The Fortune-Tellers by Lloyd Alexander
A delightful little tale of some sillies and a man who discovers the trick of being a fortune-teller.
A delightful little tale of some sillies and a man who discovers the trick of being a fortune-teller.
The Collected Short Works of Poul Anderson, Volume 3: The Saturn Game by Poul Anderson
A collection of his science fiction stories, one fantasy one, and several poems.
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A collection of his science fiction stories, one fantasy one, and several poems.
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Edward Abbey's essays about wilderness, tourism, the park service, and population control.
Simon & Schuster, 1968, 268 pages
Ed said if a man can't piss in his own front yard, he's living too close to town
My complete list of book reviews.
Simon & Schuster, 1968, 268 pages
When Desert Solitaire was first published in 1968, it became the focus of a nationwide cult. Rude and sensitive. Thought-provoking and mystical. Angry and loving. Both Abbey and this book are all of these and more. Here, the legendary author of The Monkey Wrench Gang, Abbey's Road and many other critically acclaimed books vividly captures the essence of his life during three seasons as a park ranger in southeastern Utah. This is a rare view of a quest to experience nature in its purest form -- the silence, the struggle, the overwhelming beauty. But this is also the gripping, anguished cry of a man of character who challenges the growing exploitation of the wilderness by oil and mining interests, as well as by the tourist industry.
Abbey's observations and challenges remain as relevant now as the day he wrote them. Today, Desert Solitaire asks if any of our incalculable natural treasures can be saved before the bulldozers strike again.
Ed said if a man can't piss in his own front yard, he's living too close to town
My complete list of book reviews.
Stolen Magic by Stephanie Burgis
The third book in the Kat trilogy. More magic and adventure in a semi-Regency setting.
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The third book in the Kat trilogy. More magic and adventure in a semi-Regency setting.
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Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
A tale of summer childhood adventures.
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A tale of summer childhood adventures.
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The bloody and terrible history of the Comanche.
Scribner, 2010, 384 pages
The terrible truth is that the Comanche were pretty awful.
My complete list of book reviews.
Scribner, 2010, 384 pages
Empire of the Summer Moon spans two astonishing stories. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second entails one of the most remarkable narratives ever to come out of the Old West: the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood son, Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches.
Although readers may be more familiar with the names Apache and Sioux, it was in fact the legendary fighting ability of the Comanches that determined just how and when the American West opened up. They were so masterful at war and so skillful with their arrows and lances that they stopped the northern drive of colonial Spain from Mexico and halted the French expansion westward from Louisiana. White settlers arriving in Texas from the Eastern United States were surprised to find the frontier being rolled backward by Comanches incensed by the invasion of their tribal lands. So effective were the Comanches that they forced the creation of the Texas Rangers and account for the advent of the new weapon specifically designed to fight them: the six-gun.
The war with the Comanches lasted four decades, in effect holding up the development of the new American nation. Gwynne's exhilarating account delivers a sweeping narrative that encompasses Spanish colonialism, the Civil War, the destruction of the buffalo herds, and the arrival of the railroads - a historical feast for anyone interested in how the United States came into being.
The terrible truth is that the Comanche were pretty awful.
My complete list of book reviews.
Vanguard by Jack Campbell
Things are changing. . . the discovery of the jump drive has led to massive expansion of human colonization. And a breakdown of the social order where old Earth might be obeyed.
One character is the only former naval man on one colony threatened by a ship for protection money. Two other characters were stranded by pirates among the other passengers, and find their rescuers as rapacious. One just is trying to escape her past as a Red, from Mars.
Conflict and troubles, involving a boarding party, a false recruitment pitch, a hint of unofficial interest, a discussion of mayors, an inexplicable attack, and more.
A jump back into the past for the Lost Fleet universe. The ending, while rounding this out, does point rather strongly at its trilogy status.
Things are changing. . . the discovery of the jump drive has led to massive expansion of human colonization. And a breakdown of the social order where old Earth might be obeyed.
One character is the only former naval man on one colony threatened by a ship for protection money. Two other characters were stranded by pirates among the other passengers, and find their rescuers as rapacious. One just is trying to escape her past as a Red, from Mars.
Conflict and troubles, involving a boarding party, a false recruitment pitch, a hint of unofficial interest, a discussion of mayors, an inexplicable attack, and more.
A jump back into the past for the Lost Fleet universe. The ending, while rounding this out, does point rather strongly at its trilogy status.
Sean Duffy is commissioned to hunt down an IRA terrorist in Thatcher's Britain.
Seventh Street Books, 2014, 198 pages
Irish 80s noir, with bombs, hash, and petty murders over wills.
Also by Adrian McKinty: My reviews of The Cold Cold Ground, I Hear the Sirens in the Street, and Hidden River.
My complete list of book reviews.
Seventh Street Books, 2014, 198 pages
A Catholic cop tracks an IRA master bomber amidst the sectarian violence of the conflict in Northern Ireland
It's the early 1980s in Belfast. Sean Duffy, a conflicted Catholic cop in the Protestant RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary), is recruited by MI5 to hunt down Dermot McCann, an IRA master bomber who has made a daring escape from the notorious Maze prison. In the course of his investigations Sean discovers a woman who may hold the key to Dermot's whereabouts; she herself wants justice for her daughter who died in mysterious circumstances in a pub locked from the inside. Sean knows that if he can crack the "locked-room mystery", the bigger mystery of Dermot's whereabouts might be revealed to him as a reward. Meanwhile the clock is ticking down to the Conservative Party conference in Brighton in 1984, where Mrs. Thatcher is due to give a keynote speech.
Irish 80s noir, with bombs, hash, and petty murders over wills.
Also by Adrian McKinty: My reviews of The Cold Cold Ground, I Hear the Sirens in the Street, and Hidden River.
My complete list of book reviews.
Forgotten Worlds by D. Nolan Clark
Sequel to Forsaken Skies. Serious spoilers ahead for that.
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Sequel to Forsaken Skies. Serious spoilers ahead for that.
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In the fall of 1876, Treaty No. 6 was signed between the government of Canada and the Plains and Wood Cree First Nations. In the treaty, a clause was inserted at the request of the chiefs of those nations which prohibited the sale or importing of "intoxicating spirits" into the territory covered by the treaty. But in 1967, in a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada called Drybones, this clause was struck down as being discriminatory because it made it illegal for an indigenous Canadian to possess alcohol, something other Canadians could do with impunity. While that may sound sensible, as author Harold Johnson notes, it failed to recognize the wisdom of those sage chiefs who had the foresight to realize the destruction that alcohol would inflict on their people.
As the title of this book Firewater: How Alcohol is Killing My People (and Yours) suggests, author Harold Johnson is very concerned about the devastating effect that alcohol is having on indigenous people in Canada. Johnson is a member of the Montreal Lake Cree Nation in northern Saskatchewan. He is also a lawyer with a Masters degree in law from Harvard, and a Crown Prosecutor. Writing in a very engaging and unique style in which he speaks directly to the other members of his community, Johnson makes the case that the usual models of addressing alcoholism in First Nation communities are not working. He estimates that approximately 95% of the cases he sees in criminal court have their genesis in the use of alcohol, and that nothing will change as long as the narrative about alcohol remains the same.
Johnson invokes story-telling as a means of getting his point across. He asserts that in order to properly confront the problems that alcohol brings to indigenous people, the "story" of alcohol that is told in society must change. He argues that at present, alcohol is portrayed as normal, something everyone does and something that all of the cool people use. Brewing one's own beer, collecting wines and matching those wines with meals, associating beer and other liquor with sports, or just having one or two to relax, all of these are seen as normal, even trendy or sophisticated. He notes that it would be absurd to portray cocaine or crystal meth in the same light, and yet alcohol is equally or even more destructive. Such an innocent invitation of alcohol into everyday lives ignores the carnage that it inflicts on society, especially in indigenous communities.
At times Johnson comes across as unfair to those tasked with dealing with the myriad of alcohol-fueled problems, such as judges or probation officers, especially those who follow up a day in the trenches with a drink at the end of the day. This is likely the product of the frustration that comes from seeing how alcohol is robbing many First Nation people of their potential, as well as from the personal losses that Johnson has suffered because of those in his own family who have fallen victim to alcohol. The abuse of alcohol has been and will continue to be a perplexing problem, and it is understandable for such frustration to come out of the lack of any clear progress on such an endemic issue.
Harold Johnson gives voice to a call for a new outlook, not just on the evils of alcoholism, but more importantly on the need for society to value sobriety. He stresses the importance of having a sober lifestyle be seen as something admirable, worthwhile, and yes, even fun. As one of the reviews on the back cover of the book says, "sobriety is sexy" and this is the message that Johnson wants included at the center of the new story that is waiting to be told. His fresh perspective and his engaging writing style offer an energetic and attractive approach to an age old problem.
