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Andrea Kay's Bookshelf
The Queen's Musician
Martha Jean Johnson
https://www.marthajeanjohnson.com
SparkPress
c/o Spark Point Studio
www.gosparkpress.com
9781684633104, $17.99, PB, 344pp
https://www.amazon.com/Queens-Musician-Martha-Jean-Johnson/dp/1684633109
Synopsis: A glamorous queen, a volatile king, a gifted musician concealing a forbidden romance. Everyone knows Anne Boleyn's story. But no one knows about Mark Smeaton.
On May 17, 1536, a young court musician was executed, having been accused of adultery and treason with the queen. Most historians believe both he and Anne Boleyn were innocent -- victims of Henry VIII's rage.
Mark Smeaton was a talented performer who rose from poverty to become a royal favorite. He played for the king in private and entertained at sumptuous feasts. He witnessed Anne Boleyn's astonishing rise and fall -- her reign of a thousand days. History tells us little about him, other than noting his confession and execution.
With the publication of "The Queen's Musician", author Martha Jean Johnson brilliantly imagines his story, as seen from his perspective and that of the young woman who loves him. It all takes place amid the spectacle and danger of the Tudor court.
Critique: Original, deftly crafted, and a simply fascinating, entertaining read from start to finish, "The Queen's Musician" set as it is in the Tudor England of King Henry VIII will have an immense appeal to readers with an interest in Renaissance romance and history. While with the highest of recommendations for community library Historical Fiction collections, it should be noted that this trade paperback edition of "The Queen's Musician" from SparkPress is also available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).
Editorial Note: Martha Jean Johnson (https://www.marthajeanjohnson.com) is a writer of fiction and non-fiction and the author of a series of books and articles on public opinion and public policy. She also reviews trends in historical fiction and discusses her own love of reading and writing in her biweekly blog, Historical Magic. She recently worked with the National Issues Forums Institute, an organization that encourages civil discourse and nonpartisan deliberation on national and local issues.
Andrea Kay
Reviewer
Andy Jordan's Bookshelf
Pokemon and Philosophy
Nicolas Michaud
Open Universe
c/o Carus Books
www.carusbooks.com
9781637700730, $26.95, PB, 238pp
https://www.amazon.com/Pokemon-Philosophy-Trainers-Toughest-Questions/dp/1637700733
Synopsis: Pokemon is one of the most amazing pop culture phenomena of our era, with deep metaphysical roots and profound philosophical implications. With the publication of "Pokemon and Philosophy: A Trainer's Guide to the Toughest Questions", Professor Nicolas Michaud celebrates this cultural icon while helping his readers unpack the hidden secrets of Pokemon.
"Pokemon and Philosophy" is collection of essays, modern-day philosophers examine and dissect the video game extravaganza. It explores its creators' original intent to entertain audiences, as well as examine the expansion of the Pokemon empire and its various wide-reaching effects on Western popular culture.
Using a collection of diverse backgrounds, cutting-edge arguments, and convictions, "Pokemon and Philosophy" encourages its readers to stay curious and to explore the world of Pokemon a little further in our attempt to philosophically 'catch 'em all'!
Critique: The latest edition in the unique Open Universe 'Pop Culture and Philosophy' series, "Pokemon and Philosophy: A Trainer's Guide to the Toughest Questions" by Professor Nicholas Michaud is a fun and fascinating read that will especially appeal to readers with an interest in internet strategy and fantasy gaming in general, and Pokemon in particular. Exceptional, informative, insightful, "Pokemon and Philosophy" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal reading lists, as well as community and college/university library collections and supplemental Social/Cultural Philosophy curriculum studies lists. It should be noted that this paperback edition of "Pokemon and Philosophy" from Open Universe is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).
Editorial Note: Nicolas Michaud (https://carusbooks.com/nicolas-michaud) is an assistant professor of philosophy at Florida State College. Michaud has edited Batman, Superman, and Philosophy: Badass or Boyscout (2016), Discworld and Philosophy: Reality Is Not What It Seems (2016), and Frankenstein and Philosophy: The Shocking Truth (2013). He co-edited, with Jennifer Watkins, Iron Man vs. Captain America and Philosophy: Give Me Liberty or Keep Me Safe (2018).
Andy Jordan
Reviewer
Ann Skea's Bookshelf
The Crown of Thorns
Faith Tibble
T&T Clark
9780567713223, $34.95 pbk / $16.98 Kindle, 208pp.
https://www.amazon.com/Crown-Thorns-Humble-Humiliated-Kings/dp/0567713229
Almost everyone, whether they are Christian or not, is familiar with the image of Jesus on the cross, his head bound with a circlet of thorns. It has been depicted in art and in Christian churches for centuries, but, as Faith Tibble writes, each of the Biblical Gospels, originally written in Greek, describes the Roman soldiers as weaving and placing a 'wreath of acanthus' [she gives the Greek for this] on Jesus's head.
It was not until the fourth century that Saint Jerome translated this into Latin as 'spineum coronam' (thorny crown), giving the Latin name for the large-leafed plant with spiny leaf-margins that is common throughout the Mediterranean area. St Jerome was not incorrect, but the acanthus had many symbolic meanings, which made this 'crowning' different to the torturous thorny version which, as Tibble shows, only became common after the eleventh century.
Tibble is an art historian, and she has traced the imagery of Jesus's arrest, his mockery by the Roman soldiers, and his crucifixion, from that found on fourth century sarcophagi to the most modern depiction of the wreath created in bronze by Jane Morgan in 2021, a golden version of which adorns the front cover of this book. For anyone who loves art and is curious about religious iconography, Tibble's detailed and richly illustrated account of her discoveries is a revelation.
She begins with a brief history of the time that Jesus's ministry began in Judea, which was 'a newly annexed province' of the Roman Empire. The Romans had stripped Judeans of their 'semi-autonomy', exiled their king to Gaul, and handed control to Roman prefects and their troops. Judea was, therefore, a 'highly discontented and unstable region', prone to riots and disturbances, all of which were dealt with swiftly by the prefect and Roman soldiery.
In about 30 AD, when Jesus began to gather followers, the Roman prefect, Pontius Pilate, had already upset the Jewish population of Judea by instituting a number of unwelcome changes. There were multiple examples of self-proclaimed prophets and 'dictatorial leaders', and there had been revolts and protests, which had been brutally subdued. Judea was 'a tinder box', and Jesus had many followers who believed in him as a messianic saviour who claimed (according to Matthew's Gospel) that he could summon 'more than twelve legions of angels' to lead them to victory over their Roman oppressors. So, when Jesus was brought before Pilate, accused of claiming to be 'King of the Jews', he was seen to have 'the qualities of a general - and one bent on lethal subversion'.
For Pilate, in line with Roman punishment and treatment of prisoners, a flogging and public humiliation by his soldiers - including crowning him in a mock wreath and making jeers about his failures - would have been enough. Pilate was also likely conscious that if Jesus had many followers in the city, killing him might start its own riot.
However, as governor, Pilate was expected to consult the local Jewish leaders, who demanded that Jesus be crucified. The mockery and humiliation - the crowning of him as 'king' and as a failed 'general' - would still be part of Jesus's treatment.
Tibble looks closely at this mockery and at the sort of crown or wreath the Roman soldiers might have fashioned, using, first, an image from the fourth century 'Passion Sarcophagus' held in the Vatican, Rome. A carved panel on this sarcophagus (reproduced in the book) shows a soldier holding a leafy wreath above Jesus's head, while Jesus stands placidly beside him. For Romans and Christians the acanthus had special symbolism. Since any fragment of its deep, spreading roots will grow into a new plant, it represented resurrection and 'eternal renewal'. They would also have known of its medicinal properties, which linked it to the gods of healing and resurrection - Apollo and Asklepios.
So, the Roman soldiers' mockery of Jesus as a king or an honoured general - with wreath-crown, reed - sceptre and scarlet cloak - was turned in Christian art into a representation of Jesus's heavenly kingship, his resurrection and his promise of eternal life.
Another sarcophagus (also pictured) shows Jesus's disciples each being honoured with a wreath - crown by a heavenly hand, the fingers of which are just visible. Here, Tibble argues, they are being given 'an award for the faithful'; and in other early Christian art the wreath, together with a cross, became the symbols of a martyr.
Martyrdom, as she also demonstrates, became a 'cult' among those who aspired to join the 'ranks of saints':
By the fifth century, crosses slung over shoulders and wreaths born [sic] on veiled hands are synonymous with additional saints.
An illustration of fifth-century mosaics in Ravenna shows these ranks of saints holding their wreath-crowns. And one from the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (d.450) shows a metal grill on wheels below which is a fiery furnace, and a halo-wreathed man, holding
an open book in his left hand, while in his right he hoists a cross over his shoulder. He appears to be in motion, running towards the fiery grill, cloak and tunic flying around him.
Early Christian imagery also shows Jesus sitting on the sort of throne seen in statues and other representations of Roman gods. He sits calmly and regally, accepting his torment. This became an example for Christian kings and emperors, especially those of the German Ottonian and Salian empires, who were expected to 'fulfil a Christo-memetic ideal' which included 'the imitation of Christ's humble endurance of torments on earth.'
A typical image of the coronation of the emperor appears, for example, in the Gospel Book of Otto III, c.998-1001... In this image, Otto III is enthroned in a high-backed cushioned throne, holding an orb and sceptre. He is crowned and surrounded by attendants.
Otto looks placidly (stoically perhaps) towards the viewer, just as Jesus does on the fourth-century sarcophagi and in other images taken from manuscripts, psalters and altar-pieces that reinterpret Jesus's 'enthronement', 'coronation' and 'acclaim' by the mocking Roman soldiers. Otto's crown, however, is rigid and metallic-looking, and decorated with pearls and other jewels.
Through many illustrations, Tibble traces the first depiction of a crown decorated with thorns to the eleventh century Codex Aureus of Echternach where:
At last we see an actual, woven crown inlaid with thorns. The thorns have been evenly inserted all around the top of the wreath, like jewels.
Towards the end of the book, Tibble examines relics, such as the 'Crown of Thorns' recently rescued from the fire that destroyed the spire of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The history of this wreath can be traced back, in pilgrims' accounts, to the fifth century, but she notes the unreliable nature of claims concerning holy relics.
She writes that the Crown of Thorns was 'likely' revered in Jerusalem from the fifth century and at 'some point in the ninth century' 'may have been moved' to Constantinople, where 'sometime after 1063' a Greek writer listed it among holy relics. It is certainly recorded that in 1235, Constantinople's ruler, Baldwin II, used the crown as collateral for a loan from the Venetian community to fund defences against Bulgarian attacks. To redeem his debt, Baldwin later sold it to King James IX of France, who built the glorious Saint-Chapelle in Paris to house it. After the French Revolution in 1801, it was taken to Notre Dame.
Photographs of the relic inside its crystal and jewel encrusted case show a woven, grassy circlet that could well be made from acanthus, just as the earliest records of Jesus's crown describe it.
The really thorny crowns date from the Middle Ages, but they are widely represented on modern crucifixes, and in modern art and literature. Tibble describes vividly the 'memorable' poster for Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ that shows Jesus 'wearing a bloody, sharp Crown of Thorns'. It is, she says, an iconic image that 'sticks in the mind'. She discusses, too, Albert Houthuesen's 1939 painting, The Crown of Thorns, created during World War II, and suggests that it conveys 'his own tragic feeling about the war' and suffering; and the interwoven brambles, 'gigantic, sharp' of Jane Morgan's bronze Crown of Thorns (mentioned earlier).
Throughout The Crown of Thorns, Tibble uses a wide range of sources and discusses the 'complicated evolution' of imagery through some of the most detailed, beautiful and interesting examples, many of which grace the pages of her book. Her demonstration of the evolving Christian reinterpretations of Jesus's Passion is compelling, although she tends to repeat her argument for emphasis. Whether the reader is Christian or not, however, her insight into the often hidden meanings of centuries of art is fascinating, and to see these images is a delight.
Unfortunately, the reproductions, although clear and beautiful, are often too small to really see the details she discusses, but most of them are available on the internet, although not always under the title she has given them. The list of 'Figures' with their location at the front of the book is a good guide, and being able to see and enlarge these images on a bright screen is a joy.
The Pretender
Jo Harkin
Knopf
https://knopfdoubleday.com/imprint/knopf
9781526678355, $30.00 hc / $14.99 Kindle 456pp.
https://www.amazon.com/Pretender-Novel-Jo-Harkin/dp/0593803302
Perhaps the best part of John's life (and the funniest) is when he is still 'a small village boy', 'short of words' but full of strategies for defeating his enemy, the goat. He is the 'wise general' and he is going to show 'the advancing cavalry', the goat, who is master.
In the kitchen, Jennott has burned the bread again because she, as she always tells him, 'is a head dairy maid and not a fucking cook'.
'Old Gaspard got you again, did he?'
Her pretence is that the goat is French. She mislikes the French. They killed her dad...
'You're covered in scratches. And so wet. Did you fall into the stream?'
John isn't going to discuss military strategy with plebeians, but calling Jennott a plebeian might get him one of her blindingly fast smacks around the head, so he doesn't say anything.
John's life, however, changes dramatically when two men unexpectedly arrive to take him to Oxford to be tutored. He is, they tell him, Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick, heir to the throne of England.
John, who must now become 'Lambert', does not know that Will Collan is not his father or that he has fostered John since he had been hidden away in infancy to keep him safe.
'So Lambert,' the nobleman who has accompanied his Oxford tutor to the farm tells him, 'The truth of your birth is that you're the son of George, Duke of Clarence.' George has been killed for plotting against the late king, Edward. The present king, Richard, is rumoured to have gained the throne by killing his nephews, the two young princes in the Tower. He has no son yet, and there are two more nephews who could carry on the House of York line, one of whom is Edward.
It is all so sudden and so strange that it seems to John like one of the ballads he loves:
Though Johnny Collan was his name
'Twas Edward he went by first...
In Oxford, he lives as 'Lambert' with his tutor, Master Richard. He hates Latin: 'may I be free of Latin Grammar', is what he would write, but can't. But he has always loved reading and now he discovers Horace, Geoffrey of Monmouth's history of Britain, Suetonius, Ovid - and he devours whatever books he can find around Master Richard's house. He has also learned a little more about his background:
He thinks about his real father and mother, the Duke and Duchess of Clarence (dead): King Richard his uncle (dead); Richard's son, his cousin (dead); King Edward his uncle (dead); the two princes his cousins (dead). He can't imagine any of them either. But he can't help but notice they're all dead. As with fairies, their world seems to run on a lot of gold and a lot of peril.
But this is only the first of the changes John endures. After King Richard's death on Bosworth Field and Henry Tudor's claiming of the throne, he is passed from one scheming faction of Yorkist supporters to another, all intent on making him king.
From Oxford, he is taken to Flanders where, as 'Edward', he is to be schooled in royal etiquette in the splendid palace of his aunt, Margaret of Burgundy. He is washed, dressed, undressed, waited-on and taught, and it is all overwhelming:
There should be a book to help people like Edward, who are faced with too much splendour. It could give useful advice, better than anything he could come up with, which is:
Hide in the garderobe.
The garderobe is one of the only places he can be alone.
Then one day Margaret tells him that it is 'time for us to commence our campaign', and she sends him to the Lord Deputy of Ireland, and the Great Earl of Kildare, Gerald Fitzgerald, welcomes him into his family. Kildare is a rough-speaking Irishman, 'full of this sort of blather', as his wife Alice says, and Edward's time as his guest is enlivened by Kildare's three young daughters. Fourteen-year-old Joan, just two-years older than him, is especially interesting. She speaks her mind, is determined and intelligent and unpredictable, but as Edward observes, her enemies always seem to come to a bad end. She decides to make a friend of him and asks him to teach her Latin, and he loves her but does not trust her.
