Sacramento
Oct 09
Book Review VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2
F R E E
NEW AND OF INTEREST EWAND OF
16
In the Falling Snow A man in search of himself Page 9
Carl : A Biography The cosmic inquisition Page 26
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The National Parks American beauty Page 22
Filipino-American Awareness Page 15
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Halloween Books Page 16
A great introduction to the classic monsters By Michael Mallory Universe, $40.00, 252 pages
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This is a well done, though not spectacular, overview of the many Universal Studios horror movies released from the 1920s into the 1950s. The well known and obvious ones like Dracula with Bela Lugosi, Phantom of the Opera (Lon Chaney), and Frankenstein (Boris Karloff ) are covered in depth, with plenty of behind-the-scenes photos, movie posters, and production background. The nice part is the coverage of many of the
lesser know fi lms - Monster on Campus, anyone? The downside to the book is that there aren’t many new tidbits of anything - pictures, gossip or background. For the horror aficionado, this may not be a good purchase (either for themselves or as a gift), but for a more casual fi lm buff, or newer classic horror fan, this could be a good introduction to See MONSTERS, page 7
The TOON Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics Hey kids! Comics! Page 28
150 Reviews INSIDE!
Technology My New iPhone: 52 Simple Projects to Get You Started By Wallace Wang No Starch Press, 464 pages, $29.95 Apple’s iPhone continues to be one of the most popular smart phones on the market, yet few people use it beyond the most basic functions. My New iPhone is less a user’s guide (see iPhone the Missing Manual for that), but delivers some of the same functions through a series of easy-to-do projects, teaching new tricks by showing instead of telling. The table of contents is well organized, with an overview listing just the project titles, and a second TOC detailing each of the lessons learned in each project. You can just dive in almost anywhere that strikes your fancy, from the basics of setting up the iPhone to using Skype for free phone calls on your wifi network. As stated in the title, this book is more for a new user than an experienced one, but the various lessons learned here will move the quickly into the experienced category.
iPhone the Missing Manual By David Pogue O’Reilly Media, 416 pages, $24.99 There is a reason why this series is subtitled “The book that should have been in the box;” these manuals are more helpful than the actual technical manuals included with the latest phone/computer/software package. Here, David Pogue really does provide a comprehensive overview of the latest iPhone releases (the 3.0 software and the 3GS iPhone) that goes much further than turning it one, adding contacts or finding apps in the App Store. Pogue is the a technology columnist for the New York Times and has not only an expert understanding of the iPhone and related technology, but also has an engaging writing style needed when trying to wade through tech manuals. The chapter on taking pictures and managing them is probably worth the cost of the book itself. He shows ways to use the camera part of the phone to its best advantage, from adjusting the light to sending them via MMS. The iPhone might be the most popu-
lar smart phone out there, and most people just use it for the phone and texting capabilities. With iPhone the Missing Manual you’ll quickly be using this hand held computer to its fullest extent, and managing your life, time pictures and music better. And maybe one of these days, Apple will include it in the box when you buy a phone. Until then, you’ll need to buy the manual (also available as an eBook download to put on your iPhone to carry with you).
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Sacramento
Book Review The Sacramento Book Review is published monthly by 1776 Productions. The opinions expressed in these pages are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sacramento Book Review or Sacramento Book Review advertisers. All images are copyrighted by their respective copyright holders. All words © 2009, 1776 Productions. October 09 print run - 10,000 copies. Printed by Wesco Graphics. Distributed by Sacramento Distribution Services.
Editorial Staff Senior Editor and Co-Publisher Ross Rojek Co-Publisher/Design Layout Heidi Komlofske Associate Editor Kaye Cloutman Copy Editors Autumn Conley Diane Jinson Editorial Assistants Jen LeBrun Jordan Dacayanan Mari Ozawa Ad Sales Jordan Bassior
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IN THIS ISSUE Technology.....................................................2 Historical Fiction............................................4 Poetry & Short Stories....................................5 Young Adult....................................................6 Horror............................................................7 Modern Literature..........................................8 Books About Books.......................................10 Science & Nature..........................................11 Religion........................................................11 Mystery, Crime & Thrillers...........................12 Local Calendar..............................................13 Business & Investing....................................13 Romance....................................................... 14 Filipino-American Awareness.......................15 Halloween.....................................................16 Travel........................................................... 17 Philosophy....................................................19 Reference......................................................19 Popular Fiction.............................................20 Crafts & Hobbies..........................................21 History.........................................................22 Popular Culture............................................23 Music & Movies.............................................24 Parenting & Families....................................24 Tweens.........................................................25 Biographies & Memoirs................................26 Children’s Books...........................................27 Sequential Art..............................................28 Current Events.............................................29 Classics.........................................................29 Role-Playing Games......................................30 Health, Fitness & Dieting.............................30 Science Fiction & Fantasy.............................31 Art, Architecture & Photography.................32
EDITOR’S NOTES Fall is always a great season for me. The weather starts turning cool, Apple Hill kicks into high gear, and the many great Fall book releases start coming in. This year is no different for any of those three, especially the third. Last year, we were just getting started, and only a few publishers were sending us books. Now that we’ve been around for a year, we get hundreds of new books every week—many from publishers we’ve never heard of or requested copies from. And that’s good for you, the reader, as we get to pick and chose some of the best books in each category, looking for books you’ll want to read or buy for another reader in your life. It’s October, and that means it’s time for Halloween books. You’ll find a selection of books for all ages on pages 16-18 and a Horror book section on page 4. Also, October is Filipino-American Awareness month. Kaye, our Associate Editor, has collected a number of Filipino books, and we have them on page 15. Add to that is the rest of our usual roundup of recent book releases… and you’ve got 150 reviews this month. Not too shabby for a free book review. Heidi and I had a very nice time at the Sacramento Library’s One Book event in September with The Soloist author Steve Lopez. It was nice to meet some of our readers, make new ones, and watch some people sneak 4 or 5 copies at a time (take as many as you need—they’re free, we’ll make more.) If you didn’t participate this year, keep an eye out, and they’ll do it again next year. You can still read (and should if you haven’t) The Soloist. Its an inspiring story and better in book form than the movie. We had to delay our planned Cooking, Food & Wine insert until November. We received too many great books we needed to include too late to include into the October issue, so November it is. Look for it the first Thursday of next month. Thanks for picking up this issue, and when you’re done, please pass it on to another reader.
--Ross
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Historical Fiction The Bride’s Farewell By Meg Rosoff Viking Press, 215 pages, $24.95 1850’s rural England, an alcoholic loudmouthed preacher and his worn-out wife are about to successfully marry off their eldest daughter to a neighboring farmer. But Pell is determined to avoid the only destiny she has known and gallops away on horseback the morning of her wedding day. A disillusioned brave-hearted teenager, Pell, begins her search for an alternative life by setting off for the Salisbury Fair, where she hopes she can trade on her uncanny communication with horses. At the fair, she finds work, men, dogs, danger, and friendship. The adventure of the next few weeks comprises this simple and cleancut story. The tale is almost allegory, but Pell emerges as a complete and complex heroine. In the few weeks we know her, though she is a teenager utterly disillusioned, desperately poor, and cruelly used, she is also marvelously brave, frighteningly naïve, unerringly loyal, and ultimately beloved. Her growth over the course of the story is compressed but completely believable. UK-based writer Meg Rosoff has won international acclaim for her novels (most recently the Carnegie Medal), and this book shows you how: the prose is flawlessly focused, the details delicate and perfectly placed, the characters few and well detailed, the mystery deep and artfully revealed. Perfectly proportioned, totally satisfying, charming. Reviewed by Marcia Jo Grace Hammer: A Novel of the Victorian Underworld By Sara Stockbridge W.W. Norton & Company, 277 pages, $23.95 With Grace Hammer: A Novel of the Victorian Underworld, actress and writer Sara Stockbridge has created a deft, entertaining, fast-paced and suspenseful tale featuring a single mother of four (the title character) who, despite supporting her family through pick pocketing, a trade she’s passing down to her older children, is a sympathetic, likeable character—not an anti-hero in any sense of the word, though she be a born thief, but rather a heroine of the highest degree: a moral, loving woman who is raising thieves, yes, but thieves who will not steal the bread from their fellows and will never harm people be-
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yond quietly and quickly grabbing their wallets. But Grace has a secret: a priceless piece of jewelry she stole years ago—and there’s a man who will stop at nothing to see that she pays for her transgression. Combined with a vivid description of London’s Whitechapel neighborhood during the late 1800s and a plot that combines historical characters (a number of Jack the Ripper’s victims make appearances) with a thrilling story, Grace Hammer is a page-turner that will appeal to fans of both historical fiction and mystery fans. Reviewed by Ashley McCall King Arthur’s Bones By The Medieval Murderers Simon & Schuster UK, 400 pages, $14.95 As a big fan of historical fiction in general and Arthurian legend specifically, I was excited to get my hands on the latest Medieval Murderers mystery, King Arthur’s Bones. Comprised of several separate mysteries based around a central theme, the five writers who make up the Medieval Murderers individually tackle the larger story surrounding the remains of the mythical Arthur and his queen, Guinevere. When the famous king’s bones are unearthed in a monastery in the late 12th century, a secret Welsh order sworn to keep the relics hidden steals them and spirits them around Great Britain for several centuries. The obligation is passed from father to sister to son to nephew, and so on. Keeping the bones a secret is a necessity, as the morale of the Welsh people depends strongly on their belief that Arthur is still alive and that he will come to their aid only when Britain is at its darkest hour. The mini mysteries woven into this larger narrative are hit and miss, which is to be expected when five different authors are involved in telling the same story. The book as a whole benefits from the fact that they all didn’t attempt to write the book together, though. Each author takes on a chapter or two and leaves the rest to be handled by someone else’s narrative style and voice. This means that if you don’t care for a particular section of the book, you can rest assured that it won’t be too long before you get to move on to another story written by someone else. Nonetheless, the end result is a good one, and the book as a whole is extremely enjoyable. The story begins in the 1190s C.E. and ends in 2004, and though that seems like an awful lot of time to cover in just 400 pages, the Medieval Murderers handle the breakneck passage of years and places deftly. The same can be said for the historical detail, which is rich and evocative throughout. Those of you who used to fall asleep in history class probably won’t find much to
love here, but for the rest of us, especially those of us who grew up hearing tales of Camelot, King Arthur’s Bones is a richly detailed, nicely handled trip through British history and mythology. Reviewed by Amanda Mitchell Hallam’s War By Elisabeth Payne Rosen Berkley Books, 503 pages, $15.00 It has been a long time since the days of Gone with the Wind, and many years have passed since it was fashionable to present Civil War stories from the perspective of Southern plantation owners—unless, of course, capitalizing on their remorse or evilness. With Hallam’s War, Elisabeth Payne Rosen has written a sweeping epic of a novel that tells the story of one man, Hugh Hallam, a successful and handsome Southern cotton farmer who lives on his plantation, Palmyra, with his wife Serena, their three children, and a large group of well cared for slaves just prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. Hallam’s War tried to broach the subject of the Civil War fairly, without simplifying the complex emotions and loyalties of many Southerners—slaveholders included. By choosing this route, Rosen has refused to turn her characters into stereotypes, making Hugh and Serena Hallam, for all of their faults of logic, sympathetic characters. Unfortunately, this sprawling book, which takes its readers through the war, occasionally succumbs to a romanticism that does not serve it well. However, it remains a solid effort—and an enjoyable read. Reviewed by Ashley McCall A Separate Country By Robert Hicks Grand Central Publishing, 418 pages, $25.99 Many a Confederate young man was slaughtered serving under General Hood in the last months of the Civil War. A combination of strategic mistakes, over-bearing ego, a climate of desperation and relentless bad luck combusted with disastrous consequences; the war was lost, soldiers were disillusioned, Southern gentry was shocked, and General Hood’s left arm and right leg were blown off and left to disintegrate on the field of battle. A Separate Country is the story of General Hood’s acceptance, repentance, and reconciliation with these experiences. The setting is New Orleans, 1879. General Hood’s wartime reputation was well known in the post war South, though he is never sure just how he will be received. He
knows he dreads facing family members of the men he recklessly sent into ill-conceived battles. He composes his war memoirs in defense of himself and his decisions and sends them for publication. Anna Maria Hennen, a beautiful New Orleans aristocrat, is captivated by the General, woos and wins him, marries him, and bears 11 children during the course of their life together. This marriage, the new South, his children, his friendships, and time passing all contribute to General Hood’s commitment to re-writing his memoirs, this time telling the larger truths. The story is told using these revised memoirs, placed side by side with journal entries and letters from Anna Marie. Thus, do we learn the individual stories of the General and Anna Marie, as well as the story of their marriage. We also meet Rintrah, Father Mike, Eli Griffin, and miscellaneous strange and wonderful Creole’s who participate in a story of mystery, menace and cruel mistakes. The book is crafted by the sure hand of a seasoned historian who has previously demonstrated his knowledge of the Civil War era (New York Times bestseller The Widow of the South). This new book is a satisfying story imbued with intrigue, romance, and redemption. The characters are unforgettable; haunted people in a steamy, mysterious and pestilent city, careening from pain to grace, and back again. Reviewed by Marcia Jo <<Listen>> Audible Authors interview with Robert Hicks -Sacramentobookreview. com/robert_hicks.php
Poetry & Short Stories La Ranfla and Other New Mexico Stories By Martha Egan Papalote Press, 202 pages, $24.95 Short stories have the ability to capture a restless reader, too busy to commit to the full-time needs of the novel, if they are worthy. And worthy is what Martha Egan has created in La Ranfla and Other New Mexico Stories. Her stories are situated against the deserts of New Mexico, with its colorful culture, people, and tales. On your journey along the dusty roads, you will meet up with Mary Louise Kowalski/Starshine, a law student who falls for a free-spirited Spanishspeaking gringo named Oso; Mutt and Guapo, two dogs you will be hard-pressed to forget; Dan Tom, an indigenous Native who will share his customs and generosity, and a scatter of others who will stretch your mind and heart while simultaneously entertaining through life’s valuable, and sometimes distressing, lessons. “Ignore the bastard. Enjoy the ceremony you came here to experience.” With the exception of one or two stories (a little less full in description and grab), this collection is a procession of life, in all of it’s glory: birth, death, and, even more relevant, the day to day experiences that bind us together as humans, community, family. Egan successfully brings the reader into her land of flavor and fullness, a place that resonates long after we pull into our own driveways, La Ranfla’s exhaust trailing like memory. Reviewed by Sky Sanchez New Stories from the South 2009: The Year’s Best By Madison Smartt Bell (Editor) Algonquin Paperbacks, 357 pages, $14.95 In the ominous shadow of hurricane Katrina the American South has indefinitely changed since 2005 (a date seemingly so distant). The archetypal stories associated with southern literature focused on issues of race, identity, slavery, generational historical shifts, religion, incest, survival, and fantasy have been significantly changed by this particular event. This collection of the best works of 2009 establishes a setting of uncertainty forced into continuous adaptation from outside forces. The falling away of families, racial prejudices (diminished yet present), and coagulants that used to keep the family nucleus of the South together bring us into an new domain for the short story form. The most compelling of these pieces inevitably
deal with the mortality of individual characters, a mortality underscored by Katrina either subtly or blatantly. This tension manifests through restlessness, affairs and sexual escapades, diary-style life histories, and more, but the details—whether they be ice fights, hunting dogs, exponentially large families built for survival—all tear at the walls that have for so long seemed to segment the South. Behind the wrecking ball of these stories lies a place entrenched geographically, quietly surviving in the wake of the past and building the strength to face an uncertain future. Reviewed by Joe Atkins Stupid Hope By Jason Shinder Graywolf Press, 80 pages, $15.00 In 2008 Jason Shinder died from lymphoma and leukemia. In his final years, while avoiding chemotherapy treatments, he compiled the poems that became Stupid Hope. His literary executors then published his drafts as a work of anxiety, loneliness, and absence, which desperately seeks salvation. The saddest truth of it all is that salvation never comes; we continue into every moment of our lives until there is nothing left for each of us. Shinder summarizes this stress appropriately: “Time, I thought, which takes everything but itself, fuck you.” And this is possibly his most direct address throughout the book. We get glimpses of relationships, his mother’s terminal illness in retrospect, issues of faith and insignificance, how melancholic and rhythmic it all is. But like so much lyric dancing, these isolated movements are ultimately not unique to Shinder—we all die; this is a fact, however sad. In this fashion Shinder vaguely avoids the gritty details of his daily life, the details we might be able to, or not, identify with, the details which would facilitate empathy on so many other levels. Instead we are left “admiring the walls of isolation, the dead ends.” Unfortunately, this is our final truth. Reviewed by Joe Atkins Raymond Carver: Collected Stories By Raymond Carver The Library of America, 1040 pages, $40.00 Fans of Raymond Carver will revel in this comprehensive collection of stories, including slice-of-life favorites such as “Fat” and “They’re Not Your Husband,” stories so tight and controlled that they’re almost crystalline. But is this the “real” Carver? This collection is a compelling window into Carver’s particular brand of suburban malaise and epiphany, but it also reveals that Carver’s
writerly inclinations often tend toward more expansive prose. Such a revelation is possible thanks to the inclusion of Beginners, the original manuscript of Carver’s masterwork, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. It’s common knowledge that Carver’s editor, Gordon Lish, took a heavy hand to Carver’s writing, and it’s been argued that Carver’s stories are as much Lish’s creations as his own. Reading the stories in What We Talk About… in both their pre- and post-edited forms makes it possible to study just how extensively Lish reworked Carver’s vision. This collection not only pays homage to one of America’s most widely admired short-story writers but also deftly gets to the root of the Carver/Lish controversy, shedding light onto a partnership that elevated a writer’s gift to new levels—sometimes against the will of the writer himself. Reviewed by Margo Orlando Littell Making an Elephant: Writing from Within By Graham Swift Knopf, $26.95, 400 pages Novelist Graham Swift comes out with his first collection of nonfiction in Making An Elephant: Writing from Within. Swift, a Booker Prize winner, knows a thing or two about the writing life and provides insight into exactly what makes a writer. In dividing many of his chapters into places he’s lived or visited (Greece, New York, London, Toronto, Prague, etc.), he seems to be making a statement about the importance of place in the creative process. Always clearheaded and insightful, Swift is a fine writer and possesses the keen discernment and nuance that is to be expected of one. The only possible defect of the book is its tendency toward self-indulgence. The reader is privy to Swift’s every thought, no matter how profound or trivial. There is even a whole chapter devoted exclusively to putting Swift’s poetry into print (over forty pages!)—a surprising indulgence—the assumption being that the reader should take a interest in his every literary production, regardless of its significance. Overall, Making an Elephant is a strong memoir with sharp insights only occasionally laboring under the desire to cram everything into one work. A more disciplined focus would have made this good book even better. Reviewed by Aaron Stypes The Maples Stories By John Updike Everyman’s Pocket Classics, $15.00, 256 pages Updike is most famous for showing ordinary life as being something worth writing about. Between 1956 and 1985,
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Updike revisited the lives of a northeastern couple, Richard and Joan Maples, as they assumed their middle-class responsibilities and struggled with the bounds imposed on them by marriage, children and a changing society. Likely because the author aged with these characters, the emotional lives he portrays b ecome more complex as one reads through the collection. The reader is aware of Updike’s self-described “unforced energy” in the earliest pieces. But even the later work in The Maples Stories is written in such a way as to create empathy with the characters, who grow quite despicable during the course of the series and then emerge again as simply ordinary, flawed, and honest. They drink too much, have too many affairs, grow cold and yet are still special to one another. Updike portrays this in poignant and sometimes very funny prose. As always, it is the precision of his descriptions, and his attention to the details the characters notice, that emphasize his mastery as a storyteller. To reveal Richard and Joan’s differences and Richard’s struggle, he writes: “This spring, they attacked the tangle of Nature around them with ominously different styles. Joan raked away dead twigs beneath bushes and pruned timidly, as if she were giving her boys a haircut. Richard scorned such pampering and attacked the problem at the root, or near the root... he began to prune some overweening yews by the front door and was unable to stop until each branch became a stump. The yews, a rare Japanese variety, had pink soft wood maddeningly like flesh. For days thereafter, the stumps bled amber. (155)” This series of linked tales first appeared in paperback in 1979, without the final one, “Grandparenting,” which was written in the mid ‘80s. This hardcover edition emerges just as the generation depicted in the stories, the first generation of rampant divorce, modern sexual liberation and mainstream psychobabble, begins its demise. In this way, it is both timely and important for all readers to reacquaint themselves not only with the late John Updike in his glory, but also with a generation of Americans. Reviewed by Robin Martin
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Young Adult When You Reach Me By Rebecca Stead Random House/Wendy Lamb Books, 208 pages, $15.99 Sixth-grader Miranda lives with her mother in a run-down apartment in New York City. Her mother is devoted to winning the big prize on “The $20,000 Pyramid.” Miranda is devoted to A Wrinkle in Time, her worn copy read “probably a hundred times.” Miranda’s life starts getting very strange when Sal, her best friend since they were babies, is punched by another kid on the street outside their building, and he starts avoiding her. Then she receives a mysterious string of notes from someone she doesn’t know, asking her to write a letter. The author of the notes says he or she is coming “to save your friend’s life, and my own.” Miranda is perplexed not just by how to make sense of the upheaval in her friendship, but also by what the strange notes mean. When You Reach Me is a charming, notto-be-missed book about childhood and the challenges of growing older. It cleverly weaves in a few of the fantastical elements of Madeleine L’Engle’s wonderful classic while echoing the theme of love of family and friends. Readers will find themselves involved not only in the mystery, but in the lives of the engaging characters. Reviewed by Cathy Carmode Lim Elf Realm: The High Road By Daniel Kirk Amulet Books, 553 pages, $18.95 The whole look of the book at first can be quite intimidating; with its thick binding and dark cover. And so is the book. Filled with mystery, fantasy, intrigue, and a little taste of science fiction, Daniel Kirk’s work is dark and twisted, but light enough for a young adult’s mind to explore through his realm. The book, Elf Realm: The High Road, book two of an epic adventure, is akin to the likes of The Lord of the Rings, but, must I say, amateur in comparison. Yes, it has a brilliant cast of characters: Matt, Becky, TuavaLi, Tomtar, Asra, Macta, the Mage, and of course, the wicked Brahja-Chi and her servant, Jardaine, along with the crazed creature Jal-Maktar, who eats the very bodies of his customers. The world centers on Matt and Becky, the humans whose only wish are to save their parents and little sister, who have been abducted by the elves. Tuava-Li and Tomtar ac-
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company Matt on his journey to find the seed which binds the world together, and yet separates the human world and elf world, a concept repeatedly done over and over, but still amazingly fresh in Elf Realm. Becky, however, accompanies Asra and her bodyguard in search of their parents. The storyline pans back and forth between the two, as well as giving a little hint on the evil plan of Brahja-Chi and Jardaine, who are conducting a mass sacrifice of human children to appease their deity. Detailed pictures accompany different sections of the book, each showing a rather gruesome bit of the chapters, or a happy moment which will be soon plunged into tragedy. “...Fire Sprite stroked the underside of the pail with fingers of flame...” It seems as though the whole book is on the pessimistic side, with danger looming at every corner and a new monster per chapter. Because it is extremely complicated, I suggest reading the first book before approaching this, which only shows misty scraps of the last book. Although the descriptive bits are wonderful, and there seems to be a lot of action, the story line moves slow, and fails, no matter how freakish the monster, to glaze eyeballs. The emotions are crudely captured; are either too short or too long, and it’s hard to relate to characters that think extremely highly of themselves (the elves) and have their own culture and religion which contradicts itself. The environmental issue, though, is strong (and excellently done) and evokes “green feelings.” Otherwise, for a newer novelist who has otherwise been writing children’s books that are much less shadowy, it is a great step; improvement and more novels are encouraged sincerely. Recommended for ages 12-15. Reviewed by A. Masri Another Faust By Daniel and Dina Nayeri Candlewick, 400 pages, $16.99 Five different children from five different European locations suddenly vanish without a trace in the dead of night. They seem to have nothing in common...except a deepseated need. Years later, the five reappear in New York City at an elite party with their sophisticated governess, the chic Madame Vileroy. At their new school, the five teens easily dominate their classmates--thanks to their supernatural gifts from Madame Vileroy. They can change the fabric of time, they can seduce, they can read minds--each student possesses a unique power. But each gift comes at a cost, as the five teens are soon to discover. Another Faust is writing team Daniel and Dina Nayeri’s take on the iconic Faustian bargain, adding a modern spin to the works of Christopher Marlowe and Goethe.
