110 People Who Are Screwing Up America (And Al Franken Is #37) by Bernard Goldberg

Goldberg takes aim - both left and right (but mostly at the left)

Published in 2005.

Just so you know, I was officially tired of the Coulter / Moore slamfest format about two years ago and I went cold turkey for quite a while. Mostly, they end up being long lists of high crimes and misdemeanors committed by the other side and while that is interesting it also starts to get silly after a while. Does either party or any party have a perfect record? No. Both have loudmouths and losers that shoot off their mouths and write insane things. I'm a Republican and there are Republicans that I would just as soon sit down and shut their mouths - they've said enough idiotic things to last a lifetime - let someone else have a chance!

Bernard Goldberg

Now, Goldberg is in a different class (mostly) from the partisan bashers. He avoids the acid comments (a la Coulter, Savage, Franken, Moore) and he really knows how to write. Bias and Arrogance are the reason I picked this one up - they are well-written and not shrill.

110 People Who Are Screwing Up America (And Al Franken Is #37) usually avoids shrillness (about 100 of the 110 are shrill-free) and Goldberg takes shots at both Conservatives and Liberals - which is a nice change of pace from most books of this genre. While I would have a different list of 110, I can't really disagree with the reasoning of any of his choices.

I give this one 5 stars out of 5. Well-written, interesting read. I shot through it in no time at all because it was compelling.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: 110 People Who Are Screwing Up America.

Reviewed on July 30, 2006.

Lord of the Dead: The Secret History of Byron (abridged audiobook) by Tom Holland

Lord Byron as a vampire

Originally published in 1996 by Simon and Schuster.
Performed by Richard E. Grant
Duration: 3 hours, 3 minutes.

Abridged.

I picked up this audiobook version of Lord of the Dead: The Secret History of Byron because I very much enjoyed Holland's non-fiction book about the end of the Roman Republic, Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic. I am not particularly a fan of vampire books nor of Lord Byron (who I can believe was a vampire, considering the level of his debauchery and self-absorption) but I decided to give Tom Holland another try and trust that he would make it interesting.

Lord Byron (1788-1824)

The abridgment of the book contributed to my enjoyment, I am sure. There were many long stretches that were so bloated by flowery speeches, especially in the first hour or so of the audiobook, that I probably would have bailed on an unabridged version of the book. However, the last two hours were so interesting and so well-performed by Richard E. Grant that I had to bump the score up to 4 stars.

The running time of the abridged audiobook is about 3 hours and it can be found on Amazon.com here: Lord of the Dead: The Secret History of Byron.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

Reviewed on May 9, 2008.

Indianapolis 500: A Decade of Drama: The 90's - Collector's Edition DVD

"There's nothing as mighty as this in the world." - Nigel Mansell, F1 champion, Indy 500 driver

Published in 2005.

Part of a series of DVDs produced by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis 500: The 90's - Collector's Edition reviews all of the races from 1990-1999.

The collection features original TV & radio commentary, sound and video and lots of interviews with the drivers. Some of the interviews are from the 1990s and some are from nowadays looking back.

The video is more than mindless promotion of the race - the lowlights (poor officiating in several races, for example) are exposed along with the controversy associated with the infamous CART-IRL split.

The DVD features include collecting all of the bits and pieces of interviews with several individual drivers and some owners that were in the feature and showing them in a longer format and adding a few bonus bits. The interviews highlighting many of the family connections are especially strong, although leaving the Andrettis out of it was odd, although they are highlighted in the review of the 1991 race. The feature on Scott Brayton who died in 1996 while practicing for the Indy 500 is touching.

The 1991 and 1992 races are especially well covered. Rick Mears makes a disparaging comment about Mario Andretti and Mears' comments about his reasons for retiring are not only enlightening, they are funny.

Well done. This is an enjoyable series. A must for an Indy 500 fan.

I rate this DVD 5 stars out of 5 and it can be purchased on Amazon.com here: Indianapolis 500: The 90's - Collector's Edition.

Reviewed on May 9, 2008.

The Fallen Man by Tony Hillerman

Good, but not great Hillerman. 

The Shiprock formation in New Mexico

Originally published in 1996.

Joe Leaphorn has just retired and Jim Chee continues his exploration into cross-cultural dating (and difficulties). Officer Bernadette Manuelito becomes a full-fledged character in the series. In fact, this may be the best characterization of her in the series.

There are actually two mysteries in The Fallen Man. One is a cattle-rustling caper. The other is the long-dead body of a climber that is found on Shiprock (Rock With Wings). If you ask, "What's a shiprock?" than you haven't been to the Four Corners area since this giant exposed interior of a volcano dominates its local landscape like some sort of gothic tower created in the imagination of Stephen King.

This is not Hillerman's best work, but it is enjoyable for any fans of Hillerman. This would not be a good one to start with if you have not read any of the series.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: The Fallen Man by Tony Hillerman.

Reviewed on May 29, 2008.

Blockade Billy (audiobook) by Stephen King

Two short stories about the dark side of human nature

Published in 2010 by Simon and Schuster Audio. 
Read by Craig Wasson and Mare Winningham
Duration: 2 hours, 40 minutes

Unabridged

This audiobook is actually two short stories. The first and longest story is called "Blockade Billy" read by Craig Wasson, the second is "Morality" read by Mare Winningham.

****

"Blockade Billy" is the reminiscences of a retired coach of the fictional New Jersey Titans, an American League baseball team. The coach is being interviewed by a man named "Mr. King." We never hear what Mr. King asks, only the story of a former player named "Blockade Billy" as told by this old coach who lives in a retirement home.

