...and then, I read...

I ought to retire this blog

2010-06-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

I have read so many books since I last posted, I don't think I'll ever catch up. Some of them I'd have to reread just to refresh my memory on what the hell I read. I just rejoined the Quality Paperback Book Club ( QPB ), so in a few weeks I will have even more books scheduled. I'm going to get a few of the better ones on here in the next few days though.

A Crack in the Lens by Steve Hockensmith

2009-10-12T14:49:00.000-07:00

This is the fourth installation in a fairly new mystery series, but it was the first one that I read. And it caught my eye not because of the relationship of the two main characters to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, but because the author chose to place his characters in San Marcos, Texas, my chosen home for the past 20 years.

The two central characters in the book are Gustav Amlingmeyer (aka "Old Red") and his brother Otto (aka "Big Red"). What has gone on before the central plot is that both "Old Red" and "Big Red" are roving cowboys in the late 1890's, moving from place to place. "Big Red" reads Sherlock Holmes stories to his brother, who is illiterate. "Old Red" fancies himself a detective in the fashion of Holmes and has taken up cases along the way and solved several.

Which brings us to the current novel. The Amlingmeyers end up in San Marcos to try to determine the cause of death of a prostitute that "Big Red" knew from 5 years prior. A lot of people aren't happy that he has returned to town, and some of them are determined to see that he moves on posthaste.

Speaking as only a recent resident, I tried my damnedest to place the buildings and events in the context of the current layout of the town (and failed miserably, only one of the streets still bears the same name 100 some odd years later. But I had fun with it and enjoyed meeting a couple of new characters to add to my list of favorite detectives. Fortunately my library has the other three books so far published so I will be able to catch up on them quickly.

I rate this one 8½ stars.

Ad Nauseum: A Survivor's Guide... by Carrie McClaren and Jason Torchinsky

2009-10-12T14:41:00.000-07:00

As it started out, this book was very interesting, but it got a little dull towards the middle, especially the mock debate between two separate viewpoints on the merits and problems with advertising, represented by one Sut Jhally and James Twitchell. I think its more geared towards someone who is more of a student of marketing and advertising than someone who has a passing interest in the field.

I can't give it more than 4 stars.

K Blows Top by Peter Carlson

2009-10-10T13:37:00.001-07:00

In 1959, the leader of the Soviet regime, Nikita Khruschev, visited the United States for a lengthy tour of both major cities and country fairs. He was met with varying levels of interest, sometimes parades and sometimes protests (and sometimes both).

The author begins his story with Vice-President Nixon's visit to Moscow and the "Kitchen Debates", but that is only the preface to the real story. Originally Khruschev was to reciprocate the invitation to come to America with an agreement to meet for talks on the arms race. But wires got crossed, and the codicil to the invitation went unvoiced.

This put the tour by Khruschev on a somewhat tense level with the Eisenhower administration which felt it had an obligation for diplomacy by allowing the tour to be one-sided from their point of view, but it was pulled together nonetheless. What follow in the latter ¾ or so of the book is an entertaining and often hilarious tale of the Soviet premier's encounters with diplomats and ordinary citizens as he goes from New York to Los angeles to a county fair in the Mid-West, with people fawning over him in some of the most unlikely of places, given the atmosphere of the time. (This, you will have to be aware, occurred not long after the McCarthy "Red Scare", and just following on it's heels would have been the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis of the next President's term.)

All of this proves to be one of the more readable biographies I have read in recent years (albeit not a true "biography" in the sense of the word that I would normally mean, since it spans less than a year in total time). I highly reccommend it to anyone who normally avoids biographies, though, because it hardly feels like one, more like an anecdotal remembrance instead.

I rate it 7½ stars

The Return of the Remiss Reviewer

2009-10-10T13:26:00.000-07:00

Once again, I have been reading books and not doing reviews. Expect a slew of them of the next few days.

Discover's 20 Things.... by the editors of Discover Magazine

2009-08-29T10:41:00.000-07:00

To the authors' credit, they admit in the introduction that the title of this book is misleading; it's not 20 things about "everything". But there are 20 chapters of various subjects, ranging from aliens to weather, each contained in it's own chapter.

If you are familiar with the monthly magazine and it's regular column "20 Things You Didn't Know About...", then you may have seen these before, or like me, you may not. I'm not entirely sure if they are reprints since I have only been an infrequent browser of the magazine.

That said, there is still plenty of reason to read the book, even if you do know everything. It's fun, for one thing. There are the 20 things in each chapter, but there are a lot of sidebars with other intriguing pieces of info, and numerous quotes from different people that are peppered in the text.

Give it 7½ stars.

Mr. Monk and the Dirty Cop by Lee Goldberg

2009-08-08T14:12:00.000-07:00

The final season of the TV series Monk is on us and that presents a problem for fans of the series. Where will we get our Monk fix now? The answer is in the person of Lee Goldberg, a writer for the show and, with this book, an eight-time novelist of the series. Fortunately Mr. Goldberg (who is still a young chap, from the looks of him) doesn't seem to be dry on ideas for novels for our "intrepid" hero. (If, by "intrepid", you take to mean will go to any lengths to catch his man, as long as there aren't any germs, heights, snakes or a bottle of milk between them...)

At the outset of this mystery, Monk has been laid off as a consultant for the San Francisco PD due to budget cuts, but Monk, being Monk, can't just let the crimes go unsolved. He begins making "anonymous" calls to the police hotline giving clues that solve the various crimes that are on the police docket. This is OK with Monk, but both his assistant Natalie and Captain Stottlemeyer are frustrated with him for not keeping out of the mix.

To the rescue comes a private agency called Intertect who hires him on with a very generous salary to work for them. And work for them he does, staying up all night to solve cases. In the meantime, a rather unsavory former policeman with SFPD, now a police officer in a neighboring town, turns up dead, and evidence seems to point to Capt. Stottlemeyer. It is up to Monk to save the day. Except for one problem. The evidence even convinces Monk that the Captain is guilty.

Will Monk save his friend or will the Captain get the electric chair? Will natalie strangle Monk to keep him from solving cases for free, thus putting her job and lifestyle in jeopardy? And more importantly, will Monk even get within a hundred yards of this dirty cop? Tune in (or rather read in) to find out.

With the exception of two early issues in the novel, with Monk having an larger, more self-important ego than I previously thought he had, and felt out of place (although probably not as out of place as they felt to me), I did enjoy this installment.

I rate this one 8 stars.

Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

2009-08-05T11:12:00.000-07:00

I recently set for myself a lofty goal of reading every book in a list I found online of 50 Banned Books. After struggling through this one, I put off the goal for a while.

One of the acknowledged "classics" of American literature, I found this stream-of-conciousness styled story very hard to continue. I admit at the outset that I had never encountered this style of writing before, and that may shade my opinion of it somewhat. But I found it extremely tedious, and the main character Holden Caufield to be the most boring fictional character I have ever read.

The basic premise, for those of you who may never have read it either before now, is a weekend in the life of a young teen who has recently been expelled from a prep school. His adventures in New York City, while living extravagantly (in my opinion) on money he has acquired prior to his expulsion.

Most of the time, he is either drinking himself silly or ranting about the jerks he has met. Apparently he doesn't like anybody he ever met, except for his younger sister. While in NYC, he has a couple of encounters with the seedier side of big city life, including an experience with a prostitute. In every encounter, he goes on about what jerks the people are whom he meets.

While I am the most vocal of advocates against censorship, and despite my opinion of the piece, I still think it shouldn't be banned. I just don't have a very high opinion of the book.

Rate it 3 stars. And that's being generous.

¡Ask A Mexican! by Gustavo Arellano

2009-07-21T09:08:00.000-07:00

Why do Mexicans wear clothes when they go swimming? And what's up with those monuments to dead people on the windows of their cars? And, by the way, what is it about the word illegal that mexicans don't understand?

These are the kinds of questions that the author gets all the time for his syndicated column, ¡Ask A Mexican!, and answers them in said column each week. He does so with some panache and a little bit of humor, helping gabachos and wabs alike. (Look them up in the beginning of the book if you don't know what they mean; the author graciously tells you there, as well as several times in the text to whom he is referring with those slang words.)

Occasionally, the author gets a little long-winded on some subject, (in particular, the article on Mexican infatuation with singer Morrissey), but for the most part, these are short concise answers to inquisitive and sometimes antagonistic questions. I leave it to the author to either verify or dispute whether these are the actual questions he received for his column, since some of them seem made-up to me, especially the sometimes funny, sometimes unbelievable psuedonyms that the alleged letter writers use to sign their queries.

But don't let that dissuade you from reading a pretty good book in its own right. Just go into it with an open mind. I rate this one 6 stars.

The Rocklopedia Fakebandica by T. Mike Childs

2009-06-02T10:48:00.000-07:00

An encyclopedia dedicated to all the fake bands that appeared in movies and TV over the years, while not inclusive, is still a hoot to read. The author acknowledges that he may have missed some (and I noted a few myself, such as Billy Wayne and Bobby Shelton from the movie Oh God, You Devil).

Its highly unlikely you will have heard of all of these fake singers and musical groups, although with some, you would have either had to just been born within the past few years, or lived in seclusion your whole life. In which case, the book will hold no interest for you.

The book is laid out like an encyclopedia (hence the name), with entries for hundreds of fictional bands that either appeared on screen, with either real musicians posing as the band, or in the case of some, characters from the movie or TV show pretending they can sing.

Of course you get the obvious ones like Spinal Tap, The Archies, Josie and the Pussycats and others that are immediately recognizable names. But you also get the names of bands that appear in both well-known movies and obscure ones, which makes it all the more challenging to track down if you have your interest peaked by the entry.

The author's sarcastic wit may wear you down at times, but I think the subject matter definitely is worth wading through it. I give this one 7 stars.

The Grand Inquisitor's Manual: A History of Terror in the Name of God by Jonathan Kirsch

2009-05-29T13:19:00.000-07:00

Having previously read Kirsch's The Harlot by the Side of the Road:
Forbidden Tales of the Bible and Moses, A Life, I was fully expecting to immerse myself in a bok that would grab my attention and keep me interested. I had read both of those and thoroughly enjoyed them. I found Kirsch's style engaging and entertaining.

How can a writer go from good to worse? I don't know, but I was, by page 10, convinced that this was not the same author who had witten those two previous tomes. Not only did I find the whole thing a drag to keep focused with attention, the author's occasional slip into his own political view grated on me. Whether or not I agree with his stance is immaterial. To point out comparisons to past history to present may be acceptable. But to allow it to be the basis of a soapbox, however brief, is not.

Not only that, but it appears that all the author did was update (and codensation) an older tome on the subject. A great portion of his references are to one book (or books, as the case may be) in particular; Henry Charles Lea's 4 volume History of the Inquisition of Spain. There appeared to be more quotes from this source than all of the other sources combined.

Forgive him for his repeated comparisons of the terror tactics of the inquisitors to the Nazis, since I assume he is of Jewish origin, and would thus have a right to his stance. But driving home his point to include what is obviously a political agenda by comparing the tactics to those at Guatanamo is just a bit much.

Only 5 stars for this one.

Schemers by Bill Pronzini

2009-05-23T10:21:00.000-07:00

The newest in the Nameless Detective series brings back a classic genre in the mystery detective novel; a locked room mystery. How did eight valuable first editions get taken out of a multi-millionaire's private library, and who is the guilty party?

Thats part one of the novel. As has been the case, however, in the recent run of the series, there is also a secondary story line, and this one is the source of the title. An unknown maniac has surfaced in the lives of two brothers, threatening them and causing wonton destruction to their property. Is this because of their deceased father, a pillar of the community, and supposedly without enemies, or is it something in one of the two brothers' past?

I think I have stated elsewhere in this blog that I much prefer the older stories, before the addition of secondary characters Jake Runyon and Tamara Corbin, and this one, despite the return to my favorite "locked room" mystery, just did not wholly add up to an enjoyable experience. I hope I am not tiring of "Nameless" himself (and I don't think I am), but I do grow weary of Jake and Tamara.

all in all, only 5½ stars for this one.

Why We Make Mistakes by Joseph T. Hallinan

2009-05-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

No that's not a copying error. The most intersting part of this book is the cover, which is actually skewed like the picture to add some light-heartedness (or maybe just to be cute) to the book.

I found some of the material to be interesting, but to be honest, the author's writing style did not capture my interest, despite the fact that I was actually interested in the subject.

I didn't make it far enough into the book to give a fair rating, so I'll leave that part of the review out.

365 Four-Star Videos You (Probably) Haven't Seen by Leslie Hamilton.

2009-05-11T09:29:00.001-07:00

Well, as it turns out, more like "200 Four-star Videos" in my case, since quite a number of them I had seen. And some of those were among my list of favorite movies, so apparently I have good taste. Or at least, have the same taste in movies as the author.

What you get here is an interesting collection of potential Saturday night time wasters (or whichever day of the week you prefer). There is a short synopsis as well as interesting tidbits throughout the book. Included in a sidebar for each pick is a suggestion for another movie to go along with the pick as a second feature. And, just in case you have seen the movie in question, and alternative that is along similar lines, although that line is tenuous in some of the entries if you ask me.

Added as an afterthought for each entry is a trivia question related to either the movie or one of the actors or even the director which you can have fun trying to answer, as well as look up the answer (the answers are interspersed on other pages, rather than conveniently located at the end)

Interesting reading, whether you are just ooking up one idea for a movie for the night, or are reading the entire book for entertainment. 7 stars.

Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary Wolf

2009-05-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

I was intrigued when I saw this book, because I thought the movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, was an original. And after all, I am one who reads almost all of the opening credits, and my memory fails me that it was credited in them. Of course, its been a few years since I saw the movie.

