America, 1908: The Dawn of Flight, the Race to the Pole, the Invention of the Model T and the Making of a Modern Nation by Jim Rasenberger

The strong points are very strong but there are flaws

Originally published in 2007 by Scribner.

America, 1908 covers some of the key cultural, political, manufacturing and just plain odd events that happened in 1908 in the United States in an easy-to-read, often fun format. These include the Race to the North Pole, the New York to Paris automobile race, the introduction of the Model T, the last time the Cubs won the World Series for more than a century, the Wright Brothers proving to the world that they really could fly (and do it for hours, not just seconds) and a series of horrible race-based lynchings.

While I enjoyed learning more about the Wright Brothers and the Model T, other parts seemed more than a bit skewed towards events in New York City (the Cubs win their last World Series and it's told from the point of view of the New York Giants?) and against rural areas and the South (the only references to the South are from newspapers mentioning events in NYC or about lynchings and attacks of corporate tobacco interests. Surely something happened that was not a lynching or some other violent act?)

The author seems to suffer from the same conceit that plagues a number of New York City-based authors - a failure to realize that the rest of the country not only matters but is just as interesting as NYC. For example, when describing the NYC-Paris race he mentions they drove through Indiana but fails to mention that they were in the process of planning the massive 2.5 mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway (it opened in 1909) - a facility designed to show off the capabilities of automobiles in competition without having to expose them to the vagaries of open road races like the NYC to Paris race.

So, to sum up, America, 1908 is a nifty piece of history, such as it is. It is hardly inclusive of America as a whole with a definite bias towards New York City-based events.

1908 Model T Ford

Personal note: Rasenberger's inclusion of a horrible anti-black race riot in Springfield, IL was especially thought-provoking as I watched the Obama inauguration this week. What a difference 100 years can bring in some attitudes! 

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: America, 1908: The Dawn of Flight, the Race to the Pole, the Invention of the Model T, and the Making of a Modern Nation.

Reviewed on January 23, 2009.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

I thought it was great before, even better when I re-read it 15 years later.

Originally published in 1937

John Steinbeck (1902-1968)

I used to have a considerable classroom library (I have since switched schools and there is no Silent Sustained Reading program at the new school so I donated my library) and I always would hand Of Mice and Men to any kid that said he or she hated reading and "there's nothing good to read." I had a hard time keeping this book on the shelves and since I had an "honor system" check out plan this book kept on disappearing on me since the students seemed to have felt it was worth keeping and I had to make runs to the local used book store to re-stock it.

But, I hadn't read it in a while so I decided to see if it was still one of my favorites.

If anything, this book is more powerful than it was before. The loss at the end is more powerful, both the loss with Lennie and with the loss of a dream. Themes abound, such as the loss of the American Dream, loneliness, friendship and the responsibilities of friendship. Perhaps, even some religious themes with all of the events starting on a Friday and ending on a Sunday.

But, all of that would be pointless if the story were not well-written and poignant. It's short length only serves to heighten the power of the story.

One of the best American novels. Period.

I rate this novel 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.

Reviewed on January 31, 2009.

Note: In February of 2022 I tagged this book "MAGA Censorship List" because a group called Moms for Liberty created a list of 51 books that they wanted removed from their school library. This article is pretty good because it has a lot of details. It includes the whole list and one activist's assertion that the books may be part of an agenda on the part of George Soros or the United Nations or the American Library Association. (Seriously - it's a direct quote in the article. This is the kind of crazy that fills these groups.)

This book is also on lists of books that Progressives want to ban. Here is a link to a list maintained by a university that tracks book bans. In this case, it is for inclusion of the n-word.

The Invention of Air: A Story Of Science, Faith, Revolution, And The Birth Of America by Steven Johnson

Meandering book felt more like an expanded magazine article 

Published in 2008. 

I am a history teacher and thought The Invention of Air: A Story Of Science, Faith, Revolution, And The Birth Of America might be an interesting new perspective on the Enlightenment and the American Revolution from the perspective of English theologian, philosopher and scientist Joseph Priestley.

We get a hefty dose of scientific history which is appropriate but not my area of interest. We don't get a lot of detail on his theological writings that caused him to flee England for America and later made him unpopular with some politicians in America as well.

We also get a lot of off-topic meanderings such as his pages full of information on the Carboniferous era (millions of year ago) that form a rhetorical touchstone for the rest of the book but mostly seemed to fill the book with extra pages.

Joseph Priestley
(1733-1804)

In fact, the large-type print, off-topic musings and small number of pages (204 in the uncorrected manuscript that I read) left me more informed than I already was on Priestley but also feeling more like I'd been on a general tour of late 18th century Enlightenment science rather than having read a biography.

I rate this biography 3 stars out of 5.

This book can be found here on Amazon.com: The Invention of Air: A Story Of Science, Faith, Revolution, And The Birth Of America.

Reviewed on January 31, 2009.

To Fetch A Thief A Chet and Bernie Mystery #3) by Spencer Quinn

The fun continues (and gets better!)

Originally published in 2010.

I enjoyed the first book in the Chet and Bernie series, Dog On It, but assumed this was to be a cute attempt at a series that fizzled after the first book. I ran across the third book and immediately picked it up, pleasantly surprised that the series was still alive. I am pleased to report that not only is the series alive - it is getting better as it goes along!

