The political campaign for the 2008 elections begins in earnest now. Political books are often rather tedious reads, mostly ghost-written for a candidate or the work of a journalist with an axe to grind or a reputation to enhance or both. Matt Bai’s book is different. The Argument: Billionaires, Bloggers, and the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics ($25.95, The Penguin Press) is a lively tale as seen through the eyes of a political writer for The New York Times Magazine as he crisscrossed the United States to learn who constitutes the Democrat Party these days. Is it Howard Dean, the Party chairman? Is it the bloggers like Markos Moulitsas, founder of "Daily Kos", whose sites have created an entire community of netizens dissatisfied with the existing Party and eager to take it over? Is it the fat-cat contributors who traditionally set policy by writing checks? What this lively book reveals is that there really is an argument going on inside the Party and it’s hard to tell who’s winning. One thing comes through, however. The Party remains one whose New Deal message has not been replaced by new ideas. Indeed, coming up with a cohesive message around which voters can coalesce is the dilemma the book reveals. Politics has to be more than just the capacity to raise campaign funds. For those who love politics, this one is worth reading.

Politics and his observations have made Todd Gitlin a popular author of books such as The Sixties and others, a contributor to Mother Jones, and respected liberal pundit when not teaching journalist and sociology at Columbia University. He has a mastery of the written word that makes his observations entertaining, though arguable if one’s political prism differs. His latest book, The Bulldozer and the Big Tent: Blind Republicans, Lame Democrats, and the Recovery of American Ideals ($25.95, Wiley) arrives on the cusp of 2008’s political season and will please anyone seeking the answers to why the Republican Party is in disarray, Bush’s ratings are so low, Hillary is so polarizing, and, in general, the answers to all questions on all topics political. For those of a liberal persuasion seeking those answers, this book will confirm their views and explore the unknown future of both parties and all the candidates. Gitlin offers the comfort of certitude in his interpretation of the Bush years and the cloudy future that awaits both parties.

Concerns over imports from China have arisen at about the same time Sara Bongioni’s book, A Year Without "Made in China" ($24.95, Wiley) was published. Subtitled "One family’s true life adventure in the global economy", the author tells of deciding to live without things imported from China beginning on January 1, 2005. What she discovered was that shopping for mundane items like birthday candles and, of course, toys became a real ordeal. The endless list of things manufactured in China and purchased in America will astonish the reader and the effect on our economy is explored as it impacts the manufacturing of anything here, as well as the dependence of large "box stores" such as Wal-Mart on the flow of affordable goods. This book’s importance, for the many insights it provides, will be of interest to anyone who must compete against this behemoth. The other side of the coin is One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China by James McGregor ($15.00, Free Press, softcover). The author is a former Wall Street Journal Beijing Bureau Chief and businessman who has been living in and doing business in China for twenty years. I took note of this book when it was first published and it remains an important, if not essential, book to read on how to (and not to) do business there. Yet another one of the Dummies® series is Doing Business in China for Dummies ($21.99, Wiley, softcover). Robert Collins, a former officer with the American Chamber of Commerce in China, and Carson Block, an attorney and founder of YBS Investment Consulting have teamed up to write on how to understand Chinese markets, find the right employees, work with currency controls and the Chinese banking system, sell and source in China, and understand how politics plays a role in business planning there. Reading these latter two books will likely save you a lot of grief.

In past years there have been bestsellers devoted to spotting trends and this year’s winner is Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow’s Big Changes ($25.99, Twelve, an imprint of Hachette Book Group) by Mark J. Penn with E. Kinney Zalesne. The author, a pollster for luminaries such as former president Clinton, has identified more than seventy Microtrends in religion, leisure, politics, and family life that are changing our lives while also transforming the way we do business and, of course, for whom we may vote. At the heart of the book is his view that it is small groups that are increasingly having a large impact on our lives. They can be quickly organized via the Internet in ways that did not previously exist. Penn makes clear that conventional wisdom these days is almost always wrong. America is changing and this book identifies those changes. Penn is the worldwide CEO of Burson-Marsteller and has been an adviser to many leading corporations and twenty-five foreign heads of state. Ms. Zalesne has been a White House Fellow, counsel to former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, and an executive of two national social-change organizations. Hachette has also released it as an audiobook ($39.98, CDs, running time twelve hours.)

