Islam: The Religion and the People by Bernard Lewis

Outstanding

Published in 2008 by Wharton School Publishing.

Islam: The Religion and the People is, without a doubt, the single best academic introduction to Islam that I have seen. It covers just about every facet of the religion for the non-expert, from what happens in a mosque on Fridays to the split between the Shiites and the Sunnis to how the Muslim world deals with not being able to charge interest to rules concerning food and the question of jihad.

This volume is short, well-written and thorough. It includes a glossary of terms mentioned in the book with more explanation (so the text does not bog down). Sidebars are included throughout the text with humourous notes that further illustrate the issues that are being discussed.

I have not encountered a better book to introduce Islam to the curious Westerner. I highly recommend this one to anyone heading off to a Muslim country, who works with Muslims or who is just curious about this popular, controversial and influential faith.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Islam: The Religion and the People.

Reviewed on November 9, 2008.

Warrior Woman: The Exceptional Life Story of Nonhelema, Shawnee Indian Woman Chief by James Alexander Thom and Dark Rain Thom

Not up the high standards that have been set by other books by James Alexander Thom

Published in 2003 by Ballantine Books

To start, let me establish my bonafides as a fan of Mr. Thom's work. Five of his novels proudly sit on my bookshelf. When I teach world history I have my kids read a piece of historical fiction as part of a semester project. I have proudly placed copies of Follow the River and Panther in the Sky in my classroom library as examples of historical fiction at its finest. I met Thom at a conference this past spring and told him that his books were the reason I created this type of project. When at his best, Thom's books make you feel as though you have stepped into that world of the past.

Warrior Woman, while accurate is just not entertaining reading. The plot meanders around and never seems to pick up steam. We never really understand Nonhelema's motives in the book - why is she so desperate to negotiate a peace when it is so obvious that those treaties will be broken? Perhaps if her early life had been explored in more detail. The reader is offered snippits of earlier times - past battles, a trip to New Orleans some twenty years earlier but we don't know how these things formed her Revolutionary War-era self.

George Rogers Clark 
(1752-1818)

Warrior Woman seems to be the capstone on the series he has written about the Ohio and Missouri River Valleys. He mentions the legendary "Welsh Indians" he writes about in The Children of First Man. George Rogers Clark, the star of Long Knife appears several times, as does Tecumseh who is the focus of Panther in the Sky. William Clark, who is featured in his two books about the Lewis and Clark expedition makes a cameo appearance. Kidnapped whites raised by Indians are featured prominently in The Red Heart and Follow the River. They are important in this book as well since Nonhelema's daughter is one of those kidnapped children who chooses to stay with the Shawnee. Even a young George Drouillard is mentioned twice in passing. He is featured in yet another book entitled. Sign-Talker: The Adventure of George Drouillard on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. To me, it seemed that Thom was closing the circle on his interpretation of this period of history.

Before you read this book, read any of the other ones I mentioned above.

I rate this book 2 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Warrior Woman.

Reviewed on November 21, 2008.

Kari's Saga: A Novel of Viking Iceland by Robert Jansson

A Viking book that's less of a "bash 'em, slash 'em" book and more of a legal thriller

Published in 2008 by BookSurge Publishing.

So, you pick up a book about Icelandic Vikings and what do you expect? Well, if you're like me you expected a lot of men with long hair brandishing swords and axes along with lots of blood and longboats, much like the Saxon Chronicle books of Bernard Cornwell.

A Viking Longhouse

Kari's Saga starts out with just that - a failed attempt to burn a rival's longhouse. But, there's a twist. Iceland is trying to limit the the amount of violence that plague the island (revenge killings and so on). The Icelandic Vikings are actively trying to be more creative in applying Viking laws and the legal system to limit this violence. Notice I said limit, not end it - these are, after all, Vikings.

Throw in the threat of political change (invasion from Viking kings back in Denmark - Iceland had no king, just a loose collection of weak semi-feudal lords) and religious change (Christianity was supplanting the Viking gods and the desire to make Iceland Christian was one of excuses used to threaten the invasion from Denmark) and you have an interesting story line with lots of twists and turns.