As the title of this book Firewater: How Alcohol is Killing My People (and Yours) suggests, author Harold Johnson is very concerned about the devastating effect that alcohol is having on indigenous people in Canada. Johnson is a member of the Montreal Lake Cree Nation in northern Saskatchewan. He is also a lawyer with a Masters degree in law from Harvard, and a Crown Prosecutor. Writing in a very engaging and unique style in which he speaks directly to the other members of his community, Johnson makes the case that the usual models of addressing alcoholism in First Nation communities are not working. He estimates that approximately 95% of the cases he sees in criminal court have their genesis in the use of alcohol, and that nothing will change as long as the narrative about alcohol remains the same.
Johnson invokes story-telling as a means of getting his point across. He asserts that in order to properly confront the problems that alcohol brings to indigenous people, the "story" of alcohol that is told in society must change. He argues that at present, alcohol is portrayed as normal, something everyone does and something that all of the cool people use. Brewing one's own beer, collecting wines and matching those wines with meals, associating beer and other liquor with sports, or just having one or two to relax, all of these are seen as normal, even trendy or sophisticated. He notes that it would be absurd to portray cocaine or crystal meth in the same light, and yet alcohol is equally or even more destructive. Such an innocent invitation of alcohol into everyday lives ignores the carnage that it inflicts on society, especially in indigenous communities.
At times Johnson comes across as unfair to those tasked with dealing with the myriad of alcohol-fueled problems, such as judges or probation officers, especially those who follow up a day in the trenches with a drink at the end of the day. This is likely the product of the frustration that comes from seeing how alcohol is robbing many First Nation people of their potential, as well as from the personal losses that Johnson has suffered because of those in his own family who have fallen victim to alcohol. The abuse of alcohol has been and will continue to be a perplexing problem, and it is understandable for such frustration to come out of the lack of any clear progress on such an endemic issue.
Harold Johnson gives voice to a call for a new outlook, not just on the evils of alcoholism, but more importantly on the need for society to value sobriety. He stresses the importance of having a sober lifestyle be seen as something admirable, worthwhile, and yes, even fun. As one of the reviews on the back cover of the book says, "sobriety is sexy" and this is the message that Johnson wants included at the center of the new story that is waiting to be told. His fresh perspective and his engaging writing style offer an energetic and attractive approach to an age old problem.
- Current Location:Atlin
- Current Mood:contemplative
- Current Music:Reel Big Fish-"Drinking"
Giant Trouble by Ursula Vernon
The return of the hamster princess who runs about in fairy tales! Mild spoilers for earlier volumes. . .
After a session enjoying her new returned ability to cliff-dive, Harriet is riding her quail Mumfrey home when a cloaked figure leaps out at her. Only a salesman. Of, you will no doubt be surprised to hear, beans.
Which sends Harriet off on another adventure with new friends and an old one as well.
The return of the hamster princess who runs about in fairy tales! Mild spoilers for earlier volumes. . .
After a session enjoying her new returned ability to cliff-dive, Harriet is riding her quail Mumfrey home when a cloaked figure leaps out at her. Only a salesman. Of, you will no doubt be surprised to hear, beans.
Which sends Harriet off on another adventure with new friends and an old one as well.
Three friends from summer camp develop mysterious scary powers.
Amazon Digital Services, 2016, 309 pages
Goes from horror to YA romp without a smooth transition.
My complete list of book reviews.
Amazon Digital Services, 2016, 309 pages
Something happened that night in the woods at Camp Red Hawk. But all Joel and Leah can recall is sneaking out for a late hike with five camp friends - and that only the two of them and their friend Mike returned. They have no memory of what happened to the others. No memory of anything after leaving the camp.
In the years that follow, they realize something has changed inside of them. They are different from others in ways they never should be. In ways that send their lives down disturbing and terrifying paths. As they grapple with adulthood, their only hope for understanding why they've been altered lies with them finding each other again. But how is that possible when their memories of one another have been erased?
Goes from horror to YA romp without a smooth transition.
My complete list of book reviews.
Originally posted by 
authornwolf at post
authornwolf at postDenie Shaw considers her life settled. She has a wonderful group of family and friends, and she has a successful cupcake store. The only thing Denie refuses to admit missing is a fulfilling personal life. After three disastrous relationships, Denie had resolved to never again get involved with a man. However, an unexpected meeting with her crush, ice hockey star Tom Billingsly unearths emotions that thrust Denie into a tailspin of whether to let God unfold His plan or hide behind the fear entrenched in her heart.
Icing is a reminder that God has a future for each of us that exceeds our expectations, and that adhering to Christian principles yields a more satisfying life in the long-term. To experience His grace, one must unconditionally trust Him and accept His will. Trusting God unconditionally requires strength that must be developed and continuously maintained. Throughout the book, Denie prays to God for guidance and thanks Him for blessing her. Only by being faithful to Christian principles could Denie understand how past troubles prepared her for a new phase in life. As a result, she learned completely trust God regardless of the circumstances.
Icing is a reminder that God has a future for each of us that exceeds our expectations, and that adhering to Christian principles yields a more satisfying life in the long-term. To experience His grace, one must unconditionally trust Him and accept His will. Trusting God unconditionally requires strength that must be developed and continuously maintained. Throughout the book, Denie prays to God for guidance and thanks Him for blessing her. Only by being faithful to Christian principles could Denie understand how past troubles prepared her for a new phase in life. As a result, she learned completely trust God regardless of the circumstances.
Originally posted by authornwolf at Book Review: 20 Short Ones by Dan Salerno
authornwolf at Book Review: 20 Short Ones by Dan SalernoGod thrusts us out of our comfort zone in unexpected ways. One reason for this upheaval is to remind us we are not alone in our suffering. There is someone, whether a friend or a romantic partner, who can help us out of despair, if we allow that person to enter our lives, and, if we accept that guidance.
Each story features two main characters. One character is struggling to resolve a troubled past, whether from a crisis of faith, a disastrous relationship, a disappointing career, or a childhood trauma, but found solace in dialogue with an unexpected acquaintance. Despite having different religious or economic backgrounds, each “pair” found enough similarities to maintain an extended, insightful, life-changing conversation. Furthermore, each brave soul risks rejection by approaching the other person, though he or she may have had a painful experiences with similar attempts. Had the brave soul remained fearful of rejection, he or she would have dwelt in the pit of ambivalence over possible outcomes with that person and forsaken joy from a meaningful human connection.
Both parties must willingly participate in the opportunity God gave them to emerge from their shells and into a world of happiness. Conversations can be therapeutic and sow personal bonds that unite people. Though not all encounters lead to healthy relationships, whether as friends or lovers, the lessons learned from those disappointments can help us avoid similar episodes. In fact, comparisons between past and present experiences aid readers and the characters discerning whether an encounter will lead to a meaningful human connection. Fortunately, the characters are smart enough to learn from their pasts. They also knew when to venture into questionable territory. Otherwise, they would have continued along the same dreary path and remained isolated.
Overall, 20 Short Ones is an uplifting collection that proves God will rescue us from loneliness, despair, and tragedy. 20 Short Ones also triggers hope in finding someone special; surviving a tough workday; letting go of a failed relationship; and, overcoming childhood trauma are possible. Accurate insights into human nature give each story and lesson credibility.
Each story features two main characters. One character is struggling to resolve a troubled past, whether from a crisis of faith, a disastrous relationship, a disappointing career, or a childhood trauma, but found solace in dialogue with an unexpected acquaintance. Despite having different religious or economic backgrounds, each “pair” found enough similarities to maintain an extended, insightful, life-changing conversation. Furthermore, each brave soul risks rejection by approaching the other person, though he or she may have had a painful experiences with similar attempts. Had the brave soul remained fearful of rejection, he or she would have dwelt in the pit of ambivalence over possible outcomes with that person and forsaken joy from a meaningful human connection.
Both parties must willingly participate in the opportunity God gave them to emerge from their shells and into a world of happiness. Conversations can be therapeutic and sow personal bonds that unite people. Though not all encounters lead to healthy relationships, whether as friends or lovers, the lessons learned from those disappointments can help us avoid similar episodes. In fact, comparisons between past and present experiences aid readers and the characters discerning whether an encounter will lead to a meaningful human connection. Fortunately, the characters are smart enough to learn from their pasts. They also knew when to venture into questionable territory. Otherwise, they would have continued along the same dreary path and remained isolated.
Overall, 20 Short Ones is an uplifting collection that proves God will rescue us from loneliness, despair, and tragedy. 20 Short Ones also triggers hope in finding someone special; surviving a tough workday; letting go of a failed relationship; and, overcoming childhood trauma are possible. Accurate insights into human nature give each story and lesson credibility.
Tales of the Minivandians by Tom Rogneby
A humorous series of tales recounting the adventures of an odd setting: a mix of modern suburbia and ancient Norse sagas.
