DWD's Reviews

Parker and Spenser go over old ground, but it's still a lot of fun Published in 2007. Spenser is on the case again. This time, a simple "check and see if my wife is cheating on me" case becomes a double murder and takes Spenser back onto a college campus investigating yet another campus radical. Robert B. Parker  (1932-2010) It is not terribly surprising that Parker is going over old ground - this is his 35th Spenser book. Hawk and others are brought in to help, as happens in most all of the newer Spenser books. However, the interplay between Spenser and the others is one of the best features of a Spenser book so that is not disappointing. All in all, this is one of the better Spenser offerings in years. I enjoyed this book and was well on the way to giving it a 5 star rating until I got to the end. It was just too pat. Still, it's a solid addition to the series and a must-read for fans. I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars and it can be found ...

  Not a great movie, but a must for Richard Petty and early NASCAR fans (from a Petty fan from way back) Just so you know, I've given this movie 4 stars - not because it is a great movie. It is not, unless you are a die hard Petty fan. But, it is a valuable piece of NASCAR history - a little gem that I picked up in the super-cheap DVD section of a local store. It is a snapshot of the beginnings of the modern heyday of stock car racing. Released in 1972 and full of footage from the early days of NASCAR, the production values in this one are not great, which is a mixed blessing. The old footage does not stick out from the rest of the film because the film itself is pretty grainy and has questionable sound at times. Richard Petty plays himself and he comes off as a fairly wooden actor, which would be a pretty unfair assessment to make if you are not familiar with Richard's personality. He is slow-talking (careful with his words), casual, straight-backed and w...

Thoughtful Ruminations of a born and bred Hoosier Published in 1997 by D and C Publishing Chuck Avery writes a column for the Richmond Palladium-Item , the local paper in Richmond, Indiana. His typical essay could be classified as one of those slice-of-life pieces - a little reminiscing, a little wry observation, a bit of good-natured humor. Avery is also a teacher. I never heard of Chuck Avery before I picked up this book at a local book sale (ironically, he describes picking up books in a similar sale in one of his essays  - the essay that gives the book its title). A Committee of One is one of those rare books that gets better as it goes along. I particularly enjoyed the essays "Clevenger's Pond" (a humorous look at human nature and why his farm pond is no longer open to the public), "The Allure of Instant Esteem" (a look at the self-esteem movement in the classroom and why it makes no sense unless you have actually done something), "Solitude an...

Exposes the vulnerable state of the American (and the world) economy Published in 2012 by Regnery Publishing, Inc. When I was reading Secret Weapon I was tempted to make a sort of smart-aleck introduction about the complex nature of Kevin Freeman's warning about the dangers we face by way of economic terrorism. After all, Paul Revere just rode through the streets yelling, "The British are coming! The British are coming!" and that was enough. But, after a little thought I realized that Freeman can't just yell, "The economic terrorists are coming! The economic terrorists are coming!" It has to be explained and that explanation is long and can be full of statistics and new terminologies. I am a licensed high school economics teacher and I can honestly say that I knew just enough about finance, the real nitty-gritty of the to and fro of the markets, to say that this book is downright scary. It is the proverbial "firebell in the night" that screa...

Good but with problems If you do not already know something about the War of 1812, I cannot recommend this book for your reading pleasure. Why not? The author, David Nevin, goes into the story without much of an explanation of who the characters are and just assumes you know who they are. I would have recommended a small two to three page introduction that laid out the issues of the day and something about the personalities of the day as well. Dolley Madison (1768-1849) Instead, we spend page after page getting these introductions as a part of the story. Along the way, Nevin introduces us to the innermost thoughts of such people as James Madison, Andrew Jackson, Winfield Scott and Dolley Madison. Nevin seems fascinated in exploring each of these characters as sexual beings. We get to read about James Madison's lusting for Dolley (he refers to her breasts so often that I blush when I see Madison in my history book). However, the book is saved by his descrip...

