DWD's Reviews

Fascinating book - lots of fun to read. Thoroughly enjoyable. Published in 2003 by Plume. "Who doesn't love a carnival, fair or amusement park? They have everything you could ask for: Fried food, dangerous-looking rides, macho games, freak shows, meat-on-a-stick, champion milking cows, and teenagers dressed up as giant stuffed animals...If that's not America, what is?" The Marion County Fair - Indianapolis. That's the opening quote of Carnival Undercover that tells you all the ins and outs of the carnival business - everything from the economics involved in owning a booth to how to become a carnie to ride safety to the freak shows. It also tells you how to win at certain games, the inside skinny on some of the major theme parks (did you know that Disney World has an underground vacuum powered garbage removal - much like the system at your bank's drive through window - so that you don't have to see any garbage being hauled through the park?) and w...

This is one great book. Originally published in 1997. The Red Heart  is based on the true story of Francis Slocum, a 4 year old Quaker girl who was kidnapped by Delaware Indians in the 1770s on the Pennsylvania frontier near Wilkes-Barre. (There are recreation areas named for her in both Pennsylvania and Indiana) A painting of Francis Slocum that is part of the collection at the Indiana State Museum It is also the story of her family's 60 year search for her across the Midwest and even into Canada. It is also the story of the relentless westward movement of the Americans and how the Indians dealt with it. The reader also gets a fantastic lesson on daily life among the Delaware and Miami Indians. If you're a Star Trek: The Next Generation fan you'll remember the episode entitled "Inner Light" in which Picard is "attacked" by the alien probe from the long-dead world that makes him live an entire lifetime among their people in his mind in ...

Good, thought provoking Published in 1997 by Crown. I n The Warrior Generals: Combat Leadership in the Civil War , Buell analyzes three Confederate and three Union generals with six very different leadership styles. Buell gives a title to each of the six different men and they are: The Yeoman: Ulysses S. Grant The Aristocrat: Robert E. Lee The Knight-Errant: John Bell Hood The Roman: George H. Thomas The Cavalier: John B . Gordon The Puritan: Francis C. Barlow Buell researched this book heavily, including delving into the National Archives to the point that he actually found boxes of papers from the Civil War that had not even been opened since they were packaged and delivered after the war, a fact that I find amazing given the vast number of books written on the war every year. Buell is quite clear in his book that Robert E. Lee was vastly overrated and quite possibly incompetent (he never says it outright but he infers it). I agree that Lee has been overrated by so...

Written in 1910, still relevant a century later. G.K. Chesterton's What's Wrong With the World is not a bit of light reading. There are heady thoughts throughout and the reader is invited to do some of the heavy lifting as well. I don't agree with all of Chesterton's conclusions either but he does have a wonderful way with words. Have you ever had an argument with someone in which you thoroughly disagreed with some of their points but admired the way they laid them out and their turns of the phrase? That is my experience with G.K. Chesterton in a nutshell. I only picked up this volume because I read somewhere that C.S. Lewis was a devoted fan of Chesterton. G.K. Chesterton Be prepared, there is no one thing that is wrong with the world - it is a collection of things. Of course, any thinking person knows that there are always a collection of problems that are inter-related and cause all sorts of things to be wrong in the world. Chesterton is strongly pro-C...

Cul de Sac hits the spot left by Calvin and Hobbes and Peanuts If you can while away a pleasant afternoon or evening reading a collection of Calvin and Hobbes or Peanuts add this one to your collection right now! I only recently discovered Cul de Sac on the internet and have been enjoying it enough that I grabbed this book. Clever lines, interesting art and enough of real life to make me read cartoons to my wife and say, "Who does this remind you of?" (page 24's shopping experience is so much like my own 2 children that I suspect someone may have been watching us at the store...) Gentle, clever, good-humored, keenly observant...a worthy heir to the position held by Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes in my mind. Highly recommended. I rate this collection 5 stars out of 5. Reviewed on October 27, 2009. Also mentioned in this review:

A fun, fascinating read Cafeterias. "They're about as state-of-the-art as a brontosaurus. And almost as rare. Unless you live in Indiana." (p. 6) Indiana, with its love of tradition (or is it fear of change?) has somehow kept the traditional cafeterias open and thriving, especially in central Indiana. In Tray Chic: Celebrating Indiana's Cafeteria Culture , Sam Stall explores the history of cafeterias in general and then explores the particular restaurants that have survived from those days of the dinosaur until today, including the recently closed "Laughner's"(the granddaddy of them all), MCL (the biggest chain), Gray Brothers (probably the best), Poe's (located just a stone's throw from Gray's - it gets a lot of their overflow business) and Jonathan Byrd's (with the biggest cafeteria line in the world). Add to that a cafeteria in Oolitic and Shapiro's, a cafeteria that disguises itself as a deli, throw in a discussion conc...

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...