The opening tales are mostly suburbia through saga telling, but the saga elements -- such as undead and elves -- increase as the tales go on.
A humorous series of tales recounting the adventures of an odd setting: a mix of modern suburbia and ancient Norse sagas.
The opening tales are mostly suburbia through saga telling, but the saga elements -- such as undead and elves -- increase as the tales go on.
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books
I finished reading Fight Club recently for the first time. We saw the movie for the first time years ago and I was always amazed I never read the book or saw the movie when I was younger. They are such 90s artifacts and 20 year old me would have been all over them back in the day!
Some part of me can still relate to both, however. Since I left working at the public library all my jobs have been office jobs and they all came with their own sense of boredom, sitting too much and staring at a computer too much. Right now I identify with the nameless narrator's insomnia. Middle age insomnia is totally a thing and I wouldn't be surprised if I spawned my own Tyler Durden one of these days. The themes of loneliness and alienation are universal and somehow I found none of the violence shocking.
The book and movie compliment each other well - the movie ending is better, I think - so I couldn't say that one was better than the other. The movie gets some of the abstract stuff across and it's gritty textures coloured the book for me.
booksI finished reading Fight Club recently for the first time. We saw the movie for the first time years ago and I was always amazed I never read the book or saw the movie when I was younger. They are such 90s artifacts and 20 year old me would have been all over them back in the day!
Some part of me can still relate to both, however. Since I left working at the public library all my jobs have been office jobs and they all came with their own sense of boredom, sitting too much and staring at a computer too much. Right now I identify with the nameless narrator's insomnia. Middle age insomnia is totally a thing and I wouldn't be surprised if I spawned my own Tyler Durden one of these days. The themes of loneliness and alienation are universal and somehow I found none of the violence shocking.
The book and movie compliment each other well - the movie ending is better, I think - so I couldn't say that one was better than the other. The movie gets some of the abstract stuff across and it's gritty textures coloured the book for me.
A murder mystery at a Lovecraft convention. Or: Bimbos of the Death Sun for a new generation.
Night Shade Books, 2016, 256 pages
In which Mamatas takes loving and not-so-loving potshots at all things Lovecraftian.
Also by Nick Mamatas: My reviews of Starve Better and Move Under Ground.
My complete list of book reviews.
Night Shade Books, 2016, 256 pages
For fans of legendary pulp author H. P. Lovecraft, there is nothing bigger than the annual Providence-based convention called the Summer Tentacular. Horror writer Colleen Danzig doesn't know what to expect when she arrives, but is unsettled to find that among the hob-knobbing between scholars and literary critics are a group of real freaks: book collectors looking for volumes bound in human skin, and true believers claiming the power to summon the Elder God Cthulhu, one of their idol's most horrific fictional creations, before the weekend is out. Colleen's trip spirals into a nightmare when her roommate for the weekend, an obnoxious novelist known as Panossian, turns up dead, his face neatly removed. What's more unsettling is that, in the aftermath of the murder, there is little concern among the convention goers. The Summer Tentacular continues uninterrupted, except by a few bumbling police. Everyone at the convention is a possible suspect, but only Colleen seems to show any interest in solving the murder. So she delves deep into the darkness, where occult truths have been lurking since the beginning of time. A darkness where Panossian is waiting, spending a lot of time thinking about Colleen, narrating a new Lovecraftian tale that could very well spell her doom.
In which Mamatas takes loving and not-so-loving potshots at all things Lovecraftian.
Also by Nick Mamatas: My reviews of Starve Better and Move Under Ground.
My complete list of book reviews.
The story of the math & finance geek who uncovered Bernie Madoff.
John Wiley & Sons, 2009, 354 pages
Another book about how the biggest boys on Wall Street really don't know WTF they're doing.
My complete list of book reviews.
John Wiley & Sons, 2009, 354 pages
No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller is exactly what the title promises. This is more than another book about the Bernie Madoff scandal, this is a fast-paced, blow-by-blow, true-crime story that you have to hear to believe. In a true David and Goliath tale, the underdog number cruncher uncovers the largest financial fraud in history, and has to fight everything and everyone in the system to bring it down. Harry Markopolos and his team of financial sleuths tell first-hand how they cracked Madoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme yet, amazingly, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) refused to hear the truth for nearly 10 years. Told from the perspective of the ultimate whistleblower in modern corporate memory, No One Would Listen is bound to be the definitive narrative of this scandal.
Another book about how the biggest boys on Wall Street really don't know WTF they're doing.
My complete list of book reviews.
The series concludes with fire and blood, but less than a Total Party Kill.
Orbit, 2016, 519 pages
A most fascinating anti-hero - spoilers for first four books.
Also by Daniel Abraham: My reviews of The Dragon's Path, The King's Blood, The Tyrant's Law, and The Widow's House.
My complete list of book reviews.
Orbit, 2016, 519 pages
The epic conclusion to The Dagger and the Coin series, perfect for fans of George R. R. Martin.
Lord Regent Geder Palliako's great war has spilled across the world, nation after nation falling before the ancient priesthood and weapon of dragons. But even as conquest follows conquest, the final victory retreats before him like a mirage. Schism and revolt begin to erode the foundations of the empire, and the great conquest threatens to collapse into a permanent war of all against all.
In Carse, with armies on all borders, Cithrin bel Sarcour, Marcus Wester, and Clara Kalliam are faced with the impossible task of bringing a lasting peace to the world. Their tools: traitors high in the imperial army, the last survivor of the dragon empire, and a financial scheme that is either a revolution or the greatest fraud in the history of the world.
A most fascinating anti-hero - spoilers for first four books.
Also by Daniel Abraham: My reviews of The Dragon's Path, The King's Blood, The Tyrant's Law, and The Widow's House.
My complete list of book reviews.
It seems an impossible task to tell the story of the life of someone as complex and inscrutable as Richard Milhous Nixon, even in 558 pages. Although his presidency lasted for just five and a half years, and presidents with longer tenure have had their lives analyzed and dissected with less ink, Nixon is truly unique. In John Farrell's 2017 biography simply entitled Richard Nixon: The Life, it seems at time like the author barely scratches the surface of Nixon's multi-faceted and interesting life, one that could easily fill volumes.
This is not to suggest that Farrell's wonderful recounting of the life of the 37th President is anything but thorough. The author explores Nixon's life intricately, beginning with his subject's birth into a modest Quaker family in 1913. Farrell capably canvasses the many interesting chapters of Nixon's career, including his youth, his navy service in World War II, and (especially interesting) his early years in politics, culminating in a career as a congressman, senator, Vice-President of the United States, unsuccessful presidential and gubernatorial candidate, and culminating in a presidency with perhaps the greatest variance in its high and low points.
Farrell's accounting of Nixon's transition from an idealistic young candidate into an unprincipled Machiavellian capable of brilliant statesmanship, but also capable of justifying all kinds of moral and ethical lapses, is fascinating to read. It demonstrates the author's brilliance, both as a biographer, and as a keen student of human nature. This is a subtle transaction, but it is not without its defining moments. Farrell is alert to all of these. He manages to walk the historian's tightrope of intellectual honesty and ideological neutrality, while still having his own strong opinions, some of which are critical of Democrats, Republicans, and often of Nixon himself. He give his subject credit credit when it is due and excoriates him when it is deserving.
Farrell's consideration of Watergate and of Nixon's downfall is aided by mountains of recently released audio recordings and documents previously unavailable to many historians. It is also supplemented by an impressive array of oral histories and interviews from many of those present at the scene of the crime (literally so in many cases), the ultimate who's who of all thing's Nixon. The author has certainly done his homework.
This exceptional biography evokes neither hatred, admiration, nor pity for its subject. The feelings this book evokes for the fallen president are as complex and as mishmashed as the man himself. This is a significant accomplishment on the part of the author. He has not simply presented "just the facts". He has successfully conveyed an appreciation of the complexity of character that make the life of Richard Nixon so epically tragic.
This is not to suggest that Farrell's wonderful recounting of the life of the 37th President is anything but thorough. The author explores Nixon's life intricately, beginning with his subject's birth into a modest Quaker family in 1913. Farrell capably canvasses the many interesting chapters of Nixon's career, including his youth, his navy service in World War II, and (especially interesting) his early years in politics, culminating in a career as a congressman, senator, Vice-President of the United States, unsuccessful presidential and gubernatorial candidate, and culminating in a presidency with perhaps the greatest variance in its high and low points.
Farrell's accounting of Nixon's transition from an idealistic young candidate into an unprincipled Machiavellian capable of brilliant statesmanship, but also capable of justifying all kinds of moral and ethical lapses, is fascinating to read. It demonstrates the author's brilliance, both as a biographer, and as a keen student of human nature. This is a subtle transaction, but it is not without its defining moments. Farrell is alert to all of these. He manages to walk the historian's tightrope of intellectual honesty and ideological neutrality, while still having his own strong opinions, some of which are critical of Democrats, Republicans, and often of Nixon himself. He give his subject credit credit when it is due and excoriates him when it is deserving.
