Monday, November 8, 2010

Cheap 50 People Every Christian Should Know: Learning from Spiritual Giants of the Faith


I picked up a copy of this book recently and have found it to be one of the most challenging books I have ever read. I would consider this a must read, especially for pastors and teachers. If you can't afford it now, put it on your "wish-list" and request it for Christmas. You won't be disappointed.Get more detail about 50 People Every Christian Should Know: Learning from Spiritual Giants of the Faith.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Buying The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins, Social Security, Unemployment Insurance,


This book was a fascinating "alternative view" of the FDR presidency and the programs we came to know as the New Deal. I say alternative view because so much more has been written regarding New Dealers Harry Hopkins, Raymond Moley, Henry Wallace, Louis Howe and even Lewis Douglas. It's ironic that Frances Perkins was the force behind Social Security, child labor laws, worker safety, minimum wage, unemployment compensation, the 40 hour work week and more but has been largely ignored by posterity. Some of this may have been her own fault. To be effective as a woman during that period, Frances Perkins often chose to research and understand a problem, then propose solutions that FDR and others could put forth as their own.

Frances Perkins was born in 1880; a Mount Holyoke graduate, she was an anomoly based on her education. Not content to be an idle blue-stocking, she became involved in Hull House in Chicago and the settlement house movement. Her employment as an early social worker drove a wedge between her and her conservative New England family.

She was a cabinet member for the entirety of FDR's presidency. She supported organized labor when labor didn't support her, understanding when few did, how organized labor helps a democratic society. She did these things and many more while staying in the background as much as possible. Hence the value of this book.

Kirsten Downey did a good job in researching and writing this book. Biographies pose unique challenges to a writer and I found myself wondering if publication of this book was pushed forward to take advantage of the obvious analogies between FDR and Obama and the economic challenges that faced their administrations. There were multiple places where the writing seemed less than elegant and frankly, I attributed that to editing (or lack thereof).

The book includes the challenges of her personal life which included a husband who suffered from bipolar disorder and a daughter who may also have suffered from mental illness and the economic necessity of working to support both. The book and several review alude to several possible lesbian relationships that Ms. Perkins may or may not have had. Given her deeply held religious beliefs and personal ethics, I'm dubious about her having a sexual relationship outside her marriage, regardless of the gender of the partner.

I highly recommend this book. Perkins was a fascinating person. Amid all the other New Dealers jockeying for access to the President and posterity, Frances Perkins quietly instituted lasting programs that touch us today.
Get more detail about The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins, Social Security, Unemployment Insurance,.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Buy In Freedom's Cause


Liberty or death. This was the choice the people of Scotland in the 13th century faced if they rose up against their English ruler. Most would say it was no choice at all. Many of the Scottish nobles were English supporters. Few could be expected to rise up against the numerically overwhelming English army. The hero of the story, Archibald Forbes, joins the struggle for Scottish freedom led by the valiant Sir William Wallace and Robert the Bruce. The extraordinary valor and personal prowess of these men rival the deeds of the mythical heroes of chivalry.Get more detail about In Freedom's Cause.

Purchase Jesus of Nazareth


I was given this book as a gift. I could hardly put it down and finished it in just a few days, it was that good. It is more approachable and readable than other books by Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict.

The book covers the life of Jesus between his baptism and the transfiguration. Note that the most celebrated events, his birth, death, and resurrection, are not the focus of this book. And yet, Pope Benedict manages to weave together a very interesting narrative and analysis of who Jesus is, and why he stands out from his time in history until now.

Before anyone reads this book, they should have first read the whole Bible. There are plenty of references to the New Testament, Isaiah, Psalms, and the Torah (books of Moses). Most references are self contained, including quotes from the Revised Standard Version Bible. Sometimes the references include only partial or no quotes. In either case, it helps to be able to put things in context in your head, so it helps to be familiar with the text of the Bible before hand.

Pope Benedict is a first rate theological scholar. By the way, there is practically nothing Catholic-specific in this book - everything applies to all Christians. The point of view is conservative, decidedly not liberal. You will no doubt see positive reviews by Protestants and Mormons of this book. Sometimes the tone is a bit scholarly, discussing the work of other theologians. All in all, probably not a good book for someone who is unfamiliar with the Bible.

I cannot recommend it highly enough. This is one of most inspired and intelligently written books I own. In the preface, Pope Benedict promises to write a sequel about the rest of Jesus' life, and I look forward to that next book.Get more detail about Jesus of Nazareth.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Order To Hell and Back



Sixty-one years ago, a young American who'd fought in the war published an unpretentious book, "To Hell and Back." It was the story of his experience in World War II as a combat infantryman. Nowhere in the book does the author mention that he was the most decorated US soldier in the Second World War, or that he'd won the Congressional Medal of Honor, along with 21 other medals. He barely notes that he rose from buck private to lieutenant (though he never says if he became a First Lieutenant, though it's hard to imagine that he didn't).

On V-E Day, the author - Audie Murphy - was not yet 21, though he'd seen almost nonstop combat from the first wave of the Sicilian invasion to the end of the war outside of Munich two years later. An orphan who grew up on a hardscrabble Texas panhandle farm during the dust bowl depression, he'd volunteered for the Marines as soon as he'd turned 18. "Too small," said the recruiter to the scrawny, baby-faced young man. So he volunteered for the Airborne, and was again rejected. "Too small, Murphy." And he was small, but he wanted to fight - to fight for his country, and perhaps, to fight to prove that he wasn't really too small after all.

Having failed to enlist in the two "fightingest" units of the American military, Murphy joined the Infantry. He arrived in North Africa right before the end, but the Germans and Italians surrendered the day he was going into the line to see combat for the first time, forcing him to wait for Sicily two months later.