Confined to the castle for the sake of secrecy, Edward spends his time immersed in the riches of Kildare's library, learning everything he can. But his life is never his to direct. He often feels as he did when he was Lambert - 'like a shadow. An absence. Officially he isn't here.' He is controlled by others whose ambitions, beliefs and trustworthiness are always questionable. After his secret crowning in Dublin's Christ Church cathedral, he spends his first parliament as King Edward VI
playing bowls with the Fitzgerald girls - because he is a minor, and so it's Kildare who does the holding. Edward had wondered if he ought to watch, but Kildare didn't think it would be meet. Parliaments could be a rough business, he said, with riots and affray not unknown, and he didn't want to risk any wrack coming to the new king's (bruisable, pierceable, snappable) body at this turbulent stage of his kingship.
After the parliament, Kildare boasts that he has attainted two of his own enemies and gained various other possessions, 'in the name of the king', and he looks forward to 'making' the victims accept this 'with his fist down their throats'.
'God save the King!' he adds.
Now Edward must go to England to claim his throne from 'the usurper' Henry, and war is inevitable.
The Pretender is no ordinary novel about this confusing period of history. John is always a believable character, full of doubts, full of boyishness, funny, ironic, and never sure who he really is or what is planned for him next. Harkin is a master of dialogue, and John's exchanges with others, especially with the women he encounters, capture the humour, the subtle undercurrents, and the character of those who befriend him or are, perhaps, using him for their own ends.
His reading has taught him that history is something that happens to him and around him, and that it is changeable, 'written in wax'. After the war, when he becomes 'Lambert Simnel', a kitchen boy in the service of King Henry, and then a falconer and spy, he bribes a poet's clerk to let him read the 'official history' manuscript the poet laureate is working on:
'Look, you're in the book,' the clerk says. 'I thought, as with Herostratus, they might have tried to excise your name from history. But here it is.'...
'"A wretched lad, a princeling of rascals, a whip scoundrel," Simnel reads. '"Born to low people, of low occupations."...
'I once wanted to be a king who wrote history. Now I realise only kings write history,' Simnel says. 'Is anything true written anymore?'
'Probably not,' says the clerk cheerfully.
And he goes on to note that the historian Rous, when King Richard was alive, described him as 'a good lord and punisher of oppressors', but now writes that he was evil, and 'born with teeth and hair' and a 'misaligned body'.
Was Lambert Simnel really of royal blood? What would it be like to grow up on a farm with a loving father and two teasing older brothers, then at the age of ten be unexpectedly dragged off to Oxford by two strangers, then be shipped to France (more strangers, a different language, and a retinue of servants); and finally be sent to Gaelic-speaking Ireland and lodged in a castle with a family whose patriarch is powerful and unpredictable, and is raising troops to fight a war for rights you do not really know you are entitled to?
Jo Harkin beautifully captures the confusion, wit, intelligence, loves and hates of a young man experiencing all this. Through John, she shows the machinations of those around him, and she makes history easy to understand. At the end of the book she provides family trees for the House of York and the House of Lancaster that show just how Edward, Earl of Warwick, and Tudor Henry VII justified their claims to the throne. This is enjoyable history written by a fine storyteller - full of energy, fun, compassion, love and horror.
Dr. Ann Skea, Reviewer
https://ann.skea.com/THHome.htm
Carl Logan's Bookshelf
To Reach the Source: The Stepwells of India
Claudio Cambon
ORO Editions
www.oroeditions.com
9781961856349, $35.00, HC, 120pp
https://www.amazon.com/Reach-Source-Stepwells-India/dp/1961856344
Synopsis: With steps leading down to the water's edge, the stepwells of India are inverted buildings that descend several stories below ground. Often, they are as monumental and ornate as a church, and this is intentional. They are a source of water, a gathering space, and a temple all at once.
Stepwells create a visual and spatial experience unlike any other, in which the below-ground remains connected to the sun and sky above. There are thousands of stepwells across the Indian Subcontinent, many of them 500-1,000 years old, each one different from the other. Most lie abandoned and overlooked, in varying states of preservation or, more often, disrepair, but they remain beautiful and compelling.
The 48 full color photographs comprising "To Reach the Source: The Stepwells of India" by Claudio Cambon were made across India to convey the beauty and diversity of these structures and the striking ambiances they elicit.
A brief text accompanies the images to provide history and context, interspersed with several architectural drawings by Tanvi Jain. The images seek to give readers a sense of what it feels like to immerse oneself in such a unique, meditative space, and to be impelled towards the very source of life: water.
Critique: This large format (8.98 x 10.98 x 1.1 inches, 1.89 pounds) coffee table style hardcover edition of "To Reach the Source: The Stepwells of India" from ORO Editions is a magnificent pictorial tour of unique Indian structures. The unique compendium of photographs is a visual pleasure to simply browse through one illuminated page at a time. Original, beautiful, informative, thoughtful, "To Reach the Source: The Stepwells of India" is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Indian Travel Photography and Architecture collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: Claudio Cambon (https://www.claudiocambon.com) has worked as a photographer for more than 30 years, and on the Indian Subcontinent for more than 25 of them. He has worked, exhibited, published, taught, and lectured across the world. He currently resides in France.
Carl Logan
Reviewer
Clint Travis' Bookshelf
Shadows of Tehran
Nick Beag
Fortis Publishing
https://fortispublishing.co.uk
9798991971409, $27.95, HC, 300pp
https://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Tehran-Conflict-Iranian-American/dp/B0DMHKHY6L
Synopsis: Raised in Tehran but torn between two worlds, Ricardo's young life is thrown into chaos when his American father abandons the family just as the Islamic Revolution of 1979 breaks out.
As fundamental human rights are washed away in a tide of religious, anti-Western fanaticism, Ricardo's mother remarries, introducing a stepfather with a dark secret.
At only 14 years old, Ricardo vows to take back what was stolen under the oppressive, authoritarian rule. He quickly becomes a rebel leader, earning himself renown as the Shadow Rider of Tehran. When his name is leaked and an execution order issued, he must flee the only country he has called home. But the fight is not over.
Blessed with an indomitable will and unbreakable spirit, Ricardo becomes a US Special Forces soldier, and in a surprising turn of events, lands right back where he started.
Spanning continents and infused with heart-pounding action, "Shadows of Tehran" is more than just another story of war in the Middle East. It is also an exploration into one man's refusal to break under abuse, abandonment, and loss -- an affirmation that we (not the events in our lives) determine whether to be a victim or survivor.
"Shadows of Tehran" is an astonishing tale of resilience, rebellion, and the enduring human spirit -- one that will inspire anyone facing their own shadows to keep pushing forward.
Critique: Although a deftly crafted work of fiction, "Shadows of Tehran" by Nick Berg is based on a true story. A simply original and riveting read from start to finish, and as timely as today's newspaper headlines, "Shadows of Tehran" is especially and unreservedly recommended for community and college/university library Contemporary General Fiction and Military Suspense/Thriller collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that this hardcover edition of "Shadows of Tehran" from Fortis Publishing is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).
Editorial Note: Born to an Iranian mother and American father, Nick Berg experienced firsthand Iran's vibrant culture and violent political upheavals. He served in US Special Operations before transitioning to a successful tech executive career. In his novel, "Shadows of Tehran", Nick mirrors his own life through Ricardo, bridging cultural gaps and emphasizing resilience and hope.
Who Is the Liar
Laura Lee Bahr
www.lauraleebahr.com
Little A
c/o Amazon Publishing
9781662529030, $16.99, PB, 283pp
https://www.amazon.com/Who-Liar-Laura-Lee-Bahr/dp/1662529031
Synopsis: In a tight-knit town in the 1980s, a child-killer is on the loose. And Topaz's parents are on edge. At ten years old, Topaz is so vulnerable. But she has nothing to worry about. Her eldest sister, Ruby, has made sure of that. Swearing Topaz to secrecy, Ruby reveals she has trapped the monster in their root cellar.
Bound and bloodied in the cold space is kindly Brother Johnson from the church. Pleading with Topaz to cut him loose, he says her reckless sister is a liar. Brother Johnson is right about that: Ruby does lie. She also likes to scare people. Still, even Ruby wouldn't lie about this. Would she? The game (and the secret) is in her hands. But Topaz just wants to do the right thing.
Let Brother Johnson die in the cold space? Or try to set him free -- and then see what happens next?
Critique: An impressively crafted and original suspense thriller of a novel, "Who Is the Liar" is an extraordinary and fascinating read of the first order. Offering up an emotional rollercoaster of a ride for the reader from start to finish, "Who Is the Liar" is highly recommended for community library collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of readers appreciating the blending of a coming of age story with a nail biter of a plot line, that this trade paperback edition of "Who Is The Liar" from Little A is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $5.99).
Editorial Note: Laura Lee Bahr (www.lauraleebahr.com) is the author of the novels Haunt, Long-Form Religious Porn, and the short story collection Angel Meat. Her short stories have been featured in over a dozen literary magazines and anthologies, including Ghost Parachute, Tragedy Queens, Francesca Lia Block's Lit Angels, and the noir volume of Nicolas Winding Refn's by NWR.com. Her filmography includes writing and directing the award-winning feature Boned and the experimental short film Strange Bird. Bahr was also awarded the spring 2018 writer-in-residence at the Jack Kerouac House in Orlando.
All Because of You
Lissa Lovik
https://lissalovik.com
Thomas & Mercer
c/o Amazon Publishing
9781662530067, $16.99, PB, 335pp
https://www.amazon.com/All-Because-You-Lissa-Lovik/dp/1662530064
Synopsis: For Chris, it's love at first sight. After their grocery store meet-cute, it's easy to get her name from a fallen receipt: Serena. A quick online search reveals Serena's status (single mom), address, and workplace. And once he discovers she's a Realtor, Chris schedules a house showing right away. But he isn't pushy -- he'll wait to ask her out.
In the meantime, he'll just watch. And listen in. He wants to learn everything about her, so he can make her happy. It's not creepy; it's true love.
From their first date, their relationship is perfect. But Serena's best friend keeps getting in the way. She thinks he's just a friend, but Chris knows better. He knows better about a lot of things. Keeping her in line is getting harder, but their love is worth the effort.
The stars aligned when Chris and Serena met in that Winn-Dixie. And they're going to be happy together... even if it kills them.
Critique: A simply riveting read from start to finish, with the publication of her debut novel "All Because Of You" by Lissa Lovik has proven to enjoy a genuine and authentic flair for the kind of distinctive and narrative driven storytelling style that will fully engage the reader from cover to cover. Well crafted characters, an original storyline with unexpected plot twists and turns, and a fun read for fans of domestic and psychological thrillers, "All Because Of You" is an especially and unreservedly recommended pick for community library Suspense/Thriller collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that this paperback edition of "All Because Of You" from Thomas & Mercer is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $3.99).
Editorial Note: Lissa Lovik (https://lissalovik.com) lives on a farm far away from the hustle and bustle of city life, surrounded by nature and a herd of fluffy malamutes.
Clint Travis
Reviewer
Debra Gaynor's Bookshelf
One Little Lie (Pelican Harbor #1)
Colleen Coble
Thomas Nelson
https://www.thomasnelson.com
9780785228448, $18.99 PaperBack, $20.24 HardBack, $41.99 AudioBook
https://www.amazon.com/One-Little-Lie-Pelican-Harbor/dp/0785228446
This is the first book in this series and I can hardly wait for the next installment.
Pelican Harbor, Alabama is a small, sleepy Jane Hardy is a small woman, some people think she is too small to be the acting sheriff in Pelican Harbor, Alabama. When Jane's father retired, she was hired as the interim. A short time after she takes over the sheriff's office, her father is arrested, accused of theft and murder. Jane believes he has been set up; she needs to find the proof.
When Jane was growing up, she and her parents were part of a cult. Fifteen years ago, she and her father escaped. Her mother refused to leave. Jane has searched for her mother but has been unable to find her.
Reid Bechtol is a journalist that makes documentaries. He has requested permission to make a documentary on Jane as female sheriff in a small town. Jane has little time or interest in the project. However, the committee that hired her insists she cooperate. Jane and Reid quickly become friends, and she finds herself attracted to him. They join forced her father to prove innocent.
Reid has a past and secrets. Will the secrets destroy the budding relationship?
One Little Lie is well written. I love the characters. Jane and Reid are strong lead characters. I enjoyed their budding relationship now if it can stay strong. We will have to wait for the next book to see if their relationship survives. This book is a police procedural tale with a great K-9 dog.
I highly recommend this book.
The Enchanted Greenhouse
Sarah Beth Durst
http://sarahbethdurst.com/index.htm
Bramble
9781250324634, $29.99 PaperBack, $29.99 HardBack, $35.99 Large Print
https://www.amazon.com/Enchanted-Greenhouse-Sarah-Beth-Durst/dp/1250333989
Terlu Perna was a librarian; the part of the library she worked in housed spell books. She rarely saw anyone, had no one to talk to. She found a spell and created a magical spiker plant. It was against the law to cast a spell unless you were specifically trained to be a sorcerer. The judge wanted to make an example of her; a spell was cast on her turning her into a wooden statue. She was placed on a pedestal in the North Reading Room of the Great Library of Alyssium.
All is not lost... Eventually Terlu awakens, six years later. She is on an island where there are hundreds of greenhouses. She is hungry and cold. There is one other human on the island, a gardener. He's very grumpy but offers her use of his cabin and honey cakes. She is fascinated by the greenhouses. A sorcerer created them only to abandon them. The greenhouses need repair; the plants are dying. Magic is the only thing that will save them but it will mean breaking the law again. Terlu is willing to risk her freedom, her life to save the plants and their habitat. With the gardener's assistance Terlu begins studying the spells left by the old sorcerer. Together she and the gardener find companionship, happiness and maybe love.
I find it hard to review and rate this fantasy tale. It is a rather calm book with humor. I enjoyed parts of it. I did not like the gardener's family. I enjoyed the quiet romance between the gardener and Terlu. It was sweet and slow. They were perfect for each other. The two main characters were likable. The talking plants, winged cat and a few other creatures were fascinating. This tale offers hope, healing and shows us how important it is to love ourselves. I enjoyed the cat with wings and the dragon pollinators. The head librarian was a hero insistent on doing what was right. There was much of this book that felt like filler and could have been discarded. There were parts of this book I loved and parts I tolerated.
A Stranger's Game
Colleen Coble
Thomas Nelson
https://www.thomasnelson.com
9780785228578, $18.99 PaperBack, $34.99 large print, $36.99 AudioBook, $41.99 MP3 CD
https://www.amazon.com/Strangers-Game-Colleen-Coble/dp/0785228578
Torie Bergstrom returned to Jekyll Island in Georgia to investigate the death of her best friend. The cause of death was determined to be a suicide drowning but Torie knew Lisbeth was terrified of water; she never would have gone near the water.
Torie began working at the resort under an assumed name. It had been years since she had stepped foot on the island, no one would recognize her. Even her aunt, who manages the resort, did not recognize her.
Tori was walking on the beach when she met Joe Abbott and his daughter Hailey. The pair raced to protect the baby turtles from predators. Joe was working security for the resort and training Sea Lions for the Navy. Tori and Joe draw closer together.