The Monster Variations
By Daniel Kraus Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers 245 pages, $16.99 Some books make you wonder how you ever let reading become a hobby, but others, like Daniel Kraus’ new book The Monster Variations, remind you and sustain you through the countless bad reads you sometimes encounter. The Monster Variations is the story of three friends, James, Reggie and Willie, and the summer when the line between boyhood and the inevitability of becoming young men begins to blur. Trapped between the confl icting spirit of boyhood and the realities of growing up, these three friends face perils that will temper, mold and potentially destroy them. A hit and run driver who seemingly targets young boys, an enigmatic bully who always seems to show up at the worst time, and the inner demons of three very different boys threaten to forever break the blood pact they swore would sustain them. To read the book jacket or see the cover, you might just pass this book up. To do so would be a great mistake. Like Stephen King’s The Body or Jeff rey Eugenides’ The Virgin Suicides, Kraus has crafted a chilling, enthralling and poignant look at the bridge to adulthood that should not be missed. Reviewed by Albert Riehle
Strong characters drive this dark novel, and with intriguing layers and depth to each of the five protagonists. In particular, Madame Vileroy is a standout villain. Though Another Faust suffers from pacing problems and need not be as lengthy as it is, this is still a fine modern twist on a classic story. Highly recommended for mature readers. Reviewed by Thea James The Splendor Falls By Rosemary Clement-Moore Delacorte Books, 528 pages, $17.99 Sylvie, the youngest principal in the history of the American Ballet Company, is a rising star. During her debut performance, however, a freak accident leaves her with a broken leg, dramatically ending her burgeoning career. Dealing with the pain of her injury and the remarriage of her detached mother, Sylvie gets a little too drunk at the wedding reception and is shipped off to stay with a distant cousin in Alabama to work through her issues (city speak for “sober up”). But Sylvie finds more than just a boring two-week stay at Bluestone Hill, as ghosts and a mystery of her family’s mired past begin to haunt her. Torn between two very different young men, one who will ruin and one who will rebuild, Sylvie confronts the past and tackles her own personal demons, finding the strength to heal. The Splendor Falls marks Rosemary Clement-Moore’s departure from her witty Maggie Quinn series, and a turn to more se-
rious, nuanced material. Clement-Moore’s trademark dialogue sparkles in this bona fide Southern Gothic, with enthralling characters, lush writing, mystery, and romance. Easily the author’s best work to date, The Splendor Falls is not to be missed. Reviewed by Thea James Gifted: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow By Marilyn Kaye Kingfisher, 224 pages, $7.99 Gifted: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow is the is the third book in the Gifted series by Marilyn Kaye. This installment follows Emily as she tries to understand her gift of seeing glimpses of the future, all while trying to act as a normal teenager and dealing with her mother’s denial that Emily is different. With Emily’s interpretation of the events she sees never happening, she becomes excited when they start to happen. However, she suddenly realizes the frightening reality when her foresight shows her fellow classmates, other Gifted students, disappearing and her own life in danger. Emily must quickly get a better grasp on her gift and help her classmates use their different gifts together in order to save themselves before those that are after them exploit their gifts. Although it’s a part of a series, Gifted: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow can easily be read without causing readers to feel like they’ve missed something. Con’t next page
Young Adult The dialogue is true to the characters, and reader can feel the tension of the students just wanting to fit in. The book is a quick read that begins to touch on awkward teen moments, but never breaks through the surface. The same can be said the special gifts Emily and her Gifted classmates try to control and hide from others. One side character that steals Emily’s thunder at times is Jenna, who was the main character of the second book in the series Gifted: Better Late than Never, as she tries to help out Emily and her classmates. This might leave readers feeling as if the book should have focused more on Jenna, rather than introducing a character that may need more development. Kaye shows readers parts of Emily’s past that would help readers understand her more as a person rather than a character that has a secret power. A bit more information of Emily’s past could give her more depth as a character and create a stronger emotional support for her from the audience. However, Kaye does great work in uniting the teens and displaying how their different abilities can be used together. She also leaves readers with their ears against the wall trying to figure out what is to happen to the teens and their budding abilities. Readers will be interested to know what will happen in the next Gifted book. Reviewed by Robyn J. Oxborrow The Poisons of Caux: Book 1 - The Hollow Bettle By Susannah Applebaum Knopf Books for Young Readers, 256 pages, $16.99 Once in the kingdom of Caux a good king ruled and healers were the most prestigious people of the lands. But the evil King and Queen Nightshade rule now and Caux has become a land of poison or be poisoned! The Hollow Bettle is the first book in The Poisons of Caux trilogy by Susannah Applebaum. It tells the story of young Ivy, who is chased from her home by nefarious forces, allying herself with Rowan, a disgraced taster whose carelessness led to the poisoning of those who employed him. Together they set out to find Ivy’s missing uncle, a healer until healing became illegal. Chased at every turn and unsure whom to trust, the two must decipher why they are so ardently pursued. Is it Ivy’s red bettle? Is it the potion she carries, or could it be Ivy herself? The Hollow Bettle is told with a strong, comforting voice and a steady prose, but is slow to start and plods at points. A decent enough book, it could have been much improved had it provided a more magical and faster-paced exposition. For those willing to wait, the solid prose and brilliant illustrations deliver in the end. Reviewed by Albert Riehle
Once a Witch By Carolyn MacCullough Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 292 pages, $16.00 Tamsin Greene is a witch, or should’ve been one. Descended from a long line, her Talent never appeared, and so at seventeen she attends a boarding school far from home while spending summers at home working in the family bookshop. But when a stranger shows up in the shop looking for help, Tamsin agrees even though she can’t do it herself. The stranger turns out to be more than he first appeared, and Tamsin will be sent on a treasure hunt into the past to discover her own powers, learn her family’s true history, and try to prevent the escape of a sinister evil. With Once a Witch, Carolyn MacCullough has spun a delightful tale that quickly pulls you into the thick. Tamsin is a realistic seventeen-year-old girl, complete with all requisite insecurities and occasional irrational thoughts, but overall she is very level-headed. Some of the other characters are less developed, such as Rowena, Tamsin’s perfect older sister, but the details that matter are all there. The plot is fast-paced and deeply engrossing. Once a Witch is a good book for a late weekend night read. Reviewed by Holly Scudero Wild Girl By Patricia Reilly Giff Wendy Lamb Books, 160 pages, $15.99 At the age of twelve, Lidie moves from Brazil to America to join her father and brother, who moved there a long time ago after the death of her mother. She soon discovers that they still think of her as the little girl they left behind. Lidie’s father trains horses; Lidie loves to ride, but her family has no idea of her abilities. But when they acquire a new filly, a spirited horse named Wild Girl, Lidie becomes determined to tame her and to show her family just what she is capable of. Patricia Giff’s Wild Girl is more than just the story of a girl and a horse. It’s about immigration, about fitting into a new world, and more than anything, it’s about the importance of family. Lidie is a lively, multi-faceted character who just wants to recreate that feeling of family and home she lost when her mother died. The book is told primarily from Lidie’s point of view, as an immigrant struggling to belong, but with snippets of Wild Girl’s story interspersed throughout, which gives this story a unique perspective. Wild Girl is a great read for any young girl. Reviewed by Holly Scudero
Horror Personal Effects: Dark Art By J. C. Hutchins and Jordan Weisman St. Martin’s Griffin, 320 pages, $24.95 Zach Taylor is an art therapist at the Brinkvale Psychiatric Hospital in New York City where he uses art to get into the minds of his patients and bring resolution to their hidden problems. His newest case is Martin Grace, an accused serial killer who is psychosomatically blind. As Zach works to determine if Grace is competent to stand trial, it becomes apparent that both men have some deeply hidden secrets in their pasts involving a Dark Man, who may be a figment of imagination or a supernatural force. Throw in Zach’s father who is a district attorney, his fiancée Rachael who is a computer whiz, his hyper younger brother Lucas, an uncle who doesn’t exist, and various hospital personnel, and you have an explosive situation. Personal Effects: Dark Art by J.C. Hutchins and Jordan Weisman is a compelling novel that gets into your mind and causes you to draw upon your own imagination. The enclosed package of “personal effects” – letters and documents – may further expand a couple of areas, but are unnecessary. You’re not sure what’s going to happen until the very end, and then you still don’t have all the loose ends tied up. Read the book. Reviewed by Douglas McWilliams 23 Hours By David Wellington Three Rivers Press, 320 pages, $14.00 Cop and expert Vampire Slayer Laura Caxton had given up everything to avenge her partner. She’d been successful, eradicating every single vampire but one. Then Laura got in way too deep and now she’s paying the price. Sentenced to five years in maximum security prison, Laura is now surrounded by thousands of most hardcore murderers, rapists, death row inmates, mistrustful prison guards, and now a 300-plusyear-old enemy. Justinia Malvern, the oldest and now only living vampire, has plenty to be ticked about. Over the last ten years Laura has killed every single member of Justinia’s vast army until only Justinia remains. Now the vengeful vampire wants Laura to pay-with her humanity. As an ex-cop Laura is viewed as an enemy and traitor by inmates and guards alike; now she’s their only hope. With a prison full of vampire minions, a traitorous warden, and the smartest, most dangerous vampire in existence, Laura has 23 hours to save the prison, save herself, and save her lover, hostage Claire Hsu.
23 Hours is the fourth volume in the Laura Caxton series of vampire novels by David Wellington. Though I was previously unfamiliar with Wellington’s work, this book has inspired me to read the earlier volumes. Although he doesn’t name names, it’s clear David uses firsthand realistic accounts of both police procedure and prison life and it shows in his concise prose, an incredible mix of fantasy and realism. If early Laurell K. Hamilton and W.E.B. Griffin mated, 23 hours would emerge as the illegitimate offspring. The fast-moving pace and realistic details make the reader forget--it’s only a story. Reviewed by Lanine Bradley Mall of Cthulhu By Seamus Cooper Night Shade Books, $13.95, 235 pages Lovecraft’s Mythos is arguably the most influential body of work to influence modern horror writers. Sadly, the Mythos has been burdened by too many admirers prone to overwrought prose and shapeless undefinable horrors. Seamus Cooper injects some much-needed humor and modernity into Lovecraft’s revered Universe with Mall of Cthulhu, the exciting tale of Teddy’s (onetime vampire slayer, now loser) adventure into madness after stumbling upon an actual Cthulhu Cult and Laura’s (his best and only friend) attempt to save him from it, all steeped in a satire of middle-class America. I know that this doesn’t make much sense; I had my doubts too. But Mall of Cthulhu is a lighthearted, quirky, funny, and yes, very cheesy book that brings humor to the Mythos, a setting that is too often taken much too seriously. By making light of Lovecraft’s creation, one that was always a little ridiculous, Cooper breathes new life into the genre, poking fun at its many cliches while managing to respect the material he’s wholeheartedly lampooning. Mall of Cthulhu isn’t going to scare anyone but it will make you laugh, it might even get you to open up that old dusty copy of Call of Cthulhu sitting on your bookshelf, and I can’t think of a higher compliment. Reviewed by Jonathon Howard MONSTERS, con’t from page 1 many new tidbits of anything - pictures, gossip or background. For the horror aficionado, this may not be a good purchase (either for themselves or as a gift), but for a more casual film buff, or newer classic horror fan, this could be a good introduction to the classic monsters, and the personalities behind the masks and makeup.
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Modern Literature Love and Summer By William Trevor Viking, 212 pages, $25.95 It takes a second to realize that what William Trevor is describing in the first paragraph of his wonderful new novel is a funeral. Trevor has a way of quietly jolting you, and there are multiple times in the course of Love and Summer when a seemingly innocuous bit of description or dialogue is transformed into something vitally important. He also illustrates how little plot really matters: in some ways, the book’s storyline is downright banal--shades of Bridges of Madison County--but the tone, the prose style, and the depth of feeling are so far beyond that of the average bestseller that even the star-crossed love affair seems startlingly fresh. On a June evening some years after the middle of the last century Mrs. Eileen Connulty passed through the town of Rathmoye: from Number 4 The Square to Magennis Street, into Hurley Lane, along Irish Street, across Cloughjordan Road to the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer. Her night was spent there. In the course of the novel, the naive farmer’s wife, Ellie Dillahan, gropes her way to a new maturity while her superfically more sophisticated lover tosses aside his own best chances. But the book is as much about the townspeople of Rathmoye as it is about the lovers, an Irish Our Town with darker overtones. Some readers may find Trevor’s world too tinged with melancholy, too full of the wrong-headed decisions we all make just trying to be human. But if there’s sadness in his writing, there’s elation as well--a trait he shares with his literary soulmate, Thomas Hardy. Reviewed by Jim Vasser The Cure for Grief By Nellie Hermann Scribner, 272 pages, $15.00 Nellie Hermann’s debut novel features Ruby Bronstein, whose coming of age is made more challenging by a succession of tragedies that befall her family. The story begins with nineyear-old Ruby finding a gun while she and her family are at their Maine vacation home in December. As the youngest and only sister, her find gives her an opportunity to be the center of atten-
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tion, if only for a moment. However, their father, a Holocaust survivor, is vehemently opposed to guns and takes it to the police over the objections of his sons. Though never actually fired in the story, the gun serves as an omen of events to come. While the ever mounting tragedies could have stretched the bounds of believability, Hermann keeps the novel grounded with unpretentious and solid storytelling. The poignancy of Ruby’s grief is palpable without slipping into melodrama. Though most of the novel is told in third person, Hermann opens with a prologue narrated by Ruby and ends with her narration. While this serves to highlight Ruby’s breaking through her grief and isolation, the tactic distracts slightly, but is only a minor bump in a profound and mature work. Reviewed by Deb Jurmu The Last Song By Nicholas Sparks Grand Central Publishing, 390 pages, $24.99 Ronnie is 17 years old and has been estranged from her father for three years now. The very last thing she wants to do is leave her urban playground of New York city for a summer spent with her kid brother and her dad in the lazy little North Carolina beach town he now calls home. After getting in some trouble back home though, that’s exactly what her mother is making her do. Her expectations for a memorable summer are, to say the least, not very high. The funny thing about life, though, is that you rarely anticipate the moments that will forever change you. In his new book The Last Song, Nicholas Sparks tells the story of Ronnie and the love she finds in an unexpected place, in an unforeseen package with the boy of her dreams and of the love she learns to rediscover for both her father and her self. This well-written, easy read will certainly delight Sparks’ many fans. Though it suffers from being a bit too predictable, the strong characters and excellent writing make it well worth the read. Sparks delivers an impressive look into how one brief summer can change an entire life. Reviewed by Albert Riehle Juliet, Naked By Nick Hornby Riverhead, 406 pages, $25.95 Annie and Duncan are stuck. They’ve spent the last 15 years in a predictable noncommittal “marriage” in a nowhere town along the English seacoast. Their relationship lacks passion and purpose. Annie’s beginning to notice the subtle ticking of her biological clock. A trip to America to indulge Duncan’s internet-based obsession with a vanished and long-forgotten rock star (Tuck-
er Crowe) takes them on a pilgrimage of sorts, crisscrossing America and concluding on the west coast. Annie makes her first move toward independence by remaining in San Francisco to do a bit of sightseeing while Duncan takes the BART train to a residential neighborhood in Berkeley where, over twenty years earlier, Crowe threw rocks at his married lover’s window. As Annie and Duncan make uncharacteristic choices, the plot takes off. You’ll need to read the book to find out how Nick Hornby gently coaxes his ever-increasing cast of characters to reflect on their lives and relationships. He weaves a charming plot into a very satisfying read. Two cautions: if you’ve never been fascinated by someone or something to near distraction and you don’t use the internet, this book is not for you! For everybody else, this is not to be missed. Reviewed by Joseph Arellano The Hakawati By Rabih Alameddine Anchor Books, 513 pages, $16.00 Former Guggenheim Fellow Rabih Alameddine is a multi-talented artist and his third novel, now available in trade paperback, showcases his delightful storytelling ability. At the heart of the novel is Osama al-Kharrat, who has returned from America to Beirut in 2003 because his father is dying. Osama feels like a “tourist in a bizarre land,” and as he gathers with his family, the stories begin to flow. His grandfather had been a hakawati, a storyteller, and Osama had absorbed his words growing up. At his father’s bedside, Osama’s turn has come. With the stories of the al-Kharrats and their extended family, Alameddine weaves together classic fables to which he adds modern twists, often with wry humor, creating an intricate and absorbing tale of family and community. The shifting from myths and legends, even storytelling within a myth, to the modern tales could have led to a confusing maze of fiction, but Alameddine is a deft and bewitching hakawati. He reminds readers of the power of story to sustain not only individuals but whole communities through crises. Read this book, and listen. Reviewed by Deb Jurmu
The Invisible Mountain By Carolina De Robertis Alfred A. Knopf, 366 pages, $24.95 Carolina De Robertis was raised in England, Switzerland, and California by Uruguayan parents, and she taps into her multicultural roots to create a sweeping first novel that reaches from Uruguay to Italy to Argentina to San Francisco. The story begins with Salomé writing to her daughter, and after only one page, De Robertis makes a daring move and propels the narrative back to 1900 when Salomé’s grandmother Pajarita was the miracle baby of Tacuarembó, disappearing from her home only to reappear in a tree. From here the novel moves through the lives of three generations of women: Pajarita; her daughter Eva, a poet; and her granddaughter Salomé, a revolutionary. Integral to their stories is the saga of their country, as Uruguay undergoes economic and political upheavals, and De Robertis makes certain her characters come first in the story, not allowing the novel to become simply a history lesson. With a spellbinding mix of magical realism and gritty truism, each woman’s story enhances the other. At the end, Salomé brings the novel full circle as she tries to “tie women back together” after having survived being a political prisoner for years. A remarkable debut novel of epic proportions. Reviewed by Deb Jurmu Who Would Have Thought It? By Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton Penguin Classics, 336 pages, $15.00 Ask yourself this question: what kind of story would result from a Mexican woman in Civil War era America, who is made privy to the inner workings of high New York City society and Washington D.C. politics due to her wealth and family name? Who Would Have Thought It?, first published in 1872, is the likely result of just such as arrangement, and author, Ruiz de Burton, likely based some of this fictional tale on her real life observations of gender, race and class in the mid 1800s. The first gem of this book is the introduction, written by leading Ruiz de Burton researcher and noted Latino studies professor Amelia María de la Luz Montes. Through her introductory material, Montes provides the reader with the kind of deep but clear analysis and background that is generally only found in the university literature classroom. Cont’d next page
This sets the stage for an amusing look into a family that is fun to hate, as they make their moves and climb the social ladder at the expense of a rich Mexican orphan whom the father of the family adopts. The story features a good amount of plotting and sleuthing, amusing subplots, and a vindicating tongue-in-cheek look at “moral” New Englanders, rich New Yorkers and D.C.’s movers and shakers. In addition, the plot is set against the historical backdrop of the Civil War, lending an interesting historical reference point. In fact, the narrator/author’s take on Manifest Destiny showed wisdom beyond her years and time in speaking of the spoils of this philosophy. The book does tend to be plot heavy and light on character development, and readers may be left wanting more of the main characters, the orphan and her adoptive mother, but is highly recommended nonetheless. Reviewed by Allena Tapia Once on a Moonless Night By Dai Sijie Alfred A. Knopf, 277 pages, $24.95 The last emperor of China was exiled in the 1930s, and it is said that he carried with him a silk scroll inscribed with a Buddhist sutra. The scroll is mutilated; half is eventually acquired by the French scholar Paul d’Ampere, who will spend the rest of his life in prison for illegally purchasing it. The other half is lost, although desperately sought after by d’Ampere’s son Tumchooq, named for the beautiful and ancient language in which the scroll is written. Upon his father’s death, Tumchooq leaves to solve the mystery of the other half of the scroll, leaving behind his lover and their unborn child. Once on a Moonless Night is a complex historical novel with a meandering narrative. The storyline, though undeniably fascinating, can be a bit difficult to follow at times, and it seems that the majority of it consists of stories imparted to the narrator. The actual writing is gorgeous: Sijie writes in a way that simply absorbs the reader, flowing prose that one can easily become pleasantly lost in. The ending leaves many questions unanswered, but is wholly satisfying. Reviewed by Holly Scudero The Death of Bunny Munro By Nick Cave Faber & Faber, 278, $25.00 Blistered, audacious in its burning simplicity, Nick Cave brings the topsy-turvy world of his songs into novel form once again. As with most of his work, the current of the plot lies in the dirt of human existence, within all that makes mortal life lousy and dark and noisy. Tormented by his wife’s suicide, Bunny takes his son (Bunny Jr.) on a sordid road trip as door-to-door salesmen, toting a suitcase full of beauty supplies and a weighty problem with sex addiction. And whereas the story also offers apparent possibilities for a vaster plot (like the horned
serial killer that appears throughout, as if a faint outline of the Devil himself) it never veers from the unrelenting spirit of human nature that Cave expresses so well, so honestly. Cave’s trick is that whereas most authors fi ll their novels with the sane and mundane, in an effort to highlight the disturbing twists and turns, Cave in fact does the opposite, causing every moment to be an embossed and overdone escapade into the sordid mind of a grieving sex-addict—the final effect is that all that is human, fragile and beautiful shines through like a diamond-tear in the dirt. This is what a Palahnuik book would read like if it ever dared to fall deeper than the shallow-satiric and darkly humorous. Cave is no smart-ass, but a well-crafted, vocal heart. This is a far cry from his first novel, And The Ass Saw The Angel, but where it lacks in theatrical flair, it makes up in precise storytelling, a deep emotion that is not floating on the surface but realistically buried, and a final 50 pages that’ll burn you right through to the core. Served like a Kafkaesque dish (let’s not forget about those father figures), or like Will Self in a bunny costume—this is pure Nick Cave, beating like a rampant heart in the center of it all. Reviewed by Dylan Popowicz Ice Land By Betsy Tobin Plume, 368 pages, $15.00 In Tobin’s second novel, after Bone House, she takes on the world of Iceland in the year A.D. 1000, setting the stage with research details of Viking and medieval Iceland, combining it with a host of characters from Norse mythology. The main character, Freya – one of the Aesir (gods) – has her own problems to deal with in life and love, while a host of other characters including Odin, an unusual dwarf, and a group of giants deal with their own subplots. While the voice and pacing are quite different from most books and will in some cases turn off the reader at first, the key is to stick with it, get used to it, and then sit back and enjoy the story. Ice Land is a well researched novel about a time of which not much is known, and Tobin has done a great job of fi lling in the details with her descriptive and colorful fiction. Reviewed by Alex C. Telander
In the Falling Snow Caryl Phillips Knopf, 308 pages, $25.95
Every once in a while a novel deals with a subject that’s been written to death, and you find yourself pleasantly surprised that a gifted writer has breathed into it new life. The angst of midlife is for me such a topic, yet with his extraordinary prose and singular style, Caryl Phillips has written a very fine novel with In the Falling Snow. His protagonist, 47-year-old Keith Gordon, is an educated Englishman of Caribbean decent, with a good job as the head of a “race equality unit.” Keith is smart, plainly attractive, and has a career on an upward trajectory. Phillips takes this familiar setup and twists it. Divorced for three years from Annabelle, his wife of 20 years with whom he has a son, and enjoying the company of a beautiful twenty-something lover, Keith should be enjoying single life. He should be, according to the cliché, but he isn’t. In one of the novel’s first scenes, Kevin is meeting his lover, Yvette, who works for him, at her apartment for a tryst. As she always has, Yvette lets her silk robe drop on the stairs to reveal a “red push up bra with a matching thong.” Yet for Kevin, her lingerie is far from arousing. “…he couldn’t find the words to fully express his disdain for the crass vulgarity of this silly piece of string.” Instead, it makes him feel old, and the reader quickly realizes that what Kevin wants most is to return to Annabelle. When Kevin suggests to Yvette that they end their relationship, she strikes back by forwarding their email correspondences to all of their colleagues. In the ensuing tumult, Kevin’s superior suggests he takes a leave of absence, cutting him off from one of the pillars of his identity, his professional position. Thus unmoored, Kevin struggles to keep his head above water, dealing with the novel’s prime subjects: age, race, and what it means to be a man. He sits at a crossroads, seemingly fitting in nowhere. His teenage son has constructed a “black” persona he barely recognizes, even as he continues to try to convince both his ex-wife and himself that he understands it completely. Unresolved issues with both his father, and his father’s dead ex-wife who raised him, plague his psyche. With Kevin, Phillips has constructed a complex and deeply flawed character, yet one who is familiar and interesting to follow. Phillips’ structure and prose cleverly matches his subject. Just as Kevin is perpetually falling backwards in his personal life, so he is in the narrative, which is often told in flashbacks, in several cases flashbacks nesting within flashbacks. While at times disorienting, one gets the sense that this is exactly the sensation the author wants to provoke in his reader, a sort of emotional vertigo, and lack of sureness of place or footing. Is it disturbing? Yes, but it also comes with the exhilaration of a story well told. When Kevin must confront his father, from whom he has been long estranged, his father recounts the story of his coming to Britain, in what is surely the novel’s most gripping section. Serious readers will surely be much impressed by In the Falling Snow. Reviewed by Jordan Magill