Stephen King is at his descriptive best in this story as he re-creates the world of 1957, when baseball ruled the sports pages. At times, it is like listening to Bob Costas or George Will, both writers who can wax on eloquently about this golden age of baseball (George Will actually gets a not very kind mention by the coach) which is much to King's credit. Due to his reputation as a producer of gore and horror stories, it is easy to forget that King can be a powerful, first rate author.

Stephen King

Blockade Billy is actually Billy Blakely, a catcher that was called up from the Iowa Cornhuskers, the Double A farm team of the New Jersey Titans on an emergency basis. No one expects much from Billy except that he not mess up too bad. Talking with him for even a couple of minutes and you realize that something is not right - no one can figure out of he is simple minded or maybe even crazy. However, when Billy takes the field everyone knows that kid can do it all - he hits, he fields and he even calms the high strung star pitcher - and he does it with confidence. He quickly earns the nickname "Blockade Billy" - the catcher who won't let any player get by him when there is a play at the plate.

But, the head coach starts to believe that Billy is sucking the luck out of the team and when they discover Billy's true story the coach is more correct than he thought...

****
"Morality" has a less detailed plot but it is a detailed study in guilt and what it does to people.

Chad and Nora Callahan are a married couple living in New York City. He is a teacher but can find nothing by substitute teaching work. He is also working on a book about his experiences being a substitute that seems to have some promise. His wife is a nurse who is working with a retired minister named George Winston who has had a stroke. It is steady work but their combined salaries are not quite enough and they are slowly going bankrupt. They are pinning their hopes on Chad's book, if he can find the time to get it done before their finances fail them.

One day Reverend Winston makes a proposition to Nora. He has never committed a major sin and now he is physically unable to do so. He is not interested in a sexual act, but he wonders if she would commit some sort of violent act (nothing permanent - it is a physical assault on a child in a park) on his behalf for $200,000? He figures that this act of "sin by proxy" will actually be doubly sinful since he has corrupted her as well. He preys on her fears of financial loss and on the promise of her husband's book, if he just had the time that the money will provide to finish it.

She decides to do it and discovers that this one act has major, life-changing implications.

I rate the combined set of stories 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Blockade Billy by Stephen King.

Reviewed on July 23, 2011.

Note: This book was banned by a school district in Florida during the 2023-2024 school year. Here is a link to the extensive list of banned books. 

Quitters, Inc. (audiobook) by Stephen King

My Favorite Stephen King Story

Published by Phoenix Books in 2206

Read by Eric Roberts
Duration: 45 minutes.

It is true that with all of Stephen King's lengthy tales, my favorites are usually the shorter ones and Quitters, Inc. is probably Stephen King's shortest story. It was originally part of his book of short stories Night Shift and was one of three stories in the 1985 movie Cat's Eye.

Stephen King

The premise of the story is really cleverly simple. What if you went to a non-smoking clinic that was run by the mafia? Dick Morrison meets an old friend who has kicked the smoking habit who tells him that if he visits Quitters, Inc. they will get him off cigarettes and change his life for the better. Morrison laughs off the suggestion but eventually does go for an initial consultation out of curiosity about their methods.

I cannot divulge any more about this very short story without introducing spoilers except to say that their methods are anything but AMA approved, but they do work.

The story is read by Academy award nominated actor Eric Roberts. Roberts gives an understated performance, like a man telling a story at the end of a bar after a long night. But, it works perfectly with the characterization of the mobster counselor at Quitters, Inc.

I rate this short story audiobook 5 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found at Amazon.com here: Quitters, Inc.

Reviewed on July 23, 2011.

South Park Conservatives: The Revolt Against Liberal Media Bias by Brian C. Anderson

An up and down work

Published in 2005.

I will admit, the title of South Park Conservatives: The Revolt Against Liberal Media Bias got my attention and it was the reason that I picked it up. For the record, I am not a big fan of South Park, but I could see where he might go with it based on my limited exposure to the series (I've seen maybe 10 episodes of the show).

I was not disappointed with the "South Park" section of the book. However, that is only a small section of the book. The first 1/3 or so is your traditional "Look how they are slandering us in the media!" finger-pointing exercise that both Liberals and Conservatives use in their books. While useful for setting up the rest of his book, I could have done without it. I've been there, done that and, frankly, I am tired of it.

The middle part, the part concerning Conservative comedy, such as South Park, Dennis Miller and Colin Quinn was very good. Anderson sets up the jokes so that they usually read as funny as they were when spoken. Actually, Quinn is funnier in the written word (perhaps he should write a book) and Miller is harder to follow because of his offbeat delivery style, but it was still enjoyable.

The last section about conservative students on campus was enjoyable but I kept wondering what this had to do with the revolt against Liberal MEDIA Bias when he kept on referring to the bias of Liberal Professors?

My copy had multiple spelling errors and one mathematical error (he refers to a book written in 1984 that influenced Clinton's signing Welfare Reform into law 22 years later - that makes Clinton President in 2006 - a scary thought indeed!)

Anderson also incorrectly refers to Limbaugh's dittoheads as people who are "ditto-ing" what Limbaugh said. In other words, just agreeing with him. Limbaugh points out in a nearly weekly basis that this is not the origin of the word. It came from the early days of the show when people would call in and say something like, "Wow! I love your show! Where has this been all of my life! Conservative ideas on the radio!" and than the next caller would say the same thing. Eventually, someone got the bright idea to say, "Ditto what the last caller said." The phrase stuck. Knowing the true origin of the word would have made Anderson's thesis all the stronger, since it implies that there were Conservatives waiting for someone to speak to their issues before the "Fairness" doctrine was overturned.

I give this one 3 stars out of 5. Very easy to read, at times very, very funny. Too much re-visiting of old wounds, not enough exploring of new territory.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: South Park Conservatives.

Reviewed on July 28, 2006.