The book that gave us that inspired movie is quite different, however. For one thing, the cartoon characters are not animated characters, but cartoon comic strip actors (two-dimensional as opposed to three). And they are not indestructible, as they are in the movie. They can be "censored" (which here means killed).

At the outset, Eddie Valiant, an alcoholic private investigator, is hired to look into some dirty double-dealings with Roger's employers. But soon thereafter Roger is "censored". Fortunately for Eddie, he has the help of Roger Rabbit to find out who censored him. What's that you say? How can he help if he has been killed?

Well, it turns out that just prior to that killing, Roger had created a doppleganger, which is a temporary version of himself, for purposes which the real Roger did not want to experience first hand. The doppleganger is on a limited time though, as he is due to vanish soon. Eddie has to work against the clock to solve this mystery.

This is a much darker, more film-noirish style than the movie, and should be approached as such. Going into it with hopes of re-experiencing the movie magic is only doomed to disappointment unless you are willing to change that attitude in mid-stream.

I give this one 6½ stars.

Spade and Archer by Joe Gores

2009-05-04T09:17:00.000-07:00

Advertized as the "prequel to the Maltese Falcon", this book takes you back to 1921, when Sam Spade, the hero of that famous novel is just getting started in his own private detective agency. There are three separate stories here, beginning with 1921, and then four years later in 1925, and yet again in 1928.

Each story is a separate mystery in itself, but there is a running theme that connects all three. I won't give it away here, but it is probably the best part of what is really a rather mediocre output.

For one thing, the dialogue just doesn't ring true. Not to mention the fact that the author chose to use the word "of" in dialogues instead of "have", which, while maybe true to the way the people were talking, still was annoying to this reader.

Another thing is that, aside from Spade, and his woman Friday, Effie, most of the characters in the book are barely cardboard characters. Even the villain is barely drawn in the climatic scene at the end of the book. You want to care about the people, but are denied enough to actually care.

It is my opinion that the author did a fairly good job of imitating the style of Hammett, but as for crafting a story worthy of being called a "prequel" to such a classic is something I can't agree.

Give this one 5 stars

The Wicked Wit of the West! by Irving Brecher as told to Hank Rosenfeld

2009-05-02T09:46:00.000-07:00

If you are like me, the first thing that comes to your mind when you saw the author of this book was "Who the $%&* is Irving Brecher?" Well, it turns out that he is one of the wittiest writers in Hollywood that you never knew existed. He wrote several screenplays, two for the Marx Brothers (At the Circus and Go West), and was influential in the early career of Milton Berle.

He was also the creator the radio show The Life of Riley, one of the classics of yesteryear. In essence, he was the behind-the-scenes man in Hollywood in the 30's and 40's. He ran into some trouble with the McCarthy Red Scare and the right-wingers who fingered him and other leftists in the 50's, but he did manage to get back in the good graces after that unfortunate period in history.

And he was funny. (I say was, because he was not fortunate enough to survive to see the printing of his autobiography, having died late last year.) The stories and anecdotes here are, for the most part, laugh out loud hilarious. Only when Brecher gets on his soap box about politics does it bog down, but that is rare in this book.

I rate it 7 stars.

You Must Remember This: The Warner Brothers Story by Richard Schichel and George Perry

2009-04-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

I never really knew so many classic movies were from Warner Brothers. This coffee table book takes you down through the years from the early beginnings of Jack Warner and siblings right up to modern day. Filled with movie stills from such classics as the Al Jolson first "talkie" The Jazz Singer, Casablanca, Rebel Without A Cause, and Batman, among numerous others, it also has plenty of behind-the scenes shots of stars on the sets of those movies, and many classic movie posters.

The writing is OK, although I did notice a few errors that should have been caught before the book went to press. Notably, one of the sections claims that Bette Davis won the Oscar for her performance when actually the winner was Judy Holliday for a different movie. But like I always say, I don't actually read coffee table books for the witty and inspired writing. I get them for the pictures. And this one is well worth the look for that part.

6 stars for the writing; 8 stars for the photography. Enjoy!

The Stand by Stephen King

2009-04-21T10:14:00.000-07:00

In 1978, Stephen King first published The Stand, clocking in at some 800 pages. Some 13 years later, he re-released the book, "complete and uncut", with what was said to be material left on the editing room floor to comply with his editor's suggestion that a novelist who only had a couple of novels under his belt (at that time) would be ill-advised to have an 1100 page novel released.

I read the original published version of The Stand in 1984, while working as a security guard, with a lot of time on my hands between my rounds. I was impressed with it then, but not being the big Stephen King fan that make up the majority of his following, I saw no need to rehash the story again when the unabridged version came out in 1991.

However, while discussing the filmed version one day last week, I was informed of several things that intrigued me by a friend who was working from a reminiscence of the longer version. So I set out to re-read the book, something I usually never do. I have to say, I was impressed by it. As the author states in the introduction, if you read it before, you won't find the characters behaving differently, but you will find them doing a lot more things.

I found that I really liked the expansion of some of the sub-characters, going into a little more detail with how some of them arrived to their final destinations, be it Boulder, Colorado or Las Vegas, Nevada.

For those of you who have never heard of the book or seen the TV movie, here is the briefest of synopses. The government is working on a super-virus in a restricted area of the U.S. The virus gets leaked into a controlled area, but the base is immediately shut down as to prevent it from speading. Unfortunately one security guard does manage to get out.

This one security guard manages to spread this extremely communicable disease to others and like that commercial from days gone by, they spread it to friends and those freinds spread it to more friends until there is aultimately about a 99% death rate among the population. For some reason, the remaining 1% are immune, and begin having strange dreams about a dark man and an old black woman. These are the two marshalling forces that bring about a good vs. evil battle to which the finale is ultimately drawn.

I think I would have rated the original a 10 if I had been doing this blog back then. As it is I am giving this expanded version 8½ stars.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Jack Finney

2009-04-15T13:02:00.001-07:00

This is the classic story on which, so far, three theatrical movie versions have been based. It is more closely aligned with the 1956 version which stayed true to the novel and based it in the small town of Mill Valley. (Ed. note: There actually is a town in southern California called Mill Valley, although the descriptions of the town cannot be verified by me, since I live some 2000 miles away.)

The hero of the story is Dr. Miles Bunnel, a small town doctor who knows most of his patients rather well, as is typical of Hollywood 50's portrayals. Several of his patients have started to believe that some of their family members are not the people they seem to be, s if imposters have taken over. But ne by one, they gradually come back and say they were wrong, they had experienced a brief delusion, but now are certain that the people are who they are supposed to be.

The novel was pretty much paralleled by the 1956 screenplay, at least by my vague memory of the last time I watched it. Nevertheless, it does catch your attention rather marvelously, as is to be expected. I found Finney, long before I knew of his connection to the movie, with an old novel I pulled out of a library book sale called Time and Again, and it was reading that that lead me to other books.

The version that I got here was another audiobook, since the local library didn't have a print version. The reader was one George Wilson, who did an above par job of reading it, although I generally prefer to read them for myself. However, beggars can't be choosers.

I rate the story iotself 8 stars and Wilson's reading is great too.

A Slobbering Love Affair: The True (and Pathetic) Story of the Torrid Romance Between Barack Obama and the Mainstream Media by Bernard Goldberg

2009-04-09T09:38:00.000-07:00

The self-proclaimed champion againt the left-wing bias in the media has come out with a new book, detailing the overt way the media seemed to be in the Obama camp the entire time of the Presidential race. Earth-shattering news, if you have been in a cloistered commune for the past 2 years, but hardly unknown otherwise. The point is, Goldberg, like his compatriots in the right-wing camp, have always been bemoaning the left-wing bias of the media. Will it do any good? I sincerely doubt it.

The usual cast of aspersions here is typical; Jeremiah Wright, bad American and even worse preacher, how could Obama sit in his church and NOT hear his views. (I interject here that I have sat through entire sermons and not heard a word that was said, but I have ADHD.) William Ayers, bad American and how could Obama even touch the same doorknob that Ayers touched 30 years ago. And then of course, the outright ridicule of Sarah Palin, while nothing was said about the incompetence of Joe Biden, who let's face it, makes Dan Quayle look a little less scatter-brained.

While he does make some good points, if you have read any other conservative authors or heard any commentary from Limbaugh and Hannity, nothing is new here. Except for the revealing fact that Goldberg is an elitist, since he thinks "guys working the overnight shift at 7-11...are more introspective" than a lot of journalists, and that "[t]here's a better chance they will understand the dire implications, for journalism and the American people, than these clueless wonders".
Which not only reveals his low opinion of journalists, but by comparing them to that other group, reveals his low opinion of the 7-11 employees, too.

5½ stars.

Odd Jobs by Nancy Rica Schiff

2009-04-07T10:04:00.000-07:00

You think your job is hard? How would you like to be a semen collector? Or a hairdresser for corpses? Or an underarm niffer, as the front cover depicts? These are just some of the jobs described herein.

Once again, the writing in these coffee table books are only secondary to the photography, and this one is no exception. You don't read coffee table books, you look at the pictures, and then if interested, scan the descriptions.

I'm willing to bet that you did't know half these jobs existed, and even more, I imagine you are probably going to be glad it is somebody else doing it for quite a few of them. Still, all in all, it is neat to look at and discover these jobs.

rating it 6 stars

The Pessimist's Handbook: A Guide to Despair and The Optimist's Handbook: A Guide to Hope by Niall Edworthy and Petra Cramsie

2009-04-07T09:50:00.000-07:00

I originally picked this book up because it was displayed at the library with the back cover up. The Pessimist's Handbook is printed upside down at the back of the book. You get both in one volume. I thought, how neat, a book designed for someone like me. (I am the pessimist's pessimist. Pessimism means never having to say you're disappointed.)

Essentially, what I found, is an entertaining collection of quotes on a variety of subjects. And on the opposite side is a collection of optistically flavored quotes on the same subjects. The subjects range over the spectrum, from Advice to Boredom to Smoking (you can be optimistic about smoking?) and about 2 dozen others.

It's not high class literature, just a quick breezy jaunt into some of the best quotes out there from people dating back to ancient Rome up to the near present. Only good as a reference book, but still not entirely bad.

I give it 6 stars.

The Timekeeper Conspiracy by Simon Hawke

2009-04-02T10:39:00.000-07:00

Most of the details involving how this series started were covered in the review of the first book, The Ivanhoe Gambit. Since I don't want to rehash the setup every time, I have reclassified a special listing for these books. If you click on "Time Wars series" on the right side of this web page, you will see the entire list of books I have reviwed to date.

The second book in the "Time Wars" series, The Timekeeper Conspiracy involves a renegade terrorist group out to destroy the war machine. The Timekeepers have a goal to create disturbances that will force the entity governing time stasis to exert a lot of manpower to prevent time splits, thus forcing them to eventually quit using time travel altogether.

The second book takes place in 17th Paris, and as with the previous book, many of the characters are "real" historical figures whom we readers always thought were just fictional. To wit. the time Commandos interact with the characters from The Three Musketeers here. i.e. Athos, Porthos, Aramis, D'Artagnan. And a new, yet familiar ally, comes into the fight. Andre de la Croix, the French woman posing as a male knight, has come to 17th century Paris with a deserter from the Time army.

The renegade Timekeepers are led by a maniacal Adrian Taylor, whom at the start of this novel, has just had himself transgendered to look like Milady de Winter, another important character from the Dumas novel. More and more however, the man Taylor becomes overtaken by the pesonality of the character he has taken and becomes more demented.

The Time Commandos, as they are called from this novel on, have their hands full, not only dealing with the terrorist group, but also with a CIA-like group (conveniently called the TIA here) who seems determined not to let them have all the information they need to complete their mission.

I rate this one 7 stars.

90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper

2009-03-31T11:07:00.000-07:00

This book might be easily tapped as a companion piece to Bill Weise's 23 Minutes in Hell, which I reviewed last year. My review of "23 Minutes"

Once again, you are expected to believe a premise of going to the supernatural realm before life is over. This time however, that the author, a practicing pastor in a Texas church, actually did "die" in an automobile accident and reached the gates of Heaven. The author, or more or less his body at that time, had been declared technically dead by onscene medics, when a fellow man of the cloth supposedly received word from God that he should lay hands and pray for the "dead" man.

This ensued with the miracle of the "dead" man coming back to life. I'm sorry, but only one person has ever been dead and come back to life, pastor. All others may have been technically "dead", but as we see every day, there is much we do not know about the way the world works, or even the science of such things.

Outside of the tale of his trip to "heaven", we have the story of his recovery. (He was pretty much a bed case for a long time due to his injuries.) Then we have the struggle like in "23 Minutes" of the author trying to get people to accept his story. I don't know why I bother with these more fantastical stories, insteadof just reading how to live the right kind of life. I'm always disappointed and skeptical.

Give this one 5 stars.

Reduced Shakespeare by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor

2009-03-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

An irreverent look at Shakespeare by the founders of the Reduced Shakespeare Theater Company, this is quite funny as well as quite informative. The life of Shakespeare is boring if you read what your teachers give you to read. But here, its not only interesting, but entertaining.

And Cliff Notes has nothing on brevity for the bard's plays that these guys do. Hamlet: Poop or get of the pot. There's a section on the sonnets which even entertained me, and I usually skip the chapter(s) on the sonnets in most of the Shakespeare books I've read.

And last, but definitely not least, the authors recommend film versions for most of the plays, including a few that are not the plays themselves but based on one of them.

I give it 7½ stars

Stalking the Unicorn & Stalking the Vampire by Mike Resnick

2009-03-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

Mike Resnick is a guy who I will always think of as an editor first, because that is where I first encountered his name; as the editor of collections of stories in a themed series of books of alternate history. (Alternate Presidents, Alternate Warriors, Alternate Kennedys, etc. But Resnick is also an author, and was well before his days as an editor if I read his biography correctly.

