Review: Lies & the Lying Liars Who Tell Them

Lies & the Lying Liars Who Tell Them by Al Franken

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Great fun and even enlightening audiobook from an insightful and honest comedian from before he seems to have been subsumed by the beast he formerly goaded.



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Review: Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Wow: great content, great narrator.

I have been avoiding reading North Korea books, even though the subject fascinates me, because I figure, who can know enough about the "Hermit Kingdom" in order to fill a book? Well, Demick's extensive interviews with defectors is able to tell the story of lives inside North Korea from the separation of Korea on to before the ascendancy of Kim Jong-un, in the twilight of Kim Jong-il's reign. Especially engrossing is the the North Korean famine, which lasted from 1994 to 1998 and killed an estimated 800,000 to 3,500,000 people. Also, life and means of traffickers and defectors that cross north into China or Mongolia even is fascinating. Other dimensions explored are families split between the two Koreas as well as ethnic Koreans living in China and Japanese-Koreans.



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Review: Space Mathematics: Math Problems Based on Space Science

Space Mathematics: Math Problems Based on Space Science by Bernice Kastner

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This NASA-created collection of pre-calculus mathematical problems is set up in a workbook format. Problems are presented with solutions immediately following and some blank pages for computations. The space science “story problems” come mostly from high school and first-year undergraduate algebra with contributions from geometry, probability, matrices, linear regression, trigonometry, and conic sections.

(Look for my entire review at MAA Reviews.)



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Review: The Witchcraft Trials in Finnmark Northern Norway

The Witchcraft Trials in Finnmark Northern Norway by Liv Helene Willumsen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



This a beautiful, cloth-covered hardcover oversized presentation of witchcraft trials from the district of Finnmark in Northern Norway. The populace perceived severe witchcraft persecution during the 17th century, as had been popularly imaginged across Europe and in North America in the preceding centuries. In this area with no more than 3,000 inhabitants, 135 people were accused of witchcraft: 91 of them were executed. This book contains the court records of the original trials. Very little commentary bookends the original documents in Norwegian, side by side with the English translation. So, the mass of this book is depositions and court declamations of shape-shifting (often into the form of a duck), beer-inspired fighting with apparent malevolent influence, trials by ordeal (floating indicates guilt), and torture-borne confessions of weather control, broomstick riding and more. It is both chilling and sadly funny at the same time. It turns out that the Holy Grail witch scene was about documentary material.



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Review: The Collapse of the Third Republic

The Collapse of the Third Republic by William L. Shirer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Some amazing things in this history! I had no idea Shirer was a radio correspondent basically embedded with the Nazi army and thus present at many key events, such as outside Foch's rail car for the defeat signing and strolling into an abandoned Paris. (At that point cows gazed in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.) Peeling away the onion of sociological and political France pre-WWII the sudden defeat makes sense with the seeds planted there. Riddled with fascist support, even the far left was against fighting Hitler. "Die for Danzig?", they asked. Heck, it seems like the could have joined The Axis with a bit more of that. This basically briefly in the attacks on the (much hated) British as they tried to sink the French Fleet and prevent it from falling into German hands. The book concludes, before an Epilogue, with the signing away of the Republic to estable Petain's collaborationist, anti-Semite Vichy regime.



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Review: Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

My rating: 0 of 5 stars



I did got a copy of the Kindle edition of Anna Karenina. I figured with the Stoppard movie in mind I could try a second read and maybe keep the characters straight, with their nicknames and all.



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Review: Rough Beasts: The Zanesville Zoo Massacre' One Year Later

Rough Beasts: The Zanesville Zoo Massacre' One Year Later by Charles Siebert

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This is a very short and thus very easy read about the exotic pet hoarder that, apparently, committed suicide covered in chicken blood after releasing his bears, lions, tigers, and more - oh my! It's a messy seen, coming on the heels of divorce and firearm-related imprisonment. His apparent pre-suicide actions and the suicide itself makes me ask why this man could legally have guns, let alone predators. The predators themselves were largely de-clawed and de-fanged companion animals raised from cubs and most of the 49 killed probably could have been gathered and saved by the on-hand caretaker that knew them, but either the sheriffs on hand did what they felt they had to do given insufficient information and keeping public safety as the highest priority, or they took the opportunity to slay even in their cages mostly harmless animals that they had long sought to get rid of you. You decide.



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Review: The World's Most Beautiful Voyage

The World's Most Beautiful Voyage by Erling Storrusten

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This is the English-language overview of Hurtigruten's Norwegian cruises. It includes a history of the cruise line, which also operates as a coastal water bus service, and typical sites and stops of a 12-day voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes and back. Another couple dozen pages includes maps, birds to be sighted, meteorological and cultural information. This is a nicely done and essential guide to the trip and apparently only available when asked for specifically through a tour operator.