Reheated Cabbage: Tales of Chemical Degeneration By Irvine Welsh Norton, 288 pages, $14.95 As it turns out, Cabbage is still great the second day—or at least that’s the impression one would get after finishing Reheated Cabbage: Tales of Chemical Degeneration by Irving Welsh, master of a contemporary Scottish folklore who weaves moralistic stories in an amoral fashion. A collection of short stories that mainly returns to the times and themes of Trainspotting, this work is all, as Welsh puts it, reheated or republished, with the exception of “I Am Miami.” Though these stories are leftovers from a previous meal, they remain as relevant and entertaining as
ever. Returning and ever outrageous, characters such as the unstable, incomparably foul-mouthed, hotheaded Begbie still bring a jarring, somewhat familiar, Scots-English narration and unforgettable behavior. This collection is undoubtedly comprised of Welsh’s best characters and was written during his best period, though that is not to say that the more recent “I Am Miami” in any way detracts from the collection. All things in perspective, Reheated Cabbage is reminiscent of a “Greatest Hits” album that includes a never before released bonus track in that it is a great representation of the scope of Welsh’s writing. Though it may not be the single greatest book he has put in print, it is definitely worth reading. Reviewed by Jordan Dacayanan
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Books About Books A New Literary History of America By Edited by Greil Marcus and Werner Sollors Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1128 pages, $49.95 It’s natural to have high expectations of a book with the lofty title A New Literary History of America. What isn’t natural is for the book to live up to, and exceed, those expectations. Comprised of more than two hundred essays, the book begins with the first mention of America on a map in 1507, and strides confidently and enthusiastically through American history until President Obama’s election in 2008. Scarcely any voice, movement, medium, author, poet, or people is left out. Edgar Allen Poe’s invention of the detective story hobnobs with the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Hank Williams’ country music is only a few pages from Zora Neale Hurston. It’s as glorious a melting pot as America. Since the book is as much history as literary commentary, if you’re pining to read more Emily Dickinson or Ernest Hemingway, you’re better off just reading them, and then returning to this tome later. But, if you’re an American literature lover, you’ll probably sink luxuriously in, not to emerge for hours, days, weeks. And, if you’ve found yourself envying Britain her Shakespeare, Dickens, and Austen, this book will bring you back to America and make you fall in love with her confidence, her innovation, her sheer pluck, all over again. Reviewed by Michelle Kerns Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading By Lizzie Skurnick Avon A, 448 pages, $14.99 Remember Flowers in the Attic? Go Ask Alice? Forever? Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret? For girls growing up in the early 1960s to the late 1980s, these books, along with a truckload of others, formed a sort of Adolescent Girl curriculum. For the first time, stories emerged that “dealt with the lives and dramas of adolescent girls on their own terms, in their own worlds.” If you’re a lady of a Certain Age, you’ve probably read all, if not most of them. Now is the time to give them another glance – but don’t do it without Ms. Skurnick’s Shelf Discovery by your side. Shelf Discovery is made up of witty and astute essays/thoughts on over seventy books beloved to the teenage girl set. They aren’t just thought-provoking – they’ll make
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you positively pine to curl up with a copy of Harriet the Spy or Jacob Have I Loved. Ms. Skurnick’s writing is as breathlessly enthusiastic as two girls on an unlimited credit shopping spree in the mall. But just because the book is fun to read, don’t think it’s lightweight. These books elevated the experience of the adolescent girl; Ms. Skurnick’s evaluations elevate them into literature worth thinking seriously about. Reviewed by Michelle Kerns The Story About the Story By J. C. Hallman Tin House Books, 432 pages, $18.95 Hallman has given the literary world an insightful book about the concept of “creative criticism” penned in clever and often humorous prose by a variety of talented authors. Front and center is the Creative Writer vs. The Critic in a historical, celebrity death-match of intellectual literary debate. His premise is simple: the ideal solution is a fusion of the two. Using examples of past great writers writing about writing, Hallman successfully touts that wielders of the pen make the best critics; they cannot overlook the anguish/joy of writing, the sweat and toil put into each piece… yet they fervently forbid their fellow writers to pollute the face of literature. Not only do writers generally find something good to say about the piece being criticized, the review itself is more enjoyable to read, versus the wry platitudes of the non-writing professional critic, who “writes up his report in hideous prose, making sure to flatter himself a bit, and then goes home to a well-deserved drink.” As a novelist, I found this argument both logical and appealing. Hallman is not alone in his crusade for creative criticism; he builds a decent fortress around his points with a collection of highly entertaining and thought-provoking opinions by excellent writers. The essays (if they can be given such a dry, reprehensible name) are truly a joy to read, ranging from Virginia Woolf—bending a slightly exasperated eye over Hemingway’s work--to Sven Birkerts lyrically philosophizing on the baffling beauty in Keats’ ode, ‘To Autumn’. Denoted very well throughout this book is this concept: compared to professional critics—who are expected to produce succinct reports--creative writers cannot stop penning words until all of what they mean to say has been conveyed. After each fullbodied opinion, one is compelled to go out and read—or re-read—the piece being critiqued. This merely bolsters Hallman’s theory, that good reviews and literary critiques should be—and can be—written to inspire readers to peruse the books themselves. Reviewed by Meredith Greene
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Science & Nature The Real World of a Forensic Scientist By Dr. Henry C. Lee, Elaine M. Pagliaro, and Katherine Ramsland Prometheus Books, 349 pages, $25.98 Since the widespread popularity of shows like CSI, Bones, or NCIS opened the world of forensic medicine to the general populace, real forensic scientists have struggled-much in the manner of archaeologists and their love/hate relationship with fictional characters like Indiana Jones or Lara Croft-to rid people of the perception of forensics that they’ve gleaned from the television. The authors of The Real World of a Forensic Scientist have done an excellent job in detailing the complexities of the profession. Best yet, the book is written in an easy, conversational style that explains all the technical
terms involved in a knowledgeable manner. Beginning from the origins of forensic science and drawing from infamous cases (the Lindbergh baby of the 1930s) as real, concrete examples of forensic science at work, the authors keep the field relevant and exciting even in the most minute of detail. For those interested in forensics yet possessing a sensitive stomach, the book is rich in details, but not graphically so, nor are there photographs which would disturb sensibilities. And for those whose appetite was whetted by this book and desire to know more about this field, the end notes are a very excellent resource. Reviewed by Angela Tate
Number Freak: From 1 to 200, the Hidden Language of Numbers Revealed By Derrick Niederman Penguin, 291 pages, $15.00 Did you know that da Vinci once produced a 72-sided sphere? Or that the U.S. Occupation Forces published a volume called “112 Gripes About the French”? Do you know why the year 46 was the absolute longest year in history, or why the Hell’s Angels identify with the number 81? These small bits of information might seem entirely useless to some, but after reading Number Freak by Derrick Niederman, not only will you know these things, and more useless trivia, but you’ll also be a good time at parties and a shoe-in for Jeopardy! Niederman has produced a fun look at the
numbers 1 to 200, with each integer given its own chapter that explores its mathematical mysteries, pop culture references and just general fun facts. Those that like math will like this book, but those that are in it for the game show fodder will find that the layout allows for easy skimming and skipping. This is necessary, as the author provides for more high-minded readers by concentrating heavily on areas like the history and development of mathematics, geometry, calculus and science, famous math theorems and historically based number puzzles. However, he explains these items with clarity and a friendly, engaging narrative style, meaning that potential readers looking for the “fun” side of math and more general interest references should not be dissuaded. Reviewed by Allena Tapia
modernism; surely, with a simple change of cast, these scenes would be familiar to our own century. Kirsch explores how the ideas and methodology of the Inquisition lived on after its demise in Communist Russia and Nazi Germany, two obvious candidates, but also in the United States (McCarthyism, the pursuit of draft dodgers, post-9-11 interrogations, and internment of “enemy combatants”). Even the simple tools of club and stone used in jungles or deserts in a systematic hunt for a constructed, arbitrary enemy play heir to the legacy of the Inquisition. Kirsch’s book is convincing even in its brevity of the horrors that the Inquisition brought to Europe and the horrors its ideology continues to deliver today. Reviewed by Jonathon Howard
The work starts off strong, and Mr. Beal takes a non-theological style. He presents the stories as a way to pass information from one generation to another. These are the stories that parents would tell children from where they come from, and how you are supposed to act. The book then becomes something that would fit better in a Bible class, or Bible discussion at a local church, with questions at the beginning of the passages to help you think about and then discuss them. This is definitely a book that works better among a bigger group since the individual passages work as a way to be discussed and not to be read alone and all at once. Reviewed by Kevin Winter
Deepak Chopra brings in Eastern flavored meditative techniques and presents them for Christians to use when they want to get closer with God. He covers how he arrived at this point, and uses passages from the Bible, as well as some of the Gnostic works, to show that Jesus was giving people help in achieving “God-consciousness.” The author provides the reader with techniques and exercises in achieving this perfect way of enlightenment. As it is a heavily meditative and Eastern influenced book, people accepting a Christian self-help book might be disappointed; people wanting a new way to look at Jesus will be happy. Reviewed by Kevin Winter
Religion The Grand Inquisitor’s Manual By Jonathan Kirsch HarperOne, $26.95, 296 pages “Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!” Like many of you, this line from Monty Python’s Flying Circus was my introduction to the Roman Catholic’s 700-year-old institution of the Holy Office of Inquisition into Heretical Depravity, which incidentally still exists, though under the more benign title of the “Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,” The institution was recently headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger until he was called to a higher office. The version of the Inquisition portrayed by cross-dressing British comedians and other modern farces is rather more hysterical than its historical counterpart. The actual Inquisition remains obscure to the average citizen, as do its sickening crimes, mindset, and the progeny it midwifed into existence in our modern world. Jonathan Kirsch’s The Grand Inquisitor’s Manual attempts to remedy the historical gap in our culture as well as elucidate how the Holy Office blazed a trail that too many tyrants, despots, fascists, and even liberal democracies have been happy to travel down. Kirsch provides a thorough (if generalized) account of the Inquisition’s history, from its inception to deal with the Cathar “problem” of France in 1207 to the last victim of the Spanish Inquisition in 1834. The incidents and details Kirsch highlights not only shed some light on oft-skimmed part of Western history, but they stand out in their
Biblical Literacy By Timothy Beal HarperOne, 352 pages, $25.99 The Bible has a big impact on the culture of Western society from music, and art to movies and television shows. It is around us, and we are exposed to sayings and teachings from the Bible whether we know it or not. In this book, Timothy Beal takes a look at the most famous and most quoted stories from the Bible, giving us a look at where we have seen these stories in our culture. Mr. Beal also makes an argument that knowing the major stories of the Bible is important, because it surrounds us in our society and that not understanding the Bible will make it difficult to understand how it is being used in our culture.
The Third Jesus By Deepak Chopra Three Rivers Press, $15.00, 241 pages Deepak Chopra presents a way to “Godconsciousness” in his new book called The Third Jesus. He argues that people are too caught up in the words of Jesus in the Bible and trying to live by his moral code, which would be impossible for any person to truly accomplish. Instead, Deepak argues that Jesus gave the people a way to achieve a oneness with God with his parables and teaching; and that third way is the real way to approach Jesus, not the historical or literal way.
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Mystery, Crime & Thrillers Gary Jennings’ Apocalypse 2012 By Robert Gleason and Junius Podrug Forge, 382 pages, $25.95 Oh me, oh my. Oh, is Gary Jennings’ Apocalypse 2012 ever bad. Aside from the fact that it was written by one of the deceased Jennings’ longtime editors and a writer and, therefore, is really not a Jennings book in any sense of the word, the story is clichéd, convoluted, and just plain bad. Yes, there is an historical basis to the title and theme of the book, based on the Mayan calendar, but the story, which fluctuates between 1000 C.E. and the current (?) time, is cumbersome and heavy-handed. It is also wholly unoriginal. When Coyotl, an Aztec astrological genius with a suspiciously Moses-like background, is taken into Toltec society, he becomes an advisor to famed kind Quetzalcoatl. His experiences in the Toltec city of Tula make up the 1000 C.E. portion of the book. The modern sections are full of heavy-handed political “commentary” and come across as shallow and trite. I’ve never read any of Jennings’ actual novels (the ones he, you know, wrote), but Apocalypse 2012 is certainly not one of these novels—and is not worth reading. Reviewed by Ashley McCall The Likeness By Tana French Penguin, 466 pages, $15.00 The Likeness opens six months after the end of In the Woods; Cassie Maddox no longer works in the homicide division and is in a relationship with Sam O’Neil. Still shaken from her last assignment in homicide, she can’t face completely committing to either her job or her relationship. She receives a cryptic phone call from Sam, begging her to meet him. When she arrives, she finds a dead woman staring back at her with her own face, not to mention a name that is all too familiar: Lexie Madison, the undercover name Cassie used years ago. With no options and no leads, Cassie goes undercover as Lexie. The Likeness is a far better book than the previous book in the series, In the Woods. French has obviously grown as a writer; she uses far fewer unnecessary words, and her story moves at a pace that keeps the reader turning pages. Overall, this book was much better than its predecessor. Cassie is a very likeable character and in no time, you will be sucked into a world of mystery and intrigue. Reviewed by Katie Monson
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Even Money By Dick Francis and Felix Francis Putnam, 350 pages, $26.95 This is the third successful collaboration between the venerable racing world writer Dick Francis and his erudite son, Felix. The authors begin by establishing confl ict. They continue establishing and compounding confl ict for most of the book until it becomes overwhelming and seemingly insurmountable. It is a masterly dungeon-ofthe-soul session by really adroit torturers. Be warned. First the honest bookie Ned Talbot is up against the growing possibility of losing his one essential employee, then he meets a father he thought long dead, and within a day the man is murdered. And his pursuers are now Ned’s. Oh yes, Ned’s spouse is in effective custody of the NIH mental health branch, his home life is sterile, he is in a despised profession, in constant financial and physical danger . . . There is a liberal dose of the fortitude under suffering that has always characterized Francis’ protagonists. Apparent also is the core of decency his heroes always exhibit. Technicalities of the bookie’s craft and the electronics intrinsic to it are a bit denser than similar learnings in the older Francis books, and I suspect that is a contribution of the younger man. It is a welcome intensification of complexity. Resolution, long delayed, is both welcome and as complex as the problem building. I recommend this latest Francis as highly as I would any of their earlier works. Reviewed by David Lloyd Sutton The Last Ember By Daniel Levin Riverhead Books, 432 pages, $25.95 Young attorney and antiquities expert Jonathan Marcus is dispatched from corporate headquarters in New York to assist in a trial in Rome, the subject of which is a questionable artifact. He is soon made aware that on the opposing side of the aisle is Dr. Emili Travia, a former friend of Jonathan who works for the International Center for Conservation. The trial brings Jonathan and Emili unwillingly together to search for and preserve an important relic from the Jerusalem Temple, a solid gold menorah commissioned by King Herod. Following clues left by historian Flavius Josephus, the two are led to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and the catacombs of Rome. Throw in good guys who are bad, cops who are criminals, and dead people who aren’t
Vanilla Ride
By Joe R. Lansdale Knopf, $24.95, 243 pages Vanilla Ride is the seventh novel by Joe R. Lansdale, featuring Hap Collins and Leonard Pine—a pair of Texas buddies, one white and straight (Hap) and the other black and gay (Leonard). The two, who take swearing and wise cracks to a whole new level and who have a knack for getting into serious trouble, do both and then some in Vanilla Ride. This time around, as a favor to a friend, Hap and Leonard rescue a young woman from a gang of low level drug dealers. The dealers and those higher in the criminal food chain are none too happy about this and try to get revenge. However, it turns out that Hap and Leonard aren’t so easy to kill, so the bad guys hire Vanilla Ride, a killer with a perfect track record, to get the job done. Much mayhem ensues as Hap and Leonard do what comes naturally—hurling insults, cracking bad jokes, using profanity in creative new ways, throwing and absorbing a variety of punches and kicks, shooting, maiming, and, when necessary, killing. The result is one wild and crazy ride that slows only enough to let you catch your breath before hurtling forward at break-neck speed. Vanilla Ride leaves you alternately laughing and cringing, but always entertained. Highly recommended. Reviewed by Doug Robins dead, then add illegal excavations, explosions, and murders, and you have The Last Ember by Daniel Levin. This is a reasonably good plot, but the story gets bogged down with too much geography, too much history, and too many dates, with much of this having no relevance to the story. The characters talk too much, using out-of-place, formal dialogue. The author could have cut 100 pages and made a better book. Reviewed by Douglas McWilliams Blood’s a Rover By James Ellroy Knopf, 646 pages, $26.95 From the get go, Ellroy thrusts the reader into a fast-moving crush of history, conspiracy, politics, and violence, revealing the dark events and actions that shadowed much of late 1960s America. The plot of Blood’s a Rover is too detailed to adequately summarize -- Ellroy has grand intentions and covers a very large canvas. He kicks things off with a violent armored car robbery and from there weaves historical events like Nixon’s election and JFK’s assassination into a vivid fabric that reveals the greed, corruption, and sometimes madness behind many of the decade’s signature events. This is the third book of Ellroy’s trilogy that began with The Cold Six Thousand. As with those earlier books, in Blood’s a Rover Ellroy’s writing is electric. He writes with great passion and emotion, but also with exceptional precision and grace. Blood’s a Rover, with its grandiose themes, dark view of human nature, and explosive violence will
not be for everyone, but for the right reader, Ellroy’s latest is a gift. Reviewed by Doug Robins Devil’s Trill By Gerald Elias Minotaur Books, 320 pages, $25.99 A three-quarter size Stradivarius violin is stolen during a Carnegie Hall competition that is held every thirteen years for gifted children. The competition is controlled by the Musical Arts Project (MAP) Group, and the violin, which was insured for eight million dollars, belongs to a MAP member. Present at Carnegie at the time of the theft is Daniel Jacobus – an elderly, blind, obnoxious violin teacher. Jacobus is early on suspected of taking part in the theft, especially considering that he had previously made an attempt to smash it, but nevertheless, insurance investigator Nathaniel Williams asks him to assist in the violin’s recovery. Jacobus consents in order to prove his innocence and to have a chance to cripple MAP, which he believes is more about the financial exploitation of children than about music. But when an MAP member is murdered, suspicions run even deeper. Devil’s Trill by Gerald Elias reads less like a novel than the author’s personal concern for the way young musicians are trained and treated. Additionally, much of the book deals with musical history and terms that are unfamiliar to most readers. If you are deeply interested in classical violin music or Japanese customs, buy the book. Otherwise, you’ll want to take a pass. Reviewed by Douglas McWilliams
Local Calendar 10 L Lapin Lawrence, author of
Super Virus - 1 - 4 pm Borders, 2030 Douglas Blvd. Suite 9, Roseville
The Citrus Heights Area Poets - 2 pm Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 6111 Sunrise Blvd. Citrus Heights Children’s Storytime - 11 am Borders, 2030 Douglas Blvd. Suite 9, Roseville
11 Judith Horstman signing,
author of The Scientific American Day in the Life of Your Brain - 2 pm The Avid Reader at the Tower, 1600 Broadway, Sacramento Children’s Storytime - 2 pm Borders, 500 First Street #1, Davis
13 Children’s Storytime - 10:30 am Borders, 2339 Fair Oaks Boulevard, Sacramento
15 Joe Schreiber signing, author of 18 Kim Stanley Robinson & Terry Death Troopers - 7 pm Borders, 2765 E Bidwell St, Folsom
16 West Coast Songwriters Borders, 2030 Douglas Blvd. Suite 9, Roseville
17 Children’s Storytime - 11 am
Bisson signing - 2 pm Avid Reader, The Avid Reader at the Tower, 1600 Broadway, Sacramento Children’s Storytime - 2 pm Borders, 500 First Street #1, Davis
20 Children’s Storytime -
Borders, 2030 Douglas Blvd. Suite 9, Roseville
10:30 am Borders, 2339 Fair Oaks Boulevard, Sacramento
Jonas Porup signing, author of Remembering Russia - 1 pm Borders, 2030 Douglas Blvd. Suite 9, Roseville
The Mystery Book Club - 3 pm Rancho Cordova Library, 9845 Folsom Blvd, Sacramento
Joy Allen signing, author of Princess Party - 1 pm Borders, 2765 E Bidwell St, Folsom Roger Kraft Music Night - 7 pm Borders, 2030 Douglas Blvd. Suite 9, Roseville
22 California Lectures - A.S. Byatt - 9 pm Crest Theatre 1013 K Street, Sacramento
23 Salsa Night - 7 pm Borders Roseville, 2030 Douglas Blvd. Suite 9
Kim Stanley Robinson and Terry Bisson signing - 7:30 pm Avid Reader, 617 Second Street, Davis
24 Val Jon Farris signing, author of Inca Fire - 1 pm Borders, 2030 Douglas Blvd. Suite 9, Roseville
25 Children’s Storytime - 2 pm Borders, 500 First Street #1, Davis
31 Delane Pennington signing,
author of Now I am in Kindergarten - 1 pm Borders, 2030 Douglas Blvd. Suite 9, Roseville Eva Gordon signing, author of Werewolf Sanctuary - 1 pm Borders, 2765 E Bidwell St, Folsom For a full calendar of events plus details of all events, go to http://www.sacramentobookreview. com/calendar
Business & Investing The Green Collar Economy By Van Jones HarperOne, 194 pages, $25.99 The Green Collar Economy is controversial environmental activist Van Jones’s magnum opus on the nexus of green ideas and government. I greatly anticipated reading this book, but was sorely disappointed. Rather than focusing on the positive and discussing some unknown, but useful, innovations, Jones starts out by engaging in the ideology of victimization and racism, and blames the big bad corporations. Rather than focusing more on actual creative ideas to help the masses, sans politicization, Jones focuses on his own personal political agenda, which sucks away any possible enjoyment for politically apathetic readers. Reviewed by Susie Kopecky
The Ultimate Marketing Toolkit By Paula Peters Adams Media, 240 pages, $14.95 The world of marketing just got better, hipper and simpler with The Ultimate Marketing Toolkit. This very well-written and up-to-date handbook shows its readers the latest useful and sophisticated methods of promoting your business. From creating effective 30-second sound bites that will entice and provide your prospective customer with a great visual image of the services or products you offer, to maximizing your income potential and presence online through blogging, email blasts, pay-per-click-ads, social networking and electronic newsletters, award-winning author Paula Peters undeniably merits “Marketing Guru of the Year” honors from me. The manner in which she converses with her readers in this book made me literally feel like I was her entrepreneurial kid putting up a lemonade stand for the first time. Peters presents very nurturing yet matter-of-fact advice in this tome which is packed with tips and warnings just
like the way any mother might post notes and reminders on the refrigerator for her children. If you are seriously contemplating on techniques to improve your business, look no more. The Ultimate Marketing Toolkit will step up your advertising and promotion game for bigger profits. Reviewed by Kaye Cloutman A Colossal Failure of Common Sense By Lawrence McDonald with Patrick Robinson Crown Business, 351 pages, $27.00 The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers is now one year behind us. It was the first in a series of bank and institutional failures linked to the housing bust, and marks a low point in the history of Wall Street. Former Lehman vice president of trading, Lawrence McDonald, and veteran professional writer, Patrick Robinson, have painstakingly portrayed the intellect, honesty and caring at the heart of the Lehman trading groups that tried valiantly to warn upper management of the impending doom. This one hundred and fifty-eight-yearold institution was leveled by a small clique of men at the top who lacked the restraint and manners that were the key to traditional corporate culture at Lehman. The arrogance, greed, weak egos and excesses (think Dynasty on TV in the 1980s) are similar to
the behavior exhibited by members of the clique. We view the action from McDonald’s perspective starting with his early yearning to work at a major player on Wall Street. If you think every aspect of the real estate bubble and bust has been examined and reported on, think again. This hefty book is written from an insider’s perspective. Credit is given to whomever it is due at both ends of the spectrum of good and evil. The reader can feel the suspense building as the story develops. This book became a real page-turner by the end, even though the outcome is known. Reviewed by Joseph Arellano
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Romance Haunting Beauty By Erin Quinn Berkley Sensation, 354 pages, $15.00 Danni first sees Sean in the middle of the night when he materializes in her kitchen and beckons her through a portal where she witnesses a horrific murder. The next morning, the doorbell rings, and Sean is standing on her stoop with plane tickets to a tiny Irish island, claiming her long-lost family wants to bring her home. Danni, abandoned as a child, ignores her misgivings and succumbs to her desire to know her roots—and the mysterious and handsome Sean. Danni ends up on the island, albeit not by any conventional means. Instead, she and Sean find themselves there twenty years in the past, masquerading as a married couple and coming face to face with themselves as children. As they scramble to understand the mystical island where unexplainable occurrences are the norm, Danni and Sean fall in love. Haunting Beauty is an exciting paranormal romance told alternately from Danni’s and Sean’s points of view. The book will keep you on your toes, trying to solve the mystery, and cheering for Danni and Sean as they discover their metaphysical capabilities that will enable them to reverse the events of the past that keep them from being together in the future. Reviewed by Megan Just Spider-Touched By Jory Strong Berkley, 384 pages, $15.00 Rarely is a novel non-stop fantastic from start to finish, especially in the supernatural or fantasy genre. Usually the storyline ebbs and flows like the sea, from the slow introduction of alien worlds or supernatural characters with a quick jump to fast-paced action. Spider-Touched breaks this mold, rushing at the reader from the very start and not letting up until the last page is turned. While the main characters, with their trials and tribulations, are the main focus, the true star of this novel is the back story, the setting. Main characters Arana and Tir live in changed world in the near future, one where supernatural beings intermingle with pure humans in post-apocalyptic Oakland, California. Arana is a young woman who’s been possessed since birth. Branded and alone, her touch brings immediate death to friend