There isn't an ounce of braggadocio in Audie Murphy's chronicle of war, and though he was scarcely educated, even by the standards of the day, he wrote his unpretentious memoirs in the most literate and evocative style I've encountered. All of those fabled "writers" who went off to war, seeking to learn some deep inner truth and share it with the world, how they must have envied Murphy's honest, moving words.

Within minutes of landing on Sicily, his unit took their first fatality, courtesy of German artillery - and from the start, Murphy began learning the lessons that kept him alive. He realized that the dead man had let his guard down, and in two years of hard fighting, Murphy never did.
In combat, Murphy soon had to fight two opposing forces - the need and want to be close to the men who shared life and death with him, and the need to remain distant from men who were doomed to die or be disfigured or dismembered. Not one of the men Murphy landed with in Sicily were still in combat with him when his war ended in the occupation of Munich. He lost so much - but he did not lose his soul. He indeed went to Hell and Back, but the important thing is, he did come back.

As a soldier, Murphy was a hard man. He knew that a wounded German was a dangerous German, and if they would not surrender, he had no qualms about shooting them as often as he needed to until the risk went away. He could never forget that his best friend was gut-shot and murdered as he stood to take the surrender of eight German soldiers - men whose fanaticism was such that they'd betray that most basic of trusts, the one that allowed men to surrender to others who'd just tried to kill them - and whom they'd just tried to kill. An instinctive shot, he seldom had to shoot them very often. But he was not a war criminal, or a murderer in any sense of the word. Germans who surrendered to him were treated honorably and well, and the wounded he took prisoner got the same rough-but-gentle medical care as did his own men.

Yet he was also a gentle man. For those of his comrades who - after all the heroism and courage they could give - cracked under artillery fire, or after the sight of one more friend eviscerated by a German mortar shell, Murphy was solicitous, understanding and caring. One man, who couldn't bear to be thought a coward, kept cracking, and being evacuated, then coming back. To save his friend, Murphy called the Colonel and read him the riot act about sending this man back. Lieutenants did not read Colonels the riot act, but to save a friend who'd given more than he'd had to give, Murphy would fight bureaucracy as sternly and as effectively as he'd fight the Germans.

In combat, Murphy earned 22 medals, including the Medal of Honor. Yet the reader is left to guess which distinctive action won him that highest medal. My bet is the time he mounted the rear deck of a burning and abandoned American Tank Destroyer - a kind of thin-skinned tank with no roof on the turret, but with a bigger main gun than could be carried by a more heavily armored tank. On the turret's top was mounted a .50 caliber heavy machine gun, and standing with smoke swirling around him, and open flames warming his feet for the first time all winter, Murphy single-handedly stopped a German counter-attack. They could never find him to shoot him, for the simple reason that no sane man would stand on the back of a burning TD, one packed with heavy artillery shells and filled with hundreds of gallons of high-test gasoline, all seconds away from fireballing.

But there were at least a half-dozen other incidents that could have won him that most honored of medals, and the reader is left to guess, and to wonder, because Audie Murphy never gives a hint.

In the bitter winter of 1944, while facing down fanatical Germans in the Vosges Mountains on the border between Germany, France and Switzerland, Murphy was shot - apparently the only serious wound he received. He says he was shot in the hip, though his comrades joked that he'd gotten shot in the ass. It took him three days to move from front line to aid station to field hospital, and by that time his wound had infected and turned gangrenous. Doctors had to pump him full of antibiotics and carve away the dead, necrotic flesh as the gangrene ate it, for two full months. This living hell was dismissed in a short paragraph, a few evocative but uncomplaining sentences. All we do know is that, as soon as he could, two months from being shot, he was back in the line, freezing off what the Germans had failed to shoot off.

There were no easy battles for Murphy. Some consider Sicily a cake-walk, but Murphy lost his first friend within minutes of going ashore. Nobody considered Salerno, or the Gustav line, or Anzio a cake-walk, but many considered the invasion of the South of France to be a walk in the park. I should have known better - in 1973, right out of college, I worked with a man who'd won the Congressional Medal of Honor in the South of France when, as a sergeant, and after all of the unit's officers had been killed, he held together a company of Americans who'd been cut off and surrounded - and held them together as he'd held off the Germans for a week before relief came. This wasn't Murphy, this was a man I'd known.

So I knew - or should have - that the late-summer 1944 invasion of the Riviera on the South of France wasn't easy, or safe. It was in France that Murphy paid the highest price in lost friends - those few who were left from the men who'd left North Africa for Sicily 13 months before - of the entire war. It was made more poignant because there were so few left, and because even the replacements of the replacements of the replacements were now so few in number.

At the time that Murphy's unit breached the Siegfried Line and entered Germany, Murphy had been taken out of combat and assigned as a courier, running messages between the Division's rear-echelon headquarters. He was safe, secure, and ... and he ordered his driver to take him as close to the line as possible. Then dismounting, he walked through the Dragon's Teeth and bunkers until he found what was left of his own company, cowering in a ditch, as demoralized as he'd ever seen them. Standing on top of the trench, in full view of any Germans who'd cared to look, he cajoled and prodded and kicked and cajoled again, and got the remnant of that battle-shocked company out of their safe trench and on the march. Then he led them through the rest of the Siegfried Line and into Germany. Once they'd accomplished their assigned task - only because of his leadership - he left them and marched back, unprotected, unafraid and unharmed, through the Siegfried Line, back to his jeep, and back to headquarters. They'd never missed him.

Soon enough, he was back with his beloved company, leading them as part of the tidal wave that swept through Germany in the last 8 weeks of war. Finally, he was given a furlough, and was on a train heading for the French Riviera when V-E Day was announced. And it was in France that he forced himself to abandon cynicism and embrace the return of life - and to complete the journey he took, the journey to Hell and Back.

