The Pursuit of Happiness in Times of War by Carl M. Cannon

A Truly Enjoyable Meandering History

Published in 2003 by Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.

Publishers Weekly criticized this book The Pursuit of Happiness in Times of War for not truly exploring the meanings behind Jefferson's famous phrase from the Declaration of Independence that lists among the rights of all people the rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." To be fair to Cannon, he does explore that and both explicitly and implicitly tells the reader that the genius of the phrase is that it is so hard to define. It can be used by people from all over the political landscape to define their goals and they are all using it correctly (I think he does this rather brilliantly in the chapter concerning anti-war protesters vs. George W. Bush.)

The Publishers Weekly review correctly points out that Cannon's focus is, at times, lacking. However, the text is still informative and well-written. I would compare it to a pleasant conversation that strays a bit from its original focus but eventually does return.

Franklin, Adams and Jefferson editing 
the Declaration of Independence.

Cannon pulls quotes from a great multitude of sources and he correctly, in my mind, expounds on his thesis that one of the Great Themes of the American Experience is expanding the concept of the "pursuit of happiness" and making it apply to more and more people within our own society and also throughout the world. His view that this is one of the goals of the invasion of Iraq is so consistent with Bush's own statements and my own observations that it shocked me to read it in print. Why was I shocked? I was shocked because this was the first time I read it in print - he is the first journalist I've seen to analyze it in this way and I feel that he is one of the few who actually has an intellectual grasp of what Bush's goals are in Iraq (be they successfully reached or not and Cannon really does not address the correctness or not of the war in Iraq - he is merely looking into motivations.)

His quotes from leaders of nations that were once part of the Soviet Bloc and are now part of the Coalition of the Willing in Iraq are so concise and insightful that I was struck dumbfounded in many ways.

On a pet peeve note, Cannon has lots of end notes - many with excellent additional commentary. I wish his publisher had seen fit to make them footnotes so that I would not have had to keep two bookmarks in the book and continually have to flip back and forth.

I rated this book 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: The Pursuit of Happiness in Times of War by Carl M. Cannon.

Reviewed on September 22, 2004.

Acts of Malice (abridged audiobook) by Perri O'Shaughnessy

A lot of soap opera, a little legal thriller

Published by Brilliance Audio in 2003.
Duration: Approximately 3 hours.
Read by Laurel Merlington
Abridged

I listened to Acts of Malice as an abridged audiobook and I'm hoping some of the problems I have with the book were really due to the abridgment.

Problems:

1. her son Bob - he never speaks. He never does anything but be the perfect son who never, ever does anything wrong while mom sometimes spends outrageous hours out of the home. Watch out for this kid - he's going to be trouble!

2. Her son Bob says nothing, nothing at all about mom getting married to a man she just started re-dating while he's off on a trip to Germany (apparently unplanned since the tapes bring it up as he's packing the day before).

3. I don't know about you, but I think it would be pretty unethical to start dating the prosecutor during your defendant's murder trial.

4. The book spent much more time on the character's conflicted feelings (not conflicted about how this affair would affect her client's case, mind you, just hot and bothered about dating this man again) and not much on the case. If the story had focused, a 3 hour audiobook would have lasted about an hour. That means I was listening to 2 hours of romance novel on tape! Aaaargh!!

I rate this audiobook 2 stars out of 5.

Reviewed on September 21, 2004. 

NOTE: Despite the fact that I like the cleverness of the name (2 sisters combined their names to make a new name) and the fact that their books always sound interesting, I do believe that this is the last Perri O'Shaughnessy book I've read or listened to.  Always great looking covers on the books, but you know the old saying about books and covers...

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Acts of Malice by Perri O'Shaughnessy.

The Pied Piper (abridged audiobook) by Ridley Pearson

Great twists. Good book. Abridged version leaves some things out.

Published by Brilliance Audio
Read by Dale Hull
Duration: About 3 hours
Abridged

Just to let you know, I heard The Pied Piper as an abridged audiobook. I will discuss specific issues about the audiobook aspect of it later.

This was a scary, sad thriller. Children are being abducted from their bedrooms across Seattle and, in reality, all across the country and Seattle's finest are out to stop the kidnappings. Obstacles in their path include very poor teamwork with the FBI and there's another kidnapping very close to home...but I won't spoil it for you by telling you who.

Good police work ensues and it is satisfying to go along with the police as they slowly amass their clues and get closer and closer. Once the reader finds out the truth, there's still quite a bit of work to do to wrap it all up - including a cross-country chase.