This tale is filled with suspense; strange things are happening at the resort. I enjoyed the slow burn romance between Tori and Joe. Hailey was an adorable child. Both Tori and Hailey lost their mother. I liked Tori's Dad. While some of the characters were villains and may not have been likeable they were well written and make great villains. I truly enjoyed this book. Author Colleen Coble is a talented writer. She makes the characters come dancing off the page. The nuclear submarine, trained sea lions, scavenger hunt for handmade glass ornaments, nerve gas, and bombs make this one exciting read. There is a discussion of the Federal Reserve that was interesting and informative.
There is a strong Christian theme through out this tale. We see how God's grace and his love plays a part in our lives. However, neither is this tale preachy. Colleen Coble is one of my favorite authors. Her books are clean; they share her faith in Christ. She creates characters that are flawed but likeable. Throughout this tale MS Coble demonstrates the true meaning of friendship; she demonstrates how much God loves us. She shows us God is in control. There are times when God uses bad things to help us grow.
This is a great read no matter whether it is sitting next to a crackling fire on a snowy day or when we are sitting on a beach with the waves rolling in. Stranger's Game is a must read!
Dying To Meet You
Sarina Bowen
Harper Perennial
c/o HarperCollins
https://www.harpercollins.com
9780063280649, $18.99 PaperBack, $30.00 HardBack
https://www.amazon.com/Dying-Meet-You-Psychological-Thriller/dp/0063280647
The setting is Portland, Maine. The main character is Rowan Gallagher, a single mother and a talented architect.
Rowan has been commissioned to restore a mansion for the influential Wincott family. Natalie, her daughter, is asking questions about and wanting to get to know her father who is in prison.
Rowan met Tim in a coffee shop; he was sweet and appealing. They date several times and she finds herself falling for him. Then he begins ghosting her without any elucidation. Rowan begins stalking him. He never turned off his location tracker on his cell phone. She tracks him on her Find My Fiends app. She knows she shouldn't, but she can't resist the lure.
She finds it both mesmerizing and maddening to know he is doing something while she sits at home. When he parks close to her home, along the waterfront (their favorite spot) she is curious to know who is with him. It was time to take the dog for a walk. She puts the dog on a leash and heads toward their favorite spot. As she walks toward the waterfront she expects to find him with another woman. But she doesn't catch him in an intense embrace; she discovers his dead body... it appeared he was shot in the head. She was traumatized but managed to call the police... She became their prime suspect. Her daughter's father returns to town and is another suspect.
This tale is written with multiple points of view. The characters in this tale are so real I could imagine them marching off the pages. My favorite characters were Natalie and Rowan. They demonstrated a realistic mother-daughter relationship. As a teenager Natalie displayed the behaviors you would expect. The secondary characters were important to the plot. The characters have just the right number of flaws to make them realistic.
The ending was baffling, I felt like I missed something along the way. The plot is intriguing with disgraces, enigmas, and deceit. This book is a great beach read, quick, easy and full of mystery, thrills, and suspense.
The Duke and Lady Scandal: A Princes of London Romance
Christy Carlye
Avon Books
c/o HarperCollins
https://www.harpercollins.com
9780063347342, $9.99 PaperBack, $45.99 AudioBook
https://www.amazon.com/Duke-Lady-Scandal-Princes-London/dp/0063347342
This is the first book in the new series, A Princes of London Romance. The setting is Victorian London. The main female character, Alexandra Prince, is from a bluestocking family of treasure hunters; the lead male character, Detective Inspector Benedict Drake, is a member of Scotland Yard.
The Prince family, all except Alexandra, are off on another adventure. Alexandra has always lived in her sibling's shadow. While they are searching the world for a treasure, she is left at home to manage the antique shop. She wants her own adventure. One day a group of people come into the shop whispering. Alexandra couldn't help but eavesdrop on their conversation, they were planning to steal the Crown Jewels. How exciting! Alexandra knows this is her time for an adventure.
Alexandra rushed into the office of Benedict Drake, Detective Inspector. She attempts to tell him about the plan to steal the Crown Jewels. The usually serious DI does not take the beautiful woman seriously. He quickly sends her on her way; but it's not that easy. She seems to be everywhere he goes. She could be determined to cause a scandal, or she could be trying to get his attention. Something happens that causes him to rethink her story; he is going to need her assistance if he is going to prevent the theft of the Crown Jewels.
I love this tale even if the term duke was just a nickname and the Princes is a last name. The main characters are well done. Allie is a strong, impetuous, messy person with a heart for others. Ben described himself as "not a people person." "I don't like people but somehow I like you".
The romance between Allie and Ben was sweet and slow. It would have been nice if the romance had been a little hotter and a little faster. The book itself is a fun and fast-paced read. The narrator, Karen Cass was great; she added depth to the characters through the tone of her voice. All in all this is a great read!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. My reviews are my personal opinions.
If I Run #1
Terri Blackstone
Zondervan
https://www.zondervan.com
9780310332435, $18.80 PaperBack, $41.99 AudioBook
https://www.amazon.com/If-Run-Terri-Blackstock/dp/0310332435
When Casey Cox discovers the body of her best friend, Brent, in his home; he has been stabbed and left for dead. She tries to revive him to no avail. She knows she is in trouble; she is covered in blood. Her fingerprints and blood are throughout the house. She knows she will be the prime suspect; she has no choice but to run.
Private Detective Dylan Roberts is hired to find Casey; he is a former Criminal Investigator in the Army. He was discharged from the service for PTSD. He does his due diligence, and it just doesn't add up. He doesn't think there is enough evidence to support her guilt. The more he finds out about her the more strongly he feels she is innocent.
Author Terri Blackstone is a talented writer. She is a Christian author, and it shines through her books. Her main characters are fantastic. Casey is smart, strong and quick on her feet. It was fascinating watching her stay one step ahead of those searching for her. She placed others before herself no matter what. This tale is told from alternating viewpoints, Casey's and Dylan's. The twists and turns kept me eagerly turning pages. This book ends with a cliffhanger. I really don't like cliffhangers! The trouble with cliffhangers is I have to wait for the next book to find out what is going to happen.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. My opinions are my own.
If Two Are Dead
Rick Mofina
Mira Books
c/o HarperCollins
https://www.harpercollins.com
9780778368595, $18.99 PaperBack
https://www.amazon.com/If-Two-Are-Dead-Novel/dp/0778368599
Luke Conway is an off-duty police officer. He formerly was LAPD and was looking forward to small town life. Driving in rain is never easy. Luke and his wife Carrie were on their way home, the road was slick, it was raining so hard Luke could barely see the road. He thinks he hit something but when he gets out of the car to look, he finds nothing. He hesitates and comes to the decision to keep it to himself; he can secretly investigate the situation.
Carrie did not want to ever return to her hometown again, but her father's health was failing, and he needed her. She knew small towns were full of gossip and gossips loved nothing more than a victim to spread rumors and accusations against. There was no choice her father needed her.
Three girls go into the woods; they are all high school students. Only one girl comes out alive. She remembers nothing of what happened in the woods; she had a head injury. Carrie knew she would be the talk of the town when she returned; she would have to put her big girl panties on and survive. Her memories slowly begin to return, a fragment here and there. She remembers being chased, falling and waking up in the hospital.
If Two Are Dead has a great plot. The pacing is superb, the tension builds. There are several sub-plots all expertly woven together. There are quite a few characters, and it is impossible to know who is telling the truth.
The Worry-Worry Whale Made 32 Mistakes
Deborah Diesen, author
Dan Hanna, illustrator
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
c/o Macmillan
https://us.macmillan.com/fsg
9780374391539, $18.99 HardBack / $10.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Worry-Worry-Whale-Made-Mistakes-Adventure/dp/037439153X
This is a children's book with a delightful message. No one is perfect and no matter how hard we try we will make mistakes. Many children feel anxiety when they make mistakes. The Worry-Worry Whale Made 32 Mistakes demonstrates that mistakes aren't bad. Mistakes give us the opportunity to grow. We should see we all have imperfections, and we should embrace them.
This book is fun and educational. Young listeners will enjoy Willa Whale as she plays, splashes and swims in the sea. She and her friends are finding new things to try. New things often bring mistakes and errors; they learn that making mistakes is a great way to learn and to discover things. When we make mistakes, we should try again. The audio book of The Worry-Worry Whale Made 32 Mistakes is a great experience for young listeners. The underwater world comes to life with inspiring background music. Fred Berman is the narrator; his voice is pleasant and engaging; I was quickly captivated by the experience.
The Worry-Worry Whale Made 32 Mistakes is a nice, sweet story with an important message.
Dogged Pursuit
David Rosenfelt
Minotaur Books
c/o Macmillan
https://us.macmillan.com/minotaurbooks
9781250324511, $28.00 HardBack, $29.99 AudioBook, $14.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Dogged-Pursuit-Carpenter-Mystery-Novel/dp/1250324513
Congratulations to author David Rosenfelt on his 31st book in this series. In Dogged Pursuit author David Rosenfelt transports readers back to the beginning of this series.
We are re-introduced to young Andy Carpenter and several of the main characters. For the last three years Andy has been pursuing a career as a prosecuting attorney. He is uncomfortable with the way the system works. No one seems to care or look out for the everyday man/woman. He makes a major decision to switch careers from prosecutor to defense attorney. Andy practices law in Paterson, New Jersey.
Andy and his wife Nicole are having some marital struggles. They are living in a home belonging to her parents. Her father has repeatedly offered Andy the opportunity to work with his firm. It would be a good financial move but not the best emotional or mental health move for Andy.
While Nicole is gone Andy decides he needs a small dog. We follow Andy to the animal shelter where it is love at first sight for both he and the beautiful golden retriever, named Tara. Tara has a roommate, a dog named Sunny. He decides to adopt both dogs, but Sunny's former owner is involved in a criminal case so and will need to get written permission for Sunny to stay with Andy and Tara temporarily.
Frank Tierney is Sunny's owner; he is charged with a triple murder. Andy is impressed by Frank, after all he is devoted to Sunny. Andy takes on Frank's case. Frank is accused of planting bombs under the car of his former boss. Needless to say, the boss and two of his co-harts were killed / blown up in the explosion. Frank proclaims his innocence. The prosecutor has been collecting damaging evidence. Andy must discover the identity of the murderer to prove Frank is not guilty.
I enjoyed Dogged Pursuit, it gave me an opportunity to revisit the history behind the series. We watch as Andy sharpens his courtroom skills. As usual he manages to use his wit and personality to annoy and often infuriate the judge. He charms the jury and wins his case. I enjoy this series, it is entertaining, funny and features my favorite animal, dogs. Author David Rosenfelt is an expert at character development. He also has a special flair for intertwining hefty subjects throughout a complex, warped plot line while inspiring readers to help Andy solve the mystery. The narrator Grover Gardner does a fantastic job, his voice is pleasant to listen to.
The Housemaid's Wedding (The Housemaid #2.5)
Freida McFadden
Dreamscape Publishing
https://www.dreamscapepublishing.com
9798228580442, $3.99 PaperBack, $0.99 Kindle, $29.99 AudioBook
https://www.amazon.com/Housemaids-Wedding-Short-Story/dp/B0DLHLBK74
This is a short story written to hold readers interest between book 2 (The Housemaid's Secret) and book 3 (The Housemaid is Watching.)
She and Enzo have been attempting to pick out names for their baby. So far, they haven't been about to come to an agreement. Enzo suggests Violet and Millie suggests Cyan. They decide to put names on hold until after the wedding.
The ringing of the phone wakes Millie up on their wedding day. An unknown male is speaking with Millie. He threatens to kill her. At first, she doesn't seem to take him seriously. His next phone call promises she will be covered with blood. The third call has knowledge of what she is doing. Someone was watching her. She doesn't want to tell Enzo.
Millie's baby bump has grown. Her beautiful blue dress will not zip. Enzo to the rescue! He knows a tailor that can fix the dress. They arrive at the courthouse and are waiting for her parents to arrive, but they don't. Millie's mother calls and explains they are not coming. Millie has been in too much trouble over the years. Of course, Millie receives another threatening call. She still withholds the information from Enzo.
After the wedding, Enzo approaches a man he noticed had been following them all day. He warns him to stay away from his wife and unborn child. He reinforces his words with a bit of bloodletting.
I am not familiar with the Millie and Enzo series, so it is a little difficult to review this short story. The characters: I could help but feel for Millie, I suspect she has had a rough time. She lacks communication skills; she might want to work on them. Enzo seems to genuinely care for Millie and the baby. Her parents, I don't like them. Millie reached out to them; she wanted a relationship with them, and they threw it back in her face.
This short story is ok; I give it 3 stars. For me something seemed missing. I did not see this as a thriller.
The Colony of Lost Souls
Kelsey James
HighBridge Audio
https://highbridgeaudio.com
9798228517660, $18.95 PaperBack, $45.95 AudioBook
https://www.amazon.com/Colony-Lost-Souls-Kelsey-James/dp/1496742958
The setting is during the 1930s during the great depression and prohibition. May and June Anderson were born a year apart, they were devoted to one another, unfortunately their relationship changed. Their father owns and runs a grocery business. May has always been interested in the business and had great ideas but no one wanted to hear them. She married the manager of her father's business, Fred. He wasn't interested in her ideas.
June had been missing for over two years when May received a letter from her inviting her to visit the colony in southern California. She took some money from Fred and left him.
She was impressed when she saw the estate. The Colony was quite impressive with a magnificent mansion overlooking the ocean. May was bewitched by the Colony, the couple that managed/owned it and the atmosphere. The colony's residents were led by Rex; he was charming and charismatic. The residents believed in an spirit world where spirits/souls existed together. If someone was enlightened enough, they could beckon the soul of one that has passed on.
When May inquires after June, she is informed that June was on a mission. May is intrigued with the colony and agrees to stay on until June returns. The spell of the colony begins to work on May. She doesn't realize it but she is their prisoner.
The definition of a cult: "A group of people having an obsession with or intense admiration for a particular activity, idea, person or thing.". The ambience of this tale is rich, and dark, you can feel the chill of the evil surrounding the colony. You dread tuning the next page for you know something bad is going to happen. "All that glitters is Not Gold." The colony may have looked and sounded great but there was murder, danger, manipulation and deception. I was rooting for May throughout this read. I was shouting warnings. I could sense the evil in Rex, a con artist, manipulator, self-serving thief.
This is a great read.
Girl in the Creek
Wendy N. Wagner
Tor Nightfire
https://tornightfire.com
9781250908643, $27.99 HardBack, $19.99 AudioBook
https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Creek-Wendy-N-Wagner/dp/1250908647
I listened to the beginning of this book twice, not because I was that enthralled but because I was trying to give it a second chance. I could not get interested in this tale. The characters lacked development. The plot is confusing. The whole book is confusing.
The Water Keeper (Murphy Shepherd #1)
Charles Martin
Thomas Nelson
https://www.thomasnelson.com
9780785230915, $18.99 PaperBack, $32.99 HardBack, $46.99 AudioBook
https://www.amazon.com/Water-Keeper-Murphy-Shepherd-Novel/dp/0785230947
David Bishop Murphy Shepard is a special man. He lives alone on an isolated island off the northeastern coast of Florida. He is a priest with a broken heart. He is a loner, a man with a kind and caring heart, a writer and a government agent. His mission in life is to bring home girls that have been stolen from their loved ones, girls that are sold into human trafficking, human slavery. Those that need rescuing are drawn to him.
A young woman named Angel stumbles upon his island and the chapel where he lives. She was on a party boat. She suggests he should meet her mother.