The man as an incredibly biting sense of humor. It was his Adventures, starring a character named Lucifer Jones, that I found out how engaging a writer he could be. But I lost track of his work over the past decade since reading that, and didn't even know about the first book in the John Justin Mallory series until my library got it and the newer one this year.

Stalking the Unicorn was actually first published in 1988, so Resnick waited 20 years before writing a sequel, and a third one is in the works to be released sometime later this year according to his website. Be that as it may, 20 years is not the amount of time that passes between the two in the context of the story, so you won't encounter a doodering old detective in the sequel, thank God.

In the first book, Mallory is just beginning to celebrate New year's Eve alone in his office in Manhattan. Just as he starts in on a bottle, an elf shows up to ask for his help in locating a unicorn that was stolen from him. Thinking the elf is a hallucination, he dimisses the thing, but the elf persists, so Mallory ends up taking the case.

Much to the detective's surprise, an alternate Manhattan exist on the same plane as the real Manhattan, only one where all the fairy tale creatures are real; unicorns, elves, trolls, goblins and the like. Along the way, Mallory picks up a few followers who add comic humor and sometimes genuine help in his search for the unicorn. The funniest of these is Felina a cat-woman, who is constantly hungry.

He also encounters his nemesis for the novel, the Grundy, a demon who seems to be as interested in the unicorn as he is. What happens next is what makes the story great, but i won't reveal the twist here. you'll have to read it to find out.

Stalking the Vampire picks up a couple of years after the story ends in Stalking the Unicorn. In the interim, Mallory has picked up a partner in his detective office, Winnifred Carruthers. It's All Hallow's Eve, the biggest event of the year for the fairy tale Manhattan. At the start of the story, Carruthers' nephew, Robert Newton, has come for a visit from Europe.

Somehow he is not very healthy and it is determined that he has been bitten by a vampire. Several times, in fact, an obviously on the boat trip from Europe. Fortunately he is not entirely converted to vampirism. unfortunately, however, someone kills him.

Mallory and Carruthers are on the case. Seeking out this European vampire becomes and adventure, taking Mallory all over the place trying to find him. Again, as with the first, he picks up several helpful (and not-so-helpful) characters along the way before his final encounter.

I liked both books, but I have a partiality to the first one simply because of the introduction to a rational human from this world into that alternate reality.

Rate Stalking the Unicorn 8 stars.
Rate Stalking the Vampire 7½ stars.

The Shack by Wm. Paul Young

2009-03-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

This book was passed on to me from my mother, who had it passed on to her from her hairdresser. Apparently a whole hell of a lot of people are doing the same thing, because it is a fairly popular book. Why, I can't for the life of me understand.

The basic premise of the book, stated in the beginning by the author, is that a friend of his lost his youngest daughter to a child molester/killer on a weekend camping exhibition, and had totally blamed himself for the event. Four years after the fact, he receives a note, purportedly from God, asking him to spend the weekend with Him at the shack where the evidence showed his little girl had been murdered.

The book starts out interesting enough, with some background leading up to the death of his daughter, but by the time it gets to the meat of the story, my interest was rapidly replaced with disbelief, boredom, and sometimes, even outrage. I don't mean to say I couldn't accept this fictional meeting with God. (And fiction is what it is, by the way, despite the author's attempt to set it up as having really happened). What I had problems with is that this isn't the God that the Bible portrays. [Note: from here on I refuse to capitalize "god" "jesus" or "the holy spirit" intentionally, because I do not accept these characters as the Christian Trinity.]

I can't say for sure who this "god" is, although a google search for the name he gives the "holy spirit" character, Sarayu, gave me a connection to Indian theology, so maybe its a Hindu religion. Young does stick with the idea that the three characters of "god", "jesus" and "the holy spirit" are individual, but at the same time, one being, but that effort crashes and burns as he reveals characteristics about the "trinity" that one would fail to find in years of intense scrutiny of the Bible.

As far as the boredom, well, the book just drags on shortly after the main character, Mack, shows up at the shack. Most of the effort is spent in trying to justify whatever religion the author is trying to espouse. The attempt to rescue Mack from his depression is at best, mildly interesting, but it drags on for page after page.

I don't recommend this book to anyone, much less anyone who is Christian. And I will not, as the back of the book exhorts, be passing it on to others.

2 stars just to give it a rating, but don't let that influence you.

1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die by Tom Moon

2009-03-18T09:32:00.000-07:00

Crank up your ghetto blaster and prepare to be seduced by the cacophony of rap music, or pull out the old Victrola and get ready for the sugary strings of baroque classical music. Whether you binge on hard-drive of thrash metal or you are more into the boot-scooting twang of country, there are some choices here to please you.

When one picks up a musical compendium like this, it is likely that he/she will, as I did, thumb through it briefly to find out if your favorites are listed. First crack out of the box, no Rush. Hmmm. Van Halen? Nope. Maybe a different category... How about Waylon Jennings? Not here, either.

Well, I guess Rush and Van Halen and Waylon had to be scrapped in favor of having 6 (count'em, 6) Beatles albums. Of course, there had to be the ubiquitous Sgt. Pepper's... and Abbey Road. (No list ever seems to be without them. I bet even a list of greatest country albums would manage to sneak them in somehow.) But then there are 4 more.

I do congratulate the author for not being entirely focused in favor of one genre over the rest, though. It is an eclectic mix, with samplings from, as near as I can tell, all genres of music. And I am no elitist when it comes to music, myself. I have some of these same recodings in my CD shuffler, classical, rock, jazz or what have you.

I did especially like the endcap for each entry. TMoon not only gives you the essentials, such as which tracks to especially note on the recordings, but gives you helpful suggestions such as other notable recordings by the artist, as well as Next Stop, which sends you on to similar stylings by other artists.

All in all, its a nice introduction into some styles of music you may have overlooked, as well as increasing your range of music in your favorite styles.

I give it 7 stars.

Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century by P. W. Singer

2009-03-16T10:30:00.000-07:00

Science fiction meets the future in this book that tells of how ideas that were once only in fantastic tales of the future and movies like The Terminator are now rapidly becoming reality. Remote controlled robots like the one described at the beginning of the book are being used for what are highly hazardous missions in which the lives of human soldiers, who used to perform the tasks, are preserved.

I first heard the author in an interview on the Art Bell/George Noory late night radio show. For me, the technological episodes of that show are much more interesting than any of the psuedo-cultural ghosts and aliens that predominate it. When I heard what the show was about, I had to tune in. What I heard there was enough to spur me to read the book.

The subject matter here is the ongoing rise of the use of robotics in the war field. Drone planes that are not remotely controlled from a base in Afghanistan, but actually from a base in Nevada. Robots based on the same kind of technology as the Roomba floor sweeper performing what would otherwise be dangerous tasks for humans. And as we speak, the technology is getting even more refined.

Admittedly this is a rather large tome, and I would have preffered the author be more succinct, since it took me the better part of a month to wade through all this. But if you have a keen interest in the workings of robotics, or how they are being used today, you might want to skim through it.

I rate it 6½ stars

Heroes among Us: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Choices by john Quiñones

2009-02-21T10:06:00.000-08:00

Do you have what it takes to be a hero? Author John Quiñones makes a case that even the weakest and most timid of us can have the potential to be a hero under the right conditions. Across the board we learn heroic tales, and not just of people who run into burning buildings and drag out helpless children. There are also tales of people who sacrifice time and money to help out those in need. these are also heroes in Quiñones' eyes.

It's not an easy book to read at times. I defy you to be able to read the whole thing without shedding a tear or two. The story of the Barrios family's efforts to help the young alleged killer of their matriarch, Viola Barrios. So is the memorial to Christa Macauliffe, the teacher who was one of the victims of the explosion of the space shuttle Discovery in 1986.

But death is not the outcome that makes people heroes throughout this book, otherwise it would be an extremely depressing book indeed. There is also the stories of two former Marines who were significant in the rescue of two victims buried under the rubble of the towers after 9/11. And one of the resue of a busload of children on a bus that happened to be in the middle of the 9340 Bridge when it collapsed in 2007.

And that too is not the only way to be a hero. Although tragedy is a central point in many of the stories, there are ones where every day people just do the right thing, such as the wealthy businessman who organized a food drive, and personally handed out sandwiches to the homeless.

Every story in here is inspiring, and makes you feel good. It might even lead you to do something heroic on your own, or at least to not ignore that homeless man next time you pass him on the street.

I give this one 9 stars.

Lost Histories by Joel Levy

2009-02-15T13:04:00.000-08:00

What happened to the missing colony of Roanoke? Or Amelia Earhart? What and where is the Holy Grail? These and other intriguing mysteries of times past are discussed within these pages. Did Atlantis really exist, and if so, where was it? Where is this place called El Dorado, the mythical city of gold?

The author covers most of the theories in brief, discussing the possibilities of each being the correct solution, as well as presenting the evidence for each theory being mistaken. I can't say for sure whether he covers every known theory surrounding each mystery, but for the ones in which I was previously well-versed, I can vouch that he does cover all of the theories I knew.

Levy never actually commits to any one theory, although he does debunk a fewof the more outlandish theories surrounding some of the mysteries. For instance, he is convined that the wacky theory that the colony of Roanoke was a victim of alien astronaut kidnapping is not likely the solution.

The writing is interesting, if a bit dry, but for an introduction into the mysteries of disappearances and lost cities, it is a very good place to start. Guaranteed you will be able to hold forth on the subjects should hey come up in conversation,and if they don't well, you can bring them up yourself.

I rate this one 7 stars.

The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet by Neil deGrasse Tyson

2009-02-14T11:32:00.000-08:00

The story of how one man single-handedly brought down a planet. Well, not entirely so, but it was partially due to the displays that astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson worked on at the Hayden planetarium that ended up with the reclassification of Pluto. This is mostly his story, but it also has some background story and history.

Peppered with lots of feedback, mostly from children, decrying the author's decision to not list Pluto among the bona-fide planets at the planetarium, this book is still a bit hard to take. The engaging style of the author does not detract from the fact that much of the story is not very interesting. To be sure, a devotee of astronomy won't be entirely put off by it, especially since the author makes a great case for his decision.

However, I found that it took a bit of an effort to complete the book. The collected cartoons were interesting, as were the letters from Tyson's younger debators. Still, I can only rate this one 5½ stars.

Napoleons Privates: 2,500 Years of History Unzipped by Tony Perrottet

2009-02-07T11:09:00.000-08:00

For your you prurient perusal, this provacative publication is presented. You thought history was boring? Not so, says Perrottet and he proceeds to disprove that theory.

Did you ever see the movie Cabaret? Let me tell you, it was Disneyesque compared to the real story of Weimar Berlin's decadence. And the French aristocrats of the 1700's were just as bad as those wacky sex-crazed emperors of Ancient Rome.

Who discovered the clitorus? Which popes exercised their papal priveleges in ways not condoned to the masses? And just how did the condom come into being? These questions and many more are answered within the confines of this book. Not for the faint-hearted, but if you have an open mind and a curiosity, then it is a book you can enjoy, as well as garner tidbits of information to bring up at parties.

I'm giving this one 8½ stars.

Maximum FF: A Visual Exegesis of Fantastic Four #1 by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Walter Mosely, & Mark Evanier

2009-02-02T11:26:00.000-08:00

From dictionary.com: ex·e·ge·sis (ěk'sə-jē'sĭs) n. pl. ex·e·ge·ses (-sēz)
Critical explanation or analysis, especially of a text.

Just wanted to point that out. I don't know what you call this book, but I think exegesis is a pretty lofty term for what is contained within.

For one thing, most of it is just the reproduced story presented in the original Fantastic Four #1. And not very good reproduction either. Many of the frames of the comic are cut off at the top, making you have to decipher what the character in the frame is saying.

Added to this is a reminiscence by author Walter Mosely which doesn't really reveal anything except his fascination for comics stemming from an early encounter with a box of cast off comics in a mom and pop store. Not much there to interest any one except maybe a Walter Mosely fan.

Finally, about three quarters of the way through the book is a history of how Fantastic Four came about as a phenomenon. Included in the essay are the original plot line drawn up by Lee, and a reproduction of the original cover of Fantastic Four #1. What is not here is a "critical explanation or analysis, especially of a text." I guess you could call it an analysis of the history, to put a stretch on it. But the essay, reminiscence and text of the comic took all of 30 minutes out of my life, and I'd really like to have them back.

This one only gets 3 stars. If you just want the original comic book, and can't afford a collector's price, you can find it reproduced in
Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four Vol. 1.

It's Not News, It's Fark: How Mass Media Tries to Pass off Crap as News by Dan Curtis

2009-02-01T12:47:00.000-08:00

Is Your Next-Door Neighbor A Terrorist? This headline causes people to immediately perk up and read the rest of the article. What is actually in the article is a story about an interview with one of the neighbors who, for a time, lived next door to one of the terrorist cells that attacked the World Trade Center. No need to get out your lie detector and shotgun and force your neighbor to take the test. This is just a made-up example on my part, but it epitomises fearmongering.

Fearmongering is just one the cases where non-news is reported as news , according to Drew Curtis, who is the founder of fark.com, a site devoted to pointing out ridiculous non-news stories. In this book, he points out the different ways that media spices up stories, changes headline content, or just outright invention of so-called news, all in the effort to raise ratings 9for TV news) or sell papers.

One of my favorite chapters was the one on how celebrity quotes were mangled to mean something entirely different from what they actually meant. Case in point Sharon Stone believes kids should have more oral sex. What really was said by Stone was that she tells young people that she believes oral sex is much safer than vaginal sex. Not so shocking is it? Unless you are a pude, I mean.

