DWD's Reviews

Published by Simon and Schuster Audio in 2012 Read by Keith Nobbs Duration: 2 hours, 33 minutes Based on the  William Joyce book series Guardians of Childhood , Rise of the Guardians was a very pleasant surprise when we took the kids to go see it a few months ago. I was not expecting much and came away very impressed with a complex story with plenty for adults to think about but light enough for kids to be entertained. It also has a balance of scary and funny and avoids the all too easy bodily function-type jokes. The premise of the story is that the Guardians are defending the children of the world against an onslaught by the Boogeyman, who goes by the name Pitch Black. Pitch Black revels in causing fear and nightmares and destroying the best aspects of childhood. The Guardians are the Sandman (Guardian of Dreams), the Easter Bunny (Guardian of Hope), Santa Claus (Guardian of Wonder) and the Tooth Fairy (Guardian of Precious Memories). They have been called together by T...

Published in 2013 by HighBridge Audio Multicast performance Duration: 3 hours, 40 minutes In American Chronicles: The Vietnam War , NPR has collected 24 stories that were originally broadcast over their radio network concerning the Vietnam War. All of the stories are high quality productions. Some are quite moving. All are informative. The collection starts with a look at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. followed by a story about a Washington, D.C. anti-war protest that was broadcast on NPR’s very first day (May 3, 1971). As the collection goes along the listener is treated to stories of Red Cross workers, orphans of the war, the analyst that leaked “The Pentagon Papers”, two stories by Walter Cronkite, actual tapes of Lyndon Johnson discussing how to present the war to the American people, the My Lai Massacre, refugees who fled the North Vietnamese conquest of South Vietnam, pilots and sailors that saved those refugees, the Kent State shootings and so much more...

Published in 1991 by Pocket Books North S*A*R is the first novel by a high school friend of Tom Clancy concerns two U.S. Navy pilots named Mike Santy and Tim Boyle who are best friends serving during the late stages of the Vietnam War. They serve off of the coast of North Vietnam. Santy is a pilot of an A-7 Corsair attack bomber and regularly flies bombing missions over North Vietnam. Boyle flies a Sikorsky HH-3A Sea King Combat SAR helicopter. His job is to rescue downed pilots, both in the water and in North Vietnam. The book is a pretty typical war story novel featuring pilots reminding me quite a bit of Stephen Coonts' earlier novel  Flight of the Intruder . The story is solid. There is plenty of detail and jargon but not so much that the reader is overwhelmed. The story is paced a bit slow at first, but the end is very strong, assuming that the reader can overlook the overwhelming coincidence the brings the two buddies together at the climax of the story. Sikorsky HH-3A...

Published by HighBridge Company in 2012 Read by Brian Holsopple Duration: 11 hours, 5 minutes. Unabridged I am a history teacher. My favorite area of study is the American Civil War but the American Revolution comes in at a close second. I cannot even count the number of books that I have read about the Revolutionary Era and I thought that I had a pretty solid handle on Jefferson - until I read Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves . I had always pictured Jefferson as a Unitarian (who was willing to go "more" religious for political reasons) who wrote eloquently about freedom and tyranny but somehow compartmentalized this in his own life when it came to slavery. Or, was unable to free his slaves due to crushing debts incurred because he was a philosopher and not a businessman. The debts are always mentioned, usually in conjunction with the renovations to Monticello, reinforcing the impression that the philosopher was happily spending his way to obliv...

Published in 2011 by Carrick Publishing This short story does a great job of creating a vivid cast of characters. The setting is in an armored car that collects from Las Vegas casinos. The crew is headed up by Elmer Gask, a mouthy sexist racist who is one week from retirement. He is very proud to have never been successfully robbed and is looking forward to getting a reward of $22,000 for 22 loss-free years of carrying millions of dollars every day. His crew today consists of Latino Gil Perez and Native American Jessica Scout. They are frequent targets of Gask's abusive tongue-lashings, although Scout seems to be a special target because not only is she a minority, she is also an extremely beautiful young woman. But, as Gask finds out, today will not be a normal day in the armored car... I rate this kindle book 4 stars out of 5 due to the clunky ending. But the rest of the story is quite good. This story can be found on Amazon.com here: Lightning Rider Reviewed on ...