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and enemy alike. Tir is an immortal, captured and shackled centuries ago by selfish mortals. Arana frees Tir and together they find freedom, vengeance and love. If this reader has any complaint, it’s that author Jory Strong is often brash and harsh when a lighter touch would have better served. While the desire between Arana and Tir is utterly believable, if crassly described, the relationship, the love between the two characters is suspect, even at the conclusion. As a fantastical novel I give Spider-Touched a thumbs up; as a romance a thumbs down. Reviewed by Lanine Bradley Laid Bare By Lauren Dane Berkley Heat, 322 pages, $15.00 He’s a clean-cut policeman, she’s the tattooed and dreadlocked guitar player next door. Their worlds collide in a supernova of lust, lust so unfamiliar to him that he turns her away and goes on to marry one of the good girls he’s been raised to treat so tenderly. Ten years later he’s back in town. He’s divorced, he’s matured, and he finds himself wanting what he had before. Can he reconnect with the girl who refused to be his dirty secret? This book is a blatant sexual fantasy, its formula and its lexicon as suggestive of an unoriginal mind as any of its less PG themes. Full chapters of heavy-handed erotica are strung together by a plot that, while halfway decent, seems to highlight the superficiality of the story’s emotional spread. A fan of such material may find it acceptable to tickle their less rational sensibilities, though the occasional gauche wording should keep your intellectual side very rudely reminded that there are better things you could be reading. Reviewed by Micah Kolding Wicked Little Game By Christine Wells Berkley Sensation, 309 pages, $7.99 The set-up for Christine Wells’ Wicked Little Game is riveting from page one: an impoverished scoundrel offers his wife to the wealthy nobleman who has loved her from afar--but for a price. Lady Sarah Cole is the woman up for trade, and her plight is harrowing, a testament to a time when a woman belonged completely to her husband and a bad marriage could lead to destruction. Fortunately, Lord Vane is honorable and upstanding, despite his passion for a married woman. Wells draws all of her characters with a warmth and sympathy that imbues even Lady
Sarah’s terrible husband Brinsley with compassion. There is no black and white in this book, merely shades of gray, as Wicked Little Game strives to pull out all emotional stops to tell the story of a twisted love triangle. And the author largely succeeds, though with the swift introduction of the suspense plot, the story begins to falter. The culprit of the murder is very well hidden, but in their pursuit of answers, the romance between Lady Sarah and Lord Vane turns unnecessarily angsty, and the conflict that separates them is drawn out far too long to ring realistic. Wells’ writing is more lyrical than most authors, and many a unique turn of phrase lifted many of the somewhat colorless scenes from the mundane. A bigger disappointment is that for the sensual premise and the promise of a psychological conflict, the tension between Sarah and Lord Vane dissipates after they give into temptation. However, Wicked Little Game is an excellent way to pass the time and Wells obviously has a bright future ahead of her. Reviewed by Angela Tate
20 09 -2010 SE A SON Crest Theatre | 7:30 p.m. Lectures, Readings, Conversations
Sacramento’s literary arts series
A.S. ByATT Booker Prize | Bestselling Author The Children’s Book (Oct. 09), Possession, Still Life October 22, 2009 JOhN iRviNg National Book Award | Academy Award Last Night in Twisted River (Oct. 09), The Hotel New Hampshire, The World According to Garp November 5, 2009 AbR AhA m vERghESE National Book Critics Circle Award finalist Cutting for Stone, The Tennis Partner, My Own Country February 11, 2010
Ruth REichl James Beard Award | Food Critic Not Becoming My Mother, Garlic and Sapphires, Tender at the Bone March 26, 2010 ScOtt SimON Peabody Award | Emmy Award NPR Host - Weekend Edition Saturday April 26, 2010 SUBSCRIPTIONS $155 www.californialectures.org | (916) 737-1300 TICKETS $30 | $35 - On Sale Sept. 28 Tickets.com or (800) 225-2277 (service fee) Or in person at the Crest Theatre, 1013 K Street, Sacramento Monday–Thursday 4:30–8:00 p.m., Friday–Sunday 12:30–8:00 p.m. (no service fee)
www.californialectures.org
Filipino-American Heritage Filipino World War II Soldiers: America’s Second Class Veterans By Photography by Rick Rocamora Veterans Equity Center, 84 pages, $45.00 One of the more unfortunate legacies of US military policy over many of our wars and police actions overseas has been the breaking of promises of future help and support to indigenous soldiers. The Hmong from Vietnam, the Kurds during the first Gulf war, are some of the more recent groups that threw their support to America and then found their promised rewards unfulfilled. One of the oldest living groups of these veterans is the Filipino soldiers from World War II. During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, more than 200,000 men, young and old, fought alongside the American forces, served as guides and soldiers, in regular and guerrilla units. More than half died during the war, in combat, including many thousands during the Bataan Death March. These men were promised citizenship and veteran’s benefits for their service, but soon after the war was over, those promises were rescinded, reduced to naturalization and immigration to the U.S., but without the benefits. Many thousands of them immigrated with their families here after the war, but it wasn’t until 1990 that the promise of American citizenship was finally delivered; still without the VA benefits. Photographer Rick Rocamora has been documenting the lives of many of these aged veterans in the Bay Area since the early 1990s. Most of them live in extreme poverty, sending part of the money they do get from SSI or collecting cans for recycling back to family still in the Philippines, dependent on their still ongoing sacrifices. The images in Filipino World War II Soldiers: America’s Second Class Veterans are heart-wrenching in an extreme—from pictures of the men in their usually sparse living quarters, waiting in line at the food bank, sitting together playing checkers. Yet these men and women (widows of the soldiers) still have pride in themselves, their service, and their adopted country. The cover image is of a Filipino wearing the army uniform he purchased at Goodwill for $1.50 that he plans to wear at his funeral. Entirely in black and white, the pictures earn their comparisons to Dorothea Lange’s work during the Great Depression; but these are from today, a wealthy America that honors its own veterans from that war as the Greatest Generation. Not just portraits, but slice-of-life photographs of the lives, often juxtaposed against other compelling images of street and city life. Not all great war photography takes place during or after combat. Some of it takes years or generations to happen, and this is one example of not only documentary photography, but also investigative journalism and activism. This
group of vets may never have a movie or HBO series made about them, but Rocamora has made sure they will not be forgotten. Rocamora has also been active in campaigning for recognition of these men, and it has slowly been coming. Former President Clinton signed a proclamation honoring them in 1996, and 2009 stimulus bill included some long-overdue payments. Reviewed by Ross Rojek Philippine Gay Culture: Binabae to Bakla, Silahis to MSM By J. Neil and C. Garcia The University of the Philippines Press, 536 pages, $47.00 Gays in the Philippines are everywhere. They are easy to find. And while Filipino gays are mostly tolerated, they are often misunderstood. J. Neil C. Garcia’s Philippine Gay Culture: Binabae to Bakla, Silahis to MSM, spanning a 30-year study and analysis of gay literature as well as the author’s own experiences, is an intellectual exercise in grasping the cultural essence of the Filipino gays. This makes available, for the very first time, “a serious academic inquiry into the field of knowledge and mode of being which is Philippine gay culture itself.” It uncovers rich and diverse thematic Philippine gay narratives on the stereotypology of the funny gay, gay theatrical discourse, the church and homosexuality, swardspeak (gay lingo), and the sexual subculture, among many others. “All three decades of gay culture, as far as the many themes and motifs which constitute them are concerned, may actually be taken as one.” This book originally outed, quite ceremoniously, in 1996. Its second coming, an updated edition which came out more than a decade after, upholds much of the original text, blue-pencilling only the author’s stylistic writing in few places. The only other significant change is the addition of a hefty new final chapter reinforcing the contentions of the original, making it more fresh and just as relevant as it first came out. J. Neil C. Garcia’s Philippine Gay Culture: Binabae to Bakla, Silahis to MSM is a personal but scholarly work that is a must-read for anyone who aims to grasp the essence of the blooming gay culture in the Philippines from the 60s to the present. Reviewed by Dominique James
Culture Shock! Philippines By Alfredo Roces; Grace Roces Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 352 pages, $15.95 Culture Shock! Philippines is one in a series of guides for travelers and would-be residents, emigrants and the like. This is the most comprehensive and up-to-date guide I have ever seen for traveling to the Philippines. As an American who is often embarrassed by the behavior of other Americans in foreign lands, I would recommend this guide to all who plan to travel to the Philippines. For that matter, a guide this comprehensive should be required reading for all Americans traveling to any foreign lands, and I might even go so far as to suggest a test for them prior to stamping their passport and allowing them out of the USA. Culture Shock! Philippines holds countless useful insights into local culture, cuisine, traditions, and more. It gives very valuable advice for those wishing to blend in (as much as that may be possible) to the local environment, and goes as far as detailing the things one might need to consider when planning a longer-term residence in the Philippines, including business considerations. I imagine that many countries’ version of the Culture Shock! guide was easier to produce than the one for the Philippines. After all, the Philippines is a rich, diverse nation comprised of more than 6000 islands with major Islamic, Catholic and Christian religions, dozens of regional dialects, colloquialisms and traditions. The amount of information packed into this volume is truly amazing, and I must say it was written with just the right touch of humor, sensitivity to and respect for the traditions of the people and the nation. In my opinion the Philippines is a kind of “Asian Melting Pot,” similar to America in that it has been colonized repeatedly over the course of centuries prior to gaining its independence, and an incredible array of folk from all over the world have settled there and call the place home. This guide takes into account much of that history and deals with it in a very respectful way. The politics of the region, and even some of the behaviors there which judgmental Americans might otherwise find objectionable are all treated and explained in a way that allows one to understand the culture at its root and ultimately embrace it. An example is the discussions of a “Querida” system in which Filipino men appear to be empowered to have multiple mistresses and grow multiple families. This behavior is a part of society that is more complex than it appears on its surface, and the guide does a fine job of describing it in both positive and negative terms without judging it. This style of writ-
ing tends not to beg the reader to judge the culture too quickly or harshly, a tendency for which we Americans may be unaware. There is much humor in this guide and reading it along with my Filipina wife, we found that there are many details, quotes, and suggestions as well as analysis of the culture which are truly entertaining to each of us. I’m sure much of the stuff we find so entertaining is not intended to be that way to the uninitiated, but having been to the Philippines and now having family there, the guide takes on a whole new light for me and is really worthy of repeated browsing. I can wholeheartedly recommend Culture Shock! Philippines to anyone planning to travel there, in fact I recommend you re-read it after you return – you’ll be surprised at how helpful and accurate this guide was for your journey – and this guide will definitely be with me when I return again, lest there were any details I’d forgotten over time. Reviewed by John Cloutman <<Listen>> Audible Authors interview with Alfredo Roces: www.Sacramentobookreview.com/ alfredo_roces.php Soledad’s Sister By Jose Dalisay Anvil Publishing, 194 pages, $39.99 Every year, more than 600 overseas Filipino workers return as corpses. One casket that arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila is a body of a See FILIPINO, page 19
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Halloweeeen Extreme Halloween By Tom Nardone Perigee Trade, 95 pages, $14.95 With a subtitle that reads “The Ultimate Guide to Making Halloween Scary Again,” you can bet that I was really thrilled to get my hands on Extreme Halloween. The coloring (black and orange) and texts (blobs here and there) helped a lot in building more anticipation. With the first project being a creepy millipede made out of pumpkins and carrots, my excitement grew. But then, a couple more pages in, I began noticing that the only “extreme” idea (to me, that is) that the author is offering is by means of the pumpkin sculptures. (It turns out that Tom Nardone previously authored two best-selling books of pumpkin carving and sculpting.) True, there are pages dedicated to drinks and food, to sounds and lighting, to other Halloween staples such as coffins and tombstones—but the ideas are not really original. Except for one food arrangement trick—I must agree that cooked meat and sausages arranged in the form of a decomposing body for dining buffet-style look really gross, Halloween-style—all of the other tricks and techniques are available on the internet … meaning: they’re not new and not at all tricks that I would describe as “extreme.” Reviewed by D. Harms A Practical Guide to Vampires By Lisa Trutkoff Trumbauer Mirrorstone, 80 pages, $12.95 Before Twilight fans get themselves excited, be warned. You won’t find any sparkling vampires here. Instead, this book is dedicated to revealing the world of the traditional vampire. The hardened bloodsuckers with superhuman strength, speed, intelligence who sleep in a coffin and burst into flame when exposed to sunlight. Vampire anatomy, skills, weapons, helpers, history; it’s all contained in this book. Presented as a guide to help the aspiring vampire hunters, it also offers tips on how to become a vampire yourself (should you be so ambitious). The one flaw of this “guide” is that it is presented as being set in our world, but is written to complement a medieval fantasy world of castles and magical objects. Thus all the practical advice becomes more of a story and less of a guide. However, any disappointment in the content of the book is made up for the magnificent design. Filled with magnificent illustrations, charts, and graphs, even the pages are printed to look
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old and weathered. Overall, it’s great choice for the vampire aficionado, and a fun read for the Halloween season. Reviewed by Alyssa Feller The Banshee By Eve Bunting and Emily Arnold McCully Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 32 pages, $16.00 Terry is just falling asleep when he hears the wailing screech outside his window. He’s convinced the sound is coming from a banshee, the legendary Irish ghost-woman who wails outside houses where death is looming. Terry’s mom tells him that the sound is just a cat or an owl, but he doesn’t believe her. Could it really be a banshee? And if so, why is she near their house? Although the story technically takes place in the cold winter month of December, the subject of this book makes it perfect for this time of year. The illustrations of Emily Arnold McCully really complete the ambiance and make up for the somewhat lackluster writing. The pictures have a washed-out, murky appearance, which is a perfect complement for the story. A great book for Halloween, but don’t read this right before bed lest you also hear the screech of the ghostly banshee. Reviewed by Alyssa Feller The Science of Fear By Daniel Gardner Plume, 351 pages, $16.00 Daniel Gardner, author of The Science of Fear, curiously titled his prologue with a single number: 1,595. This is the number of increased traffic fatalities in the year following 9/11 when people stopped flying and took to the roads, despite well-established safety statistics to the contrary. But this seemly irrational trend was not an isolated incident, and The Science of Fear explains how the culture of fear can manipulate your brain. “But how do people choose which risks to worry about and which to ignore? Our friends, neighbors, and coworkers constantly supply us with judgments that are a major influence. The media provide us with examples—or not— that Gut feeds into the Example Rule to estimate the likelihood of a bad thing happening. Experience and culture color hazards with emotions that Gut runs through the Good-Bad Rule. The mechanism known as habituation causes us to play down the risks of familiar things and play up the novel and unknown.”
Societal fears are non-stop these days: salmonella, kidnapping, shark attacks, road rage, and guns in schools, to name a few. The Science of Fear teaches us that fears are rooted in the physiology of our brains, but are made irrational through many psychological factors that are only exacerbated by the media, ad campaigns, and the opinions of others. The Science of Fear is carefully researched and packed with scientific studies, yet has a subtle sense of humor and reads as effortlessly as fiction. It is the book media-hype naysayers have been waiting for. After a good, enthusiastic read, these naysayers will surely want to share it with timid spouses and co-workers who are tiptoeing through life, armed with a facemask (H1N1) and pepper spray (crime on the rise). Reviewed by Megan Just Boo Who?: A Foldout Halloween Adventure By Lola Schaefer ; Michael Frost Little Simon, 12 pages, $7.99 Give your kids a fun read this Halloween! With all sorts of riddles making them guess what spooky character they are about to see, Boo Who? can definitely be a tricky treat for your little one! This cute fold-out book gives away more clues as you open each flap one by one, revealing the Halloween guests who are gathering in front of your doorstep. Children will truly be delighted by the fun rhyming words of Lola Schaefer, and Michael Frost is to be commended for effectively capturing the joyous emotions children feel whenever they play “the dress-up game”. Reviewed by Kaye Cloutman I ride my broom through the October sky, and cackle at the moon that’s hanging high. Boo! Who am I? Scream Street: Fang of the Vampire By Tommy Donbavand Candlewick, 160 pages, $5.99 The main character in this book is a boy named Luke Watson who turns out to become a werewolf. Luke Watson and his family are sent to Scream Street by the faceless men of G.H.O.U.L., or Government Housing of Unusual Lifeforms, since he was beginning to be a threat to the “normal” neighborhood. One little problem though--his parents are terrified with the new neighborhood since it is filled with monsters of all kinds. Luke wishes to bring his parents back to their old home but faces challenges throughout the whole story. The only way that he will be able to do this is to find six
relics, which he realizes won’t be a very easy task, but his new friends, a young vampire named Resus Negative and a young mummy named Cleo Farr, help him out. The young monster trio gets constantly attacked by Poltergeists caused by Sir Otto Sneer, who doesn’t seem to want to send Lucas and his parents back home. To top it all off, Eefa Everwell, a young witch whom Luke is in love with, does not help either when she casts spells to stop them from doing their mission. “In the tunnel, through the slime, the vampire lies for all of time; down where all is constant night, the source of power here will bite.” Children will enjoy reading this humorous and entertaining book. I also think grown ups that were fond of watching classic TV shows like The Addams Family and The Munsters will find Scream Street Fang of the Vampire a good read. It was cool how the illustrations depicted frightening stuff that came out in a charming manner. Kids, don’t be scared to read Scream Street Fang of the Vampire, because you will find yourself laughing a lot--especially when you get to the part of the farting goblins! Reviewed by Amber Guno Cloutman Dark Night By Dorothée de Monfreid Random House Children’s, 40 pages, $14.99 When little Felix sets out for a walk in a dark nighttime forest, we understand that no good can come from his adventure. Sure enough, a series of scary noises heralds the arrival of several frightening beasts— a wolf, a tiger, and a CON’T next page
crocodile—leaving Felix to hide in a hollow tree trunk. Unsure how to escape, Felix discovers a door inside the tree, which leads to the cozy home of a rabbit. Hatching an ingenious plan, the rabbit promises to help Felix traverse the beast-fi lled woods and get home. Working together, Felix and the rabbit turn the tables on the beasts, leaving them cowering behind trees—and, finally, seeking help from Felix himself. De Monfreid’s simple, bold illustrations charmingly portray the darkness of the forest and the toothy terribleness of the nighttime beasts, while Felix’s red pajamas set him apart as a child who’s found himself somewhere he’s not supposed to be. His mastery of the beasts, and the hot-chocolate reward he gives himself and his rabbit friend after their achievement, suggests that with a little bravery, creativity, and lucky acquaintance, even the scariest nighttime fears can be held at bay. Reviewed by Margo Orlando Littell The Curse of the Romany Wolves By S. Jones Rogan Alfred A. Knopf, 304 pages, $16.99 Young Penhaligon Brush – half fox/half wolf – is doing well as an apothecary at Ferball Manor until one of his adopted children, a Romany wolf cub, comes down with a mysterious illness. Penhaligon soon diagnoses the illness as febra lupi – the curse of the Romany wolves – a deadly disease with no known cure. Until now, the disease has appeared only in wolves, but this time it seems to have mutated and is infecting other animal children in the village. An ancient book gives clues to a possible cure, but ingredients for the cure can only be found on Howling Island – a place inhabited by ghosts or perhaps something worse. Penhaligon must reach the island, but can he get past pirates and a sea dragon? And what dangers will he face when he gets there? The Curse of the Romany Wolves by S. Jones Rogan is an excellent book and her second story featuring Penhaligon Brush. This is an old fashioned children’s story touching on trust, loyalty, and courage, and is somewhat in the vein of The Wind in the Willows. The book is targeted at children aged nine to twelve, but younger children would enjoy having it read to them. Reviewed by Douglas McWilliams What Was I Scared Of? By Dr. Seuss Random House, 25 pages, $11.99 Sometimes we can be scared of things for no rational reason. Usually it’s fear of the unknown. We may even scare someone
without ever saying a word to them. Dr. Seuss’ What Was I Scared of? address that very issue. There are a pair of pants roaming the neighborhood and the main character is deathly afraid of them and begins to live his life cautiously for fear of running into the pair of empty pants. One night while picking Snides, he accidently runs into these scary pair of pants when all of a sudden they start to cry and tremble. He realizes that they are just as scared of him as he is of them. A friendship ensues once they realize there was never anything to be scared of. This is a valuable lesson for children to not be scared of someone they never even gave a chance to. They may end up the best of friends. I think Dr. Seuss used a pair of pants to show how quick we can judge and how silly our unfound fears can be (like an empty pair of pants). One of the coolest things about this book is that it’s glow-in-the-dark. This would be a great book to read by flashlight with your child. Reviewed by Jennifer LeBrun There Was An Old Monster! By Rebecca, Adrian, and Ed Emberley Orchard Books, 32 pages, $16.99 There Was An Old Monster! by Rebecca, Adrian, and Ed Emberley is a variation on the cumulative rhyme “There Was An Old Woman.” It introduces us to an old monster, and an ugly fellow he is, too – purple in color, with crazed and mismatched eyes, orange horns (or maybe that’s ears), and a yellow fang. The first action that he takes is to swallow a tick (we don’t know why), which makes him sick. Then he swallows some ants to catch the tick, but that doesn’t help, so he swallows a lizard to catch the ants. Next he swallows a bat to catch the lizard. Then he swallows a jackal to catch the bat. We can pretty much see which way this is headed as the monster proceeds to swallow a bear (who appears to be sort of surprised) to catch the jackal and then one tough-looking lion to take care of the bear. This is a funny takeoff from the traditional text, although the rhyming is perhaps a little uneven. The illustrations are busy and explosive and in brilliant colors. The book is targeted at younger children, some of whom may enjoy the rhyming but could find the illustrations unsettling. Reviewed by Douglas McWilliams Eerie Archives, Vol. 2 By Various Contributors Dark Horse Comics, 240 pages, $49.95 Produced by Warren Publications in the 1960s as a bi-monthly companion to Creepy, guaranteeing a horror comic every month on the newsstand, Eerie had a great run of
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about 17 years and 140 issues. The first 11 issues were edited by Archie Goodwin and included a who’s who of artists. This collection of issues 6-11 had covers by Grey Morrow and Frank Frazetta, and stories from Wally Wood, Steve Ditko, and Gene Colan, among others. The art is all black and white, except the covers, and the stories are original (as opposed to future issues, when most of the content was reprints). These early issues can be hard to find in good condition, so this archive fi lls a need for horror comic fans and collectors. Whooo’s That?: A Lift-the-Flap Pumpkin Fun Book By Kay Winters; Illustrated by Jeannie Winston Harcourt Children’s Books, 14 pages, $9.95 Whooo’s That? Join our witchy owl friend as she prances around the pumpkin patch to uncover our favorite creepy Halloween characters and reveal what they’re doing when you lift the flaps within the pages of this fun book. You’ll see a witch scowling with a frown, skeletons rattling their bebop bones, Dracula and Frankenstein brewing a savory stew and the whole gang trick-or-
treating too! Children will definitely enjoy this not just because they will keep guessing whooo’s going to be hiding behind their next pumpkin in this interactive book but the fun treat that awaits in the end. Reviewed by Kaye Cloutman My Rotten Life (Nathan Abercrombie Accidental Zombie) By David Lubar Starscape, $5.99, 160 pages In My Rotten Life (Nathan Abercrombie Accidental Zombie) by David Lubar, Nathan Abercrombie, a 5th grade nobody, goes through a literally life-changing event when he is the victim of a freak accident in an experiment. He is left half-dead! No longer feeling pain or hunger or exhaustion, he becomes immensely better at sports than he has ever been, which leads to new-found recognition from his 5th grade peers. Written in a light and easy-to-read fashion, My Rotten Life is perfect for its target audience, the young reader, and still can be found a worthwhile read to a more mature audience, who will find a level of nostalgia in the silly things that seemed ever-so-important back when they were in 5th grade. Reviewed by Jordan Dacayanan
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Travel Cycling Britain By Etain O’Carroll Lonely Planet, 380 pages, $24.99 Often when traveling people, can overlook a more relaxing view of another country, away from the busy streets and roads around the shops and tourist locations - taking a leisurely bike ride from place to place. Lonely Planet’s Cycling series combines the best of their country guides places to stay, eat and see - with a guide to bicycling around the country. The maps aren’t as good as one might want (they even recommend getting a more complete one for the regions you want to visit) but a majority of the routes are detailed turn by turn with some GPS coordinates for reference. The occasional “left at unsigned road” might leave you watching closely, but they also provide a mileage count for each change of direction. Compact enough to fit in a side pocket, helpful enough to make the short list of necessary weight.