Murphy headed to the waters around the Keys; it was time to spread the ashes of his mentor. He sees a hysterical woman that obviously doesn't know how to drive a boat or swim. He pulls the woman from the Florida Intercoastal Waterway. He also rescues a dog named Gunner, and a man named Clay.
The woman's name was Summer; her daughter was missing. Murphy agrees to help her find her missing daughter.
This is the first book in the Murphy Shepard series. There are several subplots that work together to complement the main plot. Author Charles Martin is a talented writer. The characters are superbly done. The plot is a tearjerker.
Throughout this tale there are Christian overtones. This book is a retelling of The Parable of the Lost Sheep. A shepherd will leave the flock to find one lost sheep.
Debra Gaynor, Reviewer
www.hancockclarion.com
Emily Patton's Bookshelf
Chasing the Boogeyman
Richard Chizmar
Gallery Books
c/o Simon & Schuster
https://www.simonandschuster.com
9781982175177, $28.00
https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Boogeyman-Novel-Richard-Chizmar/dp/1982175176
This book is a true crime horror story, or is it? I picked this book up because I thought it was horror fiction. However, as I began reading it, I wondered if I had inadvertently picked up a true-crime tale. The book features a foreword by true-crime writer James Renner, which leads the reader to believe that this is not a work of fiction. The book also includes photographs of people and locations involved in the case. Even after I had finished reading the book, I was still questioning the genre. The writing is that convincing.
Richard Chizmar supposedly tells the true story of a serial killer in his hometown. The book reads like a mix of documentary and memoir. The writing is lyrical in places, such as when Chizmar describes every town as having a haunted house. Regarding the house in Edgewood, Maryland, where the story takes place, he writes, "You felt the house watching you, measuring you, but you also knew (hoped) that it wouldn't actually make a move."
A serial killer is mutilating young girls and leaving few clues. The residents grow increasingly fearful as the murders continue and the police cannot find the killer.
Written like an autobiography, the author narrates how, after graduating from college and moving back in with his parents, pending his upcoming marriage, he became interested in trying to solve the murders. He works with a journalist friend, and they engage in some unauthorized snooping. The story feels personal as the narrator recounts growing up in this small town and meeting people he has known most of his life. Unfortunately, the murder mystery gets lost in the small-town slice-of-life tale.
The writing style is unique and so well written in the style of the true-crime genre that I still don't want to believe it was fiction.
On a rating scale where one is 'just don't bother with it' and five is 'this will change your life,' I give this book a three. Although it was compelling, it didn't make me want to drop everything and read it, which is what five-star reviews demand, and it wasn't suspenseful enough that I thought about it when I wasn't reading it. So, it gets a three.
Chizmar wrote a sequel, released in October 2023, called Becoming the Boogeyman, in which the killer has been imprisoned and will only speak to Chizmar about the murders.
Emily A. Patton
Reviewer
Fred Siegmund's Bookshelf
The Imperial Presidency
Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.
Houghton Mifflin
https://www.hmhco.com
9780395177136, $29.99 print / $2.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Imperial-Presidency-Arthur-Meier-Schlesinger/dp/0395177138
Some may doubt the need, or use, to review a book about the powers and duties of U.S, presidents published 52 years ago in 1973. But wait! Allow me to quote from page 418 of this 419 page book. "If the Nixon White House escaped the consequences of its illegal behavior, why would future Presidents and their associates not suppose themselves entitled to do what the Nixon White House had done? ... We have noted that corruption appears to visit the White House in fifty-year cycles. This suggests that exposure and retribution inoculate the Presidency against its latent criminal impulses for about half a century. Around the year 2023 the American people would be well advised to go on alert and start nailing down everything in sight."
Arthur Schlesinger passed away in 2007 but not his relevance to Trump. The book has eleven chapters that start with two chapters outlining the 1787 constitutional debate defining the executive power of the president. Narrative for the next five chapters follow a historical chronology of events almost entirely confined to the war making and foreign policy powers in the presidential office. The last three chapters discuss democracy in relation to foreign policy, the uses and abuses of presidential secrecy and a discussion of the future of the presidential office.
The founding fathers did not want the president to have the sole power to declare war. After long debate they adopted the Alexander Hamilton proposals that the Senate will have the sole power of declaring war and the executive will direct the war authorized by Congress. There would be a separation of power: Congress would declare war, the President would be commander and chief. The 1787 debate assures no one considered the president's role as commander in chief as a source of independent authority.
From the beginning the separation of power generated a history of struggles with the President asserting authority to make foreign policy decisions without consulting Congress, or in direct opposition by it. Except for making treaties and nominating ambassadors with the advice and consent of the Senate, Schlesinger explains the Constitution has nothing else to say about foreign affairs and diplomacy. Nothing written guides recognizing foreign governments, declaring neutrality in international disputes, the status of executive agreements or the gathering or sharing of foreign intelligence. No sections clarify authority in military emergencies. Many of the contested decisions involve military deployment in disputes that fill chapters 3 through 7 where Schlesinger narrates the Constitutional disputes between Congress and the many Presidents from colonial times to Richard Nixon.
The presidents often got their way in foreign policy by easily exploiting a divided Congress such as John Tyler and James K. Polk with Mexico and Abraham Lincoln with the Civil War. While the Constitution provides Congress with separate powers to restrain a defiant president, these powers tend to be hard to use such as impeachment, veto of a treaty, or refusal to vote funds; consensus can be hard to assemble. Schlesinger narrates many of these episodes like the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson and the battle over Woodrow Wilson's League of Nations after WWI. Separate chapters narrate disputes between Congress and Franklin Roosevelts in WWII, between Congress and President Truman in the Korean War, and between Congress and Presidents Johnson and Nixon in the Vietnam War.
After this thorough historical review, the narrative reaches Chapter 8 where Schlesinger characterizes the Imperial Presidency and then applies these characteristics to Richard Nixon. He argues Nixon ignored his cabinet and brought an unprecedented exclusion of Congress, the Press, and public opinion from governmental decision making and concentrated power in the White House. Nixon asserted absolute authority over the Vietnam War and foreign policy and then expanded the imperial presidency to take over domestic policy as well.
Schlesinger lived through the Nixon era as an active and informed historian and journalist. In the Imperial Presidency he characterized Nixon as a man with "revolutionary dreams," a "sense of life as a battlefield" and a president "whose inner mix of vulnerability and ambition impelled him to push the historical logic to its extremity."
In domestic policy, Nixon, like Trump after him, proposed corporate tax relief, made offers of subsidies, threats of tariffs, and various lucrative deals to reward the politically compliant and punish the unregenerate. Nixon, like Trump after him, used the executive order to alter legislation, or change the authority of boards or agencies to suit his purpose. Nixon expected to shape policy by impounding funds for Congressionally approved projects he did not like. In July 1969 his Administration released a statement they would not enforce Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. He appointed an Office of Economic Opportunity director to dismantle the agency that Congress had voted to continue.
Nixon asserted power to revoke legislation such as the Family Practice of Medicine Act passed Congress by overwhelming veto proof majorities December 14, 1970. He declined to return the bill to Congress with his veto within the required 10 days but instead waited eight days and declared a five day holiday recess gave him authority to defeat the bill with a pocket veto. Republican Senator Jacob Javits declared the bill "illegally vetoed" and commented "If the pocket veto clause applies to a five-day adjournment, why should it not also apply to an adjournment of three days, or a weekend, or one day, or overnight."
Nixon expanded executive privilege to new levels, often rejecting formal requests for documents or requests for administration officials to testify before Congress. He made unprecedented use of executive privilege to thwart investigation into his Watergate misconduct and expected to keep secrets from Congress and the country like bombing South East Asia during and after the Vietnam War.
Chapter 8 ends the narrative as historical chronology. By Chapter 9 readers have studied dozens of examples of presidents doing as they please and Congress unable to use their power to stop him. In the last three chapters Schlesinger wants to know "how a government based on the principle of the separation of powers could be made to work." These chapters are topical rather than chronological but there are no answers, only more examples of the failure of the separation of powers to hold a president accountable.
Schlesinger's Imperial Presidency gives readers little reason to believe our Constitution and the separation of powers can maintain democracy. In 1973 Schlesinger thought the Vietnam War proved our Constitution was obsolete and left presidents to exercise unchecked power. By the end of the book Schlesinger doubted the Constitution would be adequate to limit presidential misconduct "if the people themselves had come to an unconscious acceptance of the imperial presidency." The country survived Nixon, but in 2025 the Nixon connection to Trump should be easy to feel. I find nothing that assures the country will survive Trump. After reading his book I feel certain Arthur Schlesinger would agree.
Fred Siegmund, Reviewer
www.Americanjobmarket.blogspot.com
Jack Mason's Bookshelf
The Woman With Fifty Faces
Jonathan Lackman, author
Zachary J. Pinson, illustrator
Fantagraphics Books
www.fantagraphics.com
9798875001116, $29.99, HC, 232pp
https://www.amazon.com/Woman-Fifty-Faces-Maria-Greatest/dp/B0DKHJXFS4
Synopsis: On April 7, 1928, Maria Lani blew into Paris claiming to be a famous German actress and proceeded to seduce the cultural elite with her undeniable charisma and strangely enticing enigmatic aura. She persuaded fifty artists (Pierre Bonnard, Marc Chagall, Andre Derain, Henri Matisse, Georges-Henri Rouault, Fernand Leger and Suzanne Valadon among them) to immortalize her in paintings and sculptures, which would appear as an important plot device in a forthcoming film.
Unveiled as an exhibition in New York, the art works traveled to Chicago, London, Berlin, Rotterdam, and Paris. But, in 1931, as legend eventually had it, she and her husband Max Abramowicz vanished without a trace, and so did the art. The film was never made.
"The Woman With Fifty Faces: Maria Lani & The Greatest Art Heist That Never Was" is about uncovering as much of the truth about Maria Lani as possible.
The B/W images that cascade through "The Woman With Fifty Faces" are stunningly beautiful, deeply compassionate, and farcically grotesque, capturing the essence of Lani's life.
From Poland's antisemitic pogroms to the vulgar glamour and decadence of 1920s Paris to the Nazi occupation of France in the '40s, the tumultuous Europe Lani traverses becomes nearly as much of a character as Lani herself.
Author Jonathan Lackman spent two decades researching Lani's life and artist/illustrator Zachary J. Pinson spent 5,000 hours putting pen to paper. The result is a masterful collaboration about identity and the power and limits of reinvention.
Critique: This large format (8.3 x 1 x 11.3 inches, 2.3 pounds) hardcover edition of "The Woman With Fifty Faces: Maria Lani & The Greatest Art Heist That Never Was" is a factual investigation of an art hoax/deception presented in a unique graphic novel style format. The result is a fun and fascinating read from start to finish. Highly recommended for personal reading lists, as well as community and college/university library collections, it should be noted that this hardcover edition of "The Woman With Fifty Faces" from Fantagraphics Books is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $21.99).
Editorial Note #1: Jonathan Lackman first wrote about Maria Lani for Art in America and has written for The New York Times, Harper's, The New Yorker, Slate, ARTnews, and Wired. He has completed a PhD in art history from NYU and a fiction fellowship at the MacDowell Colony.
Editorial Note #2: Zachary J. Pinson has spent the last two decades weaving in and out of comics, painting, and underground music. His paintings have been shown in galleries in New York, New England and Paris.
Jack Mason
Reviewer
John Burroughs' Bookshelf
The Accidental Network
Rouzbeh Yassini-Fard with Stewart Schley
West Virginia University Press
https://wvupressonline.com
9781959000600, $32.99, HC, 208pp
https://www.amazon.com/Accidental-Network-Company-Broadband-Transformation/dp/1959000608
Synopsis: "How would our lives change," wondered entrepreneur Rouzbeh Yassini-Fard in 1987, "if everyday people had a stable, high-speed data connection to the Internet?" While he wasn't the first to imagine a world of digital connectivity, Yassini-Fard was in the vanguard by creating the cable modem, which transformed residential Internet access from its slow, frustrating dial-up origins to a fast, always-on, and extraordinary connectivity tool by harnessing the existing infrastructure of the residential cable network.
With the publication of "The Accidental Network: How a Small Company Sparked a Global Broadband Transformation", Yassini-Fard tells the untold insider's story of the invention of the cable modem by the small, struggling tech company LANcity in the early 1990s, illustrating how he overcame a cascade of technical challenges, investment community naysayers, and unnerving business obstacles to create the cable modem technology that has changed the way billions of individuals across the globe now manage their daily lives and commerce.
The cable modem delivered broadband, with speeds ranging from 10 megabit per second (Mbps) to 10 gigabit per second (Gbps) - a big leap from the dial-up speeds of 56 kilobits per second (Kbps). This hardware, along with the adoption of the DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification) standard, engendered the modern revolution in broadband internet access.
Shunned by venture capitalists and surviving on a shoestring budget, Yassini-Fard and his colleagues were willing to bet it all (including the deed for Yassini-Fard's home) on the creation of the cable modem and the pursuit of its wide scale global adoption.
"The Accidental Network" is both a valuable history of technology innovation and an engrossing account of business conducted at high speed. It details Yassini-Fard's journey from electrical engineer to entrepreneur in the race to secure technology partners, create a wholly new marketplace, and convince cable industry executives that there was money to be made in transmitting data to households at a time when skepticism about the reach of personal computing was the norm.
Written from the lens of an Iranian immigrant and WVU alum known as "the father of the cable modem," this revelatory history reveals how a perfect storm of forces (the rise of cable television, the onset of the personal computing era, a growing awareness of the Internet for information and commerce, and the development of the cable modem) converged to usher in the age of broadband access.
Critique: Fascinating, informative, engaging, "The Accidental Network: How a Small Company Sparked a Global Broadband Transformation" by Rouzbeh Yassini-Fard provides a unique perspective and an 'I was there' authenticity to the technology that remodeled the world we now live in. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, this hardcover edition of "The Accidental Network" from the West Virginia University Press is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Internet & Computer Technology collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: Rouzbeh Yassini-Fard (https://yasfoundation.com/dr-rouzbeh-yassini) is a technology entrepreneur and philanthropist whose Massachusetts-based organization, YAS Foundation, supports innovation and creativity, addressing medical technology, telecommunications advocacy, educational scholarship, and cultural collaboration. His is widely known as the "father of the cable modem," tracing back to the breakthrough achievements around high-speed data technology pioneered by LANcity, a company Yassini-Fard founded in 1988.
John Burroughs
Reviewer
Julie Summers' Bookshelf
The Whisper Way
Carrie Kerpen
BenBella Books
www.benbellabooks.com
9781637746745, $28.95, HC, 224pp
https://www.amazon.com/Whisper-Way-Formula-Entrepreneurs-Life-Changing/dp/1637746741
Synopsis: On average, companies controlled by men still earn twice the amount that female-owned businesses do. Despite growing opportunities for women-owned businesses to thrive, they still deliver consistently less revenue and profit compared to their male-owned counterparts. And when it comes to selling a business, even highly successful women entrepreneurs are settling for less.
With the publication of "The Whisper Way: The Secret Formula for Women Entrepreneurs to Scale and Sell for Life-Changing Money", Carrie Kerpen aims to change that with her simple yet revolutionary process of starting, scaling, and selling for success. "The Whisper Way" brings her proven method to life. In its pages you will meet business maven Ramona and seven of her protegees as she walks them through her seven-step plan to turn their businesses into saleable assets.