The author, Robert Jansson, does a great job of explaining the political, religious and legal issues involved. His battle scenes, while few, are well done. He adds in greed, lust and love to make this a worthy read. 

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon at this location:  Kari's Saga: A Novel of Viking Iceland.

Reviewed on November 29, 2008.

Gotham Central Vol. 5: Dead Robin (graphic novel) (DC Comics) by Greg Rucka

Batman, super-villains and the insanity of life in Gotham from the point of view of the police

Published in 2007 by DC Comics.

Ever wonder how Batman and his cronies seem to the cops? Ever wonder how cops deal with super-villains, super heroes and the insane amount of crime that Gotham City generates?

Gotham Central is a great twist on the Super hero tale. Told from the perspective of Gotham's Major Crime Unit, this series puts a different point of view on the super hero story. Besides that, many of these cops are involved in super heroics of their own. Imagine NYPD Blue or Law and Order SVU with the occasional super villain and super hero and you've got the idea. Gritty, tough, action-packed and good.

I rate this graphic novel 5 stars out of 5.

This graphic novel can be found on Amazon.com here: Gotham Central Vol. 5: Dead Robin.

Reviewed on November 29, 2008.

Identity Crisis (graphic novel) by Brad Meltzer and DC Comics

Published in 2006 by DC Comics

So, what happens when you take a best-selling author of thrillers and have him work with a great comics team?

You get Identity Crisis - a strong story, great art and some of the cherished ideas of comics are re-worked.

To quote the introduction by Joss Whedon, "it's unlikely that Elongated Man is your favorite-ever character. But halfway into issue one he was certainly mine. Brad and Rags paint a portrait of a man - and a marriage - that is so unassumingly lovely, it's unbearable to think anything bad might happen to either. And inevitable that it will."

****Spoiler alert****

Thank novelist Brad Meltzer for making you care and thank artist Rags Morales for making you feel the pain of Elongated Man's loss on page 31 (even now, I just glanced at THE page and I felt it all over again).

Meltzer re-works some of the bad guys and makes them truly awful. Why shouldn't they be. Regular villains stalk, kill, rape, maim and torture. Shouldn't super villains do even more of that? To combat that, the super heroes are not morally upright in all of their actions. They are after all, human (except for a few of them). They are scared for their families, friends and loved ones that cannot defend themselves against freaks with a funny suit and a good search engine. The scene in which Batman and Robin (Tim Drake) rush to save Robin's father (p. 170) illustrates this fear and is great only because of the art - the art tells the story better than paragraphs of text would. But, the text does add something - Batman says only two words: "Not again..." as he mashes the Batmobile's pedal to the floor. We all know what the orphaned Caped Crusader's motivations are. On page 182 the art is equally compelling. You can see the horror in Robin's eyes with Batman assuming an unusual compassionate role - cradling Robin and saying, "...I've got you..." The accompanying narration notes "Batman and Robin. Orphans."

*******End Spoiler Alert**********

I give Identity Crisis 4 stars out of 5 simply because I did not like the Whodunit of the whole mystery. It seemed odd and random, but then again lots of life is odd and random so maybe I'm overly critical.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Identity Crisis.

Reviewed on November 29, 2008

The Fire-Eaters by Jason Manning

Good historical fiction about an oft-forgotten era of American History

Published in 2003.

The Fire Eaters is the sequel to Long Hunters, a book about Timothy Barlow and his experiences as a young officer during the War of 1812 and the Creek Uprising with Andrew Jackson. You do not have to have read the first book to read this one.

In this second book of a Barlow Trilogy, Captain Barlow is asked by Andrew Jackson to go on a fact-finding mission to find out the source of a dispute between the Cherokee and White Georgians. Jackson is pre-disposed to remove the Cherokee and Barlow is upset by the idea. However, he fulfills his mission since he is honor-bound to fulfill his duty as a soldier.

Later, he is sent on another mission to deal with the nullifiers of South Carolina (AKA the 'Fire-eaters').