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Review: The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



It has been many years since I read one of Sagan's books and from how much I enjoyed this one, it has been much too long. Sagan runs down a litany of the paranormal and popular beliefs and probes each one delicately: witch hunting, UFOs and alien abductions, therapy, and more. I stress "delicately" since Sagan's atheism and secular humanism seem eternally human and open-minded, say as opposed to the jaded and crusty [a:Richard Dawkins|1194|Richard Dawkins|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1188068989p2/1194.jpg]. Much of this material came out initially in Parade magazine and here Sagan gets to revisit it in compilation, often including reader's remarks such as on the veracity of alien abductions and what hope there may be for the United States education system. Yes, Sagan goes there with some of his own prescriptions especially for science and mathematics education.



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Review: I Owe Russia $1200

I Owe Russia $1200 by Bob Hope

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Really, a very funny and enlightening Cold War travelogue. The memoir is packed with one-liners that so have Hope`s voice that they probably fall flat with today`s readers. What is more interesting is the behind the scenes tales of makine road pictures with Bing Crosby and the logistics and travails and joys of his star-studded Christmastime USO tours of mostly remote U.S. installations. This includes Guam, the Antilles, Japan (Still reconstructing from WWII), Greenland, and Korea. How things have changed! Back then, he relates, the worry of the split Korea was the rural and agricultural South Korea. How would it make it without the industrial North? Among the 65 black-and-white picturs is one of Hope before a large crowd in Pyongyang. I have to do some post-Korean War research to find how that was possible!

The title refers to a jaunt to Moscow that is only two chapters of the book. Is is a very small subset of the content, but a fascinating look into trying comedy and cultural exchange in Kruschev`s Russia.



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Review: Pro Bono The 18year defense of Caril Ann Fugate

Pro Bono The 18year defense of Caril Ann Fugate by Jeff McArthur

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A real good followup to [b:Caril|1675379|Caril|Ninette Beaver|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1277867799s/1675379.jpg|1670413], this work by the son of one of an attorney for Caril, this covers the years to her release not in the book by Ninette Beaver. While maintaining her privacy, this does let on she relocated Michigan and entered nursing. Beside having a ringside and lifelong seat to the legal battle, James developed a friendship with the companion of Charlie Starkweather and is able to provide many personal details about her. Also, James goes into some length on films, plays, and books written on the crime spree, both fiction and not, and judges each for its veracity.



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Review: Out of Our Past: The Forces That Shaped Modern America

Out of Our Past: The Forces That Shaped Modern America by Carl N. Degler

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Degler plots a largely sociological arc of American development seeing an at times painful but 'progressively' growing approach to an inclusive, guarantor society underpinned by by an unbreakable union of states offering ciitzen equality (settled by the Civil War after the spineless federal government that arose from the American Revolution) and an overt socialism that arose from the Great Depression. For instance, where it is not unusual for a book on American history to underscore how financial panics are cyclical, this book explores how anit-immigrant fervor is has also risen and fallen periodically. Degler looks back to a socialist Thirties and post-WWI unionism and prosperity from The Fifties see a future of a stronger central government offer more assurances.



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Review: Encyclopedia of the Strange

Encyclopedia of the Strange by Daniel Cohen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



While this book is dated, I still very much liked it. Delving into Fortean topics, the author maintained a skeptical approach while dissecting with Occam's Razor. Topics range from the disappearance of the Mary Celeste to UFOs, and Jack The Ripper to Stonehenge.



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Review: My Star Trek Memories

My Star Trek Memories by William Shatner

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Shatner wrote this book aftr the final Star Trek movie and wistfully, nostalgically reflects back on the TV series. He brings in his own interviews with Nimoy, Roddenberry's widow and more. In this audiobook he narrates the whole work (nice), but does no voice alterations for his interview subjects, which makes some of it confusing. By his own account, this is an incomplete history forcussing only on the TV series from its inception to conclusion, but it is enjoyable for its honesty and revelations as well as documenting the healing of some broken friendships.



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Review: Out of Our Past: The Forces That Shaped Modern America

Out of Our Past: The Forces That Shaped Modern America by Carl N. Degler

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Degler plots a largely sociological arc of American development seeing an at times painful but 'progressively' growing approach to an inclusive, guarantor society underpinned by by an unbreakable union of states offering ciitzen equality (settled by the Civil War after the spineless federal government that arose from the American Revolution) and an overt socialism that arose from the Great Depression. Degler looks back to a socialist Thirties and post-WWI unionism and prosperity from The Fifties see a future of a stronger central government offer more assurances.



