Bookviews by Alan Caruba

By Alan Caruba

Happy New Year!

My Picks of the Month

The Rand Corporation is a think tank created after World War II that describes itself as a “research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, health and more prosperous.” It was formed to connect military planning with research and development decisions. A recent study, Blinders, Blunders, and Wars: What America and China Can Learn ($49.95, softcover, www.rand.org) was authored by David C. Gompert, Hans Binnendijk, and Bonny Lin. Anyone interested in wars, past, present, and future will find this examination of “eight strategic blunders” and the lessons to be drawn from them will find this book of interest. It looks at Napoleon’s disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812, repeated by German military leaders in 1941, Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, and other such decisions including the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. It also looks at four cases of warfare that were not blunders. A combination of history and strategic analysis makes this a very interesting book.

When Globalization Fails: The Rise and Fall of Pax Americana by James MacDonald ($27.00. Farrar, Straus and Giroux), a historian and former investment banker, takes a look at the way the U.S. has gone most recently from the number one economy to number two for the first time since well before World War ii. MacDonald concludes that the U.S. is withdrawing from its long role as a protector of the sea lanes and as the global policeman that intervenes to avoid problems from rogue nations. Suffice to say he sees a nation in decline, but he does so as the U.S. has become a major energy power thanks to technology that has unlocked vast quantities of natural gas and oil. For six years the Obama administration has withdrawn from wars in hotspots like Iraq, but is now reversing that policy because the decision led to a worsening situation. As the U.S. comes out of the 2008 financial crisis, its dollar will strengthen and the likelihood is that it will regain its global role, but you will not read that in this otherwise interesting book’s cloudy crystal ball.

If you’re thinking of taking a vacation or business trip this year, pick up a copy of The Savvy Traveler: 175 Ways to Save by Robert B. Diener ($8.99, softcover, $2.99 Kindle, available from Amazon.com.) The author is the founder of Getaroom.com, a hotel booking site, and a frequent guest on CNN, Fox News, and CNBC, as well as a source for publications such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and The New York Times. His book is very reader-friendly as he tells you how to find the very best hotel room rates, domestically, and make good travel choices. Its international travel section provides tips on how to handle currency issues, be safe, and find the best deals overseas. All manner of ways to save money from renting cars to selecting a cruise, as well of course finding the best flights for any destination while avoiding fees and other costs. This is the kind of information any traveler would want to know and should acquire before leaving home.

Another book, The Disaster Handbook is by Robert Brown Butler ($15.95, softcover, available from Amazon.com) an architect who has penned five other books that were published by McGraw-Hill. This book addresses what to do to prepare your home or workplace for a disaster and do so in advance when it counts. It provides advice on how to be safe when a disaster like a hurricane occurs and how to best repair afterwards. It goes way beyond that, however, describing how to store and use all the foods, tools, and other “calamity commodities” you will need should misfortune come knocking on your door and how to survive with no electricity and pure water. It is packed with practical information and it does so while avoiding scaring the heck out of the reader by providing a lighthearted text that is “user friendly” from beginning to end. This is a “safe, not sorry” book worth reading before a disaster occurs.

There was a time when every parent knew that providing incentives and rewards was an excellent way to guide a child. Teachers, too, used them in the form of gold stars and in some schools they have even eliminated grades. Herbert J. Walberg and Joseph L. Bast have joined together to write Rewards: How to Use Rewards to Help Children Learn—and Why Teachers Don’t Use Them Well ($14.95, The Heartland Institute, softcover). Their book offers research that proves rewards help children learn and the failure to provide them can actually hurt their development. If you don’t know whether you’re doing well or not, why would you try to do better? The elimination of rewards is the result of the progressive ideology that puts the emphasis on self-esteem at the same it eliminates any reason for students to feel confident in a personal achievement that is ignored. Indeed, as the book reveals, students in teachers colleges are no longer being taught to use the rewards that served the many generations of students that preceded the present ones. It’s no secret there is a crisis in our public education systems these days and this book addresses one important reason for it.

There’s fun to be had in PsyQ by Ben Ambridge ($16.00, Penguin Books, softcover) that provides a way to “test yourself with more than 80 quizzes, puzzles, and experiments” designed to reflect everyday life. As you work your way through them, you will better understand yourself as the author, a psychologist, explains how psychology identifies and determines the forces that guide one’s personality, choices, et cetera. Beginning with the famed Rorschach test and moving through scores of other methods psychologists employ, you will become your own psychologist and learn a great deal about this branch of science. For pure fun, there’s Uncle John’s Canoramic Bathroom Reader® ($19.95, Bathroom Reader’s Press, Ashland, OR, softcover) whose 27^th edition tips in at a whopping 544 pages that is a collection of the world’s weirdest and most fascinating facts and stories. It has sold more than 15 million copies since its debut in 1988. Whatever your interests, you will find plenty between its covers to interest you and plenty more as you flip through its pages. This is the ultimate trivia book and one that is also wonderfully education and entertaining at the same time.

I have never had any contact with police that was much more than asking for directions, but what happens when it involves something more serious? What should someone say if a police officer stops to ask a few questions? Why does it take so long for most cases to go to trial? How can one help a relative who has been accused of a crime? If these questions interest you, then pick up a copy of Dan Conaway’s Arrested: Battling America’s Criminal Justice System ($19.95, Bascom Hill Publishing Group, softcover.) As the author makes clear, too many Americans have no idea how dangerous, confusing and frustrating the criminal justice system really is. An attorney for 19 years, he was named one of the Top Ten Attorneys in 2013 by the National Academy of Criminal Defense Attorneys. This one of those books that anyone who might have to deal with the system should read.

December was a month filled with news of Islamist attacks from Australia to Pakistan, all quite senseless. For those who want to learn more about Islam, there’s The Handy Islam Answer Book by John Renard. Ph.D., ($21.95, Visible Ink Press, softcover) a professor of theology and scholar of Islam with more than forty years of research and teaching experience. His book takes a scholar’s approach, not offering moral judgments, but it does offer a vast cross-culture understand of Islam in terms of its history, beliefs, symbols, rituals, art and literature, customs, traditions, and ethnic diversity. It is the world second largest religion and this user-friendly guide will answer most questions that anyone might have. Visible Ink Press has a number of these guides and I have been happy to recommend those devoted to history and to science in the past.

Show Biz

For anyone dreaming of going to Hollywood and making a career in films or television, it would be a good idea to read Hollywood War Stories: How to Survive in the Trenches—A Rule Book by Rick Friedberg with contributions by Dick Chudlow ($14.95, softcover, available at Amazon.com). This is truly an insider’s look at the industry for anyone thinking about working in it creating and producing music, writing comedy, acting, and other elements of “show biz” Hollywood-style. Friedberg is an award-winning writer/director of movies such as “Spy Hard”, television, “CSI-Miami, the Real Housewives of Orange County”, documentaries, music videos, and television commercials you have likely seen during the Super Bowl or World Series. It is filled with “war stories” and lots of very excellent advice on how to navigate the industry, particularly how it functions behind-the-scenes. You will learn the do’s and don’ts of dealing with the frustrations and politics that must be addressed in order to have a lasting career. It is a very entertaining as well as educational book.

Coming in February, Black History Month is Black Broadway: African Americans on the Great White Way by six-time Tony Award winning producer and author, Steward F. Lane. He offers an insider’s look at Broadway in a book filled with more than 300 photos ($39.95, Square One Publishers). For anyone who loves Broadway, this book belongs in their library as Lane puts the spotlight on landmark shows such as A Raisin in the Sun, Porgy and Bess, Dreamgirls, The Wiz and many more who gave us an opportunity to enjoy the talents of Ethel Waters, Pearl Bailey, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Pointier, Sammy Davis Jr, who lighted the stage in plays and musicals by August Wilson, Larraine Hansberry, and other greats of the theatre. All your favorite black performers are to be found in this book about the struggles and triumphs on stage of names of those whose talent has made them legends. The book celebrates the playwrights, songwriters, directors, choreographers and designers who changed the American theatre and around the world. This is great history from minstrel shows to vaudeville, from the jazz age to the golden age of the American musical. This is not just black history, but American history.

Getting Down to Business Books

One of the most entertaining business books is Mitzi Perdue’s book about her husband, Frank Perdue, the man behind the chicken empire. Tough Man, Tender Chicken: Business & Life Lessons from Frank Perdue ($20.00, Significance Press.com) tells how a father and son business, thanks to Frank Perdue’s ethics and ambition, grew into a business employing 19,000 men and women, selling its products in a hundred different countries. For the business school student or future entrepreneur, this book will prove invaluable because it spells out what took young Frank in the 1950s selling chickens in the way the industry had done to the development of a whole new way of reaching out to the consumer. The book offers lessons from the way Perdue conducted his life and his business that are invaluable for success. They start with being honest always, treating everyone with respect and courtesy, and remembering to laugh, have fun, but knowing that hard work can be satisfying and fulfilling. I recommend this book for its timeless lessons and its story of a remarkable man.

More than three million small businesses have decided to go without employer-provided insurance because of the cost. The co-author, Rick Lindquest, of The End of Employer-Provided Health Insurance: Why It’s Good for You, Your Family, and Your company, ($24.00, Wiley) written with Paul Zane Pilzer, says “It no longer makes financial, legal, or social sense for any U.S. employer to continue providing health insurance to its employees.” Since 2000, the percentage of Americans covered by employer-provided health insurance has declined annually. The authors argue that the Affordable Care Act has made it easier and cheaper for most individuals to buy their own insurance and therein lies the flaw to this book. What many have discovered is that the ACA premiums are higher than expected as are its deductibles. It even penalizes companies who fail to sign up if they have a higher than specified number, causing many already to have put employees on a part-time basis and to not employ more. The authors note that some businesses will replace their group policy with a defined contribution plan that offers a stipend to employees to buy health insurance. This book will help the reader understand the problems that the ACA has created, but you would be advised to read “around” it and to understand ObamaCare is at risk of being revised by Congress or even repealed at some point. Nobody seems to like it much.

In a similar fashion Surviving the Medical Meltdown: Your Guide to Living Through the Disaster of Obamacare by Dr. Lee Hieb, MD ($17.95, WMD Books, softcover) is testimony to the fact that government health care anywhere in the world has never been as good as they provided by the free market. This book is a guide to prepare you and your family to prevent and deal with a multitude of medical issues, from finding doctors during a shortage to tips for dealing with everything from rashes to fevers to fractures and chest pain at home. Dr. Heib is a past president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. His book explores what ObamaCare will and won’t cover, which medications you should stockpile, and tips to maintain your health so you won’t need a doctor. If you or your family members are at risk for hereditary illnesses, this is must reading, but it is also must reading in order to prepare for the problems the Affordable Patient Care Act has created.

Due out in February, The Job Pirate by Brandon Christopher ($16.95, Bleeding Heart Publications, softcover) is a funny, irreverent, first-person account of the author’s journey through the American job market that some are calling a workplace “survival guide” for Gen-X and Millennials. Christopher writes of some two dozen “crappy” jobs out of the eighty-two he has worked over the last twenty years. Some are hilarious and some are absurd. He writes with wit and intelligence as he offers a look at the lighter and darker sides of humanity in the workplace. It is a compassionate look at the lives of the many people we encounter anonymously every day. As Christopher says, “Knowing the score is half the battle. Once you realize that this is no longer your Day’s America, it becomes easier to survive it. Much about the employment scene has changed and this book is an excellent introduction to the new realities.

In Leading Women: 20 Influential Women Share Their Secrets to Leadership, Business, and Life ($16.99, Adams Media, softcover) Nancy D. O’Reilly, a clinical psychologist brings her knowledge and experience interviewing successful women for the past seven years to the pages of a book that encourages women to “claim power and respect, conquer your internal barriers, and change the world by helping other women do the same.” This book is a new addition to a genre of similar books intended to help women who enter the male-dominated world of business and to break free of limits that can impose. Studies have shown that companies in which women have risen to be CEOs and on the boards actually do better than those who do not. This book synthesizes the experiences and the advice of women who have achieve success and will no doubt help any woman, especially the younger ones entering the workplace, to find their own success.

Once you have found success and worked hard, the next hurdle to master is retirement. What To Do to Retire Successfully: Navigating Psychological, Financial and Lifestyle Hurdles ($15.95, New Horizon Press, softcover) by Martin B. Goldstein is due out in February. Seventy-seven million baby boomers are slated to retire over the next twenty years, about 10,000 daily, and the author, a physician whose clinical practices specialized in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders, is happily retired and wants you to be as well. Many planning on retiring have been hard hit by the recent economic recession and a very slowly improving economy. The plans they made have been disrupted. Everyone worries that they may not have enough funds to maintain their lifestyle. If that description fits you or someone in your family, this book will likely prove very helpful for them, at any point in their life, to make the right decisions about the rest of it. The budget bill that Congress passed in mid-December has changed the status of pensions, allowing the payout to be altered. If you have such a pension you should look into this because many pensioners are likely to find they will receive less in the years ahead.

Your Mental Health

Life is filled with problems and how we deal with them determines how we can achieve peace of mind. How to Survive: The Extraordinary Resilience of Ordinary People ($14.95, Think Piece Publishing, softcover) by Andy Steiner offers a number of inspiring recovery stories as well as resources to help people get through difficult times. There’s a lot of practical wisdom in this book by a writer with some impressive credits to her name, included Self, Glamour and Fitness, to name just a few publications in which her work has appear. You will learn how the people in the book overcame a massive heart attack, bankruptcy, the death of a spouse, the suicide of a family member, and other challenges. For anyone passing through a comparable situation, this will be a welcome book to read. In a similar way, Overcoming Shock: Healing the Traumatized Mind and Heart by Diane Zimberoff and David Hartman ($15.95, New Horizon Press, softcover) tells us that a serious trauma is experienced by 7.7 million adults nationwide and millions more worldwide annually. It can be a threatening illness, the sudden death of a loved one, or a terrorist act like the Boston Marathon bombing. It causes people to mentally and physically shut down. This book provides proven strategies, techniques and tools for successful treatment and provides real-life stories of people who successfully overcame the debilitating effects and post-traumatic ramifications of shock and trauma. Ms. Zimeroff is a licensed marriage and family therapist and Hartman is a clinical social worker who specializes in trauma resolution.

All of us encounter anxiety in some fashion in our lives and Dr. Margaret Wehrenberg has written The Ten Best Anxiety Busters: Simple Strategies to Take Control of Your Worry ($13.95, W.W. Norton, softcover) that will help the reader address and overcome any one of a wide range of often common fears. From fear of flying to not like being in a confined space like an elevator, whether the anxiety is minor or a more serious panic disorder, the good news is that one can address and overcome it. The author, a doctor of psychology, has provided ten simple techniques that include breathing exercises and relaxation practices, as well as how to effectively talk to yourself, among other ways to rid yourself of anxieties, large and small, that interfere with enjoying your life. And then there’s Guilt, Shame and Anxiety: Understanding and Overcoming Negative Emotions by Dr. Peter R. Breggin ($19.00, Prometheus Books, softcover) who has devoted decades to leading successful efforts to reform the mental health field and promote empathic therapies. His work has provided the foundation for modern criticism of psychiatric drugs and diagnoses. His latest book offers the first unified theory of guilt, shame, and anxiety, showing how these emotions eventually become self-defeating and demoralizing. He guides the reader through the “Three Steps to Emotional Freedom” and for anyone whose life is being diminished by negative emotions, this book will surely open doors to a far better one.

I would particularly recommend Change Your Mind, Change Your Health: 7 Ways to Harness the Power of Your Brain to Achieve True Well-Being by Anne Marie Ludovici, ($15.99, Career Press, softcover) a noted behavioral health consultant. Americans are overwhelmed daily by all kinds of advice on how to avoid heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer, all leading causes of preventable death, but as often as not, they don’t make the changes necessary to ensure good health. The author notes that nearly 80 million Americans are deemed obese or overweight and smokers often take up to seven or more tries to actually stop. Her new book offers proven, evidence-based behavioral tools for “achieving a self-assured and sustainable sense of health and well-being in the face of all obstacles or challenges.” If you are experiencing a struggle to take up good habits and break bad ones, this book will prove very helpful.

If you or someone you know is the parent of a child with autism, Living Autism Day By Day: Daily reflections and Strategies to Give You Hope and Courage ($23.00. Freedom Abound, softcover) by Pamela Bryson-Weaver will provide some valuable insight on how to cope and what to do. The author has three children with special needs. John, her youngest, has autism and Joshua, the oldest, has Tourette’s and ADHD. That set her on a journey from being “just a mom” to becoming an expert on these conditions. Autism, also known as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a multiplex of development disabilities. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated one in fifty children in the U.S. has autism. Her book tells what information and help is available for the services and professionals who provide it, what to believe and dismiss regarding what one will hear about autism, and what types of feelings, emotions, and issue you will deal with on a personal level as a parent or caregiver. The book has received a great deal of praise from professionals and parenting experts.

For the beautiful women in the world, there’s a book especially for them. The Beautiful Woman Syndrome and the Invisible Man by Jake Kelly ($13.35/$14.95, softcover and Kindle, available from Amazon.com) explores his hypothesis that they have more frequent encounters with me because, while they wanted comfort, nurturing and caring, the men wanted sex. “They universally complained of frequent, successive encounters ending with sex and then rejection. They felt it was their fault; that they weren’t loveable; that they always fell for the wrong guy when what they wanted was a good guy. For those women experiencing this syndrome, Kelly has written a book on how to spot a “hit man”, the type who’s only interested in adding one more sexual conquest, how develop the ability to spot this type and avoid the unhappiness that comes with them. The “invisible man” is basically a good guy and there are plenty of them. I have known a few beautiful women in my life and can confirm that this book offers some excellent advice to them.

Kid Stuff

Only received one book for the kids, but it is well worth recommending. It is Birdology: 30 Activities and Observations for Exploring the World of Birds by Monica Russo with photos by Kevin Byron ($15.95, Chicago Review Press, softcover). Aimed at ages 7 and up this older reader found it fascinating. I have no doubt that a grade-schooler would as well thanks to its interesting text, brief and fact-filled on each page, and for its many wonderful full color photos of all manner of species. The activities it suggests are easy enough for any young reader to undertake, but the focus here is on observing the great diversity and beauty that exists among many bird species. It treats the reader with respect and in addition to information about migration, nesting, food, territories, conservation, and other bird facts, it provides “Bird Words”, a useful glossary as well as common and scientific names, plus resources on the Internet that will provide more information for the curious. I would not be surprised that this book produces some ornithologists in the future.

Novels, Novels, Novels

A taunt, fast-moving thriller with a historical context is found in Patricia Gussin’s After the Fall ($26.95, Oceanview Publishing). Laura Nelson’s career as a surgeon has ended due to a tragic accident, but has led to her accepting a position as vice president of research for a large pharmaceutical company. As she works to finalize approval of the company’s groundbreaking new drug, Jake Harter, a malicious Food and Drug Administration employee is working to stop the approval because he is obsessed with Adawia Abdul, the beautiful Iraqi scientist who discovered the drug. He does not want her to have any reason to return home to replace her dying father in Saddam Hussein’s bioweapons program. A number of forces are a work as Hussein’s henchmen apply pressure to assure her return and, if Laura Nelson gets in his way, he will eliminate her as he has her predecessor, and his own wife. The novel has an added sense of reality due to the fact that the author has practiced medical research and been an executive with a leading healthcare company. Her first novel, “Shadow of Death”, was nominated as the best first novel by International Thriller Writers. This sixth novel is bound to attract awards and is the fourth and final novel in her Laura Nelson series.

The Widow Tree by Nicole Lundrigan ($22.95, Douglas & McIntrye, softcover) is set in the 1950’s post-war Yugoslavia and marks a departure from her previous four novels. When three childhood friends find a long-lost stash of Roman coins it precipitates the unraveling of their relationships as they argue over what to do with their new found wealth. Nevena insists it should be turned over to authorities as the coins belong to the country. Janos wants to keep them and Dorjan walks the line between the two. The decision to conceal their discovery turns disastrous when Janos disappears. This is a compelling, richly layered story of silent betrayals in a tightly knit village where the post-war air is simultaneously flush with hope and weighted with suspicion. Amidst an intricate web of cultural tensions, government control, family bonds and past mistakes, the truth behind many closely held secrets is revealed with life-altering consequences. The author is a masterful storyteller and this one is more than a notch above most novels. World War Two serves as the backdrop for Sprouting Wings by Henry Faulkner ($17.99, Two Harbors, softcover) in which Alan Ericsson begins his journey to become a Navy pilot prior to the U.S. getting into the war. The novel expertly weaves together adventure, love, and historical fact to take the reader back to those days in the early 1940s as it showcases the difficulties of daily life for American military men and women. This is the first of a series of five novels that will follow the protagonist from rookie pilot to a respected member of a squadron. Another perspective will be seen in Alan’s wife, Jennifer, who works for the Office of Naval Intelligence and transfers to Pearl Harbor in August 1941. It would be attacked in December. For anyone wondering what life was like in those days and who also enjoys reading about aviation, this novel will prove a treat.

If You Needed Me by Lee Lowrey ($22.94, iUniverse, hardcover, $14.98 softcover and $3.99 Kindle) is a compelling narrative of loss, loyalty and love drawn from the real life of Ms. Lowry. When Jenny Longworth offers aid and comfort to her former college sweetheart David Perry who had recently lost his French wife to cancer, their youthful passion is reignited, creating a gauntlet of social and moral conflicts arising from the disapproval of friends and family when she uproots her life in Boston and moves to Europe to console David while he attempts to put his life back together. Most of his friends welcome her but some view her with hostility. And David’s children, Mark and Delphine, react to Jenny’s presence with confusion and ambivalence. It should not surprise the reader to learn that Lee Lowrey gave up a successful career in Boston and moved to Europe to help an ex-lover cope with his grief becoming in time an expatriate, second wife, and step-parent.

For those who enjoy a psychological thriller, they will find one in The Blue Journal by L.T. Graham ($15.95, Seventh Street Books, softcover). When one of Randi Conway’s psychotherapy patients is found dead of a gunshot wound, the investigation is turned over to Lieutenant Anthony Walker, a former New York City cop now serving on the police force of an affluent community in Fairfield County, Connecticut. He lives among the privileged gentry, but knows from experience that appearance often hide reality. This is certainly true of Elizabeth Knoebel. When Walker finds her private journal entitled “Sexual Rites” it is clear she has been recording the explicit details of her sexual adventures with various men, many of whom are married to the women in her therapy group. She was a sexual predator and Walker believes that the killer is another of Randi Conway’s patients. You will find it hard to put this novel down. L.T. Graham is the pen name of a New England-based suspense writer who is the author of several novels and readers will look forward to the next one featuring Detective Anthony Walker.

Michael McCarthy is widely read in conservative circles and has authored a novel, The Rainbow Option ($13.50, 30 Cubits Press, softcover) a sequel to “The Noah Option” both of which look to a very different, future America when people struggle to survive under a flood of government oppression. It is a nation in which gangs stalk the streets and are ruled by petty tyrants. If that seems to come out of recent headlines of gangs of people shouting “Kill the Police” then you have a sense of the future in McCarthy’s second novel when economic collapse and tyranny is everywhere. The novel features software genius Isaiah Mercury and a brilliant botanist Grace Washington who lead the underground resistance people by those who have fled to refuges called “Arks” after Noah’s Ark. When the government unleashes a deadly virus against its own citizens, Grace and Isaiah race to develop a cure before millions die. It is a fast-paced tale that will hold your attention and make you think about the future.

That’s it for January! Tell your book-loving family, friends and coworkers about Bookviews.com, a report that tells you about books you may not read about anywhere else, but are sure to enjoy depending on your interests.

By Alan Caruba

My Picks of the Month

While we read and hear about the latest barbaric assault on humanity perpetrated by Islamic fanatics, the search for answers as to why they are doing this continues. In present times, the upsurge of those pursuing a holy war or jihad is traced to Iran’s Islamic revolution that began in 1979. After that it took off in the form of al Qaeda, but why so many Muslims have turned to violence to impose Islam is widely debated. One answer will surprise you and comes from Sarah Chayes the author of Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security ($26.95, W.W. Norton). A foreign policy expert with ten years’ experience in Afghanistan, Chayes examines the ancient and widespread role of corruption that, with regard to many nations in the Middle East and African Maghreb has led to the “Arab Spring” in which the populations of Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt drove their dictators from power. Chayes makes a case that the looting of the public treasure and often the ostentatious lifestyle of the dictators or members of their families finally convinced those in their nations to rise up against them. Americans do not live in a nation where virtually every interface with a government employee or with the police requires a bribe, but that has been the life of millions in oil-rich or developing nations. It also explains why American “nation building” in Iraq and Afghanistan has failed because corruption is still so deeply rooted in their governments. It is a widespread evil and much of what we are seeing worldwide—the latest example is Ukraine—is tied to the growing rejection of it.

In 2012 I reviewed Edmund Contoski’s The Impending Monetary Revolution, the Dollar and Gold ($28.95, American Liberty Publishers, softcover) and thought it was one of the best books explaining how the U.S. got into the 2008 financial crisis, why it could occur again, and why current financial practices are endangering the nation with a huge $18 trillion debt. I am happy to report that its second edition is available and is even more relevant in terms of the past three years. Contoski has not only the knowledge, but the talent to write about the dangerous global and national conditions that exist in a way that anyone can understand. You will, for example, wonder why the U.S. retains Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two mortgage corporations that are not government agencies, but that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis and which Congress bailed out with billions, just as they did with General Motors. At the heart of our problems is the government’s unrestrained spending. “No nation every spent itself into prosperity”, says Contoski, and “Greater borrowing is no solution for either Europe or America. Governments can borrow and create debt, but they cannot create wealth. If they could, inflation would be unnecessary. So would taxation.” If you are concerned about the current economy and want to know how to protect yourself against the future, this is a book you must read.

For anyone who loves to read about travel, you’re in for a treat when you read Jamie Maslin’s new book, The Long Hitch Home ($24.95, Skyhorse Publishing). I became aware of Maslin when I read his first book, “Iranian Rappers and Persian Porn”, and it provided a very different look at Iranians than we get in the newspapers. They like to have fun too. Maslin likes to travel and if that includes getting into some potentially dangerous situations, that’s okay with him. So, when he decided to travel to London by way of hitchhiking from his home in Australia’s Tasmania, he had to know he was in for an unusual trip. In fact, it required 800 hitchhiking rides, 18,000 miles, four seasons, three continents, and 19 countries. This book takes you along and is a very entertaining trip filled with insights and information you could not acquire in any other fashion.

ZestBooks’ editors have a talent for publishing offbeat and always interesting books that break through the usual formats and themes. A recent example is Members Only: Secret Societies, Sects, and Cults—Exposed! by Julie Tibbott ($14.99, softcover). In a lively, entertaining text she explains the appeal of exclusive memberships and examines the histories and practices of fifty groups such as the Knights Templar of old, Yale’s Skull and Bones Society, and the Illuminati which got its start in 1776 and is believed to be devoted to taking over the world. It is, however, unknown whether or not it still exists! It was a secret society of European intellectuals in the Enlightenment era. The odds are strong that, as its members died, so did the secret society. The various groups she writes about will keep you turning the pages as you learn about those who joined them and why, inevitably, they fizzled out or came to a bad end like Jim Jones cult that committed suicide.

My career as a writer began with weekly newspapers, then dailies, and then as a freelancer for many magazines, so I or anyone who has ever worked with a magazine can be forgiven for having an interest in Stuart Englert’s Sold Out: How an American Magazine Lost Its Soul ($13.94, available from Amazon.com, softcover and Kindle). He tells the story of “American Profile” a newspaper insert similar to “Parade”, but aimed at an audience in “flyover America”, people living in rural communities between the coasts; people whose values differ in that they favor small town life, church-going, and fundamental American traditions, focusing on being of service to their neighbors and communities. That was the original editorial focus of “American Profile” as conceived by L. Daniel Hammond. It was offered to small town dailies and gained up to ten million readers rather quickly, but to get it started he had to turn to Wall Street investors more interested in its quick success as a reason to sell it. To sustain it financially its advertising staff soon took over its editorial content in order to sell ads to big brands such as cigarette manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies. From an editorial success story to something far less than its origins is told by Englert who was with the publication as an editor for 14 years. His book is a case history of what happens when good editorial standards are sacrificed for fast dollars. “American Profile”, however, is still being published.

I have never played golf, but I know a good book about the game when I see it. That was my reaction to Kalliope Barlis’s Play Golf Better Faster: The Classic Guide to Optimizing Your Performance and Building Your Best Fast ($19.95, softcover, purchase at www.PlayGolfBetterFaster.com as well as Amazon.com, Kindle, and other outlets.) The author took up golf in her twenties and in a remarkably short time, she became a professional golfer. These days she tours the country as a golf improvement specialist addressing groups of people who share her love of the game. There is a huge mass of information about golf and what impressed me about this book is the way it focused on the fundamentals while providing excellent advice why the game is about much more than the equipment it requires. She reveals both the mental and the physical elements that will lift the golfer to a higher level, from the novice to the experienced player.

Reading History

The fascination with the American Civil War has generated many books and there’s always room for one more, especially if it is as good as Crucible of Command: Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee – The War They Fought, the Peace They Forged by William C. Davis ($32.50, Da Capo Press). It is a hefty volume of 629 pages that looks at both men simultaneously, removing the myths surrounding them to present them as complex men with very different, but strikingly similar, personal and professional lives. Davis is one of the nation’s top Civil War histories, having authored or edited more than fifty books. He is a three-time winner of the Jefferson Davis Award. The reader gets to follow Grant and Lee through their four meetings over their lives from the Mexican-American war when they were on the same side to Lee’s surrender on behalf of the Confederacy. Both men died at the age of 63. Davis concludes that as leaders, decision makers, and soldiers they were virtually indistinguishable. The book’s focus is less on the incidents of their lives than on their moral and ethical worlds, what they felt and believed and why. In this respect the book fills an important role for those who find the Civil War of interest.

The era that preceded the Civil War is addressed by Eric Foner in his new book, Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad ($26.95, W.W. Norton). James Oakes, an author and winner of the Lincoln Prize, says of this book that it “liberates the history of the underground railroad from the twin plagues of mythology and cynicism. The big picture is here, along with telling details from previously untapped sources.” Between 1830 and 1860, operatives of the underground railroad in New York helped more than 3,000 fugitive slaves reach freedom. Their defiance of the disastrous Fugitive Slave law inflamed the slave states and contributed to their decision to secede. It is hard for us to conceive of what it meant to live in those times, but this book brings them to life.

Most certainly Theodore Roosevelt became an almost mythic figure, but Harry Lembeck tells us of an aspect of his presidency of which most may not have heard. Taking on Theodore Roosevelt: How One Senator Defied the President on Brownsville and Shook American Politics ($27.00, Prometheus Books). In August 1906, black soldiers stationed in Brownsville, Texas, were accused of going on a lawless rampage in which shots were fired, one man was killed, and another wounded. Because the perpetrators could never be positively identified, President Roosevelt took the highly unusual step of discharging without honor all 167 members of the black battalion on duty the night of the shooting. Lembeck tells the story which begins at the end when Sen. Joseph Foraker was honored by the black community in Washington, D.C., for his efforts to reverse Roosevelt’s decision. At that time racism was widespread in America, making Sen. Foraker’s effort to reverse Roosevelt’s decision even more courageous. Sixty-seven years after the event, President Richard Nixon finally undid Roosevelt’s action by honorably discharging the men of the Brownsville Battalion.

The internment of Americans born of Japanese, German and Italian ancestry during World War II was a dark chapter in our history. Just how ugly it was is captured by Jan Jarboe Russell in The Train to Crystal City ($30.00, Scribners) which tells the story of an internment camp in Crystal City, Texas where immigrants and their American-born children were sent without ever being charged with a crime. It was the only family internment camp during the war and it was the center of a government prisoner exchange program during which hundreds of prisoners, including their children, were sent back to the nations from which they had emigrated for Americans deemed more important in exchange for imprisoned diplomats, businessmen, soldiers, physicians, and missionaries. This is a tragic story but Russell notes that the Texas Rangers ran the camp with compassion and the inmates created churches, schools, and other amenities. The story of Crystal City is the story of the hysteria that followed the attack on Pearl Harbor and Germany’s subsequent declaration of war on America. Those were bad times made worse by bad decisions that ignored the very reason immigrants had come here, freedom. You’ll read this book and wonder how it happened, but it did happen.

Further back in history, we visit England in 1649 when members of its parliament and others became so frustrated with King Charles I that they did the unthinkable; they beheaded him. He had been king since 1625, ruling over England, Scotland and Ireland. He was completely devoted to the concept of the divine right of kings; the belief that he was king by appointment from God. He was also arrogant and corrupt, living the high life at the expense of his noble class and the peasants. After seven bloody years of a war against Spain and Europe’s Catholic powers that had caused much suffering, a tribunal of 135 men was hastily gathered in London. Charles refused to acknowledge it and they decided to behead him. His son, Charles II was restored to the throne and, instead of learning anything from the execution, he set on retribution. This set in motion the concept of a constitutional monarchy with limited powers that exists to this day. You can read all about this incendiary moment in history in Charles Spencer’s Killers of the King: The Men Who Dared to Execute Charles I ($34.95, Bloomsbury Press). It is testimony to why fact is always superior to fiction because it so often defies the imagination.

Bios and Memoirs

Hugh O’Brian was one of those actors I grew up seeing in movie and on television. For many he is best known for starring in the TV series, “Wyatt Earp.” When I read Hugh O’Brian, or What’s Left of Him, his memoir written with his wife, Virginia, ($14.00, Book Publishers Network, softcover, available from Amazon.com) I discovered a remarkable man. Published on the eve of his 89^th birthday, it has forewords by Hugh Hefner and Debbie Reynolds. She tells a delightful story of how he taught her to kiss. She was raised in a very strict family and had never even held hands with a boy. They went on to become good friends. O’Brian tells stories of his life in the Marines, of changing his name from Krampe to O’Brian because nobody seemed to know how to pronounce or spell it. He led what appears to have been a life filled with being in the right place at the right time. It didn’t hurt that he was incredibly good looking. Along the way he met people from Marilyn Monroe to Albert Schweitzer; the latter inspired him to create the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership to encourage community service. His work on this project would put him in contact with Presidents Nixon, Clinton and Bush over the years. If you think of him solely as an actor, his memoir reveals how much more he was and did in his life. It is well worth reading.

Many years ago I did public relations for Actors Equity and had the pleasure of meeting many of the leading actors and actresses of the time. Among them was Theodore Bikel who was president of the union at the time. He has had such a remarkable life that it is good news that a new edition of Theo: An Autobiography ($21.48, softcover, available at Amazon.com) has been published. It’s a celebration of Bikel's ninth decade, in which he looks back at his life as an activist for civil rights and progressive causes worldwide, and a singer whose voice has won him great applause. A compelling life story, it practically requires a passport to read, Bikel was born in Austria, raised in Palestine, educated in England, and has had a stellar career in the United States and around the world. His personal history ran parallel to momentous events of the twentieth century. In an eloquent, fiercely committed voice, he writes of the Third Reich, the birth of the state of Israel, the McCarthy witch-hunts of the 1950s, the tumultuous 1960s in America, and events in the Middle East. He is perhaps best known for playing the role pf Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof” on Broadway, but he also created the role of Captain von Trapp in “The Sound of Music”. He has had more than 150 screen roles and many others on television and has recorded 37 albums over the years.

To Your Health

Due out officially in March, The Handy Nutrition Answer Book by Patricia Barnes-Svarney and Thomas E. Svarney ($21.95, Visible Ink Press, softcover) will answer your questions about what foods are good sources of vitamins, minerals, and proteins, as well as fats—some are good and some are not. This book is filled with information that brings the complexity of food and healthy nutrition together as it answers nearly 900 common questions such as how are calories measured and why is high fructose corn syrup so controversial? What’s the best way to cook vegetables to keep their nutrients from being destroyed? And what does the word “natural” really mean on the label? The authors—Patricia is a science writer and Thomas is a scientist—are very skilled and have previously written “The Handy Biology Answer Book” and others. Indeed, I would recommend you visit www.handyanswers.com to check out the many excellent books filled with answers about history, science, and most recently, about Islam.

There are books being written about gluten, a substance that causes gastrointestinal problems because some people have an intolerance for it. It is the basis for celiac disease. Found in wheat, it varies in flours such as rye and barley. By far the largest book I have seen to date is The Gluten Free Revolution by Jax Peters Lowell ($28.00, Henry Holt and Company, softcover) that is 632 pages in length. The book’s subtitle says it is about “Absolutely everything you need to know about losing the wheat, reclaiming your health, and eating happily ever after.”

The author was diagnosed as suffering from celiac for more than twenty years before it was traced to eating wheat-based foods. Thereafter she devoted herself to bringing national attention to why a gluten-free diet would spare others allergic to gluten. For anyone diagnosed as gluten-intolerant, this encyclopedic book has every answer to every question you might have.

My Mother was an internationally honored authority on wine and I grew up enjoying it with the gourmet dinners she prepared. Wine has many health benefits. I came to know people who produced wine and they are a special group devoted to one of the oldest skills, dating back to biblical times and earlier. Natalie Berkowitz is a wine, food and lifestyle writer who has been published in leading publications such as The New York Times, Vogue, and of course the Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator. She has even taught a wine appreciation course to seniors at Barnard and Columbia University for more than a decade. She has written The Winemaker’s Hand: Conversations on Talent, Technique, and Terroir ($27.95, Columbia University Press) and I guarantee you, if you love wine, you will love this book. Indeed, even a beginner just learning about the joys and benefits of wine will enjoy it. She has interviewed more than forty of the top viticulture maestros from all over the world with the result that the readers get to learn about the wine-making process which is both an art and a science, from harvest to bottling. To fully enjoy wine there is much more than just drinking it. It has a history, it has a location, it has various distinctions in terms of the grapes from which it is made to the special qualities it will possess. “Terroir” by the way is a French word for “land” and how geography and climate interact with plant genetics. It refers to the way wines are influenced by where they are grown, the soil in which they are planted. After you read this engrossing and entertaining book, your next stop will be to purchase a bottle or two of wine.

Kid Stuff

For the younger crowd, age 4 and up, there’s an inspiring story, Sadie’s Big Steal by Marla McKenna, ($10.99, Tate Publishing, softcover) a sequel to “Mom’s Big Catch” as told by Sadie, the family dog who loves to catch balls and tells of her plan to steal a major league baseball that Mom had caught at a game. She wants to share playing with it with her other dog friends. Along the way, though, she realizes that it would be wrong to do that and she realizes, too, that she wants to help a new dog in the neighborhood find a home with the help of the local shelter. It’s the kind of story that teaches some valuable lessons about respecting and helping others. I would recommend it to any parent that wants to share those lessons.

There's a lot of fun to be had reading The Teacher Who Would Not Retire Loses Her Ballet Slippers by Sheila and Letty Sustrin, wonderfuly illustrated by Thomas H. Bone III ($17.95, Blue Marlin Publications). Written by identical twins and retired teachers, this is a fifth in the series about "The Teacher Who Would Not Retire" aimed at readers aged 5 and up. When she cleaned a number of slippers and put them out to dry, they disappeared. The rest is a hilarious account of the effort to find them and all the people who joined in to help. The culprit is a cat, but when they disappear again you will be delighted by the way it ends.

For the pre-teen and teenager there’s Psi Another Day by D. R. Rosensteel ($9.99, Entangled Publishing, softcover) that features Rinnie Noelie, a girl with a keen fashion sense, a secret identify, and fierce fighting skills. By night she is a Psi Fighter battling the Walpurgis Knights, lethal villains who brutalize her city. By day she’s a high school student and that can be just as frightening because the school is one in which bullying is a part of everyday activities. She wants to use her fighting skills to protect her outcast friends from the school bullies known as the Red Team, but that might reveal the secret of her true identity and place her in mortal danger from the Knights. I am pleased to report that the book lacks the foul language one finds in too many young adult books these days. It’s anti-drug and anti-bullying message would resonate with any young reader. This is an exceptionally well-written book and the good news is that it is the first in a three-book series.

A book written to inspire younger readers is The Hero's Trail by T.A. Barron ($8.99, Puffin Books, softcover). Aimed at those age 8 and up, it is filled with profiles of young heroes who displayed courage, hope, generosity, compassion and perseverance. The book is a reflection of the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, an award that honors them and the author's mother. Over the years, close to $550,000 has been awarded to nearly 350 children and the book features 71 of them. If Barron's name strike a chord, it is because he is the author of the "Merlin Series" which has sold millions of copies worldwide. This would make a great gift for any young person.

Novels, Novels, Novels

A number of novels offer a variety of reading experiences with their themes and one that is sure to grab your attention is The Never-Open Desert Diner by James Anderson ($25.00, Caravel Books) set in the merciless and magnificent high desert of Southwestern Utah. This is Anderson’s debut novel, but he has had short fiction published that earned praise. In this novel, Ben Jones is on the verge of losing his small trucking company. A single, 38 year old truck driver, his route takes him back and forth across one of the most desolate regions, providing daily deliveries that bring him into contact with an eccentric cast of character that include an itinerant preacher who drags a life-sized cross along the blazing roadside, the Lacey brothers who live in boxcars mounted on cinderblocks, and Ginny, a pregnant and homeless punk teenager whose survival skills make her an unlikely heroine. Ben is drawn into a love affair with Claire, who plays a cello in the model home of an abandoned housing development and her appearance reignites a decades-old tragedy at a roadside café referred to by the locals as the “never-open desert diner.” The owner is an embittered and solitary old man who refuses to yield to change after his wife’s death. The diner was the scene of a horrific crime that was committed forty years earlier and now threatens to destroy the lives of those left in its wake. Sound interesting? It is!

Shady Cross by James Hankins ($14.95 and $9.95 ebook, Thomas & Mercer, softcover) introduces us to a small-time thief named Stokes who is not a good guy which is why he is not particularly upset when he accidently runs a car off the road, killing the driver. About to flee the scene, he spots a backpack near the car that has a pile of cash in it, enough to pay off his debts and let him leave town and start a new life. The bag, though, also contains a ringing cell phone and when he answers it turns out to be a little girl in distress. “Daddy? Are you coming to get me?” asks the girl. Stokes must decide whether to keep the money or use it to save the child’s life. Hankins has three bestselling thrillers to his credit and this one will keep you turning the pages to see what Stokes will do. In Andy Siegel’s Cookie’s Case: A Tug Wyler Mystery ($14.99, Mysterious Press, softcover) the author who in real life is a personal injury and medical malpractice attorney in New York, transmutes his experience into the second novel based on the character of Tug Wyler who is also an attorney. His first novel, “Suzy’s Case” was selected as a Poisoned Pen Bookstore Best Debut Novel and a Suspense Magazine Best Book of 2012. In this latest novel you will understand why Tug decides that Cookie is the victim of a spine surgeon and wants to secure a medical remedy and a fair shake for her. Cookie is the most popular performer at Jingles Dance Bonanza and she has a devoted audience even though she must wear a neck brace. Will justice triumph? You will have to read this novel to find out.

It’s a good thing to have been born and raised in Nebraska if you are going to write Secrets of the Porch ($17.99, Tate Publishing, softcover) which is set there. Sue Ann Sellon has written an inspirational, coming of age romance featuring 16 year old Sophie Mae Randolph who has been adrift since her mother died of cancer. To get away from abusive foster parents she hits the streets and together with a boy named Gabe gets arrested for robbing a gas station. The judge lets her avoid juvenile detention when she agrees to spend a year in Nebraska on her grandmother’s farm. She has never met grandma Lila but their relationship develops and she realizes that they both have their secrets. She finds a boyfriend named Blake and everything is fine until Gabe shows up. Kirkus reviews called this one “a sweet, smart story about growing up and learning to trust.” I couldn’t have said it better.

Perhaps the most unusual novel I have seen in a long time is Five Days: Which Days Would You Choose? by Matt Micros ($9.18, Micropulous Press, available at Amazon.com.) When 40-year-old Mike Postman rescues a drowning boy he allows himself to drown. Since he died a hero the angel Gabriel gives him a gift of choosing five days that he can relive. The book raises questions about life and death, suicide and the afterlife while raising questions about which five days you might relive if given the opportunity. Definitely offbeat, but it will appeal to some.

That’s it for February. Tell your family, friends and coworkers who love to read about Bookviews.com and come back in March for more news about interesting non-fiction and fiction books you may not read about anywhere else.

By Alan Caruba

My Picks of the Month

If you have been trying to understand what is going on in the Middle East and the Maghreb (northern African) nations of Tunisia and Libya, among others in the wake of the “Arab Spring” that occurred in 2011, then you must read Walid Phares’ excellent analysis, The Lost Spring: U.S. Policy in the Middle East and Catastrophes to Avoid ($27.00, Palgrave Macmillan). Phares is an expert on the Middle East, terrorism, and Islam. He is a frequent guest on news programs and an advisor to members of Congress and the European Parliament. Like the mythical Casandra who could predict the future, but who no one believed, Phares predicted that a younger, technologically connected generation, along with secular Muslims, were reaching a point where they would no longer accept the oppression of the region’s despots. The “Arab Spring” was ignited in Tunisia, but spread rapidly to Egypt, Libya, and Syria. He documents how, in each case, the Muslim Brotherhood waited for the demands, often of millions of citizens as occurred in Egypt, brought about the removal of men who had ruled for decades. Then, as a well-organized force, took over the revolutions and sought to exert their Islamism, Sharia law, and the same controls against which the people had revolted. What also emerges is the fact that the U.S. sided with the Muslim Brotherhood against the will of the people. Other U.S. policies failures followed, as in the case of Syria. This is the best book you will read about what occurred, why, and what the future may hold.

If you are of a political frame of mind, you may want to pick up a copy of The Benghazi Report ($12.95, Skyhorse Publishing) that was produced by the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. With an introduction by Roger Stone, a consultant who played a role in the election of Republican presidents from Nixon to George H.W. Bush. “The revelation that the U.S. government has made an affirmative choice not to bring the killers of four Americans to justice is disturbing and unconscionable,” says Stone and many agree. As the event recedes in time and memory, the short report contains the relevant facts. One caveat; Hillary Clinton’s role in the events is never mentioned, nor is she named at any point in the report. In late April we learned that the White House told a complete falsehood, discounting the fact that it was a terrorist attack, calling it spontaneous, and blaming it on a video.

Those who favor conservative politics will thoroughly enjoy Guardian of the Republic by former Congressman, Allen West ($26.00, Crown Forum), a memoir that is also a presentation of the personal views and values that shaped a life devoted to faith, family, and freedom. West earned two master’s degrees, one from Kansas State University in political science and the second from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in military arts and sciences.

He is a natural born teacher and his book is valuable for its chapters about conservative political thought; its origins and application. An African-American, he rose through the ranks of the U.S. Army to Lt. Colonel, serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan. While much of the African-American community shares a liberal political philosophy, West found purpose and value in conservatism and it took him to a term in Congress as a Representative from Florida. Along the way his experiences and beliefs deepened his views. He is likely to have a real impact on American politics in the years ahead.

James Madison was our fourth President, but other than being mentioned among our nation’s Founders, he tends to take a back seat to Washington and Jefferson in the minds of most people, if indeed they even know he exist. Dr. Lynn Cheney, PhD, a noted scholar, a member of the Commission on the Bicentennial and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, has gifted us with an extraordinary biography, James Madison: A Life Reconsidered ($36.00, Viking).

Madison, though younger than most of the Founders, was recognized by all of them and others with whom he dealt as an extremely gifted intellect. He is generally credited with much of content of the Constitution, most certainly its Bill of Rights. In his day, the idea of a large republic composed of the people’s representatives initially was greeted with skepticism, but he pushed for a strong, but limited federal government to replace the failed Articles of Confederation and respond to the ways the colonies were printing their own money and engaging in practices that harmed other colonies. Dr. Cheney brings him to life, not only with the facts, but with an engaging, entertaining text that provides valuable insights to the times in which he lived. Put this book on your list for summer reading. You will be glad you did.

I have always enjoyed books based on a clever idea and that describes Mario Giordano’s 1,000 Feelings for Which There are No Names ($16.00, Penguin Books, softcover). He has captured those moments that we react to emotionally without necessarily being aware of it. They are moments from our lives such as the hesitation before sending an important email and the happiness of fulfilling one of your mother’s lifelong dreams. It’s the kind of book you can open at random although it does have sections of sorts. This is the kind of book you keep around to remind you of life’s many pleasures and fears. We all share them. For the sheer pleasure of reading good writing that spans a wide variety of his experiences, I recommend Christopher Buckley’s But Enough About You, ($27.50, Simon and Schuster), a series of essays, by an esteemed humorist, traveler, and an irreverent historian. He is extremely gifted and as one goes from essay to essay, one is treated to reading his insights, friends such as authors Joseph Heller and Christopher Hitchens, dinner at the Reagan White House, flying a Cessna through Alaskan mountains, working aboard a freighter, gardening, and other topics galore. One is both entertained and enlightened in so many ways that reading Buckley, for aspiring writers, is a lesson in how to observe life and write about it in a superb fashion.

Readers are often aspiring writers and, if you have to write as part of your job, you will benefit from How to Write Anything: A Complete Guide by Laura Brown ($35.00, W.W. Norton). It lives up to its title as it teaches how to organize, draft and revise what you write and gets into the differences between academic writing, how to write instructions, and expository writing. Everything from a business letter to a memo, an apology to a speech is discussed. There are rules and there are options. You can learn about all of them in this definitive book on the subject. More and more these days, people are choosing to write memoirs and, for them, there’s Roberta Temes’ How to Write a Memoir in 30 Days ($14.99, Readers Digest, softcover). It offers step-by-step instructions for creating and publishing your personal story. Janell Burley Hofman has authored iRules: What Every Tech-Healthy Family Needs to Know About Selfies, Sexting, Gaming, and Growing Up ($17.99, Rodale, softcover), a particularly useful book for parents who want to teach their sons and daughters about the boundaries and expectations of how to use the many communications technologies that are available to the younger set. It is well worth reading to keep one’s children how to deal with cyber-bullying, and aspects of their lives that should not be instantly shared online and in cyber-space.

In a month, a lot of young Americans will be graduating from high school. They are doing so in some very bad economic times that add to the uncertainties that come with the transition. For high school students, figuring out what to do after graduation can be a major question because there are many options. That’s why Undecided: Navigating Life and Learning After School by Genevieve Morgan ($14.99, Zest Books, distributed by Houghton Mifflin, softcover) is just the right book to give a young man or woman at this point in their lives. It helps by putting the decision-making power back where it belongs, with the teens themselves, while exploring the options that are available whether it be a training program, a community college, the military or a four-year university. It provides an in-depth look at what they can expect to earn, what kind of lifestyle to expect, and possible downsides of different scenarios. Being undecided is what being human is all about. Providing a helping hand is a great gift.

Memoirs, Biographies

My youth happily included the movies that starred Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. When the first volume of The Touch of Roy and Dale I was very pleased to read it and revisit those days. A second volume is out and includes many new photos, some 600, along with an excellent text by Tricia Spencer ($21.95, West Quest). In volume II the author draws on 40,000 pieces of fan mail from the Rogers estate, plus new perspective from Roy and Dale’s grandchildren, along with the thoughts of those close to them during their long career. A portion of the sales will go to their Happy Trails Children’s Foundation. They touched the lives of thousands and had a huge fan base. How nice to read about two celebrities whose lives were not touched by the often tawdry things we read about the generation that followed them.

Almost fifty years after its release, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” is thirty-fourth on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Best Songs of All Time and remains Broadcast Music Inc’s most played song of the twentieth century. It was sung by the Rightous Brothers, Bill Medley and the late Bobby Hatfield. Together they left an indelible impression on the music theirs and succeeding generation loved. Medley has penned The Time of My Life: A Rightous Brother’s Memoir ($26.99, Da Capo Press) and fans of their music will thoroughly enjoy his account of growing up as the son of musicians in Orange County, California, where he recorded his first solo songs on two tape recorders in his living room. His first paying gig was with a four-piece group, The Paramours, where he met his future partner, Bobby. Together they enjoy enormous success, making more money that two men who were “young, dumb, and full of rum” to know what to do with. They were performing with groups like the Beatles and Rolling Stones, as well as Elvis Presley. After they split up, Medley went onto a successful solo career, but his life was not without tragedy as he tells in the heartbreaking account of his first wife’s brutal and unsolved murder, and his struggle to raise their son Darrin as a single parent. His second marriage is in its 27^th year. The memoir is enhanced by a foreword by Billy Joel. Medley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 and continues to tour and perform.

War always generates memoirs and a particularly moving one is by the late Max Gendelman, A Tale of Two Soldiers, ($14.95, Two Harbors Press, softcover) and begins on December 18, 1944 when the then 12-year-old soldier was captured by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge. A Jew, he had more reason to fear for his life than other prisoners. While imprisoned, though, he met Karl Kirschner, a lieutenant in the German Luftwaffe. It turned out that both had a passion for chess and, in time, they decided that both, captor and prisoner, would escape the prison camp! Their friendship would last sixty years and transcended the bigotry of the times they shared. It is a story of courage, faith, and honor. Gendelman returned home, married and started a family and a successful business. In 1952 he helped his friend come to the United States. He died in June 2012 and was buried with military honors.

One of the most dramatic incidents of World War II was the torpedoing of the USS Indianapolis on July 30, 1945 as it made its way to a small island in the South Pacific, sailing unescorted after delivering uranium to be used in the first atomic bombs. Told that the waters were safe, Edgar Harrell and several other Marines were sacked out on deck when six torpedoes sank the ship, leaving him and other survivors in the ocean for five horrifying days, until those not killed by sharks, were picked up. The story of his courage, ingenuity and faith is told in Out of the Depths ($16.99, Bethany House Publishers). Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas and TV personality, said, “There aren’t too many times when the word ‘hero’ is appropriately used. Heroes are people who do extraordinary things and in the service of others, Edgar Harrell is a true American hero.” One of the tragedies of World War II was the refusal of the U.S. government that on May 13, 1939 that denied entry to the MS St. Louis, sailing from Hamburg, Germany, and filled with Jews seeking to escape the Nazi government. Among those on board were the grandfather and uncle of Martin Goldsmith and they and the other passengers were returned to Europe where many were sent to concentration camps where they died. In Alex’s Wake, ($25.99, Da Capo Press), he details his six-week quest to retrace their journey to assuage the guilt he carried for living happily in America despite his family’s tormented history. The book is more than just his and his family’s, but one that many experienced, including Germans who regretted the horror the Nazis inflicted on Jews and others. It is 75 years since that event and a reminder that America only entered World War II after being attacked by Japan. The Nazis were defeated, but not before they killed millions, among whom were the victims on the MS St. Louis.

A memoir by the mother of Tim Burroway, Losing Tim, ($14.95, Think Piece Publishing, softcover) is dedicated to him, “Captain, Ranger, Paratrooper, husband, father, hunter contractor for humanitarian mine removal in Iraq, Republican, romantic, idealist, perfectionist, gun nut, my first born, my baby.” After serving in the U.S. Army, Tim became a private contractor, essentially undertaking the same jobs as those in service, but without many of the benefits. How big a role do they play? A large number of those serving the nation in Afghanistan are private contractors, but according to a recent RAND survey, many return home with mental health issues at a higher rate than the soldiers and there are 22 suicides a day in the veteran population. Janet Burroway has authored fifteen books for adults and three for children. The journey that Tim took was one from a defender of America to one deeply disappointed by both the origin and outcome of the war in Iraq to depose Saddam Hussein. As she notes, one in three returns from our war zones with a mental disorder and the life Tim imagined and then lived was filled with disappointment despite his commitment to it. Some lives are just filled with too much tragedy, but Tim was fortunate to have a mother who could relate the facts of his life.

Minding the Mind

The power of our minds and the way it exerts that power over our lives always makes for interesting reading and, in many cases, useful insight.

One of the problems that have increasingly come to public attention has been autism, an affliction that parents notice early on. The diagnosis often is devastating, but Autism Breakthrough: The Groundbreaking Method that Has Helped Families All Over the World by Raun K. Kaufman ($25.99, St. Martin’s Press) will come as very good news for those families dealing with it. Kaufman is the director of global education for the Autism Treatment Center of America. He is living proof autism can be treated and overcome. He shares the groundbreaking principles and strategies that helped him and offers new hope through a scientifically proven roadmap that helps autistic children overcome it. His parents literally turned all the recommended cures on their head and chose to work with him instead of against the symptoms he displayed, building a bridge to his world. The book is an accessible, step-by-step guide.

For those who like to explore the scientific side of things, there’s Mental Biology: The New Science of How the Brain and Mind Relate by W.R. Klemm ($19.95, Prometheus Books, softcover.) The author focuses on how the mind emerges from nerve-impulse patterns in the densely-packed neural circuits that make up most of the brain, suggesting that the conscious mind can be seen as a sort of neural-activity-based avatar. As an identity in its own right, the mind on a conscious level can have significant independent action, shaping the brain that sustains it through its plans, goals, interests, and interactions with the world. He also delves into the role of dream sleep in both animals and humans, and explains the brain-based differences between non-conscious, unconscious, and conscious minds. Dr. Klemm has written extensively on this subject.

Can love and anger co-exist? Yes say the authors of Riding the Passionate Edge: Converting Tension into Emotional Intimacy, ($15.95, Langdon Street Press, softcover). In an intimate relationship it is a common error to believe that emotional closeness and tension can’t co-exist. Mary and Tom Cushman provide concrete skills for transforming relationships, even those that may feel beyond repair, into those that recapture the original feelings that drew two people together. They make a powerful case for engaging tension directly and skillfully through empathetic listening, straight talk, compassion and forgiveness to heal the damage caused by unresolved emotional wounds. The authors are a married pair of long-time counselors, having been clergy and teachers, who for the past 16 years have been private practice counselors. Another book that can prove helpful is Be Real: Because Fake is Exhausting by Rick Bezet (19.99, Baker Books), the pastor of New Life Church in Arkansas. “God makes it simple for us,” says Bezert. “Being fake is exhausting, and it drains us and eventually kills our body and our soul. But being real requires us to put God first in our lives and to allow his love to overflow into every area of our lives. Our hope in him is real.” Well, I did say he was a pastor, but he is also an engaging author who knows that the world is full of fakers and even some who attend church every Sunday can be included among them. His book is a call to readers to live a life based on authenticity. For those with a healthy spiritual life, this book will prove supportive and instructive.