It would take a wonderful book to do justice to this hero's war, and I encourage you to read it, one of the best and most evocative war books I've read in more than fifty years of reading war books. I grew up in that generation just after the war; I remember a legless friend of my father's coming over to use our backyard swimming pool for exercise. I can still see him - though the last time I saw him was the summer after the first grade - unbuckling his artificial legs, apparently unselfconsciously, crab-walking across the patio and plunging into the water. I can still remember my uncle, whose ship had been Stuka'd in the Med - the scars of shrapnel and fire still mark his face to this day. My father never told me of the four Kamikazes which had attacked his ship (or the one that hit - then bounced off - before exploding). Men of that generation, those who didn't write books, didn't talk much about the war. But as a kid, I saw the evidence of war carved into the bodies and faces of men I'd grown up around. I have a sense of what they went through.

But Murphy leaves no doubt. He saw no glory, no heroism worth banners and bugles, though a grateful nation showered him with awards he never even mentioned. He did his duty, led his men, fought his battles, defeated his foes and did his part to win the war and protect the country he so clearly loved. His book tells this story, and it is worthwhile.

After the war, the unquestionably handsome Audie Murphy became a Hollywood film star - even playing himself in the movie adaptation of his memoir. Surely, that must have been surreal. And tragically, after surviving all that the Germans had thrown at him, Audie Murphy was killed in a plane crash in 1971. He was just 46.

That fact brought to mind another soldier - a paratrooper named Carter - who also began his war in Sicily, also fought in Italy and France and Germany - and who died of cancer, of all things, just a year or two after the war ended. Before he died - before, I presume, he knew that he would die, Carter wrote an unforgettable book, "Those Devils in Baggy Pants." That was a story of paratroopers, of men Audie Murphy was too scrawny to join. Each man gave his all, and it was enough to defeat Germany, but not enough to live in peace for generations after the war ended. They were all heroes, but none more consistently and effectively heroic than Audie Murphy, who fought for his country, gave his all more times than I could count, and indeed, went to Hell and Back.

Get more detail about To Hell and Back.

Where To Buy Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas


Why oh why did our generation waste so much ink lauding Hunter S Thompson when we have someone with true talent in our midst, with the gonzo ethic of Thompson and the talents of Gladwell? Not that Klosterman is truly overlooked (he makes a fine living I'm sure), but heavens you would think he would be mentioned in the same breath as the other coffeetable must-haves that are relentlessly rotated on the "'what white people like" lists (not that there's *anything* wrong with those writers, and, no, not only white people like them!)

Chuck Klosterman IV is a must-read, as is nearly everything else he has ever written, whether on a stained cocktail napkin or on fine bond letterhead.Get more detail about Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Shop For The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East


An interesting and informative, objective, study of the conflicts between the Arabs and Jews in the Middle East. Starting with an overview and coming down to two people.Get more detail about The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East.

Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life


I understand completely, and Michael Lewis articulates gracefully and masterfully what it means to have a coach who is a life force driving you to be your best self beyond the specifics of any sport. While I am an accidental athlete, all of my sons were/are high school wrestlers and all of them have been mentored by an extraordinary coach, Michael Powell. I write about Coach Powell and have video interviews of him up on my latest site, [...]. He is an inspiring, extraordinary human. Regardless of sport, some men/women have the integrity and selflessness to change the lives they touch. I can appreciate "Coach" because I know exactly what Lewis means. Some coaches impact everyone around them and this book is a great reminder of that positive power.Get more detail about Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Chants of a Lifetime: Searching for a Heart of Gold Review


This book shows the personal side to a wonderful kirtanist. The book is very inspirational and easy to read. At times you feel like you are there with him experiencing what he is experiencing. Before reading this I hadn't realized he knew Ram Das. The kirtan CD enclosed is a real gift. I own many of his CD's.Get more detail about Chants of a Lifetime: Searching for a Heart of Gold.

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood Top Quality


We often think of colonialism of Africa is black and white, but this book disproved the myth and offered more insight on the subject. In no way I am endorsing colonialism, but I think the book made the point that everyone, including her obviously racist parents, are a victim of colonialism yet everyone picked up the pieces time and time again and tries to make the best of what life has to offer.Get more detail about Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits This instant


If the subject weren't so compelling, I would not have stayed with it. The childhood parts are heavy on speculation as to how a child of this era with polio or separated parents would have felt. Speculation on why Lange accepted the traditional women's domestic roles is similarly overdone. Staying with this book was well worth it. Linda Gordon shines in her presentation of Lange's work and its place in its era and ours.

Gordon describes not just how these iconic photos were made, but the life of Lange as she made them. Lange took on (or wound up with) responsibilities for her own two children as well as offspring from her two husbands' previous marriages. There are allusions to neglect, but the children seem to be around more than one would expect from such a busy life. By contrast, Lange's life on the road driving from place to place, relating to the people and taking the photos is very well defined.

Gordon clearly demonstrates why Lange can be considered a photographer for democracy. She writes not just of Lange's work but her commitment towards the social reforms that she hoped her images might inspire. Her work with the FSA dovetailed with her second husband's work in agricultural economics. They were independent professionals as well a team.

There is a good description of the mission and vulnerability of the FSA, its role in the New Deal, its political pressures, office politics and how and why Lange was too often the odd man out. Both Lange and the FSA had to accept the racism of the times. Photos of people of color would not be highlighted since the public would not be inclined to accept them. The agency always had to consider the power of the growers to totally eliminate it.

While we remember Lange for her FSA photos, her work encompasses far more. Most intriguing are the photos of the Japanese internment, many of which are lost to history. Others, such as those done in cooperation with Ansel Adams, were published in mainstream publications. The few "world photographs" reproduced in the book whet your appetite for more.