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Review: The Suffering and Celebration of Life in America

The Suffering and Celebration of Life in America by Shane Bugbee

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This is the book (accompanied by a DVD) documenting their year on the road plucky entrepreneur Shane Bugbee and his wife Amy spent in travails and travels discovering America taking videos and presenting a Q&A. Listening to my interview with Shane about this 6-January.

In the book, Shane and Amy survive privation, each other, and betrayal thanks to determination and Craig’s List. They meet the Craig’s List founder, a Christian military family living on a base, Satanists, a New Orleans rum maker, and more. The book chronologically takes us from before the start of the year, to the end on the eve of Obama’s first election to the presidency. Suspiciously, the last half of the year and especially the last few months is only thinly documented in the entertaining book where the two find unexpected connections and at times enlightenment in the road-spawned tribulations.




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Review: Shark Infested Soda Fountain

Shark Infested Soda Fountain by Alison Mosshart

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



After the Dead Weather tour in 2010, Alison Mosshart (aka "Baby Ruthless") self-published a book of her photos compiled from their adventures on the road as a gift to the other members of the band. These are candid photographs with one-line captions of Jack White and the rest of Dead Weather and the cast of characters that interacted with them on their international travels. Third Man reprinted the book for subscribers to its The Vault special packages service.



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Review: Shadow Warriors: Inside the Special Forces

Shadow Warriors: Inside the Special Forces by Tom Clancy

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This book ends basically on the eve of the The War in Afghanistan, so it may seem out of date. However, as a work of history it is interesting and enlightening. Clancy and insider Steiner take us through the history of U.S. special forces from inforomal, one-off Jedburgh teams of WW II to increasing formalization reaching an acme in the Vietnam War with Rangers and Green Berets. Marginalized and continued to be seen as adjuncts to regular infnatry, etc., these units lose ffectiveness, prepararation, force integation until Desert One disastrously shows in the wastes of Iran that we need better Special Forces capability. After that, an SF commandis set up leading to counter-terrorism measures (the takedown if not take-in of the Achille Lauro hijakes is notably told) into the ever-increasing friction with Iraq.



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Review: Learning and Teaching Mathematics Using Simulations: Plus 2000 Examples from Physics

Learning and Teaching Mathematics Using Simulations: Plus 2000 Examples from Physics by Dieter Ross

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



What should be made clear is that the printed book is supporting documentation to a simulation package built on the EJS platform. As such, it is learning or teaching tool for subjects from algebra to differential equations, but in no way a complete course on the topics. This is a tool to explore applications of the topics and visualizations of key functions. Through numerous interactive Java simulations on topics from number theory to calculus and partial differential equations, the exploration of mathematical concepts is not as restricted to physics as the title may suggest. The number theory, sequences and series, and integration treatments alone offer much to the non-physics student. Actually, physical applications from mechanics to relativity are only lightly touched in the book where a few pages toward the end refers to those prepared simulations without the additional remarks given to the pure math topics.

The author is convinced that an experimental approach to mathematics via such interactive simulations will build enthusiasm in modern students not sufficiently interested in engineering and scientific studies. For teachers of mathematics and physics, this is a reality that requires fresh approaches, as I can attest. Author Dieter Röss is very much worried about the declining number of students motivated to learn science and engineering. Sparking their interest in this way at introductory levels seems a wise plan. I applaud his approach based on computer simulations, although it seems the finished product needs more done in the user friendliness department before students will do the all-important interaction themselves. I think teachers may find this useful for preparing demonstrations and to add emphasis to lectures. I myself like to demonstrations and simulations to my students off the Texas Instruments calculator they are required to have, hoping to get them to explore and set up simulations with a tool I know they will have on hand. Despite my own philosophy on this point, I am convinced to work in a few of these simulations next semester, so Herr Röss has won me over. I think if continues on this vector, he will win over some distracted students, too.

[See my full review on MathDL.



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Review: Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



An enjoyable, quick easy read detailing a lot of human behavior experience differenting market from social norms, how free is vastly different from any cost, universality of dishonesty, and our image to others can trump our own self interest. The framing and architecture of each guerilla experiment is itself enlightening and entertaining.

This audiobook comes with a PDF that can be printed, but I didn't find it necessary.