Americans still seem to be wavering when it comes to facing some very ugly truths about Islam. Our culture is one in which speaking ill of any religion is frowned upon, but sometimes some truths must be faced, if only to insure our national survival. Robert Spencer does this in Religion of Peace? Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn’t ($27.95, Regnery Publishing). To Christians stung by the many attacks on their faith, Spencer examines the differences and dispatching the notion that all religions are equal or reflect the same values. Spencer takes note of the way the press and world leaders have tried to suppress the idea that Islam is a violent history while taking aim at the charges leveled against Christianity as a whole and the Christian Right in particular, comparing them to the teachings (and actions) of Islam. Spencer knows his subject well. He previously authored The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades), also published by Regnery. Spencer has studied Islamic theology, law, and history for more than twenty-five years and is director of Jihad Watch. The West is locked into a war it did not initiate and does not want, but jihad, as a central pillar of Islam requires it to wage war on all unbelievers to kill or subjugate them. To better understand this war and Islam, I recommend you read this book.

I have long been a film buff, but I have been to precious few new movies in recent years. However, movies are still a major element of the nation’s culture, so I am always happy to receive the latest edition of Leonard Maltin’s annual guides. For the year ahead, the new edition of Leonard Maltin’s 2008 Movie Guide ($20.00, Plume softcover) is now available. It is a fat compendium of information about more than 17,000 movie listings that includes more than 400 new entries since the 2007 edition, and more than 8,000 DVD and 13,000 video listings. And there is more good news because Leonard Maltin’s Classic Movie Guide ($20.00, Plume softcover) is also available, featuring more than 9,000 capsule reviews, an absolute must for anyone who watches Turner Classic Movies or the Fox Movie channel. For a quick guide to either the latest or the oldest films, these two books serve up quick, accurate information in a way that make them indispensable.

How to Raise a Jewish Dog by Ellis Weiner and Barbara Davilman ($12.99, Little, Brown and Company, softcover) purports to convey training techniques developed by the "rabbis of the Boca Raton Seminary", but one begins to suspect the truth of this when reading the insights of Rabbi Mary-Margaret. Never in the more than 3,000 years of Jewish history has there ever been a Rabbi Mary-Margaret. Trust me. And trust me, too, when I tell you this is a very funny book that reveals the psychology of being Jewish in the process of teaching even gentiles how to raise a Jewish dog. Dog owners will thoroughly enjoy this book. I see an awful lot of self-help advice books, so I was delighted to receive a great spoof of them in the form of National Lampoon Help: Self-Help for the Selfish Helpless by Scott Rubin ($14.95, National Lampoon Press, softcover). Here’s a book that will tell you how to stay in college for up to twelve years, avoiding the necessity of getting a job. All manner of horrid problems, finance, sex, dating and health are addressed. On the topic of mental health, the author reminds you that not getting an instant message from your best friend "is not the same as scrounging for scraps of dog meat in the streets of Jakarta. Your life is excellent." Now that is good advice. The advice given will appeal to the slacker in all of us and is very funny much of the time. Remember, laughter is still the best medicine.

There among us people who follow football more closely than the Dow Jones average, the price of gasoline, or family birthdays and comparable events. For them, Aaron Schatz and the experts at FootballOutsiders.com have compiled the Pro Football Prospectus 2007 ($19.95, Plume, softcover) that has projections on a variety of topics, vast amounts of statistics, and enough information in its 500-plus pages of team-by-team coverage of all 32 NFL franchises to keep any football fanatic deliriously happy for the entire season. For those who are more adventurous and willing to wander beyond the big chair in front of the television, there’s a terrific book, The Family Sabbatical Handbook: A Budget Guide to Living Abroad with Your Family by Elisa Bernick ($15.95, Intrepid Traveler, softcover). This is the story of how the author and her husband, Michael, leased their home, dug into the family savings, and lived for 18 months in Mexico with their kids despite not knowing the language or much else before they embarked on a true sabbatical. The lessons they learned are now available to anyone else who just wants to get away from the job, try doing new things, and bond with loved ones in a foreign locale. Don’t leave home without reading this one.