The interesting thing is how blatant some of these media people are to get a story out, even resorting to witnesses, who are not really witnesses at all. The chapter entitled "Equal Time for Nutjobs". Here whackjob theories are supported by interviews with whackjob "experts". And this is in turn reported as news.

Eye-opening, maybe, but definitely entrtaining, this book is for someone who is tired of all the time he or she has wasted reading an article or watching a news broadcast only to find that the story has nothing to do with the hype that preceeded it.

I give it 6½ stars

America's Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation by Kenneth C. Davis

2009-01-31T09:57:00.000-08:00

Kenneth Davis has a style that is engaging and has kept me coming back to his books every time. I first encountered him with his Don't Know Much About... series. Any one of those would be a good starting point to read and improve your knowledge on the subjects which he writes.

This book was entirely different from the trivia style tidbits that made up the format of the Don't Know Much About... books. Instead of the brief vignettes that comprised the volume of those books, here, Davis discusses only 6 stories. And those stories only cover a period of history involving the first 200 years or so of its history.

The author, whose style I so admired from the Don't Know Much About... series, however, seems to have morphed into a less-focused writer in the interim. I found myself trying hard to stay focused, as he doesn't seem to be very focused himself. He jumps around a lot in getting to the main story, and even then, I was left a bit unclear as to what conclusions he was trying to draw.

And the title is a bit misleading to a fan of history. Actually, only one of the stories was unknown to me, so "Hidden" is not necessarily the best choice for a title (although I bet plenty of people buy the book for that title, so maybe it was a good choice after all). All-in-all, I think you would be best served to stick with the Don't Know Much About... books, and leave this one on the shelf.

I rate it 4½ stars.

Organization

2009-01-28T10:18:00.000-08:00

I can't seem to get organized. I need help. Anybody want a job as a maid?

One of these days, I'll just sit down and write up a storm, and post about a dozen reviews in one day. That's how many books I never got around to reviewing yet, but did actually read. More coming soon, but probably not until the weekend.

Amazing Texas: Fascinating Facts, Entertaining Tales, Bizarre Happenings, and Historical Oddities about the Lonestar State by T. Jensen Lacey

2009-01-24T10:38:00.000-08:00

Trivia books are a dime a dozen, theoretically speaking. You can find just about any subject and there will be a pop culture style book with little facts and anecdotes about it somewhere. Even truer for something like Texas, where the people of the state tend to create an enthusiasm within their oit outside the confines of the state.wn ranks, as well as oft times inspiring enthusiasm for it outside the confines of the state.

Personally my favorite to fill this niche is
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges into Texas. But I like the format and random tidbits style of all the Uncle John's books.

It would be unfair to judge this book against another. a book should be judged on it's own merits. To her credit, the author does include a lot of interesting material about the state, it's history and it's general makeup. And there are even some things here that I did not previously know. (And, believe me, I know a lot about Texas, having spent almost my entire life here.)

The problem I had with the book was not so much as the content itself, but as with a lack of interesting style. Nothing seems to reach out and grab you. Bland stating of facts is what I felt from the start. Not that you can't learn anything from the book, especially if you are a novice to things Texas. I just feel your time would be better spent seeking a different book.

I only give this one 5 stars.

Ponzi's Scheme: The True Story of a Finincial Legend by Mitchell Zuckoff

2009-01-03T10:38:00.000-08:00

A car trip of over 5 hours can be pretty boring. That's why whenever I make the trek to visit family, I listen to the radio quite a bit. But eventually that gets pretty boring too, even without having to channel jump to keep getting a station with a clear signal.

This year, I decided to try a book on CD. After all it would make the time go by just as easily. And, as an added bonus, I could get a book "read" while driving.

My choice was Ponzi's Scheme. This being my first book on CD, and the first time in many years for audio books of any kind (back in the day, there were no CDs yet and my books were audio on cassette tapes), I didn't quite know what to expect. I found out right off, that due to CD capacity, the book was unabridged, meaning I got to hear the whole book, not just an edited down version, as was the case with the cassettes of old.

The book was read by Grover Gardner. A few words on the quality of the reading is in order. I thought the monotone delivery was a little dry. Hardly any emotion comes through on the reading. That much I remember from the old days. I imagine it is a standard in the industry, because I have never heard an audio book with much emotion in the reading.

That said, the story was quite interesting. With the exception of one chapter that was devoted to the life and politics of former Boston mayor, James Michael Curley, I thought the story went rather well. The fact that Curley does not seem to be a major player in the rest of the story was the cause for me to find this section out of place. At least with the case of Edwin and Richard Grozier, publishers of the Boston Post, there was a constant link to the story, so delving into their lives did not cause any comment.

What the story boils down to, in case you are not familiar with it, an Italian immigrant, Carlo (Charles) Ponzi, ran an illegal racket in which he claimed to be dealing in postal reply coupons, buying them in one country that had a cheap rate, and selling them for a higher value to another country. Investors were guaranteed a 50% interest on their investments, but what it really came down to was a "robbing Peter to pay Paul" scheme in which he used later investors money to pay off previous investors.

Knowing all this does not in the least take away from the enjoyment of the book, whether read by you or by the audio reader. I know, because I was fairly well knowledgeable on the subject beforehand, and still got enjoyment from it.

I rate the book 7 stars, but I rate Gardner's audio version only 5. I think you would find it more enjoyable just taking the time to read it yourself.

Shine On: 1909-2009 100 Years of Shiner by Mike Renfro

2009-01-03T08:59:00.000-08:00

I like beer. I also like books about beer. And my favorite beer just happens to be Shiner, specifically Shiner Bock. If you are not priveleged to be living somewhere that Shiner is distributed, then you are missing out. Get thee to Texas for a vacation, so you can try it. If it is available, then for God's sake what are you waiting for?

Reading about the history of my favorite beer was without a doubt a great way to start the new year, I mean besides toasting it with a bottle at midnight New Year's Eve. This is another coffee table book, but aside from that fact, it is not just a overinflated picture book, like some of that type are. The writing is good, and intriguing enough, and the author has a genuine love for the beer and the history behind it. Not just a dry reporting, the author actually infuses the book with a passion that I have not seen in any of the other coffee table books I've read.

Of course, there's no denying that part of it is due to my passion for the same brew, but I can accept that. I give this one an unashamed to admit it, 9 stars.

A Tale Out of Luck by Willie Nelson and Mike Blakely

2008-12-24T08:07:00.000-08:00

Willie Nelson is, in my opinion, one of the greatest songwriters of our time. But call me a negative Nellie, I don't think Willie Nelson actually wrote the fully fleshed out novel here. Most likely, because it also has a secondary author, Mike Blakely wrote the story out, using a skeleton story line that Wille gave him.

That shouldn't take anything away from the novel in any way. The story is intriguing and kept me page-turning for a day and a half. And except for a nagging little deus ex machina that appears towards the end of the book, it was highly entertaining.

The story begins with the murder of a rustler by an unknown assailant who uses Comanche arrows to kill him. The story shifts to Jay Blue, son of the ex-Texas Ranger, and ranch owner Capt. Hank Tomlinson, who is trying to spark a barmaid at the local saloon, while his friend and adopted brother "Skeeter" Rodriquez is supposed to be covering his duty as night guard at the ranch. Meanwhile, back at the ranch (I've always wanted to write that...), Capt. Hank's newly aquired thouroughbred mare is stolen after "skeeter" sneaks off to catch some sleep.

The story follows several characters, including a state authorized police detective Max Kenyon, investigating the death of the rustler, and an Indian brave known only as "the Wolf". This story has as many twists and turns in it as a mystery novel, and you will be kept guessing right up to the very end as to hat is coming next.

I rate this one 7½ stars. Very good.

The Purpose of Christmas by Rick Warren

2008-12-22T10:26:00.001-08:00

If you think Christmas is all about Santa Claus and reindeer and trees and presents, then this book, an introductory book into the birth of Jesus Christ, savior to millions of the Christian faith worldwide, will educate and might appeal to you. If, however, you are already a believer in the faith, there is nothing here you didn't already know.

Not that Warren is by any means a boring author, or that he hasn't the ability to inspire people with his writing, but the style and direction of this little piece is more purposefully used to evangelize the non-Christian than it is to enlighten the Christian.

Taken at its basic sense, this is a great tool for those of the faith to use to break the ice with their friends who are not. And it is well written enough and earnest enough to serve that purpose.

I give it 7 stars.

The Cat's Pajamas by Ray Bradbury

2008-12-18T09:30:00.000-08:00

Ever since I was a youngster, I wanted to write. By all accounts, ever since he was a youngster, Ray Bradbury wanted to write, too. The difference is he followed through with his dream and mine is still that. A dream. Not that anything I ever wrote would even stand up next to Bradbury. Case in point:

It was like the cracking of moon-colored ice on a midnight pond.

That line, from The Island, is the perfect example, to me, of how much of a genius Bradbury is with words.

I grew up reading Bradbury's science fiction, books like R is for Rocket and S is for Space. Those volumes only touched upon the superior ability of Bradbury to captivate his audience. Little did I know at the time, but he was more than just a science fiction writer. One only has to read Dandelion Wine to find that he should be ranked with Dickens and Twain, two of his own professed heroes.

Only a small portion of these stories are even remotely science fiction in nature. Many of them are mainstream without even a hint of science. Surprisingly, these are some of the better sories in the book, despite the fact that I have come to expect science fiction from Bradbury.

The best story in the book by my opinion is Chrysalis. If you are not familiar with Bradbury, you will not know, but it is the same title he used on a completely different story. This particular story involves the friendship between a black boy and a white boy who meet on the beach. The main character, the black boy, has been trying unsuccessfully for years to bleach the black out of his skin, while the white boy wants to get tan. The contrast is memorable as well as the reaction of certain subcharacters in the story.

There are stories that will haunt you as well as stories to amuse you here. One of the latter in particular, Hail to the Chief, involves a bunch of drunken senators who have gambled away the entire United States at an Indian gambling casino, and the President has to save their asses, not to mention reputations.

Not every story was entertaining, but in a book of short stories, I imagine most people will not like every story in it. The one titled Ole, Orozco! Sisqueros, Si! falls into this category for me. A story about a graffitti artist who gains recognition after his death.

I give this one an overall 7 stars.

Iconic America by Tommy Hilfiger with George Lois

2008-12-14T12:32:00.000-08:00

My first impression when I saw this book was "it's a coffee table book from Hell." The thing is a monster in size and bulk. But it has to be. The book is filled with all kinds of Americana, from Burma-Shave signs, to Andy Warhol, to the Nike Swoosh, and Buddy Holly and just about anything you can think of that is purely American. Mom, apple pie and Santa Claus. ...and Playboy. (Yes, Virginia, there is a centerfold. Hide your eyes.)

Depending on your age, some of this may bring back nostalgic memories, or they may be a peek into the life your parents (or even grandparents) talk about with fond memories. Although the pictures are of icons and memorabilia that span the entire history of the American experience, most of them are from the last 100 years or so. A visually stunning book, to say the least. (Quit looking at that centerfold, Virginia!)

It's a fun book, and, although Hilfiger's writing is nothing to write home about, it's still informative and often entertaining. But you may find it more interesting just to look at the pictures. (I told you, Virginia, stop looking at that centerfold...)

I give this one 8 stars.

Mr. Monk is Miserable by Lee Goldberg

2008-12-08T10:08:00.001-08:00

I must confess, I love it when Adrian Monk is out of his milieu, but let's face it, Monk is out of his milieu five steps outside the front door of his apartment. That's what makes the ones where he goes to Hawaii, or Mexico, or New York City that much more enjoyable. Some day, I hope one of the writer's puts him in New Orleans smack dab in the middle of Mardi Gras. (That one's a freebie on me, if any of you are reading this.)

Continuing on from where the last entry in the Monk series ended, (see Mr. Monk Goes to Germany) we find our heroes Adrian Monk and Natalie Teeger on vacation in Paris (well vacation for Natalie, anyway), which doesn't get off to a very auspicious start. One of the passengers on the plane dies, and of course, it's murder.

Natalie figures she's home free because the inevitable murder that seems to drop into Monk's lap everywhere they go has occured early in the trip. Au contraire. Nothing is that easy when it comes to Monk.

Figuring Monk would enjoy seeing the famous catacombs of Paris, she arranges a tour. Leave it to Monk to find the victim of a murder, and not one of the many people who have been buried there for centuries, but one of a recent victim. It turns out that the victim was a former resident of San Francisco, which brings Capt. Stottlemeyer and Lt. Disher on the scene.

Into this mix is a subculture of people who have forsaken life in the richness and luxury of working and spending money, for one of living in the sewers and digging through trash for sustenance.

While not quite up to Mr. Monk Goes to Germany, this is still one fun read. I rank it 8½ stars.

Roller Derby: The History and All-Girl Revival of the Greatest Sport on Wheels by Catherine Mabe

2008-12-04T10:15:00.000-08:00

I must admit I know nothing of the roller derby sport. I didn't even know it was experiencing a revival. Prior to picking up this book, I only had vague recollections of seeing roller derbies in my youth on our family's old black-and-white TV. And I didn't understand the sport any more than I did wrestling, both of which I assumed were fixed because of the inherent drama that was a part of each.

I still am convinced that wrestling is fixed, but Mabe has dissuaded me of that notion as far as roller derby is concerned. This book is the perfect introduction into a behind-the scenes look at a sport which is almost the equivalent of hockey, at least as far as the physicalness of it is concerned.

Known on the circuit by the name "Jayne Manslaughter", Mabe as a derby girl is better suited to writing a history of the sport of roller derby than any aficionado might be. And her passion for the sport exudes on every page. Filled with colorful anecdotes as well as plenty of pictures from past and present incarnations of the sport, this is a quick and mostly entertaining read.

