DWD's Reviews

A western for grown-ups. It's not about the guns, horses or bullets. It's about friendship, sex and, ultimately, love. Movie released in theaters in 2008. Be warned right now - this movie review is mostly one giant spoiler. Here's the non-spoiler parts right up front. This is a movie that strives to look authentic. The two main characters have known each other for years and have no need for a lot of dialogue - they know each other well, they know each other's habits and their conversations are spare. Many reviewers have missed the whole point of Appaloosa . It was not about two buddies/lawmen bringing peace to a town, although that does happen (mostly) and the gun fights are quick, brutal and ugly. The movie is about what happens when such a partnership is disrupted by a woman. Look at the DVD cover art and you can see it symbolically represented - there is Renee Zellweger standing between Mortensen and Harris. ****Spoiler alert****The rest of the review is jus...

Published in 2009 by Holt McDougal Full of interesting, relevant color photos and maps, this oversized coffee table-sized book is a great introduction to the American Indian for school children (I'd recommend 4th grade and above) or even adults who want a quick and painless introduction to the topic. Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491 is Mann's adaptation of his larger work 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus and he succeeds at making it age appropriate without watering it down. All major groups and most geographic zones are covered quite well with special emphasis on the Mayans, Olmecs and the Incas. Mann also discusses the role of disease in the Old World conquest of the New World (sadly, too often overlooked in too many textbooks!) and the importance of the development of maize. Highly recommended. 5 stars out of 5. This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491 . Reviewed on December 15, 2009.

Another Winner from Barclay Linwood Barclay excels at writing books in which the average middle class guy (a car salesman in Fear the Worst: A Thriller , a newspaper reporter in this book) has his whole life turned upside down and is thrust into a world of crime, violence and intrigue. His books remind me of the old-fashioned film noire style except these are quicker and have even more turns. Linwood Barclay In Never Look Away: A Thriller , David Harwood is a reporter with a wife, a son, two loving parents who babysit their son and a hot lead on signs of corruption in local government that will make an explosive story. Suddenly, his wife disappears at a local theme park and he is accused of causing her disappearance. More problems pile on and the pressure makes David and his world crumble. There is a point in which the reader says, "What? Even more happens to this guy?" Does it get ridiculous? Absolutely. More importantly, does the story work? Absolutel...

This is how history should be written! Published in 2006 by Harper Perennial. Winik asserts that the month of April 1865 was the single most important month in the history of the United States due to the confluence of historical events and decisions that came with the end of the Civil War. The decisions include Lincoln's plan for a "soft" peace rather than a vengeful one. Lee's decision not to opt for guerrilla warfare but rather surrender and urge his men to become good citizens for their country (meaning the USA), Johnston's similar decision in North Carolina, the assassination of Lincoln, the uncertain rules of Presidential succession, the North's collective decision not to lash out blindly at a prostrate South in revenge for Lincoln's murder and a host of other issues. My take: Winik is one of that new breed of historian that knows that good writing as at least as important as good research ( You can't teach anything if you write poorly ). Win...

Not a complete history of the city, but an interesting one. Published in 2002 by Arcadia Publishing. Lost Indianapolis is part of the very large Images of America series of books that feature historical photos of landmarks of a city or group of people and tell part of the history as well. From time to time "then and now" photos are included as well so that the reader can see how things have changed. The author has written several local histories about Indiana and Indianapolis and maintains a webpage at http://www.lostindiana.net/Lost_Indiana/Lost_Indiana.html . Lost Indianapolis is a great book for those with an interest in Indianapolis for two reasons: 1) The photographs. They are interesting and very well-chosen to add to the text. I have seen books of this sort that seem to have random pictures tossed in with the text. 2) The text. McDonald has chosen several interesting topics to tell some of the story of the city. This is not a complete history by any means,...

Sci-fi at its best - full of meaty themes - a great book for serious discussion as well as being a thrill ride. Published in 2021 by PRTTYCESS At its best sci-fi becomes a forum for more than whiz bang technology - it becomes a forum for discussion about philosophy. The best Twilight Zones did this. Star Wars becomes a stage to discuss the nature of good and evil and if an evil person can be redeemed. Star Trek becomes a lesson in the strength that can be possible in diversity and the power of friendship over all else. What does the Daemon/Freedom series bring to the table? Well, Daemon is the whiz bang introduction to the series that finally matures in Freedom . The computer Daemon program introduced in the first book is re-creating society throughout Freedom . Themes explored include "Is Freedom economic as well as political?" and "Can there be real freedom when so much of the economy is controlled by multi-national corporations?" Throw in a lot of action a...