Fans of the great British actress, Helen Mirren, and her television series, Prime Suspect 7: The Final Act, will be especially cheered to learn that the finale of the Emmy-winning series is available on DVD ($29.99, Acorn Media, 2-volume boxed set, approximately 184 minutes). Her character, Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison, is deeply flawed, but ultimately, we want her to succeed, to find the murdered of a 14-year-old girl, to deal with her father’s hospitalization, to overcome her descent into alcoholism, and to make peace with her coming retirement. We watch this against the backdrop of a gritty part of London whose reality clashes with the picture-postcard, tourist version to which we are most exposed. Some critics have called this the best crime series ever. It is most certainly the most human and well worth watching for the superb writing and acting.

Have you told a friend about Bookviews? Don’t keep all the fun and knowledge to yourself. This website has grown by word of mouth and I’m counting on you to share it with others who love books, too.

Back to Top

The Lessons of History

Debuting this month is second book of a "The Liberation Trilogy" on World War II by Rick Atkinson who has written a number of excellent books of military history while a staff writer and editor at The Washington Post for some twenty years. In At Army at Down he described the first battles of the first American troops in North Africa. Though they were new to war, they prevailed, defeating the Germans and Italians. The second element of the war would come with the invasion of Sicily and Italy, 1943-44. In The Day of Battle ($35.00, Henry Holt and Company) he tells the story of the Generals and the men, both American and British troops, who fought their way to Rome. In hindsight, victory seemed assured, but it never was and Atkinson notes the heated debates that raged among Roosevelt, Churchill and their military advisors. In now famed battles at Salerno, Anzio, and Cassino, Allied troops relentlessly drove the Nazis northward up the Italian peninsula. Truly, this is military history at its best and Atkinson brings a distinctive literary narrative talent to bear. As WWII fades in the memory of Americans, it is ever more essential that they instruct themselves in the sacrifice that united the entire nation to defeat the Nazis and Fascists of that era.

American history is filled with much of which we can be justly proud as well as that which is not. One of the latter stories is told by Jean Pfaelzer in Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans ($27.95, Random House), a period beginning in 1849 during which Chinese Americans living in California and the Pacific Northwest were brutally killed or forced to flee after having been imported to build the railroads that connected the two coasts. There were lynchings and homes were set afire. In short, all the evils that are common to human history. The Chinese fought back, even filing the first lawsuits for reparations, suing for restoration of their property, and other suits that preceded the famed Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. Their story, however, has not been fully told until now. One can learn even from a shameful past and this story has its heroes too and well worth reading.

The re-writing of history is associated with Marxist states, for whom the truth often conflicts with their lies. The story of Sacco & Vanzetti ($25.95, Viking) undergoes this treatment by Bruce Watson who has invested a great deal of time and effort to undo what has long been established, i.e., that these two admitted anarchists and self-styled revolutionaries were quite thoroughly guilty of shooting two payroll clerks in Braintree, Massachusetts on April 15, 1920. Twenty days later, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Venzetti, Italian-American immigrants were arrested. Their trial was turned into a struggle between those seeking justice and those who wanted to turn the two killers into symbols of oppression by a capitalist society. The result, during those times when many Communist sympathizers were agitating throughout the nation, was a worldwide debate. Today, they remain idolized by the far Left as martyrs, but they were just two murderers, no matter how much this book tries to obfuscate that fact.

Homeland: The Illustrated History of the State of Israel ($34.95, Nachshon Press, Skokie, IL) is quite extraordinary, not just for the history it provides, but for its excellent illustrations. One’s first impression is that this book is for younger readers and, while that may be true, it is also a great way for older ones, not conversant with the history of this nation to trace its beginnings from the biblical stories of the Jews through to present times. A collaborative effort, one can see that great care and attention was given to accuracy. The colorful artwork will capture the imagination of younger readers, but the text will inform older ones of the progression of events that had led to the establishment of Israel, first as a movement called Zionism, then as the result of the Holocaust during World War II that killed one third of all Jews and created hundred of thousands of Jewish refugees who needed a homeland. Nor does it flinch from telling the story of the many attacks on Israel from its independence to this day and the on-going efforts to protect its citizens, more than a million of whom are Arabs.