Published in 2011 by Harper Fiction Andrew Gross just keeps on cranking out solid escapist thrillers. This is not life-changing literature but it sure is a book that can make you late for work in the morning because you just can't put it down! In Eyes Wide Open we follow Jay Erlich, a New York surgeon. His brother, who lives in Morro Bay, California calls and tells him that his nephew has climbed the giant rock in the bay and fallen to his death from it and the police are ruling it a suicide. Erlich's brother and his nephew both suffer from mental illness but his brother is sure that it is not a suicide. Erlich rushes out to comfort his brother and his sister-in-law and help them figure out what happened. When he arrives, he discovers that there are a lot of unanswered questions and things look suspicious. The more Erlich digs, the more he discovers that there may be a connection between his nephew's death and a long-forgotten connection between his brother and a ...

Good advice for all people, not just older folks Published in 2012 by Hawthorne Publishing . Marie Albertson found herself an empty nester widow in Plymouth, Indiana after helping raise four children and then taking care of a husband with Parkinson's. What does she do? Go to the local Senior Center every Tuesday and sit home and watch TV? No. Albertson continues what she always has done - what no one expected. She had already earned a college degree one class at a time having to pay for it herself because her husband thought it was a waste of time for her to get one. (note: she worked at the Plymouth Library which I am familiar with, having lived in Plymouth from 1990-1993). Albertson took her degree and her library experience to Indianapolis and worked for the Indiana State Library  and make a new life for herself - at age 63! Indiana State Library Not only that, she has determined to go and do all sorts of new things - and that's what this book is all about. Her t...

Published by Penguin Audio in 2011 Read by the author, William Shatner Duration: 4 hours, 27 minutes Non-fiction, biography If you are a fan of William Shatner , this is a must-read, or a must-listen if you prefer to listen to the audiobook version like I did. Shatner is unique and if you do not appreciate his odd blend of storytelling, self-promotion and urge to stroke his own ego then please skip this book. But, if you think a little self-promotion (actually, a lot of it) is okay and are willing to tolerate Shatner's ego trips for the sake of a good story than this short audiobook should please. Most of the book covers the last 5 years or so of his career under the guise of explaining several rules that he  has followed throughout his career. The most important rule and the most consistently followed is his admonition to say yes to opportunity. Throughout the book he talks about the positives that he has had in his career due to his willingness to say yes, includin...

Published by Dell in 2012. Originally published in in 2007 by Delacorte Press I must live under a rock. I had not read any Jack Reacher novel until I read this one and I had not even heard of the series until last summer when a fellow blogger was excitedly talking about the latest release. So, what did I think? First of all, you do not have to have read any of the rest of the series to follow what is happening in this story. Jack Reacher is a drifter and he has been since he retired from the U.S. Army in 1997. In the military he led an investigation squad of the military police. Like Clint Eastwood's famed " Man WIth No Name " character from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Reacher says little, keeps his own counsel and does what he thinks is best, follow his own sense of justice and drifts from place to place. Lee Child In Bad Luck and Trouble , Reacher receives a message from a former member of his unit. He tracks her down and discovers that another former...

Published in 2012 by Mind Wings Audio Read by Joe Barrett Duration: 1 hour, 6 minutes Technically, The Sheriff of Sorrow is not a western because it takes place in northern Michigan. However, the story has all of the traditional pieces of a Western: a wild town, miners, rich guys manipulating the town, card games, people accused of cheating at card games, saloons, prostitutes, gun play and a new sheriff in town. Let's face it, in the days of the Old West, most of the rest of the country was not particularly settled, either. This short story serves as the introduction to a new series about Sorrow, Michigan. Cal Haskell has been brought to town to be the new sheriff. The short story introduces most of the characters, give the listener a feel for the situation and establishes the new sheriff as a no-nonsense tough and smart guy that takes his job seriously - no matter who is involved. The reader is Joe Barrett. I like Barrett's folksy midwestern voice. He does a good job ...

