Codes of Betrayal (audiobook) by Dorothy Uhnak

What's the point? There's better stuff out there.

Published by DH Audio in 1997
Read by Bruce Weitz

Codes of Betrayal is about betrayal (thus, the title) and family and it ultimately left this listener (I heard it as an audiobook, narrated by Bruce Weitz of 'Hill Street Blues' fame) wondering what the point of the novel was. Nick O'Hara, our protagonist and NYPD detective, is upset when he discovers that his grandfather on his mother's side ordered the killing of his father when he was a boy and was obliquely responsible for the death of his son in a gangland dispute.

So, Nick goes after his grandfather by becoming a spy in the family organization. Along the way, he betrays his own wife and breaks his relationship with his father's brother - his only blood relative he trusts. So, while avenging part of his family he ends up screwing up the rest of his family.

So, when I finished this dark novel I had to wonder, "What was the point?" If you like to watch a man self-destruct - this is your book.

Bruce Weitz

Not my favorite piece of literature.

I rate this book 2 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Codes of Betrayal by Dorothy Uhnak.

Reviewed April 4, 2005

Charles Kuralt's Summer (audiobook) by Charles Kuralt

For fans of Kuralt, this will be a treat!

Originally published by Audioworks in 1997
Read by the author, Charles Kuralt
Duration: 1 hour, 9 minutes
Abridged

I hadn't thought about Charles Kuralt for years - until I ran into Charles Kuralt's Summer. Kuralt pulls summer-based items from his reports from CBS News and reminds us (this listener anyway) that we've missed his folksy approach on the reporting on everyday life in America since his passing a few years ago.

Kuralt lays it on a bit thick from time to time but he avoids being too schmaltzy as he reports to us about Maypole dances in Minnesota and tubin' down the Apple River in Wisconsin. The best reports are on side two, where he focuses on the Fourth of July. He travels to Gettysburg and Independence Hall, New York City and Brazil and takes us along for an emotional ride.

Although he takes a lot of his audio from his actual television reports, only once or twice did this listener feel that he was missing something by not actually seeing the pictures.

Charles Kuralt (1934-1997)

The link above is for the cassette version of the audiobook but Amazon sells it as a digital download too.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: Charles Kuralt's Summer.

Reviewed on March 29, 2005.

Bland Ambition: From Adams to Quayle - the Cranks, Criminals, Tax Cheats and Golfers Who Made it to Vice President by Steve Tally

An irreverent look at the vice presidency

Published in 1992.

In Bland Ambition: From Adams to Quayle - the Cranks, Criminals, Tax Cheats and Golfers Who Made it to Vice President, Steve Tally looks at America's vice presidents and gives us the inside scoop on each of these men's foibles and character flaws. The chapters are short and sweet and hilarious!

Tally introduces us to Vice Presidents who assumed that they were really assistant presidents, vice presidents who never really showed up to work, vice presidents who showed up to work but really shouldn't have bothered and vice presidents who never really grasped the idea that they were supposed to work with their presidents to get things passed through the Congress.

For the research paper writers out there, Tally's work would be inappropriate to use as the main source of your information, but it would make a fantastic book to add that little bit of extra to make your paper more interesting to read!

This was truly an enjoyable read. I borrowed mine from the library but I'm adding it to my wish list because I want to have a copy of my own!

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

Reviewed on May 18, 2005

Glory Lane by Alan Dean Foster

Published in 1987.

Glory Lane is a good old-fashioned sci-fi romp that is just made worse by the inclusion of all three human characters.

This is one of those stories where lovable losers get caught up in something really big and really complicated that they didn't even know existed. Typically, as these types of stories go along, the lovable losers do better, they grow, and they rise to the occasion.

These characters do not grow. They remain petty, impudent little pests and I found myself wondering why the other races tolerated the human species if this was all the better examples that they were going to meet!

Seriously, the actual sci-fi was top-notch. There were a multitude of worlds and species that were well-done. But, it was marred by the inclusion of a punk rocker, a geek and a ditzy blond who continued to bicker, and sometimes actually fistfight with one another, no matter the situation. I wish he'd haven given that aspect of the story a rest.