A grand period of American history, known as the gilded era, was ruled over by the two heirs of John Jacob Astor, one a son and the other a cousin, both of whom did not like the other, but both of whom build some of the greatest hotels and mansions in New York City. Their story is wonderfully captured by Justin Kaplan in When the Astors Owned New York: Blue Bloods and Grand Hotels in a Gilded Era ($15.00, Plume softcover). They inherited huge fortunes. In a rare truce, they built the original Waldorf-Astoria hotel, now on the site of the Empire State Building, and separately they built other luxury hotels such as the St. Regis and Astor. They were famed in their day and their story is pure reading pleasure.

It seems odd, but I do not recall a full-fledged history of advertising, the marketing of goods and services that inundates our daily lives like fish in water. That has been remedied by Mark Tungate who has written Ad Land: A Global History of Advertising ($39.95, Kogan Page US) that introduces us to the rise of advertising and takes the reader behind the scenes, providing interviews with many of today’s key players who shaped the world of advertising from the 1950s onward. The author interviewed men such as Phil Dusenberry, a BBDO creative legend, Mourice Levy, president of the France’s Publicus Group, George Lois, a Madison Avenue art director who transformed the imagery of modern advertising, Kevin Roberts, CEO worldwide of Britain’s Saatchi & Saatchi. Advertising is truly global and so much a part of modern civilization it deserves and receives an excellent history of the way it has shaped our world.

IQ: A Smart History of a Failed Idea by Stephen Murdoch ($24.95, Wiley) traces the way testing for intelligence has proven too often to be a very flawed, unreliable effort. Still in use, it often is critical to how children are ranked in school, whether one gets a job or is spared capital punishment. A journalist, Murdoch explains why the tests rose in importance, how they maintained their dominance, and why they are so unfair. He reveals the racism, classism, sexism, and xenophobia that can underlie these arbitrary and subjective benchmarks. I, for one, never trusted them and this book provides ample evidence why others should question them as well.

Two books about the sea and the dangers it holds are a slice of history. Sentinel of the Seas: Life and Death at the Most Dangerous Lighthouse Ever Built by Dennis M. Powers ($21.95, Citadel Press, an imprint of Kensington) is the latest book by an author of seven books dealing with the sea. In this case, he has turned his attention to an area miles off the coast of northern California that has long been a mariner’s nightmare, a jagged, submerged volcanic mountain chain dubbed "Dragon Rocks", but known officially as the St. George Reef. For over a century it has been home to one of the most remote, most expensive, and dangerous lighthouses ever built. Powers takes the reader on a tale of planning, construction, and the cost—human and financial—involved in building the St. George Reef Lighthouse. Drawing on original journals and personal interviews, this is a compelling story. Michael J. Tougias has written Fatal Forecast ($24.00, Scribner) and his skills, demonstrated by ten previous books are turned to the story of two small Massachusetts lobster boats that set out for Georges Bank on the morning of November 21, 1980. The National Weather Service had forecast typical fall weather. There was no reason for the rugged crews to think this voyage would be any different from others, but they would spend 72 hours in a colossal storm, battered by 60-foot waves and hurricane-force winds. The crews of the Fair Wind and Sea Fever would battle for their lives to keep their vessels afloat. One boat was severely crippled and the other overturned, trapping its crew inside. This is a gripping story and a reminder that Nature takes no prisoners.

When first published last year to celebrate the laying of the foundation of Rome’s Basilica, R.A. Scotti’s history of the building of St. Peter’s, from blueprint to colonnade, was a stirring and extraordinary story captured in Basilica: The Splendor and the Scandal Building St. Peter’s that is now in softcover ($15.00, Plume). Anyone interested in architecture and history—it took 200 years to complete and has outlasted 27 popes—will find this fascinating reading.