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Review: Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



An amazing tale of one of the supreme actors for positive change, American humanitarians, of our time, someone I put on the same level as Dr. Paul Farmer ([b:Mountains beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World|10235|Mountains beyond Mountains The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World|Tracy Kidder|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320524223s/10235.jpg|1639628]). Mortenson's tale of transition from army medic and mountain climber and success beyond harsh odds made even worts by 9/11 and the War on Terror to promote basic education for children in Afghanistan and Pakistan (Waziristan and Baltistan!) gives me hope for our entire species.

I have to knock this down to two stars due to the allegations of falsehoods in the work, which make me especially uncomfrotable since Jon Krakauer, a former financial supporter of CAI, has also questioned Mortenson's accounts separately and released his allegations in [b:Three Cups of Deceit: How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way|11151351|Three Cups of Deceit How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way|Jon Krakauer|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1303177098s/11151351.jpg|16075075].

Still, it seemed someting in Mortenson's accomplishments was remarkable and selfless and suggests that a girl with a text book could be the best defense against terrorism.





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Review: One Man's War: The WWII Saga of Tommy LaMore

One Man's War: The WWII Saga of Tommy LaMore by Tommy Lamore

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Thiis a brisk and exciting read about a B-17 tailgunner's journey into the air, down into the French resistance and out to the Russian side of the Eastern Front though the Luftwaffe/German POW system rhough escape. At the point of farflung "Mongolian Terror Troops" my credulity was stretched

I enjoyed this book much, don't get me wrong. In it, the author, talks extensively of fanatical, murderous pistol and sabre armed "Mongolian Terror Troops". I suppose they were maybe Cossack or mis-id'ed calvary from a central Asian SSR. However, so much of his story seems extreme and hard to believe starting at this point in the book, I wonder at the truth of much of it. Along with the rapacious "Mongolians" (really, citizenb of Mongolia, left the Japanese threat behind to fight in Europe?) the story of superhuman Ivan the Russian officer who easily makes room in his jeep and life for the author, a dog and their two Polish travelling companions (Russia still then digesting Poland) all starts to seems a bit much.

(I sought answers to this on Axis History Forum.)



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Review: How to Win Friends and Influence People

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Well, allow me to be "hearty in my approbation and lavish in my praise" for this sage tome. It strikes me as exciting, wise, and wonferful as the first time I read it. Following Carnegies advice, I probably should refer to it more often. I'll keep this copy at hand. Hopefully, that'll help me find the courage to live this way.



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Review: Into the Arena: The World of the Spanish Bullfight

Into the Arena: The World of the Spanish Bullfight by Alexander Fiske-Harrison

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This Brit writer fell in love with bullfighting and even went down the path to be a matador-in-training. Along the way he introduces to recent bullfighting history, some important figures and behind the scenes elements, especiall bull breeding and traing. The author makes some convincing arguments that the "sport" (it is really sporting, like hunting?) is more humane than factor farming beef cattle, but in the end I am not convinced actually killing the bull for entertainment is defensible.



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Review: Scenes of Santa Fe Night Life

Scenes of Santa Fe Night Life by Eli Levin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Introductory text places printmaker Levin in the historical narrative and techincal discussion of his intaglio technique is enlightening for the animated works can appear to be lively drawings. Arranged chronologically, the works of sordid and rapidly developed into a pneumatic and active style between Pieter Bruegel the Elder's peasant celebrations ("Dance Hall", here) and Robert Crumb's works. The plumb figures head toward even Fernando Botero Angulo, but the desperate, pained figures have walked out of Bukowski's mind and haunts: crude, hopeless as well as cartoonish ("Dirty Joke", "Copping a Feel"). Boozing, brawling, and generally boisterous barroom behavior caught in engaging compositions by Levin, all of which are autobiographical to some degree.



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Review: The Post-American World

The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



As one would expect from Zakaria, one of the most intelligent cable journalists of our time I think, this is a sage and insightful look ahead of the future of America, reluctant empire and insuecure hyperpower. Fareed focuses much on China, more patient and emergent than many realize, and India. Fareed was born in India and has a personal assessment of this billion-member democracy that is a natural ally to America who can have a sooner (economic) impact and should probably be embraced. Fareed also has cogent remakrs on the American educuational system with a focus, accurately I think, on state-managed 2- and 4-year colleges and universities.



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Review: The Hobbit

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Two things made my return to re-read this classic, although I didn't real need much encouragement to re-discover its charms: [1] Reading [b:J. R. R. Tolkien: Architect of Middle Earth|77134|J. R. R. Tolkien Architect of Middle Earth|Daniel Grotta|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1219867191s/77134.jpg|841231] made want to specifically read this authortized Ballantine version that figure into the contractual story of the work outlined in that book and the corrections Tolkien made for observant readers, and [2] I am getting excited about the upcoming Peter Jackson movie!