Its a good, good thriller and I would have given it 5 stars but I am reviewing the abridged book on tape and I have some complaints:

1. The reader does great dialogue but is poor at reading non-dialogue - everything sounds breathless and over-hyped. Very William Shatner-esque, if you catch my meaning.

2. The abridgment apparently left out a part of the story concerning Idaho - it is barely referenced early on and then the suspect has an injury on the face due to an accident suffered in Idaho that everyone seems to know about. That is not an example of a skillful abridgment.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: The Pied Piper (abridged).

Reviewed on September 20, 2004.

Barney: The Stray Beagle Who Became a TV Star and Stole Our Hearts by Dick Wolfsie

A Heartwarming remembrance and tribute to Barney the beagle

Published in 2004.

If you lived in Central Indiana from the mid-90s to 2003 you probably saw Barney - Dick Wolfsie's canine sidekick and faithful companion for literally thousands of segments of the WISH-TV morning show. He wasn't a prop or a gag (he was too poorly trained for that) - he was his own man (!) on the show. He was goodwill ambassador and class clown and all beagle.

Barney: The Stray Beagle Who Became a TV Star and Stole Our Hearts is a light-hearted book - full of Wolfsie's wonderful memories - the good and the bad. Really, it's a fluff piece - but this piece of fluff caused my eyes to tear up more than once as he spoke of the day his beloved Barney died and the immediate outpouring of love and concern that central Indiana expressed.

Truly a wonderful little book - be prepared to laugh (my wife and I read parts of it to each other and enjoyed it all the more) but also have the tissues handy!

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Barney: The Stray Beagle Who Became a TV Star and Stole Our Hearts by Dick Wolfsie.

Reviewed on September 13, 2004.

The Last Innocent Man by Phillip Margolin

Good thriller set against a series of coincidences

Originally published in 1981.

Margolin comes through with The Last Innocent Man, a book that keeps the pages turning but at times I wondered about the series of incredible coincidences that linked all of the characters together (I won't go into them here, for fear of revealing too much of the plot for those who have not yet read the book).

Are you looking for a book that leads the protagonist through a series of difficult choices until finally everything is forced to come to a head? If so, then this is your book. However, be aware that you'll be forced to suspend your sense of disbelief from time to time as well.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: The Last Innocent Man. 

Reviewed on September 10, 2004.

Cuba (Jake Grafton #7) (audiobook) by Stephen Coonts

Good thriller plot overcomes other issues

Originally published in 1999.
Read by Benjamin L. Darcie
Duration: 14 hours, 44 minutes
Unabridged

Just so you'll know, I am reviewing Cuba as an audiobook - I listened to it as an audiobook and as an audiobook it was pretty good, meaning that I never really wondered if there was something else on the radio that was better.

As to the plot - I found it to be especially interesting to have the book focus on the presence of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Cuba, considering our situations in Iran and North Korea and the famed search for WMD in Iraq. The descriptions of the power of these weapons and the reasons that tin-pot dictators and superpowers possess them was informative.

As always, Coonts writes wonderful action sequences. His characters are sometimes a bit stiff, especially with his American cabinet officials.

Quibbles I have with the book:

-Sometimes there's so much tech-speak that it bogs the story down. At times, Coonts seems more interested in showing us cool gadgets than moving the story along.

-Why is Rear Admiral Jake Grafton personally leading the invasion of a Cuban prison and checking out abandoned freighters with Toad Tarkington? 

-Why is Toad Tarkington leading military mission after military mission? 

Both Tpad and Grafton are in their 50s! Are there no Junior officers in his entire carrier group? Very Captain Kirk-ish. It seems to me that this would have been an excellent time to have passed the baton generationally and introduced the readers to a couple of new, young, enthusiastic officers who could do some of these rough and tumble adventures. 

Reviewed on September 10, 2004.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: Cuba (Jake Grafton #7).

Fury by G.M. Ford

Great change of pace for G.M. Ford

Published in 2001.

Ford's new hero is Frank Corso - he's hard to get a read on, he's a loner (with friends), he's difficult (but is smooth when he interviews), he's trustworthy and, most importantly, he loves to put his nose into other people's business, especially when he smells a good story.

G.M. Ford

Ford introduces a variety of characters to fill out Corso's world and I think it works very well. The pacing of the book is excellent and I oftentimes found myself having to force myself to put it down so I could go on with the rest of my day. This book is darker and more serious than the Waterman books, mostly because there isn't the comic relief supplied by the homeless crowd from the neighborhood bar, The Zoo.

For those fans of Leo Waterman, he makes a cameo appearance at the beginning.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: FURY by G.M. Ford.

Reviewed September 7, 2004