There is even a primer on the intricacies of play and how the points are scored, so if you have never been to a game, you will be prepared if someone takes you to the next match.

I'm rating this one 6½ stars.

The Shootist by Glendon Swarthout

2008-12-03T10:24:00.000-08:00

While not my favorite John Wayne movie, The Shootist has always ranked in the top 5. Needless to say I had seen it numerous times on T.V. But only when I recently acquired a DVD of the movie and saw the feature regarding the making of the movie, did I realize that it was based on a novel. Yes it does say that in the credits at the beginning, but I never have been one to pay attention to those past the naming of the actors.

Fortunately for me, I found a copy of the original novel. It is hard to write a review of a novel that has been made into a movie, even harder when that movie is more well known than the original novel. Comparisons between the novel and the more well-known movie, which will have incoporated and adapted the original text to suit its own purposes, is inevitable.

What jumped out at me more than anything else was the character of Gillom Rogers, the character than Ron Howard played in the movie. The text character is much more pugnacious and harder-edged than what appears on the screen in the performance of Howard. I imagine a lot of this had to do with Howard's image, coming from his Opie Taylor and Richie Cunningham background than anything having to do with wanting to tone down the character for the purposes of the movie itself.

Other than that, there's not much entirely different here. Most of the action takes place in exactly the same form as was presented as a movie. And it was entertaining to break from my usual fare to read something more classic in the western genre, something I don't do as much these days.

I give this one 8 stars.

Ted, White, and Blue by Ted Nugent

2008-11-29T11:49:00.000-08:00

I think Ted Nugent is, like, the illegitimate love child of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, with a little bit of Glenn Beck's genes spliced into the mix. Or maybe more like Michael Savage on steroids, (except Nugent piously proclaims he never did drugs or booze of any kind). Given that, liberals should cower in their Birkenstocks that the Nuge might ever decide to run for office. Given that his home state is Texas, and Texas is pretty much solidly "red", he'd be a pain in their posteriors for years to come.

Nugent can write, and pretty convincingly, I might add. Even on issues which I am in opposition with him, he was close to convincing me to switch sides. But even on topics with which I agree, Nugent can come off rather pushy and sometimes self-aggrandizing for the purposes of his political agenda. Needless to say, it would behoove liberals not to pick up the book unless you want to be frothing at the mouth before the end.

The best parts of the book, for me, were the sections on global "warming" and immigration. Yes, Nuge, I agree with you 110% on the issues of illegal aliens and the fact that English should be mandated as the official language of this country. And I'm pretty sure global warming is a crock of s***. The least liked part, aside from the kissy suck-up intro from Bob Coburn, was the section where Nugent tries to convince everyone that we should nuke every one who disagrees with us back to the Stone Age. ("War is the Answer")

Read this book with an open mind, if you can. That's a tough call, if the standard reviews on the book sales sites are to be taken into the mix, as usual they run the gamut from the overly fawning (conservatives) to the virulently vituperative (liberals). My own personal rating is less biased, since I am neither. An entertaining read overall, whether I agreed with his viewpoints or not.

I give it 7 stars.

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip by Steve Dublanica

2008-11-23T12:10:00.000-08:00

I have never been, nor have I ever had the desire to be, a waiter. My personality is strongly in direct conflict with the self-righteous, self-centered attitude that I percieve sometimes from my surrounding patrons on the occasions that I do go out to eat. How people are able to deal with that on a daily basis has always been a mystery to me. And that is even despite having a good rapport with a couple of wait personnel at a couple of establishments.

This is an eye opening book into that world, not only as the waiter deals directly with customers, but also a view into the back room world between waiters and the support staff in the kitchen. You may dive into this one not giving a damn about the author himself, but by the end, you may find that you too, have become a compadre to the cares and woes of him.

This is a book that is at times amusing, and again at other times makes you want to strangle someone. Included at the back, for those who are clueless as to how to act in a public restaurant (as opposed to a place where there is a kid at the counter asking you if "you want fries with that"). Most of these, you may already know and abide by, if you are among the 80% of customers the author says are normal good customers. But it is good to give them a glance, just in case.

I rate this one 9 stars

The "Nameless Detective" Ouevre by Bill Pronzini

2008-11-21T09:30:00.000-08:00

Bill Pronzini's "Nameless Detective" series, as I hinted at in my last post, is my favorite detective. There are four distinct changes in "Nameless'" life where I divide the character and the output of the author. Sometimes these changes are for the better, and sometimes for the worse, but all matured the character and sent him on the ultimate journey of his life.

The Snatch (1971).
The Vanished (1972).
Undercurrent (1973).
Blowback (1977).
Twospot (1978).
Labyrinth (1980).

These are the ones I like to refer to as the pre-Kerry era novels (see next section for more on Kerry Wade). Sadly, I think most of them are out of print. I managed to find Undercurrent at a library book sale, and I got Twospot from an e-Bay seller. But I have never seen or read the rest of them. These are the early in-developement novels, and I liked the two I read. I'm sure the others are just as good.

Hoodwink (1981).
Scattershot (1982).
Dragonfire (1982).
Bindlestiff (1983).
Quicksilver (1984).
Nightshades (1984).
Double (With Marcia Muller) (1984).
Bones (1985).
Deadfall (1986).

The Kerry Wade era. My first encounter with "Nameless" was in Hoodwink. I fondly remember this adventure, not just because it is where he meets the future love of his life, Kerry Wade, but the mystery is set at a pulp magazine convention, something that is a passion for the detective. The series in this particular era also include the fall from grace of his friend, the police lieutenant, Eberhardt. These are the ones I turn to on those cold winter nights when I can't sleep.

Shackles (1988).
Jackpot (1990).
Breakdown (1991).
Quarry (1992).
Epitaphs (1992).
Demons (1993).
Hardcase (1995).
Sentinels (1996).
Illusions (1997).
Boobytrap (1998).
Crazybone (2000).
Bleeders (2002).

Beginning with Shackles, "Nameless" takes on a darker feel. This is primarily due to the fact that "Nameless" is kidnapped and held prisoner in the Shackles entry. Most of these are good reads, although I do admit to not being able to reconcile the changes that resulted from his kidnapping, at first. Note: Boobytap, which won the Private Eye writers Shamus Award, is definitely worthy of the accolades.

Spook (2003).
Scenarios (2005).
Nightcrawlers (2005).
Mourners (2006).
Savages (2007).
Fever (2008).

In the newest incarnation, "Nameless" hasn't really changed, but I dilineate from the others because this is where the author has, for reasons that don't really set well with me, but I can understand, has chosen to divide the time between the first person narrative of "Nameless" and third person narratives of his partners at the detective agency, Tamara Corbin and Jake Runyon. According to what I've read, it seems that Pronzini was going to retire the series and the character after Bleeders, but was convinced to bring him back. In this part of the series, he is supposed to be semi-retired, but he appears to be just as active as ever.

I reccomend that you start out with the first novel and read them consecutively, but you do not necessarily need to do so. "Nameless" does age over the span of the series, but not as rapidly as the span of the novels. if that were true, our hero would be a doddering octogenarian, competing on the level of say Buddy Ebsen's Barnaby Jones.

Fever by Bill Pronzini

2008-11-20T09:29:00.000-08:00

I can believe it, given my work ethic on this blog, but it still came as a surprise that I have not reviewed any of Bill Pronzini's "Nameless Detective" series of mysteries. I'll have to rectify that more closely next post, but I want to cover the newest one right now.

Fever is the 33rd entry in the series revolving around the so-called "Nameless Detective", (although that has become something of a misnomer in recent years, since, although the author never gave his first person narrator a name, some characters in the story have addressed him or referred to him as "Bill"). The character is an ex-cop who has been running his own private detective agency.

In this particular entry, the seedy side of online gambling is brought into the open. The main plot revolves around a rich, sometimes doting and sometimes callous, husband trying to find his wife. In a very intriguing subplot, one of "Nameless'" associates is investigating the beating of a devoted mother's son. As is often the case, the two stories seem to dovetail into each other around an online gambling addiction and some very shady dealings.

All in all, I think this is only a mediocre piece from what is still my favorite book detective. I rate it 6½ stars. Next post I will rank the entire output in the series.

Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga by Ian Christe

2008-11-16T13:17:00.000-08:00

Most (I say most, not necessarily all) Van Halen fans fall into one of two categories. Either they loved the David Lee Roth era VH, and either hated or were at least ambivalent about the "Van Hagar" recreation of the late 80's - 90's, with Sammy Hagar taking the reins as the frontman, or they thought the addition of the red Rocker was a vast improvement. ( I sincerely doubt there were very many who thought that Gary Cherone as the third incarnation leader was the best, or there would have been more than one album from that stage.)

I state at the outset that I fall into that first category. Needless to say, I enjoyed the first third of the book better than the other two. But that's not saying much. To a person who wants to delve into the behind-the scenes story, this is not really the book you want. I don't know for sure if Christe ever wrote for Circus or Hit Parader (two heavy metal magazines that were around in the 80's) but if he did, those slapdash magazine articles are probably where he developed his style, and it hasn't grown up since.

It's not that the author doesn't have anything to say, its just that he has nothing to say that is of any interest, even to a die hard Van Halen (Roth-era, but still...) fan. I found myself struggling to just slog through this piece of junk.

If you really care about rehashing how the tracks were laid for a Van halen album, you couldn't go wrong here. If you want to read about the band in a boring and attention-losing style, step right up. But if you want to be entertained, I suggest you try a different book.

I'll be nice and not give it 1 star, how about 1½ for the effort?

Mr. Monk and the Anticipatory Addict

2008-11-07T15:09:00.000-08:00

New reviews coming in the future include one, which is the newest entry in the novels based on the TV series, "Monk", to be titled "Mr. Monk is Miserable". It is available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes and Noble (and possibly others, but those being my main sources are the only ones I've checked. I made a decision to buy this one myself, as opposed to nagging my local library to buy it, as I have in the past. (You didn't really think I was buying all these books did you....?) I'm even going to repay the favor, by donating my copy after I finish it. Which is not a bad idea, for those of you who have a bulging home collection, by the way. Libraries appreciate donations. There, that's my shameless do-gooder deed for the month.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the White House: Humor, Blunders, and Other Oddities from the Presidential Campaign Trail by Charles Osgood

2008-10-25T10:18:00.000-07:00

There is very litle commentary in this little book. The title says it all. Beginning with the campaign of 1948, Osgood has collected quuotes from both sides and independent observers during the Presidential election years. (Up to 2004; none from the current campaign, but this book almost had to have gone to press before the selection of this year's candidates)

Some of them are kind of flat, but some are downright hilarious. All of them are entertaining, no matter which side of the aisle you are usually seated. And it can be read in a couple of hours, always a good thing in today's attention span deficit society.

I give this one 8 stars.

Rose Bowl Dreams by Adam Jones

2008-10-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

I first picked up this book because I thought it centered on the championship season of the 2005 University Of Texas Longhorns. That is, after all, the championship team in the foreground, and the Rose Bowl was where it all came to fruition. If I had read the dust cover blurb, i would have dissauded of this notion, but I didn't.

The book, rather, is about the trials and travails of one man and his family, with attention given to the ups and downs of the Texas Longhorns over a period of about 20 years as sort of a side note. it is in essence an autobiography, not that that is a bad thing in and of itself, but since before picking up the book I had never ecen heard of the author, I didn't really care about him or his family.

That said, I did find the book intriguing enough to read all the way through and found it entertaining to a point. Getting to the last two chapters (which actually deal with two games played during that season, the last one recording his feelings during that Rose Bowl) was at times a rough row to hoe. If you are looking for a sports history look elsewhere, but if you are the kind of fan who can commisserate with a fellow fan through your own lives, you might check it out.

My personal rating for this one is 6 stars.

Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse by Victor Gischler

2008-10-17T09:52:00.000-07:00

One of the more fascinating genres of science fiction is post-end-of-the-world stories. These can range from classics like Walter M. Miller, Jr's A Canticle for Liebowitz to more offbeat stuff like this little jewel. The story begins with our "hero", Mortimer, living in isolation in the mountains of Tennessee, where he took up residence prior to the "apocalypse".

He has been out of touch with what he world has become for some time, but it comes crashing in on him due to the accidental killing of three intruders into his fortress of solitude. He makes a decision to go into town to track down his estranged wife, whom he has not seen in 10 years.

The world has changed completely in his absence. A mercenary group called the "Red Stripes" runs roughshod over the existing enclaves of villages that still try to exist. The villages, formerly such big cities like Atlanta, are primarily formed around a chain establishment of strip clubs called Joey Armageddon's Sassy-a-Go-Gos. The height of rich life is having a few Armageddon dollars to spend in these bars.

But Mortimer is not interested in lap dancers, he wants to find his wife. So he teams up with a cocky cowboy named "Buffalo" Bill and a feisty girl named shiela to make the trek from Tennessee to Atlanta where she was last seen. Along the way he has to deal with cannibals, the Red Stripes and renegade gangs on speed. Will he make it? I will say, this its a real page-turner.

I rate it 8 stars

The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder by Vincent Bugliosi

2008-10-12T14:49:00.000-07:00

Vincent Bugliosi is no slouch when it comes to the courtroom. He was the prosecutor of Charles Manson and several others in the 1969 trial for the Tate-LaBianca murders. He has since published several books outlining his viewpoint from a prosecutorial stance on such things as how the prosecutors screwed up in prosecuting O. J. Simpson, and a fairly well written piece on the assasination of John F. Kennedy.

Here he makes what seems to be an excellent case for prosecuting the current president, George W. Bush, for murder. The case hinges on evidence that Bush committed troops to a war in Iraq that had no basis on facts that were purported at the outset of that war. Assuming that all of his facts are true, then I agree wholeheartedly with his summation.