As the New Deal gave way to a backlash, Gordon provides excellent analysis of the pressures on Lange, her husband and her colleagues. There are discussions on photo documentation, photojournalism and photographic art and analysis of Lange and her role in and opinions regarding each.

The book, besides being rich in analysis it is rich in photos. There are glossy plates and many photos on text pages.
Get more detail about Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits.

The Best of Friends: Martha and Me Immediately


Highly recommended. Helps you to understand what drives Martha Stewart and the sad consequences of how money and power can, in my opinion, and what appears to be a little mental illness - drive away even those friends who didn't care about your wealth in the first place. Just goes to show as well - money can't buy love or true happiness. A very big "must read" for Martha Stewart fans.Get more detail about The Best of Friends: Martha and Me.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Life of Christ Best Quality


This biography can easily be used for an in depth Bible Study. Beautifully written, meant to be a source of meditation and a vehicle for spiritual growth.Get more detail about Life of Christ.

The Ghost Map Get it now!


It's a fascinating and dramatically embellished account of the 1854 Cholera outbreak in the Soho neighborhood of central London. Aside from the dramatic effects, Johnson claims that his telling of the outbreak is completely and historically accurate, and I believe him.

The story, above all, is an account of a mind-boggling lack of imagination on the part of the public health officials of the time. Johnson is kind to them. He explains the context of scientific thought and culture leading up to the 19th-century outbreaks, and he makes a case for a sort of confirmation bias and tunnel-visioned cultural attitude that locked the bulk of the scientific community into the miasmatic view of the Cholera problem.

The detective story is of a rogue physician and a local curate who eventually (and in one case, posthumously) convince the medical community that Cholera was spreading through the water system (germ theory), rather than through the air (miasma theory). Naturally, I was left wondering what biases are clouding our vision now, which is, I think, part of Johnson's point. The other point seems to be a stern warning about the nature of epidemics and of the potentially much more serious pandemic threats that may come to fruition in our lifetimes. His explanation of the H5N1 problem kept me up late.

What's most remarkable about this book is that it draws the lines to connect the number of completely different disciplines that it took to overcome London's Cholera problem. The story celebrates the combined human geniuses of epidemiology, cartography, statistics, and structural engineering. Above all, it celebrates the local members of communities and the richness and value of their knowledge. He connects the curate's local knowledge of Soho and the resulting Ghost Map, which arguably ended the epidemic, to Google's local restaurant reviews--a modern manifestation of local knowledge laid out cartographically.Get more detail about The Ghost Map.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness Buy Now


This book is a touchingly honest account the author's mental illness and the toll it takes on her life. Mixed in with that is her account of serious medical illness and the toll that takes on her life. I was particularly touched by the line, "When you have cancer people send flowers. When you lose your mind; they don't." I appreciate that Elyn R. Saks is courageous enough to reveal her experience and soul to the world. She presents it in such a way that it almost seems she couldn't possibly be mentally ill because her description of her disorganized thoughts is so, well, organized. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn about mental illness. I would recommend it to anyone suffering from mental illness. This book gave me hope and inspiration to find my life.Get more detail about The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness.

Harry the K: The Remarkable Life of Harry Kalas Order Now


Harry the K, as somebody said, has narrated the memories of a whole city. Between the Phillies, NFL films and numerous commercial voice-overs Kalas' voice has been with Philly for 40 or so years. By all accounts, including this one, Harry was one of a kind...great company...outgoing...kind and in most ways a helluva guy. He was with the Phils through more than a few lean years and made it to see their last World Series; always with relentless optimism and high hopes.

The author doesn't spare telling us about the rough patches in his life. This isn't a hagiography. But even with all the warts, Harry still seems like a guy you'd really like to know.

The writing is generally good, but would've benefited from a stern editor who would screen redundancies and over-used phrases.

Its not War and Peace, but it is a darn good book if you care about Philly sports and especially about the Phillies. Mets fans would also benefit from reading the book; if only to see what a good organization looks like. (snicker)

Get more detail about Harry the K: The Remarkable Life of Harry Kalas.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Intentions Decide Now


Its hard to put into word the beauty and wonder and humor of these for stories.

For the real follower of Wilde!Get more detail about Intentions.

Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels Right now


Ken's extensive tenure in remote mid east villages and his sensitivity to their culture gives him an unique insight into significant behaviors and meanings of words and actions of the people. He has an in-depth knowledge of the Roman, Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, and Syriac languages which gives him a fantastic ability to interpret the scriptures giving a clear understanding of passages that can be (and are) very confusing when reading current biblical translations.Get more detail about Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Save Devotion: A Memoir


I liked this memoir a lot. It details Shapiro's struggle to reconcile her
current spiritual practices with her background as an Orthodox Jew. I totally related although I was raised in a traditional Roman Catholic family. Like the author, I abandoned the practices of my family, but still felt the influences
and needed to find ways to integrate them into my current spiritual life. I too
practice yoga and meditation.
Shapiro's theme resonated strongly with me. Trying to bridge these worlds
is not an easy thing to do or to describe in writing- and she did an excellent
job. Some scenes are so beautifully written that I was moved to tears.

Get more detail about Devotion: A Memoir.

Discount Get Me Out of Here: My Recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder


Diagnosed several years ago with Bipolar/PTSD, I was given the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder about a year and half ago. Wanting to know anything and everything about this unknown to me illness, I bought Reiland's book. I angrily put it away as I could not and would not believe that I could have BPD and remained in denial for some time. Having been in weekly therapy for a year and half, I am thankfully making progress towards a healthier ME. I opened this book again about a month ago, and could not believe how much of what Reiland wrote resonated with me. I felt like I was learning so much about who I am now and how so much of my younger years contributed to my actions and reactions today. Every page was another light bulb going off in my mind....lighting the darkness of the past and explaining it in a way that makes SO MUCH SENSE.