Books for Tots & Teens

The greatest gift for any child is the enjoyment of reading, so get them started early.

A new addition to her series is Cynthia Bardes’ Pansy in Paris: A Mystery at the Museum ($18.95, Octobre Press), illustrated by Virginia Best. Her previous book was “Pansy at the Palace: A Beverly Hills Mystery.” In this one Pansy, a poodle and Avery, a little girl who adopted her, solve who is stealing paintings with a story that will surely entertain those to whom it is read or old enough to read it for themselves. It is told from Pansy’s point of view and this large format book with full page artwork is just delightful. The same age group, from 2 and up, will enjoy A Bee Named Bea by Candace A. Dietz with illustrations by Virginia J. Rost ($14.95, Mixed Media Memoirs), a collection of poems about various animals such as a cow that can’t stop mooing or a lonely bee that everyone is afraid of. Each poem ends with a cheerful resolution. The book has twenty poem-stories to keep young minds engaged. Some books for the very young with the intention to teach important life lessons and A Simple Idea to Empower Kids by Kathleen Boucher ($13.95, Balboa Press) offers three principles to young readers age 3 to 12, about the power of love, choice and belief to help them develop self-confidence and deal with whatever comes their way in life. Parents will find this book very helpful to get a child off to a good start.

Miss You Like Crazy by Pamela Hall and illustrated by Jennifer A. Bell ($15.99, Tanglewood) is written for those ages 6 to 8 and is a story that reminds children that, even when parents are away at work, they are always thinking about them. It is a lighthearted way to reassure children of their importance in their parent’s busy lives. Also from Tanglewood is Audrey Penn’s A Kissing Hand for Chester Raccoon ($7.99) for the even young set, ages 2 to 4. It is now a board book, made study enough to withstand all manner of handling. This book is becoming a children’s classic, having already touched the lives of many readers who benefit from Mrs. Raccoon’s secret for making a child feel safe and secure.

For the younger set, pre-teens, there is an excellent book based on American history, Pilgrims to Patriots: A Grandfather Tells the Story by Alex Bugaeff ($24.95, print, $8.99 Ebook, Create Space) that, in fact, the older reader will enjoy as well. A grandfather shares his knowledge of the years that led up to the American Revolution and brings to life the nation's founders as real, living men, along with a host of other characters from our early years such as Molly Pitcher, a cannoneer, and events like the War of Jenkins' Ear, to Elizabeth Key, the slave who sued the Virginia Colony for her freedom. It is both educational and very entertaining. The book's value is enhanced by the need to impart such knowledge to a younger generation that is not receiving it sufficiently in our schools.

Pre-teens and teens benefit from reading novels that overcome today’s “tweet” reduction of everything to 140 characters. Cara Bertrand begins her “Sentantia” series with a fantasy story, Lost in Thought($19.95/$11.95, Luminis Books, hard and softcover) about Lainey who everyone thinks has severe migraines from stress and exhaustion. In truth, Lainey, age 16, has visions of how people died or are going to die, a secret she keeps to herself. Doctors advise she be enrolled in a private New England boarding school to help cure her, but while there is no cure, she discovers that everyone at Northbrook Academy has a secret too where half the students and nearly all the staff are members of Sententia, a hidden society of the psychically gifted. This paranormal theme, along with a bit of romance, and lots of action-packed twists to the plot will keep any young reader turning the pages.

Don’t Call Me Baby by Gwendolyn Heasley ($9.99, HarperTeen, softcover) will gain the author even more readers, especially if they have read her two previous young adult readers. It’s about the daughter, a teenager, whose Mommy Blogger has no concept of boundaries, having been writing about her since before she was born, telling everything about her on the popular blog. At age 15, Imogene has been protesting to no avail. When a mandatory school project requires her to start her own blog, she is reluctant to expose any more of her life online until she realizes that the project is an opportunity to define herself for the first time on her own terms and to give her mother a taste of her own medicine! This is a story that is heartfelt and often laugh-out-loud, sure to please the girls for whom it is written.

Novels, Novels, Novels

Spring for the publishing world is—as is the autumn—the time they roll out many new books and, when it comes to novels, it would appear that fiction still has a large audience to satisfy.

You can’t write novels unless you have an active imagination and Anna Godbersen surely does. She already has two bestsellers, “The Luxe” and “Bright Young Things”. Having come of age when Marilyn Monroe was the quintessential superstar, I must confess the theme of her new novel, The Blonde, ($26.00, Weinstein Books, a member of the Perseus Books Group) was a bit off-putting, but that will surely not be the case for most others younger than myself. In this book, Godbersen conjures up a Marilyn Monroe who, through the help of a mysterious stranger, rises from being the young, unknown Norma Jeane Baker with aspirations of being an actress to the famed movie star twelve years later. Her benefactor, however, is a member of the then-Soviet KGB and she is told to find something about John F. Kennedy that they can use in some fashion. Instead of aiding the KGB she falls in love with him and, when she learns of plans to assassinate him, she must escape her Soviet handlers to save him and herself. The novel incorporates the Hollywood of her era, the murderous intrigue, and the elements of a well-known actual history. Together they become a novel that makes for a great read and is likely to end up a film at some point. Intrigue and murder from an earlier era, that found in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels, is found in The Conan Doyle Notes: The Secret of Jack the Ripper by Diane Gilbert Madsen ($28.95, MX Publishing, London, available via Amazon.com). The publisher is the world’s largest specialist in books featuring the most famous fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes. Steve Emecz, the MX managing director, says “There has never been a better time to be a Sherlock Holmes fan” he is thrilled to have her novel. “It’s perfect for a fan base with an appetite for modern thrillers with a link back to Conan Doyle.” Her novel involves a wealthy Chicago lumber baron’s diary which reveals that Doyle left some valuable handwritten notes during his 1894 visit to Chicago. They contain vital information about the Ripper murders. When the diary is stolen, D.D. McGil, an academic turned insurance investigator, comes upon information she believes confirms the identity of Jack the Ripper and finds herself a target in a deadly game to locate a literary find that could rewrite history.

In Monday, Monday Elizabeth Cook tells the story of a tragedy in Texas that changes the course of three lives ($26.00, Sarah Crichton Books). Based on an actual incident when, in August 1966, Charles Whitman hauled a footlocker of guns to the top of the University of Texas tower and began firing on pedestrians below. He killed sixteen people and wounded thirty-two. It was the first mass shooting of civilians on a campus in American history. The novels follows three students caught up in the massacre, Shelly who walks into the path of the bullets and two cousins, Wyatt and Jack, who heroically rush from their classrooms to help the victims. On that day a relationship begins that entangles them in a forbidden love affair, an illicit pregnancy, and a vow of secrecy that will span forty years. Reunited decades after the tragedy, they will be forced to confront the event that changed their lives and that has silently and persistently ruled the lives of their children. At its core, it is the story of a woman determined to make peace with herself, with the people she loves, and with a history that will not let her go.

A very different story is told by Mike Mullen in Book 3 of the “Ashfall Trilogy”, Sunrise, ($17.99, Tanglewood). It takes place after the Yellowstone super-volcano has nearly wiped out the human race. It is now almost a year after the eruption and the survivors seem determined to finish the job as communities wage war on each other, gangs of cannibals roam the countryside, and what little government survived has completely collapsed. Sickness, cold, and starvation are the survivor’s constant companions. The debut novel “Ashfall” in 2011 was a big hit as was Book 2, “Ashen Winter” in 2012. No doubt Book 3 will enjoy a similar acclaim as it is a triumph of imagination as Mullen takes on the task of writing about a world of survivors must overcome the horrendous outcome of the eruption. It addresses questions of responsibility, and bravery, civilization, and society. Though written as a young adult novel, I think older readers will enjoy it as well.

A number of softcover novels provide some entertaining as well. We have entered an era in which anyone who wants to write a novel can get it published. Jeff Turner has had a long, successful career as a college professor with more than twenty college-level textbooks to his credit and he draws on his experience in academia and life to have written The Way Back ($14.95, Page Publishing). It is about a college professor who is at the top of his game, living a posh live in a Connecticut shoreline town, whose world is turned upside down when he faces trumped up charges of academic harassment. In the midst of that crisis he discovers his wife has been unfaithful and that his son is being bullied by high school thugs. If that isn’t enough, a seductive and mysterious woman enters his life, along with troubling memories of an incident from a family swimming pool party that went horribly wrong. He and his family must cope with uncertainty and upheaval. It is the story of the emotional frailty that can strike anyone without warning and how his family must deal with the family’s inner demons. This is a novel that demands to be read from cover to cover because it is going to be hard to put down. A very different story is told by Lynne Raimondo in Dante’s Poison, a novel, featuring a blind psychiatrist, Mark Angelotti, who is helping Hallie Sanchez defend her oldest friend against murder charges. A muckraking journalist, Rory Gallagher, has died from a fatal dose of Lucitrol, a powerful antipsychotic drug and suspicion immediately falls on his longtime lover, Jane Barrett, who has just defended the drug’s manufacturer against product-liability claims. Mark and Hallie succeed in obtaining Barrett’s release, only to discover that Gallagher’s killer may still be on the loose and targeting them as his next victims. Angelotti was in Raimondo’s novel, “Dante’s Wood.” The author formerly was a general counsel for Arthur Anderson and later the Illinois Department of Revenue. Her background, combined with her talent, combine for a new novel that anyone who enjoys such intrigue and danger will enjoy.

In J.T. Prescott’s thriller, Arts and Crafts, ($16.95, Two Harbors Press) a former covert operative. Ken Frazier, is looking forward to retirement after leaving the clandestine world behind is sought out by a former colleague, George Larson, and confronted with outrageous claims about a government conspiracy that includes major U.S. cities falling prey to snipers. Hesitant to believe the claims, he is suddenly thrust back into action when Larson shows up dead and the rumors turn out to be true. This is a fast-paced adventure, filled with conspiracy and murder, as Frazier’s experience and instincts kick in and he recruits the help of two members of his former team. Together they band together for one last desperate mission. In a somewhat similar theme, Johnny Shaw tells a story in Plaster City ($14.95, Thomas and Mercer) of Jimmy Veeder who is enjoying life as a farmer and family man with occasional breaks to act as wingman to his best friend’s booze-fueled misadventures. When Bobby Maves teenage daughter does missing, Jimmy will be along for the rescue mission and what begins as a bad situation turns into something else entirely involving a violent turf war between a fierce motorcycle gang and a powerful crime lord, fighting it out on a desolate strip of desert known as Plaster City in the landscape of the California-Mexico borderland. Shaw’s previous novels received awards and his long career as a screenwriter and novelist demonstrate his skills.

That’s it for May! Tell your friends, family and coworkers who enjoy reading about Bookviews.com so they too any get the latest word about new fiction and non-fiction. And come back next month for more!

By Alan Caruba

My Picks of the Month

A remarkable book about the roots of environmentalism, Nazi Oaks: The Green Sacrifice of the Judeo-Christian Worldview in the Holocaust, ($26.35, Advantage Inspirational, softcover, available on Amazon.com, by R. Mark Musser was first published in 2010 and is now just been updated and reissued in its fourth edition. It deserves a far wider readership than it has gained until now because in part it is not an easy read, but also because it is one of the few books to explain how the Nazi ideology evolved over the decades to reach a point where it initiated the deliberate extermination of Europe’s Jews. The most astonishing aspect of this is how interwoven its belief system was with the environmental “truths” we are still hearing and reading today. For example, Ernst Haeckel, the father of German Social Darwinism, was the man who coined the word “ecology” in 1896. The Nazi “science” that justified racism drew on German romanticism, existentialism, and nature worship. The Nazis incorporated environmentalism into their lives and beliefs, abandoning the Judeo-Christian God for “gaia”, the Earth god. Mark Musser came to his discovery of the inherently evil roots of environmentalism by way of a Master of Divinity in 1994 and missionary service in Belarus and Ukraine for seven years. He is a pastor by trade. I cannot recommend reading this book in strong enough terms because it is a warning that explains why so much of what passes for environmentalism today carries within it the seeds of evil that triggered the Nazi era. Having failed to carry off the “global warming” hoax thanks to the past 19 years of the planet’s cooling cycle, its advocates are now embarked on a “climate change” hoax, claiming it is “man-made.” It is not, but the evil that men do is.

In March 2014, in a commentary on my blog, Warning Signs, I wrote “Do you have the feeling that we no longer have government from the federal to the local level that is able to function because of vast volumes of laws and regulations that have made it impossible to do anything from build a bridge to run a nursing home? If so, you’re right. The nation is falling behind others who do a better job by permitting elected and appointed officials to actually make decisions. We are living in a nation where lawsuits follow every decision to accomplish anything. This is the message of Philip K. Howard in a book that everyone concerned for the future of America should read; “The Rule of Nobody: Saving America from Dead Laws and Broken Government.” Happily, a softcover edition has been published ($15.95, W.W. Norton) and, if you missed the opportunity to read it last year, I strongly recommend you do so this year. Howard explains why just changing leaders does not change a Washington which is drowning the nations in laws that often run to more than 2,000 pages in length. The result is a monstrosity of regulations that tell officials and citizens what to do and how to do it. A mammoth government renders decision-making virtually impossible and the result is that our schools, our health care system, and virtually every other element of life is paralyzed or unaffordable. There is, in a word, no accountability, no one who need take responsibility. Putting people back in charge of our government is the heart of this excellent, entertaining, and frightening book.

Have you always wished you had an opportunity to read the classics of literature when you were in school? These days entire generations pass through our schools without more than a brief introduction to Shakespeare or Chaucer. In contrast to that, for 28 years in Naples, New York, you didn’t go to college without passing Alan Griesinger’s Advanced Placement English class. And they loved it. You’ll understand why when you read his book, A Comic Vision of Great Constancy: Stories about Unlocking the Wisdom of Everyman ($29.95, Mascot Books). He provides insights drawn from a reading of “The Knight’s Tale” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” They serve as a literary framework for Griesinger’s side trips into politics, religion, psychology, and the general art of being human. His classes were a training ground for character development, good citizenship, and rigorous thinking. His book has the same effect and is very likely to make you the smartest person in the room after you’ve read it.

Improving Your Life

There has been one genre of books that has been around since books were first being published. They are books that impart advice on various aspects of one’s life to help the reader improve in some respect.

It’s Not Who You Know, It’s Who You Are: Life Lessons from Winners by Pat Williams with Jim Denney ($16.99, Revell). With more than fifty years of professional sports experience and already an author of dozens of books on leadership, Williams shares how he found success in his family and career. He realized early in life that learning how to become successful meant learning from those who had. He never missed an opportunity to ask those at the top of their field what they felt was the key to their success. He has met more famous people than most of ever will. They include Martin Luther King, Jr., Billy Graham, John Wooden, Michael Jordan, Colin Powell, and George W. Bush, to name a few. And he kept notes on what they told him. This is a book about developing your own character and values because those are ultimately the keys to success. Williams is senior vice president of the NBA’s Orlando Magic.

Getting Back Out There: Secrets to Successful Dating and Finding Real Love after the Big Breakup by Susan J. Elliott ($14.99, Da Capo Press, softcover) may be just the book for women that you or someone you know needs to read. As she acknowledges, overcoming a breakup can be a real challenge and, often, to be successful in the next relationship, we must understand the parts of us that broke up, too. This involves learning to recognize, evaluate, and change the negative patterns that interfere with our relationships, but she says it can be done and her book teaches here readers to set appropriate standards in the dating world. She does not shy from the fact that exes, children, and boyfriends with kids are components of the modern dating scene. Getting back out there may be tough, but says Ms. Elliot, infinitely rewarding, if done right.

Romancing Your Better Half: Keeping Intimacy Alive in Your Marriage by Rick Johnson ($12.99, Revell, softcover) explains why romance and intimacy are so vital to marriage, how men and women differ in their intimacy needs, and what steps they can take to enrich their marriage and even bring back the excitement of when you first fell in love. He encourages couples to rethink the way they communicate and interact to keep that excitement alive as a couple in a long-term relationship grows through shared experiences, sharing difficulties, and maintaining closeness to one another.

Many people, including church-goers, still yearn for a deeper experience of God in their everyday lives. A leading Christian publisher, Thomas Nelson, offers Greg Paul’s new book, Simply Open($16.99, softcover) that offers a path to using your five senses, your mind and heart, to engage in the practice of prayer that can turn an ordinary workday into a deepening spiritual journey. Paul is a pastor and member of Sanctuary in Toronto, a ministry for the most hurting and excluded people in the city. He has authored three earlier books, one of which was a 2012 Non-fiction Christian Book Award winner. Though Christian in context it has a holistic approach that other contemplating religions employ.

All About Women

The role of women in modern societies has been changing for a long time. For example, the National American Woman Suffrage Association was founded in 1890 and a number of states had granted it in the first two decades of the last century, In 1919 Congress passed the 19^th Amendment and a year later 36 states had ratified it. Remembering Inez: The Last Campaign of Inez Milholland, Suffrage Martyr ($14.95, Graphic Press. Softcover) tells the story of one of the lesser known suffragettes. Using her own words, edited by Robert P.J. Cooney, Jr., it takes you back to an era that was as dramatic as any that followed. Ms. Milholland was a dynamic New York attorney, a young activist who while on a tour of western states collapsed on stage in Los Angeles on October 23, 1916 and died a month later of pernicious anemia. She had just turned 30. History is filled with such remarkable personalities and, though it took nearly a century, it is good to know that Ms. Milholland is now recognized as well.

Women After All: Sex, Evolution, and the End of Male Supremacyby Dr. Melvin Konner ($26.95, W.W. Norton & Company) will surely cause male readers to feel uncomfortable. The author is a professor in the Emory University Department of Anthropology and the Program in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. The author of several books, this one looks at the widespread debate about the future role of women (and men) in human society, taking a look at the animal kingdom in general and our current patriarchal ways in particular, predicting that women will increasingly take leadership roles. He asserts that women are biologically more adept at dealing with the challenges of the modern world. They are fundamentally more pragmatic as well as caring, cooperate as well as competitive, and generally more deft in managing people without putting them on the defensive. They are, he says, builders rather than destroyers. This is, to say the least, a fact-filled look at a highly charged topic and one that I am sure many readers will want to explore.

Behind Every Great Man: The Forgotten Women Behind the World’s Famous and Infamous ($16.99, Sourcebooks, softcover) takes its title from the cliché that behind every great man is a woman who contributed to his success. Marlene Wagman-Geller has taken a look at this and her book features forty women who were overshadowed by the males in their lives, yet merit their own place in history. She ranges from the wives of literally figures such as Oscar Wilde, Ian Fleming, and C.S. Lewis. There are Hollywood wives such Alma Reville, Mrs. Alfred Hitchcock and Jane Nebel, Mrs. Jim Henson. She notes the role played by Kasturba Kapadia, the wife of Mohandas Gandhi and Emilie Pelzl, Mrs. Osckar Schindler. There were some infamous ones as well such as Mrs. Julius Rosenberg, convicted along with her husband as a Soviet spy. Imagine, too, being Althea Leasure, Mrs. Larry Flynt. The short biographies salute the women who stood behind their men, for better or worse, and helped steer the course of history.

Getting Down to Business

How to Succeed with Continuous Improvement: A Primer for Becoming the Best in the World ($23.00, McGraw-Hill) by Joakim Ahlstrom, regarded as Sweden’s leading authority in creating a continuous improvement culture. His book is a step-by-step process for any organization that applies principles such as “keep it simple, stay focused, visualize the good examples and the program made, create ownership by asking instead of telling, and be systematic.” He has advised dozens of organizations around the world to include Coca Cola, Volvo, Ericsson, and IKEA.

From Worry to Wealthy: A Woman’s Guide to Financial Success Without the Stress by Chellie Campbell ($16.99, Sourcebooks, softcover) begins by noting that more than nine million U.S. businesses, generating $1.4 trillion in sales, are owned by women. A personal finance guru, Campbell, has offered “Financial Stress Reduction” ® workshops to help women win at work and in life. Her advice will prove very helpful to any woman as she teaches how to harness the four C’s of career success, confidence, charisma, clients, and cash. She writes about earning support from spouses and loved ones while gaining business knowledge from everything you do. This includes poker as she is an avid tournament player. This is a book from which any woman business owner can benefit.

What to Do to Retire Successfully: Navigating Psychological, Financial and Lifestyle Hurdles ($15.95, New Horizon Press, softcover) by Martin B. Goldstein addresses some of the scary questions that occur such as whether you will have enough funds to maintain your lifestyle, will you be able to adjust to a slower pace, and how best to transition into retirement successfully. A neuropsychiatrist by profession, his book will prove quite useful to anyone approaching their retirement years and that includes the 77 million baby boomers that are slated to retire over the next twenty years. Retirement fears are common and this book addresses them and offers some good advice; the kind you need now, not ten or twenty years from now when it could be too late.

Reading History

I love reading history and one of my great favorites from American history is Thomas Jefferson. Addressing a group of scholars, John F. Kennedy said “I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House - with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” One of the enduring discussions about Jefferson involves his religious beliefs. Some say he was a deist unaffiliated with any particular religion. Doubting Thomas? The Religious Life and Legacy of Thomas Jefferson by Mark A. Beliles and Jerry Newcombe ($29.99, Morgan James Publishing) will put to rest all the doubts raised in the past. For example, during his presidency, Jefferson attended church at the U.S. Capitol Building’s Supreme Court chambers where a public service was held. This is contradiction of the assertion that he believed in a strict separation of church and state. This book is based on extensive documentation, often providing little known facts based on his letters, as well as his relationships and activities with religious communities. It is an absorbing read and it is supported by The Selected Religious Letters and Papers of Thomas Jefferson ($29.95, America Publications) edited by Mark A. Beliles. It offers more than fifty Jefferson letters and other documents never before seen in print. The enemies of religious belief and expression in America will not want you to read either of these books.

Of course, the history of America has its darker moments and the treatment of the Native Americans is surely one of them. Terry Mort’s Thieves’ Road: The Black Hills Betrayal and Custer’s Path to Little Bighorn ($25.00, Prometheus Books) tells the story of General George Armstrong Custer’s expedition of some one thousand troops and more than a hundred wagons into the Black Hills of South Dakota in the summer of 1874. A severe economic depression had spurred hordes of white prospectors to the Sioux Indians sacred grounds and the trampling of an 1868 treaty that granted the Black Hills to the Sioux. The discovery of gold was the beginning of the end of their independence and their resistance set the stage for the climactic Battle of Little Bighorn. The book’s title gets its name from the Sioux leader, Fast Bear, who called the trail cut by Custer the “thieves’ road.” It was a time when the settling of Indians on reservations was betrayed, a corrupt federal Indian Bureau existed, and the building of the western railroads was transforming the nation. The book makes for lively reading and considerable insight to this period of our national history.

One of the best series around is Visible Ink Press’s “Handy Answer” books. The latest is The Handy Military History Answer Book ($21.95, Visible Ink, softcover), by Samuel Willard Crompton, a captivating, concise, and extensive look at the way war has been a continual element of history and has often dramatically changed it. Indeed, one might call peace the brief intervals of time between wars. This book shows how war creates heroes, along with cowards, spies and patriots were made, how conflicts shaped borders, policies and politics, society and culture, always influencing the future. Answering more than 1,400 questions, you will learn how conquering armies to civil wars resulted in guerrilla warfare, terrorism, modern weapons, and so much more that fill the headlines of our times. To understand history, one must know about warfare from the days of the Roman Empire to the present. This book will do just that.

Reading About Science

Science is in the news all the time, but much of the time is devoted to those groups and organizations that lie about it in order to frighten people from taking advantage of the benefits it offer. The latest debate about vaccinating children to protect them from measles is one example. The battles fought to advance science go back to the earliest days of civilization.

In the Light of Science: Our Ancient Quest for Knowledge and the Measure of Modern Physics by Demetris Nicolaides ($19.00, Prometheus Books, softcover) examines the epochal shift in thinking that led pre-Socratic philosophers of the sixth and fifth centuries BCE to abandon the prevailing mythologies of the age and, for the first time, analyze the natural world in terms of impersonal, rationally-understood principles. This is a look at the vast sweep of history that led to the birth of science and its advancement by those unafraid to question tradition. Combining history and science, it makes for some very interesting reading. From the same publishing house comes Brilliant!Shuji Nakamura and the Revolution in Lighting Technology ($18.00, Prometheus Books, softcover), now updated. To celebrate the awarding of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics to Nakamura, author Bob Johnstone profiles the gifted Japanese engineer who is largely responsible for the coming revolution in lighting technology. The lighting revolution is likely to replace halogen lamps and have a profound impact on the world.

Astronaut Ron Garan has authored The Orbital Perspective: Lessons in Seeing the Big Picture from a Journey of 71 Million Miles ($27.95, Berrett-Koehler Publishers) that is enhanced by several pages of color photos. Garan tells of the transformative experience of living on the international Space Station and the lessons he gained that he believes holds the key to solving our problems here on Earth. He provides an excellent and interesting account of what it was like work with 15 different nationalities. At the same time, he addresses many of the problems that afflict people and what must be done to solve them. In his foreword to the book, Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Laureate, recommends we “Use Ron’s idea of the orbital perspective as a way to erase obstacles, boundaries, and resistance to any problem.”

Kid Stuff

You may not know who Ernest Thompson Seton (1860-1946) was, but among his many accomplishments was being a co-founder of the Boy Scouts of America in addition to writing many children’s books that influenced an entire generation or more regarding life in the outdoors. The Storyteller ($24.95, Langdon Street Press) by Leila Moss Knox and Linda L. Knox is not only a wonderful tribute to Seton, but a wonderful way to get to know about him through excerpts of his writings that are richly illustrated. It has a foreword by the late songwriter and singer, Pete Seeger, who like many felt his life enriched by Seton’s books. This is a great way to introduce him to a whole new generation and I guarantee they will love this book.

Children’s books are a great way for them to learn U.S. history and I am happy to report that Alex Bugaeff’s new book, part of his “Grandfather” series, is American Amazons: Colonial Women Who Changed History ($14.95, available from Amazon) in which “Gomps” shares his historical tales with his grandchildren, Hannah and Carter. It’s good to see them get the attention they deserve. One of them, Deborah Sampson, fought on the front lines with the Continental Army for three years and there were others. These days women are part of the Israel Defense Force and trained for combat like the men. We had such women when it counted in our Revolution.

Wigu Publishing of Sun Valley, Idaho, has a series you can learn about at www.whenigrowupbooks.com such as When I Grow Up I Want to Be…in the U.S. Army or a Nurse! The series also includes Teacher, U.S. Navy, Veterinarian and Firefighter. They are available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and other major online retailers, and come in Kindle editions as well. Parents often hear their children express an interest in a particular profession and this series is well written as stories that a young reader, age 5 to 7 or so can read and identify with. They are both well researched and entertaining.

The odd thing about “Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children” when it was published in 2011 is that, although aimed at a younger audience of readers, ages 13 and up, it attracted so many older ones that it stayed on The New York Times Best Seller list for more than 80 weeks. In February its sequel, Hollow City by Ransom Riggs ($10.99, Quirk Books, softcover) was published and it picks up where the first left off as the reader follows the story of Jacob and his friends as they encounter a menagerie of odd animals, a band of gypsies, and more peculiar children. Jacob and friends are on the run from “wights” who have turned Miss Peregrine into a bird. They are hoping to find a cure in London. The book is illustrated with photos from earlier times, but it is the characters like Emma Bloom who can make fire with her hands, Millard, an invisible boy, and Olive who is lighter than air that are not only peculiar who inhabit a story that includes Alma LeFay Peregrine who is a shape-shifter and manipulator of time, as well as the headmistress of Cairnholm’s loop. It’s delightful. This one is headed for the best seller lists too.

Lauren Oliver has gained an international reputation for her five young adult novels as well as her other books. She is published in thirty languages and no doubt Vanishing Girls ($18.99, HarperCollins) will keep her on the bestseller list for those ages 14 and up with her story of Dara and Nick. The two sisters used to be inseparable, but that changed when Dara’s beautiful face was scarred by a car accident, leaving them estranged. When Dara vanishes on her birthday, Nick thinks Dara is just playing around. Another girl, nine-year-old Madeline Snow, has vanished as well and Nick becomes convinced that the two disappearances are linked and feels compelled to find her sister before it’s too late. The readers, too, will feel compelled to see how this novel proceeds and how it ends.

Novels, Novels, Novels

March 8 makes the first anniversary of the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 that went down without a clue. I am a fan of Lior Samson, the pen name of the author of two dozen books that include seven novels like“Bashert”, “The Dome”, and “Web Games.” He is now back with Flight Track ($16.95/$2.99 Kindle, Gesher Press, an imprint of Ampersand Press, Rowley, MA), a novel that provides a scenario of what might have happened and why to flight MH370. In the novel it is the inaugural flight of Pacificano Transocean’s over-the-pole non-stop service from Singapore to Chicago’s O’Hare. It’s all celebrating and champagne until flight PT20 veers off the radar. This is the kind of thriller that fans of Samson have come to anticipate and enjoy. In this story, an elite team of brilliant young nerds is called upon to help find the missing plane and their high-tech pursuit of what happened turns into a life-or-death race to discover who is behind the disappearance, to understand what’s at stake, and to find a solution against seemingly invincible forces behind it. Like all his novels, it’s not one you will put down until you get to the last page.

Another novel straight out of the headlines is David Thomas Roberts’ A State of Treason($31.50, www.defiancepress.com) in which a President who hates the Tea Party sets in motion a confrontation with the Governor of Texas when he seizes a member of the Party in an unconstitutional way. The Governor authorizes a Texas Ranger to free him and his family. The confrontation escalates when the Governor puts the question of independence from the federal government on the ballot and the President declares martial law, sending in armed forces to deny Texans the right to decide whether they want to continue as part of a corrupt government, a do-nothing Congress, and an administration plagued by scandals.

A number of other softcover novels will provide hours of entertainment to rival anything on the TV and you don’t have to be bothered by commercials. Plucked from the headlines being generated by the Islamic turmoil of the Middle East, Lucy Ferriss, the author of A Sister to Honor ($16.00, Penguin) journeyed to northern Pakistan in 2012 to learn about their culture of honor. It is a novel about Pakistani people in America. Afia Satar is studious, modest and a devout Muslim. The daughter of a landholding family, she has enrolled in an American college with the dream of returning to her country to serve as a doctor, but when a photo of her holding hands with an American boy surfaces online, she is suddenly no longer safe, even from the family that cherishes her. It is rising sports star Shahid Satar who has been entrusted by her family to watch over Afia and now he has been ordered to cleanse the stain of her shame. This is the classic clash of cultures and quite relevant to the issues and times in which we live.

The Eliot Girls by Krista Bridge ($22.95, Douglas & McIntyre, softcover) is set in the George Eliot Academy, a private school for girls that prides itself on being on the vanguard of learning. For years Audrey Brindle and her mother, Ruth, have wanted Audrey to get into the school where Ruth has taught for a decade, but when she is finally admitted, she discovers that the daily world of Eliot is a place of sly bullying, ferocious intolerance, and bewildering social standards. Her mother, Ruth, finds her own stability dismantled by the arrival of a new teacher. As both navigate the treacheries of their upended worlds, each finds her sense of morality slipping as unexpected possibilities ignite. Clearly a book that women will enjoy and identify with more than men, it is also clearly worth a read for being by turns comic and psychologically intense.

From Thomas & Mercer comes a mystery, The Dead Key by D.M. Pulley ($15.96, softcover), an atmospheric and richly detailed story that weaves together the stories of Beatrice Baker who begins work at the First Bank of Cleveland shortly before its mysterious collapse in 1978 and Iris Latch, a civil engineer hired to survey the abandoned but perfectly preserved bank building two decades later. As she toils amid the bank’s ransacked offices and forgotten safe deposit boxes, Iris is drawn into uncovering the dark secrets of the building’s sordid past; one that includes Beatrice’s mysterious disappearance shortly before the sudden collapse. This is a thoroughly engrossing mystery and a fine debut for its author.

That’s it for March. Come back in April for more news of the best new fiction and non-fiction. Tell your book loving friends, family and coworkers about Bookviews.com so they too any can learn about books that often do not get noted by the mainstream print media which in recent times is devoting less and less space to reviews. See you next month!

By Alan Caruba

My Picks of the Month

Does it seem like all we hear about these days is how fat Americans are? Most surely that accounts for the dozens of diet books I receive. Imagine then how pleased I was to read Harriet Brown’s Body of Truth: How Science, History, and Culture Drive Our Obsession with Weight and What We Can Do About it ($25.99, Da Capo Press). In its introduction she says, “We’re in the midst of an epidemic, one that’s destroying both the quality and the longevity of our lives. I’m not talking about overweight or obesity. I’m talking about our obsession with weight, our never-ending quest for thinness, our relentless angst about our bodies.” Her book tackles the myths and realities of the “obesity epidemic” and exposes the biggest lies driving the rhetoric of obesity. How nice it would be to have a day in which we are not constantly warned about eating sugar or wheat when candy and freshly baked items are among life’s greatest pleasures. Her book offers ways to think about weight and health with more common sense, accuracy, and respect. You are not likely to read or hear about this excellent book in the mainstream press because of the billions that the diet craze represents in advertising and revenue for physicians, pharmaceutical companies, and diet programs. All the more reason to read it and learn the truth.

A CNN poll whose results were released in March showed that nearly half of Americans believe race relations have worsened over the course of the presidency of Barack Obama, the first half-black man elected to the White House. The poll found that 39% believe relations between blacks and whites have gotten worse, not better, since Mr. Obama took office in January 2009. Just 15% say relations have improved. It found that 45% of whites think relations have worsened while just 26% of blacks think so. If race relations in America is a subject of interest and concern to you, then you will want to read Colin Flaherty’s new book, ‘Don’t Make the Black Kids Angry’(available from Amazon.Com and other Internet book outlets, $19.72, softcover, $6.99 Kindle.) I reviewed Flaherty’s first book, “White Girl Bleed A Lot: The return of racial violence in America” which caused a sensation became a bestseller as it documented and revealed how the nation’s press consistently failed to report a trend in attacks on whites by blacks that were based entirely on racial bias. His new book looks how Americans are being led to believe that it is “white racism” that is causing comparable attacks, but not being told about the attacks such as a thousand Asian immigrants were brutalized for five years before the local newspaper took notice or the 40,000 blacks that rampaged through a Virginia beach town with little media coverage. A thousand such events are reported in his new book by this award winning reporter. At a time when all we read and hear about are black youths being shot by local police, barely being told they attacked the officers who acted in self-defense, this book has much to say and explain the state of race relations in America today.

The global warming hoax is finally beginning to give up the ghost thanks to 19 years in which the Earth has been in a cooling cycle based on the Sun’s reduced radiation, also a natural cycle. Al Gore got the hoax going bigtime with his book, “An Inconvenient Truth”, that was filled with absurd claims that the north and south poles would be melted by now, that polar bears would be extinct and all manner of weather-related events would produce chaos. Philip M. Fishman has written A Really Inconvenient Truth: The Case Against the Theory of Anthropogenic Global Warming ($19.95, MPS Publishing, softcover) that is intended to be read by those who may not have the scientific background or knowledge to make sense of all the claims. Fishman explains all the basics you need to know from the way the scientific method works to the aspects of climatology, the study of long-term trends that confirms that, yes, there were warm cycles, just as there were cold ones. These are the facts the “Warmists” who are still making claims about global warming don’t want you to know. The surprising thing about this highly readable book is the breadth of knowledge it covers without requiring you to read hundreds of pages. At 114 pages it is a breeze to read. Fishman makes no predictions, the common trait of the “Warmists.” Instead, he lays out the science-based information you need to know to refute “the convoluted logic that Theorists have used to spread their ‘Gospel.’”

If all the headlines these days have you concerned about the future of America, you are not alone. Fortunately, James Langston has taken a careful look at what is occurring in his new book, America In Crisis ($11.46 at Amazon.com, softcover). “Lumbering through a moral wilderness of incivility and unreason we are losing the best of ourselves to fear and uncertainty,” says Langston as he asks if we have lost our sense of right and wrong, but notes that, as a nation, “we have gone from fear to faith countless times.” Langston offers some inspirational analysis of the issues and challenges of our times. Younger readers in particular would benefit from reading Langston’s book that cites our nation’s history throughout, providing a sense of clarity and insight regarding our present problems.

Our headlines are filled with news of barbaric acts perpetrated by the Islamic State (ISIS) in its quest to create a new caliphate from which to conquer and dominate the world. Beheadings, crucifixions, kidnappings and slavery are its stock-in-track. A genocidal attack on Christians throughout the Middle East makes one ask why are they doing this and Hector A. Garcia, PhD provides an answer in Alpha God: The Psychology of Religious Violence and Oppression ($19.00, Prometheus Books, softcover). The author, a clinical psychologist, examines religious scriptures, rituals, and canon law, highlighting the many ways in which our evolutionary legacy has shaped the development of religion and continues to profoundly influence its expression. The author focuses on the image of God as the dominant male in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This is not light reading, nor does it provide much comfort, but it does provide an interesting look at the way religions reflect early human societies and affect our present ones.

Bookviews is generally a boost-don’t-knock report on new books. I am going to make an exception to that regarding Coal Wars: The Future of Energy and the Fate of the Planet by Richard Martin ($28.00, Palgrave Macmillan) because, while it acknowledges that coal provides 45% of the world’s electrical power, it also embraces the totally debunked environmental claims that it is causing or will cause “global warming” by putting too much carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. The fact is that CO2 levels have been increasing but the Earth has, at the same time, been in a cooling cycle of some 19 years. It is not warming and, more importantly, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere was far higher centuries ago and its vegetation and animal life thrived. At present it represents a miniscule 0.04% of the atmosphere. We could use more, not less CO2 for healthier forests and increased crops. The fact that Martin is the editorial director of Navigant Research, “the premier clean energy (solar and wind) and analysis firm” reveals his bias and the flawed theme of this book. My suggestion is that you ignore it and all the other claims of so-called climate change. The Earth’s climate has been changing for 4.5 billion years and coal has nothing to do with it. What does? The Sun!

Only received one children’s book this past month, but it is well worth recommending. Wild Ideas: Let Nature Inspire Your Thinking ($18.95, Owlkids Books) by Elin Kelsey is, says the publisher, aimed at youngsters age 4 and up, but the earlier ages will need a parent to read it aloud to them because its vocabulary is for older readers at least 7 and up. A picture book, it is illustrated in ways to stimulate the imagination while its text features examples of how various animals from birds to whales solve problems. It generates respect for other species at the same time it teaches the young reader how to solve their problems. Its artwork makes it fun and its text is imaginative and inspiring.

On the subject of teaching, if you are a teacher or know one, Caroline Alexander Lewis has penned a short, pithy book, Just Back Off and Let Us Teach ($16.99, Dog Ear Publishing, softcover) asserting that if America wants to reform public education and regain its status in the world if must begin to value the good teachers and find ways to remove the poor ones from the classroom. Or as she puts it, unions should not provide job security for bad teachers. Both descriptive and motivational, her book defines five skills effective teachers must either have or acquire. For 22 years she was a teacher and a school principal before moving on to develop new programs in other fields. I would call this book “must reading” for any teacher.

A collection of quotations by Russ Kick is aptly named Flash Wisdom ($14.95, Disinformation Books, softcover) as his selection from poets, philosophers, scientists, and others provides pages of instant insight regarding all aspects of life. This is one of those books you keep handy to energize your mind with quotes that open doors on the best way to live one’s life. Keep it bedside or on your desk.

Memoirs and Memories

We live in a culture that thrives on celebrity news of their lives. This has been true throughout history when the royalty were fair game for discussion. In the Company of Legends by Joan Kramer and David Heely, with a foreword by Richard Dreyfus ($24.95, Beaufort Books) who together have won five Emmy Awards in addition to the twenty Emmy nominations they received, as the producers of many television programs. Their book focuses on the famous folk about whom they produced TV profiles. They included Katherine Hepburn, Johnny Carson, Frank Sinatra, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Jane Fonda, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart and Bette Davis, among others. Noted film history, Robert Osborne, said of their book that it is “a king’s ransom of fascinating stories about colorful, bigger than life people we know, but didn’t know…told by people who actually knew the celebrities they write about…” If you love Hollywood and its legendary actors and actresses, you will love this book.

If you’re a fan of Cindy Williams, one half of the comedic duo, Laverne & Shirley, you will have to wait one month to pick up a copy of Shirley, I Jest!A Storied Life ($22.95, Taylor Trade Publishing, an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield) by Cindy with Dave Smitherman, relating her life from her blue collar roots to unexpected stardom. She went from waiting tables at Whisky a Go Go to starring in one of the most iconic shows on television. This is an almost quintessential American story of success and she earned it. Like many bitten by the acting bug, she loves it and still loves her theatre roots, performing in many shows across the nation in addition to starring on Broadway in The Drowsy Chaperon. What makes her book so delightful is that she never took herself or her fame that seriously, demonstrating throughout her wonderful sense of humor while sharing amusing anecdotes about some of the most famous actors in Hollywood.

Not everyone is famous, but that doesn’t mean they have interesting stories to tell. Binoculars: Masquerading as a Sighted Person by Philip F. DiMeo ($24.95, New Horizon Press) is an example. For more than 17 years he pretended to be a fully-sighted person and, despite his growing loss of sight, he drove a car, went to college, became a social worker, a cartoonist, and a coach for two sports teams. As he vision grew worse, a physician diagnosed him as having retinitis pigmentosa, an eye disease with no known cure. This is his first person account of what it was like to finally come to deal with that harsh reality, but he had the help of a loving wife and, with his guide dog, Ladonna, a yellow Labrador, became what he calls “a perfect match.” His blindness closed some doors in his life, but opened others. This is a truly inspirational book.

Missing Persons: A Life of Unexpected Influences by Bruce Piasecki is self-described as “a memoir of past, present, and future” ($17.95, Square One Publishers, softcover). Piasecki says “This book is a product of memory and creativity, not of chronology and fact.” He regards memory as an “art form that is accessible to us all. It is through memory that we triumph over loss, and it is memory that renders the impossible probable—and the dead merely missing.” Piasecki takes us from his impoverished childhood to his success as an internationally renowned businessman, as well as a husband, father, friend, and writer. It’s been an interesting life for him and you can read along for an interesting journey through it.

Reading History

If there is one thing I love to read it is history. I never come away without having gained a new or renewed insight to the state of humanity. Understanding the present is impossible without know the past.

Thomas Fleming is already regarded as one of our nation’s preeminent historians and with good reason. In his latest book, The Great Divide: The Conflict between Washington and Jefferson that Defined a Nation ($27.99, Da Capo Press) he grabs your attention by pointing out that that Washington and Jefferson had dramatically different backgrounds and differing opinions that left their imprint on the presidency. As Fleming notes, Jefferson was an avid bibliophile who attended the College of William and Mary, and went onto study law in his twenties as America inched toward rebellion against British rule. Washington, by contrast, was Jefferson’s senior by eleven years and had spent his youth as a land surveyor and began his military career in the French and Indian War. While Jefferson avoided military service in the Revolution, Washington relentlessly led America to victory. Suffice to say there was much disagreement between the two. Washington came to see him as an enemy and with good reason. Jefferson was all about his love for the French revolution—a bloodbath—and his own ambitions. Suffice to say this is a totally fascinating insight into the two men and their colleagues who brought about a new nation.

Knowing the past of Afghanistan as well as its present is the subject of Abdullah Sharif’s book, Sardar: From Afghanistan’s Golden Age to Carnage ($12.95 @ Amazon.com and other Internet book outlets, softcover), a personal account of his return to his former home after joining the U.S. State Department in 2009. He had been back in 2007 and was horrified by what he saw. In his absence of thirty years, his birth nation was in ruins, the result of invasion by the Soviet Union and the struggles with the Taliban after it withdrew. This is his memoir of his memories of the nation he left in 1976, the golden age to which he makes reference, to its present times. As he notes, his book is not that of an “expert”, but rather of a U.S. diplomat speaking for himself, unofficially of the devastation and corruption he found and an effort to explain the nation’s culture so that the U.S. can take steps to help Afghanistan became an independent nation. For his efforts, he was awarded an Expeditionary Service Award and Meritorious Civilian Service Award. The Governor of Kandahar Province, Tooryalai Wesa, Ph.D, described his book as filled with priceless observations and you will come away with a far better understanding of the nation than from reading official or academic writings on this subject.

America may be a young nation by comparison with others, but it has a long, rich history and The Lost World of the Old Ones: Discoveries in the Ancient Southwest by David Roberts ($27.95, W.W. Norton) begins with his discovery in 2005 with two of his mountaineering friends of what turned out to be a settlement beneath an overhanging cliff a thousand feet above a Utah ranch. It was an enormous granary and, given its location, raised the question of how the ancient natives could have lugged a ton and a half of corn up a sheer cliff. The region around the Four Corners is filled with such mysteries, including why the natives abandoned their homeland in the 14^th century. In 1996, Roberts authored “In Search of the Old Ones”, which became an instant classic and this one is likely to be regarding in the same way. Here’s a way to enjoy the mountain climbing and exploration without having to do more than turn the pages of this interesting and entertaining book.

Douglas & McIntyre is a Canadian publisher that quite naturally publishes books about Canada. I suspect most Americans know very little about Canada other than it forms our northern border and that its hockey team is one of the most valuable franchises in the NHL. You can repair that gap in your knowledge, for example, with Allan Levine’s Toronto: Biography of a City ($36.95). It starts on the packed streets of today, whose 2.79 million residents makes it North America’s fourth largest city and a far cry from its earliest days as ”Little York”, comprised of the lieutenant governor’s muddy tent which he shared with his wife and six children. For anyone who is interested in the development of a dynamic city this book will prove very entertaining. I’ll bet most Americans are unaware that there have been three Canadian astronauts. In Canadian Spacewalkers ($29.95) Bob McDonald tells us the story of Chris Hadfield, Steve MacLean and Dave Williams, all of whom stepped outside to confront the universe in zero gravity. A science journalist and commentator on CBC News Network, he has received many honors for his work and when you read his book you will understand why as he takes you along on a trip that explains what it takes to be a spacewalker. The book is greatly enhanced by a hundred color photos. If space and science is your interest, this book is ideal.

University of Oklahoma Press

University presses are often overlooked as sources of interesting books that you might not find in a bookstore or on the site of one of the Internet book outlets. The University of Oklahoma Press is a good example.

We usually think about the “wild West” in terms of the many movies and television shows filled with cowboys and villains, bank robbers and sheriffs, but that period in our history, from between 1800 and 1920 also represents one of extraordinary invention, innovation, entrepreneurship and business. The names of many of the men who shaped our history are well known, from Buffalo Bill Cody to Levi Straus, famed for the slacks we loved to wear. There’s the banker J.P. Morgan, the brewmaster Adolf Coors, religious leader Brigham Young, and inventor Cyrus McCormick whose reaper transformed the task of harvesting crops. Out Where the West Begins: Profiles, Visions & Strategies of Early Western Business Leaders by Philip F. Anschutz ($34.95) brings together a montage of men who believed they could enrich themselves at the same time they contributed to a still young nation. Many, once they made their fortunes, helped build libraries, parks, and other cultural institutions. You will read of fifty men whose lives opened up the nation to growth and wealth.

There could hardly be a more timely book, Religious Freedom in America: Constitutional Roots and Contemporary Challenges ($45.00, hardcover, $24.95 softcover) as edited by Allen D. Hertzke, a professor of political science and a faculty fellow in religious freedom with the Institute for the American Constitutional Heritage at the University. Nine writers contributed to this examination of an issue that is being argued in the courts over issues of same-sex marriage and contraception mandates in ObamaCare, as well as other aspects of the practice of religion. The many perspectives of the issues are well served in this book written from the point of view of historians, social scientists, and jurists who examine the laws, often described as “messy” and you will understand why and learn about the tug of war between the free exercise of religion and the government’s need to apply the Constitution and laws equally and fairly. I thought that Do Facts Matter? Information and Misinformation in America Politics by Jennifer L. Hochschild and Katherine Levine Einstein ($29.95) would provide some answers to the nation’s current state of politics, but what I found, unfortunately, was an academically dense examination of what occurs and why when voters are uninformed or misinformed. Both are professors specializing in government and politics, Hochschild at Harvard University, and Einstein at Boston University. This could have been a far more lively examination of the issues to which it is devoted, but it is so concentrated on its own facts that it never provides a larger, more comprehensive presentation or maybe the topic just defies that?

Novels, Novels, Novels

Allan Topol has penned yet another bestselling novel, The Washington Lawyer, ($16.95, Select Books, softcover). A lawyer by profession, it is a wonder he still found the time to pen eleven novels of international intrigue, plus a two-volume legal treatise on the Superfund law. This novel, unlike many written by lawyers, is not about some courtroom drama. It’s about a lawyer, Andrew Martin, who is a long-time friend with Senator William Jasper who needs help. A sex tryst at Martin’s beach house in Anguilla has gone awry and a congressional staffer and former model, Vanessa Boyd, is dead. Martin must decide how best to protect his reputation and the Senator’s. What unfolds are hairpin plot turns as human vice and political power collide and race toward catastrophe for both men. Here’s is an intriguing and entertaining look inside the circles of power with which the author is familiar and includes the element of Chinese spying because that is as critical today as Soviet spying was during the Cold War. If you’re looking for a great read, you will find it in this novel.

I think the ladies will like Chasing Sunsets($22.99, Howard Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster) more than the guys. Karen Kingsbury has more than 25 million copies of her books in print. This one features Mary Catherine, the only child of married parents but generally neglected by them. She brings meaning to her life through charity work in Los Angeles and finds herself attracted to one of her co-workers and begins to think of their life together until she gets devastating news about her health. I won’t give much away except to say that she is faced with serious decisions and she ops for an inspirational one. William Hazelgrove is the author of ten best-selling novels, Jack Pine is his latest. It has strong environmental themes. When the sixteen year old daughter of a prominent attorney is raped in a woodshed and a logger found shot the next morning, Deputy Sheriff Reuger London becomes embroiled in a war between environmentalists, the Ojibwa Indians fighting for their timber rights, and the ruthless son of a powerful logger. Needless to say the logger is the villain in this story, but it has plenty of plot twists and turns to hold your attention. It is officially due out next month.

There are two new novels from Thomas & Mercer. David Corbett’s talents as a crime writer have earned him award nominations and The Mercy of the Night ($15.95, softcover) is likely to do the same with its story of Jacquelina “Jacqi” Garza who was one of two nearly identical girls abducted at age eight by a child predator in the northern California town of Rio Mirada. After escaping and enduring a very public trial, he life spiraled out of control until, a decade later, she vanishes once again, determined to cross the border and start over. Phalan Tierney, a former lawyer and part-time investigator is recovering from trauma in his life and is determined to find Jacqi and help her get back on track. Just as he has located her, he is drawn into a case that threatens to tear the town apart. Suffice to say there are circles within circles in this densely plotted story that is sure to please those who love crime fiction. Threshold by G.M. Ford ($14.95, softcover) is a police thriller that will add to a reputation based on his previous novels. Still smarting from the very public breakup of his marriage and facing conduct complaints, Detective Mickey Dolan catches a case that might turn things around for him. It involved the disappearance of the wife and daughters of a powerful city councilman. Assisted by a young woman who may know the terrible truth about the missing family, Dolan soon finds that he must choose between helping his career and protecting innocent lives. It’s a page-turner.

Lawyers and cops seem to dominate the novels arriving of late. Gun Street Girl: A Detective Sean Duffy Novel by Adrian McKinty ($15.95, Seventh Street Books, softcover) and it will take you to Belfast, Ireland in 1985 where Detective Duffy is a Catholic cop in the Protestant Royal Ulster Constabulary is struggling with burn-out as he investigates a brutal double murder and suicide. Did Michael Kelly really shoot his parents at point blank range and then jump off a nearby cliff? A suicide note seems to confirm this, but Duffy has his doubts and he soon discovers that Kelly was present at a decadent Oxford party where a cabinet minister’s daughter died of a heroin overdose. The story explodes with gun runners, arms dealers, the British government and a rogue American agent with a fake identity. Sound interesting? It is! McKinty has authored sixteen novels and has been called the best of the new generation of Irish crime novelists. Adam Mitzner is an attorney and a novelist and his latest is Losing Faith ($26.00, Gallery Books) in which Aaron Littman, the chairman of one of the country’s most prestigious law firms has just been contacted by a high-profile defense attorney whose client is Nikolai Garkov, a Russian businessman widely believed to have pulled the financial strings behind a recent terrorist bombing. Gorkov is a thorough evil villain and he has evidence of a torrid affair Littman had with the presiding judge, Faith Nichols, in the case against him. He threatens to ruin Littman’s career if he doesn’t influence Faith. Legal thriller fans will love this one.

Finally, what if William Shakespeare had written the Star Wars stories? Well, now you can find out what it would have been to read The Phantom of Menace: Star Wars ® Part the First as rendered by Ian Doescher ($14.95, Quirk Books). It is an ideal Shakespearean drama filled with sword fights, soliloquies and doomed romance. The School Library Journal said “Doescher’s pseudo-Shakespearean language is dead-on; this is one of the best-written Shakespeare parodies create for this audience and it is absolutely laugh-out-loud funny for those familiar with both the Bard and Star Wars.” I can’t add anything to that.

That’s it for April! Come back in May and don’t forget to let your book-loving friends, family, and co-workers know about Bookviews.com and its wide selection of the latest non-fiction and fiction books.

By Alan Caruba

My Picks of the Month

It’s still early in the year, but by far one of the best books to have been published in 2015 is Senator Mike Lee’s Our Lost Constitution: The Willful Subversion of America’s Founding Document($27.95, Sentinel, an imprint of the Penguin Group). Lee (R-Utah) is the chairman of the Senate Steering Committee and an appointed advisor to Senate Majority Leaders Mitch McConnell. A former Supreme Court clerk, he serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee. When you read his book, you will give a silent prayer of thanks that someone so knowledgeable about the Constitution and so dedicated to it has been elected to defend it. Indeed, Senators and other U.S. officials take an oath to defend the Constitution, but it has long been honored more in word than deed. This book is especially important because we are living through a period widely understood to be one of lawlessness in the highest office of the land; a fearful situation in which the President has simply chosen to ignore the vital and stipulated role of the legislative branch in the creation of policy. If you have never read the Constitution or were only briefly taught that its first ten Amendments are our Bill of Rights, this book will provide you with an understand that opens your eyes to the great issue of our time that the way the Constitution has continued to serve all Americans even though it has been under duress since the days of Franklin D. Roosevelt who created a huge federal government with asserted powers not found in the Constitution. Want to really understand what is happening at the highest levels of government in America today? Read Sen. Lee’s extraordinary and very interesting book on the subject.

I have been reading Larry Bell’s commentaries on the Forbes magazine site for a long time. He is a Professor of Architecture at the University of Houston, but he is known to his readers as one of the most perceptive writers about the global warming/climate change hoax with which we have been living since the late 1980s. He brings a host of facts along with his opinion, making him invaluable to those trying to sort out the lies. His latest book is Scared Witless: Prophets and Profits of Climate Doom ($22.95, Stairway Press, softcover) and if you have been promising yourself you want to know the truth about the alleged threats to planet Earth, then this most certainly is the book to read. You will learn how and why billions have been squandered by our government and others on the apocalyptic myths that have been repeated endlessly in the mainstream media. There is no scientific basis to much of what is still being taught in our schools and presented as climate policy by the government and the many environmental groups that profit from keep everyone frightened. Bell’s book is easy to read which is a blessing when you consider the science it addresses and presents.

Everyone is African: How Science Explodes the Myth of Race by Daniel J. Fairbanks ($18.00, Prometheus Books, softcover) examines the research about DNA and the origins of the human race, all of which concludes that we are a single human race, sharing most of our DNA and differing only in terms of mutations that occurred after our ancestors migrated from Africa sixty to seventy thousand years ago. Fairbanks is the dean of the College of Science and Health at Utah Valley University, a research geneticist, and author. What he has to say will upset those who cling to race as an important “difference”, but what they are really addressing are cultural and social differences, not racial ones. The science presented is comprehensible even to someone without a background and the conclusions the book arrives at should be more widely known.

Few criminal acts and events evoke more fear and outrage than shootings at schools that take the lives of students and teachers. Two comes swiftly to mind, Columbine High School in 1999 and Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012. Peter Langman is a psychologist who has made an intensive study of the shooters in these and some 48 our incidents. His book, School Shooters ($31.00, Rowman and Littlefield) provides a wealth of information and insight regarding the gunmen, mostly younger and white, mostly psychotic and psychopathic. In general they lacked the normal constraints on such behavior being either narcissistic, lacking empathy, or seeking to empower themselves to offset feelings of inadequacy. The one thing I concluded from reading this book was that all were what we would call “losers” in some respect, failing in school, unable to hold jobs, in trouble of one sort of another. Langman to his credit says there is probably no way to identify the next school shooter or protect against the next shooting.

Science is one of those topics we hear about all the time, but unless you studied it in school or college, it is also one of those topics about which many of us have a very limited knowledge. You can improve yours by reading The Story of Science: From the Writings of Aristotle to the Big Bang Theory by Susan Wise Bauer ($26.95, W.W. Norton). A best-selling writer and historian, Bauer introduces the reader to the development of great science writing as she walks you through thirty-six seminal scientific texts spanning 2,500 years, making them more approachable in a narrative of the human understanding of our world and beyond. This book connects the dots, positioning important scientific texts in both their historical and scientific contexts.