An interesting audiobook is The Preacher and the Presidents: Billy Graham in the White House by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy ($39.98, Hachette Audio, 10 CDs, approximately 11 hours, as read by L.J. Ganser). No other evangelist did what Graham accomplished. He counseled every President from Harry Truman to George W. Bush, prayed with them, knew their families, and played a role in every election from 1952 to 2000. Graham not only offered spiritual counsel, but also shrewd political counsel as well. To learn more, visit www.preacher-and-presidents.com.

Back to Top

Getting Down to Business (Books)

In the never-ending pursuit of wealth and success, the publishing world offers a constant supply of new books on the subject. Here are a few that have arrived in recent weeks.

Given the volatility of the stock market these days, a new book by Michael C. Thomsett should prove helpful. It’s The Stock Investor’s Pocket Calculator: A Quick Guide to All the Formulas and Ratios You Need to Invest Like a Pro ($17.95, Amacom, softcover.) With a title like that you don’t really need to know much more. Thomsett is a former accountant and financial consultant who has authored dozens of books on investing and related topics. He insists that no investment calculation is so complex that you can’t figure it out, if you know how to do it. I am still trying to balance my checkbook!

Rules for Renegades: How to Make More Money, Rock Your Career, and Revel in Your Individuality by Christine Comaford-Lynch ($24.95, McGraw-Hill) is advice from a high school drop-out who became a multimillionaire. Much of the advice has been voiced in other books, but the author brings her own interesting life story to bear on the theme that one can create a life that fulfills one’s dreams. It’s fun to read and those in the early stages of career-building can benefit from it.

Sleeping With Your Business Partner by Becky L. Stewart-Gross, PhD and Michael J. Gross, EdD ($16.95, Capital Books, softcover) may sound sexy, but its sub-title tells the real story, "A Communication Toolkit for Couples in Business Together." According to the authors, couple-owned businesses represent the fastest growing segment of family-owned businesses and 75% of all U.S. corporations are family-owned. Love and business are among life’s greatest challenges. This guide is for those who do that, providing advice on how to communicate effectively to improve both their business and their personal relationship. The New Boss: How to Survive the First 100 Days by Peter Fischer ($35.00, Kogan Page) explores the steps to take when you become the new boss as it looks at building key relationships, managing expectations, and implementing change during the first three months. It identifies the problems a new boss is likely to encounter and how to deal with them. If this describes you or someone you know, this book will prove a good investment. In a comparable fashion, the Manager’s Desktop Consultant by Louellen N. Essex and Mitchell E. Kusy ($18.95, Davies-Black Publishing, Mountainview, CA, softcover) offers "just-in-time solutions to the top people problems that keep you up a night." All the basic management challenges are explored and solutions are offered that should prove especially helpful to those new to these responsibilities. An amusing book, perhaps best read by those new to the corporate office environment, is Lesley Everett’s Drop Dead Brilliant: Dazzle in the Workplace with Confidence and Panache ($16.96, McGraw Hill, softcover) in which she dishes on how, by virtue of one’s clothing choices and conversational skills, one can create good first impressions and maintain a professional persona designed to further one’s career. Yes, this may seem fairly superficial, but it is time-tested advice in an easy-to-read format that ambitious businessmen and women will find useful.

Some books focus on specific management tasks and The Team-Building Tool Kit is one of them ($17.95, Amacom, softcover). Deborah Mackin is an expert and this is the second edition of her book that is filled with strategies, tools, and techniques to get the most from your teams such as how to hold meetings, improve accountability, assess performance, and much more. Gene McVay brings a unique background to the topic in Top Gun Management ($13.50, Lulu.com, softcover) because Gene rose to the rank of Colonel in the U.S. Air Force as a fighter pilot and eventually the commander of a $3 billion multinational provisional wing. He was also an intelligence analyst with the National Security Agency. One does not achieve these positions without demonstrating the kind of leadership they demand. His book is about achieving "excellence with integrity." McVay has filled his book with the kind of good, solid values that are worth an inspiring reminder.