Cycling Italy By Ellee Thalheimer Lonely Planet, 380 pages, $24.99 Known for its down-to-earth travel books, Lonely Planet now has a series dedicated specifically towards touring by bicycle. In this particular one, Ellee Thalheimer informatively describes some of the best ways to cycle through Italy. Its contents are divided into touring by region, with additional chapters concerning costs, planning, packing, other means of transport, history, bicycle maintenance, health and safety. Packed with all sorts of maps and charts, this guide also includes tips on language, weather, restaurants, places to stay, cycling facilities, visas and any applicable contact info. Though not meant for the casual tourist, this handbook could be a solid investment for those who prefer to hike or travel by motorized vehicles. For adventure by bike off the beaten track, regardless of ability level or focus of interest, it would be indispensable. Reviewed by Richard Mandrachio
500 Things To Eat Before It’s Too Late By Jane and Michael Stern Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 448 pages, $19.95 Jane and Michael Sterns’ latest book, 500 Things To Eat Before It’s Too Late, is a fantastic guide on where to eat across America. The Stern’s angle on food writing is unique in that it is based heavily on off-the-beatenpath eateries scattered throughout the U.S. Their tales have appeared for years as a monthly segment in Gourmet magazine, as well as in numerous books. For this book, the Sternses have compiled a “best of” list made up of the foods and dishes that they have most enjoyed in their years of travel. From small town dives to restaurants in big cities, this book covers the gamut. If you’re looking for the best lemon chess pie in the country or find yourself in Gering, NE, and aren’t sure where to eat, this book will tell you. In addition to the exhaustive collection of food and restaurant listings, the book also has numerous sidebars that include things like trivia bits, tips for places to visit that
aren’t food related, and a few well-chosen recipes. If you’re traveling in the U.S., pick up this book for definitive instructions on where and what to eat along the way. Reviewed by Andrea Rappaport
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Philosophy In Praise of Doubt By Peter Berger and Anton Zijderveld HarperOne, 177 pages, $23.99 In Praise of Doubt attempts to lay down an ethical perspective of tolerance and openmindedness as an antidote to any sense of religious, social, political (etc.) certainty or fanaticism. In a language clear and simple (if often articulated on the intellectual level of a child), Berger and Zijderveld advocate a moderate perspective whilst making a (weak) stand against the tyrannies of the age: Fascism, Fundamentalism, (non-democratic) Socialism, Post-modernism and (extreme) Relativism. This may all seem noble, but nothing expressed within these pages can be granted as new, fresh, or revolutionary. In-fact, the book’s failing point is that its near 200 pages aim only to defend the basic position of the “liberal” West. Naively, the authors seem to think that we have reached the very end of political and moral history: nothing else can be done, there is nothing better than the viewpoint that we should accept the multicultural attitude of the time, whilst acting against fundamental evils. Explicitly: on the surface, one should act as if he accepts and understands all modes of life; but underneath, he will still act upon the unquestioned, unchanged, ideology of the (post)modern age. This is no exposé. Berger/Zijderveld have simply epitomised the attitude of modern intellectualism: stale and stagnant, it spends its days chasing its own tail in an attempt to gratify its own, now out-dated, ideas. Reviewed by Dylan Popowicz What is Man? and Other Irreverent Essays By Mark Twain, edited by S.T. Joshi Prometheus Books, 229 pages, $16.95 For readers acquainted only with Mark Twain’s fiction, the series of essays and excerpts included in What is Man? will provide an entertaining and thought-provoking new perspective on Mr. Twain’s ideas about God, religion, and the nature of man. In the book’s introduction, the editor, S.T. Joshi, argues that although a number of modern literary scholars portray Mr. Twain as a deeply religious man who disliked the hypocrisy of the organized religion of his day, his writing clearly indicates he was an agnostic, skeptical about many parts of the Bible. Joshi then steps out of the way and lets Mr. Twain make the case himself.
“I have been scientifically studying the traits and dispositions of the “lower animals” (so-called), and contrasting them with the traits and dispositions of man. I find the result profoundly humiliating to me. For it obliges me to renounce my allegiance to the Darwinian theory of the Ascent of Man from the Lower Animals; since it now seems plain to me that that theory ought to be vacated in favor of a new and truer one, this new and truer one to be named the Descent of Man from the Higher Animals.” In the book’s main piece, an excerpt from “What is Man?” Mr. Twain uses a detailed discussion between an old and young man to contend that man is incapable of free will. The rest of the pieces are shorter, bitingly sarcastic, and focused on various aspects of religion. In one, “Thoughts of God,” Mr. Twain humorously ponders the wisdom of God in choosing to create the fly. Whether you agree or disagree with Mr. Twain’s beliefs, these pieces are some of Mr. Twain’s wittiest, most clearly reasoned works. Reviewed by Michelle Kerns Heroes and Philosophy By Edited by David Johnson Wiley, 320 pages, $17.95 In an attempt to bring to the table examples from the hit TV series “Heroes” that both embody and explain time-honored philosophical ideas, Heroes And Philosophy: Buy the Book, Save the World, edited by David Kyle Johnson, does a mediocre job at the very best. Though it is obvious that the book was put together by people with a competent and working understanding of both subjects, “Heroes” and basic philosophy, it seems simultaneously sloppily thrown together and as if it is trying too hard, much like its obvious and lazy subtitle “Buy the Book, Save the World.” Different sections deal with different societal, philosophical, ethical, moral, and interpersonal questions and then attempt to link them into characters and situations from the “Heroes” universe. The problem is that each section ends up reading like a community-college psychology 101A textbook, offering often meek, unsatisfying, and speculative explanations on the actions of characters, as opposed to using their actions to explain a philosophical ideal (which is what the title of the book suggests). A novelty that would really only appeal to one interested in not-too-in-depth or specific speculation on possible motives and ideals held by “Heroes” characters, Heroes and Philosophy: Buy the Book, Save the World begs the question of who would want to save the world if it meant having to buy this book. Reviewed by Jordan Dacayanan
FILIPINO-AMERICAN AWARENESS Cont’d from page 15 woman manifested as Aurora V. Cabahug. Fortunately, or unfortunately, she is not dead. The real Aurora V. Cabahug is very much alive. Answering to the nickname of Rory, she is a karaoke bar singer in the distant town of Paez. The woman in the box is Solidad, Rory’s sister, who used her identity to secure a job in Saudi Arabia. No one knows for sure how Solidad died but the body, waiting to be claimed at the airport, bears signs of foul play and abuse. Rory is accompanied by a Paez policeman, Walter, to drive out to Manila to pick up the body. Rory and Walter vaguely know each other, but find their lives redefined by the sudden return of the dead. Walter has been left by his wife and son for a new life in England; Rory feels herself standing on the brink of great prospects, ambitions that her sister never achieved. Somewhere on its long
way home, the body gets stolen, and well, things—a lot of strange things, happen. “In cases like these--unless they happen to be royals or people of consequence-we keep the body for three days, then let them go. Just like that.” This is how the intriguing story of Jose Dalisay’s second novel, Solidad’s Sister, begins. The Man Asian Literary Prize Jury noted that it is “full of narrative surprise, artfully put together and richly observed. It offers an unillusioned, compassionate portrayal of contemporary society from a Philippine perspective, and is utterly compelling. The characters engage us in an epic yet very local nature of their quest for dignity and justice. A work of warm humanity and confidence.” Reviewed by Dominique James
Reference The Sibley Guide to Trees By David Allen Sibley Alfred Knopf, 467 pages, $39.99 Who needs another guide to trees? They are frustrating to use and often require that the user already know quite a bit about the tree in question. I was prepared for this book to confirm my frustration. After all, the guidebook problem rests in the very nature of the subject: the sheer number of tree species, their endless variation, the number of hybrids, and so on. But nothing short of a revolution has occurred! In a triumph of end-user compassion, Sibley arranged his tree book not by leaf shape, as is the frustrating custom, but by taxonomy. This allows the user to browse images to find a match. (Sort of like browsing through pictures of small yellow flowers for a match rather than having to know the precise structure of the petals to begin the search.) The introduction sets the stage for the book’s logic. Sibley reviews the basic hierarchy of the plant kingdom that many of us learned in 10th grade Life Science and promptly forgot. After this refresher, the subsequent structure of the book makes sense in spite of the formidable Latin names. Additional clues for the tree sleuth are provided by more than 500 maps depicting the regions where natives of the particular species flourish. Fine line illustrations show details of bark, frond, acorn, needle and bud. Finally, a species checklist and comprehensive index help you find again what you looked up last time. So we need another Guide to Trees because it is a fundamentally different approach, well suited to the weekend botanist. Reviewed by Marcia Jo
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Giving Back By Elizabeth Ziemba Alpha, $14.95, 233 pages One might believe the idea of “giving back” to be a simple concept: if you care about a cause, donate money, goods, or time. It’s easy to write a check or drop off your old clothes at a thrift store, but knowing how much of your efforts benefit the cause requires research. That’s where The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Giving Back comes in. The first few chapters might make you wonder why anyone would bother to write a book about this topic, but further study will yield rewards! Is your donation tax-deductible? How much of your money goes to the cause and how much goes back into the organization? What separates a non-profit from the rest of the business world? Can you make a donation and specify where you want the money to go? Can you leave assets to a charity after your death? All of these questions, and many more, are answered in this book in easy-to-decipher language. Like all books in the “Idiot’s Guide” series, this one is peppered with definitions of jargon, fun facts, chic quotes, and a few personal anecdotes from the author to help bring this surprisingly complex world into focus for regular people. A great place to get started. Reviewed by Holly Scudero
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Popular Fiction A Piggly Wiggly Wedding By Robert Dalby Penguin/G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 320 pages, $24.95 Hale Dunbar Jr. and his fianceé, Gayle Lyons, better known as Mr. Choppy and Gaylie Girl, respectively, are blissfully enjoying their reunion 55 years after their fling as teenagers. The impediment to their being able to set a date for a wedding, however, is the disapproval of Gaylie Girl’s grown children, Amanda and Petey, who are not only suspicious of the intentions of the humble Mr. Choppy, but also wondering how the matriarch of their well-to-do Illinois family could possibly be thinking about relocating to rural Mississippi. Mr. Choppy, mayor and former owner of the Piggly Wiggly grocery store, just wants the best for his Gaylie Girl and for his beloved hometown of Second Creek. Luckily, he has the help of the widowed ladies of the town, who call themselves the Nitwitts, to get Amanda and Petey on-board for a Labor Day wedding. When Amanda and Petey visit, the Nitwitts work their magic to win them over, and the town itself works a little magic to bring a happy ending to all involved. Southern hospitality and eccentricities are the order of the day throughout the novel. Those who enjoy light Southern charm will appreciate this frothy tale of late-blooming love. Reviewed by Cathy Carmode Lim The Man from Kinvara By Tess Gallagher Graywolf Press, 272 pages, $15.00 Tess Gallagher’s writing seems to have two main influences: a violent family tragedy early in her life, and her marriage to short story master Raymond Carver. Both of these influences act as touchstones in The Man from Kinvara, Gallagher’s volume of selected stories. Gallagher has gathered the stories from two earlier volumes, The Lover of Horses and At the Owl Woman Saloon, to make up this book. The selections from The Lover of Horses are vibrant, arresting visions of blue collar life tinged with depression and violence, as in the title story, where an immigrant family loses their breadwinner to a circus, and a young descendant struggles with her inheritance of that wildness. The stories in the second half are more distant from the action, often told from a bystander’s perspective. This may cause
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an unfortunate disconnect for readers, unless they are familiar with Carver’s work. Many of the pieces from At the Owl Woman Saloon are responses to some of Carver’s most famous stories, and are a touching homage to a loved husband. Reviewed by Katie Cappello A Girl’s Guide to Modern European Philosophy By Charlotte Greig Other Press, 275 pages, $14.95 Susannah is a university student in 1970s Sussex with a wealthy older boyfriend and a slew of age-appropriate emotional baggage. In her periods of angsty self-doubt, she attempts to discover herself and her purpose through the philosophers she studies in school. Her various internal awakenings lead her first to what seems like ruin, though she eventually finds deeper meaning hidden in the turmoil of an affair and unplanned pregnancy. “...I was a free spirit, and like the free spirits of the past, I had a secret destiny, a task to do. I just wasn’t sure what it was yet.” A Girl’s Guide to Modern European Philosophy sounds like some kind of very specialized textbook, though, fortunately, it reads more like the chick-lit it actually is. In all honesty, the parts of the book that deal directly with philosophers like Nietzsche and Kierkegaard are the most compellingly written; if you ask me, it’s all the stuff in between that feels slow and even, at times, boring. And this is from someone who practically had to develop a speed habit to stay awake during philosophy lectures in college. And though I inferred above that the novel was about a journey of self-discovery, be warned that it doesn’t have what I’d call an uplifting ending. This is unusual for the genre, and for that reason alone you might find it worth picking up. Reviewed by Amanda Mitchell The Lost Art of Gratitude By Alexander McCall Smith Pantheon, 272 pages, $23.95 If you’ve read any of Alexander McCall Smith’s Isabel Dalhousie books, you’ll know not to look for breathtaking plots or thrilling escapades. But what all of those books – including this, the sixth in the series – lack in page-turning plot, they make up for with gentle, humor-laced depictions of the quiet triumphs and tribulations of normal life.
SBR REVIEWER SPOTLIGHT
Cathy Carmode Lim Cathy Carmode Lim has been reviewing books for newspapers for more than 10 years. She was a book-page editor for two of those years, until her recent move to California’s Central Valley area. Her lifelong love of reading, along with her “professional-sounding” status as a book reviewer, has led a lot of friends and acquaintances to ask for advice on books to read or just to start up conversations about good reads. She has been able to be in a couple of book clubs and had even more opportunities to talk about books and enjoy the company. What fun - books, friends and even tasty snacks or scrumptious desserts! Cathy runs a website called Rated Reads (www.ratedreads.com) that not only provides reviews of recent books (young adult, middle reader and adult novels and nonfiction) but also gives ratings to the books based on content. Some readers find themselves frustrated on finding a popular book has a whole lot of bad language, vulgarity or sexual content (or on learning that their teen has picked up a book with that kind of material), so the site is a service to give extra information for those who like to “be warned.” It’s much like the ratings system for movies or television - and information is power. Cathy is a wife to a physical therapist and mother to four daughters, ages 13 down to 2. Books are in her office, living room and bedroom and in each of her daughters’ bedrooms. She has read with her girls every night since each was little - and still reads with the oldest at least once a week. It’s delightful time spent together. Cathy has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and works part-time now at the Visalia Times-Delta, laying out a weekly entertainment magazine (which naturally includes book pages). She is working on finding a publisher for a children’s book she has written and is next working on a young-adult book. This installment finds the Scottish philosopher Isabel Dalhousie tackling both accusations of plagiarism in her journal, the Review of Applied Ethics, and her old foe, Minty Auchterlonie, alongside Jamie (her niece, Cat’s, ex-boyfriend, now her boyfriend) and Charlie, their eighteen-month old son. Isabel is as thoughtful, tactful, and likeable as ever, even while dealing with Professor Christopher Dove trying to get her fired or Minty using her for her own ends. “...the telephone rang. For a moment she toyed with the idea of not answering. It was a delicious feeling, ignoring the phone, a feeling of freedom almost wicked in its intensity. Why, she asked herself, should we be so beholden to such instruments?” Not much happens – Cat gets, and loses, a skanky tightrope walker boyfriend; Jamie writes Isabel a few love songs; Charlie says his first word (“Olive”); Isabel has an injured fox tended. The joy of the book lies in Mr. Smith’s ability to make us believe that people who willfully choose to be happy and generous to their fellow humans really aren’t an extinct species. That’s definitely something to be grateful for. Reviewed by Michelle Kerns
His Other Lover By Lucy Dawson Harper Collins, 272 pages, $13.99 In a survey commissioned by Days to Amaz--a UK company which specializes in organizing unique days out--when questioned, nearly three-quarters, or 72 percent, of 10,000 cohabiting or married women said they would snoop on their partner’s mobile phone text messages if they suspected them of cheating. Just over a third, 34 percent, would secretly follow their partner. Main character Mia never thought it never would happen to her, yet the proof is unmistakable--she thinks her boyfriend Pete is cheating on her. Accidentally stumbling across a series of text messages, Mia engages in more and more bizarre behavior while trying to uncover the truth, from destroying their apartment to spying on the “other woman.” Fans of Bridget Jones may certainly enjoy this quick-moving tale of deceit and drama. However, His Other Lover lacks the See LOVER, next page
Crafts & Hobbies The Alchemy of Color Knitting By Gina Wilde Potter Craft, 144 pages, $24.95 Remarkable is the inspiration that a few well-taken photographs can provoke, the sheer force of which can induce one to pick up long-abandoned knitting needles with renewed fervor. Even more noteworthy are this book’s lessons in color scheming, an art in itself. Included are informative sentences on how good colors pair, along with the names of various categories. “We celebrate the colors of the natural world, find hues that reflect our inner landscape, and fulfill our creative expression in the colors we choose to knit.” Wilde has excelled where few others have succeeded--in making a knitting book interesting to not only past knitters, but also complete strangers to the craft. Aside from the stunning pieces depicted, the lessons are thankfully wellspaced to be as readable as possible whilst juggling threads and multiple needles. The author’s proficiency in hues and tones is immediately apparent; the becoming woolen socks pictured fairly beg to be worn; the blue-green scarf holds the watery grace of a Monet painting as it falls elegantly from a young woman’s shoulders. The notion of one-color sweaters is led to the public square with flair and promptly ended via the decisive blade of Artistry. The concept of pairing complementary colors to create a fabulous piece is presented with such ease as to enable even the most old-school knitter to try something new, to experiment with the most eye-pleasing of all things: fetching colors. Reviewed by Meredith Greene
LOVER, cont’d from page 20 charm, charisma, and ability to learn from her mistakes that made Bridget so lovable. Made even more frustrating is main character Mia. She is easily a wonderful person, an attractive, successful woman with a lovely group of caring friends, yet she throws it all away to indulge in manic, irrational behavior. Reading this book can be compared to watching a train crash; you know what’s going to happen, you know it will be horrific and yet you can’t look away. It’s impossible to put this book down once started. Yet the book left this reader highly unsatisfied and strangely irritated for days afterward. Reviewed by Lanine Bradley
Paperie for Inspired Living By Karen Bartolomei Potter Craft, 159 pages, $24.95 Paperie for Inspired Living is a beautiful book packed with ideas and instructions to create breathtaking suites of details that are sure to transform an ordinary event into one that is unforgettable. Author Karen Bartolomei is the founder of Grapevine, a couture paperie and invitation design studio in Boston. The photographs of Bartolomei’s creations are reason enough to buy the book, but the detailed instructions for each of the items and the bonus sections covering resources, party planning etiquette, and design principles make the book both inspirational and practical. Paperie is organized by type of event, ranging from a casual Oscar-viewing party to a formal wedding. Each event has five to eight paper elements. For example, the suite for a wine tasting series includes photos and instructions for: gatefold invitations, reminder postcards, tasting notebooks, blind-tasting bottle covers, wine glass tags, wine-tasting program kiosks, and coasters. The elements in the suites can be re-created exactly as-is or can be used as a jumping-off point for endless combinations and variations in function and style. Reviewed by Megan Just
Adventures in Cartooning By James Sturm, Andew Arnold, and Alexis Frederick-Frost First Second New York & London, 109 pages, $12.95 Whether you are the young artist who dreams of being a comic book artist, or the “what-do-I-do-now” recent retiree, if you love cartoons and have always wondered “Can I do that?” then you’ll get a kick out of Adventures in Cartooning. Author James Sturm is a cartoonist who opened a cartooning school, The Center for Cartoon Studies, which his two co-authors attended. These three artists hit it off and enjoyed the artistic journey--so much so that after graduation they reunited once again to collaborate on a book that teaches the beginning cartoonist the basics on how to turn their “doodles” into magic that will make others laugh! This is not your typical “how-to” or art instruction book that you need to read, read, read and absorb the technical terms and details before even considering an attempt to apply what you’ve learned. Adventures in Cartooning is a cartoon story with a dragon, a knight, an elf and of course magic. As you read through the story, the elf will occasionally explain cartooning “knowhow” by referencing techniques, such as how to show screaming verses whispering in a cartoon bubble, or how to draw motion and backgrounds. All of the lessons are simply written into the story while you go exploring to find the magical dragon. You’ll travel through water and over stone walls, through fire and caves all while you laugh and learn how to turn your own drawings into believable adventures that others will enjoy.