Here is the problem, though. There are no footnotes or references given from which these facts are derived. You are left entirely up to yourself to delve into the mountain of archives to find out if the information is factual. From a political point of view, left-wingers can take it all as proof positive, while right-wingers can disparage the facts, saying that he got them wrong,both of them without any proof on their side to back them up. Unless they want to go through the effort to do all his research for themselves.

Based on this fact, even though Bugliosi does make a sound case on the face of it, due to his omission of references, as a rater I can only give this 5 stars.

Several updates coming soon

2008-10-12T14:47:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know. If anyone is actually reading this blog, I claim I'm going to get around to all the books I've read that I haven't posted reviews of yet. (Believe me, I have been reading. just not posting.) A couple of political books are coming up soon. Its that time of year. See you soon.

Comedy at the Edge by Richard Zoglin

2008-07-06T14:04:00.001-07:00

Fittingly, I finished reading this book the day before George Carlin died. I had a lot of respect for Carlin as an innovater in the world of comedy, and it was a pleasure to read about his beginnings on the comedy circuit in the '70's here.

Although I do not agree that the subtitle "How Stand-Up in the 1970's Changed America" is a suitable one. Simply because I don't think the way the author lays out the text that he sufficiently makes a case for America to have changed as a result of the genre of stand-up played out its role. With one exception, the acceptance of harsher language that got predecessors such as Lenny Bruce in trouble became more accepted with the rise of George Carlin and Richard Pryor.

I do like the fact that the author centers on one particular person in each chapter (Carlin in chapter 1, Pryor in chapter 2) rather than just ramble over a particular subject and play it out through several comedians. Not every chapter is devoted to a comedian, however. One or two are devoted to behind-the-scenes people, including the comedy theater owners of the day.

If you are an afficianado of comedy from the time, you will enjoy some of the reminiscing that will be elicited from this work.

I rate this one 7½ stars.

Mr. Monk Goes to Germany by Lee Goldberg

2008-07-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

I do believe our boy, Lee Goldberg, is finally getting his chops at writing novels, at least the ones based on the Monk TV series. Of all the books in the series that I have read so far, this one had the least feel of a "movie novelization" style of writing. I didn't realize until I started reading this new one that that was one of the things that was really bothering me about the series.

Not only is Mr. Goldberg getting better at writing, he has picked a real winner here for a story. The plot involves Monk going bananas after his personal psychiatrist, Dr. Kroger, has taken off for the uncharted territory (for Monk) of Europe, specifically Germany. Since he is unable to function without Dr. Kroger, he manages to get to Germany where, after surprising his doctor, he also gets involved in another murder.

Also thrown into the mix is a six-fingered man which, if you watch the TV show, know was the disfigurement of the man who hired the bomber that killed Trudy Monk, Monk's wife. Why is he in Germany? Well. you'll have to read it to find out.

I'm giving this particular novel 9 stars.

The Ivanhoe Gambit by Simon Hawke

2008-06-13T10:57:00.000-07:00

The Time Wars series, beginning with this, the first book, is an intricate series involving time travel, psychotic villains, and intricate plots to disrupt the timestream, thus creating an alternate universe.

The basic premise is this. Sometime in the 25th century time travel was discovered. The powers that be decided to use this science for their own purposes, and created a division of the armed services, specifically with the goal of sending trained soldiers back in time to fight in armies of the past. The result of their performance was then used to determine the outcome of disagreements between countries of the present, rather than having them fight and destroy property and planet in said present.

The interesting thing is that in each of the series, the story centers around a "fictional" tale, only in the terms of the novel, the "fictional" characters were actually real persons in the past. Take for instance this one. The story centers around an nefarious plot by one person from the future, an Observer (a high-ranking official in the Time Forces), to take over as Richard III, king of England in the late 12th century, and live out his life. By doing this though, he would create the ever looming time split, because the real Richard died in battle.

Enter the Time Commandos. They go back in time and infiltrate the time line posing as Ivanhoe and Robin Hood and Little John, all of whom we take for granted as fiction, but who in terms of the series, were actually real people.

The main characters from the start are Lucas Priest and Finn Delaney, respectively "Sir Wilfred Ivanhoe" and "Little John" of Robin Hood's clan. These two and two fellow soldiers must somehow find and stop the renegade Observer. Along the way, they encounter a woman posing as a male knight, Andre de la Croix, who also becomes somewhat of an ally.

I rate the first book 8 stars.

23 Minutes in Hell by Bill Wiese

2008-06-10T09:58:00.000-07:00

If you don't believe in a Hell or some sort of eternal damnation in the afterlife, I doubt you will even take this book at face value. It is a preposterous idea, after all, that one could even experience Hell without having to die first. And the author didn't experience a typical life after death experience of the tye you hear about on the fringe radio shows like George Noory and Art Bell.

Rather, he was just asleep, on a normal night, when he found himself transferred from the present life to a cell with huge monsters. From the pain and terror he experiences there, to his brief passage by the lake of fire, what he later estimates to be the 23 minutes he spent there is an experience that is very disturbing.

Due to the fact that he was in bed prior to this gives creedence to the idea that he dreamed it all, although he on more than one occasion in the testimony portion claims it was not a dream. I personally can't say whether or not he dreamed it or not. Ron Mays, an expert on the subject makes a clear case for it being false in a review I read on Barnes and Noble. True or not, it is as scary a description as anything Stephen King could dream up.

If you are going to read it, bear in mind that only the first ¼ of the book is about his experience. The rest is devoted to his adventures in trying to get the story out. This part is fairly boring, unless you are interested in that kind of thing.

Overall I'd say the book rates about 5 stars.

Mr. Monk in Outer Space by Lee Goldberg

2008-06-07T08:46:00.000-07:00

The most recent book, at least until a little later this month, is by far the best one I've read in this series. No, our hero does not actually go into outer space here. Instead he finds himself in the baffling world of what are best described as Trekkies, although in this case, it is a fictional TV series, and not actually Star Trek fans.

Taken as a whole, the mystery and its solution are extremely satisfying, although at the outset, if one were a Trekkie, they might be offended at the cavalier way the author denigrates them. Given the fact that logic is the guiding factor of Monk, it is understandable, though, that he would find the behavior of the obsessive fans peculiar.

I still don't that the author is as good a novel writer as he is a scriptwriter (I mentioned he does scripts for the TV show, didn't I?), but then I'm not reading these books for a good well-written prose, I'm reading them because I like the TV show.

Rate this one 6½ stars.

Behind (Again)

2008-06-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

Gotta write several reviews over the next few days. Once again I'm behind on my updates, and have been too busy to even think about them. I'll do one a day over the next few days and catch up.

So You Think You Can Be President? by Iris Burnett and Clay Greager

2008-05-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

Somewhere Will Rogers must be rolling on the floor laughing. Somehow I think the authors must have tapped into his spirit because this is without a doubt the funniest political satire in recent years.

What you get here, in the guise of a test to see if you have the makings of a politician, is some of the funniest jabs at both sides of the political aisle, that are not only dead-on, but sometimes even insighful. Especially to a person who refuses to be coerced into joining the throng on either side.

Give this one 7 stars.

Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut

2008-05-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

The sage of many years for the post-WWII era, Vonnegut, who passed away last year was in his writings very anti-war, and in this group of stories it is very evident where he stands. The first piece, a letter presumably written by him shortly after his release from a German POW camp in Dresden is one of the most powerful pieces. To hear him describe the savagery of his own country's troops is jarring to say the least.

One of my favorite pieces is a story about the coming of Americans to a European city after years of that city's occupation by the Nazis and the Russians. Told from the point of view of one of the residents, a furniture maker, the commanding officer appears not much different than any of the previous occupiers to the narrator.

In all of these stories, there is a seething sense of hatred towards the military. His socialist tendencies come out well in these stories, and right-wingers in the political spectrum will probably hate the book. Tough ****. I think its a wonderful posthumous book.

Rate this one 8 stars.

No-Man's Land by Scott Huler

2008-05-14T09:42:00.000-07:00

I have never read Homer's Odyssey, although I know most of the story by way of either movies, or in discussions in grade school/high school, or vicariously through other writings in which author's have referred to it. Some of the story, thus, is news to me because I don't know the whole story.

Huler seems to have had the same story that I have, although, as he states early on, he always thought it was true when he claimed he had read the story. The initiation of the tale here is that, after finding out that he had indeed never read it, upon reading the story, he got the wild hair to actually try to retrace the journey that Ulysses did in The Odyssey.

At the outset he is hampered by the fact that he wants to spend time planning it out, but recieves word from his wife that she is pregnant. Of couse, if he scrapped plans entirely, we wouldn't have a book. Instead, he decides to try the epic journey on the fly. Using a variety of resources, and sometimes just sheer intuition, Huler makes the journey to the Mediterranean, and tries retracing the trip.

Notwithstanding that approxiamately ¾ of the book takes place in obviously mythological places, Huler nonetheless tries to approxiamate the places with real places. He often does this on the fly, and succeeds for the most part. You get a sense of the frustration that he has in trying to complete the journey, though, and it parralels quite well with how one might imagine Odysseus' frustration with trying to get home to Ithaca.

Overall, this journey/travelogue reads quite well. I rate it 7½ stars. Perhaps I ought to make reading The Odyssey a future project now.

Two For the Price of One: The Official Razzie Movie Guide by John Wilson and Bad Movies We Love by Edward Marguiles et. al.

2008-05-11T12:24:00.000-07:00

There's just something fun about watching a bad movie, especially if you make fun of it. Witness the popularity (at least for the period it was on TV) of Mystery Science Theater 300o, also known as MST3K. I know this from a personal P.O.V., because I've seen many of the movies in these two books on a first run basis.

John Wilson, the founder of the now famous Razzie Awards is well suited to the task as bad movie maven. And he does a very excellent job in telling us about 100 or so movies here in The Official Razzie Movie Guide. Although his coverage is only about half of what the authors of Bad Movies We Love. Not to worry though, because that gives him plenty of space to delve deep into his selections.

Given that, of course, you have to have a higher standard of the level of bad if you are going to fine tune it like that. I don't agree with a couple of the selections, and due to the fact that the Razzies have only been around since 1980, and some of these selections are pre-1980, therefore not officially Razzies. But I found Wilson's book the better of the two.

Not that Bad Movies we Love was a sub-par effort. But the wit that kept me turning the pages in The Official Razzie Movie Guide was not in evidence in the second selection. Still, if you are looking for suggestions for the next movie to get for movie night at the Comedy Cafe, you can't go wrong here.

Give The Official...Guide 8 stars.
Give Bad Movies 6½ stars.

Freedom for the Thought That We Hate by Anthony Lewis

2008-04-29T10:16:00.000-07:00

I am a vociferous advocate for free speech, and therefore was almost obligated to read this book. I fully expected to be enlightened by the actions of our forefathers, most specifically James madison , the noted author of the amendment.
I was not disappointed, there, and did find some interesting tidbits concerning the differences between how freedom of speech was looked upon in the early years of our country, and how they evolved over time.
Unfortunately, I found the author very dry, and had a hard time keeping all my attention upon the subject. Despite my interest in the subject, I found myself distracted, and going to other books during the time. Sometimes, even a Pulitzer caliber author can be a little off.

I gave this book 5½ stars.

101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived by Allan Lazar, et. al.

2008-04-21T09:48:00.000-07:00

The essence of this book is that it is supposed to be the most influential fictional characters from a variety of sources including the movies, television, mythology and fiction (both novels and short stories). It's hard not to dispute the ranking system, although there was supposedly a system by which the three decided on the final ranking. (They devote a chapter to explain, but I can't make heads or tails of it.

For one thing, ranking Santa Claus below Big Brother and the Marlboro Man is questionable. For that matter, ranking The Marlboro Man as number one is up to debate. That and the fact that they get a little preachy about it. I don't care if the three are virulent anti-smokers or not, the book is not the place for a diatribe against smoking. Save it for a book that is devoted to that.

The cast of characters presernted here are convincingly presented as to the impact on our culture, but what is telling is the short appendx at the end listinf the "also-rans" who didn't make it, notably among them Bugs Bunny, Mother Goose, Uncle Remus and Homer Simpson. Are there some included in the list who might be less deserving thanthese? The answer will depend on the individual reader. For me, I thought tha having 4 (or 5 if you count Romeo and Juliet separately) Shakespearean characters was a bit excessive. And there is at least one on the list that only people over the age of 40 will probably have even heard of; Elmer Gantry. And one that doesn't even make the also-ran list which I would have thought would have rated even being included was "The Fonz".

Outside of disputes over the choices to be included, though, I found the book fairly entertaining. Included among the artcles are occasionally references to other books you might go read to garner more information. Not all, though as some of the resources are fairly obvious.

Because of issues of the numerical listing choices, I rate the book 6 stars, but easily can be increased to 7 just for its entertainment value.

Mr. Monk and the Two Assistants by Lee Goldberg

2008-04-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

A thought I had concerning this series was how it translated if the current series was supposed to be from the first person view of Natalie, then who was telling the story when Monk's assistant was still his nurse, Sharona. In this story, Sharona, who had left to remarry her ex-husband, makes a comeback on the scene.

It seems her ex-husband is now the prime suspect of a murder. How Sharona comes onto the scene is primarily coincidental, however. She does not seek Monk out to exonerate her husband. On the contrary, she is at the outset convinced that he is guilty. It is only because of Natalie's fears of being replaced by the former assistant that the case even gets noticed.

Of all the series I have read so far, this one was the most disappointing. Not only for the fairly ridiculous outcome and resolution of the murder, but for many of the confrontations that occur over the span of the book between the main characters. I can only hope that the next book instills a new hope in me for a good series. That will have to wait however, since this is the last of those available to me.