Published in June of 2006 by Random House Audio Read by Stephen Hoye. Unabridged Duration: 8 hours, 51 minutes. The book and audiobook for  10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America  are companion works for a History Channel series of the same name. They cover the same ten days but are independently researched and written. These dates are not the super-obvious ones like July 4, 1776 and December 7, 1941. One could quibble with the choices (it is part of the fun of a project like this one) but his choices are good ones. Here are the ten days and a few comments: 1) May 26, 1637 The date of a Puritan massacre of Indians at Mystic. He argues that King Philip's War is the model of American/Indian relations for the next 250+ years. 2) January 25, 1787 Shay's Rebellion and its influence on the Constitution. Emphasized the need for a more centralized government. 3) January 24, 1848 California Gold Rush. Focused on environmental degradation and not so much on the e...

Published in 2011 by Abrams Image Miller, Paulson and Wool (better known as Team Ugly) maintain the website uglychristmassweaterparty.com  which is a re-seller of Christmas sweaters - the gaudier and more covered with Christmas bling, the better. This book tells the reader how to organize an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party, including ideas on how to turn it into a charity event, special adult beverages, games, ideas for gift exchanges and decorations. But, the bulk of the book is "The Ugly Christmas Hall of Fame." There are nearly 100 pages of pictures of Ugly Christmas Sweaters that are named and delightfully described with a snarky paragraph or two. This is really more of a holiday coffee table book than a serious read. This is something to pick up and read for a couple of minutes and then move on. But, those few minutes will be amusing, the pictures of those atrocious sweaters are high quality and you'll find yourself wondering if you should pick one of these things...

Published in 2011 by Delacorte Press Conn Iggulden continues his historical fiction series about the Mongols with Conqueror: A Novel of Kublai Khan . This is the fifth book in the series, but you can easily jump in here, like I did, and not be lost so long as you have a rudimentary idea about the Mongols and their lifestyle. Iggulden comments that he was interested in writing another trilogy focusing on Kublai Khan but decided against it when he realized that while Kublai's life and reign were interesting (Marco Polo, attempted invasions of Japan, etc. ), they were not nearly as dramatic as his early life and would be rather anti-climactic in comparison. Kublai Khan (1215-1294)  as a young man Kublai is a grandson of Genghis Khan and he comes of age in a time of great political turmoil. The Mongols are undoubtedly the most dominant military force in Europe, Asia and the Middle East but they have no clear leader. Various relatives of Genghis Khan have a claim to the thron...

Published in 1996 by Sunset Productions Read by Gene Corbin Duration: Approximately 3 hours (abridged). Stewart "Hoagy" Hoag is a retired novelist and semi-retired ghost writer who, like the novelist Jessica  Fletcher in the old TV show Murder She Wrote , has a remarkable ability to be around when someone gets killed. In The Girl Who Ran Off With Daddy  we find Stewart and his on again / off again relationship with his celebrity ex-wife in an on again phase. They have a baby and Hoagy is still adjusting to this reality. His basset hound Lulu is not happy having been removed from her position as the de facto child of the couple to being merely the family dog. But, this small family's routine is thrown into an uproar when Hoagy's old literary mentor Thor Gibbs arrives on his motorcycle with his 18 year old stepdaughter on the back. Thor Gibbs is a an Ernest Hemingway-type  character that is really into the mythopoetic men's movement -type stuff, except his ve...

Published December 2011 by GraphicAudio Multicast Performance Length: 52 minutes. Unabridged. This short audiobook was originally a short story in a larger collection but author Joseph Nassise has expanded on this story with several other books. GraphicAudio has adapted it to a radio drama format with multiple cast members and plenty of special effects. The Templar Chronicles: This Cleansing Fire features Captain Cade Williams, a member of the hidden Catholic order the Knights Templar. They are charged with fighting supernatural forces. One would think they might be a bunch of priests, but they are an elite commando unit carrying modern combat weapons and special swords. In this story, the team is sent out to find and destroy a group of Asian vampires. They are not Asians, per se, but this type of vampire originated in Asia. Another team was already sent in but they are not reporting back and Captain Williams and his team fear the worst. GraphicAudio's high production qu...