From [1] I especially enjoyed Tolkien's kindly admission to some slight repairs and the short note that "Those who approve of courtesy (at least) to living authors" will buy this edition. Of course, that fits very well with the avuncular tone of the story-teller and his endearing creation, Bilbo Baggins the hobbit. This humble hero "blessed with a little wisdom and a little courage and considerable good luck" will be forever remembered, I hope, for his reluctant burlging, battling riddle wits with Smaug and Gollum and his resourceful and kind nature.

One small nit-picking I will make of my own: In the tunnel to Smaug's lair (Thorin's former home), Thorin spoke: "Let us try the door!" he said. "I must feel the wind on my face soon or die. I think I would rather be smashed by Smaug in the open than suffocate in here!"

Personally, I feel that the mining dwarves and certainly not their leader would have snapped first, I think it more likely Bilbo would have complained about the claustrophobic situation, as he was the perennial complainer anyway and Thorin was, basically, at his old home.



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Review: The Hoax

The Hoax by Clifford Irving

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is really engrossing for the details of the hoax perpetrated and how Irving and Suskind became passengers on a runaway train of their own invention. Along the way, some amazing luck happened for them (I suppose, can I trust the admitted hoaxter?) but one amazing thing was the proof of the old adage about criminals that they often seem to have the drive and energy to be legitimately successful, if only the put their energies to legal ventures. In this case, the pair could have done a very good unauthorized biography, if it wasn't for greed and vanity, that is hubris. The nemesis of American and Swiss law eventually comes down on them and in all Irving seems modestly contrite for his betrayals and lies, but he really seems to over no self-analysis on why decided to burn so many bridges and why he went so far...



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Review: Mad Shepherds

Mad Shepherds by L. P. Jacks

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Mr. L.P. Jacks' very remarkable book, "Mad Shepherds," gives an account of one Toller of Clun Downs, who went deranged, took to the moors and lived for a considerable time, stealing sheep and poultry. The book is populated with other such characters on the fringes of rural, English society such as shepherds waxing both mystical and atheistic about the stars and one that communes with a silent, invisible fell shepherd. This 1910 work is fresh and engaging today and entertaining due to Jacks' amazed, wide-eyed, and even at times jocular delivery.



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Review: Empire of Blue Water: Captain Morgan's Great Pirate Army, the Epic Battle for the Americas, and the Catastrophe That Ended the Outlaws' Bloody Reign

Empire of Blue Water: Captain Morgan's Great Pirate Army, the Epic Battle for the Americas, and the Catastrophe That Ended the Outlaws' Bloody Reign by Stephan Talty

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is very engaging history of the The Brethren, Capt. Henry Morgan's real Pirates of the Caribbean. Along with the drama of a fireship ruse and a city-destroying earthquakes, it is interesting the actuality of buccaneer life. Rather than a criminal navy, they were more like a criminal marine corps: ships were a conveyance to get them to coastal settlements and departure points for laying siege, such as the pivotal struggle for Panama City having marched over 50 miles inland.

While it is not develed into detail, buccaneer psychology is partly analyzed. Why did they continue after even having money, instead choosing to be profligate and tying themselves to their lives of kidnapping, slaving, ransoming, torture, and theft. It actually appears they were an anarchistic collective of murderous sociopaths.



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Review: Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings From the Road

Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings From the Road by Willie Nelson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die is a road journal that has the feel of Reader’s Digest and the faint aroma of ganja. Half road diary, half autobiography, half lyrics reprints, this ManBearPig tome can be read anywhere. The jokes, thoughts (including some on Occupy Wall Street), and memories range from the wry observations (“do it wrong until it feels right”) to enlightened advice (a vaporizer is better on a singer’s lungs than smoking marijuana).

Yes, Willie beats the re-legalization and Farm Aid drums (as well he should) and also waxes wistful about a spiritualized Christianity and how things were better when he was young. But, even in this mode, Willie never sounds like an old man telling stories. However, he does repeat himself, as on poker with Ziggy Marley and Woody Harrelson in Edenic Maui.

Many of the vignettes that introduce us to Willie’s family and organization are written by others, which adds variety and often seem to shed more light on Nelson than he himself will reveal. Introduced by Texas troubadour Kinky Friedman, this small whimsical and wise review of Willie’s greatest influences (Django Reinhardt!) and journey will fit in the smallest room of your house for regular reading.


See my review on Motor City Blog.