Along the way, readers will find:
Actionable advice from Carrie's own eight-figure exit
Leadership lessons from women who have sold their businesses for substantial profits
Effective evaluations to assess your own company
Tried-and-true tips and tools for improving your business
Implementation guidelines for using Carrie's methodology in your own business
Women are fighting to close the wage gap... and "The Whisper Way" provides concrete steps that female business owners can take to close the exit gap. Whether you are a woman beginning your business, finally creating capital, or approaching a time where you are considering cashing in, "The Whisper Way" will open your eyes, entertain you, and provide you with a practical and profitable path from starting to scale, right through success and sale.
Critique: Original, eloquent, informative, insightful, and the ideal DIY guide, "The Whisper Way: The Secret Formula for Women Entrepreneurs to Scale and Sell for Life-Changing Money" is essential reading for women who are looking to turn their lifestyle businesses into sellable assets, to close the exit gap, and to ensure they earn as much as their male counterparts -- if not more! Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "The Whisper Way: The Secret Formula for Women Entrepreneurs to Scale and Sell for Life-Changing Money" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Business Management/Entrepreneurship for Women collections and supplemental MBA curriculum studies lists. It should be noted that this hardcover edition of "The Whisper Way: The Secret Formula for Women Entrepreneurs to Scale and Sell for Life-Changing Money" from Benbella Books is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).
Editorial Note: Carrie Kerpen (https://www.carriekerpen.com) is the founder and CEO of The Whisper Group, the #1 Exit Readiness Advisory Practice for Women-Owned Businesses. Prior to launching The Whisper Group, Carrie co-founded and scaled Likeable Media, a women-led digital agency, which was named "the 6th Best Place to Work in New York City." After successfully navigating the sale of Likeable to 1,200-person technology firm 10Pearls in 2021, Carrie researched the exit gap, producing an annual report on the disparities in exit values of female-led companies. She went on to build The Whisper Collective, the world's largest community dedicated exclusively to exited female founders. She is the author of Work It: Secrets for Success from the Boldest Women in Business, as well as the host of The Exit Whisperer, a podcast featuring exited female founders.
Julie Summers
Reviewer
Margaret Lane's Bookshelf
Eternal Goth: Exploring the World's Most Enigmatic Cultural Movement
Emma Madden
Castle Books
c/o Quarto Publishing Group USA
www.quartoknows.com
9781577155263, $24.99, HC, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/Eternal-Goth-Exploring-Enigmatic-Cultural/dp/1577155262
Synopsis: Being Goth transcends mere fashion choices in clothes, make-up, or music; it is a mindset, a way of seeing the world through a different lens. Through humor laced with black comedy and an appreciation for the mysterious, Goths reveal themselves to be intelligent, romantic, and artistic realists. But where did this culture originate?
With the publication of "Eternal Goth: Exploring the World's Most Enigmatic Cultural Movement", Emma Madden delves into the roots of Goth, tracing its evolution from a post-punk offshoot to a global phenomenon that has left its mark on music, fashion, and pop culture.
"Eternal Goth" covers:
The pioneers of Goth music, including the dark melodies of Joy Division, Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and more.
The eerie landscapes of Tim Burton's movies, inspired by the beautiful and macabre world of the Goth.
The many ways in which one can be Goth, from romantic, elaborate, historically inspired fashions to more casual and modern looks.
The place of Goth in pop culture, including characters like Wednesday Addams, Lisbeth Salander, and Lydia Deetz.
Also featured are more than 100 full-color photographs of Goth icons and influential media, illustrating the popularity of the culture through the ages. With this comprehensive history, "Eternal Goth" will enable the reader to truly grasp the essence of Goth and celebrate its enduring allure.
Critique: Original, deftly crafted, impressively informative, profusely illustrated, brilliantly organized, and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in presentation, "Eternal Goth: Exploring the World's Most Enigmatic Cultural Movement" will prove an iconic and comprehensive introduction to all things Goth. Unique and unusual, this large format (7.63 x 0.89 x 9.38 inches, 2.01 pounds) hardcover edition of "Eternal Goth" from Castle Books is especially recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Popular Culture/Lifestyle collections.
Editorial Note: Emma Madden was born in Reading, England, and studied English Literature at the University of Sussex. After launching their freelance writing career from an attic in Brighton, Madden now writes and resides with their wife and a puckish King Charles Cavalier in Los Angeles. They write about music, digital culture, subcultures, and sometimes dogs for both print and online publications, including regular bylines in the New York Times, New York magazine, GQ, the Guardian, Pitchfork, and countless others. Still in their goth phase, Madden enjoys sulking and moaning about the world's wretchedness while listening to Joy Division.
Margaret Lane
Reviewer
Mari Carlson's Bookshelf
Child of Light
Jesi Bender
Whisk(e)y Tit Press
https://whiskeytit.com
9781952600708, $16.00
https://whiskeytit.com/product/child-of-light
After years apart, in the late 1800s, Ambrette (age thirteen) and her mother reunite with brother and father in Utica, NY, where Ambrette's father chases overdue recognition for his electrical science advances. However, being together again pushes them further apart. Ambrette's brother chooses a new name, distancing himself from their mother, while her father, unsuccessful at achieving recognition, drinks to oblivion, and her artistically-temperamental mother drugs herself ill. Ambrette makes a new but ostracized friend as she searches for ways to understand them all, including herself.
The more directions in which the story (and the family) veers, the more it finds associations. The book's diffuse plot backgrounds Ambrette's development: seeking unity in her family while becoming her own person apart from them. The text is evocative, flitting from scene to scene, idea to idea, at a child's bopping pace, with whimsy, emotion, and physicality. Some passages are impressionistic and grope for sense, showing a child's senses excited and at times overwhelmed. Ambrette explores the beginnings of electrical science and also reads her mother's spiritual books. She learns French in order to speak with her father. She humors her mother's clairvoyant pursuits. Parallel text blocks at points throughout the book - one in English/one French, one in musical notation/one in words, one her father/one her mother - show Ambrette's attempts at reconciliation with graphic experimentation.
The parallel blocks suggest, though, unity's elusiveness. Some divisions do not merge nor mend. As much as she tries to understand him, too, Ambrette's brother traumatizes her, a lifelong hurt. Prejudices linger toward Ambrette's friend and immigrant groups in Utica. The novel is the historical fiction of turn-of-the-century Utica through her coming of age. It leaves some problems unresolved, or even worse, for a bittersweet ending.
In imagining life at a time before taken-for-granted scientific discoveries, the book's major accomplishment is freeing modern readers NOT to know, to open our minds literar-ily, relationally, and belief-wise. Prepare for unexpected epiphany and illumination!
House of Promises
Indrajit GARAI
Independently Published
9798504290959, $15.00 pbk / $3.00 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/House-Promise-Indrajit-GARAI/dp/B0F5Q4MB5Z
When bullfighting or bull runs come to mind, I think: exotic barbarism. I'm fascinated but I just want to stay out of the way! From the distant (for many of us) world of bullfighting, this novel, though, narrates a dignified human - moral - dilemma to which most any reader can delve into and resonate with.
In the late 1990s, Ignatio, orphaned, grows up with a farm family with whose daughter, Nuria, he becomes close. They diverge in adulthood. Nuria veers toward animal activism when Ignatio develops a corredo-flamenco with his beloved bull, Victor, into the fighting arena. The town's economy, dominated by a tourist industry that ostracizes many of its citizens, reflects the wider scope of the family's contentiousness. The town's and the couple's problems come to a head as the pandemic wraps up.
Told from Ignatio's, Nuria's, and Victor's perspectives, the novel weaves many stories into one. Victor's chapters are visceral and intuitive, with short declarative sentences. Ignatio's are emotional and Nuria's are more academic, as she navigates laws. Natural scenes on the farm, depicting Spain's lush landscape contrast with urban grit and controversy. Spitty dialogue, between persons and in political debates, drives the story forward between descriptive passages. The developed characters work against a mafia-like figure's attempts to exert his control over everyone. The novel's varied elements work together to convey an irreducible complexity.
Dissenting sides' friction culminates in an inferno: Ignatio's final bullfight coincides with Nuria's pivotal political debate on animal rights. No one's outlook is taken for granted; all are considered. But the novel doesn't end there. Calves and human babies populate the conclusion, a hopeful vision worth the book's almost 500 pages.
Mari Carlson
Reviewer
Mark Walker's Bookshelf
A Dry Hate: Power Versus The People
Nancy Hicks Marshall
Nugget Press LLC
https://nuggetpress.com
9780982825938, $14.95 pbk / $4.99 Kindle
https://nuggetpress.com/a-dry-hate
https://www.amazon.com/Dry-Hate-Power-Versus-People/dp/0982825943
I met the author at a conference of Arizona Professional Writers, and over lunch, we recognized our common interest in immigration politics - my focus was on Guatemala, and hers was on Arizona. Although her book is fiction, it's based on the events surrounding "America's Toughest Sheriff," who served as Sheriff of Maricopa County from 1993 to 2016. I met Sheriff Arpaio at a wedding where I was the best man, and he seemed like a jovial, personable guy. He gained national attention on a segment on 60 Minutes, which highlighted Tent City, Pink Underwear, and illegal immigration sweeps and traffic stops targeting Latinos. But behind this amiable facade was a darker reality, which Marshall unravels in her book.
The book offers a compelling examination of Arizona's immigration politics, viewed through the lens of civil liberties and constitutional rights while exploring the dynamics between institutional power and individual rights. It uses Arizona's immigration enforcement policies to understand how democratic institutions can be weaponized against vulnerable populations.
The author's story explores the consequences of Arizona's controversial immigration laws, examining how political opportunism intersects with public concerns about border security. Marshall's focus remains steadfast on the constitutional implications of these policies, particularly their impact on Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures, as well as Fourteenth Amendment guarantees of equal protection under the law.
Revered journalist and news anchor Walter Cronkite is often quoted, and the Cronkite Auditorium at Arizona State University is the backdrop for many scenes depicting the role of the media in shaping public understanding of political issues. The invocation of Cronkite's integrity serves as an inspiration and contrast to the current communications practices.
The motivation for writing the book stemmed from an incident in 2008 when Marshall bailed a young man out of jail after he was arrested for applauding at a public meeting. When she watched a video of the arrest, she began to appreciate how one elected official (the Sheriff) with so many at his beck and call could abuse his power.
Marshall's motivation for writing the book stemmed from her professional commitment to civil liberties and constitutional rights. This passion explains the energy to attempt such a comprehensive analysis and perspective.
The book represents a balance between readability and scholarly vigor. Her tenure as director of the Arizona Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) provided insight into the legal challenges arising from the State's immigration policies. Her legal background is especially relevant given the constitutional issues and the role of federal courts in reviewing state immigration policies.
Towards the end of the book, the section on "Propaganda Techniques and Political Analysis" provides a framework for analyzing the impact of immigration policies on the distribution and exercise of political power. It highlights the rhetorical strategies employed by various political actors to advance their broader agendas. By examining how immigration became a tool for political mobilization, Marshall helps us understand how politicians can manipulate democratic institutions to serve narrow partisan interests rather than the broader public welfare.
Although published in 2012, the book was updated and republished in 2023, allowing the author to incorporate the results of ongoing political debates and the outcomes of various court cases. The real-life Sheriff was convicted of criminal contempt of court, and although President Trump pardoned him, his actions cost Maricopa County taxpayers over $300 million in legal fees.
The author was able to include more details on how Arizona's immigration policies became the testing ground for broader questions about civil liberties, due process, and the limitations of power, making it especially timely given today's ongoing debate and civil strife around how to deal with immigration.
The author's writing is highly readable and succeeds in making complex constitutional and political issues understandable to a general audience while maintaining sufficient analytical rigor to inform policy discussions. Marshall's passion for justice and human rights drives a narrative that combines legal analysis with human interest-based storytelling. The book represents both historical documentation and contemporary analysis, contributing to the ongoing debate on the proper balance between security concerns and constitutional rights in our democracy, which is currently under attack.
Former Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard sums up the importance of the book: A suspenseful storyline in A Dry Hate: Power Versus The People brings current events to life as author Nancy Marshall weaves fact into fiction, providing realistic, sometimes sympathetic characters and motives. In addition, she provides an excellent backdrop of First Amendment issues and a display of power and propaganda in action - an easy and worthwhile read for those who want to understand Arizona immigration politics...
About the Author:
Nancy Marshall is the award-winning author of both a children's book, A Rattler's Tale (2021), award from NFPW for children's fiction, 2022, and for A Dry Hate (2023), after First Place for fiction from NFPW (2024) and First Place for fiction, Arizona Author's Association (2024).
Marshall was born in New York, graduated from Smith College (MA), and obtained a master's in teaching from Wesleyan (CT) and her law degree from Rutgers University (Newark, NJ). She spent several years teaching high school history and political science and also served as a field officer with the New York State Division of Civil Rights.
Upon completing her JD at Rutgers University (Newark, NJ), Marshall moved to Arizona, where she served for almost five years as Executive Director of the Arizona Civil Liberties Union. She has long had an abiding concern for fairness and justice, both for humans and for our wild brethren in the National Forests, reflected in one of her books, A Rattler's Tale.
Mark D. Walker, Reviewer
http://www.MillionMileWalker.com
Michael Carson's Bookshelf
Mr. Sulu Grabbed My Ass, and Other Highlights from a Life in Comics, Novels, Television, Films and Video Games
Peter David
McFarland & Company
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476683546, $19.99, PB, 225pp
https://www.amazon.com/Grabbed-Highlights-Comics-Novels-Television/dp/1476683549
Synopsis: The late Peter David, an award-winning writer of comic books, novels, television, films and video games, had boatloads of stories to tell about his 30-year career. Whether it was attending George Takei's wedding, being described as Will Smith's bodyguard, or wandering around on the set of Babylon 5, David has been telling anecdotes of his life for years.
With the publication of "Mr. Sulu Grabbed My Ass, and Other Highlights from a Life in Comics, Novels, Television, Films and Video Games" the best of his stories are anthologized and available all in one place. Of special note is the story of his career that had taken him from writing Marvel Comics' Incredible Hulk for twelve years to adventures in the Star Trek universe to the New York Times bestseller list.
Critique: With some B/W historical photos, "Mr. Sulu Grabbed My Ass, and Other Highlights from a Life in Comics, Novels, Television, Films and Video Games" by Peter David is a simply fascinating and thoroughly entertaining read about a life well lived as a contributor to the popular culture in the form of comic books, Sci-Fi movies and television shows, as well as video games. We are treated to 'insider' vignettes that make this memoir a 'must'. Sadly, we lost Peter in May, 2025) -- but we have as his personal legacy to us all his anecdotal stories that comprise "Mr. Sulu Grabbed My Ass, and Other Highlights from a Life in Comics, Novels, Television, Films and Video Games" While especially and unreservedly recommended for personal reading lists, as well as community and college/university library American Biography/Memoir collections, it should be noted that this paperback edition from McFarland & Company is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $13.99).
Editorial Note: Peter David (September 23, 1956 - May 24, 2025) was an award winning author of over one hundred novels and a thousand comic books. His work includes the Incredible Hulk, Supergirl, Aquaman, the Star Trek: New Frontier series, and Sir Apropos of Nothing. (https://www.peterdavid.net) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_David)
Michael J. Carson
Reviewer
Michael Lartey's Bookshelf
Pastor B and the Haunted Church
Dorothy May Mercer
Mercer Publications & Ministries, Inc.
9781623291136, $19.49 hc
9781623291211, $14.95 pbk / $6.95 Kindle, 378 pages
https://www.amazon.com/Pastor-Haunted-Church-Christian-Suspense/dp/1623291089
"Pastor B and the Haunted Church" by Dorothy May Mercer is a fiction book released on 2022 and the first volume of two books of the River Heights Church series. It was published by Mercer Publications & Ministries, Inc. in Michigan. Author Dorothy May Mercer has written 23 books, which are mostly based on romance and suspense, is currently living in Michigan, United States.