This is a quick read for the adult and in my opinion an excellent choice for the young artist between the ages of eight and fifteen. I’m sure there are many books out there that do a much more thorough job of teaching cartooning, but Adventures in Cartooning might just be the most enjoyable! Reviewed by Doreen Erhardt
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Don’t have enough to read? Want a free book? Enter the book-a-day giveaway contest at: w w w. s a c ra m e nto b o o k rev iew. co m Entrants must by 18 years or older | Free books must be shipped to addresses in the U.S. or Canada | Binding type & cover art may differ from that shown | Winners will be notified by e-mail | One entry per person and per e-mail address per contest | Names and addresses will not be sold or distributed | SBR book reviewers not eligible.
History The Greeks and Greek Love By James Davidson Random House, 789 pages, $45.00 The Greeks and Greek Love, by James Davidson, is an imposing and literally weighty but surprisingly engaging work of classical scholarship. Davidson’s topic is a broad one, and he defines it accordingly, examining dozens of myths, artifacts and historical personages to explore the many ways in which homosexuality was perceived and represented in ancient Greece. Davidson indulges in numerous digressions (on the Brazilian song “The Girl from Ipanema” for example) to illustrate his points, but his candid, personal and often downright hilarious style generally makes these excursions worthwhile. Davidson also provides an exhaustive (but hardly exhausting) account of the previous scholarship on this much-discussed topic, and adds his nuanced and considered views on many curiosities and misunderstandings in his discipline. He ventures a bit far afield, in some cases; for instance, his discussion of what he calls “the tragedy of Michel Foucault” is provocative, but only if you care about who Foucault was and what he thought. Davidson often sounds as if he is talking to a select audience of favorably disposed readers, but don’t be fooled: if you’re a curious reader just looking for insight into the fascinating ideas of the ancient Greeks, this book is for you. Reviewed by Brad Buchanan LA Noir - The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City By John Buntin Harmony Books, 419 pages, $26.00 In LA Noir, crime reporter John Buntil of governing magazines takes readers on a roller coaster ride through LA as viewed by two men: one LA’s most notorious gangster, Mickey Cohen; the other, the most famous and controversial Los Angeles Police Chief, William H. Parker. Featherweight boxer Mickey Cohen left the ring for the rackets, serving first as mobster Benjamin “Bugsby” Siegel’s enforcer and second as his protégé and successor. Frank Sinatra, Robert Mitchum, and Sammy Davis were pals with Mickey, and TV journalist Mike Wallace wanted Mickey’s stories. Mickey Cohen was a fast-quipping gangster but would soon become the greatest gospel preacher of our time.
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LAPD Chief William H. Parker was the esteemed son of a pioneering law enforcement family from Deadwood. As a rookie patrolman in the roaring twenties, he discovered that Los Angeles was ruled by a combination of tycoons, politicians, and underworld bosses. His life mission was to topple it, hoping to create a police force that would never respond to elected officials again. He created the Dragnet-era LAPD which paved the way for LA’s greatest tragedy, the Watts riots, which stemmed from a legacy of racial mistrust. For anyone who has ever been intrigued by LA’s mean streets or felt Hollywood’s allure, LA Noir offers surprises that delight and challenge our understanding of the city that Spaniards called “the town of our lady, the queen of the angels.” The book will delight fans of hard boiled fi lm while still challenging contemporary historians with a better understanding of twentieth-century Los Angeles. Reviewed by Claude M. Ury Cults, Conspiracies, and Secret Societies By Arthur Goldwag Vintage, 340 pages, $19.95 The book’s title says it all.The author suggests that his commentary is occasionally “snarky”. However, he has succeeded in maintaining a remarkably objective tone while discussing some of the silliest things on the planet. His accuracies are notable, as when he points out that Scientology is not a cult, but a business. And in describing truly pitiable self-deceptions, such as the 9/11 “truthers,” he is notably insightful and thoughtful. I was struck both by the encyclopedic nature of his listings, and the repetitiousness of revivals and hybridizations of mind pablum for the credulous over the centuries. Additionally, Goldwag’s comprehension of the mental deviancies that seem to be intrinsic to destructive/dictatorial cult leaders brings to mind the similar diagnoses in Barbara Oakley’s Evil Genes. As a writer, I am glad to have this book on my shelf for reference. Reviewed by David Lloyd Sutton Marcus Aurelius, a Life By Franck McLynn DeCapo Press, 684 Pages, $30.00 Marcus Aurelius, a Life is a well-researched work duly apprised of the cultural, economic, and social tiers in play during the birth and youth of the future emperor, allowing a complete picture of the workings of Roman hierarchy. The book shares young Marcus’s influences, his grandfather’s advice that deceit is a dishonor, and his mother’s message of simple living and lack of material excess. Marcus dressed commonly for his station,
The National Parks: America’s Best Idea
By Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns Knopf, $50.00, 432 pages
Unlimited amounts of stunning beauty can be found within the national parks of this great United States, from enormous red canyons and caves, to mountains peppered with evergreen forestry, to fiery life-giving and life-taking lava flows, a country that spans the width of an entire continent is bound to, and does, have limitless magnificence. The evidence of this majesty can be found within not only the actual national parks, but within The National Parks: America’s Best Idea by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns, which chronicles the history and creation of the numerous areas within the states that were so breath-taking that they were made into national preserves of untouched nature. With a plethora of photography, from all time periods, of these parks, the people who made them possible, and other bits and pieces of the parks’ histories taken by some of the biggest names in photography (including, of course, Ansel Adams) The National Parks literally shows you why they were and are America’s best idea. Reviewed by Jordan Dacayanan
ate little, and was a bit frail in spite of his active youth. He waited twenty-three years to be Caesar and fathered fifteen children with a politically ambitious wife. Somewhat of a pacifist himself, Marcus brilliantly defended and expanded Rome’s borders by bypassing nobles and appointing battle-seasoned veterans. While generally known for his tolerance, logic, and love of spirituality, the author admits a black mark: Christians suffered persecution and martyrdom under his rule, though Marcus’s tolerance of this may have been an attempt to “appease the gods” during “annus calamitus,” a time of flood, famine, and invasions. Though the writer’s opinions show through often, he manages to bare the life of Marcus Aurelius in dedicated fashion, exposing some of the nagging discrepancies between the real man and the one often portrayed. Reviewed by Meredith Greene The Fallen Sky By Christopher Cokinos Penguin Group, 518 pages, $27.95 It is not surprising to learn--upon finishing the book--that the author is a poet. Throughout the book the flow of the prose is interrupted here and there with random philosophies about life, personal confessions and musings on a variety of unconnected subjects. However, any poet would recognize that this eclectic mix made sense to the writer; he wrote them down exactly as they occurred to him, and then continued on with the titled subject matter.
The research was logical and truly intimate, for each finder/seeker of meteorites mentioned is portrayed in full, with the fallen stones themselves depicted more as supporting characters in the scene. Despite the writer’s exacting methods of gathering historical data, Cokinos’ writing exposed a predisposed tendency to portray various scientific theories as facts. Traveling to each “landing site,” the writer relays his many thoughts and emotions whilst standing, deftly acquainting the reader with his reasons for the quest, along with almost obligatory declarations of his own shortcomings as a human being. The medley of colorful people Cokinos meets during his journeys is to some extent reminiscent of Durrell’s writing. With the help of this fascinating cast, one becomes accustomed to the lyrical chaos of the prose. Between past accounts and present lives the stories of falling rocks steadily gain intrigue and hold it, right up to the last page. Reviewed by Merdith Greene
Pop-Culture How Fantasy Becomes Reality: Seeing Through Media Influence By Karen E. Dill Oxford University Press, 306 pages, $27.95 If you’re ignorant, how do you know it? That’s what I kept asking myself while reading this book. Wouldn’t your ignorance be something you were ignorant about? By ignorant here, I simply mean, unaware. As Dill states, her book is about “…media influence—its power and our propensity either to deny that power or at least to fail in understanding fully how to deal with it.” She implies that while most people are cognizant that media tries to influence us, they also feel immune to that influence because it seems so blatant. But what about more subtle marketing, say a can of Coke (product placement) sipped by a sitcom actress? Or the apartment in a “family drama” rich in architectural details and furnishings? Dill suggests that “…watching idealized lives makes real lives seem substandard and can result in a personal sense of dissatisfaction or ennui. This dissatisfaction is a blow to our personal well-being, but a boon to advertisers…marketing the promise that their products will make us happy and fulfilled.” If the media weren’t so pervasive, it might be easy to dismiss its impact. But when everywhere you look (TV, Internet, magazines, movies) everyone is thin and beautiful and rich, how can you ignore it? Personally, I read a lot of men’s fashion and fitness magazines, because I find the information useful and entertaining. And it’s only natural that I compare myself (consciously or un) to the models with ripped physiques sitting by pools in palatial homes. Could there be collateral damage to my psyche, my self-esteem that I am unaware of? Dill covers a lot of ground here and includes interesting studies and statistics to back up her assertions. The information is fresh and accessible. Of particular interest to her are the ways in which video games can lead to violent behavior, advertising can lead to stereotyping and racial profiling, and the general blurring of the line between real journalism and “fake” news (The Daily Show and The Colbert Report). “The brain,” she writes, “responds very similarly whether you are doing something or watching someone else do it.” We have become a society obsessed with the ingredients, the calories and the fat content of our food. But what about our media diet? Dill asserts that we should be equally diligent about monitoring the media we (and especially our children) consume. But how? Well, reading this book would be a good place to start. Reviewed by Bruce Genaro
Love is a Four-Letter Word By Edited by Michael Taeckens Plume, 297 pages, $16.00 Our lives are full of good relationships and a few bad, Love is a Four Letter Word is a compilation of the latter. Twenty-two authors contributed their short stories of personal breakups and broken hearts. In general, the majority of the tales are mindnumbing and adolescent, though I contribute my reaction to the simple fact that real-life short yarns about breaking up and bad relationships need the human element present in order to evoke an emotional response. Though the contributors are all professionals in the field of writing and/or the arts, their experience and talent did not come through in pages of this book. There are no lessons to be learned in what the authors have to say, nothing newsworthy, no great words of wisdom, so reading ten or twelve pages about strangers just did not get the impact of their experience across to the reader. None of the accounts are long enough for the booklover to ‘get to know’ the characters, so it just does not hit home with an emotional response. There is no ‘ah factor’ in Love is a Four Letter Word. Vulgar language is also used too frequently in a few of the stories which just did not seem to add value to the chronicle of events. There is a big difference in hearing crude language as part of a dialog in a movie, where you have the inflection, sights and sounds of the environment to add to the drama being portrayed. Reading offensive words that are repeated over and over again in the same paragraph of the written word tends to make no sense, and causes the reader to lose interest in what is actually being told. Love is a Four Letter Word does have three cartoon and graphic essays inserted as tales that stand alone, which are mildly entertaining and a nice distraction from some of the otherwise boring anecdotes. These types of tales seemed better suited for the cartoon strip genre and perhaps would have been a better choice for the style of the book as a whole. Love Is A Four-Letter Word is a waste of time for the average reader. A better choice would be to get together with a group of friends and sit around reminiscing about your own true stories of breakups, bad relationships, and broken hearts. Reviewed by Doreen Erhardt The Cambridge Companion to Modern Japanese Culture Edited by Yoshio Sugimoto Cambridge, $29.99, 413 pages Professor Emeritus Yoshio Sugimoto has assembled a scholarly and in-depth examination of all things Japanese. The language
Empowered Filipina Marie Ir ving Romero From being a book aficionado to b e c o m i n g a b o o k s e l l e r… It all started 15 years ago when she looked for Filipino books as reading materials for her children. Based in the Bay Area, Marie found there were limited places where one could find such literature and, more often than not, when she did succeed in finding Filipino-themed titles, she would be disappointed because they did not represent the culture well; books contained pages that were falling, crusty and of very poor quality. This prompted her to order books straight from the Philippines instead, and what started as a desire to teach her children about their native roots resulted in a demand from her friends, colleagues, and relatives to order and provide Philippine books for them as well. Thus, Arkipelago bookstore was born. ARKIPELAGO The Filipino Bookstore, is your source for the finest in Filipino heritage materials. This bookstore is a full-service, community-based specialty bookshop that serves as a resource center for all Filipinos and for those desiring to learn more about the Philippines. It is a center where emerging artists and writers can showcase their works as well as a gathering place and showcase for other community related events. It is also bridging the gap in the community by providing resources to educational institutions, libraries, and, of course to individuals from educators to students. Marie truly established herself in the SOMA community in San Francisco and is an active member of the groups The Filipina Women Network, Northern California Independent Booksellers, American Booksellers Association and heads the business department for The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency. This cozy and quaint little From (L-R) Marie Irving Romero, owner of shop now holds hundreds of titles Arkipelago bookstore, Luisa Antonio of Veterans by Philippine-authors with subjects Equity Center, and Sacramento / San Francisco and topics that cater to children, Book Reviews Associate Editor Kaye Cloutman families, literary people and students needing reference materials for their Asian studies. Very recently, Marie teamed up with Luisa Antonio of the Veterans Equity Center and Tancinco Law Office to release a book that documented the life stories and challenges of Filipino-American Veterans. Filipino World War II Soldiers; America’s Second-Class Veterans by Photographer Rick Rocamora and journalist Rene P. Ciria Cruz is available at ARKIPELAGO The Filipino Bookstore, and proceeds from the sales of this book provide funds for these unsung heroes many of whom reside in some of San Francisco’s toughest neighborhoods. Visit the bookstore at 1010 Mission Street San Francisco CA 94103 or their website at www.arkipelagobooks.com
in all the segments of this painstaking collection is that of dry academic statistics, anthropology, history, sociology, and linguistics. While not a casual read, It is certainly a valuable reference work. The Japanese cultures of language, religion, family, schooling, work, outcastes, literature, and the growingly popular and profitable Manga and Anime are covered exhaustively. There is a fine overview by the learned editor, an examination of the circular nature of some Japanese social self-examination, and everywhere a sense that the writers are aware of examining a dynamic and shifting subject of real complexity. A bonus is a history
of sushi that a reader could almost smell. I came away from this dense reading richer in knowledge and disabused of some preconceptions I had not even been aware of holding. Also, with a sense of the complex interactions with their governments which have so profoundly shaped the Japanese and their myriad cultures. I earnestly recommend this anthology to anyone interested in the realities of Japan. Reviewed by David Lloyd Sutton
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Music & Movies Michael Jackson: The World Says Goodbye to the King of Pop By Whitman Publishing Whitman Publishing, 128 pages, $12.95 As I flip through the first pages of this book, I realize how much of Michael Jackson’s childhood was given to others, how it had always been about pleasing and performing for other people. Like most, I had the choice and the privilege to live and enjoy my youth, he did not. It has been three months since we lost one of the greatest entertainers in music history, and I may be in denial because I can’t get over the feeling he’s still alive and preparing for his big comeback concert out there, somewhere. It doesn’t matter what has been said about him or what he was accused of, because they were not really proven anyway, The World Says Goodbye To The King Of Pop is proof of how a person can
single-handedly touch the world with his music and his message. This collection of words of sympathy and images pays tribute to the King of Pop, his contribution, and his career. Michael may have been a very peculiar or eccentric person to some, but some of us also fail to recognize his involvement in global humanitarian missions and how his music and dance changed and moved the world. From the emergence of makeshift memorials in places like London, Japan, Hollywood, Hong Kong, Italy and Sweden to the colossal performance of a “Thriller tribute” of the Filipino inmates of Cebu Provincial Detention in the Philippines, I am sure no one will be able to elucidate the magic that Michael possessed. This read is like attending his funeral. Goodbye Michael… I can only believe that you are finally doing your real moon walk up there. You are a true legend and your legacy lives on in our hearts. You are truly missed. Reviewed by Kaye Cloutman
UNMASKED: The Final Years of Michael Jackson By Ian Halperin Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 273 pages, $25.00 Author Ian Halperin revealed on his celebrity blog that Michael Jackson had a life-threatening condition and only had six months to live. The prediction sparked an international media frenzy that cast the author of nine books into the world’s spotlight. According to Halperin, the feeding frenzy came to a complete halt when a spokesperson for Jackson denied it. Jackson died six months and one day later. On June 13, 2005, a jury of his peers acquitted Michael Jackson of all child molestation charges, and that infuriated the author. According to
Halperin, he began his own detective work, which he refers to as an “investigation” to prove Michael Jackson’s guilt, but, instead, he found an innocent Michael. “Michael Jackson may have well been the most talented performer of his generation.... this fact may be lost to a generation who may remember him only as a grotesque caricature who liked to share his bed with little boys.” In UNMASKED, the author paints a picture of Michael’s life as though he were in it. Though he says Jackson is innocent, he presents to the world in UNMASKED another spin on the Jackson Family saga. Few people knew the real Michael Jackson. According to the interview Macaulay Culkin gave the author, Culkin is among the few. R.I.P., King of Pop. Reviewed by Vivian Dixon Sober
Parenting & Families Impossible Motherhood: Testimony of an Abortion Addict By Irene Vilar Other Press, 240 pages, $15.95 This is a very complex, disturbing, and important book. It is disturbing and important because it is a story of a woman who intentionally becomes pregnant, aborts the pregnancy, and does it again. What most people do not realize is that this is a pattern for millions of American women. Most women aborting their pregnancy have been pregnant before, and know how to prevent a pregnancy if they are truly motivated to do so. Why some do not is the story Vilar tells and, in doing so, opens the door to what is always missing from the abortion discussion: a frank exploration of the power, ambiguity, oppression and opportunity very often associated with women’s sexuality. The first 200 pages of this memoir chronicles the life of a very disturbed woman whose family circumstances and life choices bring her wave upon wave of misery. Multiple pregnancies and abortions are not the focus of the stories; rather they are described simply as components of the flotsam and jetsam that crash together in her ocean of despair. The reader becomes a weary partici-
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pant about halfway through, and I thought editing might improve these reminiscences. But it is possible that Vilar wants us to be weary, as she was. It is finally the abject misery born of this weariness that compels her to get well. The essay that comprises the last 30 pages of the book is outstanding: the insights she shares are very important. Similar to bulimia, repeat pregnancy and abortion use the body as the battlefield for the war if a divided self. She describes her chronic sense of inadequacy, helplessness and disorder building to a tension relieved finally by a pregnancy. For a time then, she could experience euphoria, excitement, and hope. Then, after varying lengths of time, she could only feel disgust and shame for herself and her condition. Leaving the abortion clinic, she experienced a calm respite and surrender. “Each time I got pregnant I was sad. Each time I discovered I was pregnant I was aroused and afraid. Every pregnancy was a house of mirrors I lost myself in…tension would gradually build until…I felt nothing but disgust and shame. When I left the abortion clinic I felt a calm respite, surrender. It was a violent, intensely emotional drama that kept me from feeling alone.” Vilar’s experience may be extreme: fifteen abortions in fifteen years. But millions of women in America have several abortions (several meaning five, six, or more) between the ages of 16 and 25. This book tells their
stories too: stories of trauma, suffering, selfhatred and tragically misguided attempts to find comfort. Vilar takes a great personal risk exposing her chaotic and brutal decisions. Women who have had multiple abortions will most certainly see themselves with new insights. And the people who want to comfort them will be better equipped to do so. But we will gain the most from Vilar’s bravery if we see in her story the sequela of suffering that are the widespread consequences of sexual ignorance, social injustice, and personal trauma ignored. Reviewed by Marcia Jo Liking the Child You Love By Jeffrey Bernstein, Ph.D. Da Capo, 236 pages, $14.95 Every parent has had one, but few are brave enough to admit it. Yes, I’m referring to having a bad thought about our own kids. We love them to bits, that’s the easy part, but why are our children so difficult to like? If you have ever had a bad parenting day, or week, or month – you might already be suffering from Parent Frustration Syndrome. Liking the Child You Love can help you recognize the symptoms and help you cope with and stomp out those negative thoughts, which could inadvertently harm our children. The book opens with assurance that we
can be good parents and still have negative thoughts towards parenting. Author Jefferey Bernstein, PhD has a twofold strategy to stomp out the negativity of toxic thoughts. Chapters 1-3 lay the groundwork for understanding what a toxic thought is and discovering its source: emotional upheaval, poor communication or stress. Chapters 4-7 offers relaxation tools and outlines methodology to extinguish these thoughts. The desired results are a better relationship between a relaxed parent and beloved child. “Parenting is hard work, but it’s a job you can’t quit. Parenting is difficult, that’s for sure. The mere concept of caring for and raising a child in today’s anxietyladen, competitive world is daunting and overwhelming. Although the following may not hit an all-time high on the profundity scale, I’m going to say it anyway. Once you have kids, there is no longer the option to stop being a parent.” As a mother of two kids under the age six, and one having been diagnosed with the Autism Spectrum Disorder, I have found myself near tears many times, begrudging my role as caregiver and mother. One conviction that struck a chord with me is the need to take care of oneself, before you can take care of another effectively. Our children are reflections of ourselves. They feed off our energy and our weaknesses. The one pearl of wisdom I take from this book is the reminder to fuel ourselves with positive energy to become the parent our children deserve. Reviewed by Auey Santos
Tweens Babymouse #11: Dragonslayer By Jennifer L. Holm and Matt Holm Random House Books for Young Readers, 92 pages, $5.99 After getting an F- on her latest math test, Babymouse joins the Fighting Fractions math team to help her teammates compete in the Math Olympics. The prize is the coveted Golden Slide Rule, which hasn’t graced the school’s halls in many years. The problem is that Babymouse hates math! She quickly learns that sometimes all it takes is a little faith in yourself to achieve greatness. But will it be enough to defeat the reigning champion team, the Owlgorithms? The latest book in the Babymouse series lives up the name of the ever-growing franchise. As ever, this book is filled with the trademark Babymouse humor, banter between narrator and characters, and the trademark pink illustrations. Quick readers may also notice the allusions to several fantasy series including those of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. In the end, you know Babymouse will slay her dragon, but she also matures in the process. Only the next book will tell whether or not the lesson sticks. Reviewed by Alyssa Feller Magic Tree House #42: A Good Night for Ghosts By Mary Pope Osborne Random House Books for Young Readers, 128 pages, $11.99 Jack and Annie, the intrepid time-traveler siblings of Mary Pope Osborne’s Magic Tree House book series fame, are off to 1915 New Orleans in A Good Night for Ghosts, their latest Merlin Mission. Merlin the Magician has asked the duo to take on four new tasks, all involving encouraging a particular person to “give their special gifts to the world.” In this mission, Merlin wants them to visit fourteen-year-old Louis Armstrong in New Orleans and to convince him that he must not abandon his talent for music. Along the way, Jack and Annie learn what life was like for black people in the early 1900s and about some of New Orleans’ most famous ghosts, including the French pirate Jean Lafitte. “Heck, yeah, you can make music any way you want,” said Dipper. “Just listen to the world: There’s church bells, the washerwoman singing about her wash, the ragman blasting his tin horn for folks to bring out their rags. Folks selling things, like that pie man. Listen to him.”