Over the years I have received many cookbooks and one of the best publishes of them is Pelican Publishing Company of New Orleans. Among their latest is Kit Wohl’s New Orleans Classic Celebrations ($16.95). Anyone who has ever visited New Orleans comes away with memories of the fabulous cuisine that its many restaurants offer. Wohl is an author, photographer, and artist. She works with chefs, restaurants, and hotels around the nation and this book is her tenth. It features a hundred color photos to illustrate its many fabulous recipes such as Le Petite Grocery’s blue crab beignets, onion soup from Arnaud’s, and Mosca’s Chicken Grande. They have easy-to-follow instructions for the home cook and the photos alone would make one want to head to the kitchen to prepare and share any one of the wonderful dishes. Pelican has a series devoted to classic recipes for desserts, brunches, seafood and appetizers, among others. A great gift for oneself or the “foodie” you know will love it.

I love a book that exists just to be fun. That is a perfect description of Find Momo Coast to Coast ($14.95, Quirk Books, softcover)by photographer Andrew Knapp and his border collie Momo who came to fame in 2012 when Knapp began sharing photos of him on Instragram. Together they made their literary debut in 2013 with “Find Momo” as that enjoyed playing hide-and-seek around the world. This new book chronicles a 15,000 miles tail-waggingly fun adventure across the U.S. and Canada. The photos are a splendid way for anyone old or young to get acquainted with both nations as both famed sites and those little known are visited and Momo peeks out at you after you finally find him in the setting. It never ceases to be entertaining.

Memoirs and Biographies

I have been a fan of Dana Perino from her days as the press secretary to George W. Bush and now as one of the Fox News show, The Five. It doesn’t hurt that she is simply quite beautiful, but I have always been impressed by, first, her ability to deal with the White House press during the Bush years and, now, for the unfailingly wise interpretation of events and personalities about which she is asked to comment. Her new book is And the Good News Is… ($26.00, Twelve) is a memoir as well as a sharing of lessons she has learned in her life. It would make especially good reading for any young woman who likewise admires her, but the book will surely please any reader because it is filled with good humor plus behind-the-scenes stories from her days in the White House and now at Fox News. We learn for example that her father expected her to pick out two news stories from the Denver Post or Rocky Mountain News and be prepared to discuss them a dinner. She credits that will learning how to articulate her thoughts and present her views persuasively. There is no doubt that she was hired for some very challenging jobs in her government career because others saw she had significant skills. She has had a full life to this point and one about which you will enjoy reading.

We all look at actors and actresses, especially during award shows, and think what fabulous lives they have. Lisa Jakub tells a very different story in You Look Like That Girl: A Child Actor Stops Pretending and Finally Grows Up ($24.95, Beaufort Books). From the age of four, she had a very successful career, appearing in forty movies and television shows over the course of 18-years in which she had appeared in blockbusters like “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Independence Day.” Her was indeed a life of red carpets, luxury, celebrity filled dinner parties, and all the things people think are fabulous. “However, like many actors I knew, I failed miserably at feeling successful. When we signed autographs we worried we would be failures if we never signed another one. When we were auditioning, we worried we would never work again. When we were working, we worried that the film might be terrible and could ruin our careers.” Sounds like fun? Hardly. In a chapter titled “Professional Pretender”, Jakub says “I think that there should be Oscars given for coal mining. There should be a red carpet night for 011 operators and orphanage employees.” These were real jobs that real people were living. Here is a completely candid, honest look at the life of a child actor and ultimately how and why Jakub walked away from it to have a life based in the pursuit of reality.

The Nazi Holocaust is fading into history except for those who survived it, their loved ones, and for the nation of Israel that rose from its ashes. It also produced many memoirs and each reminds us of the horrors of the 1930s and 40s. It also reminds us of the personal courage of people to survive a hatred we are seeing mirrored in today’s headlines of a comparable Islamic campaign to kill the Middle East’s Christians. An Improbable Journey: A True Story of Courage and Survival During World War II by Susan Schenkel, Ph.D. ($12.95, Brightfield Books, softcover) is based the lives of her parents, Leon and Siddi Schenkel. Siddi was only 16 when she was left on her own in Nazi Germany and, like Leon, she had found her way to Samarkand, Uzbekistan to escape the fate that before six million European Jews. That is where they met and fell in love. Together they faced starvation, homelessness, epidemics, and harassment from the Soviet police. Despite this, they had a baby. After the war they returned to Germany and a displaced persons camp from which they eventually made their way to America. This memoir is a small piece of history, but reading it will provide a unique window in those times and insights toward our present times.

Reading History

We think of it as the mansion that overlooks Arlington National Cemetery, but for a very long time before it was known as the George Washington Parke Custis Mansion and it was one of the most recognized buildings in the region, visible from almost anywhere in Washington, D.C. It was built by the step-grandson of Washington. It would become the home of his daughter, Mary Anna Custis Lee and her husband, General Robert E. Lee who had lived there for thirty years. Mrs. Lee’s Rose Garden: The True Story of the Founding of Arlington by Carlo Devito ($17.95, Cider Mill Press) tells of its transition from a treasured Lee family home, to hallowed ground. Lee was already an acclaimed general at the time the Civil War broke out. Choosing the lead the South, it would also cause him the loss of the mansion. Its vast grounds were chosen as a national cemetery not just for their location, but as a rebuke to Lee. This is a short book, but it is filled with the drama of the lives most intimately involved with the mansion and provides a wonderful look at the pre-and-post Civil War era. They come alive as real people faced with their personal and the national dramas.

Wars are the punctuation marks of history and they generate much telling of it. Whole libraries could be filled with those about World War II and you can add Hell from the Heavens: The Epic Story of the USS Laffey and World War II’s Greatest Kamikaze Attack by John Wukovits ($25.99, Da Capo Press). In our times we have the Muslim suicide bombers, but during WWII the Japanese had their own suicide killers who flew aircraft loaded with explosives into war ships. The Laffey gain fame as “The ship that refused to die”, but not until thirty-two of its crew had died, over seventy were wounded, and the ship was gravely damaged. On April 16, 1945 he was attacked by twenty-two kamikaze aircraft, marking the largest single-ship attack of the war. Nine of the aircraft were shot down in the 80-minute battle and, despite the damage, the ship managed to return home. This year marks the 70^thanniversary of the attack. The hero of the story is the Laffey’s commander, F. Julian Becton, who took an inexperienced crew—many just barely out of high school—and prepared them for battle with rigorous training drills. The whole crew were, of course, heroes and testimony to “the greatest generation” that faced a fanatical, determined enemy and defeated it.

Although they were on the wrong side of the law, we still have a strange sweet spot for the bad boys, the criminals who made history in their own way. That is why the Mafia became part of U.S. history after some of its members migrated from Italy. The era of Prohibition became a unique opportunity to make a lot of money providing the booze that a Constitutional Amendment had banned. Bill Friedman has written a massive tome, 30 Illegal Years to the Strip ($19.99, available from Internet book outlets, ebook $9.99. It looks at the careers of the most powerful gangsters in American history; men whose names like Al Capone, Charlie Luciano, and Meyer Lansky are well known thanks to the popular culture of films and television. The criminals of that era would go on to build 80% of the early Las Vegas Strip gambling resorts from the Flamingo in 1946 to Caesars Palace in 1966. This is an intensely researched book about three decades of organized crime starting with Prohibition and how these hoodlums changed course to set in motion the most famed gaming capital in America. Under different circumstances they might have been regarded as business leaders, but they also occasionally ordered the murder of those that threatened their lives and livelihood. During WWII, Luciano and Lansky would have been regarded as heroes for ordering dock workers to cooperation with U.S. Naval intelligence to thwart the German U-boat attacks on allied ships. Chapter by chapter this is fascinating history.

Getting Down to Business (Books)

If and when the nation encounters a financial meltdown, it won’t be because lots of well- informed people did not issue warnings. The latest is Michael D. Tanner’s Going for Broke: Deficits, Debt, and the Entitlement Crisis ($18.95, Cato Institute). Tanner is a senior fellow with the libertarian Cato Institute, an expert on health care reform, social welfare policy, and Social Security. His latest book points to a federal government that continues to grow and the overspending for which it has become famous. At this writing, we have an $18 trillion debt. In sum, Tanner warms could end up a financial basket case like Greece. The entitlement programs represent 47% of federal spending today. The addition of the Affordable Care Act only adds to deficit to the tune of a trillion a year. This book will be read by those who take such matters seriously, but its predictions will affect everyone. If Tanner’s book doesn’t keep you up at night, Philip Kotler’s Confronting Capitalism will ($26.00, Amacom). Kotler is a professor of International marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, but trained initially as an economist, being taught by the University of Chicago’s famed free-market evangelist, Milton Friedman, and later under Paul Samuelson at MIT. Suffice to say, he has terrific credentials, but he also has a host of reservations about the capitalist system that has made the USA the wealthiest nation on planet Earth and which has survived depressions and recessions once the government got out of the way and let it work. Kotler serves up a book filled with reasons, trends and predictions that suggests trouble ahead, but I have to say I have been reviewing books for over fifty years at this point and have seen this kind of thing before. Is he right? Maybe. Your move!

People love to read books by people who have achieved great success and that is a good description of John Sculley, the former CEO of Pepsi and Apple. If you would like to join that multi-millionaire club, you might want to read his book Moonshot! Game-Changing Strategies to Build Billion-Dollar Businesses ($27.95, Rosette Books). The book’s target audience are entrepreneurs, investors and young business leaders. Sculley, unlike the academics noted above, has been there first hand and his book says that all those high tech industries are going to disrupt virtually every industry in some fashion. Moreover, the traditional business plan has been irrelevant and is being replaced by the customer plant. Indeed, the best way in the future to success is to provide superb customer service and, best of all, this is the best time in history to build a billion-dollar business. Now this is the kind of book I like reading!

There is no end to books offering advice on leadership skills and for anyone in the world of business or any other activity they can often be very helpful. A Higher Standard was written by General Ann Dunwoody (U.S. Army, Ret.) and is subtitled “Leadership skills from America’s first female four-star general” ($25.99, Da Capo Press) and it is just that. She relates her 37 years with the military and what she learned along the way, sharing her view they men and women must pursue excellence, demonstrate integrity, and cultivate endurance. Best of all it is filled with practical business advice such as never ignoring a mistake and holding those who make them accountable. She says leaders aren’t invincible and should try to be, while at the same time learning to recognize your advocates, patronizers, and detractors. She advises on the best ways to form a winning team. And much more. She was the first woman to become a four-star general so she knows whereof she speaks. For those in the management ranks, you might consider reading Laurie Sudbrink’s Leading With GRIT: Inspiring Action and Accountability with Generosity, Respect, Integrity, and Truth ($35.00 Wiley). How do you know this is worth reading? Consider the publisher, Wiley, one of the top business book publishers. Then consider the author who brings twenty years of corporate experience in human relations, management, sales, marketing and training to this book. This is a practical leadership guide and, at the same time, will show you how to approach your job and life with a positive feeling about who you are and where you’re going. Those who master leadership skills and attitudes go onto to become leaders and this book is a good place to start.

When those big bucks begin to come in, you might want to read Paul Sullivan’s The Thin Green Line: The Money Secrets of the Super Wealthy ($27.00, Simon & Schuster). I will hold onto this one in case I hit the Lotto Power Ball. Sullivan is the “Wealth Matters” columnist at The New York Times and draws on his experience writing about today’s One Percent to show others how to make better financial decisions. Indeed, he makes a distinction between being wealthy and being rich, the former being having more money than you need to do all the things you want. Being rich, on the other hand, says Sullivan means being financial secure even in hard times. His book looks at how we think about money and wealth, and being honest with our fears and insecurities, as a way to arrive at rational decisions. He discusses both spending and saving money which is something to which we often do not give much thought. If you intend to get rich or already closing in on that level of security, this is a book worth reading.

Increasingly, people and industries here in the West are looking at doing business in Asia. Mark L. Clifford has lived in Asia for twenty-five years as a journalist, author, and policy advisor, witnessing and chronicling the ups and downs of Asia’s spectacular economic rise. His new book is The Greening of Asia: The Business Case for Solving Asia’s Environmental Emergency ($29.95, Columbia University Press) and it looks at the way, for example, China’s environment, its air and water, has suffered in the quest to embrace a free market economy and join the rest of the world in the pursuit of a growing, successful economy. Clifford is an advocate for “green” solutions to issues such as energy use and pollution, so his book, while celebrating the success Asian business is enjoying, also is filled with warnings about the price it will pay for it. The problem with that is that wind and solar energy cannot even begin to meet the needs of Asia or anywhere else for that matter. Europe is already divesting itself of these power sources and returning to coal and considering nuclear power to meet its growing needs.

There will never be an end to books on investing and that is because changes in the business community, new technologies that generate new investment options, and other factors all need to be addressed. Ken Fisher, a billionaire, best-selling author, and Forbes “Portfolio Strategy” columnist is well worth reading for his insights and advice. His new book, Beat the Crowd: How You Can Out-Invest the Herd by Thinking Differently ($29.95, Wiley) is the book anyone contemplating investing or already doing so should read because he explores our contrarianism as an investment strategy rather than following the herd is worth understanding. Wall Street’s definition of contrarian investing is simplistic and wrong, says Fisher, one of the most successful money managers in history. His firm controls nearly $65 billion in assets. He defines it as being smarter than the crowd by finding and leveraging valuable information that isn’t already priced into a stock. His book reveals how to train your brain to battle the media, the crowd, your friends, and your neighbors. Independent thought is the key to successful investing says Fisher. There’s nothing magical about this and he says that you just have to be right more often than wrong. “A 60% success rate keeps you well ahead of most.” It is filled with the most basic knowledge of the market to know whether you are a novice or serious investor. “Stocks are your long-term way to own” the benefits of the changes occurring thanks in large part to new and developing technologies shaping the economy. This is definitely the book to read on this subject.

Novels, Novels, Novels

David Ignatius is a prize-winning columnist for the Washington Post who has more than twenty-five year’s experience covering the Middle East and the CIA. He is also the author of several novels that have put him in the ranks of our best. He cements that reputation with The Director ($16.95, W.W. Norton, softcover) that begins when a disheveled youth walks into the American consulate in Hamburg and demands a private interview with the new CIA director. The consulate is dismissive until he tells them the agency has been hacked and that he has a list of undercover agents’ names as proof. At this point you will be reading a fast-paced thriller that feels like it was ripped from the headlines as we read about such hacks. The new Director has only been in office for a week when he receives word that the agency has been hacked and that no one is safe. What the young hacker wants is an exchange of the information he has for protection from the people trying to kill him. A young, tech-savvy agent is assigned to the case, but the Director begins to have suspicions of him. This is a cyber-espionage novel that guarantees a story you will not want to put down until the last page.

Another action-packed novel is Scott McEwen’s The Sniper and the Wolf ($24.99, Touchstone, an imprint of Simon and Schuster). McEwen is the coauthor with Chris Kyle of the huge bestseller of “American Sniper” which went on to become an Oscar-winning blockbuster film. This novel was co-written with Thomas Kolonair. Together they have created a heart-pounding military thriller, the third inspired by Special Ops missions. In this story, hero Gil Shannon joins up with an unlikely Russian ally in order to stop a terrorist plot bent on destruction across Europe. Shannon is hot on the trail of a Chechen terrorist when his mission is exposed by a traitor high up in the U.S. government and he must turn to a Russian counterpart. Together they discover his goal is to upend the U.S. economy and the stability of the Western world. The hunt takes Shannon from Sicily to the Ukraine to Russia and you get to go along as he must get to the one sniper who might be his equal and who wants to kill him. The fact that the story is based on events from real life makes it a page-turner. Thrillers abound and Charlie Newton’s Traitor’s Gate ($14.95, Thomas & Mercer, softcover) takes the reader to the days just before the first shots of World War II. A survivor of a brutal massacre that left her family dead, Saba Hassouneh becomes The Raven, a freedom fighter hunted throughout the Middle East by the British colonial powers and religious mullahs alike. When she meets Eddie Owen, a petroleum engineer, their attraction is immediate, but their goals are diametrically opposed because she is eyeing British refineries as a point of attack. The must resolve their personal issues and, in doing so, determine who will own the skies of World War II.

Victoria Shorr intended to write a non-fiction account of the life of a beloved Brazillian legend, the one-eyed bandit Lampiao and his lover, Maria Bonita, but instead she opted to tell their story In Backlands($25.95, W.W. Norton), bring to life the story of this Robin Hood hero whose gang avoided capture for a long time by living in the Sertao, the name which translated into the title of this story. They did indeed steal from the rich and give to the poor in the early decades of the 20^th century, outwitting the authorities for twenty years. They were regarded as heroes by poor farmers and struggling merchants. The author devoted ten years to researching the story, concluding that the lives of Lampiao and Bonita lent themselves better to a fictional format. The facts remain true, but her lyrical telling of them makes this a story well worth reading.

Mystery and murder combine in The Fatal Sin of Love ($11.50, Back Bay Press, softcover). Somebody’s killing chocolate lovers in Boston and China. When a wealthy Back Bay widow dies in her sleep, nobody suspects that it’s just the beginning of a carefully laid out plot to hijack the multimillion dollar inheritance that the Chinese American dowager left to members of her far-flung family. Well, nobody but amateur detectives Ann Lee and Fang Chen. Written by G.X. Chen, who was born in Shanghai and raised in Hong Kong. A trip back to the mainland China in 1965 trapped her there for decades under Communist rule. After the Cultural Revolution, she became a best-selling author. These days she has a master’s degree from the University of New Mexico, having left China in 1989. She is now an American citizen, this is her fourth American novel. The good news is that there are more to come. This is a great way to learn about another culture while enjoying a great mystery as well.

That’s it for May! Come back next month for more news of books you may not hear or read about elsewhere. Tell your book-loving family members, friends and co-workers about Bookviews.com so they too can benefit from its eclectic news about the latest in non-fiction and fiction.

By Alan Caruba

My Picks of the Month

A book I would recommend as “must reading” is Samuel Blumenfeld’s and Alex Newman’s Crimes of the Educators: How Utopians Are Using Government Schools to Destroy America’s Children ($26.95m WND Books). It has been known for decades that America’s school children have been falling behind others worldwide in their ability to read and do math. In 1983 the National Commission on Excellence in Education said “If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed I as an act of war. As it stands, we have allowed this to happen to ourselves.” This book traces the deliberate effort to destroy the ability of students to learn to read back many years and reveals why, as a result, half of America’s adult population is functionally illiterate. Americans, through their government school system have been systematically dumbed down and today a national standard to maintain this is being imposed via Common Core. The result has been a rise in the number of parents who are home-schooling their children and the rise in tutoring. When you have read this book you will know why too many Americans think the others around them are dumb. They’re right.

January 1973: Watergate, Roe V. Wade, Vietnam, and the Month that Changed America Forever by James Robenalt ($27.95, Chicago Review Press) is a densely documented review of the title date’s month and the way so many events came together to alter the future. Just prior to January Harry Truman passed away and later in the month so did Lyndon Johnson. It was the month the Watergate investigation revealed the White House payoffs to its burglars and forced an end to Nixon’s second term. The Vietnam War was winding down due to Nixon’s decision to bomb the North over the Christmas period. Negotiations began again that would end it. The Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion would change our culture thereafter. This is strictly for the reader who enjoys reading the details but it demonstrates how, in a very short moment, history can take some dramatic turns. Disruptive Power: The Crisis of the State in the Digital Age by Taylor Owen ($27.95, Oxford University Press) is another challenging read. We have encountered new phenomena like WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden that reveal information about how the government is actually functioning in ways unrivaled before. Owen provides readers with a look at the way digital technologies are shaking up the working of the institutions that have traditionally controlled international affairs, including humanitarianism, diplomacy, activism and journalism.

For those whose passion is cinema, they will want to add John Hughes: A Life in Film ($40.00, Race Point Publishing) to their libraries. Kirk Honeycutt, its author, explores Hughes’s life and career, with behind the scenes stories and insights regarding the creation of each of his films. They include The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Home Alone, Uncle Buck, and many others. Honeycutt is a former film critic for The Hollywood Reporter and as this large format, extensively illustrated book demonstrates, other than Steven Spielberg, there was no other filmmakers of the late 1980s and early 1990s who was as influential and produced such a legacy of films that remain iconic and popular to the present day. Honeycutt notes that “Among his closest associates some felt his prolific output worked against his artistry…john never paid any attention. Perhaps he couldn’t.” That is the price and reward of genius. This book guarantees not only his life story and career, but hours of reading pleasure.

I’ve never been there, but it never surprises me to hear people speak of Paris in glowing terms. You’ll learn why when you read A Passion for Paris: Romanticism and Romance in the City of Light by David Downie ($26.95, St. Martin’s Press. Downie sets out to get to the heart of the city’s magic and mystique. In a unique combination of memoir, history and travelogue, Downie weaves together the lives and loves of Victory Hugo, Georges Sand, Charles Baudelaire, Balzac, and other great Romantics, along with his own, delighting in the city’s secular romantic pilgrimage sites to find the answer. Abounding in secluded, atmospheric parks, artist’s studios, cafes, restaurants, and streets that have changed little since the 1800s, Downie finds romance around every corner, noting the art and architecture, the cityscape, riverbanks, and quality of daily life there. Downie, a native San Franciscan, lived in New York, Providence, Rome and Milan before moving to Paris in the mid-1980s. He divides his time between France and Italy these days.

The Future and Why We Should Avoid it: Killer Robots, the Apocalypse and Other Topics of Mild Interest ($22.95, Douglas & McIntyre, softcover) has been described as “a survival guide, part how-to manual, part product guide, part apocalypse and part sardonic observation to help us navigate through these troubled times.” But when weren’t the times troubled? Scott Feschuk, its author, muses on aging, death, technology, inventions, health and leisure. He is a satirist for lack of a better definition, but to his credit, he is never boring. Fans of MAD magazine have over the years enjoyed the writing of Frank Jacobs, credited over five decades with over 575 contributions, over 300 issues, to the human readers came to love.

The first installment of “MAD’s Greatest Writers” is devoted to Frank Jacobs: Five Decades of His Greatest Works ($30.00, Running Press) with a foreword by “Weird Al” Yankovic. As a special treat, the book features an exclusive interview conducted by former MAD editor Nick Meglin. This is a large format book with page after page of the artwork which is timeless.

Biographies

It is curious how one of America’s greatest composers and writers of classic musicals is generally unknown. You would instantly recognize “Witchcraft”, “Big Spender” and “The Best is Yet to Come”. You may have enjoyed performances of “Sweet Charity”, “City of Angels”, and “Barnum” and still not be able to name Cy Coleman. That is about to change with Andy Propst new biography, You Fascinate Me So: The Life and Times of Cy Coleman ($32.99, Applause Theatre & Cinema Books). Propst, a music and theatre journalist takes the reader into the world and work of this amazing Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award-winning talent. He was a child prodigy in the 1930s and was a jazz pianist and early television celebrity of the 1950s. This preeminent Broadway composer passed away in November 2004. In addition to the full cooperation of the Coleman estate, the book is further enhanced by interviews with performers like Michele Lee, Phyllis Newman, Chita Rivera, as well as others such as Hal Prince and Tommy Tune. Every major singer has performed his songs, from Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Steisand to Dame Shirley Bassey. If you love music, you will love this biography.

In the 1960s when the feminist movement was gaining momentum and spreading, we all became aware of Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem who became icons of the movement, but at the same time there was an anti-feminist counterpart who, happily, is recalled and the subject of Helen Andelin and the Fascinating Womanhood Movement by Julie Debra Neuffer ($19.95, The University of Utah Press, softcover). She authored “Fascinating Womanhood” which sold more than two million copies, becoming a celebrity and spokeswoman for the point of view that the greatest role for a woman was as a wife and a mother. She preached family values and that the best career was homemaker. From an unknown housewife-turned-media-sensation, Andelin found herself appearing in magazines, on radio and with TV personalities, Larry King, Phil Donahue, and Connie Chung. Neuffer teaches 20^th century American history and courses in American religion at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington. Ironically, Neuffer grew up in a small town where Andelin’s views would be right at home, but still pursued her career. She would come to know Andelin, discovering she knew little about the feminist movement, but both she and Friedan were responding to the unhappiness and turmoil that many American women were experiencing during the 1960’s and 70’s.

Going further back in time, Dorothy U. Seyler tells us about The Obelisk and the Englishman: The Pioneering Discoveries of Egyptologist William Bankes ($26.00, Prometheus Books) who was a pioneer in the nascent study of the language, history, and civilization of ancient Egypt. Born in 1786, Bankes discovered the King List at the Abydos Temple, a wall of cartouches listing Egyptian Kings in chronological order which was vital to the decoding of Egyptian hieroglyphs. A homosexual, he lived in an era where he as persecuted for being gay and threatened with imprisonment. Despite that, his pioneering work on ancient temples and artifacts now enriches the knowledge of modern Egyptologists. His home, now a National Trust estate, can be visited to enjoy his art collection and it has an obelisk from Philae on its south lawn. A professor emerita of English who has authored ten college textbooks, but this departure is a special treat for its treatment of Bankes’ life and his work.

Various Sciences

The Earth from Myths to Knowledge by Hubert Krivine ($29.95, Verso Books) takes the reader on a trip to the past as it tells the story of the thinkers and scientists speculated and discover how the Earth came to be and, while the planet’s elliptical orbit around the Sun and its billions of years of existence is taken for granted these days, it took a millennia for these truths to be achieved and known. Krivine introduces the reader to Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler, as well as Halley, Kelvin, Darwin and Rutherford among many others, demonstrating how they often had to get passed religious dogmatism to make their discoveries known, celebrating their courage while acknowledging that as often as not blind luck played a part! It was an epic struggle to overcome ideology and superstition from which the philosophy of science emerged. Krivine demonstrates that scientific progress is not a sufficient condition for social progress, but it is a necessary one. The Earth is not merely a history of scientific learning, but a stirring defense of Enlightenment values in the quest for human advancement.

The Earth is at the heart of Rare: The High-Stakes Race to Satisfy Our Need for the Scarcest Metals on Earth by Keith Veronese ($25.00, Prometheus Books). What would happen if the supply of tanalum dries up? While most have no heard of this unusual metal, but without it smartphones would be instantly less omniscient, video games would false, and laptops fail. This is the story of Rhodium, Osmium, Nioblum and other such rare metals and how they are the key components of many consumer products like cell phones and flat screen televisions. Rare delves into the economic and geopolitical issues surrounding these “conflict minerals” blending tales of financial and political struggles with glimpses into the human lives that are shattered by the race to secure them. This book has warnings of the future as China is the world’s largest supplier of these metals, and the U.S., Great Britain, and Japan race to find alternative sources.

You will gain a whole new insight as to human behavior when you read Richard H. Thaler’s Misbehaving: The Making of Behavior Economics ($27.95, W.W. Norton). Thaler is already acknowledged as one of the world’s most unconventional economist so his new book is no surprise in that regard. He distills a career’s worth of thinking about “dumb stuff people do” into a witty demolition of the more doctrinaire elements of economics. Thaler looks at the way people actually make their decisions to purchase things, to save nor not for the future, and countless other choices. Along the way he looks at economic misbehaving in financial markets, the NFL draft, to TV games, determining along the way which businesses thrive and which do not. This book will make you think far more seriously about the way you go about your economic life from buying tickets for a rock concert to picking out a new office and planning for retirement.

What drives the habit patterns that can be destructive to ourselves, to society, and the environment? That’s the question asked and answered in Dr. Peter C. Whybrow, MD’s The Well-Tuned Brain: Neuroscience and the Life Well Lived ($27.95, W.W. Norton). An eminent neuropsychiatrist, Dr. Whybrow weaves cutting-edge science, philosophy, history and personal experience to explore how the human brain is at odds with the enticements of the consumer society. He calls it the mismatch between who we are and the vibrant culture in which we live. Self-interest and the drive to overconsumption are relics of our evolution, from a time when competition for scare resources was essential to our survival. We are, in addition, creatures of habit, what Dr. Whybrow calls our auto-pilots that permit the brain to work efficiently and with speed—intuitively and without conscious attention. He offers a variety of changes he believes will produce a better society. For anyone interested in how we think what we think and how we act on it within the context of our society, this book has much to offer.

Advice! Advice! Advice!

I don’t know why, but I have been overwhelmed by a dozen books that have arrived offering advice on how to live one’s life, get on with one’s partner, be a good parent, et cetera! I have no doubt that one or more of them will prove quite helpful.

Now, briefly, here they are. Are you Fully Charged? The 3 Keys to Energizing Your Work and Life by Tom Rath ($22.95, Silicon Guild, an imprint of Missionday) With many endorsements, Arianna Huffington says it is “about renewing ourselves in the full est sense. Drawing on extensive research, Tom Rath, provides us with the three key pillars that can help create a life of more meaning and perspective; being part of something larger than ourselves, valuing people and experiences over mere stuff, and understanding that looking after our own well-being is the first step to doing more for others.” 360 Degrees of Success: Money, Relationships, Energy, time—the 4 essential ingredients to create personal and professional Success by Ana Weber ($17.95, Morgan James, softcover) is written for corporate professionals who want to dramatically improve their level of efficiency, effectiveness and enjoyment at work and in all other aspects of their life. The author of 17 books as a renowned corporate success coach, Weber has put a lot of knowledge and guidance into book that pulls together the kind of insight and advice that can make a big difference for the reader. Another book for the workplace that is well worth reading is Beyond Measure: The Big Impact of Small Changes by Margaret Heffernan ($15.99, a TED original with Simon & Schuster, softcover). The author demonstrates that by implementing sweeping changes, businesses often think it’s possible to do better, to earn more, and have happier employees. That is often not the case and she draws on decades spent overseeing different organizations to conclude that small changes are often far better. They encourage listening, asking questions, sharing information. This is a short book with a big message.

For marriage and parenthood, you could start with Navigating Your Relationship: A Voyage for Couples by H. Laurence Schwab, M.F.T. ($16.95, Two Harbors, softcover) who brings nearly thirty years of experience as a marriage and family therapist in private practice, as well as clinic and hospital settings to this text that addresses the fact that everyone’s relationship sails through choppy waters as some point. If couples learn to see each other as co-captains, both needed to be in control of their emotional destinies, even the toughest storms can be weathered. This book has a perfect metaphor. This is about dialogue and destiny.

Live More, Work Better: A Practical Guide to a Balanced Life by Gayle Hiltendort ($12.95, Bascom Hill Publishing Group, softcover) After spending more than 20 years as an overworked professional pouring her heart and soul into her job, the author decided after sacrificing her health, marriage, and personal relationships for her job to reevaluate and take her life back. If this sounds like you, this is the book for you! Supersurvivors: The Surprising Link Between Suffering and Success ($19.99, Harper Wave, in imprint of HarperCollins, softcover) by David B. Feldman and Lee Daniel Kravetz asks why do some people succumb to tragedy while others are able to use it as a springboard for extraordinary accomplishments? The book offers a blueprint for human resilience and a window into the science of achievement. It’s a book that Bloomberg Businessweek said was “one of the most valuable and interesting business books released this year.” The authors have given voice to individuals from all over the world who have managed to overcome significant hardship. If you or someone you know is encountering some setbacks, this is the book to read. “Unexpected inspiration from inside the nursing home” is the subtitle of Simple Lessons for a Better Life by Charles E. Dodgen ($18.00, Prometheus Books, softcover.) These are valuable life lessons from the unique experiences of nursing home residents. Dr. Dodgen, a clinical psychologist who has worked with this population for 18 years has discovered that when the surplus trappings of lifestyle are cleared away and lives are stripped to their most essential components, people discover new paths to happiness, peace and fulfillment. It is an inspiring book that is well worth reading.

For those with a spiritual approach to life there’s Life Unstuck: Finding Peace with your Past, Purpose in your Present, Passion for your Future by Pat Layton ($14.99, Revel, softcover). As she notes, womanhood is not an easy journey and everyone has felt stuck at some point in life. Layton reassures the reader that God has some much more than this planned for His daughters. The founder and president of the Life Impact Network, Layton has 25 years in full-time women’s ministry and has learned a lot about how women think, feel, respond and don’t respond. She shares her insight and encouragement as she delves deep into areas women seem to get stuck in the most—relationships, finances, ministry, career, and more.

Sand in My Sandwich and Other Motherhood Messes I’m Learning to Love by Sarah Parshall Perry ($14.99, Revell, softcover) is about a perfectionist, uptight lawyer, marry her to a small-town hero with no college degree and a very laidback outlook on life, and you have the recipe for some interesting challenges. Now add three children, two of whom are on the autism spectrum, and you know life is going to be filled with challenges to face and overcome. That’s Perry’s life and she pulls some universal truths of motherhood from it, addressing them with humajn, poignancy, and a naked honesty that will look and feel familiar to mothers everywhere. For today’s new mom’s this will prove to be very useful reading. Bruce and Caitlin Howlett have teamed to write Creating Capable Kids: Twelve Skills That Will Help Kids Succeed in School and Life ($15.95, New Horizon Press, softcover). Educators, they show parents how to guide, teach and incubate child development at home and in school. They offer fresh, effective ways to rescue children who are struggling in school and at home. Given the way today’s schools literally dumb down their students from the way they teach reading and math, this book could be the answer to many a frustrated parent’s questions on how to correct that problem. This is good advice on helping children become motivated, perceptive and resilient.

Stress-free Discipline: Simple Strategies for Handling Common Behavior Problems by Sara Au and Peter L. Stavinoha ($14.95, AMACOM, softcover) will solve a lot of problems that parents commonly face. From tantrum-throwing toddlers to eye-rolling teens, parents with children of all ages struggle with challenging behaviors at some point and while advice seems plentiful, it never seems to apply to your child at the moment. Sara is a mom and a journalist and Peter is a dad and pediatric neuropsychologist. Together they help the reader to understand why kids behave badly and how discipline can be applied, consistently and calmly, to not only alleviate stressful behavior issues, but also cultivate a positive parent-child relationship. As they say “behavior is communication” and “discipline is education.” Using flexible methods, both scientifically tested and parent-approved, the authors render the routine challenges less stressful, while strengthening a parent’s sense of purpose and peace of mind.

Kid Stuff for Younger Readers

To get the very young interested in reading, start them off by reading to them and Peter Apel’s book, Fred Pinsocket Loves Bananas ($7.99, Fred Pinsocket Productions) is a good example. First of all, it is small and very sturdy paperboard so it could take the handling of a two to three year old. Its colorful illustrations are easy to understand and its text is largely a repetition of the title, devoted to his love of bananas. Apel is a San Hose music artist, singer-songwriter, author, illustrator, magician and, yes, a dad. You can learn more about the book at www.PeterApel.com/bananabook and download a song to accompany it. By reading a delightful story like this, you will awaken an interest in pre-school children and create a memorable bond at the same time.

Two books from New Horizon Press have a message for specific groups of children. A Home for Ruby: Helping Children Adjust to New Families by P.J. Neer, PhD, ($9.95) was written for the 400,000 children who live in foster care, some of whom have a difficult time adjusting to their new home. Ruby is a beautiful horse but does not behave well and each of her owners send her off to new farms when she acts up. She is frustrated and scared, but when she arrives at Meadow Green, but her new owner sticks with her and Rudy finally realizes this would be a great forever home and behaves well. Maddy Patti and the Great Curiousity; Helping Children Understand Diabetes is by Mary Bilderback Abel and Stan Borg, illustrated by Lorraine Day ($9.95) and as the title makes clear, it is filled with information about diabetes that a younger reader needs to know. This is particularly true because if one parent has diabetes the child’s risk is 15% higher and, if both parents have it, the risk rises to 75% of falling victim of type 1 diabetes. It is a delightful story because Maddy’s grandfather is a retired doctor and Maddy has the gift of being able to communicate with the animals on his farm who instruct her on proper care and diet.

For sheer fun for those age seven and up, there’s Night Buddies Go Sky High by Sands Hetherington, illustrated by Jessica Love ($7.99, www.DuneBuggyPress.com) And the good news is that there’s also Night Buddies: Imposters and One Far-Out Flying Machine and Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare. Night Buddies is devoted to the nighttime adventures of a young boy named John, who is not ready to go to sleep, and a bright red crocodile named Crosley who turns up under John’s bed each night. With an imaginary language of their own and a unique set of technological gizmos, this unlikely pair sneaks out using Crosley’s I-ain’t-here doodad, which makes them invisible to John’s parents. The stories are imaginative and great fun to read.

For the young adult reader there’s a novel by Deirdre Riordan Hall, Sugar, ($9.99, Skyscape, softcover) about a Puerto Rican-Polish teenager who lives in a dead-end town somewhere in New Hampshire. And Sugar is very, very fat at the age of 17. She is the brunt of cruel jokes and ridicule everywhere she goes. To survive, she keeps her head down, does what she’s told, and tries to fill up the empty space in her heart with food. When she meets a young man who seems to like her for who she is, they grow close and a new future opens up for her as she sets herself free with her own determination, bravery, and strength of character. This one is well worth reading.

Novels, Novels, Novels

I never fail to wonder at the number of new novels being published every month. It is a torrent of fiction. Here are a few that arrived at Bookviews.

There’s The Organ Broker by Stu Strumwasser ($24.99, Arcade Publishing), a story about an underground black market organ dealing known as “New York Jack.” For eighteen years Jack has been a ‘transplant tourism director’, sending wealth Americans and Europeans in need of kidneys and other organs to third world nations where they would buy them from transplant centers on the take. The death of a client and a newfound relationship lead to a crisis of conscience as he is forced to choose between a two million dollar commission—and participating in a murder. Jack races to South America, Brazil and beyond, just one step ahead of his adversary and the FBI, in search of one small act of redemption. You will want to follow that race when you read this intriguing novel.

Good news for fans of Graig Johnsons’s Longmire series as Wyoming’s beloved lawman takes on his coldest case yet in Dry Bones ($27.95, Viking). When the largest complete T Rex skeleton ever found turns up—along with a dead rancher—in Absaroka County, Sheriff Longmire must solve a 66 million year old cold case. When Danny Lone Elk, a Cheyenne rancher is found dead and floating in a turtle pond, he also learns that a T Rex skeleton has been unearthed on his land. Everyone lays claim to it while Longmire seeks to find the rancher’s killer. Longmire is a successful television series on A&E. If you love a good mystery, you will love this latest addition to the series. Far from Wyoming there’s Manhattan Mayhem ($24.95, Quirk Books), new short stories from members of the Mystery Writers of America, edited by Mary Higgins Clark and featuring an original one of her own. From Wall Street to Harlem, these stories reflect that crimes and misdemeanors in a tour of neighborhoods with well over a dozen stories that will prove thoroughly entertaining from cover to cover.

Hillary Clinton is in the news these days having announced her candidacy for 2016. Dr. Alma H. Bond, Ph.D, a psychoanalyst for 35 years have read everything possible about Hillary and, as she did with her previous novels about Marilyn Monroe, Jackie O, and Michelle Obama, all “On the Couch”, her latest book is Hillary Rodham Clinton on the Couch ($22.50, Bancroft Press).

Some of the questions Dr. Bond seeks to answer is what her parents were really like and what lasting affects they had on her? How does she deal with a womanizing husband? Is she a genuine person or just acting a role? How effective was she as a U.S. Senator and as Secretary of State? If Hillary is on your mind, this book, billed as a novel, is fact-filled and ready to answer your questions. Rex Burwell takes the reading on a romp through a week in the 1920s in Capone, the Cobbs, and Me ($30.00, Livingston Press) as a baseball big-leader Mort Hart is suspected of knowing too much by a mob murderer who tries to kill him. Hot-headed Ty Cobb has a reason to kill him as well because he suspects Mort is having an affair with his wife. You are along for the ride as Mort uses his wits to save his skin and that of the woman he loves. You will get a feeling for the high-flying 1920s and some of its most flamboyant figures. It’s fiction, yes, but the suspense of what happens next is a lot of fun.

Seventh Street Books have published a number of novels. I’ll start with Stone Cold Dead by author James W. Ziskin ($15.95, softcover) who continues his “Ellie Stone Mystery” series. The date is December 21, 1960, the shortest day of the year as 15-year-old Darleen Hicks slips away from her school bus. It departs without her and she is never seen again. On New Year’s Day 1960 Ellie Stone receives a late-night caller—Irene Metzger, the grieving mother of Darleen Hicks who tells her the local police won’t help her because they believe she has run off with some older boy and will return when she’s ready. Ellie takes on the case and you join her as she begins a chilling journey to a place of uncertainty, loss, teenage passion, and vulnerability, a place where Ellie’s questions are unwanted and put her life in danger. Mark Pryor is back with a Hugo Marston novel, The Reluctant Matador, ($15.95, softcover). When a 19-year-ld aspiring model disappears in Paris, her father, Bart Denum, turns to Marston for help. Marston, the security chief at the US embassy, makes some inquiries and learns that the daughter was in fact an exotic dancer and she has left for Barcelona with a shady character she met at a seedy strip club. When Marston and a friend, a former CIA agent finally track the man in Barcelona, they find Bart Denum standing over his dead body. Spanish authorities arrest him and the question is whether Marston and his friend can find the real killer and locate the missing daughter. See Also Murder: A Majorie Trumaine Mystery by Larry D. Sweazy ($15.95, softcover) begins with a grisly killing in 1964 in Dickinson, North Dakota where Erick and Lida Knudsen are found murdered in their bed with their throats slit. Their two sons, ages 19 and 20, live in the same house but claim to have heard nothing while they were asleep. When Sheriff Hilo Jenkins finds a strange copper amulet clasped in Erik’s hand, he turns to Marjorie Trumaine, a skilled researcher, to help unravel this mystery. It just gets uglier, but in a way that will surprise the reader. One thing’s for sure, it’s never boring.

The author of Traitor’s Gate, Charlie Newton ($15.95, Thomas & Mercer, softcover) has already established himself among the top novelists around these days. His debut novel, “Calumet City”, was named a Best Debut in 2008 by the American Library Association and nominated for the Edgar, Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, And Thriller awards. The next, “Start Shooting”, generated similar praise. His newest novel is a gripping thriller that takes the reader to the tense days leading to the first shots of World War II. A survivor of a brutal massacre that left her family dead, Saba Hassouneh becomes “the Raven”, a freedom fighter hunted throughout the Middle East by the British colonial powers and the religious mullahs. As she plots a major attack on one of the British oil refineries, the plot of the story will keep you glued to the page and turning them to find out what happens next.

That’s it for June! Tell your book-loving friends, family and co-workers about Bookviews.com where a wide variety of unique non-fiction and fiction can be found every month, sure to provide you with news of a book you want to read. And come back in July!

By Alan Caruba

My Picks of the Month

It is said that you cannot understand the present unless you understand history and Charles Emmerson has made an excellent contribution to history with his new book, 1913: In Search of the World Before the Great World ($30.00, Public Affairs). In 1913, few if any anticipated that World War I would break out the next year and Americans resisted being drawn into it until 1917. Structured by taking the reader to the world’s great cities in 1913, what emerges from its pages how much that year resembles our own today. It was a year when globalization was occurring with the ease of worldwide travel and communication with much commerce between nations; a world in which the peoples of Europe traveled easily among its nations and one in which all manner of change and innovation was occurring in the arts, sciences, and politics. Royalty in Germany and Russia still played a major role in their nation’s lives, but in America the nation’s economy was booming thanks to immigration from the Old World to the new. Emmerson lets the reader visit Europe’s capitals, to Bombay, Tokyo, St. Petersburg, Peking, and of course, America’s great cities from New York to Los Angeles. It is a big book, exceeding 500 pages, but learning of the world in that world is an exhilarating reading experience and one that will transform your view of that year.

Though it is early in the year, I am inclined to believe that one of the best new books about U.S. history will be Thomas Fleming’s A Disease in the Public Mind: A New Understanding of Why We Fought the Civil War ($26.99, Da Capo Press). Fleming has already established himself as one of the nation’s leading historians. His new book provides an insight that few others about the Civil War have done. Fleming examines how the Founders in writing the Constitution had to compromise with the southern slave-holding states and thus established a republic that declared that all men were equal, but in fact created a nation that accepted slavery as a compromise to secure its ratification. Though the Founders owned slaves, they understood that the issue slavery could eventually tear the nation apart. At the heart of his book is the fact that “Few people criticized or objected to slavery; it was one of the world’s oldest social institutions…” From its earliest days, prior to the Revolution, slavery was a part of life in America both in the north and the south. “By 1750, there were a half million slaves in the American colonies.” By 1790, there were only six slave states, but the great wealth generated by growing cotton created a new for greater numbers of slaves. Moreover, the states before and after the Revolution were hardly “united” as most regarded themselves as sovereign entities and cooperated in a fitful fashion. As the black population grew, vastly outnumbered white southerners grew fearful of them and events such as Nat Turner’s rebellion that slaughtered whites and the bloodshed in Haiti only deepened those fears. By the time of the Civil War there were four million slaves, most in the south. The rise of the abolition movement created discord and hatred between the north and south until in 1860 the election of Lincoln led to secession. I heartily recommend reading this book to understand what led to the Civil War—a long process—and the failed compromises that could not deter it.

The History of the Renaissance World by Susan Bauer ($35.00, W.W. Norton) represents two factors I favor, one is history and the second is a big, fat book filled with all manner of information that continues to surprise me. At 768 pages, this book, beginning in the days just before the First Crusade, is a chronicle of the many changes occurring around the world at that time. A Christian empire was stopped short at the walls of Constantinople, the wisdom of the Greeks was revived, the claims of monarchy were challenged, the early signs of an Islamic threat to Europe emerged, along with that of Mongols. It was a time in which the mini-ice age occurred, a great famine killed millions, and the Black Death still more. We tend to think we are living in dangerous times, but this book demonstrates the history of civilization is always about dangerous times, as well as innovation, discoveries, and progress.

Trying to figure out what is happening in the world and why is a constant challenge. That’s why books like Deepak Lal’s are so helpful. Poverty and Progress: Realities and Myths about Global Poverty ($24.95, hardcover, $11.95 softcover, and $9.99 digital, Cato Institute) informs us that the greatest reduction of mass poverty in human history has occurred during the current era of globalization. The number of the world’s poor is shrinking and their lives—health, education, and life spans—are improving. Lal is an economist who brings fifty years of experience around the globe to this book that describes developing-nation realities and corrects mistaken notions about economic progress. He says that the rapid spread of economic progress over the last three decades is “one of mankind’s most amazing achievements.” It’s nice to read some good news for a change and to discover, as the author documents, that much of what we’ve been told is not true. You will come away with a new and better understanding of what is occurring in the worldwide economy, especially as it affects its poor.

Anyone who has to fly regularly on business, to visit relatives, or take a vacation knows that flying these days can be an unpleasant experience. Mark Gerchick explains why in Full Upright and Locked Position ($24.95, W.W. Norton). Gerchick is a former FAA chief counsel and an aviation consultant with twenty years’ experience to draw upon as he guides readers through what it means to board a plane today. His book is not a diatribe, but rather an entertaining explanation thanks to his sense of humor as he explains why travelers are nickel-and-dimed by the airlines, why bags are mishandled, why the fares keep rising, and all the other factors that too often make flying a stressful experience. It is a portrait of as multi-billion-dollar business that has undergone profound changes over the past decade and he explains why the constant demand for efficiency, cost-cutting, and new sources of revenue have brought the industry and its passengers to the present state of affairs. This is also a history of air travel from the 1970s deregulation as well as the challenges currently affecting the industry. It is a fact-filled look at the industry and one that is full of surprises. For those for whom flying is a regular or occasional part of their lives, this book is well worth reading.

One might think that a book devoted to a history of the Harvard Lampoon from the 1960s would be very entertaining. One might be wrong. Ellin Stein has written a book that extends to 445 pages. That’s Not Funny, That’s Sick ($27.95, W.W. Norton) is filled with the names of the generation of funny men and women who reshaped humor in America, many of whom got their start writing for the Harvard Lampoon. In time, two of them would begin to publish The National Lampoon to great success. Stein has laboriously reported about the key players and that is the main problem of the book. In real life, many were simply not that interesting. Many seemed to be engaged in adolescent rebellion not uncommon to that age cohort, but around them the 1960s was exploding in actual rebellion on college campuses and in the streets of the nation. There is no question they and others created an irreverent brand of comedy that includes Saturday Night Live, The Onion, the Daily Show, South Park, and others, but the book’s dissection of the people and factors that led to this is too labored to hold one’s attention.

Books By and About Real People

It is the strangest thing to read a memoir by someone who you’ve known a very long time, only to discover they had this whole life about which you were oblivious. In the 1970s when we were both members of the Society of Magazine Writers (later to become the Society of Authors and Journalists), I met Tania Grossinger who was already a very successful public relations professional as well as freelance travel writer. One of her PR clients was the famed feminist, Betty Friedan, the author of “The Feminine Mystique.” Tania would help launch the book that would eventually selling four million copies. Betty had mellowed by the time I met her, but I recall I instantly liking Tania who was blessed with one of those personalities that is welcoming and warm. So, when I sat down to read Memoir of an Independent Woman: An Unconventional Life Well Lived ($24.95, Skyhorse Publishing) I did not put it down until the last page. Tania’s PR career was at its peak in the one of the most exciting times in our recent history. She knew all the major personalities in radio and television who hosted talk shows. She did PR for the Playboy Clubs, handled some the most famous authors of that era such as Ayn Rand. She either knew or dealt with iconic names, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Hugh Hefner, and others she names. If her name has a familiar ring, she was a member of the family that operated the famed Grossinger’s resort in the Catskills and, even at a very early age, she came to know “celebrities” as real people. She was especially blessed to have the friendship of Jackie Robinson of baseball fame. Though her life sounds glamorous (and it was), there were elements of sadness she unsparingly shares as well. I am delighted to call her a friend and astonished to have read her moving, entertaining memoir. She did, indeed, live an unconventional life and she did it very well! I want to keep her around for many more years.

Learning to Listen: A Life Caring for Children ($24.99, Da Capo Press) is a memoir by Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., covering eight decades that has led him to be respected as “America’s pediatrician.” His books on child-rearing in the earliest years of life have helped thousands of parents understand what they need to know to be better parents. His Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale is used in hospitals worldwide as a way for doctors and parents to interpret the behavior of babies. He began his medical career in the late 1940s, a time when physicians were beginning to shed old practices and develop medicine as it exists today. His observations revolutionized the way pediatricians practice infant care and how parents parent. He is the author of more than thirty books on child development and is a professor emeritus of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. This is a most interesting memoir to read.

My late father was born in 1901, was two young for World War I and deemed too old to serve in WWII. Although I served in the U.S. Army, I was fortunate to do so in one of those rare periods of peace that did not require my being in combat. I have read much about wars, but still cannot imagine what it must have been like until I read Stories in Uniform: A Look at the Heroics, Sacrifices, and Triumphs of Our Soldiers ($15.00, Readers Digest), a splendid collection in which the realities of war leap off the page as told by some excellent writers. How such heroism and sacrifice can exist in our present times is testimony to the same grit and determination of George Washington’s soldiers, often unpaid, lacking even shoes, and enduring terrible conditions, but following him into battle after battle until we had an independent United States of America. A whole new generation of warriors will earn your admiration when you read this book.

May This Be the Best Year of Your Life: A Memoir by Sandra Bornstein ($12.99, Create Space, softcover) is the story of “a 50-something-year-old woman who faced a decision to teach English and social studies to fifth graders at a prestigious international boarding school in Bangalore, India. It would mean leaving her husband and soul mate, and three of her four sons behind, and traveling well out of her comfort zone, She would be on her own The opportunity, however, was intriguing Her memoir tells of the many sights, sounds and discoveries she made during her year; learning about the extensive poverty, the squalor that many children lived in, and the lack of safety in Bangalore. The principal of the school said, “This is going to be the best year of your life” and you can read this memoir to see if that was true or not.

Sometimes dealing with a personal tragedy involves setting it down on paper. This is part of the memoir, Swimming with Maya: A Mother’s Story by Eleanor Vincent ($14.95, Dream of Things, softcover) that begins when 19-year-old Maya does in a fatal horseback accident. She was celebrating with friends here scholarship to the UCLA Theatre Arts program. Her mother shares the intimate details of her tragedy and the healing process which included the decision to donate Maya’s organs to help others. In 2011, only one-fourth of the people in the nation on an organ waiting list received the life-giving transplant. On average eighteen die each day. After her decision, Eleanor Vincent could hear her daughter’s heart beating in its recipient’s chest and she corresponds with the person who received Maya’s liver. This is a powerful memoir and a please for the donation of organs to save live.

Some people just know how to get the most out of life and do so with gusto and the kind of courage most of us to not possess. One of them is Sonya Klein, the author of “Honk If You Married Sonja” and now her latest book, Roundtrip from Texas ($15.95, Ambush Publishing, Barksdale, Texas, softcover) continues with more accounts from a life spent as a fifth generation rancher in between going off to all parts of the world. She married four men—hence the title of her first book—but it is her attitude and knowledge, especially of food, that will capture your interest and admiration. Musician Lyle Lovett is a cousin and recalls that “When I was a boy, Sonja was one of the first grown-ups in my life to show me it was okay to have fun. She was pretty, wore cool clothes, drove fast cars, and raced motorcycles.” They spirit infuses the book, along with a keen eye and enjoyment of food as she describes meals in exotic places in loving detail, from sea bass in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Peking duck in Beijing. You may never visit these places, but you will feel like you have when you read this delightful book.

When I was growing up the music of Gary U.S. Bonds could be heard, from “New Orleans” and “School is Out” in the 1960s to “This Little Girl in 1981 and many more hits still being played these days. He will be celebrating his 74^thbirthday as a published author with an autobiography, By U.S. Bonds—That’s My Story ($30.00, Wheatley Press, L.L.C.) written with Stephen Cooper. Suffice to say his life spans the early days of R&B and rock music to the present. He was an influence on Bruce Springsteen and a member of the E Street Band, Steven Van Zandt, has written a forward to it. Bonds shares memories of traveling with B.B. King and Sam Cooke, his big break on the Dick Clark show, and a raft of stories that will entertain anyone who enjoyed his music and that of his illustrious contemporaries. Bonds did not fall prey to many of the temptations of the music industry, remaining true to his beloved wife and daughter. There are life lessons about perseverance and the support derived from friends and family.

There are people who love the outdoors and I am not one of them. That said, I can still recommend Majestic and Wild: True Stories of Faith and Adventure in the Great Outdoors by Murray Pura ($13.99, Baker Books, softcover and ebook). An award-winning novelist, Pura has long been an avid outdoorsman who has loved hiking, hunting, and more. Amidst the stories he tells of his experiences, he shares his belief in the value of getting out of the pew and into the outdoors to be closer to God. This is, as you might imagine, a book intended to be enjoyed by Christians. Pura is an ordained minister, has served five churches, and has written fifteen books. You can find him these days living in the Rocky Mountains near Calgary, Alberta.

Getting Down to Business Books

With fewer jobs available, many have had to improve their interview and other skills to secure one. Martin Yates has just added to his list of excellent books on how to write resumes and other secrets of success in a job search and career management. This time he addresses the beginner in Knock’em Dead Secrets & Strategies for First-Time Job Seekers ($15.95, Adams Media, softcover) that provides a wealth of information and insight regarding how to make one’s resume discoverable in databases, how to build and leverage social networks, and how to turn job interviews into job offers, among other related topics. This would make a great gift for any young person graduating from college this month.

An interesting book by a retired U.S. Navy Captain, L. David Marquet, Turn the Ship Around: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders ($25.95, Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin) is the story of how he challenged the U.S. Navy’s traditional leader-follower approach as captain of the USS Santa Fe, a nuclear-powered submarine. Turning the old paradigm on its head, Capt. Maquet took his ship from worst to first in its fleet by pushing for leadership at every level. Instead of issuing orders, he delegated control to officers and men in the ship’s various departments, building a crew that was fully engaged in what they did. The Santa Fe began to winning awards and promoting a large number of offices to submarine command. Fortune magazine calls this book “The best how-to- manual anywhere for managers on delegating, training and driving flawless execution.” A U.S. Naval Academy graduate, the author currently teaches graduate level leadership at Columbia University.

There used to be and probably still is something called “the old boy’s network”, but Pamela Ryckman has put the world on notice about the Stiletto Network: Inside the Women’s Power Circles that are Changing the Face of Business ($22.95, Amacom). Rather ironically, she dedicated the book “about girls to my boys” whom she names and thanks for their love, patience, and support. The author has written for the leading financial publications and comes to this book with excellent story-telling skills as she sheds light on how women in the world of business and finance are banding together to help one another. This was, perhaps, inevitable as more and more women sought success on terms formerly reserved for men. The book chronicles the stories of a number of women who have achieved extraordinary success and the groups, formal and informal, that aided them along the way. These are new networks that are reshaping the business world and one suspects that men, as well as women, will read this book to learn about them. Getting It Done: How to Achieve Results and Accomplish Fulfillment in Work & Life ($16.95, Mill City Press, softcover) by Iris Dorreboom and Rudi de Graaf is a fairly slim book that represents their thirty years of experience as personal and organizational development consults, coaches, and boardroom confidants. Co-founders of Beyond, they live alternately in France and the Netherlands. Their book is a personal and professional guide in two parts. The first pulls the reader into a leading role in a fictional adventure where they discover how attitude and interaction affect every result. The second part gives pointed direction on how to mindfully create the best possible personal experience and professional outcome. You are very likely to find yourself in its pages.

From Smart to Wise: Acting and Leading with Wisdom by Prasad Kaipa and Navi Radjou ($27.95, Jossey-Bass, a Wiley imprint), is by two men who have been studying the concept of wise leadership since 1989 as a CEO coach and a strategy consultant. They have worked with hundreds of executives in global Fortune 500 companies, as well as entrepreneurial ventures. Their book is unique in that they believe that just intelligence (being smart) alone won’t be sufficient to deal effectively with the increasing complexity of the 21^stcentury. They argue persuasively that what leaders need is “practical wisdom” that includes qualities like prudence, humility, ethics, and a desire to serve the common good. There is “functional smart” and “business smart” in which the former excel in one field or function while the latter are “big picture thinkers, visionaries, and risk takers with a competitive drive.” Both styles have great strengths and serious limitations. Suffice to say this book will get you thinking about your own strengths and weaknesses, how to improve them, and how to apply them to achieve success.

