Hostage (audiobook) by Robert Crais

WOW!

Published in 2008 by Brilliance Audio
Read by James Daniels
Duration: 9 hours, 33 minutes.
Unabridged.

I must be out of the loop - I am a Crais fan but have never seen this book before nor was I aware that it had been made into movie until I wrote this review.

Nevertheless, despite my previous ignorance I found Hostage to be thoroughly enjoyable. More than that, I found it to be riveting, fascinating and I enjoyed Crais's ability to turn a cops and robber story into something more. James Daniels's brilliant narration is perfect for this text - every character has his own distinct voice. Daniels puts the right edge in his voice, be it the menacing quality of some of the characters or the panicky threats of others as they scream at the hostage negotiators. This is an audiobook done right!

The plot revolves around 3 guys who rob a small town gas station and then while attempting to flee run into a gated community and take a family hostage inside their own home. The SWAT team shows up and surrounds the house. We discover the small town police chief is actually a former big city hostage negotiator who is not sure if he can deal with another high pressure situation.  But, that may be the least of the criminals' problems - father of the family is actually a mafia accountant and the mob knows that if the police storm the house they will discover enough mafia secrets to take down their organization and they will do anything to prevent that...

5 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: Hostage by Robert Crais.

Toward the Light of Liberty: The Struggles for Freedom and Rights That Made the Modern Western World by A.C. Grayling

Strong, flawed, important work with a valuable, urgent message

Published in 2007 by Walker and Company
288 pages.

 I had to pick up this book as soon as I stumbled upon it. One of the themes in my history classes is the expansion of freedom in the West following the same general timeline that Grayling follows. Who doesn't like to have his own thoughts echoed by a major English philosopher?

Strengths:

I do recommend this book - it is a readable, admirable attempt at covering a vast, important topic. Grayling covers John Locke especially well (although he disposes with the views of Hobbes rather quickly by asserting that people are not necessarily nasty and brutal with one another).

Grayling's most important message is quite simple: the rights that we have are the product of a lot of time and a lot of struggles and they should be cherished and well-guarded. When the reader has completed this book it should be quite clear that this inheritance is too valuable to be squandered.

To his credit, Grayling does not treat Marx and Engels as if they were true prophets. Rather, he successfully counters their arguments and, unlike many academics, expresses no sympathy with their devotees in the USSR - tyranny is tyranny, no matter its political leanings with Mr. Grayling.

Weaknesses:

Grayling has intended this book to be an answer to 19th century English historian Lord Acton's incomplete "History of Liberty" - a work that is friendly to the role of religion in Liberty and Freedom in the West. Grayling is most definitely not agreeable to that point. It is too bad that this bias runs throughout the book. This work is strong in so many ways, but this attitude is over-emphasized

John Locke (1632-1704)

Grayling begins with Martin Luther and the Reformation. The longest argument that Grayling makes is against the uniform power of the Catholic church during those dangerous times, especially the Inquisition. Grayling overplays his hand by painting all religions with the taint of the Inquisition over and over throughout the book. At one point (p. 234) he even argues that religious people are not good citizens because their loyalties are divided between the "secular state" and their religion. Too my mind, his argument comes dangerously close to swinging to becoming zealous opposite of the Inquisition - an anti-religious inquisition, if you will.

The book gets bogged down for about 20 pages in a detailed look at the labor movement in England in the 1800s. I am not quite sure why he focused this intently on reciting this story because it stands in stark contrast to the philosophical and idea-centered writing that fills the rest of the book. My advice - skim and move on to the meatier portions that follow.

Grayling includes photos in the center of the book. Oddly they include photos of Martin Luther King, anti-segregation protestors in both America and South Africa and Algerians being hassled by French troops in the 1950s - these topics are not actually addressed in the book.

A pet peeve - Grayling has lots of end notes - many of them with comments. Why not make them footnotes so the reader does not have to flip to the back so often?

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Toward the Light of Liberty: The Struggles for Freedom and Rights that Made the Modern Western World.

Reviewed on January 30, 2008.

Palestine: The Special Edition (graphic novel) by Joe Sacco

An important piece of "comic book journalism"

Published in 2007 by Fantagraphics books.
320 pages.

Joe Sacco headed off to to the Palestinian refugee camps with a few bucks in his pocket, a sketchpad, a little training in how to draw comic books, a rarely used camera (film was too expensive) and a curious mind. Sacco interviewed Palestinians and asked them about all sorts of aspects of their lives: jobs, the intifada, women's rights, Land for Peace, and much more. Sacco turned those interviews into this graphic novel (although Sacco does not like that term much - instead he prefers "comic book journalist").