While adult readers may find the story’s nebulous plot irksome, young readers – especially if they are already Magic Tree House aficionados – will welcome another chance to travel with Jack and Annie. Ms. Osborne does an excellent job weaving details of New Orleans history into the narrative, and of portraying the young Mr. Armstrong as an incredibly talented, optimistic, and likeable young man destined for greatness. Reviewed by Michelle Kerns Magic Tree House Research Guide #20: Ghosts: A Nonfiction Companion to A Good Night for Ghosts By Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce Random House Books for Young Readers, 128 pages, $4.99 The nonfiction research companion guides written to accompany Mary Pope Osborne’s Magic Tree House books are one of the best aspects of the entire Magic Tree House series. The fictional books featuring Jack and Annie spark an interest in the subject matter; the nonfiction guides provide further information on that subject in a way that makes books and research seem like great fun. “Ghost stories have been around for thousands of years. Before books, television, and computers, nights could seem long. To entertain themselves, people sat around the fire and told stories. Scary stories were just part of the fun.” The 20th Magic Tree House Research Guide, Ghosts, starts with an excellent synopsis of ghost tales and beliefs throughout history and cultures across the world. Next up, a nice, spooky collection of brief otherworldly sightings from New Orleans (“America’s most haunted city”), Washington D.C., and Great Britain. The stories are prime ‘round-the-campfire fare: scary, but in a good way. All are appropriate for young readers between 8 and 12. The book’s final chapter details a number of natural explanations for what may seem like supernatural phenomenon. For aspiring ghost-hunters who just can’t get enough shivers, a list of kid-friendly ghost-themed books, videos, internet sites, museums, and spooky landmarks is included. Ghosts is a great resource on its own, but even better when paired with its Magic Tree House book, A Good Night for Ghosts. Reviewed by Michelle Kerns
Operation YES By Sara Lewis Holmes Arthur A. Levine Books, 234 pages, $16.99 Oo-GAH! Operation YES, colorfully written by Sara Lewis Holmes, is a first-class victory on the mission for adventure, camaraderie, and laughs. What happens when your Plan A gets foiled and you have to come up with a back-up? Do you retreat to a remote corner or pull yourself up by the boot straps (or Nike laces)? Bo Whaley, a sixthgrader, must face exactly this when he is faced with the challenges of another year on a military base elementary school: lackluster classrooms filled with more cracks than inspiration, the likelihood of spending the majority of his day in the principal, Mrs. Heard’s (old as prehistoric fossils) office, and, now, the arrival of his cousin Geri, (a girl) who once gave him a wound resulting in a fishhook shaped scar. Enter Miss Loupe, the non-traditional teacher with spiky hair and a hidden bird tattoo, who instills the value of saying “Yes” and encourages imagination in all areas of life. She brings the Ugly Ugly Couch with her arrival and turns Room 208 into a stage, where the students are the players and their potential unfolds in front them like the roll of masking tape she carries with her. Opportunities and purposes become abundant, where nothing but blank slates existed before. Bo looks forward to coming to school each morning as he finds stability and friendship in the most unlikely of places. Reviewed by Sky Sanchez Secrets of Deltora By Emily Rodda; Marc McBridge Scholastic Inc., 167 pages, $15.99 Secrets of Deltora must be the epitome of fantasy guidebooks. Emily Rodda and Marc McBride’s (a.k.a. “Doran the Dragonlover’s”) world could not be more imaginary or intriguing. The book is filled with handy tips and hints on how to conquer certain “animals” and treat different areas with respect. It is absolutely fantastical and while still holding the magical elements of an imaginary world, it is tinged with the opinion(s) of a disapproving Doran. I enjoyed reading the selective characteristics of the many different kinds of people and lands (yes, the actual land has feelings—no kidding about “Mother Earth”). It veers off of the popular Deltora series and digs deeper into the powers and individuality of the different beasts, trees, humans, etc. The guidebook comes
complete with a map, letters, intricate illustrations, and a packing list, which makes the trip all the more real. I thoroughly relished the pictures and small details. For anyone who loves exploration beyond the limits of our oh-so-ordinary world, grab a chair, a cup of cocoa, and start your travel into the world of Deltora. Reviewed by A. Masri
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Biographies & Memoirs Dark Side of the Moon: Wernher von Braun, the Third Reich and the Space Race By Wayne Biddle W.W. Norton & Company, 152 pages, $26.95 Dark Side of the Moon: Wernher von Braun, the Third Reich and the Space Race is the story of the famous Nazi sympathizer German rocket scientist who switched sides to help the Americans. Wayne Biddle’s study of Wernher Von Braun is t hought-provok ing and frankly fascinating. This is no romanticized tale of the man whose role in the Space Age has been different, depending on who you speak with. It is strange to think that Von Braun, who clearly allied himself with German leadership in WWII, was so easily accepted into Western circles, with little questioning of his allegiances. This is an engaging character study with a depth of research, and a compelling story. Reviewed by Susie Kopecky The Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots By Carolly Erickson St. Martin’s Press, 309 pages, $25.99 In recent years, the history of European monarchs has become a very popular subject. In that tradition, Carolly Erickson’s The Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots is an interesting, albeit partially imagined telling of the life of that infamous female royal. The Memoirs of Mary Queen of Scots in engaging and personal and makes the reader think about the tragic, yet decadent, life of that ill-fated European monarch. The familiar historic characters of Mary’s life are written about in this book, with fictionalized recountings of their relationships with Mary and what they may have been feeling while interacting with her. Overall, a fascinating read and a good addition to the recent spate of fictionalized history books. Reviewed by Susie Kopecky Soul Survivor By Bruce and Andrea Leininger, Ken Gross Grand Central Publishing, 272 pages, $24.99 When this reader came across a synopsis of Soul Survivor, it sounded like a fascinating novel. A two-year old child begins to remember details from the life of a World War II fighter pilot who was killed in a hazardous mission. Then I learned that this story is non-fiction. Oh.
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The book was written by the boy’s parents with the assistance of Ken Gross, and it reads like an “as told to” book. It’s a bit disjointed and there’s a lot of repetition. Despite this, it starts off promisingly as the parents go on a journey to try to find out the identity of the late pilot whose memories are stored in their child’s mind. About halfway through the 272 pages, the steam seems to go out of the story. By the time the family learns of James Huston and visits the place where he died, it all seems more than a bit anticlimatic. This is the type of story that would make for a fascinating airline magazine article, but there’s simply not enough here to justify its treatment as a book. It also failed, in the eyes of this reader, to serve as a compelling or convincing treatise on reincarnation. Reviewed by Joseph Arellano Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story, 1958-2009 By J. Randy Taraborrelli Grand Central Publishing, 765 pages, $18.99 J. Randy Taraborelli, journalist and the author of Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story, 1958-2009, writes a novel-like seemingly autobiography of the life of Michael Jackson as though he is God—watching Michael and the Jackson family from above and documenting their every move. “On 18 January 1996, I appeared on CNN to announce that Lisa Marie Presley had filed for divorce from Michael Jackson. For that broadcast, I conducted my own, independent research, from which I also relied for this updated book.” Taraborelli met Michael when he, himself, was a mere child, yet he has the inside scoop about the Jackson family saga from the years of 1958-2009. As a young man, the author interviewed Michael. He uses his so-called notes from those interviews, including quotes from onlookers who were conveniently at the right place at the right time with scripted dialogue. For example, he describes an angry Joe Jackson dangling three-year-old Michael upside down while beating him because Michael threw a shoe at his father. Katherine, Michael’s mother, supposedly witnessed this scene. Yet, the author quotes Marlon Jackson as his source. Is the author actually relying on the memory of someone who was four when
Carl Sagan: A Biography
By Ray Spangenburg & Kit Moser Prometheus Books, $16.98, 181 pages
Spangenburg and Moser’s biography is an excellent balance between the scientific and the celebrity aspect of Carl Sagan’s life. It is both an interesting and enjoyable review of 20th century science and Sagan’s confluence with it. The authors factor in Sagan’s personality and private life, making his success and failures more readable than most historical perspectives. This biography reminds us of some of the most important discoveries of the last century in physics, biology and astronomy and how they collide to influence Sagan’s curiosity. From the discoveries of Urey and Miller, Crick and Watson to the imagination of Isaac Asimov, Sagan’s mind was an amalgam of ideas and possibilities. “Gifted with a marvelously The influence of Sagan’s ideas on the space procreative mind tempered by gram, coupled with his enthusiasm about the a love for the self-discipline possibility of other life in the galaxy, defines of science and the scientific how our generation views the cosmos. The book search for truth...Sagan not follows Sagan’s contribution and fascination only represented the best of with the space program from the first Mariner science in our time, but cremission in 1962 until Viking 2 in 1976. ated a template for the science His genuine belief in the scientific process, of the future.” which he placed above his own ego, paved the way for many emerging scientists by objectifying the field of exobiology. The book chronicles his metamorphosis from theorist/exobiologist to physicist/skeptic in an honest account of his life. It handles the scientific aspects of Sagan’s life basically enough that non-scientific readers can learn and appreciate, but well enough that the more scientifically minded will enjoy. Reviewed by Sheli Ellsworth the incident supposedly occurred as a credible source? This posthumous book offers nothing new about Michael Jackson’s life that the media has not sensationalized: Joe Jackson was an abusive parent and a womanizer; Katherine is Michael’s beloved, and Michael, the King of Pop, is haunted in soul and hates the media for lying on him for the sake of a story. Michael issues a statement to the media: “… If a man could say nothing against a character but what he can prove, his story could not be written. Animals strike not from malice, but because they want to live; it is the same with those who criticize. They desire our blood, not our pain. Have mercy, for I’ve been bleeding a long time now.” Does this statement capture the true essence of Michael Jackson—the real man? The note, according to the author, did not make sense. He had the scene and the dialogue to describe the exact words to illustrate that Michael was “losing it. Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story, 1958-2009 is an example of an “I-heard” book as solid as hearsay. Reviewed by Vivian Dixon Sober
Prairie Tale By Melissa Gilbert Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 367 pages, $26.00 Prairie Tale is a memoir by Melissa Gilbert, the beloved actress who played Laura on the hit TV series Little House on the Prairie. Gilbert was born into a prominent showbiz family, America’s sweetheart during the Brat Pack years, and went on to become the President of the Screen Actors Guild, but her life, as viewed from the outside, reflected nothing of the turmoil inside. Through Prairie Tale, Gilbert shares with fans the lowest of her lows, the highest of her highs, and everything else in between. She spares no details in describing her interactions with other celebrities, as well as the aspects of her life that were heavily covered by the tabloids: her relationship with actor Rob Lowe, her volatile first marriage, and her threeyear defamation lawsuit against National Enquirer. She also spends several chapters describing what it was like to grow up as Laura and the behind-the-scenes drama on the set of Little House on the Prairie. Melissa Gilbert’s Prairie Tale is a difficult book to put down. It is satisfying in all the See PRAIRIE, page 27
Children’s Books All the World By Liz Garton Scanlon, Illustrated by Marla Frazee Simon & Schuster / Beach Lane Books, 38 pages, $17.99 All the World, a picture book for children ages 3 to 7, follows different families throughout their day, showing how their lives interconnect and cross paths. The book starts out with one family—a boy, his younger sister, and their parents— playing at the beach, and introduces others along the way. Written in verse, the warm, inviting text and stunning illustrations make the simple, everyday activities in this story magical. Families shop at the farmer’s market, children climb a tree while their grandfather watches, families eat at a café, grandparents read, children sit by the fire. “Nanas, papas, cousins, kin Piano, harp, and violin. Babies passed from neck to knee All the world is you and me.” All the World celebrates the big and small details of life, from a tiny seashell to a large family gathering. Everything about this book is beautiful—the cover, the story, the way the words sound when they’re read aloud, and the gorgeous illustrations. Children of all ages will love it. This book is a keepsake. Reviewed by Genny Heikka Sylvie and the Songman By Tim Binding David Fickling Books, 340 pages, $15.99 In Sylvie and the Songman, English author Tim Binding sets up a world where each person has their own song and their song expresses their essence as a being. In this story an evil Songman steals songs to control animals, birds and people. Sylvie’s adventure beings when Sylvie’s father disappears. With no mother, Sylvie tries to keep his disappearance secret or she’ll be taken away. But when a sinister Woodpecker Man ransacks her house, her world turns into a nightmare. Sylvie, school mate George and her dog, Mr. Jackson, flee for their lives. When a fox bites Sylvie, she suddenly understands animals. She soon learns to trust the songless animals’ guidance on their flight from an unseen “Songman,” but they are soon tricked and locked into a castle. The Songman asks for her father’s papers, but Sylvie refuses. The Songman then sings to Sylvie and her voice begins to disappear.
But once she’s heard her song, Sylvie begins to lose her power against the Songman and only wants to hear her song again. This chilling fantasy takes a while to set up, but is worth the race to the finish. Reviewed by Susan L. Roberts Chester Raccoon and the Acorn Full of Memories By Audrey Penn, Illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson Tanglewood Press, 32 pages, $16.95 Chester Raccoon returns home from school one afternoon and is rather upset. He tells his mom that Skiddil Squirrel won’t be returning to school. He’s not quite sure what death means, so his mom explains it to him as gently as possible. To help him cope with his loss, she suggests they go to Skiddil’s favorite place and perhaps collect something that was near and dear to his heart. Along the way, many other forest animals join to help remember Skiddil. Chester finds an acorn and brings it home with him to have a special reminder of his special friend. Death is certainly a very difficult subject to try and explain to a child. I was three years old when my grandpa died, and I remember to this day how my mom explained to me that he wasn’t coming back, but he was in Heaven watching over me as my guardian angel. For being three, the explanation made sense and I didn’t have any further questions. Chester Raccoon and the Acorn Full of Memories tackles this tough subject as gently as possible. Author Audrey Penn uses gentle dialogue without sugar-coating it. I would suggest it for children 5 and up, as it is somewhat detailed in spots. Barbara L. Gibson’s illustrations are bright and cheery, which is much needed for the subject matter. Reviewed by Jennifer LeBrun Magic Box By Katie Cleminson Disney - Hyperion Books, 25 pages, $15.99 Even before the story starts, it is obvious there is something special about Magic Box. The interior cover pages feature a grand staff of music, upon which pairs of dreamlike black and white bunnies dance in pairs. The top of the page is a watery brush of blue, with colorful drips of paint splattered on top. Magic Box is about a little girl in a redand-white striped shirt named Eva, who gets a box for her birthday. She jumps inside and becomes a magician, able to grant her own wishe. Her first wish is a HUGE polar bear named Monty. Next, she begins pulling rabbits out of her magic hat until the
room is filled with them. She makes everything float, then she throws a party with delicious food, and animal musicians, and lots of dancing. When everyone tires, they fall asleep and it all disappears…except for Monty. Like the interior cover pages, the illustrations in the rest of the book are ink sketches with arrays of watercolor paint splatters in the backgrounds. Magic Box is a beautiful book of whimsy. Although there is just one sentence on each pair of pages, it is a book where the reader and the listener will linger much longer, absorbing the subtleties of the art. Reviewed by Megan Just Happy, Sad, Silly, Mad: My World Makes Me Feel By John E. Mitchell and Jana Christy Accord Publishing, 28 pages, $12.99 How do you feel when you see the bright crescent moon in the glittery sky? What about jumping into or laying on top of a pile of dried autumn leaves? Or being trapped sitting in a shopping cart for an hour, just having to ride with all those boring grocery thingies behind you while mom moves through the store searching for bargains? Happy, Sad, Silly, Mad: My World Makes Me Feel is a great addition to your child’s collection because it’s the perfect guide to help kids navigate through life’s twists and turns. Authors John Mitchell and Jana Christy do a magnificent job of expressing typical children’s feelings through their charming words and whimsical depictions of different emotions. Awash in vibrant color and good cheer, the bright, bold illustrations provide a visual adrenaline rush that makes every read feel like a day in the park. Reviewed by Kaye Cloutman Lulu’s Pajamas By Lucie Papineau Kids Can Press, 24 pages, $16.95 Lulu is a neat little lady – for a mouse. She has the best mama in the world, who always tells a bedtime story, and the best papa in the world, who always sings a lullaby. And at bedtime, Lulu always wears pajamas which smell as good as a pink dream and are as soft as a butterfly kiss. Lulu likes her pajamas so much that one morning she decides that she will never wear any other clothes, and Momma and Papa finally agree. Lulu goes to school in her pajamas, but everything may not work out as she expected. Will the other children laugh at her? What will happen when she works with paint or glue, and will the pajamas get dirty when Lulu plays games? What will
happen when she eats spaghetti? Will Lulu need to rethink her decision? Lulu’s Pajamas by author Lucie Papineau (who also wrote books about Gilda the Giraffe and her friends) is an excellent, easy to comprehend little book targeted at children age four to eight. The illustrations by Stephane Jorish are high quality and match the text. Youngest children will enjoy the story. Slightly older children may realize that decisions bring consequences. Reviewed by Douglas McWilliams The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth By Kathleen Krull; Illustrated by Greg Couch Knopf Books for Young Readers, 40 pages, $16.99 The Boy Who Invented TV is one of those rare children’s books that achieves an elevated status for me. As the father of an 11-yearold girl and 2-year-old boy who are already fiddling with all my gadgets, I will want for them to read this story over and over. On their wedding night, Philo Farnsworth turned to his wife Pem. “I have to tell you, there is another woman in my life--and her name is Television.” As a Silicon Valley TV expert and inventor with multiple patent applications of my own, this true story is one that is near and dear to my heart. It is written with just the right amount of fancy befitting a true story, and the artwork that accompanies it nicely evokes the era in which the story is told. I especially appreciate the way in which the more cautionary and historically latter parts of this tale were concluded in the author’s note in the back of the book. The story was thus told with an inspiring and positive approach. I think true stories like this are very valuable lessons to our kids, and I highly recommend a hefty dose of fact such as this to accompany all the fancy to which kids are naturally exposed. Reviewed by John Cloutman
PRAIRIE, Cont’ from page 26 ways a celebrity memoir should be, as well as being an inspirational account of a woman who has struggled with emotional suppression and substance abuse. Reviewed by Megan Just
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Sequential Art Nexus Archives Volume Nine By Mike Baron, Steve Rude Dark Horse Comics, 216 pages, $49.95 The Baron/Rude Nexus series was a longrunning science fiction story, first published by Capital Comics in black and white and then a color series; then First Comics picked it up. Several of the story arcs were done as a mini-series, but Baron and Rude maintained an overall direction to the story. Dark Horse comics has been collecting the series sequentially, in a well-reproduced set of hardcovers. The story here is from Nexus #53-57 and #2-4 of the Next Nexus mini-series (#1 having been included in Volume 8). Horatio Hellpop is Nexus, given powers by the alien Merk, that he uses to protect his home world of Ylum. His responsibilities for that power is to seek out and kill mass-murders, regardless if they know they were responsible for the deaths or had repented of them. The Merk show Nexus his next victim through graphic dreams, causing headaches and physical pain until he completes the assignment. By this point in the series, Horatio has given up the power of Nexus, and the Merk has passed it to the daughters of one of Nexus’ previous targets. The girls had accepted in order to have the power to kill Horatio, but two of the three quickly begin to revel in their new found powers so much it disturbs the third who leaves and eventually decides to face down the Merk, regardless of the consequences. Also included in this volume is part two of an interview with John Davis and Milton Griepp, the original publishers of Capital Comics. It is a nicely packaged collection, with maybe a caveat on the price. The original books covered by this series can easily be found in the $1 range, making this an expensive upgrade, but for a Nexus fan, this collection will easily fit on their bookshelf next to the DC archives or other hardcover collections. Northlanders Volume 2: The Cross & The Hammer By Brian Wood, Ryan Kelly Vertigo, 144 pages, $14.99 Wood continues his powerful Northlanders series in this second volume with a look at two cultures fighting over one piece of land. The year is 1014; the place is Ireland. The Vikings have invaded, quickly taking over and subjugating most of the
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people, claiming what they consider to be rightfully theirs. But there are some who disagree, including one hero, Magnus, who seeks to wipe out any Vikings he sees, while doing what he must to protect his precious daughter. Magnus is a powerful warrior, who seems unstoppable, yet his one failing may be that he has lost his mind. But Lord Ragnar Ragnarsson thinks little of this, stopping at nothing to end Magnus and clear the way for a full Viking conquest. In The Cross + The Hammer, Wood takes a brief break from his main character, Sven, to address another part of the world where the Vikings are making themselves known. Even with a different artist, the work is fresh and interesting, maintaining an acuteness to detail and accuracy, while Wood does his work in telling a story that may well have happened at some time in the eleventh century. Reviewed by Alex C. Telander The Complete Essex County By Jeff Lemire Top Shelf, 512 pages, $29.95 Lemire’s cartooning has a truth to it, a sad and depressing truth that is at the same time uplifting simply because of how true this truth is. The Complete Essex County is no exception, and in fact, is exemplary of that very truth. Essex County is a simple place with simple happenings, yet with complicated emotion tied to it and its inhabitants. A young and eccentric boy, Lester, is left to Ken, a farmer and rancher, after the boy’s mother dies. Lester’s father, Ken’s old best friend, is alive and lives just in town, but due to injury, is mentally unfit to raise the boy by himself, however much he wants to be a part of Les’s life. The ensuing drama, while outwardly not the most original, is told, expressed, and especially illustrated in a highly original and emotional fashion. Essex County shows just how emotionally moving and powerful sequential art can be, and even through what seem to be simple plot lines about a simple small town, Lemire is able to tell a deeply affecting and gorgeous story through his sheer talent of conveying the feeling more than the action. Reviewed by Jordan Dacayanan Cat Burglar Black By Richard Sala First Second, 128 pages, $16.99 Richard Sala has been doing creepy comics for a number of years, his Gothic stories and art earning himself comparisons to Edward Gorey or Gahan Wilson. His new book Cat Burglar Black is a departure from the more serious horror of his previous works, leading into something still Gothic, but more noir than horror. Kathrine Westree (prefers to be called K) is a retired teen cat
The TOON Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics By Richard Sala Edited by Art Spiegleman; Françoise Mouly Abrams Comics Arts, 352 pages, $40.00
Mouly and Spiegelman have worked together in RAW, The New Yorker and TOON Books doing original works. Here they are sampling comics mostly from the 1930s through 1960s, in a large coffee table sized hardcover. Broken down into five categories - “Hey Kids”, “Funny Animals”, “Fantasyland”, “Storytime,” and the catchall “Weird and Wacky,” these stories range from one or two pages to more than twenty. There are many of the classics you expect, from Carl Bark’s Uncle Scrooge and Walt Kelly’s Pogo to lesser knowns like Intellectual Amos and Hickory and Dickory. Several have more than one story - Little Lulu, The Fox and the Crow, and Donald Duck, while others are a single appearance, just enough to whet the appetite and send you off looking for more. There are also some missing elements, only one superhero story - featuring Captain Marvel - and no Harvey representation (probably a licensing issue). But that doesn’t reduce the quality of the book; it is just an indication of the depth of the field. The creators chosen are either well known for their particular creations - Barks and Uncle Scrooge and Kelly and Pogo - or went on to greater stories later in their career - Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Cole and Basil Wolverton. As surveys go, this is an excellent one for the many “Hey Kids - Comics!” funny books of old.
burglar, and an orphan. Called by her aunt to come stay at the Bellsong Academy for Girls, where her aunt is dean. After arriving, K finds her aunt is bedridden and the headmistress, Mrs. Turtledove is running the school as a training academy for female burglars and searching for the academy’s founder’s lost treasure. And, through it all, K also finds herself coming to terms with her life and its unusual nature. Sala has moved from stark black and white illustrations to a soft water color that adds to the ambiance. The book is being recommended for middle grade readers, but adults who enjoy mysteries or the old Nancy Drew books will find much to enjoy here. Sala avoids direct violence, keeping most of it hinted at, or off the page, but keeps enough of it around to keep you on your toes (or see them nibbled on by piranhas as the case may be.)