Rate this one 5 stars

Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu by Lee Goldberg

2008-04-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

This is by far the most entertaining of the series so far. The premise here is that the entire upper echelon of the police force has effectively gone on strike (meaning they all called in sick; aka "the Blue Flu"). As a result, the mayor reinstates former police detective Adrian Monk into the staus as captain of the detective force. Also brought back from forced retirement are several other defective types. One a Dirty Harry type, one is a senile old man on the verge of Alzheimer's, and the third is a paranoid case straight out of Detective Fox Mulder's worst nightmares.

This is just as funny as it sounds. Its kind of like Sherlock Holmes meets the Keystone Kops. As previously mentioned in a prior review, of all the series I've read at this point, this is the one I'd most like to see turned into an episode of the TV show. Implausible as it is, it would still make for an entertaining show.

In addition to the crew of defective detectives is the entertaining notion that each of them has their own assistant/nurse, much like Monk had his Sharona, and now has his Natalie. In the guise of the first person narrative, the author as Natalie suggests that maybe there should be a union for assistants. Think about that for a minute.

I rate this one 8 stars.

Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii by Lee Goldberg

2008-04-14T09:47:00.000-07:00

Its not often that the character of Adrian Monk cn be dragged out of his safety zone of San Francisco, but given that he is totally dependent on his assistant, he takes a drug that was given him by his psychiatrist that enables him to overcome his fears long enough to tag along on a flight to Hawaii. This sets up the plot for one of the more intriguing murder mysteries I have ever read.

The resort where the two stay seems to be a hotbed of murder, but then again, no one would ever read a murder mystery that had no murder. Still having some trouble with the first person narrative, here, but I am getting used to it. And I love the interaction between Monk, a skeptic and a realist after my own heart, and the character of Dylan Swift, who purports himself to be a psychic able to communicate with the dead.

There was also much more light humor this time around, in keeping with the usual style of the TV series. As I mentioned in an earlier view, that novel was turned into an episode for the TV show. If it keeps up, some of these novels are sure to be turned into episodes, too. I wouldn't mind seeing this one done so.

I rate this one 7½ stars.

Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse by Lee Goldberg

2008-04-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

"Monk" is my favorite TV show. I watch it regularly, and have all the past seasons on DVD in case I get the urge and need a quick fix. So when I discovered that someone had begun to write a series of novels based on the character, I eagerly jumped in with gusto.

Being a connoisseur of the TV show makes me that much more judgemental on anything that follows. For instance, I don't know as of this writing how the TV writers will address the issue of the actor who portrayed Monk's psychiatrist having passed away earlier this month, but it's a situation that deserves a lot of attention, and just hiring another actor to play the same character will not be an acceptable solution, in my opinion. But I am here to discuss a book, not the show.

First book in the series, "Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse" was an interesting story, but disturbed me because it was basically a rewriting of an episode in the TV series, "Mr. Monk Can't See A Thing" and although it has everyone doing different things, the similarity took away from some of the enjoyment I could have otherwise derived from the book. I later found out that the book came first and the episode was a reworking of the novel, but this still did not change my first opinion. Probably because I rate the TV show on a higher scale.

I have to say, also, that I'm not entirely comfortable with the author's decision to tell the stories in this series from a first person point of view of the character of Natalie Teeger. For one thing, Natalie, on the TV show, always calls Monk "Mr. Monk", even when she is talking about him to another person. But the author chooses at various points in the book to have her refer to him as just "Monk" when describing the story. This is an author's privelege of course. There aren't many books out there, none that I've read anyway, that don't shorten a person's name for the sake of brevity, but in this case it was distracting.

All-in-all, though, it was a great alternative to a TV show, although not one I'd be interested in seeing turned into an episode. (More on that in a later book review, by the way.)

I give this one 6½ stars.

Mr. Monk Invades My Blog

2008-04-10T09:56:00.000-07:00

I am a huge fan of the TV series "Monk" (starring Tony Shalhoub. See it on USA Network, and at the time of this writing on NBC). Over the next week I will be reading the new series of novels written by Lee Goldberg based on this series, so expect a review every couple of days until I finished what's available.

Carnival Undercover by Bret Witter

2008-04-10T09:45:00.000-07:00

If you've ever been to a carnival, you've seen the denizens of the midway. You've ridden the rides. Maybe even been taken in by the seemingly easy games of chance. Even if you've been living under a rock and never even heard of a carnival though, you can find something in this book interesting.

Whether its a discussion of the history of roller coasters, or ranking them by various ratings such as the highest or fastest, or if it's a thumbnail sketch of the freak show in history, Witter makes it all appealing.

Plus, there is section detailing how you can increase the odds of you're getting that giant-sized stuffed giraffe for your significant other, while impressing her/him with your skill. All the while frustrating the carny whose original goal was to get you to waste your money on the game.

And, included in this book is a section on how you can make your favorite carnival treats in your own home, thus saving you the cash to waste on those games of chance, in case you skipped over that section. A treat in more ways than one.

Rate this one 7 stars.

Father Knows Less by Wendell Jamieson

2008-04-03T09:40:00.000-07:00

This book is a combination of two different texts. On the one hand are the seemingly innocent questions that kids ask, and on the other hand is an insight into the life of the author, both as a child himself, and as a father to a young son. The questions are ones that his son, as well as he as a child, asked. Included are questions that other kids have asked that he culled from his own journalistic files.

The insights into his life, apropos of seemingly nothing sometimes, gets a little tiresome. I'm sure there is a correlation in the author's mind, but sometimes I failed to see it. And this being someone whom I had never even heard of prior to picking up the book, it hardly intrigued me.

Ignoring that, the questions are fun and insightful. The author goes to great lenghths sometimes to find the correct answers to these kids' questions. As a self-styled trivia maven, I found this to be an extremely helpful as well as entertaining book.

Rate the biographical portion 5 stars, but give the question and answer section 8 stars.

The Movie Lovers Tour of Texas by Veva Vonler

2008-03-26T09:54:00.000-07:00

Originally I picked up this book because I am a movie freak. And, of course, I live in the state that is the subject of the book. It's surprising just how many movies were made in Texas, some of which weren't even set in Texas, but used the state's varying topography as a substitute for other locations. (Courage Under Fire and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade to name a couple.)

The book works as an overview of movies as well as a travelogue if one cares to take a tour of the state to see the sites displayed in the movies mentioned. Although entertaining in its trivia and the information given to direct you on your tour, the writing is a bit stilted and kind of boring at times. Still, if you love movies and/or love Texas, it will serve as an insight for the nation's second biggest state, and arguably the best site for filming movies.

I rate this one 5½ stars.

5 People Who Died During Sex by Karl Shaw

2008-03-24T10:03:00.000-07:00

True to it's subtitle this book contains many tasteless lists that are sure to satisfy the trivia lover's most prurient interests. Going into detail on such things as the top ten graverobbing events, or the most notorious drunks of history, the book is highly entertaining.

It is not a book for the squeamish, though, so be forewarned. The author goes into some intricate detail on some pretty disgusting events, such as the fact that one queen on her deathbed, evacuated her bowels in an extremely explosive manner.

Rate this one 7 stars.

The Spychips Threat by Katherine Albrecht & Liz McIntyre

2008-03-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

Don't let the subtitle "Why Christians Should Resist..." divert you from reading this book. It is not a diatribe designed to save your soul from eternal damnation, but a serious look at the dangers that could derive from the implementation of RFID technology. The few mentions directed toward the Christian community are just that, so you need not worry about any hellfire and brimstone sermons here.

The authors do an outstanding job here, and Stephen King has nothing that will scare you near as much as the reality posed here. If you believe in privacy and the right to live your life ithout any intervention from either marketers or government, then this book is a call to arms.

RFID (radio frequency identification) is the technology of using small implants that have the capability of radioing information to a reciever about how and where the spychipped item is being used. But this is only the beginning. The authors will introduce you to a nightmare future possibility, in which everyone is tracked via GPS through implants under the skin. Think Big Brother from he classic George Orwell novel 1984 come to real fruition.

Of course, if you are of the Chritian faith, this book is very important, given that the authors occasionally relate how significant these developments are in relationship to end times prophecy. Don't miss out on this one.

I give this one 9 stars.

Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg

2008-03-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

As far as political agenda, I can safely say this book is probably well on the mark. I wouldn't know for sure, though, because the author's style leaves much to be desired. The only chapter I managed to get through, before giving up, was the first chapter. The author jumps around so much in his telling of the history, that it left me breathless.

I can't justify rating this book since I didn't complete reading it. Suffice to say, it probably would have been a low one. Not on subject matter, but on style.

Apocalypse 2012 by Lawrence E. Joseph

2008-03-07T10:05:00.000-08:00

"The sky is falling ! The sky is falling!"

Chicken Little couldn't have it anymore correct, if this author is to be believed. Everything from mass extinction from an asteriod striking the planet, to sunburn from Hell due to global warming and declining, eroding protection from the sun's harmful rays are the subject of this book. Taking it possibility by possibility, ranging from the Mayan prediction of upheaval, to the deteriorating magnetic field, and a few other things, all of them verging on the apocalptic year of 2012, in essence, the Earth is pretty much toast.

If a supervolcano in Yellowstone, pretty much overdue for erupting again in it's umpteen million year cycle, doesn't send you running for the bomb shelter, perhaps various groups of religious zealots bent on forcing the coming of the predicted Armageddon, or end of this age war in their respective religions will cause you to finally build that rocketship to take you off the planet. Either way, you'll have plenty of opportunities to get a new pair of pants after you soil the ones you're wearing when you read this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, even if the author failed to convince me there is any more reason to panic this year, than say, oh, about 4 years in the future.

Rating for this one. 6 stars.

What On Earth Have I Done? by Robert Fulghum

2008-03-03T09:03:00.000-08:00

Inspirational literature can be tedious if you are the sort of pessimist that fits into the same mold as I do. Ordinarilly I would turn and run from that kind of sentimental pap. Fulghum, on the other hand, is interesting, not because he takes a different tack on the medium, but because he is so funny when he writes it. And humor is the way to get me to read your stuff.

Giving insight to how he approaches life and those around him in three different locales he calls home is the subject here (Seattle, rural Utah, and the island of Crete in Europe) The funniest entries are when he tells of how he made a fool of himself upon his first time in the village where he lives while on Crete, and the one about how he tests the waters of conversation by making seemingly offbeat comments, looking for players in the game.

Maybe I'm more sentimental than I want to admit. I rate this one 7½ stars.

An Incovenient Book by Glenn Beck

2008-02-26T09:22:00.001-08:00

Sean Hannity is an obnoxious blowhard. Rush Limbaugh, as Al Franken so aptly put it, is A Big, Fat, Stupid Idiot. Glenn Beck, on the other hand, is a very funny guy. Although, I don't agree with everything he has ever said, anymore than I agree with Hannity or Limbaugh, or even Al Franken, for that matter, I can appreciate Beck as a comedian.

Of course, this book isn't about comedy, it's about political statements, all of which exposes his own predominately right-wing stance on issues. The book starts out with a disparaging dig at those who believe in "global warming", and ends with some very insightful comments on illegal immigration. In between is much of what is the usual diatribe against the left from the typical right-winger, but it is much easier to read coming from Beck, interspersed as it is with some self-deprecating commentary, and a dead-on viewpoint of how political correctness is a bunch of hogwash.

Some of it is somewhat naive, but hardly misunderstandable, given his avowed faith in the inherent honesty and forthrightness of human nature. I think the view he takes on minimum wage is particularly naive, given that those same kinds of entrepreneurs who are hurt by the existence of a mandatory minimum wage are the ones who also hire illegal immigrants at wages that are even substandard to that minimum wage.

Of course, in the end, it's all about money. You can pay $26 for this book or pay $35 for Al Franken's most recent book. Both are entertainingly funny, but both are also filled with as much indoctrination as possible to convince you not only are they right, but other side is just full of so much crap. Personally, I can't side with either one of them on all the issues, but that doesn't prevent me from objectively reading their books.

I give this one 7 stars.

Why Does Santa Wear Red? by Meera Lester

2008-02-25T09:31:00.000-08:00

This little gem is alternatingly entertaining and sometimes a little boring. Being the kind of person that adores trivia, I picked it up to browse and was sucked in by the subject matter. But unless you want to know every aspect and every recipe for any traditional treats of the season, you might just want to keep it at the browsing level.

There isn't anything inherently wrong with the author's style, but a really good author, I've always said, can make you want to read, even if the subject matter is uninteresting. (David Halberstam, an historian of whom I've read much of his work, comes to mind.) But taken at its basest form, the book is still entertaining.

I give it 5 stars.

These Aren't My Pants by Daniel Butler and Alan Ray

2008-02-24T12:36:00.000-08:00

Everybody does it. Paul Harvey often points out idiot criminals in his daily commentary. Any book compiled book of lists usually has a collection of some dumb crooks. When I was younger, there was a columnist in one of my father's NRA magazines who ended his column each month with a list of the stupidest of the month.

There seems to be an entire series of this particular book, but so far this is the only one I've found. And it is well worth the $2 I paid for it at the used book store. Daniel Butler, et. al., don't even need to clarify to make these stories laugh out loud hilarious. Some people are deserving of the Darwin Awards, if you've ever read any of those. I think there ought to be a special award for the dumbest crooks of the year, too.

Just by committing some of the acts contained herein should get them a special room at the jailhouse. One where the hardened criminals get to come by and point and laugh. Cruel? Probably. Unusual? Definitely. But it would be therapeutic, that's for sure.

Give this one 7 stars.

