Turbulence by John J. Nance

This thriller hits the same notes over and over again but it sucks the reader in

Published in 2002.

Turbulence is not a subtle book - Nance hits on two themes over and over again with an enthusiasm akin to that of Animal from the Muppet Show pounding on a set of drums. Those two themes are: airlines often have poor customer service that needlessly aggravates the travelling public. Secondly, airline employees can be poorly trained and inadequate to the challenges of international travel.

However, he does make an interesting little novel here about an airplane full of people who have been pushed too far by rude employees, senseless delays on the runways and incompetent decision-making by the pilots. Throw in a violent misunderstanding and you've got the makings of a passenger mutiny and a sharp thriller.

4 out of 5 stars.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Turbulence.

Reviewed on December 4, 2009.

From Peanuts to the Pressbox: Insider Sports Stories from a Life Behind the Mic by Eli Gold

An enjoyable read from one of the true nice guys in American sports broadcasting

Published in 2009 by Thomas Nelson Inc.

I've listened to Eli Gold for years as one of the radio (and from time to time TV) voices of NASCAR. He's always come across as a nice guy and a straight shooter who is not out to grind any axes.

From Peanuts to the Pressbox: Insider Sports Stories from a Life Behind the Mic is Eli Gold's story of how he went from being a peanut vendor at Madison Square Garden to being a nationally known sports announcer. Eli tells it in an entertaining, light-hearted style and keeps it classy by not airing anyone's dirty laundry.

He does include lots of funny and interesting stories, including his tale of the day that he went to the airport with David Pearson, Bobby Allison's distinctive ritual when he flew his plane home after a win and the strangest thing Richard Petty ever signed (a duck!). The revelation that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is a big NASCAR fan who attends in his own RV was a bit surprising.

A good gift for the NASCAR (or Alabama or hockey) fan that has everything.

4 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: From Peanuts to the Pressbox: Insider Sports Stories from a Life Behind the Mic by Eli Gold.

Reviewed on December 15, 2009.

Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491 by Charles C. Mann

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.

Never Look Away: A Thriller by Linwood Barclay

Another Winner from Barclay

Published in 2010 by Delacorte Press

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?

Absolutely.

This is a real page turner. I found myself losing real chunks of time if I picked this book up during my morning routine. I was nearly late to work two days in a row because I had to keep reading a little bit more.

I look forward to the next one, Mr. Barclay.

5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Never Look Away: A Thriller.

Reviewed on February, 26, 2010.

April 1865: The Month That Saved America by Jay Winik

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). Winik's synopsis of the issues of slavery and the Wilderness campaign are so good that if I ever get the chance to teach US history again I am going to copy them and hand them out to my students.

Jay Winik

This book renewed my awe of Robert E. Lee as a man. Flawed, like all of us, he made the exact right decisions at the end. Perhaps the most interesting was in the summer of 1865 - the war was over and Lee was back in Richmond awaiting his fate. It is communion Sunday and a black man decided to assert his rights as a free man and he goes up to the altar FIRST to get communion (traditionally, blacks were last). The whole church stops. The minister is flustered at the change of social niceties. Lee gets up - goes up to the front and stands next to the man for Communion. Now, the service must go on- because you can't refuse Robert E. Lee. Together, the two men integrated the church - with no prior planning. Lee just knew that this was the way it had to be now, so get over it.

Great book. I heartily recommend it.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here:  April 1865: The Month That Saved America

Reviewed on August 22, 2004.

Never After by Rebecca Lickiss

Wow! Was this book bad!

Published in 2002.

Never After is one of those humorous fantasy books, in which everything is sweetly parodied and lots of puns are thrown in, etc.

A Prince in search of a princess finds a castle in which all of the inhabitants are asleep due to the spell of a fairy godmother (as in Disney's Sleeping Beauty), including the girl of his dreams. However, he needs to wake up 3 princes before he wakes up his love so he enlists the help of his tomboy cousin (a princess) and his boyhood friend, who happens to be a newly graduated wizard and they all go back to the castle for adventure, treasure and love. Along the way, Rumpelstiltskin (yes, that one) gets involved.

My review:

This book was so irritating that I got to page 85 and called it quits. The author seems to be more bent on being cute than she is on advancing the story (which had gone nearly nowhere in the last 25-30 pages I did read). I was afraid that if I read it any longer, I would somehow be sucked in and trapped like the people in the castle. Maybe that would have been fine - at least I'd be asleep and not reading the book!

I rate this book 1 star out of 5 and it can be found on Amazon.com here: Never After by Rebecca Lickiss.

Reviewed in 2004.

Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (The Original Radio Drama) by Brian Daley and George Lucas

Published by HighBridge Audio.
Originally broadcast in 1993.
Multicast performance.
Duration: approximately 5 hours.

Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (The Original Radio Drama) was created for National Public Radio and originally broadcast in 1993. It features several members of the original movie cast including Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Anthony Daniels (C3PO) and Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian). John Lithgow steps in and does a strong job with Yoda. Vader suffers with Brock Peters as the voice - not because he did anything wrong, but because he is just not James Earl Jones.

George Lucas opened up the Star Wars vault and let NPR use the original soundtrack and original special effects - and they use them well. The soundtrack punches up the story and the special effects are used to move the story along as often as they are used to add a little detail to the experience.

The story is well told and has the added bonus of being able to take a little more time to expand certain scenes. For example, what do Luke and Han talk about after Han rescues him on Hoth and they wait for morning in an emergency tent? On the other hand, I don't know if anyone can really follow the radio drama if they have not seen the movie? In my mind, images from the movie were constantly being played - Lando's flowing cape, the bounty hunters all lined up before being sent out by Vader, the "cave" on the asteroid. I don't know if the radio drama would be able to create similar scenes in the mind's eye or not.

There is one major drawback - the are only 2 CD "chapters" or tracks on each CD. This is no big deal if you are listening in the car, but if you pull that CD out, you have got to do a lot of searching to find where you were. Each track is the complete drama as aired, including about 3 minutes of introduction, theme music and a reading of the cast members. It makes for slow listening when you've hear it for all 10 episodes.

I rate this radio drama 4 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can  be found on Amazon.com here:  The Empire Strikes Back (Star Wars)

Reviewed on August 9, 2010.

Link to my review of STAR WARS (EPISODE IV).
Link to my review of RETURN of the JEDI.