For those who want to delve deeper into the subject of leadership traits, there’s Smarter, Faster, Better: Strategies for Effective, Enduring, and Fulfilled Leadership by Karen Sloan with Lindsey Pollak ($24.95, Jossey-Boss). An executive coach, she offers some novel, counter-intuitive strategies for people who want to realize their full leadership potential. This book isn’t just for executives, but also those in rank and file positions who want to move up the ladder. She says it’s about "harnessing the power of interdependence." A professor at The Wharton School, she knows her stuff. You will too after reading this lively book. How: Why How we Do Anything Means Everything…in Business (and in Life) by Dov Seidlman ($27.95, John Wiley and Sons) asserts that the flood of information and the demand for transparency is reshaping business today, changing the former "rules of the game." The author says it’s no longer what you do that set you apart from others, but how you do it. The author’s company specializes in build cultures in which doing it "right" is the path toward beating the competition. Filled with case histories, anecdotes, and cutting-edge research, you too can learn how to do it right.

Back to Top

Books for Younger Readers

As autumn reminds us of the last warm days of summer, teases us with a few cool breezes to tell us winter is coming, it also turns the trees into an artist’s palette of colors in a dazzling display of the power of nature to transform all it touches. It’s a good time (what isn’t?) to enjoy a good book and all youngsters, from pre-school to teen, need to be encouraged to get the habit of reading books.

For those too young to read, the author Jane Yolen has written a million books. Well, not a million, but more than I can count. Here’s two of her latest. There’s Baby Bear’s Big dreams ($16.00, Harcourt), illustrated by Melissa Sweet, because as we all know big bears have all the fun. They can stay up late and do stuff baby bears cannot. This is a story parents can share with their pre-schoolers who cannot wait to grow up. Yolen has also written How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? ($16.99, Blue Sky Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.) What really makes this book a standout are the wonderful illustrations by Mark Teague in which colorful dinosaurs do all the wrong things that a good early-grader should not, as in being late for the school bus, interrupt the class, fidget in their chair, and generally make it difficult for others to learn anything. For any parent getting a child ready to attend school for the first time, this is the book to get!

I enjoyed Bobbie Dazzler ($15.95, Kane/Miller) written by Margaret Wild and illustrated by Janine Dawson, a fanciful tale of a kangaroo who could hop and even do somersaults, but who could not do splits (ala tap or ballet dancers) until one day, Bobbie made up her mind to do it. Friends such as Koala, Wombat, and Possum were delighted, but Bobbie could not get up! Eventually Bobbie does and so do the others. It’s a little story about learning new tricks, but it is very amusing and the drawings that illustrated it are delightful.

One of the giants among publishers for younger readers is National Geographic. In its series, "Holidays Around the World", it has a new book out just in time for Halloween, one of my favorite holidays. Celebrate Halloween with Pumpkins, Costumes, and Candy ($15.95) is filled with ideas and suggestions for ways to get the most fun out of Halloween and is illustrated with some great photos. The emphasis of National Geographic books for younger readers is on education and, for the most part, it does a splendid job. For the reader aged 8 and up, When Fish Got Feet, Sharks Got Teeth, and Bugs Began to Swarm: A Cartoon Prehistory of Life Long Before Dinosaurs ($16.95) is as good as it gets when it comes to presenting information about the earliest origins of species on earth. Written and illustrated by Hannah Bonner, it takes the reader back 430 million years ago and provides a wealth of information about the various eras that preceded the modern one of man.

Where I part company with National Geographic is its devotion to the theory of global warming which, increasingly, is being challenged by some of the world’s leading climatologists. Global temperature has risen on the average about 0.15 degrees Celsius per decade which means, if another Ice Age doesn’t arrive as expected, it would rise just 1.5 degrees in this century. There’s very little to fear from this, but in two books, Face to Face with Polar Bears by Norbert Rosing with Elizabeth Corney, and Face to Face with Dolphins by Flip and Linda Nicklin, ($16.95 each) the message of both is that these species are endangered by things the terrible humans are doing to warm the earth and affect their habitats. In fact, the polar bear population has been growing and steps have been taken to protect dolphins from certain types of fishing. I see little reason to worry young minds with questionable notions about the loss of these two species.