Fabricated: The New World of 3D Printing: The Promise and Peril of a Machine that Can Make (Almost) Anything ($27.95, John Wiley and Sons, softcover) by Hod Lipson and Melba Kurman explores a technology that is so far above my pay grade that I won’t even pretend to understand it. For those in the business world, however, it provides an informative and comprehensive exploration of the world of 3D printing. According to the authors he promise of this technology is that businesses will be liberated from the tyrannies of economics of scale, factories and global supply chains will shrink, putting them closer to their customers. The whole process reminds me of the science fiction shows like Star Trek where a machine materializes anything one wanted to eat or drink in the ship’s cafeteria. Suffice to say, it is likely the next wave of the future, so you may want to pick up a copy!

Thinking About Thinking

Blind Spot: Why We Fail to See the Solution Right in Front of Us ($27.99, Harper One) by Gordon Rugg with Joseph D’Agnese answers the question that we tend to ask in retrospect. If the answer was so obvious, why didn’t we see it? In 2004 Gordon Rugg made international news by deciphering a 16^thcentury text called the Voynich Manuscript that had a worldwide cult following. It had defied code-crackers for almost a century. Rugg declared it a hoax and his book demonstrates the surprising ways in which all people tend to make the same sorts of mistakes, no matter their level of intelligence. With often much dependent on those decisions, this book provides insight into what motivates us and why we fail to ask the questions that will provide the answers we’re seeking. His approach is based on the 7-step Verifier Method that can be applied to any situation. This book will help you avoid logical errors, false conclusions, and selective perception to arrive at good answers based on actual facts.

In Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe by Lee Smolin ($28.00, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), the theoretical physicist, a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, named one of the world’s top hundred public intellectuals by Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines, take the reader on a journey that will set your intellectual synapses ablaze. Smolin believes that thinkers from Plato to Newton, to Einstein, defined the concept of time incorrectly. The nature of time, he says, has broader implications beyond physics in the realms of religion, ethics, economics and law. If the laws of physics could change the future, what does that imply about why they exist and why they currently allow for a human-friendly universe? Good question and one which the author asks and seeks to answer. A warning, however. Smolin has fallen into the “climate change” trap and wonders into economics and the social sciences. This reader concluded that Smolin should stick to physics.

Prometheus Books has carved out a niche for itself, publishing many books about atheism, humanism, and similar “enlightened” topics that toss out belief in God (or gods) and rely instead on science—almost as a new religion in itself. I am a great fan of science, but I also believe that humans are hardwired spiritually to find a larger reason for their existence and that of the universe. A number of the newest books from Prometheus include The Enlightenment Vision: Science, Reason, and the Promise of a Better Future by Stuart Jordan ($26.00); The Science of Miracles: Investigating the Incredible by Joe Nickell ($18.00, softcover); God and the Atom: From Democritus to the Higgs Boson—the Story of a Triumphant Idea by Victor J. Stenger ($25.00); and The Turbulent Universe by the late Paul Kurtz ($20.00, softcover).

The common theme in these books is a reliance on reason and science to the exclusion of any spiritual explanation of how the universe works. For anyone who is comfortable with this, any of these books will prove quite informative, but I personally suspect that religion does more good than harm (with the exception of the death-obsessed Islam), providing direction to leading a moral life and comfort when one must face its challenges.

There’s a lot of “big thinking” going on in these books. There are views that believe in the potential of humanity to accept universal human rights and recognize our similarities over our differences. History, however, tends to argue against that. The Stenger book reminds us that as far back as ancient Greek philosophers, the concept of the atom as the building block of everything was already being advanced. He concludes that between atoms and the void that is all that exists. Nickell has devoted his time to debunking such things as the Shroud of Turin, “weeping” icons, and miracle healings, among other spiritually-based claims. These things matter if you want to disprove the role of belief, spirituality, in our lives, but why bother? Jordan, a physicist, looks at the progress humanity has made since the Enlightenment, but notes too that we have inherited some problems such as the persistence of widespread ignorance, the disparity between prosperous and impoverished nations, and the existence of weapons of mass destruction. He is concerned about over-population, nuclear proliferation, and climate change. Since the Earth currently sustains a population of seven billion and we can do nothing about the 5.4 billion years of natural climate change, we’d best pay attention to things we can actually do something about

Novels, Novels, Novels

The novels keep flooding in so here’s a look at some of the latest to arrive.

Karen White already has a huge fan base of women based on her softcover novels and The Time Between is her first as a hardcover ($25.95, New American Library) just out this month. Set in South Carolina low country, it is a beautifully written, compelling story about the complicated bond between sisters, the enduring legacy of family, and the power of forgiveness. The main character, 34-year-old Eleanor Murray is consumed with guilt for causing the accident that paralyzed her sister and for falling in love with her sister’s husband. When she is offered a part-time job caring for an elderly woman, Helena, she accepts in the hope that this good deed will atone for her mistakes in life. The two bond over their mutual love of music and, as she learns of Helena’s past, she learns the key to healing her relationship with her sister. This hardly does justice to the depth of the characters and their lives as revealed in this novel, but it surely advances the author’s career as an excellent novelist. Another new hardcover is Elizabeth Kelly’s The Last Summer of the Camper-Towns ($25.95, Liveright Publishing, a division of W.W. Norton & Company). Filled with dark plot twists and the author’s talent for authentic dialogue, the novel is set in Cape Cod and the year is 1972 as a twelve-year-old girl named in honor of Jimmy Hoffa (!), Riddle James Camperdown, is the daughter of a labor organizer and a retired starlet. She just wants to enjoy a quiet summer amidst the dunes and the horse farms out of earshot of her bickering parents. This is a coming of age novel filled with questions for Riddle and, after she witnesses something potentially criminal, she decides to keep it to herself despite its being crucial evidence in the disappearance of a local boy. It will, however, unveil carefully constructed secrets within her family and their extended relationships. It’s one of those novels that are impossible to put down once you begin.

The bulk of the novels I receive are softcover (and thus affordable), so let’s wade through the stacks, many of which debut this month.

There’s a new erotic thriller, Vengeance is Now, by Scott D. Roberts ($17.95, 3L Publishing, Sacramento, CA) that is an action-packed story about a disgraced former police detective and private investigator, Tate Holloway, who has taken to drowning his sorrows in Tequila, smoking weed, and turning tricks with wealthy women to make a living; a secret he keeps from his girlfriend. His life really takes a turn for the sores when he’s set up, framed, and forced to go on the run for unspeakable crimes. He has to find the real killer and each revelation uncovers departmental and political corruption that leaders to a heart-pounding final showdown. The author is a writer, producer, and co-director with a career that spans twenty years. There are plenty of plot twists in Patrick M. Garry’s novel, Saving Faith, ($14.00, Kenrik Books), not to be confused with David Baldacci’s novel of the same name. It raises a whole number of philosophical questions as its narrator, a 20-year-old Jack Fenian, finds himself drawn into the life of a former journalist, Ev Sorin, whose car he has had mistakenly repossessed for a car dealership. While in court they watch a hearing on whether to keep alive a comatose patient whose identity is unknown and who Clare, a party to the case, is trying to save. Suffice to say this is a very complex story of people seeking to find meaning in their lives and grapple with the big questions of life. The novel follows four characters and their various motivations as they come together to save the patient. This is Garry’s eighth novel, many of which have won awards over the years. It is not light reading, but it is a story that will draw you in and keep you engrossed.

The Replacement Son ($16.95, Two Harbors Press) by W.S. Culpepper is a psychological drama framed within an epic adventure story that begins in Depression-era New Orleans, moves on to World War Two, and then to the devastation following Hurricane Katrina. Harry McChesney was seven years old when he learned of his brother who had died young and left his family in misery. He becomes the replacement son of the title and a man who seeks to rescue his family from the aftermath of his brother’s death, requiring a lifetime of labors. Along the way he gets help from a trusted family servant, a powerful talisman, and a bizarre set of twins. Harry is an unlikely hero and this novel has the feel of a classic tale that stretches over a long period of time. Another character seeking redemption is at the center of Wake the Dawn by Lauraine Snelling ($15.00, Faith Words, a Hachette Book Group imprint). For those of a spiritual nature, this book delivers the goods as the main character, Esther, runs a clinic in a small Minnesota town bordering Canada, an act of atonement following a hit and run accident years before. When a storm ravages the town she must deal with the reality of her past and learn to forgive herself. She is joined in this quest by a border patrol agent who lost the love of his life in a tragedy and never finished grieving. When Ben finds a young child along in the woods as the storm rolls in, Ben and Esther are brought together by this opportunity to change, redeem their lives, and grow. Another novel with a Christian core is Billy Coffey’s When Mockingbirds Sing ($15.95, Thomas Nelson). It is about childlike faith, a mysterious Rainbow Man, and a sleepy town divided between those who see a small child’s visions as prophetic and those who are afraid of that they perceive as the danger she represents. The story is based on his own daughter’s conversations with God. Coffey is a gifted writer and the book will please believers.

Set in World War Two, I’ll Be Seeing You by Suzanne Hayes and Loretta Nyhan ($15.95, Harlequin) is about two women who have never met strike up an inspiring correspondence and forge an extraordinary friendship that sustains each of them while their loved ones are risking their lives on the front lines. Neither of the co-authors has ever met in person, giving the novel a unique sense of authenticity. The year is January 1943 and Glory Whitehall has randomly pulled Rita Vincenzo’s name out of a hat at her 4H meeting and begins to write to a perfect stranger. It is an unconventional friendship that carries them through the uncertainties, dreadful loneliness, and temptations of tending to home fires while the men they love are fighting a world away.

A very different story is told in Hazardous Material by Kurt Kamm ($14.95, MCM Publishing) that explores the life of a firefighter with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Bucky Dawson, who is awakened at 1:45 AM and it is a real page-turner that tells of the gritty world of outlaw motorcycle gangs and the meth labs in the heart of the Mojave Desert. When his task force is called out to support a sheriff’s raid on a meth lab, Bucky witnesses his estranged sister standing at the door of a double-wide trailer just before it explodes. Divorced, lonely, and struggling with a painkiller addiction, his life plunges into chaos after her death. There is plenty of drama and danger in this story. I reviewed Mike Resnick’s previous novel, “Dog in the Manger” his first Eli Paxton mystery. He’s back with The Trojan Colt ($15.95, Seventh Street Books, an imprint of Prometheus Books) when the down-on-his-luck private eye is on a routine security assignment to guard the high-priced yearlings of “Trojan”, a recently retired classic winner in Lexington, Kentucky. He is no sooner on the job when he must respond to a fracas in the horse born where he arrived just in time to thwart a vicious attack on a young groom. The assailants get away. When he doesn’t show up the next day, Paxton is assigned to investigate his disappearance and it turns out that two other staff members have disappeared in the past couple of months. Paxton has stumbled upon a multi-million-dollar plot that the perpetrator will kill to keep secret. Resnick knows how to plot a face-paced, intriguing mystery and you will enjoy this one.

If you enjoy short stories, you will enjoy Alana Cash’s How You Leave Texas ($8.00, Hacienda Press) that is comprised of three short stories and a novella by a native Texan, who tells the stories of four young women who leave Midland, Austin, Fort Worth and Mayville, Texas, for lives in New York, California, Jakarta, and, in one instance, jail. They are seeking to escape boredom and sorrow and find that you can leave Texas, but one’s life follows you around wherever you go. These are stories that women will relate to from their own lives and the fourth, “Frying Your Burger” is autobiographical, based on the author’s experiences in a year at Universal Studios and the people she met there. All four stories are very entertaining.

That’s it for June! Come back next month and, in the meantime, tell your friends, family, and coworkers who love to read about Bookviews.com. There’s a whole lot of summer reading ahead and you won’t want to miss out on the great new fiction and non-fiction that is waiting for you.

By Alan Caruba

My Picks of the Month

I was a mere lad of twenty-two when Fidel Castro successfully overthrew the Cuban dictator, Flugencia Batista, and took control of that island nation. What followed were the abortive Bay of Pigs invasion, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The story behind these events and the assassination of President Kennedy is revealed in William Weyland Turner’s latest book, The Cuban Connection: Nixon, Castro and the Mob ($25.00, Prometheus Books) and it is a real page-turner. Turner, a former FBI agent who became an investigative journalist, has authored a number of books on the subject, but this one pulls together his interviews with Mafia mobsters and with members of the Cuban revolution who became disenchanted with Castro. It demonstrates how little Americans knew about those events and, in particular, the many efforts to assassinate Castro. Fifty-four years later, the truth can be found in this book and I heartily recommend it, particularly in light of the scandals surround the Obama administration. What we did not know then and do not know now that hold the keys to the events since then and what is occurred today.

A group of Australian scientists have combined with a professional cartoonist John Spooner (The Age, Melbourne) to write a new easy-to-read and humorous book on global warming. Lead author Bob Carter is an Australian palaeontologist, marine geologists and an adjunt professionial research fellow in earth sciences at James Cook University, Queensland. For many years he has been on the front lines debunking global warming, based on the claim that carbon dioxide is causing the Earth to warm. Actually, the Earth has been cooling for the last sixteen years. He has written Taxing Air: Facts and Fallacies About Climate Change ($30.00, Kelpie Press, softcover) is filled with the best scientific information on the topic and for anyone who wants to learn the truth, I can highly recommend it. Readers will learn that the sea-level rise is natural and declining in rate; that global ocean temperature is cooling slightly as well; and that no scientist can tell you whether the world will be warmer or cooler than today in 2020 or beyond. More than a hundred basic questions are answered in the book which includes whimsical cartoons and humorous sketches throughout.. A carbon dioxide tax that was recently imposed on Australians has had the effect of raising their costs for energy thereby negatively affected its economy in many ways—which should serve as an object lesson for other nations to not follow suit.

If you are among the half of the population that is concerned with the breakdown of our national culture, the failure of our schools, and other societal problems, and you want to know why everything has changed for the worse, then you will will want to reach Vincent Ryan Ruggiero’s book, Corrupted Culture: Rediscovering America’s Enduring Principles, Values and Common Sense ($19.00, Prometheus Books, $11.99 ebook). A professor of humanities emeritus at the State University of New York, Delhi College, he has authored twenty-one previous books on critical thinking, ethics, education, and communication, among other topics. For a heavy thinker his text takes some effort to tackle, but is worth it as he provides an in-depth historical analysis of cultural trends and tracing their origins to the last century when intellectuals began to conclude that humans are irredeemably stupid and that it was government’s job to tell them how to live their lives. If you wonder why self-esteem replaced self-respect and why rights and entitlements became more important than responsibilities, among a long list of problems facing the nation, this book explains it.

Just published this month is New Frontiers in Space: From Mars to the Edge of the Universe ($29.95, Time Home Entertainment), a large format, extensively illustrated book that will surely please anyone with an interest in our space program. It looks at the powerful new telescopes that have given scientists the ability to hunt for Earthlike planets in distant star systems and the entrepreneurs who are picking up where the space shuttle left off, developing plans for commercial space travel. It asks questions about the yet unanswered mysteries about the cosmos regarding galaxies such as what matter makes up the universe, and how black holes are formed. There is much more in this handsome coffee-table book that offers hours of reading pleasure.

I have been a business and science writer for some fifty years and had to learn by doing, but for anyone who is into science and wants to pursue it as a professional writer, I can certainly recommend The Science Writer’s Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Pitch, Publish, and Prosper in the Digital Age, edited by Thomas Hayden and Michelle Nijhuis ($17.50, Da Capo Press, softcover). Science writing has become an increasingly popular field, but trying to make a living communicating science can be tough say the editors, especially in an industry that has changed so much in recent years (tell me about it!) With a combined collective experience of many years, the Writers of Scilance, an online group of science writers, share their knowledge and it can help anyone new to the field or adjusting to the changes.

Reading History

If I had to chose just one category of literature, I would chose history. I find it entertaining in many ways, both for the people and events, and for an insight to past eras that inevitably provide insights to our present one.

Early American history focuses on Washington, Jefferson and Adams among other founders, but it is a quirk of history that others in their company, in the years leading up to and during the Revolution, the problems with the Articles of Confederation and the writing of the Constitution, have gotten short shrift. David Lefer has written The Founding Conservatives: How a Group of Unsung Heroes Saved the American Revolution ($29.95, Sentinel, an imprint of Penguin Publishing) and has saved them from the quasi-oblivion to which other historians have consigned them. Among them was John Dickinson who drafted the Articles of Confederation to unite the former colonies into states composing the new nation. James Wilson was a staunch free-market capitalist and who was joined by like-minded men to fight off a mob demanding controls on the price of bread. Roger Morris created a stable money supply to finance the Revolution and founded the first national bank of the United States. In an age of monarchs the Americans had developed a very different view of themselves as citizens, not subjects, and their states as individual republics, self governed, and devoted to the welfare of the citizens, not just a class of nobles. As far back as the ancient world, republics were known to be the most prosperous. It is a revelation to read of these and other men who did, indeed, save the American Revolution.

It is a common belief that the Jews of Germany and Europe went passively to their deaths in the concentration camps and surely millions were duped by the Nazis that they were merely being “relocated.” Information about the camps was kept secret from Jew and non-Jew, and often not believed when it leaked out. How the Jews Defeated Hitler by Benjamin Ginsberg ($35.00, Roman & Littlefield Publishers) reveals that it was not whether Jews fought, though poorly armed, outnumbered, and without resourses, but the means they used as participants in the the anti-Nazi resistance units and as soldiers in both the U.S. and Soviet armies, the latter involving engineering skills that contributed to the famed T-34 tank and other weapons. In the U.S. Jewish organizations aided the Roosevelt administration in discrediting the prevailing feeling of isolationism that initially prevented support for Great Britain. Jews also provided the war effort with invaluable assistance with espionage and cryptoanalysis. Their greatest contribution was the development of the atomic bomb that ended the war with Japan and World War II. The author sums up the reaction of European Jews at the time; they could not believe Germans intended to kill them all! A professor of political science, Dr. Ginsberg concludes with a look at the way old enemies of the Jews have mutated into new ones, the most obvious being Muslims worldwide, but also those on the Left seeking an alliance with them. This is a fascinating story that has not been told in its full context until now.

Historian Ian Mortimer loves to time-travel and did so with a previous book, The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England which I read and enjoyed. Lives were short, illness almost always risked death, and it was a brutal and dangerous place. Now he is back with The Time Traveler’s Guide to Elizabethan England ($27.95, Viking). It was an exciting time to be alive and, of course, the period in which Shakespeare wrote his plays. The British were discovering and settling new worlds beyond their island and some would circumnavigate the globe. Where people in the medieval era saw the sea as a barrier, in Elizabethan times it was recognized as one of its great resources. Using the diaries, letters, books and other writings of the day, Mortimer offers a detailed portrait of daily life, recreating the sights, sounds, and the smells of the streets and homes of 16^th century England. He informs us of Elizabethan attitudes towards violance, class, sex, and religion. London was home to 200,000 people at the time and Oxford and Cambridge, home now to famed universities, had about 5,000 each. In the course of Elizabeth’s reign society evolved a new conception of itself, but remained “still violent and charitable, corrupt and courageous, racist and proud.”

Every so often a book comes along that deals with a topic that will intrigue a few readers, but may not attract a wider audience. Strange Medicine: A Shocking History of Real Medical Practices Through the Ages ($16.00. Perigee, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, softcover) by Nathan Belofsky is not for the squeamish as it recounts in a very entertaining fashion the appalling things that physicians from ancient times, through the Middle Ages and right up to the twentieth century believed and did in the name of “curing” the patient. As often as not they inflicted more pain than the ailment. Until relatively modern times they had no idea what germs were or did. In general they preferred to avoid any physical contact with the patient short of taking their pulse. The real bloodwork was left to those ordinary folk who pulled teeth or set bones. Aneshesia was completely unknown. Presidents from Washington to Garfield to Harrison all died more from the treatments than the ailments, although Garfield had taken a bullet. If stories involving medicine interest you, this is definetely the book to read.

The Best Planned City in the World by Francis R. Kowsky ($29.95, University of Massachusetts Press) offers a view of history we tend to overlook. It is hard to imagine any of the world’s major cities without their public parks. Examples include Central Park in New York, London’s Hyde Park, and the Tuileries Garden in Paris, but as the author notes, until the 1850s the concept of a “pastoral environment in the heart of the city available to all classes of society” simply did not exist. The movement for open spaces for the enjoyment of nature required visionary men. In 1868 two of them, Fredrick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux set their sights on Buffalo, New York and, in doing so, set in motion the concept of park systems. Published in association with the Library of American Landscape History, this book examines that careful planning that went into parks. The Buffalo park system was to be the first of its kind, a revolutionary urban experiment in what was then one of the busiest ports. Olmstead and Vaux had already made their name with New York’s Central and Prospect Parks, but Buffalo was to have three parks, distinct from one another and linked throughout the city by majestic, tree-canopies boulevards. Extensively illustrated, it is an excellent book on urban history.

On a lighter side, there’s Behind the Burly Q: The Story of Burlesque in America by Leslie Zemeckis ($24.95, Skyhorse Publishing). Given unprecedented access to the performers diaries, letters, albums, and memorabilia, the author has gathered their stories that brings this pre-and-early TV era of entertainment to life, a time when it was the training ground for many entertainers who migrated to Hollywood and television, but it is the strippers that burlesque is most remembered for. Many years ago, when she had written an autobiography, I met Blaze Starr and then reviewed her book. Blaze was famous by then for her affairs with Louisiana’s Governer Earl Long and others. Her contemporaries included Lily St. Cyr, Kitty West, Tempest Storm, and Sally Rand. They made an artform of stripping, providing a bit of sexual fantasy for a generator for whom this adult entertainment was considered a bit racy but acceptable. That is until New York Mayor shut down the city’s burlesque clubs. Other cities would follow suit, but burlesque lives on in places like Las Vegas with its extraordinary shows. This is a piece of show business history that is itself entertaining.

The Handy Art History Answer Book by Madelynn Dickerson ($21.95, Visible Ink Press) joins The Handy History Answer Book and The Handy Science Answer Book as an excellent compendium of information that takes the reader on a walk through history and the world of art. From prehistoric to modern and various cultures, this book puts a world of information between its covers as it traces art history from cave paintings to contemporary works, guiding the reader smoothly through the major art movements, the artists, and the important art pieces from 35,000 B.C.E. to today. While we tend to associate art with the West, this book also demonstrates how other cultures influenced modern artists. Anyone who loves art will want to have this book in their personal library.

Real People in Memoirs, Biographies

Rocket Girl: The Story of Mary Sherman Morgan—America’s First Female Rocket Scientist by George D. Morgan ($18.00, Prometheus Books, softcover) is an interesting biography on several levels. For one, it was a search for answers by the author about his mother. For another, it is about a moment in history that transformed the space race to create rockets as Mary Sherman, a chemist working for North American Aviation, was given the challenge of developing a fuel that would get a rocket successfully into space. This was in the wake of World War II when a woman chemist was still a rarity. The author tells of how in 1938, his mother, a North Dakota farm girl dreamed of a career in chemistry. The effort would team her with Werner von Braun, but the entire program was so cloaked in secrecy that it took the passage of many years for the author to get at the facts of her life during that time. Life is, indeed, stranger than fiction and this book is proof again of that.

We often ask how a successful person, someone of achievement, can become addicted to alcohol, illegal or prescription drugs, but it happens all too often. The story by Dr. Sylvester ‘Skip’ Sviokla IIl, From Harvard to Hell…and Back: A Doctor’s Journey through Addiction to Recovery ($16.96, Central Recovery Press, softcover) is not uncommon as many physicians have also become addicted, but the author has so many reasons to avoid it that his story is a cautionary tale. He had wealth and an enviable life until the addiction brought his life crashing down. What makes this story carry more weight is the fact that it is written by this “doctor to the stars” who risked losing everything. It is also worth reading to know one can overcome the addiction. He is now medical director of several methadone clinics and co-owner of a substance abuse clinic.

From time to time we hear of some person who decides to take a close-up look at America and what fun it is to learn what they discovered. Paul Stutzman previous wrote Hiking Through, the story of how, following the death of his wife, left his career as a restaurant manager, to hike the Appalachion Trail in search of peace, healing and freedom. I reviewed it and still recommend it, but I can also recommend his latest book, Biking Across America ($12.99, Revell, softcover) in which he took on another challenge, putting aside his hiking boots for a bike and starting at Neah Bay, Washington to end finally in Key West, Florida. These are the two farthest points in the contiguous United States. Along the way he met hundreds of people, some of whose stories he tells. Through good weather and bad, he peddled on and discovered what so many others have, that America is filled with some very good people. This is a delightful, inspiring story.

To Your Health

Americans are obsessed with their health so, naturally, there are lots of books on the subject. Here are a few new ones that have arrived at Chez Caruba.

Why Can’t My Child Stop Eating? A Guide to Helping Your Child Overcome Emotional Overeating by Debbie Danowsky, PhD ($14.95, Contral Recovery Press, softcover). That’s the kind of title that says it all. Michelle Obama has made every parent of every overweight or obese child give this topic serious thought and this book provides real-world solutions to the social, emotional, and physical problems these children encounter. It is an emotional recovery plan crafted by an author whose own food addiction recovery program produced results. Skinny Smoothies: 101 Delicious Drinks that Help You Detox and Lose Weight by Shell Harris and Elizabeth Johnson ($16.00, Da Capo Press, softcover) provides recipes for low-calorie, nutrient-packed drinks, plus lots of tips to jumpstart and maintain a healthy lifestyle. The authors say that smoothies are a wholesome way to lose weight without feeling like you’re dieting. I have never had a smoothy, but I am willing to take their word for it.

The Sugar Detox by Brooke Alpert, RD, CDN and Patricia Farris, MD, FAAD ($24.99, Da Capo Press) addresses my “problem” and that of many others, a love of sweets. I have never met a cookie or ice cream I did not like. The authors say that the average American consumes more than seventy pounds of sugar each year and that a high-sugar diet can be detrimental to nearly all areas of health and beauty. The side affairs aren’t just weight gain, but include premature aging and increased risk of diabetes, atherosclerosis, heart disease, and even cataracts. This is a serious book that offers a one-month plan to wean readers of their sugar cravings with a four-week schedule of menu plans and fifty recipes.

Blood Pressure Down: The 10-Step Plan to Lower Your Blood Pressure in 4 Weeks Without Prescription Drugs by Janet Bond Brill ($15.00, Three Rivers Press, softcover) is written by a natinally recognized expert in cardiovascular disease prevention, a nutritionist in private practice for many years. Nearly a third of adult Americans, an estimated 78 million people, have been diagnosed with hypertension, and millions more are on their way to this condition. The good news, says the author, is that hypertension is easily treatable and preventable. You can, she says, bring your blood pressure down in just four weeks and you can do it without resorting to prescription medications. I like the sound of that and you will, too.

The New Testosterone Treatment: How You and Your Doctor Can Fight Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer, and Alzheimer’s ($20.00, Prometheus Books, softcover) is by Dr. Edward Friedman, a leading authority on hormone receptors and prostate cancer. As the title says, it deals with prevention and its focus is on the use of testasterone. It notes that we experience our highest hormone levels during our teen years and it is a time of life when the cancers and, of course, Alzheimer’s are not a threat. Could bringing hormones back to teen levels be the key to vibrant good health? The book says that the answer is a resounding yes. This book will be of particular interest to medical professionals, but also to anyone concerned with their health.

I confess I have never been much into exercise. When I was in the Army fifty years ago I was required to so a lot of exercise and have not been famous for doing as much since. One form of it has been popular in the orient for centuries and you can read about it in Tai Chi—The Perfect Exercise: Finding Health, Happiness, Balance, and Strength by Arthur Rosenfeld ($19.99, Da Capo Press, softcover) and he makes it look like a lot of fun. Many of us lead fast-paced, often stressful lives and our physical and mental wellbeing often takes a backseat to juggling work and family responsibilies. Like yoga, the art of tai chi provides a refuge as a low-impact exercise among all age groups. If this interests you, this book will open the door for you.

Kid Stuff

A delightful story for those of pre-and-early school age, there is Princess Cupcake Jones and the Missing Tutuby Ylleya Fields and illustrated by Michael LaDuca ($15.95, Belle Publishing). Parents know that children’s rooms are often a colorful managerie of toys here, clothes there, and stuff everywhere. When something is lost, it may take all day to find it. In this entertaining story, Princess Cupcake learns why she should keep her room clean if she wants to easily find her favorite things, among which is a favorite tutu. Her search for it is hilarious—particularly if you are very young.

For those ages 8 to 12, Call Me Amy by Marcia Strykowski will resonate with familiar themes of growing up. The year is 1973 and for Amy Henderson, it has been a lonely one with too many awkward moments to count. When she finds an injured seal pup, she rescues him to rehabilitate him. In the process she forms an unlikely alliance with Craig, a boy around her age, and an older woman in town. With their help she discovers that people aren’t always what they seem despite what others may think of them. This is a story filled with many elements that will appeal to younger readers and I highly recommend it.

The New Horizon Press has two new books for kids with special needs, A Treasure Hunt for Mama and Me: Helping Children Cope with Parental Illness ($9.95) by Renee Le Varrier and Samuel Frank, MD, and Owen Has Burgers and Drum: Helping to Understand and Befriend Kids with Asperger’s Syndrome ($9.95) by Christine M. Shells with Frank R. Pane, MAE, BCBA. When a parent is suffering from a serious disabling or terminal condition, a child is subject to confusion, worry, and grief. The former book helps them to understand that, despite the physical limitations that come with illness, the love of a parent is forever. The latter book addresses the fact that between two and six kids out of every thousand in the world have Asperger’s Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder, one that is a part of the popular TV show, Parenthood. The book notes that they learn differently from others, but their friends can learn to understand it and respond appropriately to it. Asperger’s makes it difficult for both youngster’s and grownups to recognize the signals people send regarding their moods and feelings.

Novels, Novels, Novels

Summer is associated with reading a good novel on the beach or patio and this summer those who enjoy fiction—if the stacks of new novels I have received—will have a bounty from which to select. Here are just a few.

A good mystery is always worth reading and Lori Roy’s new novel, Until She Comes Home. ($26.95, Dutton) set in Detroit in the 1950s. It’s a thriller that examines the transformation of a neighborhood. Alder Avenue is a respectable place where the neighbors care for one another, but that changes when two seemingly unrelated events occur; the disappearance of childlike Elizabeth Symanski and the murder of a local African-American woman. As the neighbors search for her, they fear that their world will be changed forever if she is not found. It will leave you reading until the end. The novel has been called “extraordinary”, “compelling”, and “beautifuly, quietly disturbing.” It is all that and more. Jeffrey Deaver delivers again with his series featuring forensic expert Lincoln Rhyme in The Kill Room ($28.00, Grand Central Publishing). A U.S. citizen in the Bahamas is shot by a killer per excellence—a man capable of delivering “a million-dollar bullet” from a mile or more away. As the investigation gets going it is learned that the fiction, Robert Moreno, was known to have strong anti-American sympathies and was assassinated by the U.S. government. A New York assistant district attorney, Nance Laurel, is unwilling to let the rule of law be ignored and brings a criminal case against both the director of the National Intelligence and Operations Service (NIOS) who ordered the killing. Rhymes is assigned to investigate the killing, but the NIOS is not going to permit to succeed. This is a psychological thriller with an intricate plot and arrives just as a succession of scandals involving the government’s surveillance programs have raised some very real fears. Deaver has won sevem Edgar nominations by the Mystery Writers of America, a Nero Award, and other accolades.

A host of softcover novels offer all manner of summer reading fun. The world of show business is featured in two of them. The Star Attraction by Alison Sweeney ($14.99, Hyperion) introduces the reader to Sophie Atwater, a CrackBerry-addicted, coffee-guzzling, sleep-deprived publicist extraordinaire on the rise at Los Angeles’ elite boutique firm, Bennett/Peters. She has an attentive, somewhat conventional boyfriend and she’s just landed the client of a lifetime, Billy Fox, Hollywood’s new ‘golden boy.’ Fox has the brains and brawn that put him in competition with George Clooney and Ryan Gosling. Put in close quarters with Fox, sparks begin to fly and Sophie learns what it is like to be on the arm of a rising movie star. This is a kind of Bridget Jones meets Hollywood Boulevard story, full of fun and is a debut novel for Sweeney who is a host on the NBC series, “The Biggest Loser”, and a role in “Days of Our lives.” How she found time between that, plus being a wife and mother, to write this novel is anyone’s guess, but we’re glad she did. In Primetime Princess, ($14.95, Amazon Publishing) another novelist makes her debut. Former NBC Executive Vice President, Lindy DeKoven, taps into her real-life network television career to write a deliciously scandalous story in the tradition of “The Devil Wears Proda.” At the center of the novel is Alexa Ross, vice president of comedy development at Hawkeye Broadcasting System who has fought her way passed the boy’s club and after firing Jerry Keller her sleezy ex-boss, Alexis thinks she’s really at the top. Then she learns Keller has been re-hired and is her newest employee. All-out war ensues and Alexa has to wonder if all her efforts have been worth it. You will have to read this entertaining novel to find out.

A most unusual novel, Lady Macbeth On the Couch, ($14.95, Bancroft Press) could only have been written by a psychoanalyst and, indeed, was. Dr. Alma Bond has written twenty books, some about famous folks such as Jackie O and Maria Callas. The character of Lady MacBeth has intrigued many others including Sigmund Freud. In Shakespeare’s play she pushes her husband to commit regicide to acquire the throne and in Dr. Bond’s historical fiction, Lady MacBeth tells her own story of the events of the enduring drama about ambition and dirty deeds. Just as the play takes one on a roller-coaster ride of intrigue, this novelization takes one into the mind and heart of one of theatre’s most compelling characters. William Shakepeare’s Star Wars by Ian Doescher ($14.95, Quirk Books, hardcover) is an officially licensed retelling of George Lucas’s epic Star Wars in the style of the immortal Bard of Avon. Doescher knows his way around iambic pentameter and the story has soliloquies and the clever wordplay one would expect of Shakespeare if he wrote of the wise Jedi knight and the evil Sith lord, of a beautiful princess held captive, and a young hero coming of age. From MacBeth to Star Wars…you cannot make up stuff like this though there are authors who will take on the challenge.

The emerging science of psychiatry plays a role in The Lost Prince by Selden Edwards ($16.00, Plume). It is a follow-up to “The Little Book” and begins in fin de siecle Vienna where Weezie Putnam met and tragically lost the love of her life, Wheeler Burden. She returns to Boston as Eleanor, a newly confident woman armed with the belief that she holds advance knowledge of nearly every major historical event to come during her lifetime. She marrieds, starts a family, hires a physicist to manage her finances, and begins to build relationships with some of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century, including Sigmund Freuds, Carl Jung, and William James. She reconnects with Arnauld Eeterhazy, a young Viennese scholar. When he is sent off to war in 1914, she must decide to allow history to unfold come what may or use her extraordinary gifts to bend it to deliver the life she is meant to have.

The Last Camelia by Sarah Jio ($15.00, Plume) combines mystery, history, and romance as it follows two American women, Flora and Addison, who are separated by more than fifty years, but connected by the enigmatic Livingston Manor in whose countless rooms the long history of its inhabitant’s sins are kept, upstairs and down. On the eve of the Second World War, the last surviving specimen of a camellia plant known as the Middlebury Pink lies secreted away on the English country estate, an amateur American botanist, is blackmailed by an international ring of flower thieves to infiltrate the household and acquire the covered bloom. To protect her family she travels an ocean away to work as a nanny to the children of the manor. More than half a century later, Manhattan garden designer, Addison, is threatened by a dark figure from her past and takes up residence in Livingston Manor, now owned by the family of her husband, to escape exposure. Does the last camelia bring with it danger? You will have to read the novel!

A very different story is told in Innocence by Louis B. Jones ($14.95, Counterpoint Press). Set in Marin County, it follows John Gregenuber, a former Episcopal priest who has given up his parish for a career in real estate. Born with a cleft palate, he has his life behind the minor disfigurement of a “hare lip” but following corrective plastic surgery, he has been invited to go on a romantic rip to a secluded country estate with Thalia, a young woman who has also undergone the same surgery. It is a story of two intelligent, shy people, both of whom felt unqualified for love, and a weekend that promises happy beginnings, but which includes Thalia’s seven special-needs clients! It is improbable, somewhat absurd, and occasionally harrowing, but never boring!

Throughout his career, Anthony C. Winkler, widely recognized as Jamaica’s great humorist, has been compared to Mark Twain, P.G. Wodehouse, and Kurt Vonnegut. When you read The Family Mansion ($15.95, Akashic Books) you would understand why. It is a wildly funny, satirical, and poignant portrait of a young English gentleman whose best-laid plans derail against the backdrop of 19^th century British culture and Jamaica’s luch, but harsh land, a time when English society was based upon the strictist subordination and stratification of the classes. Harley Fudges’ charmed life is marred only by the existance of his brother who stands to inherit everything, leaving him to his own devices. Arranging for his assassination seems the easiest soluion to the problem, but it goes terribly wrong and Hartley heads to Jamaica to start a new life. After a few months falls hopelessly in love with a slave girl named Phibba. It is a clash of cultures that Winkler turns into a romp. CNN calls Bridget Siegal’s Domestic Affairs ($15.99, Weinstein Books) “The Fifty Shades of Gray of political novels.” Ms. Siegal has worked on many political campaigns and is a political consultant, writer and actor, residing in New York. When a twenty-something political fund-raiser, Olivia Greenley, gets tapped to work on the presidential campaign of George governor Landon Taylor, it’s her dream job. Her best friend is the campaign manager and Taylor is a decent, charismatic idealist. What happens when Campaign Lesson #1, No Kissing the Boss and Lesson #2, Loyalty Above All, go down in flames before the first primary? Is the candidate a true romantic or a political hypocrite? How far can she go to justify her happiness? Told with inside-the-Beltway detail, this novel will entertain anyone with an interest in politics and even if you don’t.

For younger readers, ages 13 and up, I recommend Miss Peregine’s Home for Peculiar Children ($10.99, Quirk Books) now in softcover after its debut in June 2011 by Ransom Riggs took the publishing industry by storm as a #1 New York Times Bestseller. Film rights have been sold to Twentieth Century Fox and foreign rights in more than 35 nations. A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. And a strange collection of very curious photographs (which appear in the book) come together in a story in which a horrific family tragedy sets 16-year-old Jacob journying to a remove island off the coast of Wales where he discovers the crumbling ruins. It becomes clear that the children who once lived there—one of whom was his own grandfather—were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been guarantined on the island for a good reason and some may still be alive. For any age, this makes for some great reading.

That’s it for July! Come back in August when there will be many new fiction and non-fiction books well worth reading. Tell your friends, coworkers and family about Bookviews.com so they too can enjoy the many new books arriving to inform and entertain.

By Alan Caruba

My Picks of the Month

David Horowitz, founder of FrontPageMag.com and the child of two members of the Communist Party, longtime progressive, had an epiphany when a friend of his was killed by the Black Panthers, masquerading as the New Left in the 1970s. Since then he has devoted his life to warning against the deadly agenda of communism and exposing the lies of the progressives whose agenda has always been the destruction of American values. His latest book, The Black Book of the American Left, ($27.99, Encounter Books) is a collection of his writings and speeches since then and provides alarming insights to the way communism in Russia and elsewhere has resulted in the murder of tens of millions. Its strength is in its revelations of how the Left has worked to undermine the nation to fulfill its utopian fantasies and its weakness is that it repeats itself over the course of nearly 400 pages. As a guide to the Left, it is invaluable, filled with many insights along with the facts he cites.

For those with a passion for the nation and its system of governance, there’s Donald J. Devine’s America’s Way Back: Reclaiming Freedom, Tradition, and Constitution ($29.95, ISI Books). Devine has spent most of his life as an academic, a professor at the University of Maryland and at Bellevue University, teaching governance and politics. In the 1980’s Ronald Reagan tapped him to be the Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in his first term. He trimmed 100,000 jobs and saved more than $6 billion by reducing generous benefits. He has written eight books and this one examines the tensions between freedom and the need for a system that does not allow too much power to be acquired by any element of the U.S. government. He discusses the role of tradition including the influence of Judeo-Christian values in governance. The U.S. Constitution is the oldest active one and a remarkable instrument. The book is filled with lots of information and insights that apply to the nation’s present problems and challenges. An interesting corollary is Radley Balko’s Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Forces ($27.99, Public Affairs) which was on display in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing when SWAT teams went house to house in one neighborhood to find the terrorist who was still at large. What is generally unknown, however, is that such teams “violently smash into private homes more than a hundred times per day” and police departments across the nation now have armored personnel carriers designed for use on the battlefield, while others have helicopters, tanks, and Humvees, as well as military-grade weapons. It is a different mindset from daily police work and is coming to dominate law enforcement. This is one of those books that raises important questions and, as you read it, some scary ones.

In this scary economy, many homeowners are facing foreclosure and if that is you or someone you know, The Foreclosure Phenomenon: How to Defend Your Home from an Impending Foreclosure ($24.99, Telemachus Press, softcover) by Joaquin F. Benitez who experienced losing his home. His is an inspiring story of an immigrant who subsequently earned a diploma in civil engineering and his book is intended to help anyone with a step-by-step guide to help save one’s home, strategies to deal with three different types of financial situation, how to calculate property value, and how to address the emotional, physical, and mental toll of a foreclosure proceeding. He counsels, too, that even a loss can free one from the burden that is no longer affordable and open a door to a new life.

Some books are just extraordinary works of art in addition to their texts. From the world of science comes Invisible Worlds: Exploring Microcosms by Julie Coquart ($49.95, H.F. Ullmann) which is a large format book filled with 99 extraordinary photos of the tiniest things on Earth. It is microphotography devoted to nature, biology, chemistry, medicine, mineralogy, and textiles, all in full color, and all revealing the astonishing way everything is designed to function from the dental enamel coating your teeth to the Penicillin that prevents the spread of certain bacteria or the Salmonella bacteria we call food poisoning. The simplest handful of sand takes on amazing shapes and colors. Clearly, this book is not everyone’s cup of tea, but for those who love science and see into the microscopic world around them, this book would make a great birthday or holiday gift.

Learning Las Vegas: Portrait of a Northern New Mexican Placeby Elizabeth Barlow Rogers ($39.95, Museum of New Mexico Press and Foundation of Landscape Studies) is devoted to “The other Las Vegas”, a town that is seven hundred miles from the one in Nevada, but they might as well be on different planets. It is a small town that the author, the founding president of the Central Park Conservancy and the Foundation for Landscape Studies, has chosen in order to examine “the meaning of place in human life.” You surely do not have to be from this town to appreciate its streetscape, its architecture, and public places, such as the plaza that is a venue for numerous events. Her text is enhanced by her many photos. The town’s location made it an important stop on the Santa Fe Trail and today it is on the National Register of Historic Places. Anyone with an interest in architecture, landscapes, and how location leaves its mark on those who live in a particular place will thoroughly enjoy “learning” that Las Vegas was a Wild West outlaw Mecca, a major trading center, a railroad hub and a film location that epitomizes a vanished America, but remains home to its residents to this day. Serendipitously, the University of Oklahoma Press is set to publish New Mexico: A History by three historians ($26.95) that traces it from the earliest days of Spanish exploration and settlement. Those interested in the West will find a treasure of new books at www.oupress.com. All manner of books on topics that reflect is history and culture can be found there.

Our Emotional Lives

Getting a handle on our emotions is often a lifelong effort. It is the reason there are so many books providing advice on how to deal with them. Over at New Horizon Press they make it a specialty. Just out this month is Smart Relationships: How Successful Women Can Find True Love by LeslieBeth Wish, ($14.95, softcover) is written for women who have achieved success in their careers but find that their romantic relationships do not endure. Many distrust their judgment about men or fear the toll of breakups. A psychologist with more than 35 years of experience, the author teaches women the structure of intimate relationships and how to break free of past failures. She explores self-sabotaging behavior and provides strategies to take charge of their love and workplace relationship decisions as she explores fundamental needs to feel safe and loved. I have no doubt this book will prove very helpful.

Ten Steps to Relieve Anxiety: Refocus, Relax and Enjoy Life by H. Michael Zal ($14.95, softcover) is not officially due out until October, but if you have problems with anxiety you might want to make a note to yourself to pick up a copy. I have been a lifelong worrier and I suspect I inherited the trait. It has never incapacitated me and has often protected me from making decisions that would likely not turned out well. There are those, estimated at 6.8 million Americans who suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Dr. Zal, a psychiatrist for the past forty years and a clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, has all the credentials and experience to write about the subject. The good news, then, is that you are not alone and the better news is that this book provides ten easy-to-follow steps to achieve a less stressful, calmer life.

On a theme similar to “Smart Relationships”, Joyce M. Roche with Alexander Kopelman have written The Empress Has No Clothes: Conquering Self-Doubt to Embrace Success ($18.95, BK Berrett-Koehler Publishers, softcover) for women who, despite their success, feel like imposters. Ms. Roche rose from humble circumstances to earn an Ivy League MBA and serve in top executive positions including president of Carson Products Company, now a part of L’Oreal. She was the first female African-American vice president of Avon Products where she led global marketing and, in 2006, Black Enterprise Magazine hailed her smong “Women of Power.” Despite this, she writes that she couldn’t help feeling like a fraud even though she clearly was not. In this book she shares her struggle with what she calls the “imposter syndrome” and offers advice and coping strategies based on her experiences and those of other high-achieving leaders who also suffered from it. To know that others feel this way and to learn how to overcome it makes this a very valuable book.

Acrobaddict by Joe Putignano ($17.95, Central Recovery Press, softcover) is the autobiography of a gifted athlete who abandoned his Olympic dreams when he fell down the hole that heroin digs for those who fall under its grip. He loved both gymnastics and heroin. The latter took him from the U.S. Olympic Training Center to homeless shelters. It is a harrowing tale with a powerful narrative that tells how the same energy, obsession and dedication that can create an Olympic athlete can detour into being a drug addict. This is his story of recovery and like so many books is a cautionary tale that has a happy ending, but which almost ended his life. It makes its official debut in September. For a look into an even darker aspect of mental disorder, Mary Papenfuss has written Killer Dads: The Twisted Drives that Compel Fathers to Murder their Own Kids ($19.00, Prometheus Books, softcover). This is one of the most horrific of crimes and the veteran journalist explores five examples of “family annihilators” that reflects the dark trajectory of machismo in economically stressful times. It is based on some fifty in-depth interviews of victim’s friends and family, and the profiles by researchers of these “killer dads” driven to kill their children by a sense of failure and their distorted egos. There is much more in here and none of it makes for easy reading. For those who want to learn more about this crime, it is an excellent work of research.

My friend, Dr. Alma Bond, a psychiatrist, has authored a series of “On the Couch” books that examine the lives of the famous and the fictional, from opera singer Maria Callas to Lady MacBeth. She always brings a lifetime of knowledge and experience to her books. Coming in October is one that is sure to interest the fans of the movie icon, Marilyn Monroe. Many books have been written about her, but Marilyn Monroe on the Couch ($23.95, Bancroft Press) provides insights to the actress who had talent beyond her luminous beauty and yet remained so fragile despite her fame. Dr. Bond focuses on her fame from the 1950s and 60s, a time in which she sought the help of a Manhattan psychoanalyst to cope. It is an illuminating book in ways that others sought to achieve, but often missed.

Reading History

I love reading history and recommend it as the best way to understand the present. Having lived through the period of the civil rights movement, I found William P. Jones The March on Washington: Jobs, Freedom, and the Forgotten History of Civil Rights ($26.95, W.W. Norton) especially interesting, in part because I heard Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speak at a nearby college and had the opportunity to go backstage and meet him for a short chat. On August 28, 1963, nearly a quarter million people were in Washington, D.C. to demand “Jobs and Freedom” at a rally is best remembered for his speech “I Have a Dream.” Few recall that his was the last of ten speeches devoted to ending racial segregation and discrimination in the South, but also to achieve equality nationwide and the opportunity to have quality education, affordable housing, and jobs with a living wage. Even less known was that the rally was the result of grassroots activism by organized labor and the Socialist Party. A professor of history at the University of Wisconsin, the author restores the march to its proper context as he relates the 25-year struggle that preceded it. This book is an important contribution to the history of those times and the effort that began in the 1940s by men like A. Philip Randolph, the leader of the union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. The civil rights movement in 1963 had been a long time coming. The 1960s were a turbulent time and they are captured here in a book that is well worth reading.

A much earlier period in time is the subject of Fatal Rivaltry: Flodden, 1513—Henry VIII and James IV, and the Decisive Battle for Renaissance Britain by George Goodwin ($29.95, W.W. Norton). It was a time of great kings, colorful queens, conniving courtiers, and political popes; a time of extraordinary wealth in a period when the power of the Renaissance infused the lives of those in power. Set against each other was England’s Henry VII and Scotland’s James IV, suspected of having murdered his own father. His marriage to a Tudor princess brought a tenuous peace with England after five centuries of war, but his brother-in-law Henry VII had plans of his own which lead to a battle that established England’s political domination of Scotland for the next five hundred years. The author ably captures the many aspects of those tumultuous years, marked by shifting alliances with kings, popes, and emperors, ultimately erupting into bloodshed that ushered in a new technological, economic and geopolitical era.

Music, Music, Music

My least favorite form of music is “heavy metal” perhaps because I grew up in a period that transitioned from the “crooners” to rock’n roll. I can still recall how an older generation thought Elvis Presley marked the end of western civilization. Even so, the music was more melodic than today’s. That said, there are several books that address the music with which many have grown up and enjoy.

Ministry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen($26.99, Da Capo Press), a musician who earned the praise of Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Corey Taylor of Slipnot, and others as their musical influence. Jourgensen, with Jon Wiederhorn, recounts his rise to infamy within the tumultuous ranks of the rock industry amidst the non-stop use of heroin, cocaine, crack and booze, along of course with the groupies. This is a cautionary autobiography in which he relates his Cuban roots, growing up in Chicago, and his friendships with Beat Generation icons William S. Burroughs and Timothy Leary. He created the band called Ministry, has been a producer, songwriter, vocalist and guitarist. Now much older and living in El Paso, Texas, his book is more about what not to do with one’s life than one misspent in so many ways.

Da Capo Press has two other music-related books out as well. Queens of Noise: The Real Story of the Runaways by Evelyn McDonnell ($25.99), an all-girl punk answer to Led Zeppelin, all teenagers that took is aggressive, libidinal rock music from Los Angeles to Japan over its four years of fame. Among its members, Joan Jett and Lita Ford would go on to have successful solo careers, but the band fizzled like a dud cherry bomb in an environment of drug abuse and clashing egos as its members quested after fame. This story of the group reveals that, for all their outward bravado, they were still just girls who got homesick while on tour and by the wizardry of their manager, Kim Fowley, were able to elbow their way into an industry dominated by men. For those who follow such things, the book will be full of insights, but it too is a cautionary tale. Detroit Rock City: The Uncensored History of Rock ‘n’ Roll in America’s Loudest City by Steve Miller ($16.99, softcover) takes the reader back to Detroit in 1966 when the lights of the Grande Ballroom stage went up every night on young rockers trying to make a name for themselves. Out of their numbers can performers such as Ted Nugent, Bob Seger, along with Iggy and the Stooges. Based on more than 200 interviews, this is an oral history that chronicles the manic and obsessive love affairs that Detroit had with its music and does to this day. As is the case with rock’n roll, it tells the story of a drug-fueled subculture playing hard and partying even harder. By the 1970s, America had lost interest in its punk music, but it was a catalyst for others who followed in its wake. Most of us are more likely to recall the great Motown period.

Younger Readers

A number of books that will appeal to younger readers have arrived. One that might also interest older ones is Sharkopedia: The Complete Guide to Everything Shark by Andy DeHart, a marine biologist ($19.95, Time Home Entertainment/Discovery Channel, softcover), a large format book with more than 400 photos that includes information on all 498 known shark species. Sharks hold a special fascination for all ages and this book will more than satisfy their interest as it discusses their feeding habits, behavior, anatomy and senses, and countless other information that is fairly astounding. Another natural phenomenon is the subject of Volcano Rising by Elizabeth Rusch ($17.95, Charlesbridge), aimed at ages 6 through 9. Along with its illustrations by Susan Swan, it is filled with information about real volcanos around the world and the role they play on planet Earth, creating new land, mountains and islands, and much more. It’s just out this month and a visit to www.charlesbridge.com will introduce you to this outstanding children’s book publisher’s latest books, such as Me and My Dragon: Scared of Halloweenby David Biedrzyck ($17.95) for ages 4 through 7 about a boy whose pet dragon is scared silly on this spooky holiday. Even this grownup thought it was hilarious.

Thomas and Peter Weck have created a series of books for readers age 4 to 8 called the Lima Bear stories. They are illustrated by Len DiSalvo in a delightful fashion. I have seen and recommended a number of their books such as “The Megasourus” and “How Back-Back Got His Name.” The newest is Bully Bean ($8.95, www.Limabearpress,com, distributed by Small Press United) and it addresses a common problem children encounter, the bully. In the kingdom of Beandom, Bully Bean is feared and Lima Bear is one of his favorite victims. When the bully gets trapped under a heavy rock, he calls out for help and sees Lima Bear walk away, but only to discover he has rounded up others to come back and get him out of his jam. He learns a good lesson and so will the youngsters who read this enjoyable story.

Football season will begin soon and for those youngsters who love the sport, there’s the Big Book of Who: Football ($17.95, Time Home Entertainment and Sports Illustrated Kids) that is a guide to 101 players filled with profiles, facts and stats that will provide lots of enjoyment to younger readers, along with his extensive photos of the sport’s champions, record breakers, super scorers, and yardage kinds. Grownups, too, will enjoy this one.

There are novels, too, for young adult readers and one that is sure to please is Jeff Yager’s Atom & Eve ($13,51/$4.99 Kindle, Hannacroix Creek Books, softcover) set several years into the future in which a powerful flu that causes many deaths and a dramatic slowdown of the economy. One of those affected is Ricky Romanello, a college freshman. A research scientist has developed an anti-aging drug that she believes could eradicate the flue and Ricky becomes one of the test subjects. The government approves the drug and the epidemic is soon over. He is cured, but soon he and others discover an unintended side effect that has catastrophic consequences for the entire population. Jeff comes from parents who are writers and, at age 23, his first novel demonstrates that talent can be inherited. Another futuristic novel for young adults is The Meme Plague by Angie Smibert, ($16.99/$9.99, Amazon Children’s Publishing, hardcover and Kindle), book 3 of the Memento Nora series at a time when everyone has microchips implanted in their brains that are designed to erase memories and add new ones. The two main characters, Micah and Nora are determined to take charge of their memories by building a new electronic frontier that cannot be controlled by local politicians and others. In an era when we now know the government is capable of knowing all our phone calls, emails, and other activities, this novel is a cautionary tale that is well worth reading.

Due in September is William Elliot Hazelgrove’s The Pitcher ($15.95, Koehlerbooks) about a Mexican-American boy with a golden arm who has no change to make the high school team until a broken-down World Series pitcher who coaches the team agrees to coach him and give him an opportunity to fulfill his dream. It has been nominated for the YALSA Printz Award and is the Junior Library Guild’s pick for a new autumn release as well. The award honors the best book written for teens and this story that includes the issues of immigration and the mythic dream of overcoming all odds will please its readers on many levels. I will happily join those who believe it is a great new story. For diehard Giants fans there’s The Years the Giants Won the Series: A Fan’s Journal of the 2012 and 2010 World Series Seasons by Joseph Sutton ($15.00, Mad Dog Publishing Company, softcover), a little book that chronicles the two games.

Novels, Novels, Novels

The deluge of novels continues, but it is mid-summer and a time for vacations and the leisure to read a story for entertainment and diversion.

One novel, however, runs 685 pages and you risk a hernia just picking it up. Worse, it is an astonishingly boring story that was widely rejected by publishers when it was first proffered in the 70s and 80s in Italy, the home of its author, Goliarda Sapienza, now deceased. The Art of Joy ($30.00, Farrar, Straus and Giroux) is described as “a sprawling, formally inventive, sexually explicit feminist epic” which is literally talk for a long, shapeless, self-indulgent mess. It was eventually published in France and Italy, but failed to attract much attention. It was initially published by the author’s lover, Angelo Pellegrino, and for reasons known only to its current American publisher, is offered now.

Anne Hendren has had far more success with her books and her latest is Project Runaway ($11.00, Ring of Fire Publishers, softcover) about fashion designer, Karin Ohisson, who has moved to New York to follow her dream only to have her work appropriated by a designer to takes credit for it. Disillusioned, she decides to return to her roots in Idaho where she links up with her ailing aunt Hannah and her sewing group that produces quilts. After Hannah passes away, she decides to return, but in the interim she has learned a lot about herself and with a renewed appreciation for family bonds. It has a happy ending, but you will have to read it to find out. A very different character in a previous era, Prohibition, is Jersey Leo, the quintessential outside, an albino of mixed race. Jersey is a bartender at a speakeasy in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen and has used his boss’s money to purchase what turns out to be counterfeit moonshine. The novel, Sugar Pop Moon, by John Florio takes its name from this stuff ($15.95, Seventh Street Books, softcover) and Jersey enlists his father’s help to track down the bootlegger. They encounter some very nasty characters as he tries to avoid retribution from the mobster who owns the speakeasy. It is an interesting story of his relationship with his father and moves along swiftly.