Chet and Bernie are private detectives. Well, Bernie is a private detective. Chet is his dog - a police dog (almost!) that failed to make it all of the way through his training. The story is told completely told from the perspective of Chet, the dog who pretty much understands human society, at least enough to tell the story. What he does know is that he and Bernie are inseparable partners and they always have each others' back.

In To Fetch a Thief, Bernie gets some free tickets to a down and out traveling circus and he takes Chet and his son. When they arrive they discover the circus performance has been canceled because the elephant and her trainer are gone - the owner thinks they have "gone over" to the animal rights crowd but Bernie is not convinced because, by all accounts, the trainer was ultra-humane and he and the elephant loved one another as much as Bernie and Chet do. Bernie does a little digging at the impetus of his son and finds evidence that the elephant and trainer have been kidnapped.

Spencer Quinn and his dog

Of course Bernie takes the case despite not really having a client (unless you count his son who tells his class about it and promises all of those kids that his dad will find the elephant and bring it home) and viewing everything from Chet's "live-in-the-moment" perspective is a treat and not as limiting as it seemed to have been in the first book. A great example that made me laugh out loud because I have thought the same thing: "...for now let's just say Mexico's a great place if you are interested in smells."

I'm glad to see the series is alive and doing well. Here's to more from Chet and Bernie!

Click on the "Chet and Bernie" tag or the "Spencer Quinn" tag below to see what I thought about other books in this series.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: To Fetch A Thief (A Chet and Bernie Mystery #3) by Spencer Quinn.

Reviewed on June 10, 2011.

Dog On It (Chet and Bernie Mystery #1) by Spencer Quinn

A nice twist on the detective story

Published in 2009.

The premise of Dog On It is a simple one. It's a buddy book. Partners fighting crime like Holmes and Watson, Spenser and Hawk and now Bernie and Chet. Except for one important point - Chet is Bernie's dog.

The story is told from the point of view of Chet, a trained police dog that never quite graduated from the academy to a "leaping" incident that "involved blood."

Chet understands enough about human society so that the story doesn't bog down but he has that easily distractable live-in-the-moment quality that all dog lovers recognize. The mystery is pretty good, too. Bernie is hired to find a 15 year old girl who may be a runaway and may be the victim of foul play due to her father's shady real estate deals. Chet's unique perspective and talents as a dog and Bernie Little's ability to make the occasional intuitive leap make the Little Detective Agency a real threat to crime in the area.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Dog on It by Spencer Quinn.

Reviewed on January 13, 2009.

The River Sorrow by Craig Holden

Okay, but not great thriller

At times achingly slow, and at times seemingly in fast forward mode, The River Sorrow is just an "OK" book for me.

I readily admit that I could not really identify much with the reformed drug addict doctor (his behavior is odd at the beginning of the story with regards to the police investigation and moves illogically throughout most of the first half of the book) and this hurt my enjoyment of the book. However, the addict Summer Storm's character gets even more ridiculous as the story moves along (I'll not detail why so as to avoid spoilers.)

On a pet peeve note, on page 243 of my edition Holden perpetuates the silly idea that police must identify themselves when they are undercover if they are asked, "Are you a cop?" Jeez.

Not good, not bad. Just a book.

I rate this book 3 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: The River Sorrow by Craig Holden.

Reviewed on February 12, 2009.

The Abduction (abridged audiobook) by James Grippando

Maybe it was the ABRIDGED audiobook format...

...but I thought The Abduction was a total dog of a book.

Published in 1999.
Read by Allison Janey
Duration: 2 hours, 46 minutes
Abridged

Normally, I am a big fan of Grippando's books - they are interesting, full of lots of intrigue, unexpected twists and politics. I've reviewed several of them and have given them high marks. So, when I found one written about presidential politics and read by Allison Janney from West Wing I thought that this was bound to be a great book on tape.

Allison Janney

However, the politics in this one was just silly. Before the action gets going in the book, Grippando has the two candidates, literally less than a week before the election, just sitting around their houses. Think about the last presidential election. Was Obama sitting around his house with 3 days to go? Was McCain? No - they were in the midst of a marathon of speeches and events that had been going on for at least a month. I remember when Bob Dole ran against Clinton - he literally made appearances for 48 hours straight - right through the night before election day and through election day until the polls were closed even though he was one of the oldest men to ever run for president.

Other issues:

-there's no secret service protecting these people or their relatives.

-people don't recognize the candidates when they are in public. Come on - Kerry, Bush, Gore, Clinton, Dole, McCain, Obama - they are forever ingrained in the minds of any TV-watching American, especially the day before the election.

-I was even more confused by the bad guy with the Italian last name and the Russian accent. Either Allison Janney is the worst actress ever with accents or they left out a vital piece of information in the abridgement.

***********Caution - Spoiler**********************

I was also bothered by the shallowness of the Attorney General / Democratic Presidential Candidate. Literally hours after she discovers the awful truth about her husband's involvement in her baby daughter's kidnapping - hours after her whole world has been turned upside down, she's busy making goo-goo eyes with the head of the FBI. Lame.

**************End of spoiler*********************

Grippando usually mentions Florida gubernatorial politics in his other thrillers. He is familiar with politics, but like many candidates who aspire to the national stage, I don't think he was ready for the presidential level when he wrote this book.

I give this one 2 stars out of 5.

This abridged audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: The Abduction by James Grippando.

Reviewed on April 28, 2006.