Farrell's consideration of Watergate and of Nixon's downfall is aided by mountains of recently released audio recordings and documents previously unavailable to many historians. It is also supplemented by an impressive array of oral histories and interviews from many of those present at the scene of the crime (literally so in many cases), the ultimate who's who of all thing's Nixon. The author has certainly done his homework.
This exceptional biography evokes neither hatred, admiration, nor pity for its subject. The feelings this book evokes for the fallen president are as complex and as mishmashed as the man himself. This is a significant accomplishment on the part of the author. He has not simply presented "just the facts". He has successfully conveyed an appreciation of the complexity of character that make the life of Richard Nixon so epically tragic.
- Current Location:on the comfy loveseat
- Current Mood:geeky
- Current Music:Maroon 5-"Sugar"
The Art of Slow Writing: Reflections on Time, Craft, and Creativity by Louise DeSalvo
An uneven book.
There's plentiful information on various writing process and techniques, which can be useful. On the other hand, there's also a definite bias toward what gets cited. Ray Bradbury is quoted once, but not, obviously, the advice that he gives to write a short story every single week.
An uneven book.
There's plentiful information on various writing process and techniques, which can be useful. On the other hand, there's also a definite bias toward what gets cited. Ray Bradbury is quoted once, but not, obviously, the advice that he gives to write a short story every single week.
City Beyond Time: Tales of the Fall of Metachronopolis by John C. Wright
A collection of short stories, revolving about time travel. With links, sometimes very faint. Then, time travel and cause-and-effect have interesting relationships here.
The first and last are told in achronic order, which suits them well. We have mysteries, attempts at rescue, and the effects of time travel and cause-and-effect on interactions. A private investigator who observes that, in fact, a trenchcoat and fedora are normal attire where he comes from. A widowed bum. The fates of those whom the Time Wardens are no longer interested in but don't let leave. And more.
A collection of short stories, revolving about time travel. With links, sometimes very faint. Then, time travel and cause-and-effect have interesting relationships here.
The first and last are told in achronic order, which suits them well. We have mysteries, attempts at rescue, and the effects of time travel and cause-and-effect on interactions. A private investigator who observes that, in fact, a trenchcoat and fedora are normal attire where he comes from. A widowed bum. The fates of those whom the Time Wardens are no longer interested in but don't let leave. And more.
Book four, the war continues, now with dragons.
Orbit, 2014, 495 pages
Dragons vs. spiders.
Also by Daniel Abraham: My reviews of The Dragon's Path, The King's Blood, and The Tyrant's Law.
My complete list of book reviews.
Orbit, 2014, 495 pages
The rise of the dragon and the fall of kings Lord Regent Geder Palliako's war has led his nation and the priests of the spider goddess to victory after victory. No power has withstood him, except for the heart of the one woman he desires. As the violence builds and the cracks in his rule begin to show, he will risk everything to gain her love or else her destruction. Clara Kalliam, the loyal traitor, is torn between the woman she once was and the woman she has become. With her sons on all sides of the conflict, her house cannot stand, but there is a power in choosing when and how to fall. And in Porte Oliva, banker Cithrin bel Sarcour and Captain Marcus Wester learn the terrible truth that links this war to the fall of the dragons millennia before, and that to save the world, Cithrin must conquer it.
Dragons vs. spiders.
Also by Daniel Abraham: My reviews of The Dragon's Path, The King's Blood, and The Tyrant's Law.
My complete list of book reviews.
In her debut novel, Leotta introduces the world to Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Curtis.
As a federal prosecutor, Curtis had seen numerous domestic violence cases, but none affected her like that of Laprea Johnson. First, Curtis is devastated after Johnson lies to have her abusive boyfriend D’marco Davis released, after vehemently seeking his incarceration. Second, the case reaches a climax after Johnson is found dead in a trash heap. Curtis has another opportunity to ensure justice is served for Johnson when she is assigned to work with senior U.S. Attorney Jack Bailey on the murder trial. Despite a plethora of evidence to secure a conviction, Curtis’ instincts tell her something about the case is amiss.
Eventually, the turmoil in Curtis’ personal life causes her to comprehend why Johnson, along with other victims of domestic violence reunite with their partners. Before the domestic violence trial, Curtis had gotten involved with law school classmate Nick Wagner, who represents Davis. The relationship deteriorates, as neither can separate their personal and professional lives. Meanwhile, Curtis finds herself attracted even more to another attorney at work.
Furthermore, both cases present an opportunity for Curtis to avenge the domestic violence she witnessed as a child. Curtis is constantly fraught with guilt about her past and tries to make amends by successfully prosecuting perpetrators of domestic violence.
Suspense permeates each page, keeping readers focused on finding out who killed Johnson, the killer will be brought to justice, and whether Curtis will find true love. Being a former federal prosecutor allows Leotta to make the novel insightful in two ways. One, Leotta, uses her experience to educate readers about how domestic violence kills, damages lives, and separate families. Two, Leotta provides clear explanations of legal procedures and ethical obligations lawyers must follow make this novel understandable to readers who are unfamiliar with the legal profession. Lawyers can still identify with Curtis through their experiences.
As a federal prosecutor, Curtis had seen numerous domestic violence cases, but none affected her like that of Laprea Johnson. First, Curtis is devastated after Johnson lies to have her abusive boyfriend D’marco Davis released, after vehemently seeking his incarceration. Second, the case reaches a climax after Johnson is found dead in a trash heap. Curtis has another opportunity to ensure justice is served for Johnson when she is assigned to work with senior U.S. Attorney Jack Bailey on the murder trial. Despite a plethora of evidence to secure a conviction, Curtis’ instincts tell her something about the case is amiss.
Eventually, the turmoil in Curtis’ personal life causes her to comprehend why Johnson, along with other victims of domestic violence reunite with their partners. Before the domestic violence trial, Curtis had gotten involved with law school classmate Nick Wagner, who represents Davis. The relationship deteriorates, as neither can separate their personal and professional lives. Meanwhile, Curtis finds herself attracted even more to another attorney at work.
Furthermore, both cases present an opportunity for Curtis to avenge the domestic violence she witnessed as a child. Curtis is constantly fraught with guilt about her past and tries to make amends by successfully prosecuting perpetrators of domestic violence.
Suspense permeates each page, keeping readers focused on finding out who killed Johnson, the killer will be brought to justice, and whether Curtis will find true love. Being a former federal prosecutor allows Leotta to make the novel insightful in two ways. One, Leotta, uses her experience to educate readers about how domestic violence kills, damages lives, and separate families. Two, Leotta provides clear explanations of legal procedures and ethical obligations lawyers must follow make this novel understandable to readers who are unfamiliar with the legal profession. Lawyers can still identify with Curtis through their experiences.
Book three in the Dagger and the Coin series.
Orbit, 2013, 497 pages
Dragons, spider goddesses, and fat dorky tyrants.
Also by Daniel Abraham: My reviews of The Dragon's Path and The King's Blood.
My complete list of book reviews.
Orbit, 2013, 497 pages
The great war cannot be stopped. The tyrant Geder Palliako had led his nation to war, but every victory has called forth another conflict. Now the greater war spreads out before him, and he is bent on bringing peace. No matter how many people he has to kill to do it. Cithrin bel Sarcour, rogue banker of the Medean Bank, has returned to the fold. Her apprenticeship has placed her in the path of war, but the greater dangers are the ones in her past and in her soul.
Widowed and disgraced at the heart of the Empire, Clara Kalliam has become a loyal traitor, defending her nation against itself. And in the shadows of the world, Captain Marcus Wester tracks an ancient secret that will change the war in ways not even he can foresee.
Dragons, spider goddesses, and fat dorky tyrants.
Also by Daniel Abraham: My reviews of The Dragon's Path and The King's Blood.
My complete list of book reviews.
Unicorn Crossing by Dana Simpson
The continuing adventures of a girl and her unicorn. . . .
Plans for Halloween; Dakota and her goblin friend Blaarthelomew; envy of snow; Marigold's going away with her sister for some days, and Phoebe's coping; Dakota's snide comments; interacting with her friend Max, and more.
The continuing adventures of a girl and her unicorn. . . .
Plans for Halloween; Dakota and her goblin friend Blaarthelomew; envy of snow; Marigold's going away with her sister for some days, and Phoebe's coping; Dakota's snide comments; interacting with her friend Max, and more.
This is Sarah Perry's second novel (After Me Comes the Flood is her first)and her developing confidence shows in the breadth of subject matter rather than in her writing which continues with jewel like clarity.