Reiland had a truly amazing experience with Dr Padgett as her psychiatrist who helped guide her towards a healthy sense of herself and love for herself that she never had.

I am blessed to have found a well trained, caring and patient therapist whom I have given my trust to and who is continually helping me learn how to understand and nagivate my way towards recovery. It can be an extremely painful journey. Reiland's therapy was a very intensive Freudian based treatment. My therapy is more working with Dialectical Behavior (DBT) which has been very positive for me. But, after reading Reiland's book I realize that accepting and understanding the past is critical for of successfully treating BPD.

Anyone who has been diagnosed wih BPD or who loves someone with BPD should definitely read this book. It's heartwarming, encouraging, enlightening and honestly, reflects so very well how difficult mental illness can be to live with, but also how much proper therapy can make a huge positive change in someone's life.

Thank you thank you Ms. Reiland for sharing your story.Get more detail about Get Me Out of Here: My Recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Cheapest Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs


This ws a very interesting book about arranged under aged marriages in FDLS church.
It is amazing that this kind of thing can go on in this day and age. I do not understand how these people are above the laws of the USA. If it were anyone else, they would have been arrested and prosecuted years ago.
I am so glad that the author of this book felt the need to report what was going on and to subsequently write this book.Get more detail about Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs.

Cheap A River Runs Through It


Great book. Kept me interested from the first page to the last. Much better than the movie!Get more detail about A River Runs Through It.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Buying It's Not Me, It's You: Subjective Recollections from a Terminally Optimistic, Chronically Sarcastic and Occasionally Inebriated Woman


It took me a bit to warm to this writer--the sort of "humorous" drop-out, ne'er-do-well drifter story has never appealed to an overachiever goody-goody like me, but then she started to get deeper than that, with stories of how her B/C/D-list stand-up comedian father let her down, the therapists she encountered (I've been there, too, sister). When I studied improv, they always said to avoid drug-taking scenes, because they were likely to be too boring, and maybe that's true here, but then she moved away from the druggie roommate, and got a lot funnier along the way. There are subtle callbacks--references to earlier parts of the story--that took me a sec to pick up on, and then I laughed out loud. Not something I do a lot when reading humor-writing....so it must be good.

Truth in Comedy, indeed.Get more detail about It's Not Me, It's You: Subjective Recollections from a Terminally Optimistic, Chronically Sarcastic and Occasionally Inebriated Woman.

Buy Through the Brazilian Wilderness


Theodore Roosevelt was a man's man. A New York kid whose taste for adventure was sparked in his boyhood by a dead seal for sale on a Broadway sidewalk. Harvard student, soldier, Rough Rider, youngest President ever and one who survived the assassin's bullet, maverick politician, Nobel Prize winner, hunter and conservationist, and finally the man who, at 55 years old, explored an unknown region of the Amazon river basin. Imagine one of today's former-Presidents undertaking a similar adventure. For six weeks, in 1914, Roosevelt and his party paddled and carried their canoes down a previously unexplored 950-mile river now called the Rio Roosevelt. Men died, boats were lost, food became scarce, dangerous animals and natives were about, fever borne by insects sickened many in the party (and led to Roosevelt's own death five years later). This is the stuff of "Through the Brazilian Wilderness".

Roosevelt's other works, including "The Rough Riders", are better known, and this one is not great literature. Instead, it is a remarkable adventure story by an interesting man. The book is essentially Roosevelt's trip diary, colored by his great enthusiasm for adventure and the natural world. Even before reaching the Amazon, Roosevelt stops at a Brazilian snake research lab that so captures his attention that he writes seventeen pages about it. At all times, he makes careful note of the wildlife he encounters, not quite with the depth of a professional scientist, but with the trained eye of a dedicated and experienced hobbyist. He squeezes in some amusing stories about piranha fish that he heard --and apparently believed. Naturalists of the day killed animals in the name of science, which places in context Roosevelt's joy in hunting and his comments: first on alligators ("They are often dangerous and are always destructive to fish, and it is good to shoot them") and later on conservation ("There is every reason why the good people of South America should waken... to the duty of preserving from extinction the wildlife which is an asset of such interest."). The book is most poetic in its description of animal life, and particularly in registering surprise that the myriad insects are far more pernicious than any of the better-known dangers such as alligators, big cats, or piranhas.

The book's is not perfect, and Roosevelt is not a great author in a literary sense, rather making up in enthusiasm what he lacks in prose and penetrating insight. There is no attempt at political analysis, he simply praises Brazilians as good hosts who have started down the road to democracy. He sees the land he travels through as like the United States of perhaps a hundred years earlier, so there are frequent predictions that a promising location is ripe for development. The limited foray into politics is to praise Positivism, the ideology of the Brazilian military class that emphasized modernity and structure, and that not incidentally justified the many instances of military intervention in Brazilian politics over the years. Finally, the one annoyance is the recurring theme (perhaps a dozen times in all) of the true danger of the journey. Over and over we read that the river has never been charted, that it is truly dangerous, that the explorers are not your armchair-adventurer variety, and that such voyages will necessarily be easier for those who follow in the future. We get that.

Roosevelt was an interesting man, his enthusiasm and taste for adventure are infectious. The book is not a literary triumph, but it is a fun read and an excellent journey through the AmazonGet more detail about Through the Brazilian Wilderness.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Purchase The Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome


i am a huge lover of greek myths and it was hard to read this, even though i only got the sample. i found it hard to figure out somtimes when something ended and started. i was half way through the story of zeus beating his father before i even relized it had started!Get more detail about The Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome.