This book is a Christian mystery thriller and centers on Pastor Alan Burke, who is assigned to his last church before retirement. The decrepit, 19th-century church, River Heights Church, has a cloudy history and is quite eerie concerning one of its founding pastors, Ebenezer Smithfield. Upon receiving a generous donation meant to renovate the church into a first-class facility, he decides to unravel the mystery behind the church's history and restore it to its former glory.
How will Pastor Burke handle his new congregation? Will he revive his church? What is the mystery behind Ebenezer Smithfield? What happens next? Find out in this interesting book!
One positive aspect of this book is the warm nature of Rev Burke. He is a humble man with enormous responsibilities in the House of God. His conversations with all those around him are kind, light-hearted and assuring. Because of his 40-year-old pastoral journey, his cordiality with people is absolute. Hence, people like George Mountbatten Reed III see him to be approachable and more trustworthy than Dale Dykestra. Pastor Burke has proven to be a reliable counselor by pacifying the Donovans and saving James Jones from suicide. His wife, Sharon, is very supportive and comforting. Overall, Pastor Burke's efforts in converting an old spooky church into a modern lighthouse of progress are astounding. This book has a good ending and hence, I have nothing to dislike about it.
I did not find any typographical mistakes or grammatical errors because this book is excellently and thoroughly edited. I, Michael Lartey, the reviewer, find this book to be filled with emotional intensity, intrigue, and power, as well as being among my favorite genres. It possesses a well-crafted storytelling. Because of this, I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.
I recommend this book mainly to Christian readers who have an interest in psychological thrillers, history, and fiction. It offers an insight into life as viewed by men of the cloth, their sermons, and lives of inspiration, as well as their reaction to issues concerning circumstances and prejudice. It offers the readers to view life from a less mundane perspective and trust God to lead them the right way in life decision-making.
This book's intended audience is adult readers, because of non-borderline profane words.
Prism Of Her Soul
Rob Dixon
Nielsen
9781738502806, $12.69 pbk / $6.42 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Prism-Her-Soul-Rob-Dixon/dp/1738502805
"Prism Of Her Soul" by Rob Dixon is a 238-page fiction book released last year. It was published by Consilio Publishing in Great Britain, and published by Nielsen in the US. Its cover design and interior layout are by Consilio Publishing, its cover illustration is by Elizabeth Trinity, and its edition is by Lisa Williams. The ebook costs $6.42. Rob Dixon specializes in psychological thrillers and dark speculative fiction.
This story centers on Kate Summertown, a vibrant, happy-go-lucky, 33-year-old woman in London. Born from a family of successful lawyers, she lives life to the fullest, surrounded by the most privileged and well-to-do in society and partakers of undiluted carnality. However, things turn gloomy for her when, after an unforgettable one-night stand, her fear of unwanted pregnancy erupts, following countless nightmares. Her childhood hypochondria resurfaces, forcing her to face and embrace the other side of reality.
Will Kate recover from her traumatic episode? Will she keep the baby? What happens next? It is up to you, readers, to find out!
I undeniably admire the author's portrayal of Kate's dual personality and way of life as similar to the yin and yang of Chinese philosophy. Knowledgeable of the acts of inhuman cruelty occurring in other parts of the world, such as in China, Kate silently vows to live her life blissfully and to the best of her ability in her bid to "escape reality." As a hedonist, she is a very sanguine woman and open-minded in her mundaneness. Her confirmed nightmares of having a baby, however, add a melodramatic twist to her tale; she becomes very gloomy, lethargic, and oblivious to everything around her. Only when she heeded Mei did she appreciate Chinese tradition and spirituality.
Unlike most arrogant well-to-do individuals, Kate is more approachable, being courteous to her driver Frank, as well as Steve Lee and Zhou. Her father taught her about an honest and upright life with no regrets. Despite her cerebral challenges affecting her relationship with Steve Lee, she always maintains a life of prestige and grace. I think this novel is amazing, so I have no dislikes about it.
I did not find any typographical mistakes or grammatical errors because this book is thoroughly edited. I, Michael Lartey, the reviewer, find this book to be filled with emotional suspense, as well as being among my favorite genres. It possesses a well-crafted storytelling. Because of this, I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.
I recommend this book to lovers of fiction, politics, and Chinese history. It is an eye-opener into the horrors and consequences of abortion and child abuse, as well as the healing nature of authentic Chinese spirituality and medicine.
This book's intended audience is adults because of its profane words, sexual content, and drug abuse.
The Nature Of Demons
J.D. Carmicle
Demon Mythos
9798992828504 $13.99 pbk
B0F92F1VPS, $4.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Demons-J-D-Carmicle/dp/B0F94F7NHM
"The Nature Of Demons" by J.D. Carmicle is a 281-page fictional book released this year, the copywriter being the same author. Its cover artwork was produced this year by Tim Byrne. J.D. Carmicle, who is very adept at dark speculative fiction, currently lives in Cincinnati.
"The Nature of Demons" is a mythos surrounding apocalyptic events and demonic possession, centering on protagonist Jacob Freeman, an attorney, husband, and father who finds himself in an apocalyptic realm of chaos and anarchy, where a malevolent force contorts his body into a demonic one. As his family witnesses his paranormal transformation, he overcomes his dark urges and explores the post-apocalyptic world in a quest to protect his wife, Rebecca, and daughter, Micah, from danger.
Will they survive doomsday? What awaits Jacob in the post-apocalyptic world? Find out in this amazing book!
I thoroughly enjoyed the unique and descriptive nature of the author in crafting his storytelling. True to his preferred genre, the author's narration is very picturesque and leaves very little to the imaginations of the readers. The author fills each chapter with suspense and incredible gory details meant to pluck at the reader's emotional heartstrings. I hope the author becomes more adept at ensuring happy endings in his stories.
The character developments in this book are also very amazing. I loved the fact that Jacob remains human even after being demonically altered and almost kills Micah in a bit of a frenzy. In the post-apocalyptic world, he celebrates Halloween with her, takes her to the hospital, and soothes the more pessimistic Rebecca. He also befriends Judith and makes her protect his family.
The book is also very entertaining and filled with quotes from Micah at the end of each chapter. My favorite is, "Find good things in the world. Even if it looks like everything is as bad as it can be, there's something good you can find." A good and applicable morale, I must say.
This book is excellently and thoroughly edited, so I did not find any grammatical errors or typographical mistakes.
As a lover of all things fictional, be it literary fiction, science fiction, or dark speculative fiction, I, Michael Lartey, the reviewer, find this book to be thoroughly appealing and fun to read. The author's context and style in this book powerfully and incredibly convey emotional intensity; therefore, I rate it 5 out of 5 stars. This is one of the best books I have ever read. I recommend this book to lovers of fiction, mythos, and dark fantasy.
However, because this book contains profane words and mild sexual content, I recommend it only for adult readers.
The Nutcracker Of Crystalfall
Kay L. Moody
https://kaylmoody.com
Marten Press
9781954335127, $9.99 pbk / $0.00 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Nutcracker-Crystalfall-Retelling-Crystal-Thorns/dp/1954335121
"The Nutcracker Of Crystalfall" by Kay L. Moody, is a 142-page fictional book, which was released in the year 2022. It was published by Marten Press in Utah, edited by Sarah Lawson, and its cover artwork produced by Angel Leya. Kay L. Moody, who is a fantasy author of Court of Bitter Thorns and The Elements Of The Crown, resides in the Western United States.
This standalone novella centers on Clara, a young woman whom her parents forced to be betrothed to the man of her nightmares, a guy named Fritz. The night before her wedding, she escaped her fate by following a kind fae named Revyn who leads her to a hidden magical world of the Faeries. A witness to Clara's bravery and acute sense of perception, Kevyn offers her quest to help save Crystalfall and help Revyn redeem himself.
Do you think Clara is ready for the task ahead? How will she succeed? What happens next? Find out in this amazing novella!
The author, true to her penchant for strong female characters and the color pink, has woven love, magic, and heroism into the protagonist's personality. Unlike Fritz, Clara believes in honor and is ready to aid Plumia and the other pixies of Crystalfall, even when she had no bargain with them.
I love the moral lessons the author subtly crafts in her storytelling, featuring virtues of wisdom, bravery, sacrifice, teamwork, determination, and the promise of wonderful rewards after every good deed done. As the author stated in her note, "No matter what happens in life, eventually, a happy ending can be found." It is very difficult to find anything to dislike about this book.
I did not find any typographical mistakes or any grammatical errors, because this book is excellently and thoroughly edited. Because of my love for all things fiction, or dark speculative fiction, I, Michael Lartey, find this book to be thoroughly entertaining, and its context and style are imbued with splendor, incredibility and sublimity. Because of this, I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.
I recommend this book to lovers of fiction, romance, and stories with happy endings. Certainly a must read for the whole family!
Michael Lartey
Reviewer
Richard Russell's Bookshelf
Wrecked: The Edmund Fitzgerald and the Sinking of the American Economy
Thomas M. Nelson and Jerald Podair
Michigan State University Press
https://msupress.org
9781611865417, $29.95 PB, $29.95 Kindle, 221pp
https://msupress.org/9781611865417/wrecked
The bare facts are these: On 1975 November 10, the Edmund Fitzgerald (at 729 feet long, the largest ore carrier plying the Great Lakes) encountered a violent storm, which sank it 530 feet to the bottom of Lake Superior, taking with it over 26,000 long tons of taconite pellets and 29 crew members.
But that's only scratching the surface of the in-depth study of the tragedy just published in the 50th-anniversary book "Wrecked: The Edmund Fitzgerald and the Sinking of the American Economy" by co-authors Thomas M. Nelson and Jerald Podair.
Nelson (whose day job is county executive of Outagamie County in the Fox River Valley) explores the factors that made "the Fitz" unseaworthy, which only start with corporate greed that prompted the ship, poorly constructed and maintained, to sail overloaded. He places it in the context of a multi-decade national political trend of favoring wealthy corporations and tycoons over the actual workers who generated their wealth. He also decries America's failure to support both shipbuilding and shipping, which are major factors in the world economy that the US has voluntarily relinquished to other nations.
But the soul of the book is the stories of those 29 lost sailors gleaned from the author's moving personal interviews with their surviving families. They were ordinary people, many of them fellow Wisconsinites, who would never have come to your attention but for their sad fate. They were husbands, sons, brothers, and fathers. Hard workers who had chosen a difficult, dangerous job. Salt-of-the-earth types. Gone from home 9 months out of the year but nonetheless devoted family men. Wage earners. Providers. Victims of a capitalist system that viewed their loss as a nuisance on the balance sheet rather than a human tragedy.
Their bodies were never recovered. The Fitzgerald's final resting place has been declared by the government of Canada to be a protected gravesite.
The event was immortalized by Gordon Lightfoot in his ballad "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (https://youtu.be/FuzTkGyxkYI).
Editorial Note: "Wrecked: The Edmund Fitzgerald and the Sinking of the American Economy" from the Michigan State University Press is recommended for personal reading lists, as well as community and college/university library Maritime History collections.
Richard S. Russell
Reviewer
Robin Friedman's Bookshelf
Logic: A Theory of Inquiry (Collected Works of John Dewey}
John Dewey, author
JoAnn Boydston, editor
Ernest Nagel, introduction
Southern Illinois University Press
https://www.siupress.com
9780809328222, $45.00, paperback
https://www.amazon.com/Later-Works-John-Dewey-1925/dp/0809328224
Dewey's Logic
This book, "Logic: A Theory of Inquiry" is part of "The Collected Works of John Dewey", a 37 volume set of the philosopher's writings edited by Jo Ann Boydston (1924-- 2011), divided into early, middle, and late works. This scholarly series is a tribute to Dewey in its own right and preserves his voluminous writings to be studied and discussed. Dewey's "Logic" (1938) is the first volume in the Late Works, published when the philosopher had reached the age of eighty. The volume includes an introduction by Ernest Nagel (1901-1985) a logician and philosopher of science who corresponded with Dewey about the "Logic". Nagel both praises Dewey's broad approach and offers telling criticism of some of Dewey's particular positions.
The "Logic" is a lengthy, difficult, and daunting work. It is written in a flat, awkward and often obscure style. It is not a work for the casual reader or for those new to Dewey. I had the good fortune to read this work with a reading group in which several serious scholars of Dewey participated. We read and discussed one or two chapters a week over several months. It helped enhance my reading of the book.
John Dewey was an American pragmatist and naturalist philosopher. Both these terms are difficult to pin down. He is best-known for his work on education and on social philosophy. He wrote broadly throughout his life on all areas of philosophy including metaphysics and logic. His goal was the reconstruction of philosophy in light of the progress of science, particularly Darwinism, and the need for change and for social progress.
"Logic: A Theory of Inquiry" is an unusual book because, for some readers, it does not consist primarily of a study of logic. From the beginning of the 20th Century, the study of logic had been formalized and symbolized through the work of Bertrand Russell, Alfred North Whitehead, and many others. Symbolic logic remains an important ongoing achievement. Dewey's book knows but does not practice formalized logic. Rather, Dewey critiques it strongly as an abstraction, useful in its place but not constituting the entire discipline of logic.
Dewey also criticizes the Aristotelian logic which had held sway for millennia before the rise of symbolic logic. He argues that Aristotelian logic was based on a substantialist, essentialist, teleological and qualitative metaphysics and was also class-based, designed by the well--educated people with leisure in ancient Greece. Greek metaphysical assumptions did not survive the rise of science during the Enlightenment and then with evolutionary theory. Aristotelian logical theory likewise needed to be changed to eliminate its metaphysical assumptions and to understand science and its method.
Thus, Dewey proposes to develop logic as a "theory of inquiry". He wants to develop logic as the study of inquiry as such and to show its use in both common sense and science. For Dewey, logic is contextualized. It arises as part of the decision making process in concrete cases where there is a difficulty and a need to resolve it and to move on. The goal of inquiry is "warranted assertibility" as opposed to an abstract "truth". Logic is a technique or an instrument to achieve warranted assertibility rather than a thing.
Dewey explores how logic functions in common sense and then abstracted and refined in a way he works to explain through science. In this way, logic is not primarily a formalized study as symbolic logic would have it. Dewey's logic is based, I think, as was Aristotelian logic, the empirical logic of John Stuart Mill, and the various idealist logics of the time with which Dewey was familiar on metaphysical assumptions, in his case the assumptions of naturalism. Naturalism rejects transcendental entities such as God, intuition, reason which divide humans from the rest of nature as sources of explanation. Dewey develops the basis for naturalism in the first part of his book, in particular in chapters 2 and 3 which deal with biological and cultural-linguistic bases of human inquiry. In the long difficult treatment of logic throughout the book, Dewey applies naturalism to the structure of inquiry and the making of judgments, the nature of propositions, and the scientific method, including the social sciences and the difficulties they present. In the book's concluding chapter, Dewey uses his logic to criticize traditional epistemological/metaphysical theories in philosophy including realism and idealism. His work in this regard highly influenced the contemporary American neo-pragmatist, Richard Rorty (1931 -- 2007).
Dewey did not see his study of logic as fixed for all time. Rather it changes as science and as human needs change. Dewey wrote in the final chapter of the book, "the challenge to make the world more reasonable is one that is ever-renewed, since it is a challenge to execute concrete operations at definite times and places." (524) Dewey realized that there were gaps in his study that he invited other thinkers to pursue. He also realized that his logic was subject to change as science and as methods of inquiry changed. The scope of what "science" is for Dewey and of the reach of logic is a matter for dispute. There is much of value in what Dewey says about logic as a method and a great deal of room for discussion about specifics in his theory and about naturalism. As with many seminal works of philosophy, "Logic" is not easy. It is valuable and rewards reading for those with interest and patience.