A very solid but one-dimensional look at the Civil War Originally published in 1926 Photographic History edition published in 2009 by Konecky and Konecky. Unabridged. Walter Geer's title for this book, Campaigns of the Civil War: a Photographic History , certainly describes it - this is a no-frills look at the battle action of the Civil War with little analysis of the political situation that led to the war or influenced the way it was prosecuted.  There is no chapter about the daily life of the typical soldier. There is nothing about home front difficulties or even much about the navies of either side. So, if you are looking for an in-depth history of the war, this is not your book. But, if you are a serious student of the war, especially the land campaigns, this is a very solid history. Union General Lewis "Lew" Wallace (1827-1905) The text is strong, but almost all of the original maps are too busy. They are clearly the style of map that was popular when the...

Two Classics in One Package Published in 2011 by AudioGO. Narrated by William Dufris Duration: approximately 13 hours. I am reluctant to admit this but although I was very aware of these classic detective tales, I had never read either of these two books nor seen any of their many movie adaptations (however, I have seen many clips from the Bogart version of The Maltese Falcon over the years). So, when I found the unabridged audio versions of both of them I just had to get them - if for no other reason than to just end my ignorance. The Thin Man was originally written in 1934 (although it is set in the late 1920s) and is Dashiell Hammett's fifth and last novel. It features a wealthy husband and wife crime-fighting duo. They are in New York City to renew some friendships, paint the town red and have an all around good time. Nick Charles is a former private detective who has quit the business to help his wife manage her extensive business holdings.  A mystery involving a f...

Published in 2002 by Random House Audio Read by Keith Carradine Duration: Approximately 3 hours. Abridged. There are 11 stories in the original printed book version of With These Hands - but this audio version contains only three unabridged stories from the book: "With These Hands", "Dream Fighter" and "Voyage to Tobalai". These re-reprinted short stories (originally they appeared in pulp fiction magazines) are read by veteran actor Keith Carradine who does a great job, especially with "Dream Fighter" - the best in this collection and also the introductory story for Kip Morgan who L'amour uses in other boxing and later detective stories. Carradine creates a unique old-style boxing trainer voice that perfectly fits the 1940s-style slang used in the text. Louis L'Amour (1908-1988) "With These Hands" is the story of an oil company executive that survives a plane crash in Alaska in the winter and his efforts to...

A pleasant enough read but Paolini seriously needs to send an apology to George Lucas... Originally published in 2003. I enjoyed the book but I kept on thinking that I've read this book before. No, I'm not talking about the obvious debt Paolini owes the Tolkein and also to the "Dragonriders of Pern" series. I'm talking Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope or plain old Star Wars to all of us old-timers. Both feature an orphaned teenage farm boy, left with his uncle under mysterious circumstances that no one wants to discuss. The uncle dies when dangerous outsiders come looking for the boy. Luke Skywalker has the Force. Eragon has magic. Both Luke and Eragon are watched over by strange older men who eventually provide them with their first weapon - the very weapon that wiped out a set of good knights in the name of an evil emperor.  In both stories, the strange older man character teaches them a type of magic and how to fight. The older man dies. ...

A chance to get to know a bit of Michener's personality Published in 2007 by University Press of Colorado 208 pages. I am a huge fan of Michener's sweeping epics. Some look at those gigantic books as drudgery, but that is only because they have not opened one up and read it. I've read all but two - I own them but I'm saving them back like a wine connoisseur would save back a couple of his favorites. I know these books will be great and I know that once I read them there will be no more new Micheners for me. James Michener (1907-1997) Vavra's book focuses on their mutual interest in Spain and Spanish culture, especially bullfighting, Spanish dance and the Spanish countryside. Vavra met several famous authors, actors and personalities while in Spain in the 1960s. He mentions them, but it rarely acquires the character of a name-dropping book. Mostly, he uses those others as a point of comparison to Michener, and Michener comes off very well in th...