Order An Education


I found this book interesting and engaging. It was a quick read that entertained me for an afternoon. I especially appreciated the way the author described her feelings and relationships with her family, and showed how those feelings educated her in her life.

I won this book as part of the Goodreads giveaway program.

For my full review check out my blog: [...]Get more detail about An Education.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Where To Buy Rocket Boys (The Coalwood Series #1)


I had been hearing about this book for about 3-4 years and for one reason or another did not believe it would hold my interest. Then, it was chosen as our book club selection last month. I was so surprised when I started reading it how it held my attention and I could actually picture the characters, the town, the grit of the mine and his relationships. I am so glad I read this book. It brought back all the imagery and excitement of the "Space Race", a period of time in which I grew up. I remember the Russians beating us in space and how the school system started demanding more math, science and telling the students that we couldn't let America down. It was a trip down memory lane I had long ago forgotten. Glad it came back to me.Get more detail about Rocket Boys (The Coalwood Series #1).

Shop For Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir


I just read Jennette Fulda's Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir. Fulda, who goes by the nickname of "PastaQueen", started as a successful weight loss blogger. Her blog, accessible at pastaqueen.com or from my blogroll, has enjoyed a seven year run as a one of the most successful weight loss blogs on the web.

Having read dozens of weight loss blogs, I've decided my top criteria for identifying the ones I'll follow is that the author tells a good story, and has a good story to tell. Fulda is great writer whose humor and use of analogies makes her story much more than a slog through her loss of 200 pounds. With expressions like joining the "fat person witness protection program" and "Nancy Grace wouldn't have come looking for my fat ass," Fulda makes the time pass while she's sharing her transformation.

Fulda's book concentrates on the journey, the metaphor of weight loss, rather than the tips and tricks of the process. I would have liked her to share what she did to lose weight - she refuses to disclose her actual eating plan - but she feels strongly that diets are personal and that hers works because she likes the particular vegetables and so forth she has learned to eat. At first, it seemed evasive, but avoiding the quick fix advice allowed the story to evolve.

What makes Half-Assed work is Fulda's complete lack of preaching. She tells her story and is self-deprecating without being insecure. This would never work if PastaQueen didn't have an amazing story to tell. Her life is, frankly, uneventful, but in the way that most of our lives are. The beige backdrop keeps from distracting the reader from Jennette. What comes through instead is a normal person - though clearly talented - accomplishing an extraordinary thing, and allowing the reader to feel what it is like to lose, to use one of Fulda's analogies, the equivalent of seven bags of cat food.

Congrats to PastaQueen, for telling a good story, and having a good story to tell. (reprinted from my blog [...])Get more detail about Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Of Mikes and Men: A Lifetime of Braves Baseball


There was nothing better than watching the Braves on TBS back in the day. What made it even better was the fact that the Braves had the best broadcasters in the business. There was Skip and Joe and then there was Pete and Don. I can close my eyes and hear any number of Skip's famous calls, Joe's jokes, Don's perfect analysis, and Pete's crazy statistics that no one else knew. In this book, Pete relives all of those memories. This is a great read from one of baseball's most dedicated voices of all time.Get more detail about Of Mikes and Men: A Lifetime of Braves Baseball.

My Trip Down the Pink Carpet Review


Well, to be honest I haven't had the chance to read this book yet.
But, as soon as I do I will give a review.
Looking forward to reading it.
Thanks.Get more detail about My Trip Down the Pink Carpet.

Friday, October 22, 2010

The Fellowship of the Ring (Isis Clear Type Classic) (Vol 1) Top Quality


Few can compare to Tolkien for fantasty writing. Every time I pick up this series I find myself astounded by the beauty of the writing and the richness of the characters. It's different now that I've seen the movies. I find myself trying to picture places and things from viewing them on the TV screen instead of relying on my imagination more. Once I finally start to imagine things again though it's like Dorothy stepping into Oz - full blown color, brilliant scenery and fantastic creatures that I've known since I was a child.

One of my favorite characters was left out of the movies and, while at first I was disappointed, getting reacquainted with him in reading was made even more pleasurable. Tom Bombadil, in Tolkien's own words, is an enigma. He does not fit the molds, fantastic though they may be, created for the other races and characters. In speaking to my dad about this read through I mentioned that it's incredible to me how Tolkien wrote in such a distinct way, not only in describing and speaking as individual people in the book, but also how sweeping he wrote about their races as a whole. When the Hobbits speak, they are Hobbits. The same with the race of man, elves, dwarfs and even the council-folk. Each voice carries the weight of history of their kind behind it and that's not an easy thing to accomplish and one that, in my opinion, is often forgotten about or overlooked.

I love re-reading these books. I still feel the same thrill when Elrond says, ".. This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they arise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and counsels of the Great". I still quake with fear when the drums beat deep within the heart of Khazad-dum. I wonder at the description of Galadriel but still can feel a kinship with the longing for home and a hearth that Sam often wishes for. I could go on for house speaking of my love for this story.. but this is not the time or place for it.

If you haven't read it, I highly encourage you to do soGet more detail about The Fellowship of the Ring (Isis Clear Type Classic) (Vol 1).

The Fourth Star: Four Generals and the Epic Struggle for the Future of the United States Army This instant


It is an inside, dispassionate review of what went wrong in Iraq and what appears now to have gone right, and is thus a fascinating read. The central, though not only, characters are four generals who ultimately had high-level responsibility for Iraq and the larger theater. Prominent in their development were advanced degrees earned at academically demanding universities, including in one case the University of Jordan for which Arabic was essential. Considerable play is given to their preparation in the so called Sosh Department at West Point as members/successors to its noted Lincoln Brigade. Their progress in an Army demoralized by Vietnam, focused on a conventional land war in Europe as opposed to the asymmetrical conflicts in Iraq and Afganistan, and subject to the political focus of its civilian leadership keeps the suspense element of the story going.Get more detail about The Fourth Star: Four Generals and the Epic Struggle for the Future of the United States Army.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life Immediately


I loved this book. The way she describes herself and her family cracks me up, and makes me giggle. Nothing is taken too seriously. I gave my copy to my sister, and she is a big fan now too.