One of the most interesting and profound books I've read this year I'm a high school teacher that founded and sponsored the local Key Club (secular volunteer organization) at my high school for 7 years. My wife has been a professional volunteer coordinator for more than 15 years, in both religious and secular settings. There is nothing in these statistics that contradict our personal experiences. So, what does Brooks say? "The conventional wisdom runs like this: Liberals are charitable because they advocate government redistribution of money in the name of social justice; conservatives are uncharitable because they oppose these policies. But note the sleight of hand: Government spending, according to the logic, is a form of charity. Let us be clear: Government spending is not charity. It is not voluntary sacrifice by individuals." (p. 20) Brooks marshals a horde of facts to prove the point that the more politically liberal the individual, the community, the st...

I reluctantly started this one and finished it enthusiastically Originally published in 2006 by Crown. A friend from work had World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War on his desk and said I should read it. Zombies!? No thanks! I've avoided all of the Twilight books and the other undead/monster books. He pitched it by saying it was fictional (of course!) but modeled after the very real work of Studs Terkel, The Good War: An Oral History of World War II . For those that don't know, Terkel interviewed hundreds of people about World War II and arranged their interviews into a narrative of sorts that told the history of the war. Well, that wasn't much of a selling point either because I never really got into Studs Terkel very much, so this was strike two. But, I took it home and started reading. Max Brooks The first 20-30 pages are boring but they do set up the rest of the book by introducing the concept of zombies, how they came to be, what they are capabl...

I laughed my way through this audiobook! Published by Eastmoor Media in 2005. Performed by Bruce Campbell and his actor friends. Duration: 6 hours, 17 minutes. Unabridged. I picked up and looked at the book version of Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way several times and never quite decided to pick it up. But, I quickly snapped up the audiobook version because of this quote from the back cover from Bruce Campbell: "...the prospects of doing a 'regular" audio adaptation weren't very appealing. But then a few things dawned on me: 1. I'm the lead character of the book. 2. As an actor by trade, I could play the part. 3. I'm knee deep in actor pals, why not record the book like a radio play?"  At that point I was sold. The story revolves around Bruce Campbell's attempt to move from being a B movie legend to a real A-list movie star. He gets his chance in "Let's Make Love", a Richard Gere/Rene Zelwegger romantic comedy directed by Mik...

An Enjoyable Counter-Argument Published in 2007 by IVP Books. Timothy Paul Jones' Misquoting Truth: A Guide to the Fallacies of Bart Ehrman's "Misquoting Jesus is a reasoned, polite yet firm response to Bart Ehrman's Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why , a best-selling book that disputes the authenticity of the New Testament by noting that there have been numerous errors in translation and copying over the years, especially in the first 200-300 years of the Christian movement. Jones starts by addressing Ehrman's criticisms directly. He acknowledges that there have indeed been a great number of errors, most in spelling, some in grammar and some were simple re-copying of lines of text or skipping a line of text. He notes that while there are a lot of them, most make no difference, such as my use of commas and other punctuation in this sentence - if I had left them out, the meaning of the text would not have changed. To use an examp...

Great. Thought-provoking. Originally Published in 2002. Richard Rodriguez is a San Francisco-based writer who was asked to write a book about being Hispanic in America. I doubt Brown: The Last Discovery of America was the book that the publisher had in mind when they asked. Rodriguez is a true political maverick whose thesis is that America is becoming "Brown" - a mixture of Anglo, Hispanic, Black, Asian and whatever else you want to throw in. America can embrace this future (and probably will) or it can reject it and deny the reality that surrounds us all (and does it matter if you deny reality - it is still there). I first heard of Rodriguez on C-Span. He was giving a speech at the Texas Book Fair created by Laura Bush. His speech was truly wonderful and I just had to find his book. I could go into detail on his observations, but you would much prefer if you would read it the way he put them in his book - his writing style is so fluid that he sneaks major concepts into...

More than your average crime book Published in 1991. A boy is found with bloody underwear. His babysitter, a male high school senior is immediately suspected of molestation. The little boy is very bright but is certainly very vague about what happened to him. Psychologists are brought in, with their own agendas. The prosecutors, parents, judge and the victim all have their own agendas. The reader is left to try to guess what really happened. The point of view is usually that of the little boy who is trying to navigate his way through the adult court system while keeping his secrets secret, his family intact and do what is right, as far as he can tell. I really can't go into much more detail without spoiling the plot. This is Brown's first book. He is a state supreme court justice from Ohio and I hope that this disturbing piece of fiction was not based on a true case. This book was well-written, compelling and, like I've already said, disturbing. I rate this book 5 s...

Connelly is an Edgar Award winner (an award for great mysteries that is named after Edgar Allen Poe, the creator of they mystery genre) and, for me, that is usually a great recommendation as an author. Michael Connelly. Photo by Mark Coggins The Poet concerns Jack McEvoy, a reporter whose specialty is covering murders for his newspaper. This time, the story is about his twin brother, a cop and a presumed suicide who left a disturbing note consisting of a single line from Poe. McEvoy does a lot of digging and discovers that there have been a string of police suicides across the country with "Poe" suicide notes. Soon, he's on the case with an FBI task force and the chase is on to catch the killer they've nicknamed "The Poet." This really is a well-written book. The first 100 pages are slow and wallowing in self-reflection and insecurity, as is appropriate for those left behind in the wake of a suicide. Once McEvoy finds the clues leading to a differ...

