by them. She brings meaning to her life through charity work in LosAngeles and finds herself attracted to one of her co-workers and begins tothink of their life together until she gets devastating news about her health.I wont give much away except to say that she is faced with serious decisionsand she ops for an inspirational one. William Hazelgrove is the author of tenbest-selling novels, Jack Pine ishis latest. It has strong environmental themes. When the sixteen year olddaughter of a prominent attorney is raped in a woodshed and a logger found shotthe next morning, Deputy Sheriff Reuger London becomes embroiled in a warbetween environmentalists, the Ojibwa Indians fighting for their timber rights,and the ruthless son of a powerful logger. Needless to say the logger is thevillain in this story, but it has plenty of plot twists and turns to hold yourattention. It is officially due out next month.
There aretwo new novels from Thomas Mercer. David Corbetts talents as a crimewriter have earned him award nominations and The Mercy of the Night ($15.95, softcover) is likely to do the samewith its story of Jacquelina Jacqi Garza who was one of two nearly identicalgirls abducted at age eight by a child predator in the northern California townof Rio Mirada. After escaping and enduring a very public trial, he lifespiraled out of control until, a decade later, she vanishes once again,determined to cross the border and start over. Phalan Tierney, a former lawyerand part-time investigator is recovering from trauma in his life and isdetermined to find Jacqi and help her get back on track. Just as he has locatedher, he is drawn into a case that threatens to tear the town apart. Suffice tosay there are circles within circles in this densely plotted story that is sureto please those who love crime fiction. Thresholdby G.M. Ford ($14.95, softcover) is a police thriller that will add to areputation based on his previous novels. Still smarting from the very publicbreakup of his marriage and facing conduct complaints, Detective Mickey Dolancatches a case that might turn things around for him. It involved thedisappearance of the wife and daughters of a powerful city councilman. Assistedby a young woman who may know the terrible truth about the missing family,Dolan soon finds that he must choose between helping his career and protectinginnocent lives. Its a page-turner.
Lawyersand cops seem to dominate the novels arriving of late. Gun Street Girl: A Detective Sean Duffy Novel by Adrian McKinty($15.95, Seventh Street Books, softcover) and it will take you to Belfast,Ireland in 1985 where Detective Duffy is a Catholic cop in the Protestant RoyalUlster Constabulary is struggling with burn-out as he investigates a brutaldouble murder and suicide. Did Michael Kelly really shoot his parents at pointblank range and then jump off a nearby cliff? A suicide note seems to confirmthis, but Duffy has his doubts and he soon discovers that Kelly was present ata decadent Oxford party where a cabinet ministers daughter died of a heroinoverdose. The story explodes with gun runners, arms dealers, the Britishgovernment and a rogue American agent with a fake identity. Sound interesting?It is! McKinty has authored sixteennovels and has been called the best of the new generation of Irish crimenovelists. Adam Mitzner is an attorneyand a novelist and his latest is LosingFaith ($26.00, Gallery Books) in which Aaron Littman, the chairman of oneof the countrys most prestigious law firms has just been contacted by ahigh-profile defense attorney whose client is Nikolai Garkov, a Russianbusinessman widely believed to have pulled the financial strings behind a recentterrorist bombing. Gorkov is a thorough evil villain and he has evidence of atorrid affair Littman had with the presiding judge, Faith Nichols, in the caseagainst him. He threatens to ruin Littmans career if he doesnt influenceFaith. Legal thriller fans will love this one.
Finally,what if William Shakespeare had written the Star Wars stories? Well, now youcan find out what it would have been to read The Phantom of Menace: Star Wars Part the First as rendered byIan Doescher ($14.95, Quirk Books). It is an ideal Shakespearean drama filledwith sword fights, soliloquies and doomed romance. The School Library Journalsaid Doeschers pseudo-Shakespearean language is dead-on; this is one of thebest-written Shakespeare parodies create for this audience and it is absolutelylaugh-out-loud funny for those familiar with both the Bard and Star Wars. Icant add anything to that.
Thatsit for April! Come back in May and dont forget to let your book-lovingfriends, family, and co-workers know about Bookviews.com and its wide selectionof the latest non-fiction and fiction books.465 comments: Older PostsHomeSubscribe to:Posts (Atom)My Favorite SitesBurt Petlutsky (Blog)Canada Free PressCaruba.Info (PR-Editorial Services)Climate DepotClimate DispatchCNSnews.comIce Age NowTheo Spark (Blog)Warning Signs (Caruba Blog)Search This Blog
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