Written in 1919 and first published in All-Story Weekly magazine in 1921, The Efficiency Expert is a rare non-science fiction book for Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan and John Carter of Mars. I read it on my kindle but if it were a paper book it is estimated to have been about 130 pages. The Efficiency Expert features Jimmy Torrance, a talented young college student who is a great athlete and natural leader and all around great guy to have at a party but  does not take his studies seriously. When he is almost tossed out of college during his senior year for having no apparent hope of completing the curriculum in four years, Torrance buckles down and somehow passes. Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) Having turned over a new leaf, he turns down the opportunity to manage the family factory and decides that he will move to Chicago and make it on his own. Jimmy's expectation that the world will come knocking at his door because he has a college degree i...

Published in 2008 by Thomas Nelson Ted Dekker is a stalwart member of the Christian publishing world. He usually offers up a large helping of action, mystery and suspense with a Christian flavor. Dekker's strengths are maintaining a quick pace and the creation and development of interesting characters. In Adam  an FBI psychology expert named Daniel Clark is on the trail of a serial killer nicknamed "Eve" (he writes "Eve" on the walls above each of his victims) who kills twenty-something women every dark of the moon. He leaves no clues behind except that he drives a stolen white van, eats candy bars, drinks cherry Cokes, kidnaps his victims with an ether-like medicine that knocks them out. he kills with a form of meningitis and his rituals have strong religious overtones. He always leaves those clues and no others. Clark is obsessed by this case and it has wrecked his marriage and threatens his career. One night his team almost catches "Eve" bu...

Published by Blackstone Audio in 2012. Read by Joe Barrett Duration: 8 hours, 55 minutes . Unabridged James McPherson is undoubtedly the most popular living Civil War historian. He writes in a common, easy-to-understand style that flows nicely and does not dumb down the facts. His latest book, War on the Waters: The Union and Confederate Navies, 1861-1865 continues that tradition. Union Admiral David D. Porter - Leader of the Naval forces in the Vicksburg campaign. If you read a typical Civil War history you get a just a little bit of the information, usually in passing, about the war on the open sea, in the bays, harbors, up and down the rivers and even in the swamps. McPherson reverses that arrangement in this book and focuses on the strategies, personalities and challenges that faced both navies and mentions the land campaigns in passing. If you are a frequent reader of Civil War books, little of this material will be new. But, the special focus does make th...

Published by Bantam Audio Publishing in 1991. Multicast performance.  Duration: 1 hour, 4 minutes .   Louis L'Amour's famed Sackett family adventures continue with this full cast dramatization of of a short story about William Tell Sackett. Tell Sackett appears in seven L'Amour novels and two of his short stories. In Booty for a Badman , Tell Sackett is prospecting for gold and not finding anything. He is close to giving up completely when he is approached by one of his successful gold-mining neighbors with a proposal. The successful miners are piling up quite a stash of gold (50 pounds among the group) but they fear their claims will be jumped if they leave for town to deposit it in the bank for safekeeping. Even worse, they could be robbed and killed along the way - a fate that has struck other miners So, they want Tell Sackett to sneak their gold to the bank in exchange for a small cut of the gold. This way, their gold gets deposited, Sackett can make hi...

Published by HighBridge Audio Duration: about 2 hours. Every installment of HighBridge Audio's NPR Driveway Moments series is composed of collections of stories that aired on NPR. In this case, the common theme is cats.  The stories aired from 1984 to 2011 and cover everything from lions to mock youtube videos of a cat running for the Senate (Hank the Cat - see the video below) to the origins of the domestic house cat to cats being used in the fight against AIDS. But, the heart of the collection are the stories about the connection between every day house cats and the people they live with. There are travelling cats, vacationing cats, a cat that lives in a hotel and several stories memorializing cats who have passed on. All of the stories in the collection have first-rate production values but, as always happens in any collection, some stories are better than others. The cover of the audiobook promises "Radio stories that won't let you go" and some d...