I rate this book 3 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Glory Lane by Alan Dean Foster.

Reviewed on May 15, 2005.

To America: Personal Reflections of a Historian by Stephen E. Ambrose

Originally published in 2002.

To America: Personal Reflections of a Historian wanders and meanders its way through American history and, while this may bother others, personally, I love it. For me, it was as if I were able to sit and listen in on a conversation with a master story-teller.

Ambrose discusses such things as the hypocrisy of Jefferson ('unalienable rights' for all men - how about your own slaves?) and most of the Founding Fathers - but still he does not just topple them for their hypocrisy - he also points out, with wonder, that they accomplished the near-impossible. He also notes the seeds for social change that they all planted, such as universal education (Jefferson). In fact, he directly confronts the 'but he was a slaveholder' mentality - acknowledge the terrible fault - in fact, insist on acknowledging it. But, judge them by the whole of their work.

Stephen E. Ambrose
(1936-2002)

Ambrose covers such flawed men as Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt in a similar fashion. He also discusses other things that he had a hand in, such as D-Day museum, the Band of Brothers TV shows and the process of writing.

Ambrose also throws in his own personal experiences - both with items of a historical nature (such as his own experiences as a vocal protester of the Vietnam War - some he's proud of and others that he wished he wouldn't have done) and his own experiences with success and tragedy.

Thoroughly enjoyable.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: To America: Personal Reflections of a Historian by Stephen E. Ambrose.

Reviewed on May 14, 2005.

Cold Service by Robert B. Parker

Reading a Spenser novel is better than not reading one but..

Published in 2005.

...this one doesn't make me want to run out and get another one, either.

I've read every Spenser novel and just about everything else Parker has produced and Cold Service just felt tired.

This book started out so well - the action was moving, the lines were crisp. I laughed out loud and I couldn't wait to open the book back up.

Then, the psychobabble began. There was way, way, way too much relationship study between Spenser and Susan about Spenser and Hawk. Enough already! We know that they'd do anything for each other - not out of debt but out of male-bonded love! We got that during the last book and the other 15 or so that have had this exact same conversation (except in shorter form!)!!

Too bad, because Parker's last Jesse Stone novel was the best of the series and his Jackie Robinson book Double Play was very, very good. This one was not up to those high standards
 
I rate this book 3 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Cold Service by Robert B. Parker.
 
Reviewed May 14, 2005.

Chance by Robert B. Parker

Check out the audiobook - it is worth it

Published by Phoenix Books
Read by Burt Reynolds
Duration: 6 hours, 52 minutes
Unabridged

I avoided this audiobook performance of Chance because its read by Burt Reynolds and I figured that if anybody has a chance to ruin a Spenser novel it would be Burt Reynolds. Not that Burt is a bad actor, but he tends to do what he wants to do rather than what he's told to do.

Boy, was I wrong.

Despite his talent for finding bad movies, Reynolds is, underneath it all, a real actor. He finds the voice for the wise-cracking Spenser and hits it dead on. Spenser's observations and one-liners are read perfectly. Not only that, but he covers the voices of all of the mob leaders and his characterization of Shirley Meeker/Ventura gives the reader a great deal of sympathy for how truly pathetic and harmless she was as she got herself caught up in events beyond her control.

Burt Reynolds

Reynold's portrayal of Hawke was different (more southern, but just as tough) because in my mind I always picture Avery Brooks and his precise delivery of lines. But, once I got used to it, it was very good.


Robert B. Parker
(1932-2010)

Now, on to the book. Typical Spenser - wise-cracks, a little violence and a lot of people irritated about him sticking his nose in their business. In this case, Spenser spends a lot of time in Vegas and he isn't very fond of the strip. Susan isn't prominent in this book, but she does her level best to drag down every scene she's in with her incessant discussions about Spenser's character as a man.

Normally, I would give this audiobook 4 stars, but the reading by Reynolds was strong enough that I had to bump it up to 5 stars.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Chance by Robert B. Parker.

Reviewed on March 23, 2005.