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Review: Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



An amazing tale of one of the supreme actors for positive change, American humanitarians, of our time, someone I put on the same level as Dr. Paul Farmer ([b:Mountains beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World|10235|Mountains beyond Mountains The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World|Tracy Kidder|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320524223s/10235.jpg|1639628]). Mortenson's tale of transition from army medic and mountain climber and success beyond harsh odds made even worts by 9/11 and the War on Terror to promote basic education for children in Afghanistan and Pakistan (Waziristan and Baltistan!) gives me hope for our entire species.



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Review: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A really successful analysis of individuation in those clumsy, awkward years of progress from teen to adult. (Part of it made me think of Napoleon Dynamite!) This is painted with a broad brush of suffocating Catholicism and institutions of learning top heavy with religion and tradition. I think Joyce could have done without much of the centrally located sermon which beyond, well, sermonizing, breaks the dream-like flow of memories abstracted.



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Review: Dark Legend: A Study In Murder

Dark Legend: A Study In Murder by Frederic Wertham

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is the work of a psychiatrist that supported a decision of not-guilty by reason of insanity for a young matricide. Roughly in four parts, this work covers:

1] Recounting the crime and confession, literally "red-handed"
2] The killer Gino's own words on a murder as honor killing he felt his life led to irrevocably
3] The psychiatrist's Freudian interpretation of the motive and guilt entwined artfully with Hamlet and Shakespeare. Be sure to read the Notes in the back as they are encountered for further details on such lethal impulses Wertham finds reflected in literature and even some interesting historical overview of Hamlet productions.
4] A summary, including Gino's reflections in prison.

All-in-all, this has such an erudite, non-sensational and sophisticated voice that it comes across as unique in the true crime works I have read and it should be recommended for that.



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Review: Reflections on the Civil War

Reflections on the Civil War by Bruce Catton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



After a brisk overview that is a mash-up for talks the Michigan Civil War chronicler gave, the book becomes special and unique starting with the reproduced drawings of Federal Army engineer John Geyser. Geyser's drawing are stark, haunting, and deeply personal. Make sure to look for Catton's remarks on each picture which make up a final chapter while the pictures themselves are gathered in the middle and spring up without herald. Toward the end of the book, Catton treats us to a military history of the engineering units Geyser (and his brother) participated in, and then outlines Geyser's post-war biography from Pension Board correspondence and more.



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Review: The Serial Killer Whisperer: How One Man's Tragedy Helped Unlock the Deadliest Secrets of the World's Most Terrifying Killers [With Earbuds]

The Serial Killer Whisperer: How One Man's Tragedy Helped Unlock the Deadliest Secrets of the World's Most Terrifying Killers [With Earbuds] by Pete Earley

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I was interested in the idea that a young man with brain injury essentially homebound develops correspondence with serial killers because it was intriguing to discover the payoff, the tranformation, the confession or slipped clue that closed a cold case when matched with forensics and an FBI profiler. Instead the excessive focus lurid details of thrill kill sec crimes ornamented only in Shawcross lies and failure to find the supposed cache of photographic evidence makes the book just an obscure stripe of pornography. ... So why did his parent support and allow a confused young man to become buds with wicked wretches? I dunno...



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Review: Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings From the Road

Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings From the Road by Willie Nelson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die is a road journal that has the feel of Reader’s Digest and the faint aroma of ganja. Half road diary, half autobiography, half lyrics reprints, this ManBearPig tome can be read anywhere. The jokes, thoughts (including some on Occupy Wall Street), and memories range from the wry observations (“do it wrong until it feels right”) to enlightened advice (a vaporizer is better on a singer’s lungs than smoking marijuana).

Yes, Willie beats the re-legalization and Farm Aid drums (as well he should) and also waxes wistful about a spiritualized Christianity and how things were better when he was young. But, even in this mode, Willie never sounds like an old man telling stories. However, he does repeat himself, as on poker with Ziggy Marley and Woody Harrelson in Edenic Maui.

Many of the vignettes that introduce us to Willie’s family and organization are written by others, which adds variety and often seem to shed more light on Nelson than he himself will reveal. Introduced by Texas troubadour Kinky Friedman, this small whimsical and wise review of Willie’s greatest influences (Django Reinhardt!) and journey will fit in the smallest room of your house for regular reading.