Three Days in June
Anne Tyler
Knopf
https://www.knopfdoubleday.com
9780593803486, $27.00 hc / $14.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Three-Days-June-Anne-Tyler/dp/0593803485
Days Of Beauty
Anne Tyler (b. 1941) has 25 novels to her credit beginning with "If morning ever comes" (1964) written at the age of 22. Tyler wrote her most recent novel, "Three Days in June" (2025) at age 83. It is one of her shortest and with its lightness of tone suggests the wisdom that sometimes comes with age. Set in post-covid Baltimore, Tyler weaves together the story of two marriages, one new and one seemingly long over. It is a bittersweet tale of hope and of moving ahead after infidelity.
The novel begins on the "day of beauty" of Debbie 33, an attorney as she prepares for her marriage the following day to Kenneth, also an attorney. Debbie is at the beauty parlor preparing for her wedding. The novel transforms the initial day of beauty into three days of beauty: the wedding day, the day before, and the day after. "Kirkus Reviews" aptly summarizes the novel as "sweet, sharp, and satisfying".
More so than Debbie and Ken, the primary characters are Gail Baines, 61, Debbie's mother, and her ex-husband, Max. During Debbie's day of beauty, Gail, the first-person narrator of the tale, learns that she is being let go from her longstanding job as assistant to the headmistress at a private girl's school in Baltimore. "Lack of people skills", she is told. Gail also has to contend with Max who arrives unexpectedly on her doorstep with an aging cat to stay with her during the wedding. Gail is high-strung and tactless. Max is easy-going and laid back, one of many endearing men in Tyler's writing.
Over the three days in June, Gail and Max have to deal with each other, with the groom's wealthy and bossy family, and with an event which threatens to derail the wedding. They also come to deal with their own past, including the marriage and break-up. The book includes sharp dialogue, a portrayal of many secondary familial characters in addition to the primary characters, and a story that encourages reflection.
I have read Anne Tyler several times over the years. She writes about life in the every day with feeling for her characters and their lives. She has an understanding of people in a laughing through tears way that accepts them, foibles and all.. In particular, she portrays men sympathetically, and offers a minimum of social or political criticism or polemic. I appreciate her. This short book is a quick, delightful read.
Tender is the Night
F. Scott Fitzgerald, author
Charles Scribner's Sons
c/o Simon & Schuster
https://www.simonandschuster.com
9780684830506, $30.00, hc
https://www.amazon.com/Tender-Night-F-Scott-Fitzgerald/dp/0684830507
Fitzgerald's Tender Is The Night
F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1934 novel "Tender is the Night" is a story of part of America's "Lost Generation" in the period following WW I. Most of the story is set on the French Riviera in the 1920s with a large cast of wealthy, dissipated and idle Americans with little to do with themselves. The book tells of the fall of Dick Diver, a promising and idealistic young American psychiatrist. As an intern in Zurich, Dick had married a beautiful wealthy young American woman, Nichole Warren, who had been his patient. Nichole had severe and lasting psychiatric issues resulting from sexual abuse by her father. While on the Riviera, several years into the marriage, Dick is attracted to a callow 18-year old American movie actress, Rosemary Hoyt. Although he resists Rosemary's advances at the time, her memory stays with him. She and Dick have a brief affair a few years later. Dick ultimately sees her as shallow. By that time, his life has dissipated through drink, idleness, problems with Nichole, and the corrupting effect of Nichole's money. Nichole leaves Dick, and he returns to the States for a lonely, wasted life. It is all very sad.
The story is haunting, effectively organized, and well told. The opening scenes take place on the French Riviera with Dick seemingly at the height of his powers as a socialite and budding medical writer. After an extended opening, the story doubles back to Dick's life in Zurich and his fateful courtship of Nichole. We then witness Dick Diver's inexorable deterioration, alcoholism, and degeneracy, and the break-up of his marriage. The writing is eloquent and spare, with good characterizations of mostly unappealing people and pictures of places. Fitzgerald shows the rootlessness of a class of Americans after the Great War and the corrupting effects of money and idleness. Dick Diver's story, I thought, was sad and sentimental rather than tragic. There is little of the hero about him.
"Tender is the Night" is the story of wandering lives, lost innocence, and the waste of human potential. In some ways, the book reminded me of the writings of the Beats, following WW II. It is a 20th Century American book that rewards knowing.
Maryland's Ocean City Beach Patrol (Images of America)
Robert M. Craig
Arcadia Publishing
https://www.arcadiapublishing.com
9781467103923, $24.99, pbk
https://www.amazon.com/Marylands-Ocean-Patrol-Images-America/dp/1467103926
Athletes With A Buoy
Every summer, hundreds of thousands of people visit the small town of Ocean City, Maryland to enjoy its beaches. In 1930, the town founded the Ocean City Beach Patrol (OCBP) to protect swimmers and rescue those in distress. In his book, "Maryland's Ocean City Beach Patrol", Robert M. Craig offers a photographic history of the OCBP from its beginnings to the present. Craig is a former lifeguard on the OCBP and the son of the first and longest-serving captain of the patrol, Robert S. Craig, who receives a good deal of attention during the study.
The book covers the history and growth of the OCBP and the importance it has played in the lives of the people who become part of it. Lifeguarding is a summer job generally held by people of high school and college age. Many of the lifeguards of the OCBP have gone on to distinguished careers in fields such as education, business, medicine, law, and politics. Many come back to serve for several years. The book shows how the OCPB and its leaders have developed a spirit of purpose and commitment in its organization and people. The lifeguards, or as they are known the "Surf Rescue Technicians" are taught the importance of their job and instilled with a sense of pride in what they do. They learn that their work can be of crucial value, not only to the many people rescued every year from the surf and the waves, but to others who may be inspired by them during their visit to the beach. They are giving a sense of the value of teamwork and of organization. The OCBP holds reunions of its personnel every three years and also sponsors community activities. For many years, a dance was held at the end of the summer to provide additional pay to the lifeguards and to buy needed equipment. Those hired to be lifeguards must be in outstanding physical condition, complete a rigorous training program, and be of strong character. The most recognizable tools of the OCBP are the buoys used to rescue swimmers in distress (the lifeguards are often called "athletes with a buoy") and the semaphore used to communicate along the breadth of the shore, usually to locate lost children.
The book shows the growth of the OCBP as the beach and the patrol expanded over the years. The book is organized under the tenure of the captains who have led the organization. It is significant in showing the cohesiveness of the OCBP that it has had only three captains since the position was established in 1935. Robert Craig was the first captain serving until 1987. He established the basic training regimen, designed the buoy that became standard equipment until the 1980s, and established the spirit of the organization. He also hired the people that became his organizational successors. In 1978, Craig hired the first female lifeguard for the OCBP. Craig's sucessor, George Schoepf served as captain from 1987 until his death in 1997 after a long career under Craig. Among other accomplishments, he instituted competitive swimming and athletic programs and changed the structure of the OCBP into smaller working units. The current captain of the OCBP, "Butch" Arbin, has served since 1997 and has brought contemporary technology into the work of the OCBP. Arbin is known for observations such as "anyone can get a job but you can make a difference with the Ocean City Beach Patrol"; "One doesn't really join the Beach Patrol, the Beach Patrol gets into you"; "We are family, and we change lives. "
The book includes 160 pages of images of the lifeguards, individually and in groups, the ocean, the beach, and the town. I was impressed by the close-knit character of the OCPB and by the devotion to their mission and to the organization that comes through in this account. The subject matter of the work was unusual for me, but this book made me glad I learned something of the OCBP and of Ocean City. It brought the OCBP to life. The book is part of the series of local photographic histories published by Arcadia Publishers in its Images of America series. Learning about the OCBP taught me again about feeling a sense of value in the work that one does and about the importance and variety of the work done every day by Americans in their communities.
The American Soul: Recovering The Wisdom Of The Founders
Jacob Needleman, author
Tarcher
c/o Penguin
https://www.penguin.com/tarcher
9781585422265, $25.95
https://www.amazon.com/American-Soul-Rediscovering-Wisdom-Founders/dp/1585421383
This timely, provocative book combines and shows the relationship between two large themes: a)the nature and importance of spiritual and religious values and b) the nature and spiritual character of American democracy, with all its flaws. I was struck to find this book and the manner in which Needleman developed his themes. In broad outline, Needleman's preoccupations are my own. Without agreeing with everything he said, I came away from his book with my own ideas clarified and strengthened -- and a bit envious of Needleman's eloquence and ability to put his ideas into print.
Needleman draws a double picture of American freedom and its use. One picture is that freedom means everyone does simply as he or she pleases. This is, for Needleman, an America which has been criticized by many for its materialism, its emphasis on growth, its sole focus on the profit motive, its greed, racism, and, sometimes, bellicosity.
The other America is a spiritual American whose ideals of freedom and democracy were founded upon religious and metaphysical ideas of the nature of man, human commonality, the uniqueness of each person, and the search inward of each person for what is valuable and important. The ideal of democracy on this view is not simple pursuit of material wealth but rather a turning inward so that each person may pursue life and truth in his or her own way.
And what is the relationship between these two concepts of America? How do we help transform the one into the other?
Needleman's answer is in part a study of the wisdom literature common to all religions and great philosophy of life. (Needleman evidences a great deal of impatience with standard church or synagogue-going. He argues that he himself has found such conventional forms of religion sterile and routine.) He finds such wisdom, in various of its phases, in the writings of the American founders.
Thus the larger part of the book is a discussion and creative discussion of the American founders and a reading of certain of American texts. Thus Needleman gives us a paragraph-by-paragraph discussion of Washington's Farewell Address, The Tenth Federalist Paper, Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, an Oration of Frederick Douglass, an Iroquois Indian creation myth, and Walt Whitman's late essay, "Democratic Vistas". He tries to show how these texts show an America of spiritual values rather than money-making. His aim is, avowedly, to remythologize America and its past.
In a broad sense his project is carried through well. Some of his readings of the texts, particularly of Washington's Farewell Address and of the Iroquois myth, seem to me forced. Needleman would have done better to let Washington speak for himself rather than create a Washington with, perhaps, Needleman's own spiritual preoccupations. The readings of Whitman, Douglass, and Lincoln work much better, even on Needleman's own terms.
In trying to get people to think about America -- and to reassess its values in spiritual terms --Needleman has critical things to say about America's treatment of the Indians and about the long legacy of slavery. These themes are valuable and important and Needleman is right to dwell upon them. I have some question about whether the treatment of the Indians is in itself free from a degree of modern stereotyping. Be that as it may, Needleman's point is that we may see America with its flaws and crimes and love it and try to recognize and bring about the ideal in the sometimes shabby nature of the real.
The book shows a great deal of erudition, both on spiritual texts and on American history. In addition to his treatment of certain standard figures in American history, Needleman has a fascinating discussion of the Ephrata community in Pennsylvania and its founder Conrad Bissel. This Protestant spiritual community flourished briefly during the period just before the Revolutionary War.
Walt Whitman has the last word in this book, as he properly should, with his vision of America and of the American person.
There is a great deal of interest, as best as I can tell, in American history, as evidenced by the many new books on the Founders and the unending interest in Lincoln and the Civil War, and in spirituality, which I myself have found in a study of Buddhism. This book combines these two broad themes in an attempt to help the reader rethink and America and understand it anew. It is a worthy goal and the book carries it out well.
Robin Friedman
Reviewer
S.K. Bane's Bookshelf
The Encyclopedia of New Wave
Daniel Bukszpan
Foreword by Gerald Casale
Sterling Publishing
9781402784729, $39.99, paperback
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1402784724
"Kajagoogoo's debt to Duran Duran is more than just stylistic. Aside from their status as a British synthpop quintet with pretty-boy good looks and teased, multicolored hair, their most famous single, 'Too Shy,' was produced by Duran Duran's keyboard player Nick Rhodes. Kajagoogoo may have been derivative, but at least they exhibited good taste." So asserts Daniel Bukszpan in this entertaining, informative, opinionated, amusing, and lavishly illustrated overview of New Wave music. Although it peaked in the Eighties, New Wave, a "highly eclectic... music movement," is still adored by fans in 2025. Just this morning, for example, I had my daily dose of The Cars, Modern English, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, Joe Jackson, and Bow Wow Wow.
Bukszpan offers more than 150 pithy profiles of bands, from a-ha to Ze Popes. Consider his insightful assessment of Devo, formed by Kent State students in 1973. "Taking their name," he observes, "from the concept of devolution - a belief that mankind has not evolved but actually degenerated into a more conformist shell of itself - Devo was one of the most original bands of the New Wave era. The music they made to reflect this was utterly free of either groove or emotion, but this isn't to say that it wasn't enjoyable. Devo's music sounded more like an assembly line product than an artistic endeavor, which is exactly what they set out to accomplish... Devo's commercial breakthrough was their 1980 album Freedom of Choice, which contained 'Whip It,' their best-known song. The album went gold, the highest sales peak the band would ever reach, and the 'Whip It' video became a mainstay of early MTV. Somehow, Devo's quirky brand of machinery music had gone mainstream."
In addition to band profiles, Bukszpan examines such fascinating topics as Stiff Records; Gender Benders (including Grace Jones, Annie Lennox, and Pete Burns); New York clubs, California clubs, and UK clubs; Heartthrobs (including Adam Ant, Billy Idol, and "everyone in Duran Duran"); Fashion; New Wave Styles (including New Romantic, Power Pop, Synthpop, Goth, Neue Deutsche Welle, and Blue-Eyed Soul); Music Videos; and Female Sex Symbols (including Debbie Harry, Dale Bozzio, and Belinda Carlisle). He also provides several lists (including the "Ten Best New Wave Singles" and the "Top Twenty Essential New Wave Albums"); a New Wave Timeline, covering the years 1959-1991; and a helpful Bibliography. Devo bass player Gerald Casale contributed the Foreword.
New Wave enthusiasts will undoubtedly relish Bukszpan's brilliant book. To quote Dead or Alive's Pete Burns, "My heart goes bang, bang, bang, bang!"
S.K. Bane
Reviewer
Suanne Schafer's Bookshelf
River of Lies (Detective Emily Hunter #2)
James L'Etoile
Oceanview Publishing
https://oceanviewpub.com
9781608095902, $9.99
https://www.amazon.com/River-Detective-Emily-Hunter-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0CW1M4WTR
River of Lies is the second in author James L'Etoile's Detective Emily Hunter Mystery series. Though it continues with the same characters both major and minor, it can easily be read as a standalone. I've read and enjoyed L'Etoile's earlier Nathan Parker and Detective Penley series. Readers who enjoy noir, thrillers, police procedurals, and suspense will enjoy his books. L'Etoile uses his twenty-nine years as an associate warden in a maximum-security prison, a hostage negotiator, facility captain, and director of California's state parole system to add verisimilitude to his novels. His style is taut and fast-paced, and he wields red herrings like a knife-thrower. He also deftly blends current events into his fiction. Those who follow L'Etoile on social media will recognize his "not my cat" who has adopted him in the cat who adopts Hunter.
When the homeless camps spread throughout the city of Sacramento become targets of arson, Detective Emily Hunter and her partner, Javier Medina, take over the investigation from other detectives. Despite the fact that at the arson sites, bodies of a former mayor and a social worker are found at the arson site, the city, at unprecedented speed, cleans up the arson sites the next day, destroying evidence.