Andrew Jackson 
(1767-1845)

If you are not familiar with the real life Fire-eaters or with the issues involved with the Cherokee disputes, Manning does an exceptional job of explaining the issues and putting Barlow right in the middle of the action. Manning does something that I've never seen done before as well, and that is to tie both issues together in such a way that you can see the logic behind Jackson's actions concerning the Cherokee, although I personally strongly disagree with Jackson's actions.

The only problem with this story is Barlow's romantic life. It is tedious in a male action-adventure sort of way. By this I mean that all of the love interests in action-adventure books are all stunningly attractive, lusty, itching to take off their clothes and are insatiable in bed. Nice daydream material but C'mon! This type of woman abound in action-adventure stories but is rarely seen in the real world. However, Barlow's love life is the glue that holds the story together so I guess it has to stay in.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5 and it can be found on Amazon.com here: The Fire Eaters by Jason Manning.

Reviewed on June 6, 2006.

Anthem by Ayn Rand

A simple but profound piece of science fiction

Originally published in 1938.

I have not read any Ayn Rand before Anthem. I know this may seem strange for a person that enjoys politics, leans heavily to the right politically, and enjoys science fiction, but it is true. The reason is quite simple - the people at the Ayn Rand Institute are so enthusiastic about Ayn Rand and her ideas on talk shows and in interviews that they seem like a religion to them. I feel similarly creepy about the postage paid information card that is included in my book. Plus, let's face it, her most famous works are L-O-O-O-N-G and I was not sure I wanted to invest that much time into Rand.

But, I decided to give Anthem a try because it is very short (105 pages) and my local bookstore had it on clearance.

So, what did I think?

There was a stretch of time before and after World War II, when the collectivization political movements were gaining momentum (fascism and communism) when some great novelists grew wary and wrote some fantastic and simply written works to warn others. Specifically, I am thinking of Brave New World, Animal Farm and 1984. Now, I can add Anthem to that list.

Ayn Rand (1905-1982)

Anthem is set in a future world that has collapsed technologically due to some sort of disaster and the survivors value group cohesiveness, stability and tradition above all else. Innovation and original thought are stifled (violently, if necessary) and individualism is repressed to the point that the word "I" does not even exist in the language any longer. No individual choices are allowed - not in education, not in profession and no one is allowed to choose their own mates. One of their favorite sayings is: "We are nothing. Mankind is all. By the grace of our brothers we are allowed our lives. We exist through, by and for our brothers who are the State. Amen."

Some are fine with this emphasis on the group but the main character, Equality 7-2521, is a natural-born scientist who likes to question and experiment. He is assigned to be a street sweeper instead (the reader is led to assume that he is not chosen to be a scientist precisely because he is know to be an innovator).  Equality 7-2521 mentions other characters who are especially gifted in an area but are not allowed to act upon those gifts who seem to be slowly going insane.

Equality 7-2521 develops a friendship with an artist (friends are not allowed) he falls in love with a pretty girl and he re-discovers some of the lost technology from the past (electricity and light bulbs). When he shows the science council what he has discovered and re-built they condemn him to death for daring to make the candle obsolete. They say to him, "...how dare you think that you could be of greater use to men than in sweeping the streets?" and, "How dare you...to hold yourself as one alone and with the thoughts of the one and not of the many?" and "What is not thought by all men cannot be true." Equality 7-2521 is sentenced to die but he escapes into the forest that surrounds his small city with his girlfriend. Together they begin to re-discover what has been lost and make plans to re-build civilization. Symbolically, they re-discover the word "I" and begin to use it.

Anthem is written in dramatic broad strokes. It is over the top in many ways - but it makes its point even stronger - it is a warning against the collectivist ideologies, telling the reader that this is where those ideologies all end eventually, if they are unchecked. I am still not a fan of Rand's philosophy (Objectivism), but this is still a remarkable novella - a warning of what can go wrong with collectivism.

My book had an introduction by Leonard Piekoff, the founder of the Ayn Rand Institute. It also includes the original UK version of the story with Rand's handwritten edits. I found that mildly interesting but mostly ignored that section (fully half of the book).

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5 and it can be found on Amazon.com here: Anthem by Ayn Rand.

Reviewed on June 28, 2011.