For a change of pace, there’s The Serpent and the Pearl by Kate Quinn ($15.00, Berkley, softcover) set during the Italian Renaissance in a novel of the Borgias and their never-ending crises of marriage and murder. It is Rome in 1492 as the Borgias make their rise, looking to put one of their own as Pope. Vivacious Giulia Farnese seemingly has everything, beauty, wealth, and a handsome young husband, but she is stunned to discover that her marriage is a sham and she is to be given as a concubine to the ruthless Cardinal Borgia, a candidate for Pope. Suffice to say the bodies mount up as she and your friends must decide to flee the Borgia dream of power or even survive it. A more contemporary history is the background for Island of the White Rose by R. Ira Harris ($24.95, Bridge Works Publishing) and it makes for excellent reading. It is set in Cuba in the years that led up to the overthrow of one dictatorship, that of Fulgencio Batista, that only led to another, Fidel Castro’s. Father Pedro Villanueva, 34, is the son of an upper-middle-class Havana family and non-political, but when asked to try to free a parishioner’s son from La Cabana prison he enlists his brother, Alberto, to bribe the guards there. The prisoner is released, but Alberto is killed in the handover. Pedro joins the underground to support the Fidelistas. His involvement deepens, but as history demonstrates, he is betrayed by the Castro regime for which he smuggled arms on his family’s sloop, named the White Rose for a symbol of Cuba. This is a very compelling story that is well worth reading.

Thomas and Mercer, a publishing imprint of Amazon.com, has three novels out in August worth considering. One is by Aric Davis who has two previous novels to his credit and, in The Fort ($14.94, softcover) he takes the reader into the world of tattoo parlors, dive bars, pool halls, and police stations of the present-day Midwest for an action-packed story for a suspenseful coming-of-age story of innocence, evil, and the bonds of friendship. Beginning in the summer of 1987, Tim, Scott and Luke are enjoying life in the tree house fort they have built in the woods behind their homes. They spot a killer with his latest victim, Molly, and know they must do what they can to save her, but both their parents and the police doubt them. Told from the alternating viewpoints of the boys, the killer, and the detective on his trail, it is an electrifying story. Out of the Black by John Rector ($ 14.95, softcover) tells a harrowing story of former Marine Matt Caine who is widowed after a car crash that claims his wife. He struggles to support his daughter, but is broke from hospital and funeral bills. Desperate to pay his mortgage, he borrows money from some notorious local thugs and his in-laws are threatening a custody battle. Things go from bad to worse when he is lured into a kidnapping plot. This is a tightly plotted thriller and one that you will read to the last page. Unthinkable by Clyde Phillips ($14.95, softcover) is the fourth installment of Phillips’ bestselling Jane Candiotti series. She’s a hard-nosed San Francisco detective and this is her toughest case, a mass murder that has claimed the life of a member of her family, a teenaged nephew. On a blustery night, six strangers find shelter in a neighborhood restaurant—only to be shot dead minutes later. The carnage leaves the city on edge. Despite being pregnant with her first child, Lt. Candiotti is driven to solve the crime and you will be driven to read this story from beginning to end in one sitting.

In June of last year I reviewed “The Last Policeman” by Ben H. Winters and recommended it. Now he’s back with Countdown City: The Last Policeman Book II ($14.95, Quirk Books, softcover) and I am pleased to recommend it as well. It received an Edgar Award for Best paperback Original. The first book of the trilogy is set in a pre-apocalyptic period in which there is just six months before an asteroid is scheduled to impact the Earth, that deadly deadline, but Book II is down to 77 days for Detective Hank Palace no longer is out solving crimes until a woman from his past begs him for help in finding her missing husband who disappeared without a trace. As society is falling apart Palace pursues the few clues available that lead him to a college-campus-turned-anarchist-encampment and then onto a coastal landscape where anti-immigrant militia fend off “impact zone” refugees. Science fiction meets societal chaos in this compelling tale.

That’s it for August! September promises to kick off the fall publishing season with many new non-fiction and fiction books, so it’s a good idea to check back then. Meanwhile, tell your family, friends, and co-workers who love to read all about Bookviews.com where you will find news of books that may not be on the bestseller lists, but should be on your reading list.

By Alan Caruba

My Picks of the Month

The one book you must read this month is Erick Stakelbeck’s The Breakthrough: America’s Next Great Enemy ($27.95, Regnery Publishing Co.) because it will tell you what you need to know about the September 11^th“Million Muslim March” in Washington, D.C. and why the Muslim Brotherhood haa been in the streets of Cairo trying to retake control of Egypt after having been banned for more than five decades there until the overthrow of the Mubarak regime. Secular Egyptians are fighting to avoid having to live under Sharia law, the 1,400 year old system of slavery that sanctions beheadings, stoning, and the oppression of women and all other religions. You will learn about its history and how widespread it is in America, using a variety of front groups, all devoted to destroying our nation along with, of course, Israel. Founded in 1928 by fanatical Muslims, it is in eighty nations and boasts over a hundred million followers. You will learn how the White House has opened its doors to some of its leaders, how top ranked national security officials favor Islam, and how mosques are being built throughout the nation in order to proselytize and create enclaves in our midst from which will come those who will use terrorism against us. Americans are being deceived by our own media, by those in our universities, and by those in our government. This book spells it out, documenting what has occurred and what will occur if Americans do not waken to this threat to the nation and the West.

The reelection of Barack Obama was a tremendous shock to Republicanswho could not conceive that a first term that began with enormous spending—the stimulus—that produced no shovel-ready or other permanent jobs or any improvement to the economy and ended with the Benghazi scandal in which a U.S. ambassador and three others will killed in a terrorist attack would not hand the election to Mitt Romney, their candidate. What Went Wrong: The Inside Story of the GOP debacle of 2012 and How it can be Avoided Next Time by Jerome R. Corsi, Ph.D. ($25.95, WND Books) is a brilliant analysis of why the GOP again choose a “me too” candidate and, in Romney’s case, a man who utterly failed to wage an aggressive campaign. Corsi explains how the Democratic campaign relied on the most modern techniques of computer modeling to identify exactly who to reach, combined with a get-out-the-vote campaign that ensured that more of them actually voted. The GOP thought that Romney’s economic message of small government, lower taxes, and less regulation would resonate with voters, but it did not and, in the end, a significant number white Republicans, the party’s core, just stayed home, disappointed with the campaign. It cost them the White House, but Tea Party candidates, scorned by the GOP elites did well at the polls. Obama was reelected by his core constituency, African Americans who voted 98% for him, Hispanics, single women and younger voters. Republicans, Tea Party supporters, conservatives and independents should read this excellent book to learn what must be done in the forthcoming 2014 midterm elections and how to capture the White House and Congress in 2016. Corsi believes it can be done.

Having begun my professional life as a very young journalist in the late 1960s, I found Harry Rosenfeld’s memoir, From Kristallnacht to Watergate: Memoirs of a Newspaperman ($29.95, Suny University of New York Press) of interest as he recalled his family’s escape from Nazi Germany to the U.S., his youth growing up in New York, and his love of journalism that began early with a low-level job with the Tribune. Rosenfeld made his way up to editorial positions with the Washington Post and played a pivotal role when the Watergate scandal began as a break-in of the Democratic headquarters. He recounts how Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, both young reporters, were selected to investigate and how it grew into the greatest scandal to affect a U.S. president ever. It would take two years before Nixon resigned in the face of a pending impeachment. It is history as seen through the eyes of a journalist that is a contribution to understanding much about newspapers in an era where they were the dominant provider of news to the present times. It is a personal story, but it is also a story of the most dramatic times America passed through since the end of WWII.

A new breed of journalist has emerged in the digital age and Breakthrough: Our Guerrilla War to Expose Fraud and Save Democracy by James O’Keefe ($26.00, Threshold Editions, an imprint of Simon and Schuster) is the extraordinary story of how this young man and colleagues exposed the corruption of ACORN, leading to Congress defunding the voter fraud organization, revealing the biases within National Public Radio, the easy tolerance of fraud at Planned Parenthood, and in many government agencies. In 2010 O’Keefe formed Project Veritas, a 501c(3) organization dedicated to citizen journalism. Best known for its sting operations that caught the various operatives of these organization on camera, O’Keefe is dedicated to exposing corruption that endangers the election process, the contempt of organizations that receive government funding, and many other ills within our society and government that undermine our values. He was fortunate to find a mentor in the late Andrew Breitbart, but the untold story until now is the way the Left fought back with law suits and outright lies intended to defame him and his group. What he accomplished was funded largely on his credit cards in the early years and his dedication got him through some very scary moments. If you have a feeling that something is very wrong with our nation’s institutions, you will find your fears confirmed in this excellent book that exudes his still youthful enthusiasm for “citizen journalism.”

Jay W. Richards undertakes to explain the elements that led to the 2008 financial crisis in Infiltrated ($25.00, McGraw Hill Education). He is a philosopher with a special focus on politics and economics. The book is described as “part socioeconomic analysis and part examination of the continuing debate over who is to blame for the crisis and who is still trying to gain from it.” I found it tough going to the point where I finally gave up. About the only thing I know is that we live in an era of crony capitalism and the interplay between government and the financial markets is intricate and deep. Suffice to say, only those with a concerted interest in such questions will want to read this book and, I suspect, there are so many players involved that it defies much more than informed speculation.

Am I a Jew? By Theodore Ross ($16.00, Plume, softcover) will intrigue both Jews and Christians as the author tells the story of how, when he was nine years old, his mother forced him to convert to Christianity after growing up in a Jewish family. When she moved to a small town in Mississippi, she wanted to pass and, one assumes, wanted to make life easier for Ross, but he always knew he was a Jew and those years never really altered that perception. His parents were divorced so he was a Christian in Mississippi and a Jew in Manhattan when he returned to visit his father for holidays and summer break. As an adult living in New Mexico he became aware of “crypto-Jews” of Spanish origin, those who fled the inquisition or pretended to convert to avoid death. As he began to pursue this slice of history he became aware of how many people believed they were Jewish though living gentile lives. A whole sub-culture of those seeking to “return” to their spiritual roots was revealed to him. Told with humor and a sharp eye for detail, Ross tells his own story and that of others seeking an answer. Linked only by Judaism, Bombed in His Bed: The Confessions of Jewish Gangster Myer Rush ($16.95, Alma Rose Publishing, softcover) is an as-told-to book by Bruce Farrell Rosen, his nephew. Rush was a very successful gangster who grew up in Depression-era Toronto, a man who would have been successful in any enterprise, accumulating wealth through crime and legitimate enterprise. He had a gift for stealth, and chutzpah, but he disdained the press and the way he was depicted. He was, as the saying goes, larger than life. He was in turn a cat burglar, ran guns into Palestine before it became Israel at the request of a rabbi, marketed a sex herb he discovered, and bought companies, turning them and other ventures into success stories. There is no way to briefly describe his life and we can thank his nephew for getting him to share his life for what is a very interesting biography.

Every so often a book comes along that I know will appeal to a narrow niche of readers and, in the case of Land of Lincoln—Thy Wondrous Story: Through the Eyes of the Illinois State Society ($40.00, Jameson Books, Ottawa, IL) by Mark Q. Rhoads that is surely the case. It helps if you were born, bred and perhaps still live in Illinois. The author was the president of the Illinois State Society from 1989 to 1990, serving on its board for 27 years until 2012. Suffice to say he has had a long and distinguished career, all of which touches upon his beloved state in some fashion or other. His book is a definitive history of Illinois reaching back to 1853 and moving along to the present through the events and the lives of men who made their mark on the nation and the state. We all know about Lincoln, but the book is filled with the politics of Illinois that was filled with interesting people, some on the national stage, others in the state, some of whom helped share the history of the nation as well.

Visible Ink Press publishes a series of books that I recommend highly. They come under the common title of “The Handy” book of “Answers” and several are debuting this month. They include The Handy Chemistry Answer Book, The Handy Astronomy Book (Third Edition), and The Handy Art History Answer Book, all priced at $21.95 and all authored by experts in their fields. Earlier editions in my personal library include answer books about history and science. In a very complex world, these books are a treasure of information that break down their topics into easily comprehended and informative texts that provide hours of interesting and entertaining reading while turning you into the smartest person in the room! To learn more about this series, visit www.handyanswers.com.

Silly, Funny, and Fun

Some books are just supposed to be fun to read and that surely applies to Ripley’s Believe It or Not ® Dare to Look!, a coffee table, large format book ($28.95, Ripley Publishing) that is filled with some of the most bizarre, incredible, and amazing true stories from around the world. Moreover, by downloading an APP for “oddScan” you can scan some of the images and they come alive off the page. This book will appeal to anyone with an interest in the odd ways some people behave and the things they do. There’s the guy who pinned 161 clothes pegs to his face, an eight page gatefold of ventriloquist’s dummies, and much more fun stuff on every page.

For those who enjoy exploring mysteries, conspiracies, and cover-ups, Nick Redfern’s Monster Files ($15.99, New Page Books, a division of Career Press, softcover) will more than satisfy with its “look inside government secrets and classified documents on bizarre creations and extraordinary animals.” Redfern has either uncovered some strange information from “secret files in the Pentagon, the Kremlin, the British military, and other government agencies” or he is putting on the reader. Either way, it is quite entertaining with its tales of lake monsters, an alleged link between the CIA and the Abominable snowman, and Russian experiments with animal ESP.

There is one type of book that I enjoy simply because it is so much fun. It is a collection of odd facts and 1,227 Quite Interesting Facts to Blow Your Socks Off by John Lloyd, John Mitchinson, James Harkin and the QI Elves ($15.95, W.W. Norton) lives up to its title. Lloyd and Mitchinson are the creators of an award-winning BBC quiz show called “QI” and Harkin is a senior researcher. It is pure trivia, but it is arranged so that each page’s items link together in some fashion. Not that it matters because each page has some surprising fact such as the international dialing code for Russia is 007 or that heroin was originally sold as a cough medicine. Did you know that Google makes more money--$20 billion a year—from advertising than CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX combined? You will liven up your conversations with all manner of facts after you’ve read this very entertaining book.

By far the most amusing take on ghosts I have seen in a very long time is Doogie Horner’s 100 Ghosts: A Gallery of Harmless Haunts ($9.95, Quirk Books) just in time for Halloween next month. In fact it would make a great Halloween gift. Horner is a writer, designer, and stand-up comedian with two previous books to his credit. Suffice to say he has a very whimsical mind and the illustrations that compose the book show many variations on the theme of the white sheet and two eye-holes that is the comic book version of a ghost. He has found some very amusing ways of taking this simple piece of artwork and transforming it into a chuckle on every page of a book you can hold in the palm of your hand.

Lots of Useful Advice

I think someone has been writing a book of advice since the invention of the printing press and, of course, the Bible, written much earlier, is filled with advice on how to live one’s life. A number of such books have arrived so let’s take a look at them.

Raising a young man to turn out well is always a parent’s concern and Rick Johnson offers some advice in A Man in the Making: Strategies to Help Your Son Succeed in Life ($12.99, Revell, a division of Baker Publishing, softcover). Written from a Christian point of view, its advice is universal, however, citing the need for intentional guidance, education, and good role models. Johnson cites famous men of the past as models of manhood and the values they possessed. Shannon Perry has written The Overlooked General: Parenting Teens and Tweens in a Complicated Culture ($14.99, softcover, www.ShannonPerry.com). A radio and TV host, she formerly was a public school teachers and counselor, and certified instructor for crisis counseling and parenting classes. I cite this to let you know she has the knowledge and experience to address bullying and other difficult issues that include eating disorders, drug use, and other problems that today’s tweens and teen must address and avoid. Well researched and filled with good advice, I would recommend this book for any parent of a young girl and boy who wants to deal with these issues. For parents with a child who insists on having the last word there’s Parenting Your Powerful Child by Dr. Kevin Leman ($17.99, Revell). It is filled with practical advice on how to turn the battle zone in your home into a peaceful environment. Dealing with a child that insists on getting his or her way requires insights as to how they got that way and what steps can be taken to change attitudes and behaviors.

A short, clever book by David E. Silvey offers advice on The Smart Way to Deal with Stupid People: How Some Get What they Want and Other’s Don’t ($14.99, Smart Way Books, softcover) is not so much about “stupid” people but rather those in a position to be of service, but may fail to do so. It’s about navigating frustrating situations and people in a conflict-free way and, if you or someone you know, always seem to be in conflict with others, it would make a very gift or book to read. It is available on Amazon Kindle, Nook, and Lulu. In the world of business, the challenge is to hire the right person and Abhijit Bhaduri, who’s been a human resources executive at several large, global organizations such as Microsoft and PepsiCo, has written an interesting book on the subject titled Don’t Hire the Best: An Essential Guide to Building the Right Team ($14.95, Hogan Press, softcover) which may seem counter-intuitive, but the author contends that by selecting candidates with the right personality fit and competencies, rather than the most impressive experience or education, an organization can ensure that it brings in the right people who can work effectively and successfully together. The book is already getting raves from business leaders for its practical advice on how to improve the way they assess their candidates. We have all heard of the “glass ceiling” that kept women from climbing the corporate and career ladder. Norma Yaeger stepped into the male-dominated world of the stockbroker on Wall Street in 1962 and brings lots of perspective and experience to her book, Breaking Down the Walls ($15.99/$9.99, Publish Green, softcover and ebook). This is her story and the advice she offers a new generation of young women entering the workplace with more choices than those who preceded them.

After a life spent working, the time comes for retirement though it must be said the current economy may make that more difficult than before. More than 10,000 adults turn 55+ every day and they are faced with questions about what to do with the prospect of several more decades of life. Shifting Gears to Your Life Work After Retirement by Carolee Duckworth and Marie Langworthy ($18.50/$8.50, New Cabady Press, softcover and ebook) offer a roadmap for Boomers to live the final years and make them their best that covers a wide range of topics from a 10-point retirement countdown, a 5-step process to create a unique retirement adventure, how to use one’s time best, and how technology offers web connectivity and other benefits. The book offers advice on how to reinvent one’s personal and professional next phase along with some good parenting advice for one’s senior years.

Regrettably, some seniors fall victim to dementia. A 2009 census revealed that more than five million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease or some other form of dementia. That means there are fifteen million family caregivers and An Unintended Journey: A Caregiver’s Guide to Dementia by Janet Yagoda Shgram ($20.00, Prometheus Books, softcover) was written to provide the kind of advice to get them through that challenge as she guides readers through the often-confusing world of dementia care. She explains the basics of dementia as a brain disorder, its accompanying behaviors, the procedures to diagnose and stage the disease, as well as the legal aspects of providing care for an adult who is no longer competent. There’s excellent advice and guidance on every page.

Science and Such

Science has transformed modern life for the better and is so much in the news that it has become a kind of religion. It has been corrupted in recent decades, particularly in regard to the greatest hoax of modern times, “global warming.” It is producing a lot of books of late so let’s look at some that have arrived.

An important moment in the advancement of science and mathematics was the publication of Isaac Newton’s book in 1687. Magnificent Principia: Exploring Isaac Newton’s Masterpiece by Colin Pask ($26.00, Prometheus Books) is a guided tour of the book that created the framework for what we call modern science and why we now take matters from gravity to our solar system for granted. For anyone with an interest in the history of the book and its impact, Pask will take you on a journey that will put you in the company of intellectually curious readers, as well as the professional scientists and mathematicians who actually read it.

Environmentalism has produced whole libraries of books and all seem to blame humans for everything that occurs in nature without crediting it with enormous powers well in excess of anything humans do. A typical example of this is Invisible Nature: Healing the Destructive Divide Between People and the Environment by Kenneth Worthy ($19.00, Prometheus Books, softcover) which sees all aspects of human life from food production to the use of toilet paper as some kind of assault on nature. I have a tip for you. Nature doesn’t care. Much of human history has been devoted to overcoming the dangers to human life that nature poses and we have developed everything from agriculture to feed us to cities to house us in order to avoid living in mud huts and eating nuts and berries. A similar doom and gloom look at nature is find in Air: The Restless Shaper of the World by William Bryant Logan ($16.95, W.W. Norton, softcover) which includes the usual claptrap about carbon dioxide that is released when we burn coal or use oil to generate energy for the power we require to turn on the lights or drive our cars. Carbon dioxide plays no role in “global warming” or “climate change”; it is a bare 0.038% of the Earth’s atmosphere, but without it all animal life would perish as it is the “food” that all plant life needs for growth. We need to stop worrying about the so-called “greenhouse gases” and begin to consider the threats posed by assaults on the Constitution and the Islamist movement.

On a more positive note, there are some books about science that are not blatant propaganda. One such is Edward Ashpole’s Signatures of Life: Science Searches the Universe ($25.00, Prometheus Books) that explores the question of whether we are alone in the universe or whether life is a universal phenomenon? There are countless galaxies, but the astronomers in SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) have spent the last fifty years scanned the universe for any signals of other intelligent beings and have found none. The author examines the problems inherent is this effort, seeking radio or optical signals from an alien intelligence. Granted that this is a fairly specialized aspect of science today, this book does it justice. The Particle At the End of the Universe by Sean Carroll ($17.00, Plume, softcover) tells the story of the biggest machine ever constructed, taking ten years to build, and costing in excess of $9 billion. It required the cooperation of engineers from more than a hundred nations and, in the end, its colossal discovery was the unbelievably tiny Higgs Boson, often referred to as the “god particle.” Don’t ask me to explain what it is other than that it is a subatomic particle, deemed the most important scientific discovery to date. The story behind the construction of the project is a great drama, the result of unprecedented international cooperation and all manner of deal-making and even occasional skullduggery. As such, it makes for lively reading.

As someone who cannot balance his checkbook without the assistance of my bank’s online page, anything to do with physics and mathematics is a mystery to me, but there are a number of books that do a good job of explaining it. One such is The Quantum Universe (And Why Anything thatCan Happen, does) by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw ($15.99, Da Capo Press, softcover). The authors are professors of physics at the University of Manchester and do an excellent job of demystifying quantum physics to the point where even I can understand it. They do so in a very entertaining way for those of us interested in why the laws of physics determine everything in our world and the universe. This one is worth reading. The Way of Science: Finding Truth and Meaning in a Scientific Worldview by Dennis R. Tumble ($20, Prometheus Books, softcover) involves a lot of deep thinking about the deeper benefits of science, particularly its emphasis on critical thinking and science literacy. The reason we trust science is that it is subject to reproducibility. Unless a theory or a claim can be reproduced by other scientists, it is subject to dispute and those disputes are critical to arriving at a truth. I am not talking about “a consensus” or agreement, but a conclusion that has been proven to the point where it is accepted on its own merits. The best part of science is that it keeps us open to a sense of wonder about the world we inhabit and an optimism that the human condition can be improved. I took some comfort, given my lack of arithmetic skills, in Magnificent Mistakes in Mathematics by Alfred S. Posamentier and Ingar Lehmann ($24.00, Prometheus Books). This is a book that will appeal to those who work in the world of mathematics, but also to those with a general interest in the subject.

The Making of the Mind: The Neuroscience of Human Nature by Ronald T. Kellogg ($20.00, Prometheus Books, softcover) explores in detail five distinctive parts of human cognition. In more basic terms, why did we humans turn out so different from chimpanzees with whom we share a fair amount of DNA? According to the author, we have very good working memories, a well-tuned social intelligence that lets us interpret what others are saying, a capacity for symbolic thought and language, and an inner voice that interprets conscious experiences by making causal inferences. Unlike the chimps, we know our species has a history, a past, and that it has a future. Kellogg is concerned that our modern world of 24/7 media leads to a great deal of mass distraction. This is one of those kind of books that provides a world of insight to our own lives and that of society in general.

What Makes a Hero: The Surprising Science of Selflessness by Elizabeth Svoboda ($27.95, Current, an imprint of Penguin Group USA) is an interesting look the way people will act selflessly and why. Using a variety of examples of people who demonstrated this quality, the author shows how this can greatly improve our mental health in our daily lives though it sometimes comes with a price. Interestingly, breakthroughs in biology and neuroscience reveal that the human brain is primed for selflessness which, to be candid, came as a surprise to me which is, of course, why the title of the book is about this “surprising science.” It turns out that we all have the capacity to be heroes in our own ways. Another book from Current is The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance by David Epstein ($26.95) that offers an interesting look at sports that raises some interesting questions. For example, half the men who hold the top ten records for the 100m dash are from Jamaica, Two of them, Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake, hail from neighboring parishes. Is there something in the water or is it in the gene pool? This book looks at sensitive subjects such as what role race and gender play in athletics? And why do bodies respond differently to identical training? Everyone can recall the star athlete from their school days, the one who made it look easy and the question the book explores is why some have the “sports gene” while others clearly do not. Sports Illustrated senior writer, Epstein, tackles the nature versus nurture debate and examines what science has to tell us. Along the way he dispels many of our perceptions about why top athletes excel.

You have no doubt noticed that several of the books noted in this section are from a single publisher, Prometheus Books, and the good news is that several are available as ebooks at significantly lower prices than the traditional format

Kid Stuff

I am a great believer in getting kids to love books at an early age. For the very young, being read to from a book, particularly a picture book, engages them and encourages them to learn to read on their own.

I am a fan of the Howard B. Wigglebottom series by Howard Binkow and the latest is A Fable About Trust ($15.00, We Do Listen Foundation) by Binkow and Rev. Ana, and illustrated by Taillefer Long. The book introduces 4-8 year olds to the concept that trust is earned and that it is okay to say no. Filled with appealing and recognizable characters, it teaches a valuable lesson in selecting one’s friends and avoiding doing things because others urge one to. You can learn more about the series as www.wedolisten.org. Bimbambu by Ileana Katzenelson ($18.73, Soul Prints Press) is for the pre-school youngster age 3 to 5 or so. It was inspired by a story told to her by her father, a concentration camp survivor, and explores the theme of being compassionate and giving. The main character is a bird who, asked to share its feathers by a variety of other animal characters does so and who receives their help in return. Illustrated by Sean Brown, it is a story the very young will want to return to again and again.

A very clever, entertaining picture book for the very young is Vampire Baby by Kelly Bennett and illustrated by Paul Meisel ($15.99, Candlewick Press) takes a common experience when infants get their first teeth and want to test them out on everything. For older siblings this can be a painful experience. In this story, a baby develops fangs! She may be a vampire, but she is still is much loved little sister. It is, of course, a metaphor for the transition that occurs when a new child joins the family. American Girl is more than just a publisher. The company introduces new characters and, in the case of Bitty Baby, creates dolls, outfits, and accessories. Aimed at girls who are 3 years old and up, the first of a series is Bitty Baby and Me by Kirby Larson and illustrated by Sue Cornelison ($14.99) along with Bitty Baby at the Ballet, Bitty Baby Love the Snow, and Bitty Baby the Brave. All involve learning experiences of one kind or another and, from a parent’s point of view, will prove helpful. Little girls will just enjoy them.

Dragon Boy and the Witches of Galza ($15.95, Xlibris, softcover) is a debut novel in a planned series by A.A. Bukhatir and it will appear to younger readers age 12 and up with its story of an old woodcutter named Aijou who mourns the death of his cherished wife, living in near total isolation. His life takes a dramatic change when, having lost his way in an enchanted forest, he encounters two tiny fairies engaged in a battle with a fire-breathing she-dragon. They prevail and as she lays dying she assumes her human form and begs Aijou to adopt her baby boy. He agrees, not know that the infant is actually a dragon. This is an intricate story filled with all the elements of fantasy and mystery that will intrigue younger readers. A non-scary story along the lines of Alice in Wonderland has been penned by Mark J. Grant. Lila: The Sign of the Elven Queen ($14.95, Mascot Books) is a modern fairy tale about s six-year-old girl who lives in New York. She has two cats, but dogs are not allowed in her apartment building, so she asks her parents if she can have an invisible dog. They agree and as they go about buying invisible pet supplies for “Fluffy” when a black and white Aussie appears to Lila and introduces himself as Fluffy. All manner of adventures follow, including invisible people who discover a birthmark on Lila that is the sign of their Elven Queen. When she turns seven, she is made a princess. This is an instant modern fairy tale and one that is sure to please ages eight and older.

The best thing about Green Golly & her Golden Flute ($19.99, Eifrig Publishing) is the CD of music performed by Keith Torgan and Barbara Siesel, the authors of this book for those ages 4-10 that comes with it. Suzanne Langelier-Lebeda illustrated it, but even her artwork cannot rescue the story that is based on the tale of Rapunzel whose long hair helped her escape from the tower in which she had been put. Whether read to at bedtime or read by the child, the story that begins with the baby Golly’s parents giving her away to a witch for a bowl of salad is so inherently terrifying that everything that follows defies the understanding of the world by even the youngest reader. The intent was to spark an interest in classical music, but the result is a poorly conceived, poorly written story with negative themes throughout.

Novels, Novels, Novels

While I receive many books each month, the vast bulk of them continue to be novels and there is apparently no end to the hunger for a good story.

Judge Jeanine Pirro has made a name for herself as the host of a Fox News show. I don’t know where she finds the time to write novels, but she is also gaining recognition for her “Dani Fox” series based on a smart and sexy female assistant DA in Westchester County. Her second novel, as the first, draws heavily on her own experience in the field of law. In Clever Fox ($19.99, Hyperion) Dani has won a big case, but lost her true love, and now she must take on the case of a gruesome murder of a young woman with family ties to the New Jersey mafia. This pits her against a powerful New York crime boss, the press, and her boss. Fortunately she has an experienced detective on her side. Not only is she a good story teller, but Pirro has an ear for the way those in law enforcement talk to one another and deal with the pressures involved. She also knows what it is like to have been young and inexperienced in a male dominated environment. This novel works on many levels. Crime and the suspense that goes with it have established John Rector as a leading novelist and bestselling author. His fans will welcome his return with Out of the Black ($14.95, Thomas & Mercer, softcover) in which Matt Caine, a Marine who has completed a harrowing tour of duty in Afghanistan is trying to put his life together after the death of his wife and the responsibility for his young daughter Anna. He is, however, jobless, broke, and in debt to a notorious loan shark. When a drug addict from his pre-Marine days slithers back into his life and offers him a job driving a van for a supposedly foolproof and profitable kidnapping job, Caine realizes too late that the target is the wife of a powerful crime boss. The tension just mounts from there and you will find yourself reading with rapt attention to see how events play out. When you hear the name John Gilstrap you know you’re in for a high suspense reading experience. He’s back in a paperback, High Treason, ($9.99, Kensington Publishing) featuring freelance hostage rescue specialist Jonathan Grave in a fifth installment of Gilstrap’s series. The First Lady has been kidnapped and the FBI director knows that Grave is a man who always gets results, no matter what, and this is a mission that must be carried out with utmost secrecy. In tracking his way through a labyrinth of lies and murder, Graves discovers a traitor at the highest level of Washington power who is about to commit the ultimate act of terror. It’s great reading at the beach or patio as summer comes to an end.

Another writer of renown is J.M. Coetzee, the author of 21 books that have been translated into many languages. He has twice been awarded the prestigious Booker Prize and in 2003 won the Nobel Prize in Literature. A native of South Africa, he now lives in Adelaide, Australia, and his latest book is curiously titled The Childhood of Jesus ($26.95, Viking) even though it is not about Jesus, but rather about a small boy who arrives by boat in a new country after having been separated from his parents and the piece of paper that would explain everything. During the trip, a man has taken it upon himself to look after him and upon arrival they are assigned new names, new birthdates, and essentially new lives. They know little Spanish, the language of the land in which they find themselves. The renamed Simon and David make their way to a relocation center and Simon finds a job on a grain wharf where he warms to his co-workers. He knows, however, he must locate David’s mother. While walking in the countryside with David he catches sight of a woman he is certain is the person for whom he is looking and persuades her to assume the role. There are many levels to this story of renewal against great odds and it is testimony to why Coetzee is regarded as one of the great authors of our time.

Ralph “Gaby” Wilson has beaten the odds of writing and selling screenplays many times, having sold 45 of them and now he has tried his hand as a novelist with Illegal Woman: A Gypsy Love Story ($19.99, Xlibris, softcover), about a young writer from Kansas who meets a gypsy woman in 1965 France. It is an unusual encounter as K.P. Kelly finds himself marooned in Europe without any money and alone. His only hope is to hitchhike to Paris where he there may be some checks from his publisher at an American Express office. He is 600 miles away when he catches the eye of an alluring Gypsy woman, Kalina, who teaches him how to travel by his wits. For a while he lives with her family and learns the Gypsy culture and together they travel across France in a spicy romp. This book is a lot of fun to read. Vermont could not be a more different locale, but it is the setting for You Knew Me When by Emily Liebert ($15.00, New American Library, softcover). Katherine Hill left her small New England hometown in pursuit of a dream and now, twelve years later, she is a high-powered cosmetics executive in Manhattan, far removed from her former life. By contrast, her former friend, Laney Marten, did not get to live out her dreams, becoming a young wife and mother. When Katherine receives word of an inheritance from a former neighbor, she reluctantly returns home where she is met by Laney and, tethered together by their shared inheritance of a sprawling Victorian mansion, they must address their long-standing grudges and determine if their earlier friendship can be revived. This is a novel that women will find of interest.

Some novels do not neatly fit into a particular genre. Several that explore the human condition provide some intriguing reading. From Canada, the award-winning author Jane Urguhart has written Sanctuary Line ($24.95, Quercus) about 40-year-old Liz Crane who returns to her family home on the shores of Lake Erie in southern Ontario with the intention of gathering data on the migration patterns of the monarch butterflies that leave Canada every winter for Mexico. As she re-establishes herself in the place where she grew up, a commercial fruit orchard that is still productive but falling into disrepair, she finds her attention being overtaken by the powerful memories of childhood and the generations that came before her. Never married, she realizes that she leaves no one to carry on the family line. This is a novel of the mind and heart where a life is examined against the metaphor of the monarch butterflies and their migrations.

Between a Mother and Her Child by Elizabeth Noble ($15.00, Berkley, softcover) explores how a tragic death can tear apart the seemingly comfortable marriage of Maggie and Bill Barrett, and their three children. On December 26, 2004, their lives in London are shattered by news that their eldest son has been killed in a tsunami that left thousands dead. Maggie shuts down, unable to connect to her children or husband. Feeling isolated, Bill leaves to try to find some peace on his own and, when he announces he has fallen for another woman, Maggie finally realizes it’s time to move on and to pull her family back together. Her sister, on a visit, from Australia steps in to find a path to healing and it all adds up to a compelling story. Many baby boomers from the 50s and 60’s wake up to discover that the American dream they thought would be the pattern for their lives did not provide the answers they sought. Wallace Rogers debuts as a novel with Byron’s Lane ($15.99, London Street Press, softcover) He has been the mayor of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and manages a consulting business involving local governments. It never fails to amaze me where talent is found. In this novel, narrated through the thoughtful witness of his friend Tom, we follow Jonathan Adams as he examines his life at late middle age. A civil contract in Iraq, he thought he could improve people’s lives through democracy, but finds himself traumatized by his experiences there, bitter about a failed relationship, and distressed by the feeling he has become irrelevant in the new century. Baby boomers in particular will find this novel of interest, but it is a good read for anyone. The quest for meaning in one’s life is also found in Derek Sherman’s Race Across the Sky ($16.00, Plume, softcover. It spans two very different, but equally fascinating worlds, the cult of ultra-marathoners and the underbelly of the biotech industry. It is a story of the lengths a family will go to save each other. Caleb Oberest is the ultra-marathoner who left behind his workaholic life in New York and severed all ties to his family and friends to run the 100-mile marathons across treacherous mountains. His brother, Shane, is a sales rep for a cutting-edge biotechnology firm, creating new cures for disease. Despite his efforts, there were distances between him on Caleb and Caleb has fallen in love with a new member of his marathon group and her infant daughter. When he discovers the baby has a fatal disease, he reaches out to Shane. Much is at stake for both brothers and you will be turning the pages as fast as you can to find out how the story concludes.

Machiavelli—A Renaissance Life by Joseph Markulin ($21.95, Prometheus Books, softcover) could only have been written by a former professor of Italian and Comparative literature with a specialty in Medieval and Renaissance studies. The result is history in a novel during the turbulent era of Florence’s Medici family, the nefarious Borgias, and artists Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, and the doomed prophet Savonarola. Machiavelli is famed for his instructions on governance, The Prince, but this novel fleshes out his life as he does his best to navigate Florentine Renaissance politics. It is a riveting story and will also impart a grasp of history you will find intriguing. Historical fiction is also found in Robert the Bruce by Jack Whyte ($27.99, Forge Books), the second volume of his “The Guardians” series as he follows Scotland’s greatest heroes as they rise to glory and become legend. The first was devoted to William Wallace and this novel tells the story of a man who is remembered as a national hero and one of Scotland’s greatest kings. It is a hefty volume at 573 pages and will satisfy anyone who enjoys the fully-told story of the decades-long path of the struggle for Scottish freedom. In May 1328, King Edward III signed the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton that recognized Scotland as an independent kingdom and Bruce as its king.

The passing of the great novelist Elmore Leonard in August was a reminder of how blessed we are with the talents of superb storytellers. Leonard started out writing westerns and when that market lost its appeal he switched to writing the crime novels on which his reputation is based. My friend, James D. Best, seems to be making a similar journey because he is arguably one of the best writers of westerns, but his newest novel, The Return, ($12.95 Wheatmark, softcover) featuring Steve Dancy, a character from several of his previous novels, is set in the East. It is the summer of 1880 and Dancy has returned to New York from two years of misadventures in the West. Thomas Edison’s invention of the incandescent light bulb is about to put the gaslight industry out of business and Dancy sets out to obtain a license to sell electric lamps. Edison agrees on one condition; that he and his friends stop the saboteurs who are disrupting the electrification of Wall Street. That is just the beginning of Dancy’s newest set of challenges, along with the woman he has brought back with him and a feud that began out west and could cost him Edison’s backing. The action never stops until you get to the last page.

That’s it for September! So far the year has been filled with new non-fiction and fiction to satisfy any interest and there is still more to come as autumn ushers in many new books in anticipation of the Christmas season. Tell your book-living family, friends and co-workers about Bookviews.com where they will find news of these new books.

By Alan Caruba

My Picks of the Month

For policy wonks like myself, a number of new books will provide a variety of insights. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court became the center of the political world when, in a decision that astonished constitutional scholars or ordinary citizens, it voted 5-to-4 to save the Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare. The story of how the case reached the Court is told by Josh Blackman in Unprecedented: The Constitutional Challenge to Obamacare ($27.99, Public Affairs) and, given its impact, affecting individuals, physicians, the increase in the size of the government to administer and enforce it, and the economy, it will be one of those decisions that has far-reaching effects on life in America. The fight to overturn Obamacare became a legal firestorm, but the best way to understand it was the broadening of the already-stretched-to-the-limits Commerce Clause. The ruling said in effect that the government had the right to require people to purchase health insurance even if they did not want to and the right to fine them if they did not. This is unprecedented. Ultimately, the Chief Justice cast the deciding vote on the grounds that Obamacare was a tax and the constitution assigns that right to the government. The law goes into full effect this month and has already been unilaterally altered by the Obama administration and is replete with waivers for various favored constituencies.

In the Balance: Law and Politics in the Roberts Court by Mark Tushnet ($28.95, W.W. Norton) will likely appeal to lawyers and those with an interest in the way shapes public policy. Most certainly, Chief Justice Roberts’ vote that permitted Obamacare—the Affordable Care Act—to proceed on the basis of its being a tax will be of greatest interest to readers. The author is a professor at the Harvard Law School and a prominent scholar on constitutional law, so those concerned about the role the Court plays will find much of interest as he and others try to determine the outcome of future votes and the thinking behind previous ones. He reviews cases involving First Amendment, gun control, abortion rights, business regulations and other issues, concluding that law and politics exist side by side on the Court.

Two new books take a look back over the politics and issues that have shaped and changed life in America since the 1960s. Front Porch Politics: The Forgotten Heyday of American Activism in the 1970s and 1980s by Michael Stewart Foley ($30.00, Hill and Wang) recounts the history of campaigns both famous and forgotten, from the steelworker’s fights against factory shut-downs to farmer’s struggles to save their farms and communities, along with other examples of community activists and neighborhood groups demanding toxic waste clean-ups. The better known battles of the time included gay rights, and helping the homeless. He concludes that Americans were more inclined to get directly involved in issues that affected them while today they seem to have lost their belief in direct political action. All in the Family: The Realignment of American Democracy Since the 1960s by Robert O. Self ($17.00, Hill and Wang) examines the way the changes affecting marriage and the nuclear family affected the politics of the last five decades as more single-parent families occurred, as programs such as Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty actually worsened the situation, particularly for African Americans, than anticipated, and as issues such as same-sex marriage emerged. The changing role of the white heterosexual male as the breadwinner was significantly changed and the issues of “traditional values” regarding the family came under attack. It is a very different society from that which existed following the end of World War Two and this book explains the how and why of that change.

A massive campaign to demonize people who enjoy lighting up a cigarette, a cigar or a pipe has led to bans on smoking just about everywhere, including in some places, in one’s own home if children live there. Michael McFadden has written “TobakkoNacht: The Antismoking Endgame.” (Aethna Press, $27.95, softcover) The title is a play on Kristallnach, a 1938 event in Nazi Germany that revealed the depths of that regime’s hatred of Jews, leading eventually to the Holocaust. Smokers are not being rounded up and killed, but they are subjected to bans and meritless increases in the cost of smoking; taxes that greatly benefit the states imposing them while using the power of taxation to denigrate smokers. McFadden’s research is extensive and in depth when it comes to exposing the many myths about smoking and his expert knowledge of statistics debunks how they are cited to further efforts directed against smokers. To learn about the scope of the effort to ban smoking, this book will provide the answers and I highly recommend it.

A few miles from where I live is West Orange where Thomas Edison lived and had his laboratories after his early years in Menlo Park. We now take for granted those early and many inventions, the incandescent light bulb, movies, phonograph machines, even Portland cement.. Edison was the first business celebrity, along with Ford and Firestone, and it is fitting that another innovator, Bill Gates, would have written the foreword to Edison and the Rise of Innovation ($29.95, Sterling Publishing). It is a really wonderful book about the prolific inventor and the way he combined scientific knowledge, well-equipped laboratories, talented collaborators, investment capital, and a real talent for showmanship in ways that transformed how new technologies were funded and created as the last century dawned. Leonard DeGraaf, the archivist for the Thomas Edison National Historical Park, was the ideal man to write this book that, in a large format, is filled with Edison’s examples of his personal and business correspondence, lab notebooks, drawings, all lavishly illustrated to bring his life, his success and his era to life in a way that anyone who loves history will thoroughly enjoy. Thinking ahead to Christmas, this book would make a great gift for anyone with an interest in history, technology, and innovation.

There is endless discussion and debate about the educational system in America and everyone agrees that kids in the inner cities are often cheated of the benefits of those in wealthier suburban area. Ilana Garon has done them a big favor with “Why Do Only White People Get Abducted by Aliens?: Teaching Lessons from the Bronx ($24.95, Skyhorse Publishing) as she tosses out political correctness and the popular image of the “teacher-hero” and reveals the true stories, sometimes hilarious, often shocking, that she encountered as a new teacher navigating the public school system. From gang violence to teen pregnancy, to classrooms infested with mice, Garon say it all. In the process, her wily students made her realize how little she knew about teaching, about poverty, and about life in urban America. In the process she provides the reader with some real insight to what is occurring (or not) in classrooms where securing an education must cope with many other challenges.

The Topic is Health

One need only listen to radio or watch television to realize how health-conscious Americans are. They are obsessed with the topic. It is no surprise, therefore that there are also a regular flow of books on various health-related topics. Here are some of the latest.

Every parent wants their baby to grow up healthy and happy. Ruth Yaron has updated and revised Super Baby Food ($19.99, F.J. Roberts Publishing, softcover) topping out at just over 650 pages! When her twin boys were born prematurely and very sick, she applied herself to learning everything about how to prepare natural, healthy foods for them. While she knew how to program satellites for NASA, she was an inexperienced cook, but she put her research and mathematical skills to work as she studied all aspects of homemade, mostly organic, whole grain cereals, fruits, and home-cooked vegetables, along with the best storing and freezing methods. Within this remarkable compendium of information on the subject is a whole world of healthy foods for newborns and infants.

Making Peace with Your Plate: Eating Disorder Recovery by Robyn Cruse and Espra Andrus, LCSW ($16.95, Central Recovery Press, softcover) addresses anorexia, an eating disorder that has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Then there is binge eating and bulimia as well that can bring misery and death. Ms. Andrus is a clinical therapist who specializes in working with people suffering a range of eating disorders. Ms. Cruze recovered from an eating disorder that had crippled her spirit for more than a decade. She is a freelance writer and, together, they have produced a book that will be of enormous help to anyone struggling to overcome an eating disorder with its unique three-phase approach to eating that provides a concrete plan for long-term recovery. If this describes someone you know, I would recommend you give them this book. Also from the same publisher is Love in the Land of Dementia: Finding Hope in the Caregiver’s Journey by Deborah Shouse ($15.95, CRP, softcover. This book provides compelling evidence that love is the greatest healing force on earth and the author tells of how Alzheimer’s disease began to claim her mother, it threatened the fabric of her parent’s long and loving marriage, and strained relationships with family and friends. However, over time when even memory and identity were all but gone, they found ways to make their peace with her disease. For anyone facing a comparable experience, this book will be a blessing. Both of these books has an official publication date in November.

A problem that is all too common is establishing and maintaining relationships and, in Forging Healthy Connections: How Relationships Fight Illness, Aging and Depression ($14.95, New Horizon Press, softcover) Trevor Crow and Maryann Karinch join forces to explore strategies that anyone can implement in order to create and maintain a healthy network of connections that provide an emotional safe haven in our professional and personal lives. They examine why so many of us fail or lose relationships as we age, explore trust issues, and other causes of a loss that has a direct effect on our health and mental well-being. Ms. Crow is a licensed marriage and family therapist and Ms. Karinch is the author of 18 books, many of which focus on human behavior. Together they make a great team and this book can help anyone, older readers and those who will be older, resolve some of the problems they may be encountering. A useful book is 9 Realities of Caring for an Elderly Parent: A Love Story of a Different Kindby Stefania Shaffer (19.95, Pressman Books, softcover) is written for the 43.5 million American adults who provide care for someone—their spouses, friends, and most of all, their parents. This guidebook will provide a treasure of useful advice, but perhaps the most important is for the caregiver to attend to their own health because it does take a toll if you do not. And it can be costly, too. If you are a caregiver or know one, this book is filled with the kind of information and advice that is invaluable.

Healing Pain and Injury by Maud Nerman ($24.95, Bay Tree Publishing, softcover), an assistant professor at the Western University College of Osteopathic Medicine and an adjunct clinical professor at Tuoro University Medical Center, brings over thirty years of experience to the subject of recovery from all manner of neurological problems from brain injury to epilepsy. The book’s focus is treating pain and injury resulting from trauma. The author offers three simple steps to understanding and treating the hidden and little recognized causes of traumatic pain. If you continue to experience pain despite treatment, this book may unlock the doors to relief.

Biographies, Autobiographies & Memoirs

You could fill a library with books about Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the only man to win four elections to the presidency, a man who led the nation through World War II, and a master politician. It is the younger Roosevelt who is often overlooked and Stanley Weintraub fills that gap with Young Mr. Roosevelt: FDR’s Introduction to War, Politics, and Life ($25.99, Da Capo Press). Anyone interested in American history and, in particular, the portion that FDR dominated, will welcome the way FDR’s formative years prepared him. Remembered for his successes, his early life taught him how to deal with failure and, of course, the Polio that left him crippled. During his presidency, few Americans ever saw a photo of him in a wheelchair. To stand, he required heavy metal braces. By the spring of 1913, however, he began his political career with an appointment as the assistant secretary of the Navy. That would be followed by a failed initial run for vice president, and, as noted, Polio. What the noted historian demonstrates is that Roosevelt not only learned from those trying times, but grew past them. It is a remarkable journey.

I often wonder what kind of courage it must take to be a war correspondent and, to a great extent, Paul Conroy’s new book, Under the Wire: Marie Colvin’s Last Assignment, ($26.00, Weinstein Books) provides the answer. Ms. Colvin wanted to be where the war zone was, wanted to report on what was occurring, and she paid for that with her life in Syria in 2012 after both had been smuggled in by rebel forces. She died during a hellish artillery attack that also seriously wounded Conroy who was a former British soldier with fifteen years covering conflicts in Iraq, Congo, Kosovo, and Libya, prior to Syria. Both shared a compulsion to bear witness to events. Anyone who has spent any time in a war zone, in combat, or just wondering what it is like will thoroughly enjoy this book. One might say they shared a foxhole or two together and the story he tells is gripping and a great tribute to his friend, a great journalist. Wars, of course, generate all manner of books and World War II is still a rich source.

Military historian and retired U.S. Marine, Dick Camp, the author of a slew of books, has written Shadow Warriors: The Untold Stories of American Special Operations During WWII ($30.00, Zenith Press) which, despite the nearly seven decades that have passed, still have the capacity to amaze. It is the story of the top-secret exploits of the brilliant, courageous, and previously unacknowledged heroes. Only in recent years have their exploits been declassified and Camp provides an action-packed narrative of units that composed the special forces, laying the groundwork for many of our present-day units such as the SEALS and others. Camp’s book addresses both the European and Pacific theaters which required elaborate spy networks, covert parachutists, amphibious raids, and, yes, even the occasional catastrophic mission failure.

Joseph Wheelan goes further back in our history with Terrible Swift Sword: The Life of General Philip H. Sheridan ($16.99, Da Capo Press, softcover), one of the great generals of the Civil War, part of a triumvirate that included Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman. He was the youngest of the three, but his fame came not only in winning battles, but for his skills as a strategist and his personal leadership in battle. It was Sheridan who applied the concept of “total war”, a scorched-earth approach that is credited with winning the war and one he had ruthlessly used in campaigns against the Plains Indians to bring them to reservations. Once there, he became one of their most high-profile protectors. This is a first-rate biography that would be enjoyed even by a son of the old confederacy for its attention to detail and portrait of a man of courage and honor.

The Italian courtier, author of “The Prince”, Niccolo Machiavelli, has had his last name immortalized as a synonym for the options and methods a ruler has in order to stay in power. As Joseph Merkulin, the author of Machiavelli: A Renaissance Life ($21.95, Prometheus Books, softcover) reveals,the often vilified Machiavelli as both a diabolically clever, yet mild-mannered and conscientious civil servant. In 720 pages, his life was a true adventure, filled with violence, treachery, heroism, betrayal, sex, bad popes, noble outlaws, menacing Turks, and a cast of others who peopled an era famed for the power of the Medici family and shared with both Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. At one point he as imprisoned, tortured, and ultimately abandoned, but he remained the sworn enemy of tyranny and, to the surprise of many who will read this book, a champion of freedom and the republican form of government! Anyone who loves biography and history will most surely enjoy this book. Another man immersed in the politics of his era is the subject of Upton Sinclair: California Socialist, Celebrity Intellectual ($28.95, University of Nebraska Press). Lauren Coodley provides an opportunity to learn about a man famed in his time as the author of “The Jungle”, and an inveterate embracer of all manner of causes. He has largely vanished in terms of any legacy despite the fact that he wrote nearly eighty books and even won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction. In the first half of the last century, his writing and activism made him a household name who dedicated himself to helping people understand how society was run, by whom, and for whom. It was a time when socialism was on the rise in America and much of its agenda has been written into an entitlement society that exists today. His interest and support of feminism and a devotion to healthy living put him ahead of his time. He’s worth getting to know.

God’s Double Agent by Bob Fu with Nancy French ($19.95, Baker Books) may surprise you with the fact that tens of thousands of Christians live in China today, living double lives to avoid a government that relentlessly persecutes them. By day, Bob Fu was a teacher in a communist school and by night he was a preacher in an underground house church network. He tells of his conversion to Christianity, his arrest and imprisonment for starting an illegal house church, his harrowing escape along with his wife in 1997, and his life since in the United States as an advocate for those who want to enjoy the freedom to worship as they wish. This book is worth reading not just for the inspiring story of his life, but to remind ourselves of freedoms we take for granted. Richard Rodriguez has authored Darling: A Spiritual Autobiography ($26.95, Viking) and the title refers to a friend who has since passed away who he met on the day her divorce was finalized. “As a homosexual man, at a time of growing public acceptance of homosexuality,” says Rodriguez, “I find myself thinking about my intimacy with heterosexual women, and my debt to them for my formation as regards both my spirituality and my sexuality.” His book is a Roman Catholic’s personal exploration of, not only Christian history, but of Judaism and Islam, and the roles each played that have brought them to the present times. There may not be a large audience for this book, but those that read it will find it challenging and entertaining at the same time.

A very different kind of autobiography is found in Heist and High by Anthony Curcio and Dane Batty ($15.95, Nish Publishing Company, Portland, OR, softcover). Curcio was an all-American high school football star, a kid with a short at being an all-star college wide receiver, and maybe even going onto the NFL, but an addiction to a prescription pain-killer drug led him to pull off a robbery of a Brink’s armored truck that netted him more than $400,000. He headed for Las Vegas where he was subsequently caught. It was a sensational crime at the time and the detective who caught him said the robbery had “all the preparation of a top-notch heist by an experienced criminal.” This is a cautionary tale because it is estimated that more than eleven million people abuse these drugs. Curcio is rebuilding his life after serving his federal prison sentence in Texas and Florida, having been released in April of this year. His co-author has assisted in telling a fast-paced, very moving story.

Books for Younger Readers

A very cute book, Summer Saltz: I’m So Hollywood, by Connie Sewell and illustrated by Elyse Wittaker-Peak ($16.95, Tiny Hands Publishing, Hilton Head, SC) has a lesson for young readers, ages 3 to 8, about just being oneself and not taking on airs. When fun-loving Summer gets a pair of an ever-so-sassy pair of white sunglasses, she takes on the personality of “I’m so Hollywood” and plans a party to show off a bit. When her best friend shows up wearing the same glasses and the fun begins as she learns that it is not what one wears, nor adopting the attitudes of movie stars. Young readers (and those being read to) will learn a valuable lesson along with Summer and thoroughly enjoy it. For those youngsters who love wordplay there’s Sir Silly: The World Where Words Play by David Dayan Fisher ($6.95, Sunnyfields Publishing) where Sir Silly thinks in rhyme and lets his imagine dance freely. Illustrations by Patricia Krebs enhance the text and the book is sure to impart some lessons in the way language, plus imagination, can open the mind to useful lessons in the way the world works.

Mermaid Sails the Bay marks the debut of Greg Trybull ($16.66, Amazon.com, softcover) will particularly please young adults. It is springtime in 1908 in a San Francisco still recovering from the Great Quake of 1906. It is a time of advances that include electricity, automobiles, and radio, but is also a time when the era of the great sailing ships will give way to more modern vessels. Three brothers, Ed (16), Bill (14) and Ted (12) are about to embark on an adventure when their father buys them a 16-foot Whitehall boat which they christen the Mermaid. That summer they encounter Teddy Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet and end up the target of pirates that shoot rotten fruit for cannonballs. They surmount the rough seas, save the lives of new friends, and learn to get along with one another. This is a great way to enjoy history and indulge young dreams of adventure. Another kind of adventure is found in Mickey Price: Journey to Oblivion by John P. Stanley ($15.99, Tanglewood) a science fiction romp that even NASA astronaut, Buzz Aldrin, liked. He said, “This rocket-speed adventure captures all the danger, mystery, and excitement of NASA moon missions with laugh-out-loud moments along the way. It also reminds us that there are still great mysteries on the moon and beyond, just waiting to be discovered and explored. I know kids will love this story and I hope it inspires them. Go outside at night—look at the moon—dream big!” Written for those ages 8 to 12, even a slightly older reader like myself, like Aldrin, thought this book was terrific.

Another novel that will appeal to younger readers, as well as older ones, is Fifteen Minutes by Karen Kingbury ($22.99, Howard Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster) that examines the price of fame as it raises questions about compromise, character, and cost in a celebrity-focused culture. Kingsbury has been called “the queen of Christian fiction” and draws on her friends among the music industry elite where she lives in Nashville. When the former winner of a TV talent show takes her turn as a judge, she has a secret motive to save others from the perils of fame. The focus of her concern becomes Zack Dylan, the most popular contestant, who has kept his strong faith as well as a girlfriend back home secret. Will the glare of fame cause him to lose everything he holds most dear? It is a question worth asking and answering. Teens will likely enjoy Crypto-Punk self-published by George Traikovich ($9.00, Kindle 99 cents, Amazon, softcover) about the latest fad at Bixby Elementary, dressing like B-movie monsters. What is driving the strange compulsion? That is what the Zero Avenue kids, Drew, Clementine, Grady, Newton, and Spider, as they unravel the threads of a conspiracy that blurs the line between science and magic, friends and enemies, and which draws them into an adventure that tests their character and their loyalties to one another. This one is scary and lots of fun.

Novels, Novels, Novels

I say it every month, but it is no less true that there is a torrent of novels being published, either by mainstream publishing houses or, increasingly, self-published. No need complain for a lack of fiction these days. My fiction team is recommending a bunch this month.

One new novel feels like it comes right out of the daily headlines even though it is set ten years into the future. Jack Belmonte makes his debut with The Octavian Latticework ($22.00, Voltaire Publishing) in which a rookie counter-terrorism agent for the fictional U.S. Anti-Subversion Authority is hot on the heels of Brigade 910, a domestic terror group that is led by the shadowy Octavian. Johnny Luca and his partner discover plans for a major attack. In the White House, President Reed Wilkins has vowed to veto a draconian Total Information Awareness Act that would turn the U.S. into a total surveillance state. It’s up to Luca to save the president from assassination and to thwart the plots. Well, suffice to say, it is a story filled with political secrets, government cover-ups, and domestic terror plots. Another novel, The North Building ($15.50, Munroe Hill Press, softcover) takes one back to the days of the Cold War. Jefferson Flanders, the author, obviously finds this an interesting period of history as he set a previous novel in it as well. This is a sequel to “Herald Square.” Whether you know anything about the Cold War or not, you too will find it of interest as Flanders takes us back to the years just after World War II when the Soviet Union became the greatest challenge to the U.S. and Europe, a threatening presence in the world. Set in New York in 1951, Dennis Collins is returning from covering the war in Korea. The last thing he wants is to be sucked into a world of spies, counterspies, and the leaked military secrets that may have contributed to the retreat to the Chosin Reservoir, a low point in the conflict. The novel has some familiar names from that era that include President Eisenhower, Allen Dulles of the CIA, and the British spy ring led by Philby and MacLean. The North Building of the title is the office on the CIA campus where agents out of favor with their higher-ups get exiled to ponder their errors. This is a taunt and heart-racing geopolitical thriller that includes a nicely interwoven romance as well. A Washington Times reviewer loved it; I did too, and so will you.