Set in the late Victorian/early Edwardian age there is a central character, newly widowed Cora Seaborne, a devotee of the fossil hunter Mary Anning, determined to unravel the zoology of the Essex Serpent which is causing so much trouble in the fictional village of Aldwinter. Cora reminds me quite a lot of Dorothea, in Middlemarch, an idea supported by the fact that she is strongly drawn to a man named Will. But despite having a strong central character there is no diminution to the supporting cast, all of whom are vividly brought to life: Stella, with eyes of pansy blue and silver blonde hair, is Will's ethereal, gutsy, gossipy wife, dying of consumption (spies phthisis, the white death, euphemisms abound) who obsessively collects a treasury of blue scraps around her, like a bower bird. She even collects the names of the shades in a notebook: teal, cobalt, saxe, turquoise. An unlikely link is formed between Stella and Cora's autistic son, Francis, who bows before a collector even more driven than he is: Luke Garrett, Cora's devoted 'Imp' is a talented surgeon who offers radical surgery. He will collapse Stella's lungs, one after the other, to allow healing. The cause of his failure to perform the operation is detailed in one of the four or five explosive chapters which pepper the narrative and remain with the reader long after finishing the book.
The subject matter interweaves superstition, science, religion, palaeontology, open heart surgery, socialism and housing, all teased out between a set of memorable,characters.
Oh yes! The serpent! Well, the fear of it, curiosity about it and dismissal of it underpin a great deal of the action and by the close of the book it has revealed itself in two different guises. Unsurprisingly each revelation provides another of the explosive chapters I mentioned before, with the final one marking a possible redemption for Cora's son Francis through the agency of the dying Stella.
Just as a personal footnote, the book is set unerringly on the Essex estuarial coast. Although the village of Aldwinter is fictional there are mentions of the Blackwater River, Maldon, St Osyth, Point Clear, Colchester and ,Brightlingsea all of which bring back memories of happy childhood holidays. Essex is a much more eerie and mysterious place than it is generally presented in popular culture today. Sarah Perry has done the county a service! Highly recommended.
The Journey Home is the story of Michael Thomas and the seven angels. Michael Thomas is a low paid salesman living in a tiny apartment with a pet goldfish. He is unhappy with his life and longs for change. One day his apartment is broken into and Michael Thomas gets badly injured in the process. While in the hospital, Michael Thomas has a vision of an angel that asks him what he wants. Michael Thomas says he wants to go home and that he doesn’t want to suffer this horrible earthly existence any longer. The angel tells him that that can be done and that Michael should prepare for a journey when he wakes up. As soon as Michael wakes up, he gives away all of his things and prepares to go on a journey. He stumbles upon seven houses with seven different angels of various colors in them. From these angels, he learns various lessons like how to overcome his fears and what to eat and how to exercise and how to heal his own body as well as how to go through a vibratory shift. He also learns about the fact that all the people in his life were sent there for a purpose and that he had a contract to fulfill with each one of them. He also discovers the fact that they are all part of his ‘spiritual family’. In each of the houses after Michael learned his lessons, he was Asked: “Michael Thomas, Do you love God?” and each time he answered “Yes, I love God.” In the sixth house he is shown a woman that he is inexplicably drawn to and she explains that she was supposed to be his love contract but that he never got the chance to meet her on earth. Michael Thomas is distraught and realizes that he should have stayed on earth. However the woman encourages him to move forward in his journey and he does so with a heavy heart. On his way out of the sixth house he encounters an evil being, which was the part of him that was devoid of love. He defeats the evil thing with the help of his gifts; the sword of truth, the shield of knowledge and the armor of spirit, which he had acquired in one of the houses. Finally he comes upon the seventh house which contains a gold angel which is an exact replica of Michael Thomas. He realizes that the angel is his higher self and that he needs to accept him into his heart in order to go home. Michael accepts the love of his higher, angel self and finally opens the door to ‘Home’. He wakes up in the hospital bed with some mild injuries. He is shocked that it was all a dream. However, once he goes back to his life he realizes that he has changed a lot and that he deserves a lot more from life. He instantly starts to find a better place to live and a better job. He finds he is more confident and full of life affirming energy. He sees the angels that he met on his journey, in his meditations and he thanks them and embarks on a journey to find the love of his life.
The Journey Home teaches us a lot of valuable spiritual lessons. One of them being that you should never take your excess baggage with you. One of the angels told Michael to leave his heavy bags with him because he won’t need them on his journey. Michael didn’t listen and almost lost his life to the elements because of it. It teaches us not to take extra baggage with us that we don’t need. This can be said of physical as well as mental and emotional baggage. Another lesson is to never take more than you need at that moment. Michael learns this when one of the angels tells him that he should not take any food with him on the journey and only eat what he needs at the house. He doesn’t listen and the food ends up rotting and being eaten by worms. From this we learn that we should only take that which we can consume at the moment, and not more. Everything will be provided to us when we need it, if we have faith in ourselves and in God. Mike also had his first vibratory shift happen, where all of his cells began to vibrate at a higher frequency. This was because he had passed the test of being left all alone with no help from anyone and he kept his sanity. From this we learn that the toughest experiences in life are the ones that teach us the most and make us stronger. We also learn that every person in our lives was put there for a reason and that they all have a purpose to fulfill. Each of them teaches us something. So it makes sense then that they become part of our ‘spiritual family’. When Michael Thomas defeats the evil part of himself that is devoid of love, with the sword of truth, the shield of knowledge and the armor of spirit, it shows us that only the truth can conquer our dark sides. It proves that the saying ‘knowledge is power’ is true indeed. The fact that the seventh angel was Michael Thomas’s higher self has profound meaning as it shows us that the one that we really need to learn how to love is the piece of God in ourselves. Once we learn how to love ourselves, we are truly free to be the best versions of ourselves and to live life to its fullest. In all, this book is jam packed with spiritual wisdom and esoteric knowledge and you just have to read it once to be changed for the rest of your life.
The Journey Home teaches us a lot of valuable spiritual lessons. One of them being that you should never take your excess baggage with you. One of the angels told Michael to leave his heavy bags with him because he won’t need them on his journey. Michael didn’t listen and almost lost his life to the elements because of it. It teaches us not to take extra baggage with us that we don’t need. This can be said of physical as well as mental and emotional baggage. Another lesson is to never take more than you need at that moment. Michael learns this when one of the angels tells him that he should not take any food with him on the journey and only eat what he needs at the house. He doesn’t listen and the food ends up rotting and being eaten by worms. From this we learn that we should only take that which we can consume at the moment, and not more. Everything will be provided to us when we need it, if we have faith in ourselves and in God. Mike also had his first vibratory shift happen, where all of his cells began to vibrate at a higher frequency. This was because he had passed the test of being left all alone with no help from anyone and he kept his sanity. From this we learn that the toughest experiences in life are the ones that teach us the most and make us stronger. We also learn that every person in our lives was put there for a reason and that they all have a purpose to fulfill. Each of them teaches us something. So it makes sense then that they become part of our ‘spiritual family’. When Michael Thomas defeats the evil part of himself that is devoid of love, with the sword of truth, the shield of knowledge and the armor of spirit, it shows us that only the truth can conquer our dark sides. It proves that the saying ‘knowledge is power’ is true indeed. The fact that the seventh angel was Michael Thomas’s higher self has profound meaning as it shows us that the one that we really need to learn how to love is the piece of God in ourselves. Once we learn how to love ourselves, we are truly free to be the best versions of ourselves and to live life to its fullest. In all, this book is jam packed with spiritual wisdom and esoteric knowledge and you just have to read it once to be changed for the rest of your life.
Book two in a "GoT-lite" epic fantasy.
Orbit, 2012, 501 pages
What happens when the fat nerdy kid who got picked on in gym becomes the most powerful man in the empire.
Also by Daniel Abraham: My review of The Dragon's Path.
My complete list of book reviews.
Orbit, 2012, 501 pages
Acclaimed author Daniel Abraham’s works have been nominated for the Hugo Award and the World Fantasy Award. In this compelling follow-up to The Dragon’s Path, Geder Palliako enjoys high social standing as protector to the crown prince of Antea - but a looming war threatens to change his way of life. Meanwhile, Cithrin bel Sarcour is counting her blessings: long under close surveillance, she hopes a battle will be the opportunity she needs to regain her freedom.
What happens when the fat nerdy kid who got picked on in gym becomes the most powerful man in the empire.
Also by Daniel Abraham: My review of The Dragon's Path.
My complete list of book reviews.
A Millennial at Harvard: cringing, creeping, and stalking.
Simon & Schuster, 2016, 203 pages
The most fremdschämen book I've ever read.
My complete list of book reviews.