Please don't call this chic lit. I see that in the tag section. Humor it is. Chic lit it is not.Get more detail about The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life.

Who Was Walt Disney? (Who Was...?) Best Quality


My 9 year old son loved this book. This was one of three he read in the series. Walt Disney, Neil Armstrong and Albert Einstein. Each were great reads and he loved the information he got from the books. I enjoyed him reasing it out loud to me the second time he read it. My sons 4th grade class was assigned a biography book to read and report on. There was plenty of information as far as where they were born, how they accomplished what they each did and some sideline info on each of them that was interesting. However, the size of the words to a page and the difficulty would be more appropriate for 3rd grade not 4th.Get more detail about Who Was Walt Disney? (Who Was...?).

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History Get it now!


The book was in very good condition and it came in very fast, within one week.Get more detail about Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History.

Evelina Buy Now


I was wholly ignorant of Frances Burney until I read about her in my 1001 Books to Read Before You Die- ha ha embarassing!!! Burney was the first real authorial discovery I've made through this system of reading classics. Burney is sharp- almost like reading a Brett Easton Ellis novel of the 1700s. Burney is known as being an influence on Jane Austen but I'd much rather read a Burney novel then an Austen novel. I can't believe they haven't turned EVELINA into a Reese Witherspoon starring Merchant n Ivory production. I really like this book and recommend it to classics fans.Get more detail about Evelina.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Crossing Mandelbaum Gate: Coming of Age Between the Arabs and Israelis, 1956-1978 Order Now


I loved this book. You will enjoy this book regardless but if you have lived in one of those countries then the it becomes a real treat. I love the section on Saudi arabia. Mostly this book revolves around the 1960's and 1970's era lifestyle and politics of middle east. The only thing I didn't like was that the writer kept going back and forth between 1960-1975 and at times the bookk lost the fluid movement thru time and continuity.Get more detail about Crossing Mandelbaum Gate: Coming of Age Between the Arabs and Israelis, 1956-1978.

Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia (P.S.) Decide Now


As a college student recovering from anorexia I always felt alone and that no one in the world understood what I was going through. That is, until I bought this book. Hornbacher writes with such genuine, thought-provoking and touching words...that I now feel like this is a disease that I can keep overcoming. That there are people out there that have overcome the odds and beat this horrible thing. Hornbacher's easy to read narrative provides deep insight into the disease and hope for recovery.Get more detail about Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia (P.S.).

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Low Price Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--and the Journey of a Generation


As a female of this generation and a fan of all three women, I enjoyed learning personal background on them, but I find the choppy presentation annoying most of the time. I'm still working my way through it, wishing for fewer opinions from the author and a quicker pace. Still, it's a treat to glean inside information about these wonderful "girls."Get more detail about Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--and the Journey of a Generation.

Save Cast of Characters: Common People in the Hands of an Uncommon God


Very informative, funny and entertaining. Shows you how God chooses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise... that it is usually the common people that creates lasting impact on the world.Get more detail about Cast of Characters: Common People in the Hands of an Uncommon God.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Discount Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back


How does the number one overall pick in the 1999 MLB draft, go from can't miss prospect to drug addict? Why would someone with enough natural ability to draw comparisons to Mickey Mantle self destruct? What happened to cause Josh Hamilton to choose a life of drug addiction above a loving family? More importantly, though, how did he go from spending $100,000 in six weeks on a crack addiction to major league All-Star starter in three years. Beyond Belief is the inspiring story of Josh Hamilton's descent into the depravity of human nature and God's remarkable rescue.

I'm a Texas Ranger's fan and have been since the early 1990s. I love the team even though the wins are usually not as abundant as the losses. When Josh Hamilton joined the team in 2008, I knew very little about him, but that didn't last long. By the end of the season I owned a Hamilton t-shirt, knew he was a remarkable talent on the field, and a glowing testament to God's redemptive power. Though I caught plenty of sound bites about his past during the season, I'm grateful to finally read the complete story. It's shocking at times, sad at others, but in the end the hope that led to Hamilton's recovery is what this book is about.

To say Hamilton is a good player is an understatement. He's an amazing talent with truly God given abilities. I've watched many Home Run Derbies, but I'll never forget watching him launch 28 in 2008. When he's healthy, he's one of the most fun players in the league to watch. In 1999, he was an all-American boy when Tampa drafted him straight out of high school. It was never so much a question of if he would make it to the majors, but how quickly. Tampa was willing to pay this kid, two days out of high school, $3.9 million to sign with them. He was expected to be a major contributor, but things obviously went very wrong. Hamilton's story is inspirational on many levels. Not only is it honest in its approach to addiction, but also in the hope it offers others, and the glory it brings to God. While Beyond Belief chronicles the ups and downs during his baseball career and personal life, it has a greater purpose than just baseball or Josh Hamilton--it's about God, the big picture, and a remarkable rescue. Though not without fault or setbacks, in the few years since his return, Hamilton has been transparent with the media in a way that backs up the faith he mentions frequently. As stated many times throughout the book, Hamilton's journey is a God thing and to share it with millions of readers and baseball fans is not only courageous, but inspiring.