Caught in the blaze, a mother, Lisa Larkin, is badly burned, but her daughter, Willow, escapes. The roles of the various characters shift (the mayor, Larkin and her daughter, the social worker, the former mayor) as the plot thickens.
Hunter deals with all this while searching for a memory care unit for her mother who's suffering from Alzheimer's and a budding relationship with a fellow cop.
Swamplandia!
Karen Russell
Knopf Doubleday
https://knopfdoubleday.com
9780307595447, $7.99
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0307263991
After reading Russell's The Antidote recently and being enchanted with it, I decided to read some of her older works, beginning with Swamplandia!, her debut novel.
Swamplandia! is a family-run tourist attraction on an island in the Everglades. The cast of characters includes grandfather Sawtooth, father Big Chief, mother Hilola, seventeen-year-old big brother Kiwi, sixteen-year-old big sister Osceola, and thirteen-year-old Ava who is being trained as a gator-wrestler. When the mother, the headliner who dives into a pool of alligators, dies, the family is thrown in disarray. The business suffers substantial losses, and its very existence is threatened. Sawtooth is suffering from dementia and is put away. The father runs off to the mainland on some secret journey. Kiwi also goes to the mainland to earn money to pay down the attraction's debts; but with a minimum wage job, he finds survival difficult, much less making payments to the bank. Osceola is obsessed with spiritualism (on top of being psychotic and seeing ghosts). Eventually she elopes with the ghost of Louis Thanksgiving, who worked on a Depression-era dredging barge before dying on it. Left alone on the island, Ava determines that she must save her sister who is driving the barge into Hell to marry Louis. Assisted by a bizarre man, the Bird Man, Ava embarks on a journey through the mangrove wilderness.
Russell blends Greek myths (Charon piloting the boat into Hell, a mortal following a dead lover into Hell, and a young mortal trying to enter Hell and return to the real world), Everglades folklore, and history (such as the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane which killed World War I veterans working on a relief project). Russell's prose is gorgeous. Her dialogue sparkles. Her knowledge of the swamp's flora and fauna is impressive. My only complaint is that the ending seems too convenient and contrived.
The Weight of Ink
Rachel Kadish
HarperCollins
https://www.harpercollins.com
9780544866676, $15.99
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1328915786
The Weight of Ink is a three point-of-view (Helen Watt, a British professor with Parkinson's disease; her graduate student, Aaron Levy; and Ester Velasquez, a Jewish immigrant who serves as a scribe to a blind rabbi who lost his vision in the Inquisition. This is also a three timeline story (Helen Watt in Israel in the mid 1900s; Helen and Aaron in early twenty-first century Britain; and Ester in Britain during the late 17th century, roughly half a century after Shakespeare's death. At 706 pages, it is not a novel to be undertaken lightly but worth the effort.
When a treasure trove of Jewish manuscripts is discovered in a 17th century home on the outskirts of London, Helen is asked to evaluate them by a former student. As her Parkinson's disease is worsening, an American graduate student, Aaron, assists her. Together they explore the identity of the scribe. The past and present characters are well-developed and intriguing. The historical timeline often becomes a history lesson (European history, the Spanish Inquisition, Jewish history, European history, Sephardic Judaism), as well as general religion, philosophy, theology, writing, interfaith relationships, and the place of women in the 1600s. If you don't like reading philosophy or history, you probably won't enjoy this book, but I found both fascinating.
Laurus
Eugene Vodolazkin
Oneworld Publications
https://oneworld-publications.com
9781780747569, $5.99
https://www.amazon.com/Laurus-Eugene-Vodolazkin-ebook/dp/B014C57RDQ
Laurus describes the life of a fictional fifteenth-century ascetic Russian folk healer, pilgrim, and monk. Arseny, the protagonist, after his parents die of the plague, is raised by his grandfather, a skilled healer who teaches his grandson both healing and reading and writing. Once his grandfather dies, Arseny lives alone until he meets Ustina who becomes the love of his life. She becomes pregnant, but in a young man's arrogance, he thinks he can deliver the child because he's read about how to do it, and doesn't call for the midwife. Ustina and baby both die, and Arseny begins a lifetime of reparation to their memories. As he matures, he takes on new names along with new identities, ending with "Laurus" - "Laurus is a good name, for the plants that carry this name, laurus, are medicinal. Being evergreen, they signify eternal life." - when he becomes a hermit monk.
I undertook this novel, having heard that it is the Russian equivalent of The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco's 1980s debut mystery about medieval monks, one of my all-time favorite books (and movies starring Sean Connery). Though both works abound with monks, Laurus is not a mystery of the sort that The Name of the Rose is; rather religious "mysteries" like miracles, visions, and prophecies, are standard parts of the life of a medieval Russian saint. Laurus, like The Name of the Rose, is atmospheric and sucks the reader into a truly foreign milieu.
Laurus blends contemporary language with medieval-ish language such as "light wente awaye from myne eyes" with some really trendy words like "Take it easy; jeez." Reading the translator's note, I learned that he attempted to replicate the Russian version. Also there are some flights into more contemporary times like an extended passage that occurred in 1907. These, I came to feel, were used to reproduce the cyclical nature of the world, its seasons, times of health and plenty, times of sickness and famine, as the "shape" of time itself is important within Laurus. All in all, this book is a complex story about a simple man trying to redeem himself.
The Book of Thorns
Hester Fox
Graydon House
http://www.graydonhousebooks.com
9780369747938, $12.99
https://www.amazon.com/Book-Thorns-Hester-Fox-ebook/dp/B0C4LMTFSC
During the Napoleonic era in Europe, flowers and their "secret meanings" became a bona fide craze; for example, Pierre-Joseph Redoute, a painter and botanist from the Austrian Netherlands, was renowned for his watercolors of roses, lilies, and other flowers, many of which were published as large engravings. Against this backdrop, two sisters are separated at an early age but are bound by a magical link, a secret language of flowers, to each other and their dead mother.
Cornelia, the youngest, flees her cruel uncle's home to join Napoleon's army as a traveling naturalist. Her ability to harness botanical medicines to heal any wound and bring soldiers back from the brink of death earns her praise. She falls in love with a young French soldier and a female camp follower. Lijsbeth lives as a servant who is known for her ability to arrange flowers. She meets an English soldier and falls in love. The two sisters have several close encounters - on a battlefield and in England when Cornelia is arrested as a spy and taken to Britain for trial.
I enjoyed the historical fiction aspects of the Napoleonic wars but felt the magic connecting the sisters was strained.
The Name of the Rose
Umberto Eco, author
William Weaver, translator
HarperVia
https://www.harpercollins.com
9780547575148, $19.99
https://www.amazon.com/Name-Rose-Umberto-Eco-ebook/dp/B003WUYPTC
I read The Name of the Rose (Il nome della rosa) in Italian when it was first released in 1980. For someone who was fluent in conversational Italian, it was a tough go, so when it was released in translation in 1983, I read it again and loved it once again. Having recently read Laurus by Eugene Vodolazkin, purported to be the Russian equivalent, I decided to reread The Name of the Rose for the third time.
This is a murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in 1327. The monastery is a rare treasure trove on ancient books and documents held in a huge labyrinthine library. A Franciscan monk, William of Baskerville arrives with his novice, Adso, at a Benedictine abbey just ahead of Pope John XXII and Bernardo Gui (an inquisitor) who are meeting to discuss apostolic poverty and heresy. The night before William's arrival, a series of murders begins which seem to correspond to the seven trumpets described in the Book of Revelation.
William is very contemporary in his thought process and uses Aristole's logic, Thomas Aquinas's theology, and Roger Bacon's empiricism to solve the crimes. With these tools he decodes manuscripts, collects evidence, explores the monastery's enormous library, and solves the mysterious deaths.
If you enjoy books with lots of delightful, sophisticated words to look up in the dictionary and books that combine history, religion, philosophy, and humanism, you'll enjoy this book. If you don't enjoy passages of untranslated Latin or treatises on heresy in its many medieval forms, you won't enjoy this.
If you liked this book, but would like to read something similar but less "deep" (and shorter) you might look at Ellis Peters's Brother Cadfael mystery series (and I've read the entire series). Cadfael lives in the 12th century at the Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, in Shropshire, England. A former soldier and sailor, Cadfael, like William of Baskerville, is curious, a skillful observer of the human condition, a healer and herbalist, and walks a fine line between the secular and the sacred world of the monastery while solving mysteries.
A Daughter's Guide to Mothers and Murder (A Countess of Harleigh Mystery Book 8)
Dianne Freeman
Kensington
www.kensingtonbooks.com
9781496745149, $27.00
https://www.amazon.com/Daughters-Mothers-Countess-Harleigh-Mystery/dp/1496745140
Book 8 of the Countess of Harleigh Mystery series, A Daughter's Guide to Mothers and Murder, continues with Frances and George in Paris during the Paris Olympics and the Paris World's Fair. An acquaintance, Alicia Stoke-Whitney, asks Frances to investigate Alicia's daughter's current love interest, Carlson Deaver. He's a wealthy American whose wife was murdered less than a year earlier. Frances and George are working together with Daniel Cadieux, Inspector for the Surete, on a startling new lead on the case. Frances manages to co-opt her mother into helping with the detective work. The lead suspect is the divine actress Sarah Bernhardt, but she has received an earring she recognizes as belonging to Deaver's wife along with a threatening note.
Author Freeman has reached a new peak in handling multiple suspects and theories, leading to delightfully unexpected twists and turns. I also enjoy that Frances is a liberated woman who becomes more liberated with time. Here she learns to drive and to play golf.
The Ancients
John Larison
Viking
c/o Penguin
https://www.penguin.com
9780593831175, $14.99
https://www.amazon.com/Ancients-Novel-John-Larison-ebook/dp/B0CPDV2DZ4
The Ancients is a post-apocalyptic climate novel. One family lives a prehistoric-feeling life. They live in isolation in the wilderness trying to survive after the fish and elk they depend on for food begin to disappear. The rest of their tribe has moved on, hoping for a better life. This family is fractured further when the father is killed and the mother captured by raiders. Their children, Kushim, Maren, and Leerit, not knowing why their parents abandoned them, struggle to survive as the oldest daughter, Leerit, attempts to lead them to the rest of their tribe. In the meantime, their mother, Lilah, is desperate to reunite with her children but is held in a tightly-guarded compound by her captors. There she encounters a mother with two daughters in similar straits. Their compound is in a city of haves and have-nots with an economy based on wool. The occupants of the city are more sophisticated than the first family, but are recycling plastic bits and bronze from a prior civilization. Sand is overtaking all grazing lands and even the city itself. Cyrus, a city-dweller and owner of sheep and wool-processing plants, struggles with his forbidden love for another man and his loyalties to the Emperor. When he fails to deliver the required quota of wool, he is unable to obtain a seat on the ark that is to transport the haves from the failing city.
I enjoyed parts of The Ancients and at times was transported by near-lyrical prose; however, I found it challenging to connect with. The three threads take a long time to coalesce. The book is broken into many sections and, at times, it was hard to tell where and whom I was reading about. There are some political underpinnings, and some parts that seemed too preachy. Unlike with Larison's Whiskey When We're Dry, I was not immediately immersed in the story and felt that it was too long and too fragmented.
Suanne Schafer, Reviewer
www.SuanneSchaferAuthor.com
Susan Bethany's Bookshelf
Myth-Building in Modern Media
A. J. Black
McFarland & Company
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476675633, $29.95, PB, 213pp
https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Building-Modern-Media-Mytharc-Imagined/dp/1476675635
Synopsis: Mythology for centuries has served as humanity's window into understanding its distant past. In our modern world, storytelling creates its own myths and legends, in media ranging from the world of television and cinema to literature and comic books, that help us make sense of the world we live in today.
What is the "Mytharc"? How did it arise? How does it inform modern long-form storytelling? How does the classical hero's journey intersect with modern myths and narratives? And where might the storytelling of tomorrow take readers and viewers as we imagine our future?
From The X-Files to H.P. Lovecraft, from Lost to the Marvel cinematic universe and many worlds beyond, with the publication of "Myth-Building in Modern Media: The Role of the Mytharc in Imagined Worlds" A.J. Black explores our modern storytelling mythology and where it may lead us.
Critique: A seminal and groundbreaking study that is impressively original, exceptionally well written, and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, "Myth-Building in Modern Media: The Role of the Mytharc in Imagined Worlds" is a unique work that is further enhanced with the inclusion of an informative Preface (What is the Mytharc?), thirty-four pages of Chapter Notes, a six page Bibliography, and a six page Index. An extraordinary and unreservedly recommended pick for community and college/university library Mythology and Popular Culture collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that this trade paperback (6 x 0.43 x 9 inches, 9.6 ounces) edition of "Myth-Building in Modern Media: The Role of the Mytharc in Imagined Worlds" is also available from McFarland & Company in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.99).
Editorial Note: A.J. Black (https://www.thecompanion.app/author/a-j-black) writes and podcasts about popular culture in entertainment on his blog, Cultural Conversation, and podcast network "We Made This". He lives in Wiltshire, England.
Susan Bethany
Reviewer
Willis Buhle's Bookshelf
Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults
Mara Einstein
Prometheus Books
c/o Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group
www.rowman.com
Blackstone Publishing
https://www.blackstonelibrary.com
9781493086153, $28.95, HC, 296pp
https://www.amazon.com/Hoodwinked-Marketers-Same-Tactics-Cults/dp/1493086154
Synopsis: From viral leggings to must-have apps, with the publication of "Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults" Dr. Mara Einstein exposes the hidden parallels between cult manipulation and modern marketing strategies. An eye-opening investigation that draws from her unique background and professional experience as both a former MTV marketing executive and a respected media studies professor, Dr. Einstein reveals how companies weaponize psychology to transform casual customers into devoted followers.
"Hoodwinked" reveals:
How social media platforms use anxiety-inducing algorithms to keep you trapped in a purchase-panic cycle
The secret playbook marketers use to create "brand religions" around everyday products
Why even the most rational consumers fall prey to scarcity marketing and manufactured FOMO
Practical strategies to break free from manipulative digital marketing tactics
With compelling real-world examples and insights from industry insiders, "Hoodwinked" equips you with the knowledge to recognize and resist these sophisticated manipulation techniques. Dr. Einstein's expertise and years of 'insider' experience has made her the ideal guide through the maze of modern marketing manipulation.
"Hoodwinked" is a critically important resource for anyone wanting to break free from the cult of consumerism and discover how to make mindful choices in an increasingly manipulative digital marketplace.
Critique: An original, seminal and groundbreaking study that is impressively informative, exceptionally well written, and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in presentation, "Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults" is especially and unreservedly recommended for readers with an interest in consumer behavior, marketing/advertising strategies and ethics, Very highly recommended for personal, professional, community, corporate, and college/university library Business Management collections and supplemental MBA curriculum studies lists, it should be noted for MBA students, academia, entrepreneurs, marketing advertisers, corporate executives, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that this hardcover edition of "Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults" from Prometheus Books is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.57) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Publishing, 9798228509788, $45.95, CD).
Editorial Note: Dr. Mara Einstein (https://www.drmaraeinstein.com) is an experienced marketing critic. After working for a decade in corporate marketing for some of the biggest names in the business (hello, MTV), she left to become an academic. She is a tenured professor and former chair in the department of media studies at Queens College (CUNY). She is a tenured professor and former chair in the department of media studies at Queens College (CUNY).
Willis M. Buhle
Reviewer
James A. Cox
Editor-in-Chief
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