Another excellent novel. Rising Sun, Falling Shadow by Daniel Kalla ($27.99, Tor/Forge) occurs in 1943, during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai, China, trapping droves of American and British citizens, along with thousands of “stateless” German Jewish refugees, behind enemy lines. Despite the hostile environment, newlyweds Dr. Franz Adler and his wife, Sunny, adjust to life running Shanghai’s only hospital for the refugee Jews. Bowing to Nazi pressure, the Japanese force their Allied friends into internment camps and relocate the twenty thousand Jews into a one-square-kilometer “Shanghai Ghetto.” Heat, hunger, and tropical diseases are constant threats, but the ghetto demonstrates miraculous resistance, offering music, theatre, sports and Jewish culture despite the condition. This is a tale of espionage, survival, and the power of love and family. World War II generated another novel, Brave Hearts by Carolyn Hart ($13.95, Seventh Street Books, softcover) as it tells the story of Catherine Cavanaugh, caught in a loveless marriage with a British diplomat. It is wartime London and the Germans are bombing London. She meets an American war correspondent, Jack Maguire, and rediscovers hope and love again, but the war intervenes when she and her husband are unexpectedly transferred to the Philippines. Jack follows, but shortly after their arrival the Japanese attack and trapped civilians are forced into a harrowing adventure to escape them. Hart is a cofounder of Sisters in Crime and won many awards for her novels—more than fifty—so you know she knows how to tell a gripping story.

Murder has long been a staple of fiction and Jonas Winner gives it a new twist in The Beginning: Berlin Gothic ($14.95, Thomas & Mercer, softcover). Long after the Iron Curtain has come down, Till Anschutz has been taken in by the Bentheims and, along with his new brother, 12-year-old Max, the boys explore the office where their cold, distant father, horror novelist, Xavier Betheim, writes his novels. They discover a secret door that leads to a dark hallway that connects to the city’s underground tunnels. They also discover gruesome photographs and films, leading them to conclude that Xavier has been leading a disturbing double life. Meanwhile, Berlin Police Inspector Konstantin Butz is working on the case of a mutilated corpse of a woman. It is the latest in a series of related murders. This novel is full of twists and turns that will keep you turning the pages. Another novelist, James Sheehan, knows a lot about the law. He practiced it for thirty years and has written three acclaimed legal thrillers. His latest is The Alligator Man ($23.00, Center Street, Hachette imprint). Someone has killed Roy Johnson, the former CEO of Dynatron, famous for preying on smaller companies, stripping them of their assets and leaving their employee out in the cold. Lots of people have a motive for killing him. Pieces of his clothing have been found in alligator-infested waters. The assumption is murder and one of those on whom suspicion falls is Billy Fuller who lost everything, but is now a New York Times columnist. A former childhood friend, Kevin Wylie, a Miami attorney, learns of Billy’s problem and, though all the evidence points to his guilt, he believes Billy is innocent. I recommended Sheehan’s last novel, “A Lawyer’s Lawyer”, and I definitely recommend his new one.

The Last Animal by Abby Geni ($24.00, Counterpoint Press) is a treat for anyone who loves reading short stories. Geni is a graduate of the prestigious Iowa Writer’s Workshop and someone who observers expect to become a major name. She is off to a great start with this collection, ten remarkable stories unified around the theme of people who use the interface between humans and the natural world to cope with issues of love, loss, and family life. The stories are thoroughly researched, giving them an authenticity. This collection has already garnered many accolades and I will add my own to them.

That’s it for October! Come back next month and don’t forget to tell your friends, family and co-workers who love a good book about Bookviews.com.

By Alan Caruba

My Picks of the Month

Move over Nostradamus, James C. Bennett and Michael J. Lotus have looked into their crystal balls and jointly come up with America 3.0: Rebooting American Prosperity in the 21^st Century—why America’s Greatest Days are Yet to Come (25.99, Encounter Books). Over the years I have read any number of comparable books that have attempted to look into the future, some more successfully than others—perhaps because change has become so rapid since the end of World War Two. Anyone with an interest in the broad outlines of American history and curiosity about how the various national and international realignments will affect the future will find this book an interesting, well informed analysis of what may lay ahead. Bennett was cofounder of two private space transportation companies and other technology ventures. He has written extensively on technology, culture and society with a particular emphasis on the Anglosphere, the shared history of English speaking nations. Lotus has a BA in economics from the University of Chicago and a JD from Indiana University. He practices law when, like his coauthor, he is not writing about history and politics. Together, they bring their considerable knowledge to address whether the U.S. will undertake the reforms it needs to fix its economy, even suggesting that some of our larger states may divide into smaller, more manageable ones. Both agree that, at the heart of our nation is the nuclear family. This is, quite frankly, a book that will challenge your beliefs and ideas on every page.

When the Supreme Court rationalized that the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, was a tax and not legislation in direct conflict with several elements of the U.S. Constitution, not the least of which is its Commerce Clause, it set off a firestorm of resistance that we are seeing today. Clark M. Neily III has authored Terms of Engagement: How Our Courts Should Enforce the Constitution’s Promise of Limited Government ($23.99, Encounter Books) in which he argues that America’s judges have abandoned a key feature of the Constitution, its limits on government. He deems the ACA one of the most blatantly unconstitutional pieces of legislation since the expansion of federal power during the era of the New Deal. Neily is a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice where he litigates constitutional cases involving economic liberty, property rights, free speech and school choice, among others. He makes a powerful case that the nation is being radically transformed from its founding principles to one where property rights and economic freedom are in jeopardy as the Supreme Court routinely protects government prerogatives at the expense of liberty. To understand what is happening and why, I recommend you read this book.

For anyone who grew up on the plains of America or still lives there and loves its vistas, there is a book of photography by David Plowden, Heartland: The Plains and the Prairie ($75.00, W.W. Norton), a large format collection of black and white photos that will conjure up memories and provide a lot of pleasure with their stark testimony to the beauty of vast expanses, long roads, silos and distant farmhouses. While the Midwestern flatlands cover nearly a quarter of the North American continent, spanning 73 million square miles between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachians, they are largely unknown to the bulk of the population that lives on the nation’s coasts. This is a visual return to the land that feeds Americans and whose exports feed many others as well. For those from cities and suburbs, the book evokes the immense distance, the flowing grasslands, ever distant horizons, and dominating skies of the Midwest. Plowden has more than twenty photography books to his credit and this one will make a great Christmas gift for someone who fondly recalls the great plains and prairie, the heartland.

My late Mother gained recognition as a teacher of haute cuisine and author of cookbooks, so food was always a topic of conversation in my home. It is a topic, too, in magazines, on websites, and continues to generate new cookbooks. If you are a “foodie” then you will surely enjoy Best Food Writing 2013 edited by Holly Hughes ($15.99, Da Capo Press, softcover). Its seven sections, ranging from “A Critical Palate” to “Home Cooking”, has plenty to enjoy as various trends are explored such as the growing interest in buying locally grown veggies and fruits. Ms. Hughes has edited this series since its inception in 2000 and she has produced another winner this year, too.

While on the topic of food, one of my favorites is cookies. Happily, Luane Kohnke has written Sassy Cookies: Sweet, Spicy & Savory Treats with Swagger ($19.95, Pelican Publishing Company). The author’s wholesale bakery in New York specializes in cookies catering to corporate clients. Her book provides more than forty original recipes, all of which are gluten-free. They include Lemony White Chocolate, Chocolate Shortbread, and Hazelnut Cream Sandwich Cookies. One section is devoted to cookies that are an accompaniment to soups, salads, and fruit-and-cheese trays. Suffice to say, in addition to the classics, there are some tasty treats you will want to try for their originality. If you’re a chocaholic like me, there’s Chocolate Desserts to Die For! (26.95, Pelican Publishing Company) by Bev Shaffer that will keep you happily baking and eating for years to come. Even a novice can master the recipes. How about a Chocolate Crumb-Crusted Chocolate-Caramel Cheesecake? All I can say is “Yummy.”

There are two books from Zest Books this month, one or both of which is sure to please you or someone you know. One is Why? Answers to Everyday Scientific Questions by Joel Levy ($10.99, softcover) and the other is How Not to Be a Dick: An Everyday Etiquette Guide by Maghan Doherty ($16.95) aimed at those aged 18 and up. The former offers answers to common questions that often are not taught despite years in school or college. It is lots of fun to read as Levy provides answer to why we don’t eat grass, why trees drop their leaves, why we sleep or dream, and the classic, why is the sky blue? The latter book will prove quite helpful in a world filled with people who behave like idiots who cut into line in front of us or kick the back of our seat at movies. How does one deal with them? Ms. Doherty offers some straightforward advice on how to deal with challenging social situations—with roommates, relationships, in the office, etc.—to the point where you will be prepared. It is a very useful book for a younger person at a point where they leave the comfort zone of home and go out into the world and for the older reader who feels ill at ease in social situations.

Reading History

I am happy to report that Jeffrey Bennett’s latest volume to his “America, the Grand Illusion” has been published. It is What God has Joined ($29.95, Kettle Moraine Publishing, softcover) and it joins previous volumes “Orphans of the Storm”, “From Revolutions to Evil-ution”, “The Edge of Darkness”, and an “Uncertain Glory.” The special genius of these volumes and the latest is that they take the actual documents, speeches, and published records from a specific time period in U.S. history and bring them together in a way that enables the reader to grasp what people at that time where thinking, writing, and saying. In the process, these volumes free our history from the mythologies that have grown up with it to focus directly on what was occurring. This particular volume takes the reader from just before the Civil War to its end and the first steps toward reconstruction. Imagine, for example, being able to read the constitution of the Confederacy? Or the actual wording of the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott case? All the major players from John Brown to Stephen Douglas to Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, among a large cast, are represented here. Anyone who loves reading history as much as I do knows the value of these volumes. They are priceless.

I have lost count of how many Illinois governors have ended up in jail, but the latest one is Rod Blagojevich and the story of his rise and fall is captured in Only in Chicago: How the Rod Blagojevich Scandal Engulfed Illinois and Enthralled the Nation by Natasha Korecki ($16.00, Agate Publishing, softcover). Ms. Korecki had a front-row seat for the trial of Blogo and before him, George Ryan. She is a reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times. In December 2008, Gov. Blagojevich was arrested on federal corruption charges that ignited a political firestorm that reverberated all the way to the White House when he was charged with attempting to sell then-President-Elect Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat. As a courts reporter, the author began to write “The Blago Blog” and this book reflects all the many twists and turns the case followed.

New Mexico: A History by Joseph P. Sanchez, Robert L. Spude and Art Gomez ($26.95, University of Oklahoma Press) marks the first complete history of this state in more than thirty years. It will greatly please anyone who was born there or lives there today, but also anyone interested in a state that preceded its U.S. history as a place of Spanish exploration and settlement. From well before the founding and after New Mexico was known for the Camino Real, the Santa Fe Trail, and for the railroads and famed Route 66 provided access. It was admitted to the Union in 1912 but modernization began in earnest after World War Two. Its history makes for a rich reading experience.

Have you ever wondered where the punctuation marks we take for granted came from? Keith Houston has written Shady Characters($25.95, W.W. Norton) to provide a fascinating glimpses into the tumultuous history of some of our most familiar, but little understood, punctuation marks. It spans ancient history to today as it marries a history of typography with cultural criticism and social history as he tracks the evolution of eleven punctuation marks from the interrobang (?) to the asterisk (*) and the others our mind processes as we enjoy whatever we’re reading. Along the way you will learn how punctuation is intimately bound up with religion, technology, culture and the desire to accurately represent one’s self on paper or these days, on computer screens. For those who delve deeply into literature, a book originally published more than sixty years ago, Robert Graves’s The White Goddess: A Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth ($18.00, Farrar, Straus, Giroux, softcover) has been reissued. It reflects Graves’s vast reading and curious research into the territories of folklore, mythology, religion and magic. It is, simply said, the work of a poet-scholar and, if you find such matters of interest, you will welcome this new edition.

The Lives of Real People

Paul Johnson is one of the greatest living historians and has written biographies of Napoleon, Churchill, and Darwin. Now he has given us an illuminating, concise biography of Mozart: A Life ($25.95, Viking) that everyone who loves his music will want to read along with others who find the history of music of interest. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was one of the most prolific and influential composers of all time, winning new fans with each new generation. His compositional output was prodigious, but you may not know that he had such a gift that he mastered all the instruments except the harp. When the clarinet was invented he learned to play it as well and added it to his arrangements. Many myths have grown up around Mozart and Johnson challenges many of them including those about his health, wealth, religion and relationships to his family. He debunks the popular myth that he was a tortured soul who died in poverty. As always, the truth is more interesting than the fiction.

Norman Rockwell is arguably the best known artist and illustrator in America. Now there’s a biography, American Mirror: The Life and Art of Norman Rockwell ($28.00, Farrar Straus Giroux). For four decades his paintings were on the covers of The Saturday Evening Post, one of the most popular magazines of its time. His images of small-time America evoked an earlier era, but one many senior citizens can still recall. They symbolized the culture and values of the nation. He died in 1978 and now Deborah Solomon, a long-time New York Times interviewer, art critic and biographer of Jackson Pollock and Joseph Carnell, has written a biography that is both thorough and surprising as it reveals an obsessed man who may have repressed his true sexuality throughout his life. His strongest relationships were with men despite marriage and a family. A decade in the making this biography is a triumph of research and attention to detail.

Pinkerton’s Great Detective: The Amazing Life and Times of James McParland by Beau Riffenburgh ($32.95, Viking) marks the first biography of a man who was a legend in his time after he had infiltrated the Molly Maguires, a brutal Irish-American brotherhood responsible for sabotage and at least 16 murders in the Pennsylvania coalfields. His two-year effort resulted in 19 trials and that was just the beginning of his career. He led the und for Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch and was so well known at one point that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle invented a meeting between him and the fictional Sherlock Holmes. In time he became known as “The Great Detective” and the biography is filled with stories of outlaws and criminals, detectives and lawmen, based on the archives of the celebrated secretive agency and its premier sleuth.

Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from History Without the Fairy-Tale Endings by Linda Rodrigues McRobbie ($19.95, Quirk Books) is lively reading for anyone who enjoys history divested of the mythology that so often accompanies it. Little girls may dream of being princesses and others may follow the lives of modern day princesses such as Lady Diana, Grace Kelly, and now Kate Middleton, history provides many real princesses, whether royal by birth or marriage, who fought, stole, schemed, and partied as they made their way through a complicated world in which they were often chattel in arranged marriages whose job was to produce royal offspring. From Olga of Kiev (ca. 890-969) who avenged her husband’s death by slaughtering almost the entire Derevlian kingdom to Stephanie von Hohenlohe (1891-1972) who charmed her way into the heart (and out of the prisons) of both the Nazi Party and Lyndon B. Johnson, the ladies in this book offer a lot of entertaining and interesting reading.

Getting Down to Business Books

Someone ought to send the White House a copy of Michael Wheeler’s The Art of Negotiation: How to Improvise Agreement in a Chaotic World ($26.00, Simon and Schuster). There has been no dearth of books on how to negotiate and they fall into the “win-win” method and the hard bargaining style. Wheeler, an award-winning Harvard Business School professor offers a third option. As he points out, “Negotiation can’t be scripted. Yet as negotiators we have to persist even when information is ambiguous, boundaries are hazy, and the scene is constantly changing.” He notes that master negotiators regard the challenge as one of learning, adapting, and, of course, influencing. His book offers an improvisational approach and shows how many different fields of endeavor use the techniques he recommends. Having taught the art of negotiation to thousands of MBA students, executives, managers, and public officials, his book now provides the reader the lessons they have enjoyed.

I once had a teacher who said that “Nothing ever happens until someone sells something to someone else.” If your livelihood depends on sales than you just might want to pick up a copy of Unlimited Sales Success: 12 Simple Steps for Selling More Than You Ever Thought Possible by Brian and Michael Tracy ($22.95, Amacom). Brian has trained thousands of people and still found time to write 55 books that have been translated into 38 languages. Michael is the vice president of sales and business development at Analog Analytics, a software company that was acquired by Barclays Plc in 2012. For either the novice or the person who has been in sales a while, the book provides advice on how to spot and avoid a poor prospect, how to turn indifferent customers into buyers, and lots of other tips that improve one’s prospects.

The BossHole Effect: Three Simple Steps Anyone Can Follow to Become a Great Boss and Lead a Successful Team ($16.99, Mill City Press, softcover) by Dr. Greg L. Alston is a short, easy to read book on how to become a respected, effective leader. He defines a BossHole as someone who behaves like an imbecile but has the authority to impact others’ lives. Dr. Alston has worked extensively in the chain drug and healthcare industries, supervising thousands of employees, working for hundreds of bosses, and “thwarting BossHoles at every turn.” He is currently both Associate Professor of Pharmacy Management and Assistant Dean for Assessment at Wingate University School of Pharmacy in North Carolina. Suffice to say he brings a lot of experience to this guide that offers a step-by-step strategy by which readers can become great bosses with minimum struggle and maximum success. We all encounter BossHoles in our careers and this book will teach you how to effectively deal with them.

For a quick laugh, there’s Your Guide to Spotting and Outing Bloodsuckers at Work: A Little Book of Monstrous Puns by Rita Harris and Heather Harwood ($17.99, Authorhouse, softcover). Working off the vampire theme, these two come up with a variety of puns that, for example, turn a chef into Count Spatula. Don’t say you weren’t warned! It would make a cute gift for anyone suffering a horrid boss or co-workers.

Advice, Advice, Advice

I wish I had read more books of advice when I was younger. Fortunately I had parents that offered a lot of good advice, but as often as not one needs to learn from others and, if they have demonstrated they expertise, their books are often a very good investment.

As a semi-retired senior citizen, I wish that Failure is NOT an Option: Creating Certainty in the Uncertainty of Retirement ($14.95, Incubation Press, Bend, Oregon, softcover) had been around when I was younger. Written by David Rosell has extensive credentials as a financial planner and, as ten thousand “baby boomers” are reaching retirement age every day, many discover they are not ready and not able to stop working and enjoy their senior years. If you or someone you know are approaching the age of retirement, this book will prove an invaluable source of financial survival tips about the eight fundamental risks every retiree faces, providing strategies to avoid mistakes and turn existing adversity around. This book is not the usual advice about just putting money away for retirement. It goes well beyond that. The book comes with a rousing endorsement by Charles R. Schwab, Jr.

There’s plenty of advice for couples on how to resolve conflicts in marriage and we know that half of all marriages these days end in divorce despite the high hopes when the knot is tied. He Wins, She Wins: Learning the Art of Marital Negotiation by Dr. Willard F. Harley, Jr. ($19.99. Revell), a clinical psychologist, marriage counselor, and author, has as its ultimate goal recommendations that will help couples grow in their love for one another. At one point he advises, “Never do anything without the enthusiastic agreement between you and your spouse.” Is that possible? It is if they address the way emotional reactions often prevent calm discussion or neither of you want to talk about an issue. There’s a problem, too, if you or both are indecisive. His previous book, “His Needs, Her Needs” sold more than two million copies, so you can be confident that this one contains advice that will help overcome the problems that every married couple encounters.

I confess I have always had a problem with trust. I suspect a lot of other do too. That’s why I think Ellen Castro’s book, Spirited Leadership: 52 Ways to Build Trust ($14.95, Langdon Street Press, softcover) will likely be very helpful to anyone with a similar outlook. She earned her Med from Harvard and an MBA from Southern Methodist University where she served on the faculty of The Business Leadership Center. She is, in fact, an example of the advice she offers, learning it through experience and then translating it into practical, uplifting, concise, “how-to” exercises that benefit those who are successful and inspiring hope in those who feel hopeless. It is a book about emotional intelligence, social skills, and people smarts. These are essential skills if one is to travel through life courageously.

When Life Hurts: Finding Hope and Healing from the Pain Your Carryby Jimmy Evans with Frank Martin ($21.99, Baker Books) will no doubt prove helpful to those who carry the hurt that comes with divorce, abuse, illness or the loss of a loved one, among other forms of emotional pain. Evans is the cofounder with his wife, Karen, of Marriage Today, a television ministry, and together they have authored a number of books on marriage and family. No stranger to emotional pain, Evans shares his own life experiences and, as one might expect, incorporates faith in God to deal with deep-seated wounds. The book is enhanced by the skills of Martin who has collaborated with others including Dr. Robert Schuller and has been a family commentary writer for Focus on the Family for the past fifteen years.

School Skills

I used to hate taking tests in school. It was more an attitude than lack of preparedness, but nowadays the entire educational system from coast to coast has been taken over by standardized tests—a very bad idea since any teacher will tell you that students learn at their individual rate, mastering different subjects as individuals, not as a bunch of robots in a classroom. That’s why two books by Elie Venezky, available from www.prestigeprep.com, are worth checking out; Test PrepSanity, a guide for parents, and Test Prep Sanity for Students ($13.46 paperback, $9.99 Kindle). Both have a track record of success based on the author’s 14 years of helping students prepare for tests and 20 years working with teenagers. Love’m or hate’m, youngsters have to take tests so any parent that takes the time to learn how to help and any student who learns how to take tests is going to be at a definite advantage.

Getting into the college of one’s choice is another challenge and How to Prepare a Standout College Application by Alison Cooper Chisolm and Anna Ivey ($16.95, Jossey-Bass, an imprint of Wiley, softcover) offers advice based on the author’s experience as college admissions professionals who now work together at Ivey College Consulting, based in Cambridge, MA. A book like this can make all the difference between acceptance or rejection. In a fiercely competitive world, this is often the first step.

Woof, Woof!

There are dog people and cat people. For the former, there are a number of recent books they are likely to enjoy, starting with Mama & Boris: How a Sister’s Love Saved a Fallen Soldier’s Beloved Dogs ($19.99, Reader’s Digest). Written by Carey Neesley with Michael Levin, Carey was very close with her brother, Peter, and naturally she worried about him when he was sent to Iraq as part of his Army service. In weekly calls, Peter told her of adopting a stray dog and her pups. When three of them died, Peter became committed to saving the remaining two, Mama and Boris. However, on Christmas Day, Peter was killed. Carey wanted to honor his memory by bringing the dogs home to Michigan. Not the easiest task since they were halfway around the world, but she was assisted by a network of heroes. This is a wonderful story.

According to HelpGuide.org, pets can detect and affect their owner’s mood, blood pressure, and overall health. Many have become therapy dogs, visiting hospitals to lift the spirits of those recovering from illness, particularly children. They also visit nursing homes. Kathryn Walter has written a novella, Babbette’s Pack ($26.99, Xlibris.com) based on true medical cases and featuring her Shih Tzu named Babette as the heroine, a dog that can detect fictionalized, but actual canine skills to predict seizures, low blood surge, and other events. “I was inspired,” said Walter, “to write this book from my time as a physician’s assistant and RN.” Sushi: The Lhaso Apso—A Love Story ($14.95, softcover) is the story of how a little dog gained the love of one family and the legacy she eventually left behind. Claudia and Paul Elhoff tell the story of how Sushi became a part of their lives and how she bravely battled recurring cancer. Readers who have gone through the pain of losing a pet to illness or old age will especially relate to this heart-warming story.

For some laughter and fun, there’s Throw the Damn Ball: Classic Poetry by Dogs ($15.00, a Plume original) that purports to be an anthology of poetry written by dogs and “edited” by R. D. Rosen, Harry Pritchett, and Rob Battles. These are poems about things that really matter to dogs, love, loss, sex, friendship, meals, and bodily functions. These three have collaborated on bestsellers, “Bad Dog”, “Bad Cat”, and “Bad President.” While dogs may be man’s best friend, the “poets” do not ignore their owner’s faults and frailties. There are 112 poems in this book which should be on your gift list for anyone who has a dog. It is hilarious.

Kid Stuff

For the kid who’s age 7 to 9, there is a very unique book, The Bee Society, ($15.95, The Bee Society Press, LLC) that the author would have you believe was written by Georgie Bee, a honey bee who has taken it upon himself to explain the life of bees to humans. He is quite chatty and charming, and the book is extensively illustrated with both artwork and photos, but it is the text that provides both entertainment and information about, well, bees.

From Tanglewood Publishing come two novels that pre-teens, 8 to 12, will enjoy. This first is The Last Enchanter: The Celestine Chronicles—Book Two by Laurisa White Reyes ($16.96). Book one, “The Rock of Ivanore”, was a bestseller, but now it has been months since Marcus and Kelvin succeeded in their quest to find it. Kelvin is living as royalty in Dokur and Marcus is studying magic with Zyll. Then Fredric is murdered and Kelvin becomes king, it is evident that neither is safe. This is a wonderfully written sequel, filled with action, magic, and adventure. The Deepest Blue by Kim Williams Justesen ($15.99) explores the problems when a teen finds himself at the center of a struggle when his birth mom wants custody even though there has been no contact for five years, Mike the young teen has been living with his father whose girlfriend has been like a mother to him. Mike has to take on the legal system despite the fact that he has no legal rights in cases of death or divorce. For those 12 and older, this is a deeply moving story.

Novels, Novels, Novels

There are so many novels being published every month that it’s nice to know that one can become reacquainted with authors we may have missed out on reading earlier. For example, Kurt Vonnegut, best known for “Slaughterhouse Five”, was around awhile and evolving as a writer. We Are What We Pretend to Be ($12.99, Da Capo Press, softcover) is a collection of his first and last unpublished works with an introduction written by his daughter, Nanette. We see his budding talent in “Basic Training” as well as his last, unfinished novel, “If God Were Alive Today.” The two stories are bookends to his life. Similarly, David Mamet is famed as a stage and film director as well as a playwright, notably for “Glengarry Glen Ross” and “The Verdict.” Three novellas have been gathered into a book, Three War Stories, by Mamet and self-published by Argo Navis Author Services. One assumes it is available via Amazon and other outlets. Suffice to say Mamet is a great talent and his book is more proof of that.

I enjoyed James Phoenix’s previous novel, “Frame Up”, the first in the Fenway Burke Mystery Series, so I was pleased to receive Loose Ends ($27.95, White Cap Publishing, Weymouth, MA) and not surprised to hear he had inherited the fans of Robert B. Parker as well as Raymond Chandler. He’s that good. Unlike most detective heroes, Burke is happily married and even a feminist. It’s a combination of old and new detective genre as we greet Burke again aboard his floating home in Marblehead, Massachusetts, his wife, baby daughter, and two enormous English Mastiffs, really big dogs. Burke is introduced to a man in his 90s, Morris Gold, a legendary money man for the mob. His grandson’s wife has disappeared without a trace, but he doesn’t want the police involved. When he takes on the case, it has a lot of loose ends and the chase takes him to New York City, then Venezuela and Columbia. Getting her home is going to require all his skills and courage. Fortunately, he has plenty to spare.

The other novels this month are all softcovers and I will wander through the stack with no particular direction in mind. Laura Spinella returns with Perfect Timing ($15.00, Berkley Publishing). It is a romance in which Isabel Lang, a young woman, has moved from New Jersey to Alabama where she forms an unlikely friendship with the musically gifted Aidan Roycroft. They share everything from a first kiss to family secrets, but a tragedy at the town’s time-honored gala causes them to flee to Las Vegas. Seven years later, Aiden is now a famed rock star and Isabel is working at a radio station. I won’t tell you more in order to avoid spoiling the story. The Secrets She Carried marks the debut of Barbara Davis ($15.00, New American Library) and a very good one as she invites us along with Leslie Nichols, the main character, to a discovery of a family’s long-buried past. Leslie does not have happy memories of Peak Plantation, the scene of an unhappy childhood that included her mother’s death and her father’s disgrace. When her grandmother, Maggie, dies, Leslie isn’t the only one who was left with the property. Jay Davenport, its caretaker, has a claim to it as well and Maggie has told Jay a terrible secret. Leslie and Jay will uncover the kind of secret that transforms one’s life forever.

I hear from book publicists all the time. It’s one thing to write a novel, but it takes real know-how to promote one. Christina George is a book industry insider and has written a series called “The Publicist” in which the second novel, Shelf Life, is just off the presses ($8.00, via Amazon.com). Publishing is filled with people who have huge egos, often unrealistic expectations, and some who write books whose shelf life can be measured in days. Kate Mitchell is the publicist and trouble arrives when one of her star authors is led away in handcuffs. At about the same time her career and love affair hit the “off” button. She had to rebuild her life and, as fate would have it, her name becomes synonymous with a huge bestseller. This is what is often called “chick lit” because the girls will really enjoy it more than the guys. Also in the genre is Love Waltzes In by Alana Albertson ($9.99, Bolero Books) which has an uncanny resemblance to Dancing With the Stars, he popular television show. In her novel, Ms. Albertson, a former competitive ballroom dancer, pulls back the curtain to expose the sex, lies and secrets that remain hidden behind the glitzy costumes and fast moves in this, her debut as a novelist. The book has already won a number of awards and as you follow Selena Marcil, the star of a hit show, Dancing Under the Stars, you will be drawn into her life and quest for love. Chick lit, yes, but a good read too.

For a change of pace, there’s Caught in the Current by Daniel Hryhorezuk ($15.95, Langdon Street Press) that takes the ready back to the summer of 1970 in the Soviet controlled Ukraine. A first generation Ukrainian-American is on a break from his college studies, having organized a European tour with a group of friends. Unbeknownst to the group, Alec has agreed to gather information for the Ukrainian Youth Organization that seeks to undermine Soviet rule. This is a coming of age novel like no other because we are now grown distant from what life was like in the Soviet Union, a complete dictatorship. The novel is semi-autobiographical and well worth reading for its insights and drama. A foreign nation is the backdrop for another novel is the Philippines in Gina Apostol’s Gun Dealer’s Daughter ($14.95, W.W. Norton). It is her third novel and her U.S. debut with a lush, dizzying depiction of wealth, corruption, and rebellion in the 1970s. As she idles away the years in a decrepit mansion overlooking the Hudson River, Solidad Soliman is the narrator as she obsessively relives a brief, but traumatic episode from her adolescences. She was born into privilege in the Marcos-era Philippines, but never questioned the true source of her family’s wealh until she enrolls in university in Manila. There she joins a rebellious Maoist student group and becomes infatuated with Jed, a fellow rich kid. Solidad must come to terms with the fact that her father is an arms dealer whose weapons prop up the nation’s tyrannical regime. The novel captures the issues, the pretenses of all involved, and the turbulent time in which it is set.

That’s it for November! Come back in December and start making your gift list of special books for special family and friends. Meanwhile, tell others who love to read about Bookviews.

By Alan Caruba

My Picks of the Month

One book you must read if you are feeling unhappy with the nation’s present and future is Josef Joffe’s The Myth of America’s Decline: Politics, Economics, and a Half Century of False Prophecies ($26.95, Liveright Publishing). A Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and the publisher of Die Zeit, as well as a frequent contributor to Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy, Joffe was educated at Swarthmore College and Harvard University. He is not only comfortable with real facts, but also has the talent to present them in an entertaining fashion that makes for easy and compelling reading. He points out the many times predictions have been made that America is in decline over the past half century and explores why they have been proven wrong by both our free market capitalist system and our national culture that continues to attract people seeking real freedom. In my lifetime and his, pundits have claimed that the U.S. would lose ground to Russia, Japan, and, of late, China. He dubs this “declinism” and describes how and why such claims were and are wrong. The good news just keeps coming on every page, along with insights to the rise and fall of empires and nations in the past. One can read these predictions all the time, but to give you optimism for America’s future, I recommend you read this excellent book.

Americans look at Israel and wonder why it has not been able to achieve peace with the Palestinians or why the Palestinians have not been able to form a state of their own. The answer can be found in Jonathan Schanzer’s new book, State of Failure, ($27.00, Palgrave Macmillan) an excellent review of the history of the two entities since Israel’s declaration of statehood in 1947. From the present day in which the Palestinian people must contend with two separate organizations, the older Palestinian Authority and the newer Hamas, claiming to represent them while being in a virtual state of war with one another, united only in their desire to destroy Israel. It is Schanzer’s view that the older group, formerly the Palestinian Liberation Organization led by Yassir Arafat, never demonstrated the ability or even an interest in creating a formal government structure. In addition, Arafat controlled the millions that flowed to the PLO from donor nations, stealing much of it for his own use. Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., has at least made an effort to create social services in the Gaza area it occupies. What becomes obvious is that the so-called leaders of the Palestinians have never been interested in statehood, preferring cronyism and corruption to that responsibility. The current PA president has not called for an election since 2005 when his term in elected office ended. Why does the world tolerate such behavior? You need to read the book to learn that.

Remember how the nation was fixated on the trial of George Zimmerman who shot and killed Trayvon Martin in February 2012? When police arrived at the scene, it was obvious that it had been act of self- defense and, moreover, Florida’s Stand Your Ground law to protect people under attack rendered any further action unnecessary. Zimmerman was not initially charged, but then the politicians and race-hustlers got involved. The full story is told in If I Had a Son by Jack Cashill ($25.95, WND Books). Cashill is one of the best investigative writers I know, His book sweeps away all the media-generated stereotypes, particular those of Martin who was portrayed as the victim of a racially-motivated crime. Indeed, in addition to the prosecution who brought charges against Zimmerman despite the judgment of the local police, the media saw the trial as a way to advocate opposition to the Second Amendment and aggravate race relations in the nation. Even the President weighed in saying, “If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon.” A lawyer himself, Obama surely should have known better than to insert himself in that fashion. It took a jury to put an end to the travesty that unfolded, finding Zimmerman innocent. Cashill’s account of the events and the trial is well worth reading, particularly for the information he provides about Martin who approached, threatened, and then assaulted Zimmerman while he waited for the police to arrive. He had already amassed a record for involvement with drugs and petty crime, as well as having been suspended from school three times in the 2011-2012 year. In the wake of the trial, though, it would appear that Zimmerman has become unhinged.

One book I always recommend at this time of year is The World Almanac® and Book of Facts ($13.99) for the year ahead and the 2014 edition is a great compendium of facts that one can reach for at any time for information about the world, the nation, and data about the events that marked 2013, the U.S. economy, the States, science and technology, world history and culture, the U.S. government and so much more. The 2014 edition has new features that include “Marriage in America: A Changing Picture”, “Memorable Winter Olympics Moments”, and a “Voter Guide” you can consult for the forthcoming midterm elections. For a professional writer like myself, it is invaluable and for anyone else it will prove a useful tool to consult.

Dave Berg was a popular contributor to MAD Magazine and anyone who grew up enjoying the magazine will welcome news that his large body of hilarious cartoons from the 1950s to the 2000s has been gathered together in Dave Berg: Five Decades of “The Lighter Side of…” ($34.50, Running Press), a large format book that, it goes without saying, would make a great Christmas gift. It is part of a series “MAD’s Greatest Artists” and includes a rare 1970 interview and an essay by his daughter Nancy Berg. Organized by decade, the book starts with early cartoons that will be memorable to those who remained fans of the magazine. It’s like sitting down with an old, very funny, friend. Making people laugh for that long is truly an achievement.

Christmas is a time for gift-giving and receiving. For those who love books, there is a special attraction in classics that are beautifully leather-bound, illustrated, slipcased and produced with an eye to they’re becoming treasures that can be passed on from generation to generation. With this in mind, I will direct you to The Folio Society whose leather-bound, often slip-cased, selections will please the connoisseur and the beginner alike. Among its latest titles are The Great Gatsby with illustrations by Sam Wolfe Connelly that make it a special treat. Indeed, Folio Society books feature the work of great, contemporary illustrators. There’s Pride and Prejudice, and for the young and young at heart, The Princess and The Goblin. A gorgeous children’s book is Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant and Other Stories.

Reading History

George Washington has become a mythic figure in American history. We know he led the Revolution to victory and then served two terms as our first President. Beyond that, however, Washington is largely unknown as a living, breathing person or as the astonishing leader, a man of often astonishing integrity, and most certainly qualities of leadership that took him through eight years of war with the greatest power of his time, Great Britain, and then as the man who shaped the presidency into the one we have to this day. We owe Harlow Giles Unger, a prodigious historian, a debt of gratitude for the latest of his more than twenty books, Mr. President: George Washington and the Making of the Nation’s Highest Office ($25.99, Da Capo Press). When he assumed the office, it has virtually no defined powers and an almost complete lack of power to influence events. By the time he left the office, he had established the seven pillars of presidential power that we take for granted today and that often remain subject to controversy when misused or abused. It was Washington that established the presidency’s powers to control foreign policy, military affairs, government finances, and federal law enforcement as well as “executive privilege.” Along the way as he recounts those years, we come to know Washington as a man who is aging, suffering from arthritis and other physical ills. We learn that he accepted public service even though he longed to return to his life as a successful farmer at Mount Vernon. Don’t miss out the pleasure and knowledge this book imparts. Another book inspired by the first President is George Washington’s Secret Six by Brian Kilmeade and Dan Yaeger ($27.95, Sentinel, an imprint of Penguin Press). Most histories of the revolution have overlooked the full story of how Washington put together a remarkable network of spies, knowing he would be leading a long war of attrition against the British and would need the best information possible on their maneuvers. Best known as being on “Fox and Friends”, Kilmeade and his co-author have put together a fascinating story on the way his network gathered intelligence and spread false information. In particular it is the story of the Culper Ring led by Robert Townsend. Together they had achievements that uncovered all manner of schemes and, in particular, prevented Benedict Arnold from surrendering West Point to the enemy. The outcome of the revolution often hung on the work of these patriots. Anyone who loves American history will want to read this book.

Ever since 9/11 Americans have had to get up to speed on Islam as a virulent form of Islamo-fascism has forced them to address the terrorism that accompanies it. Another iconic figure, Thomas Jefferson, is famed for having an English translation of the Quran, the Islamic bible, which he purchased in 1765, eleven years before he wrote the Declaration of Independence. He was no fan of Islam, nor were other Americans who had any knowledge of it. Historian Denise A. Spellberg has authored Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an: Islam and the Founders ($27.95, Alfred A. Knopf) which The Daily Beast has described as “essential reading in these troubled times.” Like the other Founders, Jefferson was an avid reader and that informed many decisions he would make in the years in which he rose to fame. As President, Jefferson had to deal with Barbary pirates that were raiding American merchant ships and taken sailors hostage. That led to the creation of the U.S. Marine Corps and a mission to Tripoli to put an end to the raids. What we learn in this intriguing book is the hostility to Islam that was widely shared among early Americans. “Europeans and Americans after them, tended to be quite hostile to Islam,” writes Spellberg as we discover that the feelings modern Americans may feel were held by those who preceded them. The Constitution’s abolition of a religious test to hold public office is the reason a Muslim was sworn into office as a U.S. Senator in recent years. In Jefferson’s times, they were outsiders whose inclusion represented the furthest reach of toleration and rights in the new nation.

For anyone seeking to learn more about Islam, Koranic Allusions: The Biblical, Qumranian, and Pre-Islamic Background to the Koran, edited by Ibn Warraq, ($32.00, Prometheus Books) explores the evidence of the many influences from religious sources outside of Islam, incorporating stories in the Koran about Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other characters from the Bible that were drawn from the Jewish Torah and the Christian Gospels. Ibn Warraq is a scholar who has authored “Why I Am Not a Muslim”, “Defending the West”, and “Virgins, What Virgins? And Other Essays.” He is also the editor of “Leaving Islam, What the Koran Really Says” and other books that represent a great body of knowledge that anyone interested in Islam should most certainly read. Most Americans have not read the Qur’an (Koran) and would be astonished to discover its hostility to all other faiths can Islam. There is a reason for the turmoil in the world today that we trace to Islam and it is the call to jihad or holy war until all submit to Islam.

Honor and Betrayal: The Untold Story of the Navy SEALS Who Captured the “Butcher of Fallujah”—and the Shameful Ordeal They Later Endured by Patrick Robinson ($26.99, Da Capo Press) is a case history of why morale in our armed forces today has been savaged by the “political correctness” that has been imposed on all the services. It is the story of a daring nighttime raid in September 2009 in which the SEALs grabbed the notorious terrorist, Ahmad Hashim Abd Al-Isawi, the mastermind behind the 2004 murder and mutilation of four American contractors. Instead of being hailed for their bravery and a successful mission, those in the chain of command gave greater weight to the claims of Al-Israwi that he had been abused, claiming he had been punched and given a bloody lip. What followed was pressure on the SEALs to sign confessions to “lesser charges”, but instead they each demanded a court martial to prove their innocence. When Americans became aware of this outrage, more the 350,000 signed petitions demanding that they be exonerated. Even U.S. congressmen petitioned the Pentagon to drop the charges. This is a story worth reading as a lesson of how far our military have strayed from its values under the pressure of an administration that gives greater credence to the word of a terrorist than to its own heroes.

Many Americans are unaware of the millions who have died under communist regimes. One instance of this was the great Chinese famine from 1958 to 1962 and it is told in Yang Jisheng’s book, Tombstone, ($17.00, Farrar Straus Giroux, softcover). An estimated thirty million lives were needlessly and intentionally destroyed as the result of the megalomania of China’s leaders at the time. This is not easy reading because Jisheng has selected 121 internal reports from local officials to their bosses. They are frank, grisly, and specific portraits of the horrors. We need books like this to remind us that communism has no heart and never did. The astonishing thing about this book is that that author, a long-time journalist who worked for the Xinhua News Agency until his retirement in 2001, still lives in Beijing with his wife and two children. The fact that this book has been allowed publication suggests some greater flexibility by the current Chinese leadership.

A curious aspect of history is the fifty members of the 27 Club, famed musicians who died at age twenty-seven. The story of six is told in 27 by Howard Sounes ($26.00, Da Capo Press) who focuses on Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse. For anyone with an interest in the music scene, this has to be ‘must’ reading as Sounes examines first their lives and, second, their deaths. All six had troubled childhoods, fast-paced lifestyles, and mental issues that led to depression and substance abuse, though Sounes argues that the most recent member, Winehouse, was different from the others because she had a stable, supportive family. Even someone like myself who did not follow their careers nor pay much attention to their music found this a fascinating book.

One of the best series of books filled with information about all manner of topics is Visible Ink Press’s “Handy Answer” series, particularly as regards history. Just out this month is the latest addition, The Handy African American History Answer Book by Jessie Carney Smith, PhD ($21.95, Visible Ink Press, softcover). It is an extraordinary collection of data that highlights the history of black life in America, from those renowned to the lesser-known who made barrier-breakthroughs in the arts, entertainment, business, civil rights, education, government, military, journalism, religion, science, sports, music and so much more. It is filled with fascinating things such as who was Ringling Brothers’ first black woman clown? What is the oldest, non-church, published black newspaper? What was the first national Catholic black fraternal order? It is perfect for browsing and history buffs will love it.

Memoirs

Reading memoirs and biographies is a great way to learn life’s lessons through the experiences of others. We only get to live our own lives and must do so day by day. A memoir takes one to other places and can be read at one or more sittings.

I had expected Life Inside the Bubble: Why a Top-Ranked Secret Service Agent Walked Away From it All by Dan Bongino ($00.00, WND Books) to provide some insights to what it was like to be in close proximity to President Obama. If that would be your reason to purchase it, save your money. Bongino gives away no secrets (no pun intended). Instead, it is a fairly prosaic recounting of his life from his days as cop with the New York City Police and his ambition to climb a career ladder that led to twelve years within the Secret Service and ultimately the elite unit that protects the presidents. Bongino has the set of values that we admire and there is nothing here to criticize in that regard. The book does not tell you much about what life for any President is like beyond what you might imagine on your own. The President’s days are tightly scripted and he is the most scrupulously protected person on the face of the Earth, but you already knew that, didn’t you? Indeed, there is very little in this slim memoir that will surprise you. Bongino who is running for public office is making headlines these days decrying the Obama administration, but you will not find that in his book.

Perhaps only two percent of the U.S. population is composed of farmers and most Americans have little or no idea what it means to be one. I had never stepped foot on a farm until I began to travel widely in the 1980s as a photo-journalist. It is a very different lifestyle from the rest of us and One Woman Farm: My Life Shared with Sheep, Pigs, Chickens, Goats, and a Fine Fiddle by Jenna Woginrich ($16.95, Storey Publishing) is a delightful introduction and insight to what it means to be a farmer. It is a finely crafted memoir of the author’s immersion into a life she had yearned for and how it differs from those in cities and suburbs. It is, as one might imagine, determined by the work of a farmer; one marked by seasons and the life cycles tending her plants and animals. There are days for gathering applies, for shearing, and for harvest as she chronicles a year running from October to October. It is hard work, but she enjoys it and you will enjoy this engaging memoir. Graced With Orange by Jamie C. Amelio ($24.95, Meadow Lane Publishing, Austin, TX) begins with a chance encounter in Cambodia with a little girl asking for a dollar so she can attend school. When Amelio visited the school she discovered a very different world from the one in which she had grown up. The visit to Cambodia turned into a mission to provide more schools and the creation of an organization, Caring for Cambodia.” CFC changed her life, made her marriage stronger, brought two Cambodian girls into her family, saved her son’s life, and is in every respect an inspiring memoir. At this point, the non-profit CFC has since 2003 helped change the lives of more than 6,400 Cambodian children. In our comfortable lives here in America, we are often blissfully ignorant of the challenges that those in other nations face.

Denis Healey, a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur, decided to take a year off and travel the world without any responsibilities. He wrote about that in Breaking Free and followed up with The Traveler ($12.95 each, Vingdinger Publishing, softcovers), He retired at 48 and is married with one son, Sean. They live in Warsaw, Poland these days. These two books chronicle the experiences, both exterior and interior, of a man in search of his own identity, facing his past and contemplating his future options. He relates some great encounters as he crossed Turkey, traveled throughout India, Thailand, Vietnam, Bali, and Australia. He learns about spirituality and religion, love, poverty, and even met with Mother Theresa at one point. An interesting man in his own right, his two books are entertaining and thought-provoking. Good reading for the sake of good reading.

Songs of Three Islands: A Memoir by Millicent Monks ($18.95, Prospecta Press, Westport, CT, softcover) is subtitled “A personal tale of motherhood and mental illness in an iconic American family.” The family is the Carnegie’s, one associated with great wealth, but as the author notes, it also had a history of mental illness the affected four generations of women. It affected the author as well who searched for answers that led her to Jungian analysis, meditation, and sutras that enabled her to find a delicate peace which, having reached her sixth decade, she recounts. “If I can do something worthwhile to help people with children who are mentally ill,” says Monks, “I would think that was something worth accomplishing in my life.” Her daughter fell victim to it. Reading about mental illness can be disturbing, but the author puts it into a perspective that will help those who have encountered or are living through similar experiences and of the three women of the Carnegie family who endured it.

Books for Kids & Young Adults

Somewhere under the Christmas tree there should be a book or two. There is a vast selection of books for kids from the very youngest to the older teens.

A Tree’s Christmas: A talking tree’s story of its Christmas adventures by James Andrew Bowen ($9.95, Clearview Communications, Tampa, FL) is now in its fifth season of establishing itself as a story that will be indelibly associated with the holiday. Bowen has been a lifelong journalist. He grew up in the rural south and had many memorable Christmas’s to recall. The story draws on one of them in which the ritual of taking the decorations off the tree and removing it to the garden to become mulch for the next year’s vegetables. Laying there in the cold, the little tree draws the attention of other trees and begins to share its story as told by Anne, a 13 year old who wonders if it might have occurred in a dream. It is a touching, tender story and one I would heartily recommend.

Another tale is sure to become a favorite among the young set is The Christmas Tree Elf ($19.95, hardcover, $9.95 ebook, Valentine Sheldon Co.)by Valentine D’Arcy Sheldon and beautifully illustrated by Jeremiah Humphries. It tells a story about Mrs. Claus who always wanted a Christmas tree to decorate and Santa brings one home. They love the tree but become so busy preparing for Christmas that it is not until Christmas Eve that they realize they have not watered it. A Mysterious elf shows up to save the tree and teach them that all living things need care and attention. This book has garnered many excellent reviews and recommendations. You can add mine.

For any boy or girl who loves sports, I would definitely ensure they receive Sports Illustrated Kids – The Top Ten of Everything in Sports ($19.95, Time Home Entertainment) that ranks athletes, playing fields, rivalries, games, controversial calls, memorable moments and more. A large format book, it is extensively illustrated with photographs. The texts are short and crisp. It is amazing how much they packed into this book. It incorporate sports history and is filled with the kind of information that brings a wide range of sports to life, providing hours of reading that can be enjoyed in short bites. Some young adult fiction (age 12+) is served up in The Field by Tracy Richardson ($15.95 hardcover, $11.95 softcover, Luminis Books). Eric Horton is a standout player on his high school soccer team, but he has been having terrible dreams that wake him up at night. He also has eyes for Renee, the hot new student from France. Could his prowess on the field, his feelings for Renee, and some strange experiments Renee’s dad is cooking up in the physic lab at the university be connected? This is a combination of the real world of soccer and the mystical world of the Universal Energy Field. This is a very imaginative novel.

For all children, there is the question of what they want to be when they grow up and Wigu Publishing, Laguna Beach, CA, is developing a series, starting with When I Grow Up I Want to Be…in the U.S. Army ($12.95) which will be joined by books on being a teacher, a firefighter, and in the U.S. Navy. They are written by Mark Shyres and illustrated by Debbie Hefke who uses a combination of artwork and photos. I would imagine they are aimed at ages 7 to 10. Having served in the Army, I can confirm that the text provides a realistic depiction of what life in the service is like and, for example, points out the many different occupations that exist from doctors and lawyers, to military police and firefighters, as well, of course, as combat units. “No matter what the job or rank, each soldier’s duty is to protect our country against anyone who wants to hurt us or our country’s friends, or allies.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Eric Shanower is an award-winning comic book artist with a love for the era of the Trojans and Athenians. His series The Age of Bronze is now into Book Two, “The Story of the Trojan War—Betrayal” ($28.99 hardcover, $18.99 softcover, Image Comics, Inc., Berkeley, CA) As the Greek and Trojan armies clash, the action begins immediately where the previous volume left off. It’s the first battle in a war that will last for ten long years. Achilles fights Hektor while the beautiful Helen watches the battle from high on the walls of Troy. Shanower’s artistry depicts the story with elegant pen-and-ink drawings that make the action seem to spring off the page. One usually associates graphic novels with the young set, but an older reader will enjoy this series with equal pleasure. History, its myths and legends come alive in this series.

Novels, Novels, Novels

In no particular order let’s look at just some of the usual monthly deluge of softcover books that have arrived.

Felix F. Giordano has created a great character in Sheriff Jim Buchanan who is patterned after his real-life uncle, Carl “Buck” Buchanan, who had a twenty-year career with the Maine State Police. Even fiction needs to be grounded in reality and you can enjoy three novels by Giordano, the latest of which is Montana Harvest ($14.00, softcover, available from Amazon.com for $12.52) that joins “Mystery at Little Bitteroot” and “The Killing Zone” in this series. Set in the fictional Cedar Country, Montana, Buchanan is approached by the FBI concerning a missing persons investigation, it turns out that not only his own life, but also the life of the person dearest to his heart is at risk as well. Told mostly with excellent dialogue, it’s one of the stories whose characters immediately intrigue the reader and you will be pleased when you read this and his other novels.

Making her adult fiction debut with The Sister Season, ($15.00, NAL softcover) Jennifer Scott is an award-winning young adult author under another name. This novel is generally called women’s fiction because it will have a strong appeal for women readers. It features three sisters who discover that coming home for the holidays isn’t as easy as it seems. Growing up, the holidays were joyous times with laughter all around, but the years have taken their toll on the family bonds as they went their separate ways. This time they have returned home to bury their father. As you might imagine, old conflicts surface and new secrets are revealed against the background of what should have been a happier Christmas. Readers will enjoy getting to know Claire, the youngest, Julia the eldest, and Maya the middle child. All have gone on to different lives, but ultimately, they have to answer the question, when you are a sister, aren’t you a sister for life?

Love is on the mind of Edith M. Cortese, the author of A Thousand Years of Johnny Von ($19.25, Trumpet Boy Press, Los Angeles) as she tells the story of Estella, a single, 33-year-old woman who happens to live on the same street as a rising movie star, Johnny Von, and would very much like to get to know him as she pursues her job as a Hollywood Hills dog-walker. She has her own dog, Moochie, and, despite being a bit shy, he is gorgeous enough for her to overcome her doubts and get to meet him and make him fall in love with her. She is filled with “what if” fantasies that draw on classic love stories that will surely entertain you as she seeks to turn fantasy into reality as her Cinderella figures out to capture the heart of Prince Charming.

Another romance is found in The Color of Homeby Rich Marcello ($15.99, Langdon Street Press, softcover). Nick and Sassa are guarded, skeptical survivors who have skillfully buried the effects of tragic pasts. They are two New Yorkers who have a series of intimate conversations that cause they to fall in love and begin a remarkable journey toward their true selves, toward the healing that makes they whole again, toward finding home. This is a thoroughly modern love story about being willing to be vulnerable, to rise above loss, and to create and nourish a unique love for one another. You will enjoy the journey that Nick, a successful music entrepreneur, and Sassa, a free-spirited chef discover together.

For those who enjoy a good mystery, there’s the gripping Killer Weed by Michael Castleman ($14.95, MP Publishing, Petaluma, CA), a tour through a marriage under duress, forty years of pot dealing in America, and two murders, one contemporary, the other a cold case from 1968. The reader gets an interesting history of how marijuana was introduced, starting with importation from Mexico, then progressed to Colombian freighters, and was followed by growing in remove national forests, until it was grown indoors under solar-powered lights. Cannabis prohibition in the present day is also a theme of the book. You will go from San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury in the late 1960’s and two murders that join the neighborhood to its Golden Gate Park. It is the fourth Ed Rosenberg Mystery set in that city. This is an emotionally complex, character-driven story that begins when Ed and his wife Julie are fired from their jobs at the San Francisco Foghorn (a fictionalized Chronicle) and, with two kids and a huge mortgage, turn to using drugs to cope.

There are thrills to be had in Harry Hunsicker’s The Contractors ($14.95, Thomas and Mercer, softcover). He is a seasoned novelist of three previous novels and is the former executive vice president of the Mystery Writers of America. A fourth generation native of Dallas, he knows how to draw you in and keep you turning the pages. In this novel, he takes the reader into the shadowy world of private military contractors and the hypocrisies of the “War on Drugs”, featuring a disgraced former Dallas PD officer, John Cantrell. He and his partner/lover, Piper, make their living busting drug shipments along the U.S.-Mexico border for commissions. One such seizure puts them in possession of a star witness in an upcoming cartel trial. The cartel has other ideas and they soon find themselves in the crosshairs of the cartel, a group of competing contractors, and a corrupt Dallas police officer with nothing to lose.

That’s it for December and the year 2013 that was filled with some remarkable fiction and non-fiction that Bookviews.com has reported upon over the past months. Tell your book-loving friends, family and co-workers about Bookviews.com, the most eclectic look at the current literary scene. And get ready to come back in January 2014 for more!

By Alan Caruba

My Picks of the Month

The one book you must read as the new year begins is Murray Holland’s A Nation in the Red: The Government Debt Crisis and What We Can Do About it ($28.00, McGraw Hill) for its chilling message about the economic collapse of America and the steps that must be taken to avoid it. In recent years I have received a number of books on this subject, but Murray’s stands out, not only for the facts it cites, but for the way it can be easily comprehended by someone who has little to no grasp of our economic system. “The national debt can never be paid off. It is like a cancer we will have to live with for the rest of the life of the nation,” says Holland and the facts about the size of our debt, the matrix of socialist programs that contribute to it, and the explosion in spending and borrowing that is driving the nation to collapse. The debt stands at $19 trillion and may be over $33 trillion in just ten years. The nation’s Gross Domestic Product—how much we take in for the sale of goods and services—is less than what it is paying out for its many socialist programs (Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, unemployment, student loans, and housing). The financial problems that European nations that embraced socialism are a clear warning sign that it can and will happen here without a significant reduction in the federal government’s spending and borrowing. Murray calls it a Debt Trap and the implications for Americans, now and generations to come, are frightening. For eighty years since the Great Depression, Americans have been adopting socialist programs precisely as its enemies have wanted. The bill is coming due. Another recent book, The Financial Crisis and the Free Market Cure,by John A. Allison ($28.00, McGraw Hill) is also worth reading.

It’s hard to believe that the U.S. has been engaged in a military conflict in Afghanistan since 2001. For most Americans it has been a war to which little attention was paid unless one had a son, daughter or loved one stationed there. Now the noted photographer Robert Cunningham, along with Steven Hartov, has captured the lives, the dedication, the sacrifices, and service of our military that served there in Afghanistan on the Bounce: Boots on the Ground with the U.S. Military and the International Security Assistance Force ($40.00, Insight Editions), a large format book that will fill your heart with pride. Cunningham was embedded with our troops over the course of 132 missions, photographing all aspects of the military operation there, including photos of Afghans old and young. The book is a real treasure and beautifully produced as page after page testifies to their courage, humor and humanity.