National Geographic does much better when it deals with topics like Volcanoes: Witness to Disaster by Judy and Dennis Fradin ($16.95) that combines a first-class text and many photos and illustrations that attest to the power of nature that is exemplified by volcanic eruptions. Any budding young naturalist will find this book utterly fascinating. For the youngster who may join the ranks of archaeologists some day, the series, "National Geographic Investigates" features Ancient India by Anita Dalal and Ancient Aztec by Tim Cooke ($17.95 each). The texts, combined with the photos and artwork, open a window on humanity’s past in ways that will intrigue any young mind. Lastly, if there’s a potential investigative journalist in your family, give them Muckrakers by Ann Bausum, with a foreword by NPR’s veteran journalist, Daniel Schorr ($27.95) which tells the stories of the early journalists such as Ida Tarbell, Upton Sinclair, and Lincoln Steffens who exposed terrible working conditions and other practices that led to laws to protect workers and consumers.

Back to Top

Novels, Novels, Novels!

I have been reviewing books since the 1960s and it sometimes seems to me that, of late, there is a great torrent of novels such as I have not seen previously. Part of the reason for this is the explosion of self-published novels, but clearly there remains a vigorous market for novels of all descriptions because they pour into the office of Bookviews week after week. Here’s a small selection worth considering.

The life of Pablo Casals, the famed cellist, inspired Andromeda Romano-Lax to write The Spanish Bow ($25.00, Harcourt), a story that begins in a turn-of-the-century Catalan village as young Feliu Delargo sets forth into a turbulent and war-torn 20^th century, making friends with other musicians, finding love, dealing with threats during the Spanish Civil War and World War II. The author has been a journalist, a travel writer, and is deemed a serious amateur cellist herself. She has created a rich cast of characters. Her knowledge of Spain, of history, of music, inform this first novel and anyone who enjoys any of these elements will find this an excellent reading experience.

Robbin Parrish has developed a following for his well-wrought novels. He is in the midst of a trilogy. The first was Relentless; a groundbreaking quasi superhero saga set in a world very much like our own. It was filled with non-stop action and plot twists. He returns now with Fearless, Book 2 of The Dominion Trilogy ($19.90, Bethany House). The Earth has become a place of earthquakes, fire, disease, and floods (when was it not?) but out of the chaos is a man whom the public calls the "Guardian" and he possesses extraordinary powers. He is determined to uncover the secret behind the chaos. For those who enjoy stories about ancient prophecies and those who stand firm against evil, this will prove a satisfying tale. Betheny House is a Christian bookseller so that is always a factor in the novels it publishers. Another new one is The Cure by Athol Dickson ($17.99) in which Riley Keep, a former missionary who has lost his wife, his daughter, and his faith in the aftermath of a single act. Hearing rumors about miracles in a small town in Maine, he goes there, but will he find the healing he seeks? Sometimes the disease is not nearly as dangerous as the cure. Dickson has penned five novels and knows how to spin a gripping story.

For pure fantasy, the place to look is any book published by Wizards of the Coast. Storm Dragon: Draconic Prophecies, Book 1 by James Wyatt ($25.95, Wizards of the Coast), is a trilogy that begins with an action-packed adventure starring a war hero rescued from 26 years imprisonment, during which he scrawled his prophetic dreams onto the walls and ceiling of his cell. Set free by a band of strangers, he realizes that the magic relic that broke his mind is the key to saving himself and stopping worldwide destruction. From PYR, an imprint of Prometheus Books, comes Hurricane Moon by Alexis Glynn Latner ($15.00, softcover) set in the late twenty-first century. Earth is wracked by political and ecological crisis, and the Aeon Foundation launches a starship to find a new world and found a new civilization. By accident, not one, but two earth-sized planets locked in orbit around each other are discovered. Planet Green has abundant plant life. Planet Blue is an oceanic world with constant hurricanes. There’s both real and faux science in this story that will appeal to those of an environmental bent.