A Family Matter By Will Eisner Norton, $15.95, 80 pages A rich patriarch is turning 90 years old, and all of his family are turning up for the birthday party to either give the man their best wishes and hopefully secure for themselves part of his substantial legacy or to show off how “wonderful” their lives are. Putting on their game faces and preparing to visit old friends and foes, these numerous relatives are preparing for A Family Matter by Will Eisner. This slice-of-life graphic novel by the legendary Eisner is a prime example of his ability to make cartooning so real and raw. With realistic, flawed, and relatable characters going through a familial drama that is all too common, all too hush-hush, and all too true, Eisner captures a family in both despair and joy, and sheds light on the reality of many a family. Reviewed by Jordan Dacayanan
Current Events & Politics
The Years of Talking Dangerously By Geoffrey Nunberg Public Affairs, 264 pages, $18.95 This collection could have been called, A Group of Short Silly Essays About Language Today. Based on the introduction, I thought it was a grouping of laser-focused essays about “language during the final years of the Bush era.” Instead it’s a compilation of newspaper articles and Fresh Air radio commentaries that wander all over
the map. I’m not sure what’s more frustrating, that they’re so short or that each one seems to be so foggy. On occasion, Mr. Nunberg appears to be guilty of the very things he happens to be criticizing. For example, one essay concerns the “snarky” language of bloggers and it reads like a snarky blog post. And the point of this is? If these short pieces are intended to be humorous, then the humor went right past this reader. They actually read like Andy Rooney pieces, whiny and complaining rather than funny. I gather there’s something that the linguist author does not like about modern communication, but just what troubles him is hard to pinpoint. Compiling songs by a musician or a band into a greatest hits collection does not necessarily make an album, and compiling dozens of mini-essays does not make for a coherently themed book. Reviewed by Joseph Arellano Muslim Women Reformers By Ida Lichter Prometheus Books, 513 pages, $27.98 Essentially a compilation of mini biographies and curricula vitae for over one hundred women reformers. These range from devout Islamists who want to renegotiate the stringent limitations on women in increasingly repressive interpretations of sharia law, to vehement ex-Muslims like Ayan Hirsi Ali. Salafist women who wish to achieve “reform” through a worldwide caliphate have been excluded. The author has assembled her book like a doctoral dissertation. (Ida Lichter, M.D., is a psychiatrist residing in Australia.) There are references in the chap-
Classics Silent Spring By Rachel Carson Houghton Miflin, 368 pages, $17.95 A recent trip to Pelican Point at Pismo Beach moved this reviewer to read a book that has been described as the book that started the environmental revolution. On this trip, I noted all of the pelicans flying along that stretch of the coast. That was not strange in and of itself, but it was interesting for someone who had grown up on the California coast thinking that a pelican was a rare bird. I wondered if Silent Spring would help me
understand how the pelicans that were so rare in my childhood are so abundant today. I was not disappointed. Rachel Carson’s trail-blazing manuscript taught me a lot about what we were doing to the environment almost 50 years ago. At first I thought that all of her findings were no big deal. We all know the harmful effects of pesticides on the environment. Then I realized that this was published in 1960. The thought that man and his chemicals could damage Mother Nature was a pretty radical view then. The other eye-opening fact I learned was that the government agencies allowed many unproven techniques, even when a more targeted, safer approach would have worked better. One must surmise that, in those
days, the financial interests of the chemical companies took precedence over common sense! Even though the style was difficult to read at times (many long and/or run-on sentences), there was a huge amount of information in the book. I was also impressed by the documentation that was presented. However, the author is not saying that we should outlaw all chemicals. Rather, she is pleading for sensible use of pesticides only as a last resort. She also talks about how the pesticides actually made certain problems worse after application than they were to begin with. In short, this is still an interesting book. Anyone interested in the history of the “Green Movement” will enjoy reading it. Reviewed by Michael
ter notes for almost every quotation, and while thorough, that does not improve the reading flow. Admirably, the message is conveyed in the words and life experiences of the biographied women, not handed out by the author. That message, women as lesser beings, near-universal domestic violence, eternal infantilization, becomes coherent through, and is consistent in, sheer, soulnumbing repetition. The reader is struck with how many of these life stories have ended in murder by enslaving males, and how virtually all have involved threats of death. Liberty for Islamic women is not cheap, and these ladies have been and are paying the price, with little return to date. Divided into sections by country, with a (short) section on male activists, a glossary, appendices of worldwide organizations and meetings, websites, and so on, this is an essential reference book and emotional conditioning course for any student of world affairs. It makes evident the error of accepting true evil as a cultural variant. Reviewed by David Lloyd Sutton
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Howard Dean’s Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform By Howard Dean, MD Chelsea Green Publishing, 132 pages, $12.95 Dr. Howard Dean had an excellent opportunity with Howawrd Dean’s Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform, and yet it falls flat. Dean, a licensed physician, has inside knowledge that the vast majority of congressmen do not possess. Dean had a prime opportunity to present honest answers to one of the most vexing political questions, and yet Dean pushes his own political agenda with what the reader can only assume are mainly facts cherry-picked to back up his assertions. And yet one finds it hard to believe that Dean’s push for support of a public options is entirely apolitical, as I have heard exactly the opposite case stated previously. An interesting case study on health care, but not the most objective one. Reviewed by Susie Kopecky
o b e a b o ok t t n r wa
Imperial By William T. Vollmann Viking, 1344 pages, $55.00 California’s Imperial County borders Mexico and Arizona at the southernmost edge of the state. As one of California’s major agricultural centers, Imperial has been on the front line of illegal immigration, water rights, crime and a boom-and-bust economy for more than one hundred years. Prolific local author William T. Vollmann has spent nearly ten years working on a history and analysis of Imperial County, now released from Viking, eponymously titled Imperial. Vollmann covers the entire history of Imperial, from the Spanish through to its most recent problems with illegal immigration. Imperial comes in at over 1300 pages, showing both the depth of Vollmann’s coverage and, unfortunately, the overwhelming need for editorial oversight. There is almost a schizophrenia to the book, with one part academic history, and another detailing Vollmann’s interactions with the many people he interviews throughout, along with his own musings on life there and his own life. Future researchers and grad students will thank him for the almost 200 pages of timelines and credited sources, but the casual reader may just find the depth of coverage too broad. An annotated edition topping out at 500 pages might actually be worthwhile release, opening what is a quite compelling story of border history in a readable size.
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Role-Playing Games Eberron Player’s Guide By David Noonan; Ari Marmell; Robert J. Schwalb Wizards of the Coast, 160 pages, $29.95 Eberron Campaign Guide By James Wyatt; Keith Baker Wizards of the Coast, $39.95, 288 pages The Eberron world setting for Dungeons & Dragons might be best described as fantasy noir, darker than usual, and less clear lines between good and bad. With the release of the Eberron Player’s Guide and Eberron Campaign Guide for 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons, gamers can update their old 3.5 Eberron campaign or find a new world to enter. From airships to the mechanical Warforged, there are plenty of new exciting elements for players to explore. The Campaign Guide gives DMs background on the world, its history and inhabitants, and tips for running campaigns with the noir setting. The Player’s Guide introduces players to the world, new races and classes to play, and also new Feats and for their characters. Eberron is one of the best recent campaign settings designed by Wizards of the Coast, and by updating it for 4th Edition, should provide players many hours of game time.
Monster Manual 2: 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons By Rob Heinsoo; Chris Sims Wizards of the Coast, 224 pages, $34.95 One of the problems when a company decides to update a game system and overhaul all the rules is that all the previous release becomes void, and a gamer wanting to stay with the most recent version finds themselves having to re-buy the books they already own. Another is when there isn’t much new in the updated books, causing much wailing and gnashing of teeth (or flaming on Internet bulletin boards.) The recent change from Dungeons & Dragons from version 3.5 to 4.0 has been one of those major overhauls that is either greeted with joy or pain. The new Monster Manual 2 threads between those two extremes well enough that most players buying the book won’t feel abused and find plenty to use within its covers. Old monsters are updated, some new ones are introduced. This is a supplement to the first Monster Manual, so it includes non-human races introduced in the Player’s Manual 2 and updates old one from previous editions—Centaurs, Half-Elves, Half Orcs, and more. Some of the more interesting creatures are the metallic dragons and the mechanical Warforged. The index in the back makes it easy to find monsters by level, and the encounter groups sprinkled throughout the book make it easy for a DM to create adventures on the go. Recommended for players and groups that have made the shift to 4th Edition.
Revenge of the Giants: A 4th Edition D&D Adventure By Bill Slavicsek; Mike Mearls; David Noonan Wizards of the Coast, 160 pages, $29.95 This is a WotC’s first “Super Adventure” for 4th edition D&D, and for it they used the WayBack machine to visit the popular Against the Giants series of the early 1980s. Then, like now, players will have to work their way through Hill giants, Frost giants, Fire giants and, eventually, Titans. The characters need to defend civilization from a pending invasion of giants, and during their quest, learn plenty about the care, feeding, and killing of giants. The module is almost entirely combat, which may be offputting to some gamers. The skill challenges are also limited in their use, but for adventuring parties looking to move through the story quickly to get to the resolution, may find their use as less distracting from the adventure part of the game. The packaging is a nice hardcover with an included fold-out map in the back. All the character and monster information is included in the book, so you can play with just this and the DM/Player’s Guides. Set for taking 12th level characters to 17th, Revenge of the Giants probably won’t go down in D&D lore like Against the Giants, but will give a group a good month or so of play time.
Health, Fitness & Dieting Every Patient Tells a Story By Lisa Sanders, M.D. Broadway, 276 pages, $25.00 The author, Dr. Lisa Sanders, has written a series of New York Times Magazine columns that led to the TV show House, and eventually this book. Dr. Sanders comes by her medical degree via an unusual route. Her professional life began as an on-camera television reporter. She became so deeply immersed in her subject that she obtained a medical degree and set aside the successful broadcast career. “The real problem is that there is all this tradition handed down to us and our poor medical students try to learn all of it... The truth is that there is a lot in the physical exam that turns out to be not terribly useful. But there are parts that are essential, even life-saving.”
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Dr. Sanders’ writing style is, of course, polished and smooth as one would expect. It is fascinating to read the scenarios in this book that highlight the truly important focus she places on the interaction between patient and physician in the all-too critical diagnostic process. Even with all the scientific tests and methods available to physicians today, there is a geniune need for a thorough and focused physical exam when a patient needs medical care. The obvious is not always correct. Ever yone- -patients and physicians--seems to be looking for absolute answers. When it comes to making a diagnosis, there’s no substitute for a practiced eye and a careful listener. Doctors are human, which means they make mistakes. Patients are an often overlooked
and valuable source of information, and need to be involved in arriving at a diagnosis. This requires that exams be conducted in an atmosphere of trust and respect. A medical appointment is often focused on updating an electronic chart and issuing prescriptions. This is an educational and patient-empowering book. Reviewed by Joseph Arellano Your Stomach: What is Really Making You Miserable and What to Do About It By Jonathan V. Wright, M.D. Praktikos Books, 150 pages, $15.00 The title of the book, Your Stomach: What is Really Making You Miserable and what to Do About It, is probably the best thing about this 145-page book. As someone who has tried both Western and Eastern medicinal approaches in dealing with my chronic stomach woes, I had really hoped that this book would have the answers on how to cope and live with them. What it had was
Adventurer’s Vault 2: Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition By Rob Heinsoo; Eytan Bernstein; Logan Bonner; Peter Schaefer Wizards of the Coast, $29.95, 160 pages Adventurer’s Vault 2 is billed as having “Arms and Equipment for All Character Classes” and has pretty much lived up to that billing. It adds new equipment to character classes introduced in the Players Handbook 2 and also some new types of items useful to most of the standard players. There are also some concepts in magical items, and some well redone older concepts. In the redone items comes new and better game balanced ammunition for distance weapons. In the new category are Set items for individuals and for groups. These are magical items and weapons that combine effects the more items you have for your player or the more members of your party that have a part of the set. These can really combine both in game play and in the questing to find all the parts of the sets. Also included are magical tattoos, Lair items (stationary magical items), and holy symbols. As far as the book goes, the quality is quite good (even though short in page count from the original Adventurer’s Vault, and there are plenty of sidebars giving history of significant items that can also add into game play. WotC also included a well-thought-through index of all the items (though one wonders why they don’t also put one online that would include previous books as well). Helpful to both PHB2 characters and others. Plenty to seek, use, and lust after.
40 pages of text explaining the anatomy of a stomach and why we need acid stomach. It continues to explain why antacids may be the cause of most stomach problems. Its main premise is to make a case against antacids and link their use to stomach ulcers. The rest of the book, over 100 pages, is filled with notes and bibliography. The average person could probably find more resources on the internet by googling the key words “antacids” or “stomach problems.” There are probably better books out there with a more information on how to handle stomach problems. Skip this one. Reviewed by Auey Santos
Science Fiction & Fantasy The Dwarves By Markus Heitz Hachette/Orbit, 730 pages, $15.99 No longer the sidekicks or comic relief, everyone’s favorite mountain folk take center stage this time in an epic big enough to dwarf all other races. When a traitorous wizard brings an evil against the land that threatens to consume and corrupt everything that is decent, the dwarves of Girdlegard are the best chance that the goodly peoples have. However, when the dwarven high king is about to be replaced by a warmonger who would bring destruction to them all, the dying monarch looks to Tungdil, a foundling raised by humans who had never before met another of his kind, to challenge his successor and save the land. The Dwarves is a solid and fascinating read, full of innovative fantasy and likable characters. Never before has dwarven society been so intricately addressed, the traditionally two-dimensional groundlings finally producing a wide range of flavors and personalities. Factor that into a fast-paced, engaging story, a truly frightening antagonistic force, and a very wellconceived world and it’s easy to forgive the couple of predictable plots twists and occasional bouts of wooden dialogue that make the book slightly less than perfect. A must read for lovers of thick and hearty fantasy epics. Reviewed by Micah Kolding The Winds of Dune By Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson Tor, 448 pages, $27.99 Brian Herbert is filling in the mythos that his father first started many years ago with this latest work. Brian picks up after the events in Dune Messiah and goes from there filling in the story and the events that happened between Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. We follow familiar names and faces as they struggle with the legacy of Paul and what he meant to the known universe. As Alia faces power struggles and to control her Regency. And the twins, what the future holds for them, as everyone has a role to play in this game of high politics. A good portion of the book is going back to the past and covering the friendship of Bronso of Ix and Paul, and what Paul wanted Bronso to do after he was dead. To destroy the myth of Muad’dib, saying that Maud’dib was a man, not a God. The writing is similar to the other Dune books that Brian and Kevin have written. Short chapters, and a lot of action compacted in a short time frame. What
is nice, compared to some of the others, is that there are not large jumps of time, besides going years back into the past most of the events take place a couple months after the disappearance of Paul. For fans of Dune this is a worthy sequel in the ever expanding Dune universe. Reviewed by Kevin Winter Purple and Black By K. J. Parker Subterranean Press, 113 pages, $25.00 K.J. Parker’s Purple and Black is an epistolary novella in which the story is told through the correspondence between the Emperor Nicephorus and his friend Phormio. As the emperor of a land which has had seventy seven emperors in 500 years, Nicophorus placed only his closest friends in positions of power. The story is told of Phormio’s attempt to quell the last vestiges of war on the frontier of the empire. The letters are frank in their honesty and reveal much about the nature of this empire and what obstacles are faced by both men. The format of Purple and Black works well. Most letters have an official note, but the rest is the personal correspondence and it is laced with humor and bitterness, betrayal and hope. Purple and Black is a masterful telling of story that fully satisfies. If there are any regrets to be had with Parker’s novella, it is simply that readers will want more. That’s the mark of a well told story. Readers should be so lucky. Reviewed by Joe Sherry The Phoenix Transformed By Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory Tor, 511 pages, $27.99 You would think that if somebody spent long enough as a published author that she would eventually learn how to write, and yet here is another five-hundred page shovelful of that distinct Mercedes Lackey brand of tedious dreck. Plot holes, bad grammar, flat characters, lame attempts at humor--they’re all part of that festering stew that is The Phoenix Transformed. Book Three of the Enduring Flame trilogy, this novel reintroduces the reader to Harrier, a reluctant mage-knight, as he and his company find themselves faced with trekking through an unforgiving desert to do battle with a recently released demoness. Their way is grueling and brutal, a sensation that the audience shares as we have to endure page after page of bad logic and amateurish narration. Many obstacles stand in their way, none of which would be a problem if Harrier would only pick up on
the fact that his magical ability to call fire appears to always be the easy solution to his combative problems. The chapters drag on in this style, the plot foregoing any sense of rising action and lacking various other points of Creative Writing 101, to eventually deliver a weak and unsatisfying conclusion. A definite must-miss. Reviewed by Micah Kolding The Sheriff of Yrnameer By Michael Rubens Pantheon Books, 269 pages, $22.95 In his debut novel, Michael Rubens attempts to channel the spirit of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams, and he does not quite pull it off. The Sheriff of Yrnameer takes place in the distant future when everything is sponsored by something from planets to scuffing up dirt on the sidewalk, except for one planet called Yrnameer, which stands for “Your Name Here.” The planet is full of artists, pacifists, and travelers; they are threatened by a group of bandits, and to stop this group of bandits, they need a sheriff. In comes a sheriff named Cole, a part-time thief and petty crook who is not very good at his job. He steals a ship that already has orphans going to Yrnameer and drops into the bandit situation, becoming the sheriff and trying to save his own skin while the people of Yrnameer think Cole is going to save them. The problem with this book is that it is one-dimensional. All the characters are stock types that you would find in any funny science fiction/fantasy novel, except that this book is not that funny. It goes from one awkward moment to the next, you feel no sympathy for any of the characters, and the romantic scenes between Cole and MaryAnn are overdone and feel awkward—and not in a good way. This would have worked better as a television show. It does not work just in the printed word. Reviewed by Kevin Winter <<Listen>> Audible Authors interview with Michael Rubens: Sacramentobookreview.com/ michael_rubens.php
On sale October 27 , 2009 th
The New York Times bestselling series The Wheel of Time® continues….
Book Twelve of ® The Wheel of Time
A MeMory of Light was partially written by robert Jordan before his untimely passing in 2007. Brandon Sanderson, New York Times bestselling author of the Mistborn books, was chosen by Jordan’s editor—his wife, harriet McDougal— to complete the final book. the scope and size of the volume was such that it could not be contained in a single book, and so tor proudly presents The Gathering Storm, the first of three novels that will complete the struggle against the Shadow, bringing to a close a journey begun almost twenty years ago and marking the conclusion of the Wheel of time®, the preeminent fantasy epic of our era. In Hardcover 978-0-7653-0230-4 Limited Edition (leather) 978-0-7653-2416-0
Meet
Brandon Sanderson
on tour!
GatheringStormTour.com
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Art, Architecture & Photography
Discovering the Great Masters: The Art Lover’s Guide to Understanding Symbols in Paintings By Paul Crenshaw; Rebecca Tucker; Alexandra Bonfante-Warren Universe, 308 pages, $45.00 Inside many great masterpieces lie subtle imagery placed by the artist as either shoutouts to previous works of art or contemporary elements that meant something to the viewers of the day. Those images are often lost on modern museum goers who haven’t taken art history classes or read up on the works they are going to see. Discovering the Great Masters is an interesting overview of many of the common symbols used in classic art through the use of 60 paintings, starting with Di Bondone’s The Last Supper (1306) and surveying the field through the late 1800s with Gustave Moreau’s Jupiter and Semele. In between are plenty of favorites—Michelangelo’s The Last Judgement, Titian’s Bacchanal of the Andrians, da Vinci’s The Last Supper, and Raphael’s The School of Athens. Through the use of cutout pages, Crenshaw highlights specific sections of each painting, explaining the placement and use of objects and figures in the historical and contemporary usage. There are also chapters explaining the use of animals, architecture, flowers and fruit, and the language of myth. This coffee table book has 60 of the finest classic paintings from 53 artists (several have more than one piece.) As an art book, this is a fine collection; with the lessons in art history, it becomes a great collection.
The Weeping Goldsmith: Discoveries in the Secret Land of Myanmar By W. John Kress Abbeville Press, 272 pages, $45.00 The destruction of this planet’s rainforests being an ongoing issue, it is really quite commendable that professionals like W. John Kress have taken up the cause through their lifelong work. A self-described “historian of nature, a Darwinian evolutionist,” Kress serves as Curator and Research Scientist at the Smithsonian Institution. This book is the culmination of his nine-year exploration of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. In the process of documenting natural history through its lush biodiversity, he discovered previously unknown flora. At the same time, Dr. Kress became swept up into Myanmar’s culture, an exceptional thing if you consider the country‘s social and political isolation. Its title derived from a new floral species, the legendary ginger flower called “the weeping goldsmith,” this volume includes color photographs of rare vegetation as well as images of people, architecture and landscapes encountered by Dr. Kress during his travels. Impressive quotes from the literature of Orwell, Maugham and other famous writers introduce each chapter with graceful precision. There is also a small field guide of indigenous plants at the very end. More pictorial than a reference, yet more informative than an average coffee table book, this is guaranteed to appeal to botanists, environmentalists and armchair explorers alike. Reviewed by Richard Mandrachio
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Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby By Craig Varjabedian University of New Mexico PRess, 144 pages, $45.00 There is a unique place in New Mexico where the line between life and death is blurred. It is here, at the Ghost Ranch, that it seems that they are not separate, but, in fact are one. This is evident and has been
evident to countless artists, writers, and everyday people, because of the unique characteristics of the preserve: It is dead in its seemingly empty vastness, yet living in the endless possibility that such a blank slate provides. Its mountains are dead and unmoving, daunting monuments of stone, whose curves and crevices come alive with closer examination. It is a graveyard for long-dead, fossilized, flora and fauna, whose entire species were wiped out, and a breeding ground for countless current forms of life. It is at the Ghost Ranch that the proverbial circle of life turns so observably and so it is no wonder that photographer Craig Varjabedian has captured some of the wonder of Ghost Ranch and presented it for the world to see in Ghost Ranch and the Faraway Nearby. Packed with not only his stunning photography of the place, but also with assorted essays, notations, comments, and journal entries concerning the area by innumerable sources, including Georgia O’Keefe, Ghost Ranch showcases the simultaneously morbid and lively beauty of this national treasure. Reviewed by Jordan Dacayanan Architecgtural Photography: Composition, Capture, and Digital Image Processing By Adrian Schulz Rocky Nook, 213 pages, $44.95 Some people love nature, and they photograph it. As a result, we’ve seen many stunning landscapes of faraway exotic lands and seas. But then, there are people who love the city, and so they photograph it too. However, not everyone it seems can photograph the urban architecture with as much poetic majesty as nature photographers do. What to do? Brush up—on landscape photography, because there is an almost scientific method to it. Many books are out there, but one that stands just as tall as the man-made edifices is Adrian Schulz’ fascinating Archi-
tecture Photography: Composition, Capture, and Digital Imaging Processing. Why is it fascinating? Unlike many photography books, what he writes matches exactly with what you see. You may not know it but this is actually a hard feat to accomplish. Schulz, however, succeeds magnificently. He shows you amazing photographs, and he is able to tell you how exactly you too can do it—and quite surprisingly, in a way that is simple, plain, easy-to-understand, and easy-to-do. He tells you straight: how to capture amazing images of buildings, inside and out; what equipment to use and how to use it effectively; how to compose shots; what natural and artificial lights works best; and how to create an efficient workflow. And it’s all just like having a conversation with a friend.
“No other medium can demonstrate the visual appeal and effect of a building better than a masterful architectural photograph.” So you have lots of questions? Schultz has a lot of answers. You want to see how it will look? Schultz shows you what it will actually look like. This book is an inspiring step-bystep guide to what may be considered a rarified field of architectural photography. Reviewed by Dominique James