Simon & Schuster, 2016, 203 pages
David Federman has never felt appreciated. An academically gifted yet painfully forgettable member of his New Jersey high school class, the withdrawn, mild-mannered freshman arrives at Harvard fully expecting to be embraced by a new tribe of high-achieving peers. But, initially, his social prospects seem unlikely to change, sentencing him to a lifetime of anonymity. Then he meets Veronica Morgan Wells. Struck by her beauty, wit, and sophisticated Manhattan upbringing, David falls feverishly in love. Determined to win her attention and an invite into her glamorous world, he begins compromising his moral standards for this one, great shot at happiness. But both Veronica and David, it turns out, are not exactly as they seem.
The most fremdschämen book I've ever read.
My complete list of book reviews.
An alien invasion that takes a few centuries, and the Xanatos Gambits to stop them.
Tor, 2015, 512 pages
The Trisolarans are coming (in a few centuries).
Also by Cixin Liu: My review of The Three-Body Problem.
My complete list of book reviews.
Tor, 2015, 512 pages
This near-future trilogy is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience this multiple-award-winning phenomenon from Cixin Liu, China's most beloved science fiction author. In The Dark Forest, Earth is reeling from the revelation of a coming alien invasion - in just four centuries' time. The aliens' human collaborators may have been defeated, but the presence of the sophons, the subatomic particles that allow Trisolaris instant access to all human information, means that Earth's defense plans are totally exposed to the enemy. Only the human mind remains a secret. This is the motivation for the Wallfacer Project, a daring plan that grants four men enormous resources to design secret strategies, hidden through deceit and misdirection from Earth and Trisolaris alike. Three of the Wallfacers are influential statesmen and scientists, but the fourth is a total unknown. Luo Ji, an unambitious Chinese astronomer and sociologist, is baffled by his new status. All he knows is that he's the one Wallfacer that Trisolaris wants dead.
The Trisolarans are coming (in a few centuries).
Also by Cixin Liu: My review of The Three-Body Problem.
My complete list of book reviews.
A literary dystopian novel in which the Chinese colonize a fallen America.
Riverhead Books, 2014, 352 pages
Yet another literary novelist who thinks he's invented a genre.
My complete list of book reviews.
Riverhead Books, 2014, 352 pages
From the beloved award-winning author of Native Speaker and The Surrendered, a highly provocative, deeply affecting story of one woman's legendary quest in a shocking, future America.
On Such a Full Sea takes Chang-rae Lee's elegance of prose, his masterly storytelling, and his long-standing interests in identity, culture, work, and love, and lifts them to a new plane. Stepping from the realistic and historical territories of his previous work, Lee brings us into a world created from scratch. Against a vividly imagined future America, Lee tells a stunning, surprising, and riveting story that will change the way listeners think about the world they live in.
In a future, long-declining America, society is strictly stratified by class. Long-abandoned urban neighborhoods have been repurposed as highwalled, self-contained labor colonies. And the members of the labor class - descendants of those brought over en masse many years earlier from environmentally ruined provincial China - find purpose and identity in their work to provide pristine produce and fish to the small, elite, satellite charter villages that ring the labor settlement.
In this world lives Fan, a female fish-tank diver, who leaves her home in the B-Mor settlement (once known as Baltimore), when the man she loves mysteriously disappears. Fan's journey to find him takes her out of the safety of B-Mor, through the anarchic Open Counties, where crime is rampant with scant governmental oversight, and to a faraway charter village, in a quest that will soon become legend to those she left behind.
Yet another literary novelist who thinks he's invented a genre.
My complete list of book reviews.
A heroin addict ex-cop from Belfast goes to solve the murder of an Indian-Irish girl in Denver.
Scribner, 2004, 288 pages
Irish noir to a 90s soundtrack.
Also by Adrian McKinty: My reviews of The Cold Cold Ground and I Hear the Sirens in the Street.
My complete list of book reviews.
Scribner, 2004, 288 pages
Alexander Lawson is a former detective for Northern Ireland's police force. After a disastrous six-month stint in the drug squad, he became addicted to heroin and resigned in disgrace. Now 24, sickly, and on the dole, Alex learns that his high-school love, Victoria Patawasti, has been murdered in America. Victoria's wealthy family sends Alex to Colorado to investigate the case, and he seizes the opportunity for a chance at redemption.
But things don't go as planned. Plagued by a heroin habit, forced to go on the run after the only credible witness to Victoria's murder is accidentally killed, wanted by both the Colorado cops and the Ulster police, Alex struggles just to stay alive.
Gritty, with spot-on dialogue and black humor, Hidden River is a dynamic thriller.
Irish noir to a 90s soundtrack.
Also by Adrian McKinty: My reviews of The Cold Cold Ground and I Hear the Sirens in the Street.
My complete list of book reviews.
Seeing like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed by James C. Scott
An analysis of certain attempts to make things better by being scientific and rational and planned. With results ranging form the ugly to mass murder.
Giving people last names and (despite orders) not preserving the record of what they were called before. Laying out collective farms without regard to features such as ravines. Building a perfect rectilinear city -- most of whose inhabitants live out of it, in the buildings that the workers constructed as squatters. Monocropping and polycropping in the tropics. Fun of fascinating stuff.
An analysis of certain attempts to make things better by being scientific and rational and planned. With results ranging form the ugly to mass murder.
Giving people last names and (despite orders) not preserving the record of what they were called before. Laying out collective farms without regard to features such as ravines. Building a perfect rectilinear city -- most of whose inhabitants live out of it, in the buildings that the workers constructed as squatters. Monocropping and polycropping in the tropics. Fun of fascinating stuff.
A sequel (!) to The Shining. Danny is all grown up and his father's son.
Scribner, 2013, 531 pages
Psychic teenagers vs. vampires in RVs, and a climactic battle at the top of the world.
Also by Stephen King: My reviews of Blaze, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Lisey's Story, Cell, The Shining, and Duma Key.
My complete list of book reviews.
Scribner, 2013, 531 pages
Stephen King returns to the characters and territory of one of his most popular novels ever, The Shining, in this instantly riveting novel about the now middle-aged Dan Torrance (the boy protagonist of The Shining) and the very special 12-year-old girl he must save from a tribe of murderous paranormals.
On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless - mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and spunky 12-year-old Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the "steam" that children with the "shining" produce when they are slowly tortured to death.
Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father's legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant "shining" power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes "Doctor Sleep."
Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan's own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra's soul and survival. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of hyper-devoted fans of The Shining and wildly satisfy anyone new to the territory of this icon in the King canon.
Psychic teenagers vs. vampires in RVs, and a climactic battle at the top of the world.
Also by Stephen King: My reviews of Blaze, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Lisey's Story, Cell, The Shining, and Duma Key.
My complete list of book reviews.
A Japanese historian examines why Japan went to war.
Alfred A. Knopf, 2013, 320 pages
Do you want to go to war? I don't want to go to war. Do YOU want to go to war? Why are we going to war?
My complete list of book reviews.
Alfred A. Knopf, 2013, 320 pages
When Japan attacked the United States in 1941, argues Eri Hotta, its leaders, in large part, understood they were entering a conflict they were bound to lose. Availing herself of rarely consulted material, Hotta poses essential questions overlooked by historians in the seventy years since: Why did these men - military men, civilian politicians, diplomats, the emperor - put their country and its citizens in harm's way? Why did they make a decision that was doomed from the start?
Introducing us to the doubters, bluffers, and schemers who led their nation into this conflagration, Hotta brilliantly shows us a Japan never before glimpsed - eager to avoid war but fraught with tensions with the West, blinded by traditional notions of pride and honor, nearly escaping disaster before it finally proved inevitable.
Do you want to go to war? I don't want to go to war. Do YOU want to go to war? Why are we going to war?
My complete list of book reviews.
I first encountered this author when I read an article she wrote about falling into the grip of a debilitating illness (thyrotoxicosis). She detailed so exquisitely the horrors of losing the natural assumption of good health, which defined her 'self' and then she received such a welter of unkind comments from Guardian readers that I decided I would try to make amends by at least reading the first of her two novels.
The book is about a self selected community of six, living in an old Manor House belonging to one of their number. Some of them are refugees from a failed, genteel mental hospital, the rest are their friends. And then there's John, there by accident, fleeing from the stultifying heat of late summer and the stultifying order of his East Anglian bookshop. He thinks he should leave, but is unable to find a way out of the lethargy which is keeping him there.
Six people and six stifling days, waiting for the weather to break.
The grounds of the house lead down to an old reservoir. Alex, amber haired, graceful and probably the most damaged of the group is sure the reservoir is cracked and about to burst. He takes John to see the remnants of the flooded village, made visible by the drought. Alex might have frightened a child, tortured a moth, hurt a cat, who knows? He has certainly drawn with him three very different women; old ugly childless Hester; his amber haired sister Clare, overly childlike for an adult and Eve, with curly black hair, grimy feet and dirty fingernails, who was his friend at school and whose obsessive piano playing is a backdrop to the story. Two men complete the household; Elijah, a preacher who has lost his faith and now stays indoors, fearful since he thinks there is now nothing to hold up the sky;and Walker (what sort of a name is that? thinks John) who is trying to tempt Elijah with cigarettes, alcohol and gambling and who is perhaps the least detailed and most interesting of all.