How Few Remain by Harry Turtledove

2008-02-23T09:10:00.000-08:00

Being a lover of history in general, it was quite natural for me to find the science fiction subgenre of alternate history so appealing. One of the reasons was the number of good writers out there who write on the subject so well. Harry Turtledove was not my first foray into the genre (that honor goes to Philip K. Dick, author of The Man in the High Castle), but it was his work that kept me coming back to him. The first was The Guns of the South, a story totally unrelated to this one, in which the South was able to win the Civil War due to the intervention of mercenaries from the future bringing them AK47s.

Here, circumstances which had led to the North's victory in the real world did not happen the same way, and the South was ultimately successful in separating themselves and becoming an independent nation. That is the previous history, before the novel starts. At the beginning, Mexico has sold portions of its country to the Confederate States, giving the CSA a border that extends from Texas all the way to the Pacific.

People in the USA are not pleased with this and are chomping at the bit to go to war over th situation. What is really interesting is that most, if not all the characters are real people from the time period, including a Lincoln who was not assassinated, but had been unceremoniously voted out of office after the loss of the first Civil War. Many of these characters are entertaining to say the least. How Turtledove depicts Theodore Roosevelt is the most entertaing part of the book for me.

It is a disservice to give away the ending, I suppose, but in this case, I don't see how it could be a big surprise, since about 10 follow up sequels have been published. Over the course of the next couple of years, I hope to get around to reading and reviewing them too.

I rate this one 8 stars

Lost America by Troy Paiva

2008-02-21T09:56:00.000-08:00

"Why," you may ask, "are you reveiwing a glorified coffee table book?" To which I would respond, "well, why not?" The writing is not on par with that of Friedrich Nietzsche, but then you will notice (if you backtrack the whole blog) my reading has not including Nietzsche. Nor for that matter anything even remotely resembling Nietzsche.

On the surface, the writing is not even comparable to, say, Stephen King. Of couse, if it were, the damn thing would be too big to put on something so fragile as a coffee table. But then, one doesn't pick up a coffee table book to read. One picks up a coffee table book to look at the pictures. In that respect, this is one of the best.

The scope here is limited to the southwest portion of America. The furthest east the photographs seem to go is western New Mexico, and they are predominently Californian in content. I have no idea how Paiva accomplished the lighting in most of his pictures, but they leave one with a feeling of haunted places, and somehow nostalgic for a bygone era. His eye must be keen, because I can visualize the places without his peculiar lighting andimagine them to be just run-of-the-mill deserted places.

As for the writing, it is not very well done, as I said, but that should not deter you from checking the book out simply for its splendid photography.

Give this one 6½ stars.

Rapid Update

2008-02-21T09:53:00.000-08:00

Over the next few days, I will be adding at least one, and sometimes more book reports. I have been tied up with work, and even though I have continued reading, albeit at a slower pace, I haven't had time to update the website. Beassured I haven't taken a speed reading course. LOL

The Worst of Sports by Jesse Lamovsky; et. al.

2008-02-04T09:44:00.000-08:00

The Worst of Sports is an entertaining ride into the lows of professional and college sports. The blunders from quotes of supposedly educated men. The weaselly tricks that some people will go to to eke out a win. The flubs when well thought out plays go awry. All of this is here and more.

There is a section on what are truly the worst trades in the business. There is a great section on the best come from behind wins, although here it is a derisive lambasting of the team who suffered defeat from those worst comeback losses. And at the end of the book is a list of many ignoble records that were not addressed in detail in the book. (My favorite: The Dallas Cowboys have the record for most consecutive losses. Take that, Cowboy fans!)

All of it is in digest form, we're not talking extremely long in depth analysis of each subject. It would make a great book to read while you are in the bathroom. Or if you choose to read it all in one sitting, because the style is so reader-friendly, it could probably be accomplished in a few hours.

I give this one 8 stars.

Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson

2008-01-19T09:42:00.000-08:00

Does the world need yet another book about the life of Shakespeare? Probably not. As the author so deftly mentions at one point in this book, there are about 7,000 or so books in the Library of Congress alone on the famous bard. Some of those surely would serve the purpose. .

However, the follow-up question is Does the world need yet another book about the life of Shakespeare if it's by Bill Bryson? Here I would have to give a resounding "Yes". .

I make no excuses that Bill Bryson is one of my favorite authors. His style of writing captivated me from the firstbook I ever read by him, "Made in America". Anyone that can make the history and origins of words as readable as he did there is well worth reading. .

Here, as Bryson puts it, is the history of Shakespeare, his life and his inspirations, but only the parts that can be well documented. Much of what is written about the bard is pure speculation based on what fragmentary knowledge can be found. Bryson distills the fluff from what is fact and then writes in his usually engaging style to make what essentially could be dry and boring, into the interesting. .

I must admit I did find one part a little tedious, that on Shakespeare's sonnets, but this can probably be tied up in the fact that I don't care for Shakespeare's sonnets in the first place. I can't put the full blame on the author in this regard. Overall, though it was a good read..

Rate this one 8 stars.

Born Standing Up by Steve Martin

2008-01-03T09:50:00.000-08:00

Over the years, I have read quite a few autobiographies by comedians. Unlike some dry, historical biography written by someone else who may or may not have even met the subject of the biography in person, the autobiography usually has the advantage of letting the style and wit of the comedian shine through. Take, for instance, an earlier review of mine of one by Don Rickles.

Not the case here. Steve Martin is without a doubt one of the most offbeat and funniest writers I have ever read. But here, in his autobiography, if you take out every quote from his stage act, is one of those dry historical biographies I previously mentioned. Sure, you get some insight into Martin's childhood, and how the need to perform became a drive in his life. But in 200+ pages, not one discernably funny comment that hasn't become familiar to anyone who has his albums or has seen his stage performance.

And that's another thing. Aside from finding the style so-so, he ends the book way too soon in his career. Virtually nothing of behind-the-scenes after his last stand-up tour. Of course, the title might have been a dead giveaway, but I would have been interested in the early part of his film career, even some background over the ensuing years, but aside from a mention of future projects that were inspired by the events Martin is describing at the time, there is nothing.

Overall I give this one a moderately disappointed 5½ stars.

Our Gods Wear Spandex by Christopher Knowles

2007-12-31T09:19:00.000-08:00

I honestly didn't know what I was getting into when I picked up this book. I thought it was going to be a compendium on the origins of various superheroes as portrayed out in the comic books. Actually what it is turns out to be even more interesting.

It turns out that much of the comic book history is rooted in the old occult religions of bygone eras. What the author does here is delve into those mysteries and point out how the writers and artists blended those beliefs in the creation of the comic book superheroes and supervillains.

This is not near as boring as it might sound. Entertaining style of writing lends a lot to the appeal of reading Knowles' book. Plus, he delves into the specific inspirations for various cult heroes of the comic book world, names which are instantly familiar to even the most passing interest fans of the genre; Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Alan Moore, and yes even Superman creators Siegel and Schuster had interests in those old occult beliefs.

The illustrations by Joseph Michael Linser add added dimension to the reading, hearkening back to the Silver Age art of the comics history. All in all, I recommend this one with an unabashed 9½ stars.

Rickles' Book by Don Rickles

2007-12-10T10:55:00.000-08:00

If you have ever seen Don Rickles, either at a show or on one of his numerous appearances on late-night talk shows, you know that Don is a very funny guy. His style comes through in great abundance here as he takes a walk down memory lane, starting with some of his early childhood memories, right on through his trials and tribulations as he tried to achieve some spot in the stardom that is the world of stand-up comedy.

Rickles book starts out with the hilarious tale I've heard him tell many times, of trying to impress a date by having Frank Sinatra show up at the table and say "Hi" to him. Its classic Rickles and so is the rest of the book.

Rate this one 7½ stars.

Bolls, Polls, and Tattered Souls by Stewart Mandel

2007-12-05T09:43:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder why a team that went undefeated in its regular season isn't playing for the national championship? (Univ. of Hawaii was 12-0 at the end of 2007 season, but is playing in a lesser bowl, while two teams, Ohio State and LSU, who have lost during the regular season get to play for the crystal trophy.)

Ever wonder how some teams always seem to be in the top 25 pre-season rankings, despite the lackluster results from their season's end the previous year? Ever wonder how come there are so damn many bowl games in post-season, most of which if they were regular games probably wouldn't even be on TV locally much less nationally?

Stewart Mandel answers these questions and many more in his highly entertaining book. If you have more than a passing interest in college football, you will find lots of eye-opening points and opinions here. From the opening chapter on the hooks and crooks of the BCS and how the bowl games are determined, to the problems inherent in the ranking of college teams, and a chapter on how the Heisman doesn't always get it right, the writer has a style to keep you interested. The only chapter that really bogged down, for me, (mainly because the topic didn't interest me) was the one on college recruiting. But otherwise, the book was very entertaining and a handbook for how to do things right if anyone in charge ever has the inkling to do it.

Rate this one 6 stars

I Sold My Soul on Ebay by Hemant Mehta

2007-11-28T09:40:00.000-08:00

The premise of this book is fairly simple. An atheist decided to "sell his soul on Ebay" or in reality to take on the burden of having to attend the church of the winning bidder's choice for a number of times commensurate with the winning bid. In this case, the winning bidder, one former pastor, decrees that Mehta visit a variety of churches and write his views on his experiences.

As a result, the author makes various excursions, both in his own area, and to some churches of national recognition, (one is Joel Osteen's megachurch) and observes not only how people react to him as a visitor, but to the program the church presents. All this is done as an atheist with an open-minded view as to how it is all done, with an eye on how each church could potentially be drawing or even repelling the potentially unsaved masses.

As a church-going Christian myself, I think that there is some interesting views that the author makes that can be taken into account for many churches. For instance, he says and I think rightly so, that too many churches have a long song and praise session that may tend to bore those who are new to the church. Actually, there are probably more than a few members of these churches who harbor the same feelings (myself as one).

Taken for what it is, open-minded people from both sides of the church door should find this book pretty interesting. I won't give away whether or not the atheist becomes a Christian, you will have to read the book to the end to find that out, but you can be entertained in the meantime with his observations.

Rate this one 6 stars.

Unusually Stupid Politicians by Kathryn and Ross Petras

2007-11-27T10:09:00.000-08:00

If you really want to know who you are paying to represent you you in DC or your local capitaol building, you should read what they have to say in public. Anybody can manufacture a press release to put themselves in a good light, but the real cream of the crop comes in public speaking.

And not everything that comes out of a politician's mouth is pure gold. Sometimes, what they have to really say can be downright disturbing on one level or unintentionally hilarious on another level.

Brother and sister Petras have collected some gems here, the oldest of which only dates back to the late '80's or early '90's, so they are stilll fresh. And given light of the current political landscape, can be very enlightening. Although Republican comments predominate the book, there are plenty of Democrat faux pas to give the other side a laugh or two, also.

Typically, a book like this will have some slanting in it, it can hardly be avoided. Given that they consistently refer to Sen. Joe Lieberman as "Democrat" ("D") , an obvious snide jab as to whether the Senator is really a Dem, they seem to have shown their hand pretty well. (Just asking, but would Congressman Ron Paul have been referred to as a "Republican" ("R")?) But other than that one thing, I had no objections to the book. I thought it was pretty good.

I'll rate this one 7 stars.

If I Did It by O. J. Simpson

2007-11-21T09:32:00.001-08:00

I hadn't intended on reading this book. To be honestly blunt, I grew tired of all the crap from both sides when the original trial was going on, not to mention that Simpson had the temerity to do his shennanigans with the Bronco on the L.A. Freeway during a game of the NBA finals.

Add on to that every year for the 13 years after the fact, you had some lame-brain on talk radio mentioning the trial and the fact that, despite the jury verdict, O. J. was "guilty as sin". And some jackass would call in to refute that statement. And nobody would let it just pass, even though countless other similarly "miscarriages of justice" have since lapsed into only the subconcious, if that, of the public.

But the recent events surrounding Simpson in Las Vegas prompted me to check this one out. I have to admit, by the time I got to the chapter on "The Night in Question" I wanted to kill the girl myself. She is painted in broad strokes as an extremely unstable person, who is at times sane, but as often on the verge of going off like a bottle rocket.

Whether or not this is in fact the "Confession of the Killer" as the Goldman family so named it, it is an insight into the life of Simpson before the night of the crime, as well as what potentially could have happened.

I'll give this on 5½ stars.

Fanatic: 10 Things All Sports Fans Should Do Before They Die by Jim Gorant

2007-11-14T09:41:00.000-08:00

The author's premise derives from a dinner conversation that had several of his dinner companions trying to come up with the ultimate list of sporting events that should be seen live and in person. Over a period of several days/weeks, Gorant brought up the subject again and again with various friends and colleagues and narrowed it down to ten. He took a year and made it his goal to visit these 10 events.

The 10 events as he decided are:
The Super Bowl
The Daytona 500
The Final Four
The Masters
The Kentucky Derby
Wimbledon
A game at Wrigley Field
A college football rivalry game
A game at Lambeau Field
A game at Fenway Park

I take issue with some of his selections. For instance, tennis is about as fascinating as watching ants collect stuff. And in the chapter on the rivalry college football game, he passes a comment that "the NBA is unwatchable...". OK, consider he lives in New York, and I gather, spends some time in Philidelphia. No wonder he feels that way, but I disagree if you consider the top flight teams. (As of this writing, all three Texas teams are soaring....) And I may be the only true southern redneck who thinks NASCAR is only interesting on the final 10 laps.

Given that, I think this is a pretty fascinating book, if you can overlook the occasional derogatory comments towards people of Southern heritage. The best chapters, by my somewhat biased viewpoint, are the ones on the Super Bowl and the Ohio State/Michigan rivalry game. Of course football is my main abiding passion, so there.

Rate this one 6½ stars.