A Classic Sci-Fi Novel Originally published 1912 in a magazine serial. (1917 in book form) S ince the movie John Carter is coming out in a couple of months I decided to go back and re-read the original of the 11 books that Burroughs wrote about Mars (or, as he calls it, Barsoom). The Whelen cover. I originally read the entire series, or at least most of it, nearly 30 years ago, when I was in high school. I must admit, I was struck by the art of Michael Whelen's cover more than anything else when I first picked it up and my circle of friends read at least some of them. I remembered them fondly but found myself very vague on the specifics. I remembered the Princess was very beautiful and there were multiple races on Mars and that some had four arms and that Carter, a former Confederate soldier, traveled from Earth to Mars in some kind of psychic manner and that there was a lot of fighting. Turns out, what I took as a poor memory was actually pretty accurate. The ...

A bit of nostalgia Published 1959 by Random House 180 pages Many, many years ago Random House published a series of more than 100 books called "Landmark Books". These were short histories of a little more than 150 pages that were long on action and short on historical analysis. Nevertheless, these were this history teacher's first introduction to written history. The library in Hope, Indiana had a whole shelf of these books and I happily read about Daniel Boone and the Alamo and John Paul Jones. I happened across this one at a middle school library clearance. The book delivers as I remember - lots of action and not much into the motivations of Francis Marion and the others who hid in the swamps of South Carolina with him and fought the British Army. That's okay, though. It's aimed at middle schoolers/upper elementary students and they don't care much for analysis anyway. Better to get them an appealing taste of history and let the whys and the where...

A little book about a big man (Would you like a little sci-fi with your politics?) Published by Quirk Books in January of 2012. 248 pages. Okay, let's get the ridiculous part of  the book out of the way. Yes, Taft 2012 is based entirely on a silly premise: What if William Howard Taft disappeared from history the day Wilson was inaugurated and arrived in the year 2011 and fired up everyone's imagination to run for president again in 2012? But, setting that aside, what if Taft were alive and well today? What would he think of the United States 100 years after it rejected him for his re-election bid? If you love The Twilight Zone or those Harry Turtledove time-traveling books and you are interested in politics, this one will satisfy. William Howard Taft (1857-1930) I liked the book because I liked Heller's characterization of William Howard Taft. It's not hard for this overweight reviewer to sympathize with our fattest president (he got stuck in the preside...

Strong, entertaining read Published in 2000 by St. Martin's Press 352 pages  Rough Draft is my first foray into a book by James W. Hall . I found it to be an entertaining read with a couple of really good plot twists. The original premise of the FBI sting seems so silly that I cannot imagine anybody would permit it, but once I got past that part it was a great spring break thriller. While the villains were fairly interesting, I found myself really rooting for the underachieving FBI agent, Frank Sheffield. I wonder about the source of Mr. Hall's fascination with Indiana. I'm a lifelong resident of the Hoosier state so I was interested in the fact that the main bad guy comes from Evansville (his bare description of Evansville, even though it is vague, tells me that he's never seen it or has not seen it in a loooong time). Also, his knowledge of Indiana geography seems a bit sketchy since he has the boy in the foster care system in Evansville yet committing crimes ...

The Jesse Stone novels continue a rally for the legion of Parker fans - score this one a double. Published in 2007 by Putnam 304 pages To use a baseball analogy (Robert B. Parker fans would surely approve...), this one keeps the current rally of good Parker books going. If you are unsure what I am referring to then you must not get much of the baseball comments that Stone and Spenser use. Anyway, a rally is a run of good offensive plays when your team is down a few runs. Ideally, those offensive plays would be smashed out of the park home runs. However, in a pinch, a base hit beats a strike out. Robert B. Parker (1932-2010) Now, notice that I did not label this one a great book. This is not a home run. It's more of a double. It is a good book but not Parker's best. It's not even the best Jesse Stone novel. The mystery is not terribly complicated (I think I could have solved this one) but I enjoyed this quick read. In a lot of ways the mystery is secon...