A book you are not likely to hear about in the vast leftist media of the nation is by a former CIA espionage officer, Kent Clizbe. It is Willing Accomplices: How KGB Covert Influence Agents Created Political Correctness, Obama’s Hate-America-First Political Platform, and Destroyed America ($18.99, softcover, $5.99 Kindle, and $21.95 audio, Andemca Publishing, available from Amazon.com.) Clizbe tells how, shortly after Lenin was able to seize control of Russia and establish communism there, he instituted a program to undermine America under the direction of the KBG, its security service. While historians have written about Russia and its massive espionage program, they lack Clizbe’s background and thus have not made the connection between its program of political correctness, the infiltration of the media, academia, education and entertainment. The result is an educational system that falsely depicts our Founders, our history, and our values of individualism and, of course, capitalism. In these major factors of our society, America is constantly depicted as racist, sexist, and imperialistic. The result is generations of Americans who have been encouraged to loath the greatest nation in the world. Clizbe documents who the major players in this effort have been and are. His book explains much of Obama’s agenda. We are dangerously close to being destroyed as a nation by at least half the population that has been corrupted by political correctness, a hatred of America.

The Conscience of the Constitution: The Declaration of Independence and the Right to Liberty by Timothy Sandefur ($$24.95/$12.99 ebook, CATO Institute) combines law, history and political philosophy for a powerful defense of the Constitution. Like many Americans, I came late to reading the Declaration, response to the arrogant actions of the British crown and parliament to colonies that had ruled themselves for a century and had grown weary of taxation without representation. Sandefur notes that the word “democracy” does not appear in the Declaration, but “liberty” does and that it should set the framework for interpreting the Constitution, a governing instrument notable for putting limits on a central government while ensuring that the states and citizens retain their rights, not granted but acknowledged by it. “Liberty comes first, and order arises from it. We have gone astray in our constitutional understanding because we have upended that relationship.” As the current administration demonstrably limits our liberties—Obamacare is a prime example, requiring Americans to purchase something they may not want or need—current polls indicate that they have begun to awaken to the danger and are swinging back to a more conservative interpretation and practice. This book will interest anyone who takes a serious interest in the subject.

In an era in which we are all constantly being manipulated by government, special interest groups, and others, Push Back! How to Take a Stand Against Groupthink, Bullies, Agitators, and Professional Manipulatorsby B.K. Eakman ($14.95, Skyhorse Publishing, softcover) examines scenarios of mass indoctrination and demonstrates how to recognize and counter them effectively. An educator and international and national human rights advocate, Eakman, provides a guide to spotting how professional manipulators exert power over a room and steer discussions back to their agendas without ever answering audience questions or addressing their concerns. They often employ techniques to ostracize those who challenge their assertions, questioning or criticizing them. This is an extremely useful book when hoaxes and deceptions are advanced by such people.

For anyone who loves films, both old and new, there is a special treat to be had in The Big Screen: The Story of the Movies by David Thomson ($18.00, Farrar Straus Giroux, softcover) because this British-American film critic and historian has written a fat volume based on his encyclopedic knowledge of movies. It is a sweeping history of cinema that an enthusiast will enjoy in every respect. One cannot talk of film history without noting the legendary director John Ford ($22.95, Lake Street Press, softcover) by Joseph Malham who takes us into the life of the six-time Oscar winner for classics such as “The Grapes of Wrath”, “How Green Was My Valley”, and “The Quiet Man.” He is perhaps best known for his Westerns, “Stagecoach”, “The Searchers”, and “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”, all made with his longtime friend, John Wayne. The book is subtitled the “Poet in the Desert” and Malham provides interesting insight into Ford’s faith and Irish roots, that both contributed to his portrayals of families, communities, and history.

I am born and bred in New Jersey, so when I received Lynda L. Hinkle’s new book, Breaking Up: Finding and Working with a New Jersey Divorce Attorney ($12.44, Amazon.com, softcover), which, though it is focused on New Jersey law, is filled with excellent advice even if you live elsewhere. As she makes clear, divorce is one of the most stressful situations one can encounter. What I found notable was the tone of the book. It is clear-headed, the kind of advice one needs to receive. Hinkle is a divorce attorney and has been through her own divorce. If I were getting a divorce, I would want her in my corner. Her book will put her there for you.

Getting Down to Business (Books)

There are a number of books devoted to achieving success in business and we can count on many more to come in the year ahead.

A lot of people are stuck in jobs they don’t like or battling hopelessness as the seek employment these days. For them, Sander A. Flaum’s book, written with Michele Flaum, The Best Thing That Could Ever Happen to You: How a Career Reversal Can Reinvigorate Your Life ($16.95, Big Shoes Publishing, softcover) should be at the top of their reading list. With a foreword written by former astronaut, Senator John Glenn, it is an easy-to-read, how-to guide that moves readers out of their no-win employment rut and gets them back in charge of their job search. Flaum, who is chairman of the Leadership Forum at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Business Administration, shows how to work harder and smarter to come out on top in the interviewing process. The bottom line is that the book teaches readers how to deal with their fears and shortcomings, get passed their inhibitions, and find the job that is right for them. The author really knows what he is talking about and, if you’re seeking a new job, this is the book for you.

An interesting book about a classic case of what happens when a corporate leader plunders his corporation is found in Taking Down the Lion by Catherine S. Neal ($28.00, Palgrave Macmillan) as she examines the rise and fall of Tyco’s Dennis Kozlowski. He had grown a little known New Hampshire conglomerate into a global giant, but in a stunning succession of events, he suddenly lost his job and was indicted during the post-Enron era. He was convicted of wrongfully taking $100 million from Tyco to engage in a lifestyle that put him in jail. He is due for release soon.

The 25^thanniversary edition of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey ($30.00/$17.00, Simon & Schuster, hard and softcover) is widely regarded as one of the most inspiring books ever written and been read by leaders of business and industry, as well as students preparing to enter the employment marketplace. More than twenty million copies have been sold. Covey presents a holistic, integrated, principle-centered approach for solving personal and professional problems. This is a book devoted to fairness, integrity, honesty and human dignity. In sum, no matter your age or status, this book can give your life a boost.

Totally beyond anything I understand or know about is data science, so I will trust those who recommend John W. Foreman’s Data Smart: Using Data Science to Transform Information Into Insight ($45.00, Wiley, softcover). The book shows you the significant data science techniques, how they work, how to use them, and how this will benefit your business, no matter if it is large or small. And the best part says the author is that anyone can learn how to do this. The author is the Chief Data Scientist for MailChimp.com where he leads a data science product development project. As an analytics consultant, he has created data science solutions for the Coca-Cola Company, Royal Caribbean International, the Department of Defense, the IRS and the FBI, among others. Sergiusz Prokurat, an economist and historian, takes a look at the way work is changing and, in some cases, disappearing as robots replace people, in his book, Work 2.0: Nowhere to Hide ($9.99, Kindle $4.99, softcover). It is an intellectual examination of how the introduction of new technologies, particularly the computer and the Internet, has begun to transform the way work has been defined in the past and, in addition to the skills required to be connected to the world, how work is increasingly about knowledge and the provision of services needed to convey it in the digital age. Gone are the days one gets hired by a corporation and stays there for his career. Mobility, flexibility and other traits will play an important role in the new age. This is a book that anyone involved in organizations large and small as well as a young man or woman coming out of college will benefit from reading.

Mental States

Some publishers specialize in various topics because it interests them and presumably might interest a lot of other people. The world of the mind is a topic about which Prometheus Books has a number of titles that, if you find yourself thinking about what you’re thinking, you might want to read.

Let’s start with Think: Why You Should Question Everything by Guy P. Harrison ($16.95. softcover) which challenges everyone to think like a scientist and embrace the skeptical life. This book will help you improve your critical thinking skills, see through most scams at first glance, and learn how your own brain can trip you up. It shows you how to navigate through the maze of biases and traps that are standard features of every brain. As a result, we often trick ourselves into thinking, remembering, and believing things that are not real or true. It is an upbeat book that’s fun. Are you moody? Who isn’t? Maybe you should pick up a copy of Patrick M. Burke’s Mood: The Key to Understanding Ourselves and Others ($18.95, softcover). The author is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Arizona and his book is a comprehensive developmental approach to understanding mood and the role that it plays in determining our outlook on life and our ability to cope with its challenges. We all know people who are generally happy and others who always seem to be in a bad mood. Most of us fit in somewhere between the two poles. Mood, says the author, is the way we are tuned into the world and begins early in our lives as relationships play a central role in shaping our moods. Security or insecurity, loss or the fear of loss of key relationships, especially in childhood can have lasting effects on the way we view the world. If you’re in a mood to learn more, this book will prove of interest.

Believing: The Neuroscience of Fantasies, Fears, and Convictions by Michael McGuire ($19.95/$ll.99, softcover or ebook) asks and answers the question what are beliefs and how have evolution and culture led to a brain that is seemingly committed to near endless belief creation? Once established, why are most beliefs difficult to change? The author is professor emeritus of psychiatry and behavior sciences at the University of California, LA. He takes the novel approach of focusing on the central and critical role of brain systems and the ways in which they interact with the environment to create and maintain beliefs. This is fairly heavy duty reading, but for the inquiring mind, it will prove quite satisfying. It seems like “fairness” is the being spoken of all the time these days, particularly in a political context. Fairness has intrigued philosophers and social thinkers in both Eastern and Western societies for millennia. L. Sun, a professor of biology at Central Washington University, trained initially at East China Normal University in Shanghai before pursuing further studies in the United States. The result of that is The Fairness Instinct: The Robin Hood Mentality and Our Biological Nature ($24.95/$12.99, hardcover and ebook). Sun examines the innate sense of fairness displayed by human beings in all kinds of societies throughout history and argues that it is an emotion and behavior rooted in our DNA rather than a product of ideology or convention. He cites studies that show that even monkeys react negatively to patently unfair treatment. While we generally regard fairness as a good thing, Sun shows that there’s a down side when it plays too great a role in leveling inequalities, producing rigid social structures where only mediocrity is condoned. Well worth the time to read.

Many books on the subject of leadership have crossed my desk in the many years I have been a reviewer. The Way of the SEAL: Think Like an Elite Warrior to Lead and Succeed by Mark Divine, Commander, U.S. Navy SEALs (retired) with Allyson Edelhertz Machate ($21.99, Reader’s Digest) examines those attributes of military life that can be translated to the civilian world with exercises, meditations, and other techniques to train your mind for mental toughness, emotional resilience, and uncanny intuition. Divine served in the SEALs for twenty years and has led a number of multimillion-dollar business ventures since his retirement. His book distills the fundamentals of success into eight powerful principles that impart his experience to teach you to think like a SEAL in order to take charge of your life at work, at home, and in life.

Moving on from Prometheus Books, there’s Happily Ever After: The Life-Changing Power of a Grateful Heart by Trista Sutter ($24.99, Da Capo Books). Twenty-six million viewers watched ABC’s first Bachlorete get swept away in a fairytale romance and many wished they could be as lucky as the author. Courted by a handsome, poetry-writing firefighter in some of the world’s most luxurious destinations, the match was for read, Trista and Ryan celebrated their ten-year anniversary in December of last year. They now have two children, a dog, and a fulfilling family life. In her book, she shares her thoughts on the importance of living a thankful life while chronicling her personal journey and including stories from friends as well as experts. I have no doubt this book could help someone hoping their dream of lasting love come true and wondering, perhaps, why it hasn’t yet.

Alan C. Fox’s People Tools: 54 Strategies for Building Relationships, Creating Joy, and Embracing Prosperity ($16.95, SelectBooks, softcover) is filled with good advice on how to deal with many of life’s many problems such as having the same argument with a sibling, parent or child, deciding whether to end a relationship, determining if it’s time to make a career change or whether a business partner is trustworthy, to name just a few of the topics addressed in this book. At age 72 Fox has university degrees in accounting, law, education and professional writing. Along the way he has had his own law firm and founded a commercial real estate company in 1968 that manage more than seventy major income-producing properties in eleven states. With more than seventy years of experience, he shares it in a way that can help the reader avoid life’s pitfalls and develop successful relationships.

To Your Health (Books)

Americans more be more obsessed about their health than any other people. The books devoted to it keep coming and here are some of the latest that have arrived.

The media is filled with images of beautiful bodies, but in real life, a lot of the people we encounter are overweight or just not the “hard bodies” we’re told should be a goal. If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to lose weight and get gorgeous, then you should consider Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto ($27.00, Harmony) who has worked in the fitness industry since 1989, including 14 years as a personal trainer. He promotes all-natural, healthy strategies. The book is not about becoming a fitness model or a body-builder, but rather how to use the same techniques they employ to improve your own health and fitness. It’s a big book and it has plenty of advice that answers pretty much the answer to every question one might have and lots of information you may have encountered. He makes sense on every page. I

If you’ve been wondering about the reason you are seeing more gluten-free foods for sale and wondering if it is just the latest trend, you should read Toxic Staple: How Gluten May Be Wrecking Your Health—and What You Can Do About It by Anne Sarkisian ($17.95, Max Health Press, LCC, New London, NH, softcover). The author notes that true celiac disease, the body’s inability to process the wheat protein known as gluten, is only found in a small percentage of the world’s population, but she regards them as just the tip of the gluten iceberg, estimating that at least 10%, but perhaps as many as 40%, of Americans may be sensitive to gluten. That sensitivity results in chronic health conditions from arthritis to zits, asthma, cancer, fatigue, migraines, memory loss, and osteoporosis. The test for such sensitivity, however, is rarely used in the U.S. Since I lack the knowledge to verify or dispute the author’s assertions, the best I can suggest is that, if the subject interests you, this book will surely prove helpful. As she says, “Eliminating it from the diet is the easy part. The hard part is getting doctors to take gluten sensitivity seriously and test for it adequately.” Judging from the praise the book has received from health professionals, she is clearly onto something.

What to Do When You Can’t Get Pregnant by Dr. Daniel Potter with Jennifer Hanin ($18.99, Da Capo Press, softcover) is now in its completely revised and updated second edition as “The complete guide to all the options for couples face fertility issues.” For those couples struggling with fertility issues, navigating the clinical medical jargon while trying to communicate with partners, doctors, friends and family can be a challenge. Dr. Potter was named one of 2012’s top reproductive endocrinologists by the U.S. News and World Report. Team with Ms. Hanin, a freelance journalist and the mother of twin girls conceived through in vitro fertilization, their book walks the reader through the various aspects of fertility procedures. For those couples dealing with the issue, they will take comfort in known they are not isolated and without direction in facing their problem.

At the other end of the spectrum, postpartum depression, This Isn’t What I Expected: Overcoming Postpartum Depression by Karen R. Kleiman, the founder of The Postpartum Stress Center, and Dr. Valarie Davis Raskin, a psychiatrist ($17.99, Da Capo Press, softcover) us also in its second edition, revised and updated. It is a condition that affects in in five women and the authors who both spent two decades working with women who experienced it have written a book that anyone encountering it or who knows someone encountering it should definitely read. The healing process involves combatting negative thoughts and taking the time to take care of oneself, including if needed medications and therapy. The good news is that one can recover if they take the right steps. Another aspect of motherhood is discussed in The Big Lie: Motherhood, Feminism, and the Reality of the Biological Clock ($19.95, Prometheus Books, softcover) by Tanya Selvaratnam as she confronted the biological clock that determines childbirth and, as she points out, biology does not bend to feminist ideals and science does not work miracles. A self-described feminist, the author learned this the hard way. Part personal account, part manifesto, Salvaratnam dispels myths about women’s biological clocks, the difference between being child-free versus childless, and the many other aspects of fertility and infertility involved. She wants a wider discussion about delayed motherhood and she has filled her book with valuable information to advance that goal.

Greg S. Pergament is a clinical associate at the Las Vegas Recovery Center and an ordained Zen Buddhist and Taoist priest who has written Chi Kung in Recovery: Finding Your Way to a Balanced and Centered Recovery ($14.95, Central Recovery Press, softcover). Chi Kung is the art of cultivating life force energy and the book describes a selection of exercises that are designed to boost health, enhance vitality, and increase mind-body-spirit consciousness. An ancient Chinese health care system, it integrates physical postures, breathing techniques, and focused attention. Westerners are more inclined to want to pop a pill or embark on some strategy to quickly get to recovery. If that’s not working for you or someone you know, this book unlocks the ancient secrets that may ensure that recovery becomes a long term solution.

Novels, Novels, Novels

Every day novels arrived here at Bookviews and, while they provide a bit of entertainment, one wonders what compels their authors to write them. This is particularly true of the self-published ones which have been a growing trend in recent years. My job is just to let you know about some of those that have been received.

The husband and wife team of Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini have authored the second installment in a lighthearted historical mystery series set in the early days of San Francisco’s nineteenth century. It is The Spook Lights Affair ($24.99, Forge) and it stars a former Pinkerton operative, Sabrina Carpenter and her partner, ex-Secret Service agent, John Quincannon. It is a sequel to “The Bughouse Affair.” Each is pursuing a case, one of which involves a socialite’s mysterious suicide while another is the pursuit of a bank robber. The reader is treated to a tour of the city’s gaming houses and brothels, taking them back to that era. It is a lively, entertaining read.

Jason Porter makes his debut with Why Are You So Sad? ($15.00, Plume, softcover) whose main character is Raymond Champs, an illustrator of manuals for a home furnishings corporation. Raymond is unhappy. He can’t sleep. He can’t communicate with his wife. And his job provides no inspiration beyond a paycheck. No one seems to understand him, including himself, which surely explains why he is sad. Raymond concludes that everyone he knows and maybe everyone on the planet is suffering from severe clinical depression and is equally convinced that something major has gone wrong. This may not sound like an amusing story, but Porter brings a lot of talent to examining Raymond’s problem and, in the process, will make you laugh as you join in a search for why life in America today provides “things” but not purpose. J. Alec Keaton makes his debut as a novelist with When Love Never Ends ($16.00, Two Harbors Press, softcover). Sam has never gotten over his one true love, Sara, but he walked away amidst racist threats from her bigoted father. They went their separate ways. Sara got married and Sam threw himself into work, becoming a successful lawyer for a prestigious firm. A decade later they meet again when Sara seeks legal help and they spend three whirlwind days today, but her jealous husband ends the reunion with a single shot. Wild with grief Sam seeks consolation with a grief-ridden college professor who lost his wife four years earlier and who has been obsessed with time travel, trying to help him give up his fantasies while he seeks to cope with his own loss. It is a mix of romance and science fiction.

For a story filled with different characters involved in triangular love, art and its future of the Jazz Age. It is 1924 in New York and Lillian Moore, a painter, and Leon Shaffer, an accountant, narrate The Bohemians ($14.95, Black Heron Press) and take you back to an era of early cars and telephones, silent movies, sham medical cures, speakeasies, gangsters, and jazz. Lillian’s desires and needs, as well as Leon’s attraction to her form the plot. Published in July of last year, it got lost in the stacks, but is well worth reading if you enjoy a historical novel.

Seventh Street Books is an imprint of Prometheus Books and has sent along three softcover novels that offer some interesting reading experiences. Styx & Stone: An Ellie Stone Mystery ($15.95) by James W. Ziskin is built around a comment by Sgt. McKeever, “If you were a man, you’d make a good detective.” Ellie is sure he meant it as a compliment, but she bridles at the thought that she is a woman trying to do a man’s job as a reporter. She is adrift in her career, living in New York City when she receives news that her estranged father, a renowned Dante scholar, is near death after a savage bludgeoning in his home. The police suspect a routine burglary, but Ellie has her doubts. When a second attempt on his life is made when he is in the hospital, she embarks on her own investigation that holds the prospect of redemption in her father’s eyes and the risk of loving him forever. White Ginger by Thatcher Robinson ($15.95) introduces the reader to Bai Jiang who combines Buddhist philosophy with wicked knife skills. When a girl goes missing in San Francisco’s Chinatown, she is called upon to track her down. The trail leads to wannabe gangsters, flesh peddlers, and eventually to those who have marked Bai for death. It is a cocktail of wit, charm, sex, and violence. In E. Michael Helms novel, Deadly Catch: A Mac McClellan Mystery ($15.95), the recently retired U.S. Marine hooks a badly decomposed body while enjoying a leisurely fishing vacation in the Florida panhandle and then discovered a bag of rare marijuana is found stashed aboard his rental boat. He realizes someone is setting him up to take the fall for murder and drug smuggling. Along with Kate Bell with whom he has struck up a promising relationship, the two must butt heads and match wits with local law enforcement officials, shady politicians, and strong-armed thugs. It’s a story you won’t want to put down until the last page.

Three novels are written for young adults and will evoke a keen enjoyment of reading. Phoenix Island is by John Dixon ($19.95, Gallery Books) and is the inspiration for the CBS-TV show “Intelligence” that premieres this month and introduces the reader to a world where orphans are sent to boot camp and forced to fight for their lives. When 16-year-old boxing champ Carl freeman jumps in to defend a helpless stranger, he is sentenced to a two-year sentence at an isolated boot camp for troubled orphans. He is determined to tough it out, earn a clean record, and get on with his life. But then kids start to die. Realizing that Phoenix Island is really a Sparten-style mercenary organization turning “throwaway kids” into super-soldiers, Carl risks everything to save his friends and stop a madman bent on global destruction. The book is based on real-life stories in his home state of Pennsylvania. In Jennifer Walkup’s Second Verse ($15.95/$11.95, Luminis Books, hard and softcover editions) Lange Crawford’s move to Shady Springs, Pennsylvania, lands her in a group of awesome friends, a major crush on songwriter Vaughn, and life in a haunted 200-year-old farmhouse. It also brings The Hunt, an infamous murder mystery festival where students solve a fake, gruesome murder scheme during the week of Halloween. Well, supposedly fake. It is a mix of suspense and romance with a supernatural element that is sure to entertain readers from age 12 and up. Lastly, there’s How to Lose Everything by Philipp Mattheis that is “a mostly true story” ($14.99, Zest Books) about a summer in 1994 in which a group of four teenagers find a small fortune hidden inside a mysterious abandoned house and what starts out as a blessing soon turns into a curse as stress, drugs, criminal behavior, dwindling funds and even death raise serious questions about their choices and their futures.

That’s it for January and the year ahead promises to be filled with many new non-fiction and fictional books that are sure to inform and entertain you. Tell your book-loving friends, family and coworkers about Bookviews.com, a unique, eclectic report. And come back in February!

By Alan Caruba

My Picks of the Month

The new “hot” book of 2014, debuting last month, and likely to remain newsworthy through the November 2014 midterm elections is Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War by Robert M. Gates ($35.00, Alfred A. Knopf). As one reads this book, what becomes evident is that he writes, not just about Iraq and Afghanistan, but about the various “wars” he fought as he became the only Secretary to serve two Presidents, Bush and Obama, both with very different personalities and policies. One of the wars was a political war with Congress every day he was in office. He describes “the dramatic contrast between my public respond, bipartisanship, and calm, and my private frustration, disgust, and anger.” Gates arrived at the job having served for more than two decades in the Central Intelligence Agency where, under President George H. W. Bush, he was its director. Under George W. Bush, he had to direct the latter years of a conflict in Afghanistan that continues to this day as efforts were made to introduce democracy, Western values regarding women, education, and the training of an Afghan military almost from scratch. If this wasn’t enough, Bush43 undertook a war with Iraq’s Saddam Hussein that led to his removal, but also led to fierce fighting ably led by General Petraeus. While the media has emphasized what appeared to be conflicts with Obama, he points out that he fulfilled Obama’s objectives that included a surge in Afghanistan and the coming withdrawal by the end of this year. The withdrawal from Iraq when it refused to agree to ways in which the U.S. forces were to be treated has led to a renewed conflict as al Qaeda has returned to seize portions of the nation. What impressed me was the candor with which Gates wrote of his experience, providing insight into the incredible challenges of the job. What is most inspiring, though, is the reason he shouldered these responsibilities and endured so much political conflict. Simply put, it was his love for the troops and his sense of a personal responsibility for them. On his last day in office in 2011, President Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor. He earned it!

A new book takes a look at Vladimir Putin, the Russian republic’s version of Stalin. Kicking the Kremlin by Marc Bennetts ($16.99, Oneworld Publications, softcover) takes a look at Russia’s new protest movement composed of those who want to see Putin removed from power, but it is also an excellent look at the way he came to power, his biography before that occurred, and how he has exercised it. As 2011 came to a close, 100,000 took to Moscow’s freezing streets to protest his election victory. A few months later, Pussy Riot, a girl band, was arrested from their anti-Putin demonstration in a Russian orthodox cathedral. As the book makes clear, opposing Putin can get you arrested and even killed. A series of assassinations of Russian journalists and protest leaders is far more than just a coincidence. Despite his protestations that the Russian constitution which protests free speech and public protests, doing so has become hazardous at best and Russia has no history of such activity, having been run by dictators from the czars to the communist dictators who replaced them. It is a good book to read as we get ready for the Winter Olympic Games, but it is worth reading to understand more about Putin and Russia whose economy is heavily dependent on its exports of oil and natural gas. Bennetts is a British journalist who has reported from Russia, Iran and North Korea for many years and, from late 2011 through early 2013, he worked for RIA Novosti, the now dissolved Russian state-run news agency. Suffice to say Putin controls the media.

The Revolt Against the Masses: How Liberalism Has Undermined the Middle Class by Fred Siegel ($25.99, Encounter Books, imprint of the Perseus Books Group) may sound like some boring political or historical treatise, but, if you want to understand how we have reached this point in our society where Socialism has given us the disaster called Obamacare, then this will prove to be an interesting, easy-to-read re-write of history of much of what you may have come to believe about Socialism. For example, it did not begin with Teddy Roosevelt’s Progressivism or Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. Siegel tells how it began after World War I in the 1920s when a group of writers and thinkers—intellectuals—disillusioned with American society began to call themselves liberals as they adopted the hostility to the bourgeois—the masses—that was already in vogue among European intellectuals. Liberalism was born among a new class of politically self-conscious intellectuals who were critical of mass democracy and middle-class capitalism; you know, the values that made the U.S. the greatest economic power the world has ever seen! Well worth reading!

An interesting book about an aspect of history that is generally unknown is Nicholas Johnson’s Negroes and the Gun: The Black Tradition of Arms ($19.95, Prometheus Books). A professor of law at Fordham Law School where he has taught since 1993, Johnson chronicles the underappreciated black tradition of bearing arms for self-defense that reaches back to the pre-Civil War era. From Frederick Douglass’s advice to keep “a good revolver” handy as a defense against slave catchers to the armed self-protection against the KKK, it is clear that owning firearms was commonplace in the black community. He also addresses the issue of young black men with guns and the toll that gun violence takes on many in the inner city.

The Home Book: The Complete Guide to Homeowner and Homebuilder Responsibilities($49.95, Building Standards Institute, Sacramento, softcover) is intended to show homeowners what to expect with any new or remodeled home. It covers every possible condition referencing homeowner and homebuilder maintenance, providing 380 residential workmanship guidelines that are presented in are easy-to-read. Most homeowners don’t know where to find answers when they discover a defect in their new or remodeled home and this is particularly true if they aren’t detected right away. What, for example, are homeowners to do when the roof of their new home springs a leak? Or kitchen cabinets sag? Or they smell mold in the bathroom? The book was vetted by more than 70 industry professionals as well as government building officials, trade organizations, and consumer interests groups. It is the real deal and will no doubt save homeowners a lot of grief if they read it and keep it handy.

I enjoy what even I admit are “silly” books, but that is because many are written to entertain as well as inform. A good example is Scared Stiff: Everything You Need to Know About 50 Famous Phobias by Sara Latta ($12.99, Zest Books, softcover). We are generally aware of common phobias such as fear of heights, acrophobia, or confined spaces, claustrophobia, but there are others that include fears of insects, dogs, cats, mice or rats, to name a few. And let’s not leave out fear of germs. The book helps readers understand that they are not alone in have extreme fears. Ms. Latta comes from a science background so the fears noted in the book are treated seriously and she includes helpful information on how to cope with phobias, although some must surely require professional counseling when they interfere with living a normal life.

The baseball season is around the corner and for fans of the Boston Red Sox, Lew Freedman has authored The 50 Greatest Players in Boston Red Sox History ($17.95, Camino Books, softcover) that takes a look at its 110-year history that had it share of great players like Cy Young, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Carlton Fisk and David Ortiz, to name some of those that come to mind. Freedman has authored more than sixty popular sports books and this one will be a must-read for fans of this ball club. In addition to examining the personal stories of the best-known players, Freedman studies the careers of some of the excellent athletes who represented the club so long ago as to be nearly forgotten.

Getting Down to Business Books

In addition to having been a business and science writer for decades, I have largely earned my living as a public relations counselor, so I know something about PR. It is an essential element of success for entrepreneurs, corporations, the government, associations and individuals seeking to call attention to their causes and achievements. That’s why I am happy to recommend Christina Daves new book, PR for Anyone, ($14.95, Morgan James, softcover). Proof of the good advice she offers to small business owners is the fact that she has appeared on more than fifty media outlets in less than one year! It is filled with easy, actionable tips that would make that possible for anyone who reads her book. Public relations is an essential element of marketing one’s products and services, but many are unaware how to put it to work for themselves. Her book will open doors and create the “buzz” that lifts one’s business into public view, the kind of thing that can increase sales and achievement. It’s also a good reason to consider hiring a PR professional if you lack the time to do it yourself. Knowing the process helps you judge their success.

Another excellent book for entrepreneurs is Tom Panaggio’s The Risk Advantage ($14.95, River Grove Books, softcover). We all approach risk from our personal point of view and clearly some people are greater risk-takers than others. For those less inclined to take a risk, this book will prove very helpful as it explores our inclination to do so or not. As the author says, “The unexpected edge for entrepreneurial success starts with identifying a worthy risk and then having the courage to take it. It is the story in part of how Pannagio and his partners created a thriving American business and he uses his amateur racing exploits as a metaphor. “By viewing risk as just another challenge when opportunity presents itself, you’ll grab that edge—and win!” That’s true, but he also addresses how to deal with the failure than might occur from taking a risk and that’s an important part of being ready to risk again. This is fundamentally a book about the choices and judgments that anyone engaged in business must make and, after reading it, you will be better prepared to do so.

Advice on How Live More Wisely

There is virtually no aspect of life that someone has not written about to provide advice on how to cope, how to succeed, and how to make it better in some respect. As 2014 begins, here are some of the latest.

Mastering the Art of Quitting: Why It Matters in Life, Love, and Work by Peg Streep and Alan Bernstein ($24.95, Da Capo Press) runs counter to what we are told about never giving up and thinking positively. Sometimes those negative thoughts about our habits, our relationships, or our jobs are the right ones and should be acted upon. As the authors say, “Quitting is a healthy, adaptive response when a goal can’t be reached or when a life path turns out to be a blind alley. Simply putting quitting on the table—seeing it as a possible plan of action—is a necessary first step to changing your perspective.” They argue that the most satisfied people have mastered the art of disengaging from unproductive goals and creating better ones to move them in a new direction. Grounded in the latest research, the book examines why people persist when they shouldn’t and how to fully disconnect from unproductive goals, cope with emotions caused by quitting, and form, prioritize, and implement better objectives to move people forward.

The Upside of Down: Why Failing Well is the Key to Success by Megan McArdle ($27.95, Viking), a Bloomsberg columnist, examines how to find success by how quickly and nimbly we learn from our mistakes. A Libertarian, she makes a case for the way America is unique in its willingness to let people and companies fail, but also in the determination to help them pick themselves up afterword. She argues effectively that we have become too risk averse and that it is bad for ourselves and our children, as well as for enterprises that fail to compete effectively. The nation is in an era of “bailouts” that tap taxpayer dollars and may not serve as well as a trip to the bankruptcy court. Drawing on new research in science, psychology, and behavioral economics and insights from many who have experienced failures, she offers good advice on how to learn to make better decisions and break bad habits in business and life.

Another book about transforming our lives is I Like Giving: The Transforming Power of a Generous Life by Brad Formsma ($14.99, WaterBrook Press, softcover). If you feel that you’re not as generous as you should be, you’re not alone. We have been told that it is better to give than receive and Formsma is on a mission to change the way we see generosity as he challenges us to give wherever they are and in whatever manner they can. He wasn’t always that way, but a number of experiences convinced him of the truth of this. He is a successful entrepreneur and a philanthropist who, in 2007, sold his business to helping others.

Two problems that some encounter are addressed in Cheating Parents: Recovering From Parental Infidelity ($14.95, New Horizon Press, softcover) and Facing the Finish: A Road Map for Aging Parents and Adult Children (15.95, Bascom Hill Publishing Group, softcover).

The former, written by Dennis Ortman, PhD, a clinical psychologist, reflects his more than 35 years of counseling experience working with individuals suffering from the trauma of parental infidelity and examines how that affects their lives, especially when they too become adults. It affects their ability to have intimate relations, often cheat on their partners or marry those who cheat on them or are emotionally disengaged in their relationships. In a society where nearly forty percent of men and twenty percent of women in all economic stratus admit to having affairs during marriage, this is a very big problem. Their children often end up as walking wounded. Like so many others these days when parents are living longer lives and encounter the problems of old age, I could have used Sheri L. Samotin’s book on how adult children and their parents can address those problems. No one wants to think of their parent’s death and this includes the parents as well. Her book tackles the issues involved, offering advice on choosing the right caregiver, choosing to live at home, with family, or in the perfect senior housing community, as well as the fear of outliving one’s money or living on a fixed income when the cost of everything is rising. If this book reflects your present situation, I would strong recommend reading it.

We all have concerns about our health and fitness, and Ken Blanchard, the co-author of the bestseller, “The One Minute Manager”, and Tim Kearin, a fitness coach, have teamed up to write Fit at Last: Looking and Feel Better Once and For All ($24.95, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco). It has been lauded by both fitness experts and those in the business world, but Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen summed it up saying, “In the Army, teamwork and discipline are key to building successful teams and leaders.” In their book, “Ken Blanchard and Tim Kearin team up to deliver a disciplined holistic formula laced with personal challenges and successes that many of us have experienced in our quest to maintain physical fitness. This book will inspire you to not only begin but persevere toward the sheet job of being fit—at last.” The book is filled with excellent advice and I agree that it will change your life for the better after you have read it. And, for those with a big tummy, pick up a copy of 21-Day Tummy: The Revolutionary Diet that Soothes and Shrinks Any Belly Fast by Liz Vaccariello ($25.99, Readers Digest). Based on the latest research on the importance of eating anti-inflammatory and carb-light foods, the book is enhanced by more than 50 recipes that are delicious recipes to make weight loss easier, as well as inspirational stories and advice from those who found success with its recommendations. It’s about healthy eating and we all can benefit from that.

Memoirs

For many, the desire to set down the details of their lives and what they have learned from them results in writing a memoir. We can often gain some insights from them.

The Hero Among Us: Memoirs of an FBI Witness Hunter by Jim Ingram with James L. Dickerson ($19.95, Sartoris Literary Group, Brandon, MS, softcover) is filled with Ingram’s personal experiences with some of the events of his career. Ingram passed away in 2009 after having served as well as Mississippi’s Public Safety Commissioner. It sheds light on some of the notorious cases of the modern era such as the assassination of President Kennedy, the “Mississippi Burning” civil rights murders and bombings, the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the murder of Federal Judge John H. Woods, the FALN bombings by Puerto Rico separatists, and the FBI counterintelligence operation known as COINTELPRO. It is about the remarkable career of a remarkable man.

Dancing Fish and Ammonites: A Memoir by Penelope Lively ($26.95, Viking) has an intriguing title as one might expect from a successful author of many books for both adults and children, including the Man Booker Prize-winning novel “Moon Tiger” and others. She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2012. It is a reflection on old age and, if that describes you, then you may find it of interest. It spans many years of her life from a childhood spent in Cairo and later at an English boarding school when her family was forced to leave due to the turmoil that occurred in Egypt and led to the seizure of the Suez Canal. I must confess I was unaware of the author’s career and books, but it must be said that she tends to ramble at length throughout so I suspect it will be of greater interest to those who are fans of her books and interested in the subject of old age.

The Most Beautiful Girl: A True Story of a Dad, a Daughter, and the Healing Power of Music by Tamara Saviano ($16.95, American Roots Press, softcover) has a foreword by Kris Kristofferson, the singer and actor. Saviano has achieved remarkable success and happiness in the music industry as an award-winning producer of albums. In 2012, she won the Americana Music Association’s Album of the Year award for tribute albums, but growing up she lived in fear as the frequent victim of her father’s abuse when he was under the influence of alcohol. When he wasn’t drunk, he was an adoring father who was her staunchest ally. The title of the book comes from the famous song of the same name. Now a 52-year-old woman, she shares her story and anyone who loves country music and may have experienced a similar childhood will find it of interest and value.

Antoinette Tuff put her life and her faith on the line when she confronted a young school shooter and talked him back from the brink of killing students at the school in Atlanta. She tells her story in Prepared for a Purpose ($24.99, Baker Publishing Group). This memoir will inspire those who share her faith in God. She averted a tragedy while demonstrating courage. This is a story as well of how she faced up to and overcame tragedies in her own life. The account of her confrontation with the shooter is worth reading as is her life.

Novels, Novels, Novels

The deluge continues. For every novel mentioned there are many others, but since reading fiction is a great way to relax or gain insights that may not be addressed in a non-fiction book, I am happy to recommend a few of those that have arrived.

I have been reading and reviewing Lior Samson’s novels now for several years and enjoying each one. He has a special talent for taking issues and events from real life and turning them into fictional suspense and action. This is true of his latest novel, Gasline ($14.95. Gesher Press, an imprint of Ampersand Press, Rowley, MA, softcover). Samson is comfortable addressing science and technology, but they are the background to the plot which, in this case, involves a safety engineer for a company that owns natural gas pipelines. Kat Gaudet in the field and Len Bergen, a technician in the company’s control center are drawn into events that involve a cyber-attack that could set off a huge explosion. It is so real because the events in the book reflect those that have occurred and, as he says in the author’s afterword, “The threat is real. Many parts of our natural gas transmission pipeline system are controlled by networks that are wide open to intrusion and to sabotage by relatively simple methods. Having written “Web Games” Samson knows his way around the technical aspects involved, but this new novel takes it to a new level of riveting storytelling.

Novels reflect real life or potential risks and Todd M. Johnson addresses what would happen if a nuclear facility that turned out plutonium during the Cold War suddenly has a huge explosion. Critical Reaction ($14.99, Bethany House) focuses on the fictional Hanford Nuclear Facility’s poisoned buildings that must be guarded by men from sabotage as they monitor the building which they have been told the dangers are under control. The main character, Kieran Mullany, survives the blast, but is met with threats and silence when his attempts to discover what really happened are raised. He reconnects with an old friend, an inexperience lawyer, Emily Hart, and both are convinced that those in charge are hiding something, concluding they will not get far in the courts. Emily’s estranged father, Ryan, has the courtroom experience they need and, together, he digs for answers and, as he does, the court case gets stranger and more dangerous for them. This is an excellent debut novel.

I liked “Miss Peregine’s Home for Peculiar Children” by Ransom Riggs when it was published in 2011 as a unique fantasy story paired with haunting vintage photography. Though a “young adult” novel, it could be equally enjoyed by older readers and it spent more than 60 consecutive weeks on The New York Times bestseller list. Film rights were sold to Twentieth Century Fox with a release date of July 2015. A sequel arrived in January, Hollow City: The Second Novel of Miss Peregine’s Peculiar Children ($17.99, Quirk Books) and begins where the first book ended, opening as Jack and the other peculiars are on the run from “wights” posing as soldiers. Desperate to reach London before it’s too late, the children hope to find a cure for their beloved Miss Peregine who is trapped in a bird form! Along the way they encounter a menagerie of peculiar animals. The story doesn’t let up until the end and the sequel is likely to be another bestseller. One has to wonder what Riggs has in store for book three.

We can welcome the debut novelist, K.C. Woodworth who has authored Cutting Off A Whale’s Head ($14.95, Page Publishing, softcover) whose intriguing title is just the start of a fast-paced story that introduces us to Cree Quinn, a victim of the recession that has wreaked havoc on his adult-novelty business and other investments. He finds himself facing a vast financial loss that threatens to take away the family home and the fund for his young son’s college years. Suffice to say he is desperate until he learns of a decomposing carcass of a killer whale near the Golden Gate Bridge and, even though it is against the law, decides to cut off its head and sell it. Sounds bizarre? Yes, but that’s just where the fun begins. This novel will make you laugh and make you root for Quinn right up to when he is arrested and becomes a public hero of sorts. I won’t tell you how it ends. Along the way you will encounter a variety of wonderful characters.

I am a bit late in taking note of To Sleep…Perchance to Dream, an October debut novel by Donald A. Grippo ($24.00, Turn the Page Publishing) as a sexy, psychological thriller starring an Eurasian beauty, Mai Faca, who plots to marry Jake Warden, a successful oral surgeon forbidden to her because of family honor. In a bizarre scheme a fellow surgeon falls victim to Mai’s seduction as she and Jake play a cruel game in order to be together. Jake acts with surgical precision to clear the path to Mai’s happiness that threatens lives, including his own. The novel has a dense plot that will keep you turning the pages.

William F. Nolan, the author of “Logan’s Run”, notes that there have been more than 450 books written about the Kennedy assassination, but that John A. Gaetano’s novel, America’s Deceit ($23.40, WD Murray, softcover) “is the only one to explore the full truth regarding the death of our thirty-fifth president” noting that it is backed by thirty years of research that dismantles the “lone gunman” theory. Gaetano is convinced that Lee Harvey Oswald did not kill JFK! At close to 700 pages, it is a novel “that conspiracy buffs have been waiting for”, calling it “a mind-blower.” It fully fits the description of being an epic novel and it is one whose author is convinced that the government has engaged in a cover-up. That catch is, of course, this is a work of fiction about a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist whose life is changed by his investigation into the assassination. Gaetano was an active member of the Screen Actors Guild from 1977 through 1988 and is a skilled story-teller.

Two softcover novels from Langdon Street Press debuted in December. The Last Ferryman by Gregory D. Randle ($14.95) is set in Millerville, Minnesota, a ferry town and Buck Shyrock is certain it will stay that way. A local ferryman, his livelihood, like his father’s and grandfather’s before him, depends on it, but there are rumors that a bridge is coming to cross the Wabash River, though he dismisses them as gossip. It isn’t and as the construction begins, his family tried to help the old man accept the unstoppable progress. This isn’t just a story about progress, but also its impact on people’s lives and that of the community in which he lives. Randle grew up on the Wabash River in southeastern Illinois. This is his debut novel and a very good one. Here By Mistake: The Secret of the Niche by David Ciferri ($14.99) is about Brandon and his friends, Stephen and Sarah, who sneak into his Aunt Faye’s basement that is filled with antiquated treasures. They find more than they were looking for. It is a trove of gold coins, a knight’s armor, a stuffed grizzly bear on a pedestal and a mysteriously decorated niche. As they read the Latin inscription they leave New York 2005 and are transported back to another time and place, New Orleans 1965. They find the niche again, but gain a new perspective, not only about their history, but about the lives of people they think they know best. It is an intriguing story.

That’s it for February! Tell your book-loving family, friends, and co-workers about Bookviews.com so they too can enjoy its eclectic report on books, some of which are bestsellers, but which focuses on books that may not receive the attention they deserve.

By Alan Caruba

My Picks of the Month

When the U.S. Justice Department announces it will not enforce the Defense of Marriage Act you know that same-sex marriage has the full support of the White House. An interesting new book by William Tucker, Marriage and Civilization: How Monogamy Made Us Human, ($27.95, Regnery) takes a look at monogamy and how its adoption by societies in the West made all the difference in their development as opposed to those that retained polygamy. Monogamy contributed to less aggressive societies, ones with less crime, less internal friction, and humanity benefitted from men who took a greater role in raising children. Spousal relationship benefitted because they were more devoted to one another. The story of humanity has been one of growing trust and cooperation between the sexes and this has led to more stable communities and nation. Every human society has created some form of marriage. Not only do a couple pledge fidelity to each other, it draws the line between the bonded couple and the group. Tucker says that everywhere polygamy is practiced, it creates conflict. There is much to be said for traditional marriage and its history and practice is presented in this book.

Craig R. Smith has written seven books individually and, with Lowell Ponte, another five. These books look at economic and governmental issues with a particular emphasis on the way progressivism has undermined the dollar and the ability of the nation to achieve and maintain our remarkable leadership in manufacturing and in finance. That is beginning to falter and you will want to read The Great Withdrawal: How the Progressives’ 100-Year Debasement of American and the Dollar Ends ($19.95, Idea Factory Press, Phoenix, AZ). Far from being a dry analysis, it is a dramatic examination of what is happening in America today and why. The book opens with a look at Detroit, the largest American city to declare bankruptcy and why decades of bad management and corruption have led to its debasement. This is happening in many cities across the nation led by progressives. These cities build huge ranks of government workers with ample pension and other benefits that thrive off of the middle class until it begins to move to the suburbs to escape the ever rising taxes and other costs. In addition to the $17 trillion in debt on the books, the U.S. has off-the-balance-sheet federal liabilities estimated to be at least $87 trillion. The trillions pumped into the economy in recent years have largely been wasted via crony capitalism or simply failed to “stimulate” growth. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Your life and that of your children and grandchildren are being affected.

In a nation that appears to be seriously divided, we owe Dr. Wayne Baker, the author of United America ($15.25, Spirit Books, @ Amazon.com, softcover) a debt of appreciation for a book about “The surprising truth about American values, American identity, and the 10 beliefs that a large majority of Americans hold dear.” Dr. Baker is the chair of the Management & Organizations area at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and his book is based on his research over several years. The values American share include respect for others, freedom, security, self-reliance and individualism, justice and fairness, among others. They are shared by a vast cross-section of Americans of differing political outlooks, gender, and other elements. These values are strongly held. The book is not some boring academic study, but a lively examination of the values and one that will be of use to individual readers as well as educators and groups devoted to preserving the nation that is suffering the deliberate effort to divide Americans by class, sex, and other attributes. I recommend this book for anyone concerned about the current divisions we hear and read about daily.

Fans of Hillary Clinton with an eye on the 2016 elections will find HRC: State Secrets and the Rebirth of Hillary Clinton by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes ($26.00, Crown Publishing) of interest as these two journalists, the former who covers the White House for Bloomberg News and the latter for The Hill, look back over the past years since 2008 when her political ambitions took a hit from an unknown Illinois Senator when he was became the Democratic Party nominee for President and won. In the six years since then, she has reemerged on the world stage as one of its most influential figures. She is now regarded as the front-runner for the Democratic ticket in 2016 and this book provides a look at what they regard as a master strategist at work. She would become Obama’s Secretary of State and one of his greatest allies and advocates. While the authors report both her successes and stumbles, based on numerous interviews, take the reader behind the scenes. Both hold her in high regard and this book provides readers with their coverage and views of the decisions she made and their likely effect on the next national elections.

A book that is likely to generate a lot of discussion is The Meat Racket: The Secret Takeover of America’s Food Business by Christopher Leonard ($28.00, Simon & Schuster). I must confess I was astonished to learn that when you’re buying beef, pork or chicken, it turns out that four beef companies control 85% of the national market while four companies control 65% of the park. As Leonard points out, forty years ago there were 36 companies that produced chicken, but now there are two that provide half of the chicken we eat, controlling every aspect of the process from the egg to the chicken to the chicken nugget. The result is that meat prices relentlessly increase while the share of every dollar that goes to farmers is falling. The profit margins of the nation’s biggest meat packers continue to rise even as the national economy is lagging in other sectors. The Big Four, Tyson, Cargill, JSB, and Smithfield saw their average profit margin double between 2008 and 2009, and then double again between 2009 and 2010. Why the federal government felt it necessary to send millions to these and other farmers in “farm aid” begins to raise serious questions for consumers and 80% of the farm bill was devoted to funding food stamps. Anyone interested in how this sector of the economy functions will find this book very interesting and just a tad scary.

One of my enduring childhood memories was riding the train to the New Jersey shore where my grandparents lived and, since it was the war years, I recall visiting with the many young soldiers who were on the train, all destined for combat. At my grandparent’s home, the trains came by every day and it was a treat to wave at the engineers and have them wave back. Trains in those days belched huge clouds of black smoke. These memories were evoked by Tom Zoellner’s book, Train, ($32.95, Viking) in which he tells of his rail travels around the world, starting in the birthplace of the locomotive in England. He shares the history of trains in the various nations he visits from Russia, China, India, in South America and, of course, the U.S. where the train transformed and expanded the nation to the West. Along the way he talked with many others on those trains and gains a glimpse into their lives. He does so with a gift for prose that borders on poetry. He is a very good writer and that greatly enhances the trips he invites the reader to take with him.

Readers are just as frequently writers and many wish to polish their skills. A book that will help them is Natalie Goldberg’s The True Secret of Writing: Connecting Life with Language ($16.00, Atria Books, softcover) in which she draws on her four decades as a teacher and writer to share her practical experience. She has written twelve books and this one will prove helpful to anyone who wants to learn how to tap into their own life. For anyone headed for college this fall or attending one, Halley Bondy has written an entertaining book, 77 Things You Absolutely Have to Do Before You Finish College ($14.99, Zest Books, softcover). A great gift for high school grads and college students, it is filled with ideas that will surely enhance the experience beyond the classroom. Among her tips are starting an on-campus club, learn how to prepare a perfect meal, and learn self-defense. There’s bound to be a recommendation in the book that a student will find worth trying out.

Getting Down to Business (Books)

For those coming out of college and looking toward a career in the world of business, Robert L. Dilenschneider provides a lot of good advice in The Critical First Years of Your Professional Life ($15.00, Citadel Kensington, softcover). The author made his name in the field of public relations, but has found time to author a dozen advice books. This one includes a foreword by TV business news host, Maria Bartiromo, who notes that “Mobility, personal and professional, has dramatically increased” and that “Technology has created new opportunities for advancement in the world of work.” Dilenschneider recalls an era when mentors helped the newcomer learn the ropes. His book “substitutes for all those generous men and women who would have helped you in an earlier era.” If you or someone you know is just starting out, make sure they read his book. It will give them an advantage of those who do not.

These are nervous times for investors, but there are some fundamentals and Timothy F. McCarthy, a former president of Charles Schwab & Company before leading overseas asset management companies. His book, The Safe Investor: How to Make Your Money Grow in a Volatile Global Economy ($30.00, Palgrave Macmillan) should be your first investment whether you are just starting out or whether you are questioning your present investment program. Despite the plethora of investment information available, most people feel uncomfortable to some degree these days. This book shows the reader how to mesh three dimensions of investing, asset classes, countries, and time to create a strategy that will ensure they have enough to get them through their retirement years. Since many have others manage their investments, McCarthy tells readers what they need to know to make a good choice and what to expect. There are so many choices an investor can make that it is surely helpful to understand one’s own psyche before putting money on the line and that is what Brian Portnoy’s new book is all about. The Investor’s Paradox: The Power of Simplicity in a World of Overwhelming Choice ($27,00, Palgrave Macmillan) is the work of a man who has been advising hedge funds and mutual funds for the past 14 years. Portnoy is currently the Head of Alternative Investments and Strategic Initiatives for Chicago Equity Partners, a $10 billion asset manager and he came to them with an impressive resume so the reader can be confident he really knows what he is writing about. He addresses how to select the right money managers and investment vehicles and how to avoid the losers. With literally tens of thousands of investment choices, his advice and insights regarding what he calls behavioral finance, he demystifies the opaque world of financial entities, providing practical tools for investment success.

All of us have sat through too many meetings that had no structure and did not lead others in the room toward successful cooperation. In Moments of Impact: How to Design Strategic Conversations that Accelerate Change ($32.00, Simon and Schuster) authors Chris Ertel and Lisa Kay Solomon are on a mission to eradicate time-sucking, energy-depleting meetings and workshops, and replace them with high-engagement strategic conversations that foster better cooperation. Their book offers a few core principles on the best ways to get an organization facing a high-stakes challenge to address it despite conditions of uncertainty using inter-active problem-solving sessions that engage participants, not just analytically, but creatively and emotionally as well. This book will help leaders at all levels achieve this whether it is a business challenge, educators and healthcare practitioners mired in slow-to-change sectors, or enterprising business school students with ambitions to tackle the big challenges.

For those who have to make a presentation, the first problem to overcome is the “jitters”, the fear of not being able sell ideas by using visual thinking. In Show and Tell: How Everybody Can Make Extraordinary Presentations Dan Roam ($27.95, Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin) presents a powerful guide to give everyone the confidence they need to share their story with any audience. Roam has previously authored two international bestsellers and this book is relatively short, but goes right to the core of how to help others see what we see. Filled with page after page of illustrations, he demonstrates how to entertain, educate and motivate an audience. He has worked with major corporations and his book will show you how to achieve the success that he has had.

There isn’t an industry, business or enterprise of any kind that doesn’t have associations. There are an estimated 100,000 professional and trade societies that can help anyone open the doors to their personal success. Robert Skrob, CPA, CAE, is an expert and he has written Your Association Shortcut: The Definitive Guide for Generating Customers Through Associations ($7.86, Association Marketing, softcover). This book, officially published in April, but available now via Amazon.com, will teach you how find associations in your field and to select the best ones for your brand. Then he teaches how to get the most value from your association. He has coached a diverse range of associations including some of the largest in the world in fields that include medical, manufacturing, chambers of commerce, from the local to the state and national levels. And he has helped thousands of companies tap into the power of associations to generate customers for their own business. “Associations are the affiliate partner you never knew you had, promoting your company as a member benefit” says Skkrob, “Plus association marketing gives you more credibility as everything you do carries the implied endorsement of the association.” As someone who has provided public relations services to associations over the years, this is a book you definitely should read.

To Your Health

We now live in times when you’re not old until you have gotten passed 70 or so. Maintaining one’s health to ensure that the senior years are not beleaguered by ill health has become a significant concern. That’s why books like Robert Moroney’s book, Total Body Detoxification: The Way to Healthy Aging ($16.95, Swing-Hi Press, softcover) is well worth reading even if you are still in your early years. The author details his own battles with lung cancer and hepatitis that causes stress and addictions to alcohol and drugs. Then he shows, step by step, the research, modalities, and healing regimens he employed to help himself and others recover from physically and mentally debilitating conditions. He’s been in private practice for 16 years as a nutritionist and peak-performance coach. As someone who has taken vitamins and minerals to enhance my own health, there is much in this book that will benefit any readers. You can avoid the toxins and you were learn which ones and why.

Healthy Joints for Life by Dr. Richard Diana, MD, ($17.95, Harlequin, softcover) an orthopedic surgeon and a clinical instructor at the Yale School of Medicine was a former National Football League player and he uses that experience and his later profession to learn how to deal with problems involving inflammation, a common joint ailment. He has put his plan to reduce pain and inflammation, how to avoid surgery, and to get moving again into his book. Having been named a Top 100 Doctor, he has been an orthopedic consultant to several collegiate athletic programs, as well as the Boston Red Sox. His book provides a proven 8-week program that can help any reader with joint-related physical ailments.

Biographies and Memoirs

Reading about the lives of real people, past and present, is an excellent way to not only learn the lessons of history, but to learn how others coped with the challenges of their times.

A new look at James and Dolly Madison is provided by Bruce Chadwick in a biography of the same name, America’s First Power Couple: James & Dolly Madison ($24.95, Prometheus Books) regarding the fourth President’s service and the role that his wife played. Historians have tended to regard Madison, credited with much of the creation of the Constitution, as a boring, average President, while others have regarded him as a vibrant, tough leaders and a very successful commander in chief during the War of 1812. A new portrait emerges as the result of recently uncovered troves of letters at the University of Virginia, among other sources. He credits a lot of Madison’s success to the political savvy of his much younger wife whose social skills created a dynamic role for the position of First Lady with parties and backdoor politicking. This makes for lively reading about a couple whose life together contributed much to the future course of the nation.

We remember F. Scott Fitzgerald for his book, “The Great Gatsby.” In Careless People: Murder, Mayhem, and the Invention of the Great Gatsby, ($29.95, Penguin Press) Sarah Churchill takes us back to the autumn of 1922 when he was at the height of his fame for “Tales of the Jazz Age.” His return to New York that year coincided with another event, the discovery of a brutal double murder in New Jersey, an unsolved case that is all but forgotten today. The news coverage of the event, however, would influence Fitzgerald who began writing “Gatsby” in the autumn of that year. He would write of his fictional characters, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”

An interesting memoir by Tony Cointreau, Ethel Merman, Mother Teresa…And Me: My Improbable Journey from Chateaux in France to the Slums of Calcutta ($24.95, Prospecta Press) is the story of a life of a man who was an heir to the French liqueur family who enjoyed a successful international singing career and, after several years on the Cointreau board of directors, found himself seeking something more meaningful for his life. Despite the wealth and success, his youth was impacted by an emotionally remote mother, an angry bullying brother, a cold and unprotective Swiss nurse, and a sexually predatory school teacher, all of which led him on a lifelong quest for unconditional love and for a mother figure. Initially he found her in the internationally acclaimed beauty, Lee Lehman, and then the famed Broadway diva, Ethel Merman, who became his mentor and “other mother.” His memoir addresses his close family relationships with both women and, then in quest of more meaning to life, his years of work and friendship with Mother Teresa as his “last mother.” He speaks of the value of sharing even a small part of oneself with others.

Ethel Merman was a legendary Broadway musical star and Nothing Like A Dame: Conversations with the Great Women of Musical Theatre by Eddie Shapiro ($39.95, Oxford University Press) will delight anyone who loves the musical theatre with its interviews of twenty of the greatest leading women of Broadway. Among them are Carol Channing, Chita Rivera, Angela Lansbury, and Patti LuPone, along with some of the younger stars such as Audra McDonald and Kristin Chenoweth. Shapiro’s encyclopedia knowledge enhances the conversations. He is a longtime critic who has covered the arts for several publications.