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Review: The Road Most Traveled

The Road Most Traveled by Chuck Ragan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Short pieces from road warriors, mostly indie rockers, about life on the road. Each authored their own vignette. Very few decided to go in for the salacious or extrene. Instead, most waxed philosophic along the lines of The Golden Rule and keeping priorities straight while not getting distracted by minor annoyances. This ends up making the points of view mildly repetitive, but taken in small doses, this collection is enjoyable, even enlightening. It is interesting to see how from vans to busses, they all end up with a Stoic to sanguine philosophy from [b:The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius|1920125|The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius|George Long|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1190334670s/1920125.jpg|1922271] to [b:Don't Sweat the Small Stuff ... and it's all small stuff: Simple Ways to Keep the Little Things from Taking Over Your Life|170548|Don't Sweat the Small Stuff ... and it's all small stuff Simple Ways to Keep the Little Things from Taking Over Your Life|Richard Carlson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172378911s/170548.jpg|164688].



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Review: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff ... and it's all small stuff: Simple Ways to Keep the Little Things from Taking Over Your Life

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff ... and it's all small stuff: Simple Ways to Keep the Little Things from Taking Over Your Life by Richard Carlson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is one of the few non-technical books I keep in my office. I've had it since it first came out and as a guiding, calming quick-check reference it has been well worth investment and matched the hype as a mental health life preserver.



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Review: The Road Most Traveled

The Road Most Traveled by Chuck Ragan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Short pieces from road warriors, mostly indie rockers, about life on the road. Each authored their own vignette. Very few decided to go in for the salacious or extrene. Instead, most waxed philosophic along the lines of The Golden Rule and keeping priorities straight while not getting distracted by minor annoyances. This ends up making the points of view mildly repetitive, but taken in small doses, this collection is enjoyable, even enlightening. It is interesting to see how from vans to busses, they all end up with a Stoic to sanguine philosophy from [b:Meditations|30659|Meditations|Marcus Aurelius|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1349003692s/30659.jpg|31010] to [b:Don't Sweat the Small Stuff ... and it's all small stuff: Simple Ways to Keep the Little Things from Taking Over Your Life|170548|Don't Sweat the Small Stuff ... and it's all small stuff Simple Ways to Keep the Little Things from Taking Over Your Life|Richard Carlson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172378911s/170548.jpg|164688].



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Review: The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time: Complete

The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time: Complete by Will Durant

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Great Mind Will Durant is speaking to my fantasy with his great description of a dream library:

“If I were rich I would have many books, and I would pamper myself with bindings bright to the eye and soft to the touch, paper generously opaque, and type such as men designed when printing was very young. I would dress my gods in leather and gold, and burn candles of worship before them at night, and string their names like beads on a rosary. I would have my library spacious and dark and cool, safe from alien sights and sounds, with slender casements opening on quiet fields, voluptuous chairs inviting communion and reverie, shaded lamps illuminating sanctuaries here and there, and every inch of the walls concealed with the mental heritage of our race. And there at any hour my hand or spirit would welcome my friends, if their souls were hungry and their hands were clean.”

(The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time, p. 64)

I read, partly, to someday be able to speak, or if alone, think like Durant writes: broadly scoped over the breadth of human accomplishment and err, he retains an entertaining wit, fascination, and hope.

While this is a short work, it's breezy delivery of a hundred books to read, a dozen dates to remember, the most important minds, and more beies the scholarship and erudition of the content.



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Review: Not Only Women Bleed, Vignettes from the Heart of a Rock Musician

Not Only Women Bleed, Vignettes from the Heart of a Rock Musician by Dick Wagner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



In a series of short, easy-to-read vignettes, Dick "The Maestro" Wagner tells us of when he scored ... and when he "scored". Along with the sex & drugs tell-all, the classic triumvirate is complete with lots of rock-n-roll from Michigan roots with The Invictas and The Bossmen and on to superstar success with Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Tim Curry, and more.

One can really hear Dick's voice. I heard that voice when he announced on my radio show this book. It is great to hear that voice coming through on the finished product and hear what it was like being a J.D. in my own hometown area of Waterford-Union Lake in Michigan.



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Review: Revelations: Diaries of Women

Revelations: Diaries of Women by Mary Jane Moffat

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This is an interesting collection of excerpt from womens' diaries. Thye go from known memoirists, like Anne Frank and Anais Nin to one, at least to me, lesser known: Henry James sister and the sister of William Wordsworth, for instance. The introductor, explanatory material is minimal but helpful. Overall, the women are left to speak for themselves, and whether it is the rigors of war (American Civl War and WWII) or finding a place to part a broken-down caravan or (in the case of a memorable "Unknown Japanese Woman) make an arranged marriage work despite frequent miscarraiges, the women do that very well.