As a rule, I'm not terribly fond of the "coffee table" history books produced by the editors of Time-Life Books. Usually, they opt for more glitz than substance and you end up with a hefty (and this one certainly is, weighing in at more than 5 pounds - yes, I weighed it) but bland piece of history. However, this, I am very pleased to say, is a much better book than their usual effort. Although this is an illustrated history, the narrative that begins each chapter is very well written. The topics are interesting, especially the chapters on the abolitionists and the secessionists. They do an excellent job of setting the stage for the Civil War. I have but one complaint, a glaring factual error - they have the Battle of Gettysburg taking place in 1864 rather than 1863. Mistakes like this are easy to make (a stray finger on a keyboard...) but this is the most famous battle of the war! This book cab be found on Amazon.com here:   An Illustrated History of the Civil War...

Good summer fun! Originally published in 1994. Flintlock is the frontier nickname of Nathaniel Jones, a deadeye shot on the Kentucky frontier. The book is ostensibly about Aaron Burr and his attempt to break the American West away from the rest of the United States in the early 1800s. For those of you not familiar with Burr, he was the former Vice President (Jefferson's first term) who killed America's first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton (the guy on your $10 bill) in a duel. This ruined his political career and he was accused of conspiring to turn the US territory East of the Mississippi and west of the Appalachians into a personal dictatorship. Aaron Burr (1756-1836) The book has a rather large prologue (almost 1/2 of the book) that concerns young Flintlock's exploits as a teen in the Revolutionary War on the Virginia/Kentucky frontier. To be honest, that is the only complaint that I have with the book - its back cover does not accurately describe ...

Holds up well - even after 50+ years The Day of the Triffids is a classic end-of-the-world sci-fi novel set in England. Two bizarre things happen at the beginning of the novel to create disaster. Number 1: Science "discovers" walking plants that are named Triffids that can communicate among themselves. Our narrator, Bill Masen, believes that they are the result of Russian military testing, possibly meant to be a weapon, but they quickly spread all over the world. The Triffid is harmless enough until it grows to be man-sized. Then, it is able to walk by using its branches to swing its trunk, similar to the way a man on crutches walks. Once it walks, it is also able to hunt with this long whip-like tentacle with a poisoned tip. The Triffids like to eat putrid, rotting meat, much like a Venus Flytrap. It tears the meat loose with its tentacle. The Triffids are more of a curiosity to the world, though until bizarre thing #2 happens: There is a meteor shower one night - it ...

Originally published in 1978. Winner of the National Book Award The Book of the Dun Cow is a simple fable of Chauntecleer, a rooster. He is in charge of a small animal kingdom and is confronted by the evil Cockatrice, a half snake/half rooster who is the son of the devil, an evil serpent that is trapped beneath the surface of the earth but is trying to get out to destroy God's creation. The book revolves around the efforts of the animals to come together to confront the evil threat and the costs that such action entails. It also has much deeper themes such as the nature of love and forgiveness. I really was not looking forward to reading this book - in fact, I only picked it out of my pile of books because I thought that I had remembered a friend had read it while we were in high school. Much to my surprise, however, I loved it. It was well-paced and the main characters had depth. I recommend this book enthusiastically. I rate this book 5 stars out of 5. This book can be f...

A "Must" for All Students of the Civil War Published in 2009 by Oxford University Press. This Mighty Scourge: Perspectives on the Civil War is a collection of 16 essays by well-known historian James McPherson on a number of Civil War-related topics. Some of the essays are brand new, but most have been published before but have been re-worked for this book. The essays fall into five broad categories: 1) Slavery and the Coming of War;  2) The Lost Cause Revisited;  3)  Architects of Victory;  4) Home Front and Battle Front;  5) Lincoln. McPherson discusses the causes of the war in the first essay - a brilliant essay entitled "And The War Came." McPherson directly confronts those that insist that slavery had no part in causing the war. Please, read this essay if you are one of those people before you make that argument again (if you don't want to buy the book for fear of supporting someone who skewers your particular point of view, get it at your library, ...

I have found a new hero from history Published in 2008. I've known about John Quincy Adams's post-Presidential career ever since I read Profiles In Courage  by JFK many, many years ago. However, what I most remember about that description of him was that that he argued against slavery in the Congress when he could have just coasted along in a comfortable political semi-retirement. In the well-written Mr. Adams's Last Crusade , Joseph Wheelan does us all a favor by elaborating on John Quincy Adams's amazing career. Wheelan briefly covers John Quincy Adams's early career in the first 65 pages. As a teenager, John Quincy Adams was an assistant to his father while he was an ambassador to Europe during the Revolutionary War. He served as ambassador to several European countries after the War and also as Secretary of State (the Monroe Doctrine is as much his as Monroe's) and finally President. Oddly enough, that amazing career was only a prelude to his post-Presi...