The man who conceived of the method of saving the life of someone choking on something is told in Heimlich Maneuvers: My Seventy Years of Lifesaving Innovation by Dr. Henry J. Heimlich, MD ($19.95, Prometheus Books, softcover). His memoir tells of his best known procedure as wll as his other life-saving inventions. He is the inventor of the Heimlich Chest Drain Valve that saved thousands of lives during the Vietnam War and the MicroTrach which provides a remarkably efficient way to for people to take oxygen. Anyone interested in medicine will find this memoir of interest as he describes his research, as well as the controversy and resistance he encountered. A very different memoir is found in The Bosnia List: A Memoir of War, Exile, and Return ($16.00, Penguin Books, softcover) by Kenan Trebincevic and Susan Shapiro who brought her journalist skills to bear on the story that begins when Tebincevic was age eleven, living a happy life in the quiet Bosnian town of Breko. In the spring of 1992, war broke out and his friends, neighbors, and teammates all turn on him because he was Muslim. He relates his family’s final terrifying year in Bosnia and their miraculous escape from the brutal ethnic cleansing that ravaged the former Yugoslavia. Though he swore he would never return, after two decades in America he honored his father’s wish to visit their former homeland. The visit in which he wanted to revenge the treatment his family received tells a story of redemption for the horrors to which they and others were subjected.

Books for Young Readers & Teens

One of my favorite publishers of books for young readers is Charlesbridge of Watertown, MA. In February they published for the very young, Feathers—Not Just for Flying by Melissa Stewart, illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen, ($17.95) that provides a glimpse into the real lives of birds in the wild and the role their feathers play for flight and camouflage or to line a nest. It’s educational and entertaining. This month Wild About Bears by Jeannie Brett ($17.95) will also appeal to those aged 6 through 9. They author introduces them to all eight species of bear and via some great watercolors, takes them around the world where they live including a map of where they can be found, as well as interesting information about bear traits and behavior, how they raise their young, and how they find food. This book, too, is both educational and entertaining. For those aged 4 to 7, there’s Music Everywhere! By Maya Anjera, Elise Hofer Derstine and Cynthia Pon, ($17.95) published in February as a celebration of music and the joy it brings. It is filled with photos of children around the world singing, dancing, and playing instruments. It will inspire some youngsters to explore their own musical passions. Behold the Beautiful Dung Beetle by Cheryl Bardoe and illustrated by Alan Marks ($16.95) is aimed at those age 5 to 9 and they might find fascinating to learn about a beetle that loves to feed on dung. Sounds disgusting, but it isn’t. It is filled with amazing facts and compelling images that will appeal to the very young. Older readers, age 10 and up will find Ocean of Fire: The Burning of Columbia, 1865 by T. Neill Anderson ($16.95) an insight into the Civil War as the author tells of Sherman’s march on Atlanta that included the destruction of southern cities like Columbia in South Carolina. The story is told through several characters, both real and imagined. This is historical fiction that makes such events come alive for younger readers.

Tony Tuso Faber has teamed up with Benton Rudd, an illustrator, for a series of books in “The Poodle Tales” series and book one is Poodlemania ($15.99, Mindster Media) that readers from age 4 to 9 will enjoy for both the artwork and the delightful story of a boy and girl poodle who get together and share various growing up skills, life lessons that readers will learn as well. The stories are light, comical, heartfelt, and educational. You can check out this book and the series at www.thepoodletales.com. The author is a very talented lady who began her modeling career at age 13, published a California magazine, and pursued many other interests. She and her husband, Bruce, live in Orange County with their three poodles. Find Momo ($14.95, Quirk Books) is filled with photos by photographer Andrew Knapp of his border collie. He began posting photos of Momo in Instagram hiding out in all kinds of settings from Central Park in New York as well as fields, snow banks, and toy stores. They became an Internet sensation and young readers age 4 to 7 will surely enjoy them in this delightful book.

From Blue Martin Publications, there’s Sofia’s Stoop Story: 18^thStreet, Brooklyn by Lou Fancher and Steve Johnson ($17.95) that is set in the 1960s as Uncle Frankie begins telling Sofia and her counsins a story about the day he met the baseball geat, Carl Furillo. Sofia is called away by her Nana to do some errands and when she returns the story is over, but Uncle Frankie shares the whole story with her and he gives her a keepsake that he has saved since 1947. It is evocative of the era and locale, and beautifully illustrated. A series of books from Wigu Publishing is devoted to the theme of “When I Grow Up I Want to Be…” and the latest is A Teacher ($12.99) that begins with a girl named Carlee who wants to become one. Her own mother is a new teacher at her school and readers journey with Carlee on first day there as she learns about her own independence and identity. This series is quite inspiring.

For readers age 9 to 13, two books from Capstone will provide some reading pleasure. Sherlock, Lupin & Me: The Dark Lady by Irene Adler which draws on the original Sherlock stories and offers a romp through 1870s France in pursuit of both a murderer and a thief. The twist is that the characters are introduced as children, making the story more accessible to a young audience as they find themselves caught up in a web of crime they must investigate. It is the first in a new series. Secrets & Spies: Treason by Jo Macauley delves into the world of England’s Reformation era as a young spy unravels dangerous plots against the kind. A second book in this series is title Plague and features a 14-year-old Beth Johnson, a talented and beautiful young actress. The year is 1664 and she becomes embroiled in a perilous adventure to unravel a plant to kill Charles II. Both books are priced at 12.95 and are a good investment in encouraging a young reader to discover the pleasures of fiction.

Novels, Novels, Novels

Fans of J.A. Nance is back with her 50^th book. Moving Target ($25.99, Touchstone, an imprint of Simon & Schuster) is yet another detective novel in which a police academy-trained former reporter, Ali Reynolds, embarks on a trip to England with her longtime household assistant and right-hand man, Leland Brooks. Her greatest concern is helping her friend face his long-estranged family, but Ali soon finders herself investigating violent crimes spanning two continents and eras as vicious attacks unfold in Texas and an unsolved murder from the 1950s Bournemouth, Leland’s hometown resurfaces. Though they seem unconnected, they are and readers will not put this book down until they get to the last page.

Some years ago I reviewed Cynthia Hamilton’s novel, “Lucky at Love” and since then she has published three more, the latest of which is Spouse Trap ($14.00, Woodstock Press, softcover) in which Madeline Ridley, a Santa Barbara fundraising socialite sees her perfect life collapse in a swirl of blackmail, sabotage, and deceit after she awakens in a hotel room—alone, naked, and with a splitting headache and no idea how she got there. A group of lurid photos has been sent to her husband. She is in for the battle of a lifetime, but she discovers who her real enemy is. This is the first installment in a new series and provides lots of provocative, interesting reading.

Just out this month is Bobby Cole’s novel, The Rented Mule ($14.95, Thomas & Mercer, softcover). It is a tough, clever caper about a businessman who has been set up by a mysterious criminal to take the fall for his wife’s kidnapping. Behind what seems a good life, Cooper Dixon has been caught up in a never-ending cycle of arguments with his wife and his cocaine-addicted business partner is scheming to sell his business out from under him. When his wife is kidnapped his face is all over the television news and Dixon must depend on an unlikely ally to rescue his wife and clear his name.

Robyn Carr has won a number of awards for her previous novels and you will find out why when you read Four Friends ($24.95, Harlequin MIRA) that debuts in April. It is a gripping story of four forty-something women whose lives hit the marital skids, but they find the strength and courage to face the difficult challenges they face. Set in the San Francisco neighborhood of Mill Valley, friends and neighbors think Gerry has the perfect marriage with her husband Phil. It is a relationship that is more comfortable than passionate after 25 years, three children and demanding careers. She discovers an affair her husband had years before and he is committed to do to make up to her, but she finds it difficult to forgive him. With her friends she must come to terms as they too must cope with marital problems. The shifting relationships make for interesting reading, one they many will see in their own lives and around them.

That’s it for March! Tell your friends, family, and coworkers about Bookviews.com, a monthly report on books that include nonfiction and fiction that may not receive the attention in the mainstream media they deserve.

By Alan Caruba

My Picks of the Month

If there is no other book you read this year, read Philip K. Howard’s The Rule of Nobody: Saving America from Dead Laws and Broken Government ($23.95, W.W. Norton). If you have been wondering why those elected and appointed to public office do not seem able to do anything more than either pass more laws, add more regulations, or not be able to approve a public project such as a needed new bridge or run a business such as a nursing home without being subject to regulation that is so detailed they cannot provide simple, principled service, this book will explain why. As Howard says, “Government’s ineptitude is not news. But something else has happened in the last few decades. Government is making America inept. Other countries have modern infrastructure, and schools that generally succeed, and better health care at little more than half the cost.” This true is demonstrated in the Affordable Care Act—Obamacare—that was 2,700 pages when passed and has now generated regulations that when stacked stand seven foot high. “The U.S. is now ranked below a dozen or more countries in terms of ease of doing businesses and effective governance. These are our competitors in global markets.” Howard calls for a return to our founding values of individual responsibility and accountability. “This requires abandoning the utopian dream of automatic government and giving responsible officials—real people—the authority to make practical choices.” In 1994 Howard authored “The Death of Common Sense: How Law is suffocating America” and he’s back with a look at our present state of stagnation and retreat.

Here, too, is another book you should read if you have concluded that there is no global warming (the Earth has been in a natural cooling cycle since 1997) and that the dangers of climate change are the same ones that have existed for centuries, floods, blizzards, droughts, et cetera. Dr. Tim Ball has been among a number of climatologists and other scientists who have outspokenly resisted and exposed the lies behind the global warming hoax that asserts that carbon dioxide (CO2) is trapping so much heat that all manmade emissions of it must be curtailed. In The Deliberate Corruption of Climate Science ($22.95, Stairway Press) Dr. Ball relates how initially he “watched my chosen discipline—climatology—get hijacked and exploited in service of a political agenda, watched people who knew little or nothing enter the fray and watched scientists become involved for political or funding reasons—willing to corrupt the science, or, at least, ignore what was really going on.” The global warming hoax was generated out of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and dates back to the mid to late 1980s. Dr. Ball calls it “the greatest deception in history and the extent of the damage has yet to be exposed and measured.” I have read dozens of books about the hoax and this one sums up everything you need to know even as the claims and deceptions continue at the highest levels of our government, the United Nations, and the media. This book is detailed, documented, footnoted, and very interesting.

If you want to know what really happened leading up to and in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, you should read Bob Ivry’s The Seven Sins of Wall Street: Big Banks, Their Washington lackeys, and the Next Financial Crisis ($25.99, Public Affairs). Ivry is an editor and investigative reporter for Bloomberg News. The tendency is the think of any book about the business community, particularly banking, is likely to be rather dull, but this one is lively from page one and remains a surprisingly entertaining read even as its revelations scare the daylights out of you. For one thing, it is Joe Taxpayer who now guarantees the success of the top banks in America, all of whom were bailed out, paid back the hasty government loans they received, and then went on to make huge profits as the same banks foreclosed on countless homeowners penalized for the failure of the banks to put the brakes on thousands of “liar’s loans”, bundling and peddling them. As Ivry makes clear, the legacy of the financial crisis in 2008 isn’t stronger banks, but a weaker nation. We normally accord respect for the men at the top of the banking industry. They are often called “titans”, but the reality that Ivry reveals will have you calling them something else and the shenanigans since the crisis. Moreover, Ivry shows how the too-big-to-fail banks and their supporters in Washington, D.C., are getting closer to an even greater economic calamity. Neither they, nor their Washington facilitators in major agencies come off looking good and for good reason.

Living through what many feel is the second Great Depression, anyone who loves history will enjoy Bill Friedman’s All Against the Law ($17.99, $9.99, Old School Histories, hardcover and ebook, available from Amazon.com). Based on 47 years of research, it is filled with new information about more than a hundred major critics committed during the Great Depression era by bank robbers, the Mafia, FBI, politicians, along with the misdeeds of police detectives, prosecutors, and judges. Hard times tend to bring out the worst in people, particularly if they are inclined toward crime in the first place. Many from that era became legendary and include John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Alvin Karpis whose partner, Doc Barker, killed lawmen in multiple police escapes. It is also the story of the lawmen that pursued them. The FBI under the leadership of J. Edgar Hoover gained fame during this period. Politics during the era is also described where it involved corruption, particularly that of the Kansas Penderast machine. It makes our current times pale by comparison.

Having lived through the beginnings of the atomic age, I think a lot of readers who enjoy history will enjoy Craig Nelson’s The Age of Radiance: The Epic Rise and Dramatic Fall of the Atomic Age ($29.99, Scribner). The Atomic age began with a past-his-prime German physicist working in his lab and continues to the present day with fears that reflect the failures in Chernobyl and Fukushima, as well as those of terrorists with dirty bombs. It began with discoveries of the nucleus by Marie Curie, Enrico Fermi, and Edward Teller. Craig brings nuclear energy into a modern context. While atomic energy provides electricity (all of France is powered by it) and includes its use for medical purposes, its invisible rays can trigger cancer. This is, however, the story of the people who discovered it and the issues it evoked. As a bomb it was used to end America’s war in the Pacific, but not used since.

The one thing that I do not review, with the exception of anthologies, is poetry. I grew up reading traditional poetry, the kind that rhymed and had a distinct cadence, but over the years many poets abandoned that form, treading close to prose. One who did it to great success was Maxine Kumin whom I met in the 1970s at an annual Bread Loaf Writers Conference where she was already a star. She had since won a Pulitzer Prize and was a U.S. poet laureate. She passed away in February. And Short the Season ($24.95, W.W. Norton) is the final collection of her work. Though I still prefer traditional poetry, hers demonstrates how a poet can turn the ordinary into something extraordinary. While she will be missed by family, friends, and fans, her great body of work will live on. In contrast, death took Marina Keegan too early, shortly after she graduated magna cum laude from Yale in May 2012, but The Opposite of Loneliness: Essays and Stories ($23.00, Scribner) gives us the opportunity to enjoy a body of her writings; enough to make us wish that an auto accident had not taken her life. She was just twenty-two. Anyone who loves good writing will enjoy this collection. They reveal a great talent.

Some books are so thoroughly amusing that they stand alone. That describes How to Make Your Cat an Internet Celebrity: A Guide to Financial Freedom by Patricia Carlin with photography by Dustin Fenstermacher ($12.95, Quirk Books, softcover) and it is a satire that offers tongue-in-cheek advice on how to turn your cat from just a pet that lays around a lot into your door to a fortune. Carlin purports to tell the reader how to identify their cat’s special talents, choose a stage name, film and edit a viral video, and more. Anyone who loves cats will find themselves laughing on every page while enjoying the many color photos. Also from Quirk Books comes William Shakespeare’s The Empire Striketh Back Part the Fifth by Ian Doescher ($14.95) which is a merry reimaging of George Lucas’s classic film. If the film has been an Elizabethan play, this is how it would sound and for anyone who loves the former this is an entertaining way to enjoy it again. Quirk Books has definitely earned its name!

I sometimes ask myself why a particular book was written and why a publisher thought it was worth publishing. This is what came to mind with The Mammoth Book of Shark Attacks by Alex MaCormick and Rod Green ($14.95, Running Press). Going back to 1900 and moving forward to 2013, this is a collection of stories about shark attacks. They have made headlines that reflect our natural horror regarding such events. There surely are readers who will find this of interest and it will be thoroughly sated by this book.

People, People, People

We read about people of every description, selecting those who interest us. Memoirs, biographies and autobiographies are in a class of themselves. Here are some books that have arrived that illustrate a more general approach.

Let’s start with a fun, lighthearted book about what it’s like to be a Hollywood paparazzi and, more specifically, how Jennifer Buhl became one. She writes about that in Shooting Stars: My Unexpected Life Photographing Hollywood’s Most Famous ($14.99, Sourcebooks, softcover). She has a lively style and begins by telling of her realization that she could make a lot more as a photographer with one good celebrity photo than she could waiting tables as she was doing the day she witnessed Paris Hilton being protected by her entourage amidst a gang of paparazzi. After that it was a question of learning the business. Along the way she made the acquaintance with many of today’s celebrities. Despite the money and fame, she makes it clear that the downside of celebrity is being hunted by the paparazzi. It’s a lifestyle most of us would not want.

Villains, Scoundrels, and Rogues: Incredible True Tales of Mischief and Mayhem is one of those titles that tells you everything you need to know about its subject. Paul Martin ($18.95, Prometheus Books) has brought together stories about folks you may not have heard of, but who played a role in history or literature. Take, for example, the drunken cop who abandoned his post at Ford’s theatre, given assassin John Wilkes Booth access to Lincoln. How about a notorious Kansas quack who made million implanting goat testicles in gullible male patients? Or America’s worst female serial killer ever? Or Ed Gein, Alfred Hitchcock’s inspiration for “Psycho”? Thirty brief biographies offer an entertaining look at some unforgettable characters, especially for anyone who enjoys history.

If you like true crime stories, you will like A Rookie Cop Vs The West Coast Mafia by William G. Palmini, Jr. and Tanya Chalpupa ($24.95. New Horizon Press, softcover) which is just out this month. Palmini was a rookie detective who began a crusade to take down the West Coast Mafia by gaining the confidence of a notorious mob operative, William Floyd Ettleman. When he and his gang, skilled safe crackers, set out to rob a popular Sausalito restaurant, the Trident, a one-time mecca for Hollywood, the music industry, and New York gang members, Palmini determined to bring them to justice. He was joined by the FBI and, with the aid of an informant, they were able to bring put an end to their crime. From the same publisher comes Deadly Vows: The True Story of a Zealous Preacher, a Polygamous Union and a Savage Murder ($24.95) by Leif M. Wright. It is the story of Joy Risker’s gruesome death at the hand of Pentecostal preacher, Sean Goff. He had been the author’s best friend for 16 years, during which time he weaved a tangled web of deceptions, religion and polygamy in his life and marriage to multiple women, one of which was Risker. Rather than losing his youngest wife when she wanted to continue her education and have a career, Goff set about to commit the perfect crime. After killing her, he took the body miles into the Arizonan desert and used knowledge of forensics from television to ensure it could not be identified. That changed when a couple came upon a stack of lava rocks and notices a foul odor. Reported missing in October 2003, Goff would turn himself in and confess. As is often the case, truth is stranger than fiction.

Due out next month, Damien Lewis’s Zero Six Bravo ($26.99, Quercus, an imprint of Random House) tells the story of a British Special Forces Squadron that were accused of running away from the enemy, but the true story of sixty men who, in March 2003, 600 miles behind enemy lines, accomplished the extraordinary, the surrender of the 100,000-strong Iraqi Army 5^th Corps. Their mission was so dangerous that it was known as “Operation No Return” and they encountered an ambush by thousands of Saddam Hussein’s Fedayeen, backed by the Corps’ heavy armor. M Squadron should not have survived, but their courage got them through and this story will rivet anyone interested in military history. Our military is in our thoughts these days as the Obama administration seeks to reduce its budget to pre-World War Two levels. We honor them for their service and for their sacrifice, but a new book, A Trust Betrayed by Mike Magner ($27.50, Da Capo Press) tells the story of the Marines who were stationed at Camp Lejeune a few decades ago, thousands of whom suffered serious illnesses including lymphoma while their children suffered birth defects as the result of the failure of the Corps to take action when it became clear that the water they were drinking was contaminated. There were miscarriages and babies died. This is an ugly chapter in our history and the book argues for compensation for the victims.

The biography of a gifted baseball pitcher, Bill Denehy, is told in cooperation with Peter Golenbock in Rage ($16.95, Central Recovery Press). He was at the top of his game with the New York Mets until he threw a pitch that changed the course of his life. It was a life shaped by his bad temper that would cost him many opportunities. He had had an injury-plagued career, but would ultimately loose his vision due to injections used to keep him in the game. After that he would descend into addiction, but find recovery. His experience will resonate with athletes, baseball fans and others who struggle with addiction.

A very different story is told in Faraday, Maxwell, and the Electromagnetic Field: How Two Men Revolutionized Physics ($25.95, Prometheus Books) by Nancy Forbes and Basil Mahon. It is the story of two of the boldest and most creative scientists, separated in age by forty years, discovered the existence of the electromagnetic field and devised a radical new theory that overturned the strictly mechanical view of the world that had prevailed since Newton’s time, centuries earlier. It is a lively narrative. Faraday who had no mathematical training rose from being a bookbinder’s apprentice to become director of the Royal Institution of Great Britain. Maxwell was regarded as one of the most brilliant mathematical physicists of the age. Their theory would join Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity and gave rise to many of the technological innovations we take for granted today—from electric power generation to television, satellites, and cell phones, among many others. Anyone with an interest in science will enjoy this excellent book.

Getting Down to Business Books

Power by Sarah Morgans and Bill Thorness ($19.95, Fenwick Publishing Group, softcover) is the story of how J.D. Power III became the auto industry’s advisor, confessor, and eyewitness to history. His award for consumer satisfaction is highly valued by auto manufacturers. It began when Dave Power founded his company in 1968 to aid auto makers understand the value of listening to consumers’ preferences and complaints. It changed the industry. The book tells the story of Power and those who worked most closely with him. The book is hailed by many industry leaders such as Akio Toyoda and the former chairman and CEO of General Motors, Rick Wagoner.

Success is measured and achieved in different ways and Coach Wooden’s Greatest Secret: The Power of a Lot of Little Things Done Well by Pat Williams with Jim Denney ($16.99, Revell, softcover) looks at why Coach Wooden became one of college basketball’s most revered coaches. His years at UCLA are testimony to that with ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period, including seven in a row, a fear unmatched by any other coach. Pat Williams has more than fifty years of professional sports experience and is the author of dozens of books. He tells how Wooden taught his players every aspect of the game including how to put on their socks and shoes to avoid blisters. When asked, he said that little things matter. Williams takes Coach Wooden’s lesson, along with stories of people whose lives have exemplified the importance of little things one does or doesn’t do that affect one’s integrity, reputation, health, career, faith and success.

Carol Liefer was a successful comedian at a time when television comedy was an exclusive all-boy’s club. Part memoir, part guide to life, and very funny, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Crying: Lessons from a Life in Comedy ($19.95, Quirk, softcover) is a collection of essays that charts here three-decade journal through show business that provides valuable lessons for women and men in any profession. How good was she? She was an opening act for Frank Sinatra. Leifer is a four-time Emmy nominee for her writing on such shows as Seinfeld, Modern Family, Saturday Night Live, and the Larry Sanders Show. She has starred in five of her own comedy specials. Happily she is still active these days and her book will is both entertaining and instructive.

The Joy of Eating

One of life’s great joys is eating. People love cookbooks and reading about various aspects of dining.

Let’s start with a favorite of everyone, maple syrup. It is the subject of The Sugar Season: A Year in the Life of Maple Syrup—And One Family’s Quest for the Sweetest Harvest by Douglas Whynott ($24.99, Da Capo Press). Like many I do not give much thought to where the syrup comes from, just that I have a bottle on hand to pour some over pancakes. This book introduces the reader to entrepreneur Bruce Bascom whose family business, Bascom Farms, produces 80,000 gallons of sap a day. Whynott takes us through one tumultuous season as we learn the art of the boil, the myriad subtle flavors of syrup, and the process by which syrup is assigned a grade. You will discover that maple syrup is a multimillion dollar industry, one that contains a black market, was subject to a heist monitored by Homeland Security, and an OPEC-like organization called The Federation—which is fitting since a barrel of maple syrup is worth more than a barrel of oil!

Two other Da Capo books are devoted to food. If you like almonds, you will love Almonds Every Which Way by Brooke McClay ($18.99, softcover). Almonds have become a key ingredient in vegan, Paleo, glutan-free, low-carp, and alternative diets as a substitute for grain flours and dairy. Almonds, we learn, can reduce heart attack risk, lower bad cholesterol, help build strong bones and teeth, and aid in regulating blood sugar and insulin after meals. And I like them because they taste good! McClay takes one on a tour of every meal of the day with more than 150 almond flour, almond milk, and almond butter-based recipes. You don’t have to be a vegan to enjoy this book, but if you are one, check out Mayim’s Vegan Table by Mayim Bialik with Dr. Jay Gordon, a pediatrician ($21.99, softcover). As she notes, getting kids to eat their vegetables can be tough enough, but getting them to eat an exclusively plant-based diet can seem impossible, especially when you want them to take a pass on cheese pizza, hot dogs, and other popular food items. She provides more than a hundred recipes along with chapters that address the principles of vegan nutrition for growing bodies. If her name sounds familiar it is because Mayim Bialik is an Emmy-nominated actress who stars on The Big Bang Theory. She is also a Ph.D. and trained neuroscientist, and the mother of two sons.

Advice

There is no end to books with advice on every imaginable topic. Here are a few that run the gamut.

Mindful Anger: A Pathway to Emotional Freedomis by Andrea Brandt, a Ph.D. with more than thirty years of working with individuals, couples, groups, and children, all of whom seeking help with emotional issues that include anger and aggression ($22.95, W.W. Norton). As we know, anger can be especially destructive to one’s relationships and interfere with achieving one’s goals. When expressed as rage or aggression, it can land you in jail. “There isn’t an area of our lives—relationships, careers, health—that wouldn’t improve with the proper handling of our anger,” says the author. A pioneer in the field of anger management, her book is a guide to making the kind of self-assessments and identifying the causes that generate anger and thereby finding ways to reduce and control it. If you know a constantly angry person, this would make a good gift for them.

Another psychological problem that men in particular encounter is borderline personality disorder. It causes them to have extreme difficulty regulating their emotions. Joseph Nowinski, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist, has authored Hard to Love: Understanding and overcoming Male Borderline Personality Disorder ($15.95, Central Recovery Press, softcover.) It is due out in May. Interestingly, it is frequently misdiagnosed in men, leading to no treatment or the wrong treatment. This book will

help any man examine if BPD is the problem he is experiencing. Such men are difficult, but not impossible to love says Dr. Robert Doyle, an assistant medical director at Harvard Medical School’s McLean Child and Adolescent Impatient Union.

For the gals, there’s a delightful, very funny book by Jenny McCarthy, Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth ($13.99, Da Capo Press, softcover). The co-host of “The View”, is also an actress, mother, and a former Playboy playmate. She dishes about prenatal cravings, leg cramps, fainting spells, and all the other experiences that go with becoming a mother with the frankness and humor for which she has become known. And despite the various challenges a woman must engage to give birth, she says “Welcome to the best job you will ever have, mommyhood.”

Kid Stuff

Every so often a really outstanding book comes along for younger readers. U.S. history is something every American should read, but it is no secret that our schools are not doing a good job of teaching it. When a book like World War I for Kids comes along, it offers an opportunity that a parent should embrace. Written by R. Kent Rasmussen ($17.95, Chicago Review Press, softcover) it is a comprehensive look at a chapter in American history of which many adults are unaware, but WWI was a major turning point in the last century for Americans and, as we know, it set the stage for WWII that started within twenty years. Americans were reluctant to participate in either and did so when provoked by attacks such as the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915 that took the lives of many American passengers. Extensive illustrations enhance an excellent text that tells of how the war stimulated technological development as well as changing the way wars had been fought. It became far more lethal. Younger readers from age 10 and up will find this book an exciting look at the event, the people involved, and the activities it invites them to do. In truth, an adult can read this book with as much enjoyment. The For Kids series also offers World War II for Kids and The Civil War for Kids.

Last month I noted a number of new books from Charlesbridge Publishing and I will continue this month.

Kids get a head start on school if they get to read books that introduce them to the alphabet and numbers. Teddy Bear Addition by Barbara Bardieri McGrath ($16.95) uses images by Tim Nihoff of teddy bears to entertain and educate at the same time. It’s lively verse takes the reader through the basics while they learn important vocabulary such as sums and digits. Once the basics are acquired, it’s time to move onto learning about fractions and that is made easy and fun in Fractions in Disguise by Edward Einhorn with illustrations by David Clark ($16.95) that features George Cornelius Factor who loves fractions so much he collects them. I take my hat off to authors that understand how young minds can absorb these things through stories and artwork. If read by an adult to a child or those age 4 to 8, these books open doors early in their lives.

I confess I never expected to be reading a children’s book about dung beetles, but then I forgot how almost any creature can capture the imagination of young readers. Behold the Beautiful Dung Beetle by Cheryl Bardoe and illustrated by Alan Marks ($16.95) is for the early reader and one who finds nature of interest. It’s not disgusting, despite what they collect and dine upon, but rather an interesting introduction to the ecology of how everything serves some purpose and how this beetle is a perfect adaptation to take advantage of it.

Three Charlesbridge books provide interesting reading for early readers ages 9 to 12. At Home in Her Tomb: Lady Dai and the Ancient Chinese Treasures of Mawangdui ($19.95) by Christine Liu Perkins and Sarah S. Brannen tells of how, in December 1971, the tomb of Xin Zhui, the Marchioness of Dai, was discovered. It revealed the almost perfectly preserved body of Lady Dai. The book will transport back to an earlier age in China and the amazing archeology and forensic science that revealed much about her. In Stone Giant: Michelangelo’s David and How He Came to Be by Jane Sutcliffe and illustrated by John Shelley ($16.95) tells the story of how the genius of Michaelangelo turned a giant block of marble into one of the greatest works of art from a statue others had tried to create, but failed. From Under the Freedom Tree by Susan VanHecke and illustrated by London Ladd ($16.95) tells the story of how, on the night of May 23, 1861, three slaves made history when they decided to escape across the Confederate line to the Union-held Fort Monroe. Declared “contraband of war” by the Union General, they were allow to stay and as word of their successful escape spread, thousands of runaway slaves followed suit, pouring into the fort and building the first African-American community in the country. It was under the branches of a sheltering tree that they heard one of the first readings of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.

From Wigu Publishing comes another in their series “When I Grow Up I Want to Be…” It is devoted to being a firefighter ($12.95) and begins with a boy whose field trip to a local fire station introduces him to the exciting world of firefighting, as well as home fire safety, in a fun and educational book. Upcoming books will include being in the U.S. Navy, a veterinarian, and even a race car driver. Check out the series at www.WhenIGrowUpBooks.com.

Novels, Novels, Novels

I have no idea how many novels are being published these days, but there are thousands of them. I stick to the established publishing houses with regard to those I recommend though I will occasionally recommend one that is self-published, a trend that is growing. All those noted are softcover editions.

Max Barry has written one of the most curious novels I’ve seen in a long time. Lexicon ($16.00, Penguin Books) It ranges between thrilling, horrifying, and hilarious as a fast, funny, cerebral thriller. Imagine an exclusive school somewhere outside of Arlington, VA where students aren’t taught the usual subjects, but rather the skills of persuasion. Their teachers are a secretive organization of “poets”, elite manipulators of language who can wield words as weapons and bend others to their will. Emily Ruff is running a three-card Monte game on the streets of San Francisco when this orphan is spotted by the organization’s recruiters. When admitted to the school she becomes its most talented prodigy until she makes a big mistake; she falls in love. There is a subplot that is just as unique, involving rival factions of the “poets.” As the two narratives converge, the shocking work of the poets is revealed. I shall say no more! Another novel offers a comparable narrative about a future in which the world’s social order is near collapses and children are abducted for genetic enhancement to become super fighters. In The Devereaux Disaster ($16.95, Two Harbors Press) the son of retired secret-agent Jeremiah Jones has been abducted. Five years have passed and he is determined to rescue him. Soon after his arrival on the Moon, his mission turns sour. He discovered that while Joshua’s body is near perfect, his mind has been poisoned to hate and destroy. With his fellow cadets, they have a mission to attack specific targets on Earth to unite its warring nations. Suffice to say this is a most unusual science fiction novel and one that means Jeremiah can only save the world if his son and fellow cadets are destroyed.

The Catholic church has been in the news for its failure to respond to the problem of priests who abuse children and a novel by Gregory Alexander, The Holy Mark: The Tragedy of a Fallen Priest ($14.99, Mill City Press) takes on this issue as it delves deep into the psyche of a man whose reprehensible acts are perhaps only surpassed by those intent on destroying him. It is a psychologically compelling novel of family, power, and revenge. The author brings insight to the subject having taught English at several Catholic schools in New Orleans. For those who love an old-fashioned mystery, they will welcome news that Johnny Shaw is back. His 2011 novel, “Dove Season” won the Spotted Owel Award for a debut mystery and now he’s returned with Plaster City ($14.95, Thomas & Mercer). Set in California’s Imperial Valley, it’s another raucous caper starring Jimmy Veeder and his best friend Bobby Maves from his earlier novel. Jimmy has settled into a steady life as a farmer and family man, but when Bobby’s teenage daughter goes missing, the two launch their own investigation only to end up in the middle of a violent turf war between a fierce motorcycle gang and a powerful crime lord fighting it out on a desolate strip of desert known as Plaster City. It’s a big-hearted escape that establishes Shaw as a novelist to watch and read.

I love a good title and Six Months of September ($10.00, available from Amazon.com and other outlets) surely qualifies as eye-catching. Mark Allen gives us Duncan Walsh, a former reporter who has struck up a friendship with tour guide Agnes, a beautiful college student working at the Chicago Museum of Natural History. When she disappears he makes national news and Duncan decides to launch his own investigation. With the help of his best friend, Luis, and Agnes’s boyfriend, James, the search is on. James’ father is a Chicago Police Commander, This is already working on the second installment in the Duncan Walsh detective series and you will enjoy going along as he and his friends uncover secrets and discover who is working hard to conceal them in this debut. Allen is a graduate of the University of Illinois in Urban and the John Marshall School of Law in Chicago, so he knows the territory of which he writes. The pace never slackens.

That’s it for April. Come back in May as I can guarantee you that many new books are on the way. And tell your book loving friends, family and co-workers about Bookviews.com so they too can learn about many fine books that do not necessarily get the attention they should.

By Alan Caruba

My Picks of the Month

Memoirs, Biographies

Minding the Mind

The power of our minds and the way it exerts that power over our lives always makes for interesting reading and, in many cases, useful insight.

Books for Tots & Teens

The greatest gift for any child is the enjoyment of reading, so get them started early.

Novels, Novels, Novels

Spring for the publishing world is—as is the autumn—the time they roll out many new books and, when it comes to novels, it would appear that fiction still has a large audience to satisfy.

By Alan Caruba

My Picks of the Month

The world is a very complex place and that is true of the issues that directly and indirectly affect our lives. There is, in addition, a legion of people and groups eager to lie to us about those issues in order to achieve their goals. That is why books like Robert Bryce’s Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper ($27.99, Public Affairs) are “must” reading if we are to gain any understanding. I first encountered Bryce through his writings about energy. He knows the subject from A-to-Z. His book, “Power Hungary”, is well worth reading and his latest expands to define the true agenda of all those people telling us that we are destroying the Earth. “Their outlook rejects innovation and modern forms of energy, It rejects business and capitalism. Whether the message is explicit or implicit, the message coming from many of the “greens” is an anti-corporate, anti-capitalist stance that is rooted in the nation that any large business is one to be feared.” Bryce’s book takes the reader through the transitions from mankind’s earliest history through to the present showing how the development of the various forms of power, from the use of oxen to plow, to water power, to steam, to coal and oil, have all contributed to the remarkable world we share and why the use of fertilizers and genetically modified crops are feeding an extraordinary seven billion people on the planet. The enemies of mankind include those who preach a return to “a simpler life” when life expectancy in the past was often little more than age 35. These are the people who are forever crying out against the use of coal, oil and natural gas, as well as nuclear power. These are the people who insist organic food is better than that produced on modern farms. It is not better and, indeed, may be less safe to eat. If you want to shake loose of all the lies we’re being told about the climate and about modern life, you must read this remarkable book.

A lot of people complain that there is no difference between the Democratic and Republican Parties and they are right when it comes to the growth of Big Government. Both bear responsibility for it no matter who was President. As regards the Republican Party, Richard A. Viguerie, often called one of the fathers of the conservative movement, has written a fascinating book, Takeover, ($27.95, WND Books), subtitled “The 100-year war for the soul of the GOP and how conservatives can finally win it.” This is a very lively, entertaining, and never boring history of how, more than a century ago, Teddy Roosevelt abandoned the Republican Party to advance his progressive political viewpoint that became the philosophy of the party’s establishment, thereby condemning the Party to being largely out of power for a half century until over fifty years ago, conservatives began to battle for control of the Party. When the establishment is in control, you get candidates like Dole, McCain, and Romney, all of whom lost elections. And, while Goldwater, the first to really challenge the GOP establishment did not win, he set in motion the election of Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. Viguerie notes, too, that while Nixon, Bush 41 and 43 won with conservative messages, their agendas were compatible with those of the Democratic Party. Anyone with an interest in politics will find this a lively, fascinating look at the past and a prediction of what is to come.

In February 2013, Dr. Ben Carson gave a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast that warned about the dangers facing the nation and called for a return to the principles that made America great. It caused quite a stir, perhaps because President Obama was at the head table. Since then Dr. Carson has even been spoken of as a possible candidate for President, but he is more interested in sharing his concerns. He does that in One Nation; What We Can All Do to Save America’s Future ($25.95, Sentinal, a Penguin Book imprint). “We are the pinnacle nation in the world right now, but if the examples of Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Great Britain teach us anything, it is that pinnacle nations are not guaranteed their place forever. If we fail to rediscover the basic principles of common sense, manners, and morality, we will go the same way they did.” He shares his life as he shares his views and, by any measure, a black boy living in poverty with an illiterate mother should not have risen to attend Harvard and become a leading neurosurgeon. Except, of course, in America where merit counts the most. If you share fears of the future, you will find this book of interest.

Parenting must be one of the greatest challenges anyone encounters. I had two wonderful parents who provided me with a happy youth and all the years thereafter. I was always encouraged to pursue my interests and always supported in doing so. That’s why Alfie Kohn’s The Myth of the Spoiled Child: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom about Children and Parenting($25.99, Da Capo Press) caught my eye. One hears so much about today’s kids being spoiled that it was enlightening and pleasurable to read a book that says it’s just not true. Kohn challenges the assertion that education and quality child-rearing are in decline, saying that claim has been made about every prior generation. Well, it is definitely true that education in America is not turning out students with the same body of knowledge their predecessors had. Kohn also doesn’t believe there is too much over-or-under parenting going on and says that being an involved parent is far better than being a detached or dictatorial one. Kohn has written a book he hopes will serve the interests of both liberal and conservative minded parents. My Mother took the view that children are guests in the adult’s world and that there are rules for both to respect. They’re not new and include showing respect, being honest, the value of work, etc. For the parent who needs a bit of advice, this book will prove helpful.

If you are one of those people who lives, breaths and dreams about baseball, you will find Down to the Last Pitch: How the 1991 Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves Gave Us the Best World Series of All Time by Tim Wendel ($25.99, Da Capo Press) as he recalls the series game-by-game, rehashing the defining moments and reach back into baseball history to show the reader just what made those moments great. Wendel feels that the 1991 series was on the cusp of a new era for baseball. A founding editor of USA Today Baseball Weekly, Wendel is the author of ten books about the game and is currently a writer-in-residence at John Hopkins University. The 1991 series was the first time a last place team climbed its way to the top—both teams were cellar-dwellers in 1990. Five of the seven games were decided by a single run with four by the last at bat. Here’s the story of two teams that took risks, followed their guts, and play from beginning to end with integrity and heart.

Business, Finance, Etc

As students graduate from college and grapple with choosing a career, find a great job, or start a business, there’s a new book by Ben Carpenter that will prove very helpful. It’s The Bigs ($25.00, John Wiley and Sons) and is about “the secrets nobody tells students and young professionals” about to begin an important stage in their lives. Carpenter’s career has been in the world of finance, much of it spent in Greenwich Capital which became a respected, profitable firm on Wall Street. He went from being a salesman to being its co-CEO. These days he is the vice chairman of CRT Capital Group. I cited this because he has written a common sense, up to date book that is filled with the kind of advice you would want your son or daughter to know as they enter the workforce. The book benefits as well from being very readable. For the generation trying to plan for their later years, Ric Edelman has written The Truth About Retirement Plans and IRAs ($15.00, Simon and Schuster, softcover), a step-by-step guide to making the most of one’s retirement plans and assuring long-term financial security. In these times, this is a critical matter in an economy that has been stagnating now since the 2008 financial crisis and two terms of the current administration. Edelman is a familiar voice to those of us in the tri-state area because his commercials air daily along with his radio and television shows. Edelman Financial Services provides planning and investment management to more than 23,000 clients and has more than $12 billion in assets under its management. As Edelman says, “Unlike members of past generations who were able to rely on their employers or the government to provide financial security in retirement, your success will be determined almost entirely by you.”

For those in management positions, Robert Bruce Shaw has authored Leadership Blindspots subtitled “How successful leaders identify and overcome weaknesses that matter” ($35.00, Jossey-Bass). The book is filled with detailed case studies that examine how blindspots operate and cites examples from firms like Apple, Amazon, Hewlet-Packard and others. If not corrected they can lead to devastating mistakes. These are often common problems that result from factors such as over-confidence in one’s own judgment, the complexity of large organizations, and being surrounded by yes-men. Changes in the marketplace seem to be happening at an accelerated pace these days, so this book can help anyone at the top or on his way there.

People, People, People

What we most enjoying reading about is other people. Their real lives often tell us things about ourselves or provide insights into the values we share (or not) with them.

For anyone who cannot get enough of the late singer, Michael Jackson, they are in for a treat. Remember the Time: Protecting Michael Jackson in His Final Days ($26.00, Weinstein Books) is by the two men who spent 24/7 with him throughout his final years, protecting him and ensuring he had the privacy he desperately wanted. Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard have written their story with Tanner Colby. Jackson’s final years were spent moving from city to city, living with his three children in virtual seclusion. Whitfield, a former cop and veteran of the security profession was joined by a brash rookie, Beard, both of whom were single fathers as well. This is likely the only first-person account of those final years you are likely to need or read if you are a fan. Jackson was struggling to live a normal life under extraordinary circumstances after having been driven from his Neverland sanctuary by the tabloid media. Imagine having crowds screaming your name every time word got out wherever he was. Hardly a normal life and, at the end, not a particularly happy one.

I was looking forward to reading The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames by Pulitzer Prize winner, Kai Bird ($26.00, Crown Publishers) who had written some very well regarded biographies of men like J. Robert Oppenheimer. Ames was a CIA officer who was killed in April 1983 when our embassy there was bombed by Islamic terrorists. Bird had known Ames as an older neighbor while he a teenager living in Saudi Arabia with his family. As a secret agent Ames job was to befriend those who could provide useful information for the agency and, while the CIA never responded to his requests, more than forty retired CIA and Mossad officers shared their memories of Ames. He was universally liked by all who worked with him. As for his Arab contacts, it helped that he spoke their language fluently and Ali Hassan Salameh, Yasir Arafat’s intelligence chief, enjoyed a clandestine relationship with him that became the seed of the Oslo peace process. For those following events in the Middle East the biography has value, but the portrait of Ames is so dominated by the author’s admiration that it fairly rapidly become rather cloying to read. That is a personal reaction and others might well disagree.

Americans understandably became weary of the long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that followed in the wake of 9/11. On that day, however, two Naval Academy roommates vowed to defend America and four weeks after Navy SEALs had killed Osama bin Laden, President Obama, on the Memorial Day that followed the event, was in Arlington National Cemetery to honor the nation’s fallen where Travis Manion, a fallen U.S. Marine, and Brendan Looney, a fallen U.S. Navy SEAL, killed three years apart, lay buried. Their story is told in Brothers Forever by Tom Sileo and Col. Tom Manion, Travis’s father ($16.95, Da Capo Press) It is the story of their bond and ultimate sacrifice for the nation. It is the story of real people engaged in real combat and seeing their comrades die. Sileo is a nationally syndicated columnist and editor of The Unknown Soldiers blog and, as noted, Col. Manion was Travis’s father and retired Marine. Together, the two men defined a small segment of their generation’s sacrifice who put their nation’s defense first and foremost.

Jerry Sandusky, arrested and found guilty of child molestation, has ruined the name Sandusky for others who share it. One of them is Gerry Sandusky, the sports director at WBAL in Baltimore and the radio play-by-play voice of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens. His book is a tribute to his father, Jon Sandusky, a former player for the Browns and Green Bay Packers who went onto become head coach of the Baltimore Colts, as well as assistant coach under legendary Don Shula at the Miami Dolphins. Jon’s life was about family and football, so it is not surprising that his son chose a career path with the game. Forgotten Sundays: A Son’s Story of Life, Loss, and Love from the Sidelines of the NFL ($25.00, Running Press) will please anyone who loves football and, in particular, was a fan of the teams with which Sandusky was associated. Gerry grow up spending his summers observing his father in NFL training camps and his Sundays with superstars, Hall of Fame players, and coaches from Johnny United to Dan Marino, Don McCafferty to Tom Landry. He saw the glory days and he watched his father face a losing battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. This is a heartfelt story told with intelligence and humor that explores a father-son relationship and the legacy of values and enthusiasms his dad left him.

We all wonder what it would be like to be caught in in avalanches, shipwrecks, or the wake of tornadoes where life and death hangs in the balance. Alive is a compilation of such stories ($15.99) by Readers Digest editors. We all hope our will to survive will kick in when we need it and the stories provide fascinating examples from a mountain climber who has to crawl out of a crevasse on Mt. McKinley and must drag himself to safety, knowing his partner did not survive. There’s hiker Larry Bishop’s harrowing 48 hours clinging to the side of a mountain waiting to be rescued. There are two women who were being mauled by a grizzly and had to defy death. It is a reminder that Mother Nature doesn’t much care if you live or die, even if you do! Interesting reading for sure. Center of Gravity by Geva Salerno ($12.95, Levity Press, softcover) is the true account of how a woman changed her entire life in one year and found her personal power. She conducted an experiment in which she gave up dating for a year so she could focus on her transformation and, in the process, make some discoveries that can impact other women who are overworked, divorced, and obsessed with society’s vision of the perfect life. It’s a leap of faith on her part. She tells of dismantling her false life and building a new authentic one. She has since become an advocate for women’s empowerment.

We have a way of turning outlaws like Billy the Kid and the Sundance Kid into American icons and this is particularly true of the Mafia that became the subjects of movies and television series. C. Alexander Hortis has written “the hidden history of how the Mafia captured New York” in The Mob and the City ($24.95, Prometheus Books) and it is a fascinating look at the Sicilian gangs in the 1930s evolved into the Mafia families that gained power as Prohibition became the law and as drugs became widely used, dominating crime through to the 1950s. This is a thorough and authentic history unlike “The Godfather” and countless other books. As such it is filled with surprises, based on primary sources and even secret files obtained through the Freedom of Information Act; as always, the truth is often more interesting than the fiction. The author is an attorney and an authority on the Mafia.

To Your Health

Americans may be the most health conscious people on Earth, despite the obvious fact that many are overweight and enjoy smoking and other things that we are constantly reminded will kill us.

I have been told that meditation is good for one’s mental health and I received Janet Nima Taylor’s Meditation for Non Meditators: Learn to Meditate in Five Minutes ($15.00, available from Amazon.com, softcover). Having spent 20 years as a corporate executive, her passion has been to help people change their behavior to create positive habits. Following her corporate career she became an American Buddhist monk and is now the director of the Temple Buddhist Center in Kansas City and executive director of the Dzogchen Foundation, a national non-profit Buddhist and meditation organization. The thing I liked about this book is that it does not require you to sit on the floor, close your eyes, or do it as a religious exercise. Instead, it is a pragmatic manual on how focusing on your breathing can help lower stress and create a sense of peace and well-being no matter what your religious beliefs may be or whether you even have any. A short way of describing this is that you will learn how to hit the pause button and rest in the present moment. That strikes me as a very good idea and this book is a way to learn to do it.

Since my Mother taught gourmet cooking for three decades I concluded that you are what you eat. That’s why The Power of Food: Enhancing Stem Cell Growth and Decreasing Inflammation by Bonnie Raffel, R.D., ($29.95, Langdon Street Press) caught my eye. After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2001, the author discovered she was allergic to the drug prescribed to slow the disease’s neurologic deterioration. As a registered dietitian, Raffel search for a way to combat the disease through nutrition and the result is her book that combines original recipes and nutritional advice to help MS patients and anyone seeking a natural, healthier lifestyle. The New Greenmarket Cookbook by Gabrielle Langholtz ($24.99, Da Capo Press, softcover) combines healthy eating with good health as it offers recipes by New York’s top chefs to take advantage of the produce available from farmers markets. It’s one thing to have access to freshly picked vegetables and fruits, and another to know how to take advantage of them with delicious salads and other delightful dishes that include fish, lamb, and other delectables. It helps if you live in New York, but these markets exist in most big cities.

Athlete, Not Food Addict: Wellspring’s Seven Steps to Weight Loss ($15.95, New Horizon Press, softcoverby Daniel S. Kirschenbaum, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist, shatters widespread beliefs about the addictive nature of food and offers an empowering method for effective weight loss. It is his view that overweight problems are caused by resistant biological forces within us, our culture, and a lack of knowledge about how to manage and overcome these challenges. He wants the reader to be a “weight-controller athlete” and learn how to use their brains to mold their bodies in a healthy direction, just as athlete’s do. One might say it is mind over platter, instead of mind over matter. For women athletes there’s The Pregnant Athlete by Brandi and Steven Dion with Joel Heller, MD, and Perry McIntosh ($17.99, Da Capo Press, softcover). The book says there is no reason that someone used to a high level of physical activity should continue her training through a normal, healthy pregnancy. It charts the changes a woman can expect in her strength, agility, and stamina each month and includes lots of good advice. Brandi is the mother of two, so this book is author-tested.

For Younger Readers

Getting children accustomed to reading books early on is the key to their success later in life. We’re fortunate to have so many books written for the pre-school, early readers, and teens.

Time for Kids is a publisher of some really excellent books for younger readers. They are particularly educational, but distinguished as well by extraordinary use of photos that make every page exciting. Among the latest are Big Book of When ($19.95) that makes history come alive answering questions such as “When did a human first travel in space?” and “When did the Egyptians build the pyramids of Giza?” There are 801 such questions covering many topics that will interest any younger reader. Time for Kids also has a series, “Book of Why”, smaller, shorter softcover that also pose and answer many questions ($4.99 each) that include “Really Cool People and Places”, “Awesome Animal Kingdom”, “Amazing Sports and Science”, and “Stellar Space.” Children tend to lose some of the knowledge they learn during the school year so these books, particularly during the summer, increase their knowledge and deepen their need to keep learning.

Aimed at those kids age 3 to 6, Early Birdy Gets the Worm created by Bruce Lansky and illustrated by Bill Bolton ($15.99, Meadowbrook Press) is a book without text so that the story is told entirely by its illustrations. It is the 2014 Gold Winner in Children’s Picture Books from the Mom’s Choice Awards. In effect, the children “read” the pictures of Early Birdy learning how to catch a worm after watching Mother Bird. It is a very funny adventure and a great way to introduce a child to the joy a book can offer. Others in this series include Polar Brrr’s Big Adventure and Monkey See, Monkey Do. Next step are books with a text.

From Ideals Children’s Books, Nashville, TN, comes a new series, “Shine Bright Kids”, (http://shinebrightkids.com) the creation of Christy Ziglar, the daughter of famed motivator, Zig Ziglar. A mother of twins and a certified financial planner, she wanted to publish books that will help younger readers develop good money management skills. Must-Have Marvin! ($14.99) will ring a bell for any parent whose child wants to have the latest new things he or she learns about and is, in fact, the second in the series which began in 2013 with Can’t-Wait Willow ($14.99)about a little girl who spends all her time and money on things she doesn’t really want or need. Both are written by Christy Ziglar and are illustrated by Luanne Marten. Both impart valuable lessons from Willow’s need to learn how to delay instant gratification and Marvin’s need to learn that people matter more than things. For early readers, 5 and up, the texts are easy and entertaining, benefitting from the artwork. For parents, they teach good lessons in life in ways that just explaining them might not.

I’m a fan of a series, “When I Grow Up I Want to Be” from Wigu Publishing (www.WhenIGrowUpBooks.com) of Laguna Beach, California. I recommend you visit their websites because you are likely to find a title that fits your child’s interest. The latest is devoted to being In the U.S. Navy ($12.95) that features young Noah who dreams of being in the Navy just like his grandfather who is taking him to tour a real aircraft carrier. Noah’s little sister is coming along as well and as they discover how interesting the carrier is with its crew and different decks, the readers will too. For the early readers of this series, doors open up thanks to the useful, accurate information they provide.

Young adults will enjoy Pandemic by Yvonne Ventresca ($`6.95, Sky Pony Press/Skyhorse Publishing), the story of Lilianna Snyder’s sudden change from a model student to a withdrawn pessimist who worries about all kinds of disasters. One arrives in the form of quick-spreading illness that doctors are unable to treat. With her parents away on business, she finds herself on her own when the bird flu pandemic arrives and friends and neighbors begin dying around her. She must find a way to survive the deadly outbreak and, at the same time, deal with her personal demons, the result of a teacher’s sexual assault. If this sounds very grownup, it is. Also for young adults and for those who like a bit of magic in their fiction, there’s Dangerous Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl whose previous book, “Beautiful Creatures” is now a motion picture. This novel is part of a series by them and is a tale of love and magic in which a woman with magical capabilities, Ridley Duchannes, and her wannabe rocker boyfriend, Wesley “Link” Lincoln leave Stonewall Jackson High School and their adolescence behind as they head to New York City, each for their own reasons. Ridley is accustomed to using her powers to control Mortals, but her overconfidence has cost her and now she has debts to settle in the city. Link has dreams to become a rock star and joins a band comprised of “Dark Supernaturals.” It’s hard to describe this novel, but that is not to say it will prove entertaining to younger adult readers.

Novels, Novels, Novels

The flow of new novels into my office reflects the even greater number of novels being published these days by large and small publishers as well as self-published. The best I can do is to select from the many I receive and take notice of them for your consideration.

Dodendal: Valley of Dreams by Jim Holmgren ($14.95, softcover) is a good example of a self-published book. The author has created a fictional future of the United States, one very different from the present where we continue to have faith in our Constitution. By tweaking some current trends, his novel suggests the importance of protecting the freedoms we often take for granted. It is fifty years hence and the action takes place over the course of one fateful weekend during the celebrating the tricentennial of the “former” U.S, one bankrupted after Mideast oil wars in the 2030s and missing four states including California after the Second Mexican-American War. The nation is now run by a corporation that has imposed a totalitarian society. Dissenters tend to disappear. You can learn more at www.holmgrenBooks.com. A debut novel by Jeff Critser, Cold Shadows, ($16.95, Dark Matters Press, softcover) has a similar feel to it. It is a techno-thriller that reflects the public’s distrust in government and activities taken outside of any oversight, something in the news as we read of concerns about the National Security Agency. Playing off those concerns, the novel explores themes of smuggling and murder, all committed in the name of an undefined and ill-conceived “greater good.” When Philip Kurchow, the IT manager for a transportation company in Munich, aware of a smuggling operation in Eastern Europe is murdered, his friend Kip Michelson tries to find out why and how it happened only to find himself ensnared in a dark world of betrayal. A lethal virus, stolen from Russian vaults, is up for sale and Kip is recruited by the FBI to uncover the smuggling. Secretly, the CIA is trying to intercept the technology for clandestine research. Kip finds himself being stalked and must race to expose what is occurring. You won’t put this one down until you’ve read it cover to cover.

Lovers of thriller novels will enjoy The Argentine Triangle ($16.95, Select Books, softcover) by Allan Topol, the author of “The Russian Endgame” that hit the bestseller lists. Topol has authored nine novels of international intrigue and, in this novel former CIA director Craig Page is enjoying a new, exhilarating life racing cars across Europe. When an old friend goes missing during a covert mission in Argentina, he gets involved. It takes him undercover into the glamorous world of Buenos Aires’ wealthy elite and the plans of two colonels that requires him to implement his experience and skills to expose their plot for a cataclysmic future for South America. This is a classic espionage novel and international thriller with villains and exotic locales. Two Soldiers by Anders Roslund and Borge Hellstrom ($26.99, Quercus) takes you to Stockholm, Sweden where it was originally published and into the life of Jose Pereira, a police officer who heads up the department’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, who must find two ruthless young criminals. It is a look at the dark and dangerous world where gang life is the only place that boys from broken, impoverished families can find acceptance and from which there is no escape. The novel has been called an “unsettling portrait of the gangland cycle of violence, desperation, and hope.” It is all that and a very compelling read as well.

A High Price to Pay is a Madeline Dawkins novel by Cynthia Hamilton (www.cynthiahamiltonbooks.com). I enjoyed her last book, “Spouse Trap”, and in this one Madeline’s dual professions as event coordinator and private investigator cross paths during the most lavish affair of her career—a weekend-long fortieth birthday extravaganza for the wife of a famous film director. A simple background check after the disappearance of some family jewels quickly turns into a murder investigation, and before Madeline and Mike can put the pieces together, another body turns up. As the Santa Barbara police and sheriff’s departments search for clues, the Mad Dog P.I.’s use their own methods to untangle the crimes, discovering some unsavory truths behind the glittering façade of their clients. To add to Madeline’s already overflowing plate, the D.A. informs her that Rick Yeoman, one of the men who had abducted her three years earlier, has been prematurely released from prison after cutting a deal with the Feds. Besides fearing reprisals from the man she helped to convict, his parole also triggers the reappearance of soulless Lionel Usherwood, lured out his hideaway by the call of revenge. When Yeoman’s body surfaces in Lake Cachuma, Usherwood moves on to the next target: Madeline.

The Never Never Sisters by L. Alison Heller ($15.00, New American Library, softcover) is a story of a woman who just needs to get away and relax. Paige Reinhardt, a hardworking marriage counselor, is looking forward to reconnecting with his busy husband for a summer in the Hamptons, but a mysterious emergency at work ruins their travel plans and everything begins to unravel. As Paige tries to figure out what is really going on in her own marriage, her sister suddenly returns after twenty years and Paige discovers that she may not know her family as well as she thought as she digs into her husband’s work crisis. She must figure out if it is worth it to find herself at the risk of losing her most precious relationships. This is about the complicated bond between sisters and the secrets kept to protect the ones we love. The author is a divorce lawyer and this brings a special level of insight to the story.

That’s it for June! Be sure to come back in July and, in the meantime, tell your friends, family and coworkers who enjoy reading about Bookviews.com.

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