Sarah Perry gives luminous glimpses into the background of all of them, but John, the interloper, keeps a diary which offers an additional slant. About halfway through I realised that they reminded me very powerfully of the sort of closed communities that PD James often uses in her Adam Dalgleish novels, but here they are turned loose and given agency, no murders (probably) and no probing detective.
In all honesty very little happens until the last few pages. They go to the seaside; celebrate Hester's birthday; listen to the piano; receive some anonymous letters and with the inevitable cloudburst comes a sort of resolution.
I can't recommend this book too highly. It's short but immersive; her prose is poetic and she introduced me to a Thomas Hardy poem I had never read before 'Beeny Cliff'
The book is about a self selected community of six, living in an old Manor House belonging to one of their number. Some of them are refugees from a failed, genteel mental hospital, the rest are their friends. And then there's John, there by accident, fleeing from the stultifying heat of late summer and the stultifying order of his East Anglian bookshop. He thinks he should leave, but is unable to find a way out of the lethargy which is keeping him there.
Six people and six stifling days, waiting for the weather to break.
The grounds of the house lead down to an old reservoir. Alex, amber haired, graceful and probably the most damaged of the group is sure the reservoir is cracked and about to burst. He takes John to see the remnants of the flooded village, made visible by the drought. Alex might have frightened a child, tortured a moth, hurt a cat, who knows? He has certainly drawn with him three very different women; old ugly childless Hester; his amber haired sister Clare, overly childlike for an adult and Eve, with curly black hair, grimy feet and dirty fingernails, who was his friend at school and whose obsessive piano playing is a backdrop to the story. Two men complete the household; Elijah, a preacher who has lost his faith and now stays indoors, fearful since he thinks there is now nothing to hold up the sky;and Walker (what sort of a name is that? thinks John) who is trying to tempt Elijah with cigarettes, alcohol and gambling and who is perhaps the least detailed and most interesting of all.
Sarah Perry gives luminous glimpses into the background of all of them, but John, the interloper, keeps a diary which offers an additional slant. About halfway through I realised that they reminded me very powerfully of the sort of closed communities that PD James often uses in her Adam Dalgleish novels, but here they are turned loose and given agency, no murders (probably) and no probing detective.
In all honesty very little happens until the last few pages. They go to the seaside; celebrate Hester's birthday; listen to the piano; receive some anonymous letters and with the inevitable cloudburst comes a sort of resolution.
I can't recommend this book too highly. It's short but immersive; her prose is poetic and she introduced me to a Thomas Hardy poem I had never read before 'Beeny Cliff'
The war against the Lankies is taken to Mars.
47North, 2017, 280 pages
Not really exciting to hit the 'reset' button this deep into the series.
Also by Marko Kloos: My reviews of Terms of Enlistment, Lines of Departure, Angles of Attack, and Chains of Command.
My complete list of book reviews.
47North, 2017, 280 pages
The time has come to take the fight to the Lankies.
Mars has been under Lanky control for more than a year. Since then, the depleted forces of Earth's alliances have rebuilt their fleets, staffing old warships with freshly trained troops. Torn between the need to beat the Lankies to the punch and taking enough time to put together an effective fighting force, command has decided to strike now.
Once again, seasoned veterans Andrew and Halley find themselves in charge of green troops and at the sharp tip of the spear as the combined military might of Earth goes up against the Lankies. But if there's one constant in war, it's that no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy...and the Lankies want to hold on to Mars as badly as humanity wants to reclaim it.
Not really exciting to hit the 'reset' button this deep into the series.
Also by Marko Kloos: My reviews of Terms of Enlistment, Lines of Departure, Angles of Attack, and Chains of Command.
My complete list of book reviews.
On October 3, 1952 General Dwight Eisenhower was campaigning for President in Madison, Wisconsin, in a state whose junior United States Senator had recently disparaged Eisenhower's mentor, the iconic General George C. Marshall, by accusing Marshall of treason and of collaborating with communists. These slanderous accusation incensed Eisenhower tremendously, and when Eisenhower found himself campaigning in McCarthy's home state that fall, he had planned on calling out McCarthy for his offensive comments and on defending the revered Marshall. But he decided not to do so. Political expediency trumped principle that day, and Eisenhower removed the offending portion from his speech, posing with McCarthy for a picture as the two men shook hands. It was a decision that Eisenhower almost immediately came to regret.
Disappointment over Eisenhower's failed effort to call out the offensive Wisconsin Republican Senator led many to perceive Eisenhower as weak and cowering when it came to confronting McCarthy and his distasteful bullying tactics. This was a perception that author David Nichols contends, in his 2017 book Ike and McCarthy: Dwight Eisenhower's Secret Campaign Against Joseph McCarthy is wholly inaccurate. This book is dedicated to making the case that, while Eisenhower never directly criticized McCarthy by name, he waged a brilliant and masterfully strategic behind-the-scenes campaign to discredit McCarthy and to neuter him politically. Nichols tells the story of the McCarthy led investigation into allegations of communist infiltration of the United States Army and how Eisenhower covertly orchestrated political efforts to bring about McCarthy's downfall and to protect the integrity of the army officers that McCarthy sought to disgrace. It is the story of McCarthy's alleged misuse of power by his own actions and those of his inner circle including unscrupulous attorney Roy Cohn. Cohn was alleged to have misused his influence to obtain special treatment for his close friend (and possibly his lover) G. David Schine after Schine was drafted into the army, by threatening to turn up the heat in the McCarthy committee's investigation of communism in the army unless Schine was granted special privileges. Nichols tells the story of how Cohn's efforts were publicly exposed, leading to the discrediting of McCarthy and of his methods.
Nichols describes all of the key players in this 1950s political drama that garnered national attention as the hearings were televised and unfolded in the media spotlight. These included key members of Eisenhower's White House staff (such as his Chief of Staff Sherman Adams and his press secretary Jim Hagerty), Army Secretary Robert Stevens, lawyers John Adams, Struve Hensel and Joseph Welch, Eisenhower's special advisors Fred Seaton and Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., and Senators Karl Mundt, Everett Dirksen and Ralph Flanders. Nichols describes how Eisenhower directed these men, much like pieces on a chess board, as part of an intricate political strategy, all the while appearing to be removed from the conflict. According to Nichols, Eisenhower would never mention McCarthy by name, as if doing so would somehow give his adversary political oxygen. Nichols demonstrates how Eisenhower was also a master of media strategy, deftly handling reporters at press conferences and by targeted and perfectly timed release of information.
David Nichols provides a well researched account both of what went on in the public eye and behind the scenes. He offers a rare window on oval office political strategic machination as well as a fresh perspective on the McCarthy hearings. It is always a pleasure for a reader of history when the historian can provide an account of an event that goes beyond what is common knowledge, while maintaining fidelity to credible historic records. David Nichols succeeds very capably in this pursuit.
Disappointment over Eisenhower's failed effort to call out the offensive Wisconsin Republican Senator led many to perceive Eisenhower as weak and cowering when it came to confronting McCarthy and his distasteful bullying tactics. This was a perception that author David Nichols contends, in his 2017 book Ike and McCarthy: Dwight Eisenhower's Secret Campaign Against Joseph McCarthy is wholly inaccurate. This book is dedicated to making the case that, while Eisenhower never directly criticized McCarthy by name, he waged a brilliant and masterfully strategic behind-the-scenes campaign to discredit McCarthy and to neuter him politically. Nichols tells the story of the McCarthy led investigation into allegations of communist infiltration of the United States Army and how Eisenhower covertly orchestrated political efforts to bring about McCarthy's downfall and to protect the integrity of the army officers that McCarthy sought to disgrace. It is the story of McCarthy's alleged misuse of power by his own actions and those of his inner circle including unscrupulous attorney Roy Cohn. Cohn was alleged to have misused his influence to obtain special treatment for his close friend (and possibly his lover) G. David Schine after Schine was drafted into the army, by threatening to turn up the heat in the McCarthy committee's investigation of communism in the army unless Schine was granted special privileges. Nichols tells the story of how Cohn's efforts were publicly exposed, leading to the discrediting of McCarthy and of his methods.