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Review: Stoned Like a Statue a Complete Survey of Drinking Cliches: Primitive, Classical and Modern

Stoned Like a Statue a Complete Survey of Drinking Cliches: Primitive, Classical and Modern by Dean Martin

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I think the authors were stoned when they came up with this idea, and carried it out. The slim paperback is B&W images of statues and statuettes, often pornographic with cartoon balloons holding weak comical observations on imbibing and cocktail parties, often with a snide attitude.



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Review: So Far...

So Far... by Kelsey Grammer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I was never more than mildly interested in "Cheers" and as such I was only dimly aware of his Frazier character and don't think seen nary an episode of the later "Frazier" sitcom. Still, I saw such positive reviews of this autobiography, I thought I'd give it a try. I am glad I did, especially with this audiobook effectively read by the author. It's a great performance and a honest and revealing assessment of a life full of tragedy, hope, and triumph.



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Review: Mathematical Mechanics: From Particle to Muscle

Mathematical Mechanics: From Particle to Muscle by Ellis D. Cooper

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



The author is a retired high school teacher and Mathematical Mechanics is aimed at AP-level high school calculus students and their teachers to undergraduates and on to those graduated into research fields. It cannot be said that the author succeeded entirely in reaching both such a wide audience and covering such a constellation of topics for all of them. However, in being so boundless Cooper writes in a personal, wandering forward fashion that brings to mind a notebook, a type of scientific memoir. Asides, favorite quotations and improvements to proofs and theorems give the text that flavor and make it something that can be dipped into by the enthusiast at any point.

[See my full review at MAA Reviews.]




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Review: Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present

Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present by Michael B. Oren

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Roughly three quarters of the book is given to American relations wiht the Middle East from 1776 to WWII, about 175 years. Post-WWII to the War on Terror is the final quarter, roughly three quarters of a century. As result, tying in where we are now seems rushed, almost glossed over.

However, the author does succeed in documenting his case that from birth of this nation until know the relationship of America to the Middle East has been a contradictory blend of exotic allure and Islamophobic revulsion.

I found it most interesting that even back in the terms of Thomas Jefferson the nation struggled with waging war or seeking peace, claiming acceptance of all beliefs while reviling the Islamic faith. Over that time, it is sad and disappointing that the Western/Xtian and Muslim civiilzations couldn't get past their own prejudices from that day to this: Muslim lens of "Christian dogs" having Satanic motivations and aspects while powerfully placed extreme right factions in America and beyond seeing a Jewish homeland and war with Islam as a necessary and sought precursor to messianic return.

Also, the narrator has an occasional but distracting habit of putting the wrong syllable emphasis into a word.



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Review: The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I resisted reading this book for a while since the garish cover and title made me think of books that are generally consumed only via “executive summary” and aren’t worth much more than that. However, I am glad I have read for it I found a fascinating overview of anthropological applied psychology and neuroscience that belongs on the shelf next to the works of [a:Malcolm Gladwell|1439|Malcolm Gladwell|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1224601838p2/1439.jpg] and [a:Steven Pinker|3915|Steven Pinker|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1235758085p2/3915.jpg].
Particularly interesting where the marketers at Procter & Gamble figuring out how to sell a Febreze, on track to be one of the biggest flops in company history, by leveraging the habit of adding smells rather than eradicating them.
The CEO of Alcoa reaped marketplace gains by laser focus on safety, affecting and aligning worker habits and other corporate-scoped examples include Starbucks and the famous example (I heard it before of Target data mining for pregnant customers). Activism by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rick Warren (Saddleback Church) along with the power of weak links in Rosa Parks’ movements adds a socio-political dimension.
I was somewhat disappointed by the denouement, where [a:Charles Duhigg|5201530|Charles Duhigg|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1349273209p2/5201530.jpg] seeks to compare a sleepwalker’s murder to a woman who hides and finds enabled a multi-year million dollar gambling habit.

I think he intimitation of a theory of aspect - perceptional differences was both the most intriguing and least developed part of the book...



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Review: The Accidental Anarchist

The Accidental Anarchist by Bryna Kranzler

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This was a delightful read about a Russian Jew's comical flirtation with anarchist terrorism and fighting in the Czar's army in The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905). Captured for his politically motivated crimes and being doubly persecuted as a Jew, the diarist that was the source of this biography teams up with a good-hearted, optimistic thief and escapes from a Siberian prison camp. The story nicely ends with the meeting and marriage to the headstrong woman that delivered his cast off message and saved him from execution.

The Kindle edition has nice hyperlinks to explanations of Yiddishisms and historical facts as clarified by the family members that boiled down the diaries to this book and their small afterword material about that journey really completes this history.



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