Plume, an imprint of the Penguin Group, publishes many excellent novels in softcover editions that are both affordable and entertaining. Two that I think will appeal to female readers are Slacker Girl by Alexandra Koslow ($13.00) and Left Bank by Kate Muir ($14.00). Instead of the work-driven gals of "Sex in the City", Koslow offers up downtown New York resident, Jane Cooper, who thinks that women were subjected to a lot of propaganda of the 1980’s about careers and is determined to pursue more leisure-friendly jobs to sustain her lifestyle of hours spent soaking up good vibes in the city’s many bars, cafes and lounges. Until, that is, a financial crunch forces her to take a real job at a stuffy financial investment firm where her boss, Ray, has fallen in love with her. A crisis ensues, but there’s a happy ending. Making her debut, Kate Muir, a London Times columnist, conjures up the lives of Paris’s stylish, intellectual, and very exclusive Left Bank. She spins a story of Olivier and Madison Malin, glitterati and a total self-involved couple. When their daughter, Sabine, disappears from an amusement park, they are forced to focus on something other than their own pretentious lives. Love Paris? Celebrities? You will thoroughly enjoy this story.

Paris is also the setting for Mademoiselle Victorine by Debra Finerman ($13.95, Three Rivers Press, New York, softcover) and the era is the 19^th century world of Edourard Manet, to whom the artist Degas introduces Victorine Laurent. Having joined the chorus of the Paris Opera ballet in hopes of becoming the mistress of a wealthy man, Manet’s portrait of her shocks Paris and, overnight, she becomes the city’s most sought after courtesan. She becomes the favorite of the Duke de Lyon, the power beyond the shaky thrown of Emperor Louis-Napoleon, but remains attracted to Manet. Trouble brews and you will just have to read this novel to find out what happens. The world of art is also the setting for another novel, but this time the place is Los Angeles and the time is the present. In Jonathan Selwood’s The Pinball Theory of Apocalypse ($13.95, Harper Perennial, softcover) Isabel Raven, an artist, has made a living forging impressionist masterpieces. Her boyfriend is having a sexual dalliance with a teenage self-styled ‘Latina Britney Spears’, and Isabel’s art deal is threatening her as her legitimate art career takes off at the same time the rest of her life goes south. The delusional quality of Los Angeles and her existence make for some very funny, entertaining reading.

A novel that garnered a lot of praise when first published, Captain of the Sleepers, by Mayra Montero ($13.00, Picador, softcover) is about the tangled loves of people over a half-century. At the center is Andres Yasin who, as a child knew J.T. Bunker as "the Captain of the Sleepers" because he transported the dead back to Viegues, Puerto Rico, those who wished to be buried at home. Yasin has nursed a grudge against Bunker who is now 83 and dying, a man who had an affair with Estela, Yasin’s mother. This is a story of remembrance and reality as the author peels away successive, deceptive layers of plot in a suspenseful tale of divided loyalties, lingering resentment, and sorrow. It is very hard to put this story down once one begins to read it. The Caribbean forms the backdrop of Closed for Repairs by Nancy Alonso, translated by Anne Fountain ($13.90, Curbstone Press, softcover.) It is a series of eleven vignettes that depict Cuban ingenuity in the face of the problems of living on the island nation that has been dominated by Fidel Castro and Communism. It depicts the shortages of consumer goods and other things that result in part the result of the U.S. embargo, but it is ultimately the story of a gallant spirit of Cubans to live as best they can. One can do no less than welcome new voices from Cuba and hope for their freedom in the days to come.

Because I am a native of New Jersey and spent several years in Georgia, I was naturally drawn to Rosina Lippi’s novel, Tied to the Tracks, ($13.95, Berkley trade paperback), a novel about Angie Mangiamele who runs a film company in Hoboken and embarks on a documentary in Ogilvie, Georgia, where she’s been invited to the small Southern town to interview an intensely private literary legend, Zula Bragg, who has agreed to the project. Angie is also hoping to run into John Grant, an old flame from a long-ago summer. Turns out that Ogilvie is full of secrets and John’s wedding to a town socialite releases a lot of hidden truths that will change everyone involved. The author has earned honors for her former novels and this one sparkles with humor and zany characters.

There are, regrettably, many other novels that time and space do not allow me to discuss, but the good news is that so much talent exists and so many fine stories wait to read.

That’s it for October! Don’t forget to visit our Featured Books section that offers news about some very unusual and interesting books you might not learn about elsewhere. Then tell your friends about Bookviews.com and invite them to visit every month.

Back to Top