I know sports/athlete books are not for everyone, but I highly recommend this one. Like most in this genre, it's very easy to read and not exactly high quality writing. While it does contain some baseball/career information, for the most part it's a life story. By far the human element outweighs the sports related themes and I think people who simply enjoy inspirational stories will find this one interesting and engaging. I loved it. For parents, kids, addicts, friends and families of addicts, sports fans, MLB teams and their owners this book raises some tough questions while at the same time providing a measure of comfort, support, and encouragement. To his credit and without excuse, Hamilton takes full responsibility for his destructive behavior. There are important lessons to learn from his life, but ultimately this book is a story of relying on faith to overcome addiction. It's truly uplifting and again I'm grateful for the opportunity to read it.Get more detail about Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back.

Cheapest Invisible Prey


Sandford is from Minnesota. We have read all his books and each provide riveting stories/mysteries. You won't regret buying any of John's books.Get more detail about Invisible Prey.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Cheap Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within


When I first began this book I wasn't sure what to expect... when I browsed through the book my first reaction was that it had short chapters. It was an easy read but it contained a wealth of information.

Some of the information I was already familiar with; but it was a review of the techniques that I had forgotten. It also reminded me of the simple things in life that I could write about and how easy it is choose a topic.

I really liked the idea of setting up a writing practice and Natalies's suggestion of filling a notebook per month is a suggestion that I will follow.

Overall, this book had many good suggestions for developing a personal writing practice, overcoming writer's block, and other writing issues. I would recommend it for the beginner, and intermediate writer.Get more detail about Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within.

Buying Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters


Very good book. My wife bought this for me for Valentine's Day. I enjoys history and have the DVD book of the movie. I will buy the rest of the books related to Band of Brothers.Get more detail about Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Buy Are We Winning?: Fathers and Sons in the New Golden Age of Baseball


Like Daniel Okrent's classic "Nine Innings," this new book by Will Leitch (founder of Deadspin, now a NY Mag editor) presents the anatomy of a single game. Unlike Okrent, however, Leitch casts his book as a letter to his future son and thereby turns his inning-by-inning retelling of a Cards vs. Cubs game into a springboard for addressing broader life issues. In fact, the game at Wrigley is really a novelistic MacGuffin, i.e., the thing that drives the plot but the audience couldn't care less about. Yes, any Cards game is important to superfan Leitch, but of greater interest to him -- and to the reader -- is the opportunity that it provides the transplanted New Yorker to reflect on his life in the Midwest, his career, and, most importantly, his dad. By the end, you admire the relationship shared by the Leitch men as well as their capacity to consume a remarkable amount of beer. (Ms. Leitch gets less ink but the book includes heartfelt observations on the evils of breast cancer.) Some parts of the book are very funny and others are surprisingly perceptive. In particular, the chapter on Steve Bartman is wonderfully written and marked by a sensitivity not associated with Leitch's work on Deadspin or even in his previous "God Save the Fan." Bottom line: This highly enjoyable book signals that Bill Simmons has a serious contender for the title of best sportswriter of our times.Get more detail about Are We Winning?: Fathers and Sons in the New Golden Age of Baseball.

Purchase In The Company Of Heroes


The story of Chief Warrant Officer Michael Durant is one that many people could not survive or even believe could happen. Michael Durant, obviously with little writing background being a pilot in the air force, comes out of no-where with a story so compelling that it keeps you hooked from beginning to end. Durant was a pilot who got shot down in Mogadishu. Before then he had flown countless fights in many countries. Durant was a class act of a pilot, and had the friends and background to prove it. He had flown in multiple war zones two of which were Korea and Panama. Each time Durant learned something new about himself and his Job.

In the Company of Heroes is a book describing everything that happened to Durant from his crash in Mogadishu, to his return from captivity. Durant is able to throw background information about himself into the book. There are many instances in which Durant is tried both mentally and physically. He is a soldier who that was so brave he was able to complain and be humiliated, when he was interviewed and he gave away a tiny detail about his faction.

In the story, Durant crashes and explains what happened from the crash step by step minute by minute. He even gets wacked across the face with a severed arm from one of his dead comrades. Durant, to the contrary of what a person would think, was never tortured. He is even fed a meal at least once a day, sometimes even more which was more than what his captors could have. During his capture Durant befriends one of his captors and because of that Durant gets treated better. Durant writes the story very well for not being an author. He is able to use something most authors cannot use, he is able to mix in actual emotions and instances even thoughts about what was going on. This turns his writing from what could have been a boring recollection to a story in which the entire time the reader hopes he will live.

Durant is really able to get his point across well even though there was probably little thought and effort put into that idea. While the readers engage themselves in the book, they begin to think why are we not helping, or why is this happening? They will want to get involved and engaged with the support groups or whatever is around. They will just want to make a difference and help so that hopefully no one will suffer like Durant did.

Like everyone Durant does make mistakes, but this is acceptable for a first time writer. The book although compelling, is a little bit on the lengthy side. He spends a good amount of time in the book describing his past. Even though Durant's past adds a lot to the story, it takes you away from the story of his capture. This tends to become a little aggravating, especially when the reader is becoming intrigued with Durant's capture situation. Even though the book has flaws, Durant's story is a great read and should be recommended to any reader in middle school or higher.

Get more detail about In The Company Of Heroes.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Order How to Get Rich: One of the World's Greatest Entrepreneurs Shares His Secrets


This book was so-so reading. I never ended it. I got the feeling that author tries to show how smart he is, how his decisions made him rich, but actually he got rich by luck - he was starving businessman until Bruce Lee died. He was lucky enough to have a book finished about Bruce Lee at that time. Sure, it's not enough to be lucky, but I didn't get much inspiration from this book, nor ideas. I'm a businessman too, doing fine, always looking into improving my own business. "Loosing my Virginity" by R. Branson was soo much better book.Get more detail about How to Get Rich: One of the World's Greatest Entrepreneurs Shares His Secrets.