Not the best Harry Bosch (or Mickey Haller) book but solid enough Published in 2010 by Little, Brown and Company 389 pages Bosch and Haller are half brothers, as has come out if you follow the series. Bosch has become a bit more domesticated, now that he is a full time dad and has a niece and a brother and an ex-sister-in-law and I am not sure if I like it. I like the brooding intensity of the earlier installments of the  Bosch series. Michael Connelly Not that this book does not have its creepy moments, its dramatic moments and action. It has all of that, but it just didn't feel like a Bosch book - and that was all because of the inclusion of Haller and the fact that it was a hybrid book. In The Reversal defense attorney Mickey Haller has been asked to step in as a special prosecutor in a 24 year old case involving a child murder. The case was resolved 24 years ago but a DNA test has cast doubt on the verdict and a court has ordered the conviction to be reversed. ...

Slow start, sizzling end Published by HarperCollins in 2006 384 pages First and foremost - Boo to the publishers of this book for not clearly labeling that this paperback book is part of a trilogy. Sure, it's clear if you carefully look at the extremely long list of Cornwell's books inside the front cover, but I was holding my 15 month old while using my Christmas gift card and I really did not have the luxury of perusing through every page in the book store! On to the book - Bernard Cornwell Despite not having read the first book, Cornwell does an admirable job of catching the reader up to where the action is in book two. However, he then goes meandering a bit. The story sort of sidles along until the Danes invade again and then it's a real action story. Cornwell's battle descriptions are top-notch. Perhaps only topped by Pressfield's Gates of Fire - but not by much. The Pale Horseman is saddled with one of the most worthless maps I...

Okay, but disappointing Published in 1979 by National Geographic So, why am I disappointed? I was hoping for an theme-based work that looked at different mysterious objects, behaviors and cultures of the ancient world across the world and made comparisons and connections between them. Easter Island Instead, this book is a series of unrelated articles that have the look and feel of the National Geographic style. Don't get me wrong - I like the National Geographic style but the book as a whole lacks flow and feels more like a copy of the magazine than a special book. It is not an integrated work and leaves out plenty of big mysteries (Great Zimbabwe, Nazca Lines, Petra, the Olmecs) in favor of smaller mysteries such as the Etruscans and Catal Huyuk. Topics include: -The Etruscans -Ice age cave paintings -Stonehenge and related Megaliths -Minoan civilization -Mycenaean civilization -Catal Huyuk and Jericho -Easter Island and the South Pacific Ocean...

Pleasant musings from the mind of Wolfsie Published in 2001 by Guilde Press of Indiana. 189 pages. Dick Wolfsie is a local TV morning show personality in Indianapolis. He specializes in finding the offbeat and showing it to everyone with a camera and an interview. He used to share this responsibility with his lovable dog Barney, a runaway beagle that he found one day. Unfortunately, Barney is no longer with us. Dick Wolfsie's writings are mostly light-hearted humourous musings about life. Many are re-prints from a column he writes. While I rarely laughed out loud at his commentary, I did find it amusing and enjoyed myself. Recomended for that middle-aged dad that's hard to buy for. I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. Reviewed on January 17, 2008. This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Life in a Nutshell . <br /> <img src="http://wms.assoc-amazon.com/20070822/US/img/noscript.gif?tag=dwsre-20" alt="" /><br />

Strong, flawed, important work with a valuable, urgent message Published in 2007 by Walker and Company 288 pages.   I had to pick up this book as soon as I stumbled upon it. One of the themes in my history classes is the expansion of freedom in the West following the same general timeline that Grayling follows. Who doesn't like to have his own thoughts echoed by a major English philosopher? Strengths: I do recommend this book - it is a readable, admirable attempt at covering a vast, important topic. Grayling covers John Locke especially well (although he disposes with the views of Hobbes rather quickly by asserting that people are not necessarily nasty and brutal with one another). Grayling's most important message is quite simple: the rights that we have are the product of a lot of time and a lot of struggles and they should be cherished and well-guarded. When the reader has completed this book it should be quite clear that this inheritance is too valuab...