Nichols describes all of the key players in this 1950s political drama that garnered national attention as the hearings were televised and unfolded in the media spotlight. These included key members of Eisenhower's White House staff (such as his Chief of Staff Sherman Adams and his press secretary Jim Hagerty), Army Secretary Robert Stevens, lawyers John Adams, Struve Hensel and Joseph Welch, Eisenhower's special advisors Fred Seaton and Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., and Senators Karl Mundt, Everett Dirksen and Ralph Flanders. Nichols describes how Eisenhower directed these men, much like pieces on a chess board, as part of an intricate political strategy, all the while appearing to be removed from the conflict. According to Nichols, Eisenhower would never mention McCarthy by name, as if doing so would somehow give his adversary political oxygen. Nichols demonstrates how Eisenhower was also a master of media strategy, deftly handling reporters at press conferences and by targeted and perfectly timed release of information.
David Nichols provides a well researched account both of what went on in the public eye and behind the scenes. He offers a rare window on oval office political strategic machination as well as a fresh perspective on the McCarthy hearings. It is always a pleasure for a reader of history when the historian can provide an account of an event that goes beyond what is common knowledge, while maintaining fidelity to credible historic records. David Nichols succeeds very capably in this pursuit.
- Current Location:on the comfy loveseat
- Current Mood:geeky
- Current Music:Rachel Platten-"Fight Song"
x-posted to books
About ten years ago I started reading a lot of business type books. I don't know if it had to do with turning 30 or that there was just a wave of popular business books around that time that were accessible to average people. Think books like Freakonomics.
I decided to start reading through our little book collection at work because I haven't read anything in ages, I love new ideas and it started to bring some relief to my work day. I really enjoyed Switch by Chip and Dan Heath. Some of the concepts were not new to me because of all the change management blah blah blah thrown at me over the years during buyouts and re-orgs. What makes Switch so amazing is the warm, encouraging and conversational tone that the Heaths bring to the book. It's a very empowering tactic, especially as they profile everyday people trying to make their workplace safer or improve student relationships.
Change is hard. People don't like change. That much is obvious! The brothers lay out a framework that we're all Elephants being goaded by Riders on a Path. This gets a little tiresome, but the gist is that the Rider is controlling, easily exhausted and can be too analytical. The Elephant is big, strong and guided by emotion. Obviously the Path is the road to change. The book is broken up into short sections in three parts detailing each concept. When all three ideas are aligned, magical change happens :)
The book has so many a-ha moments. You can find a great summary here. Barriers to change include end goals which lack clarity, a lack of direction, focusing on the wrong problem, lack of appeal to emotion and asks that are too big. Loads of anecdotes about how ordinary people influenced change are the huge strength of the book although if you are looking for concrete directions, this isn't the book for you. Basically the authors offer suggestions because of course there is no one size fits all solution.
I highly recommend this book - it's great for one's personal life along with work life too.
booksAbout ten years ago I started reading a lot of business type books. I don't know if it had to do with turning 30 or that there was just a wave of popular business books around that time that were accessible to average people. Think books like Freakonomics.
I decided to start reading through our little book collection at work because I haven't read anything in ages, I love new ideas and it started to bring some relief to my work day. I really enjoyed Switch by Chip and Dan Heath. Some of the concepts were not new to me because of all the change management blah blah blah thrown at me over the years during buyouts and re-orgs. What makes Switch so amazing is the warm, encouraging and conversational tone that the Heaths bring to the book. It's a very empowering tactic, especially as they profile everyday people trying to make their workplace safer or improve student relationships.
Change is hard. People don't like change. That much is obvious! The brothers lay out a framework that we're all Elephants being goaded by Riders on a Path. This gets a little tiresome, but the gist is that the Rider is controlling, easily exhausted and can be too analytical. The Elephant is big, strong and guided by emotion. Obviously the Path is the road to change. The book is broken up into short sections in three parts detailing each concept. When all three ideas are aligned, magical change happens :)
The book has so many a-ha moments. You can find a great summary here. Barriers to change include end goals which lack clarity, a lack of direction, focusing on the wrong problem, lack of appeal to emotion and asks that are too big. Loads of anecdotes about how ordinary people influenced change are the huge strength of the book although if you are looking for concrete directions, this isn't the book for you. Basically the authors offer suggestions because of course there is no one size fits all solution.
I highly recommend this book - it's great for one's personal life along with work life too.
Honor at Stake by Declan Finn
In New York City, Amanda Colt and Marco Catalano are attending college together, fencing against each other in a club, and making discoveries. One of which you may guess from the title: it's a vampire tale. Rather different vampires.
Which lead to complications. And adventures that involve vampire bars, a 19th century cop, quoting Thomas Aquinas, home-made napalm, Vatican ninjas, street gangs that aren't, and more.
In New York City, Amanda Colt and Marco Catalano are attending college together, fencing against each other in a club, and making discoveries. One of which you may guess from the title: it's a vampire tale. Rather different vampires.
Which lead to complications. And adventures that involve vampire bars, a 19th century cop, quoting Thomas Aquinas, home-made napalm, Vatican ninjas, street gangs that aren't, and more.
How shit went down in Mogadishu.
Simon & Schuster, 1999, 320 pages
Soldiers fight, politicians blame.
My complete list of book reviews.
Simon & Schuster, 1999, 320 pages
Ninety-nine elite American soldiers are trapped in the middle of a hostile city. As night falls, they are surrounded by thousands of enemy gunmen. Their wounded are bleeding to death. Their ammunition and supplies are dwindling. This is the story of how they got there - and how they fought their way out. This is the story of war.
Black Hawk Down drops you into a crowded marketplace in the heart of Mogadishu, Somalia with the U.S. Special Forces and puts you in the middle of the most intense firelight American soldiers have fought since the Vietnam war.
Late in the afternoon of Sunday, October 3, 1993, the soldiers of Task Form Ranger were sent on a mission to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord and return to base. It was supposed to take them about an hour. Instead, they were pinned down through a long and terrible night, locked in a desperate struggle to kill or be killed.
When the unit was finally rescued the following morning, 18 American soldiers were dead and dozens more badly injured. The Somali toll was far worse; more than five hundred felled and over a thousand wounded. Award-winning literary journalist Mark Bowden's dramatic narrative captures this harrowing ordeal through the eyes of the young men who fought that day. He draws on his extensive interviews of participants from both sides - as well as classified combat video and radio transcripts - to bring their stories to life.
Authoritative, gripping, and insightful, Black Hawk Down is a riveting look at the terror and exhilaration of combat destined to become a classic of war reporting.
Soldiers fight, politicians blame.
My complete list of book reviews.
One of the first "novels," the epic tale of the Knight of the Sorrowful Face.
I kind of liked the musical better.
My complete list of book reviews.
Don Quixote is the classic story. Called the first modern novel, this marvelous book has stood the test of time to become irrevocably intertwined with the fabric of society. Sixteenth-century Spanish gentleman Don Quixote, fed by his own delusional fantasies, takes to the road in search of chivalrous adventures. But his quest leads to more trouble than triumph. At once humorous, romantic, and sad, Don Quixote is a literary landmark.
I kind of liked the musical better.
My complete list of book reviews.
The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler
A how-to-write book.
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A how-to-write book.
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One of Dickens's less famous novels is one of my favorites.
In which a 50-year-old banker marries his best friend's teenage daughter.
Also by Charles Dickens: My reviews of A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, Bleak House, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, The Pickwick Papers, and Oliver Twist.
My complete list of book reviews.
One of Dicken's best works appraising English society. Highlights the social and economic pressures of the times. A masterwork.
In which a 50-year-old banker marries his best friend's teenage daughter.
Also by Charles Dickens: My reviews of A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, Bleak House, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, The Pickwick Papers, and Oliver Twist.
My complete list of book reviews.
Save the Cat!: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder
A how-to-write book with some interesting techniques.
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A how-to-write book with some interesting techniques.
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Originally posted by authornwolf at Book Review: The Divine Invasion by Philip K. Dick
authornwolf at Book Review: The Divine Invasion by Philip K. DickBiblical stories come to life through ordinary people and are analyzed in The Divine Invasion. As in other novels by Dick, the male protagonists struggle to understand two realities until they achieve enlightenment. They also struggle to apply Scripture in real life. The female protagonists are omniscient and guide their male counterparts to enlightenment. Unlike his other novels, Dick has each character represent a biblical figure and is more upfront about theology through dialogue.
In The Divine Invasion, God was born on Earth as Emmanuel, sometimes called Manny, to a virgin Rybys Rommey-Asher and her husband Herb Asher. With the help of his kindred spirit Zina, Emmanuel tries to remember his past and save mankind from the evil goat.
In The Divine Invasion, God was born on Earth as Emmanuel, sometimes called Manny, to a virgin Rybys Rommey-Asher and her husband Herb Asher. With the help of his kindred spirit Zina, Emmanuel tries to remember his past and save mankind from the evil goat.
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
Madcap adventure in a forest filled with fairies!
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Madcap adventure in a forest filled with fairies!
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Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
A comedy set in a city, with his glorious language.
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A comedy set in a city, with his glorious language.
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