Joe Sacco (self-portrait)

There is no traditional narrative to Palestine: The Special Edition. Sacco does not turn these interviews into a large overarching history of the Palestinian people. Instead, it is like reading a series of illustrated interviews. This gives the reader the feeling that he or she is there sitting right there with Sacco talking and drinking green tea in the camps. There is an argument to be made that the story would be better if he had tried to make an illustrated history, but, in the end, I think this is a more powerful presentation. Imagine "based on real events" movie vs. a documentary and you get the idea.

Sacco occasional touches on the topic of who is right and who is wrong in this book. It does carry a pro-Palestinian slant (it was designed to be that way - I have no idea where Sacco's real sympathies lie), but it does not hammer on those issues.

Not a fun book, but an important one. Strongly recommended for anyone interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, no matter which side you come down on.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Palestine: The Special Edition

Reviewed on February 2, 2008.

Ten Big Ones (Stephanie Plum #10) by Janet Evanovich (audiobook)

Published by MacMillan Audio
Narrated by C.J. Critt
Duration: about 8 hours.

Ten Big Ones features Stephanie Plum and Lula going up against 1) a soccer mom who raids potato chip trucks and 2) a psychopathic street gang member. Stephanie's endless on-again-off-again relationship with Morelli continues its strange path - but the twists and turns seem forced this time. Too bad, I was such an enthusiastic supporter of the early books in the series - but the newer ones just don't have it.

In fact, the whole franchise seems tired. Lula and Stephanie's banter. Stephanie's sister and her fiance. Grandma. Morelli. Ranger. It has a warmed over feeling.

I found Stephanie's total lack of awareness of street gangs (and their propensity to violence) in her hometown is silly, especially considering that she admits to having caught some of these gang members in the past. She didn't notice the graffiti? The outfits? Doesn't she listen to the news?

My unabridged audio version was read by C.J. Critt. Critt did an okay job, but not a great job. Too many of the lines were read as though they were one-liners - too many punchlines that just hung there because they really weren't terribly funny. She is not the reader of the Audible.com or CD versions of the book.

This was a solid two-star read for me except for the last scene - it made me laugh out loud and that's worth a star to make it a total of 3 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Ten Big Ones.

Reviewed on February 16, 2008.

Glacial Period (Louvre) (graphic novel) by Nicolas de Crecy

"Glacial Period" comes up short despite self-proclaimed greatness.

Published in 2007 by NBM Publishing.
80 pages.

So, what do you get when a hotshot graphic novelist teams up with the Louvre to showcase their works of art with a twist?

Well, you get a short sci-fi book that has a solid start but a contrived, odd end. In short, this is a half-hour read for most and the story was not all that great. It wasn't bad, but it just doesn't live up the self-promotional hype that fills the inside flaps of the front and back covers - such as "Here are the most intelligent comics the world has to offer" and claims that the other is a "mad genius" and his artwork is "breathtaking."

Not really. This one is too sketchy (not the art style, the plot) to be considered great by this reader.

I rate this graphic novel 2 stars out of 5.

This graphic novel can be found on Amazon.com here: Glacial Period. 

Reviewed on February 7, 2008.

Ending Slavery: How We Free Today's Slaves by Kevin Bales

An Important Book

Published in 2007 by University of California Press.
274 pages.

So, who is surprised to hear that there are still slaves in this modern world in such places as India, Burma, Brazil, Haiti, Maryland and San Diego? What - Maryland? San Diego? Sadly, yes. Approximately 27 million of them around the world.

Ending Slavery is a well-researched, easy-to-read, hopeful book that details several individual examples of slavery, how slaves are captured nowadays, the jobs they typically do, what to look for, how to combat slavery, and long-term solutions.

It is occasionally repetitive, but it will definitely make you think.

Pet peeve: Bales includes lots of endnotes with commentary. This necessitated my having to flip back and forth from the text to endnotes. Please authors - if you are going to make comments in your endnotes, make them footnotes!

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Ending Slavery: How We Free Today's Slaves.

Reviewed on February 16, 2008.

Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge by Cheech Marin

A great collection, a terrific exhibition

Published in 2002 by Bullfinch.
160 pages

I caught this exhibition at the Indiana State Museum while it was on a nationwide tour. It was so interesting that I took full advantage of my museum membership and came back and saw it several times while it was here in Indianapolis. I picked up the book Chicano Visions as the exhibit was winding down but only recently read the well-written introductory essays that make up the first 35 pages or so of the book.

Cheech Marin has created a high-quality full color text of this travelling show which is mostly comprised of pieces from his own personal collection. Marin's taste tends to run towards political art, but there is plenty that speaks of life for artists who are both Chicano and American, as the exhibition title (also the book title) imply.

Artists that grabbed my attention include:

Carlos Almaraz - his car crash paintings were gigantic attention getters in the gallaries. His other works are great as well.

David Botello - his Monet-like style is fascinating.

One of the best paintings may well be "Janine at 39, Mother of Twins" by Margaret Garcia. Cheech Marin's comment on page 67 hits it on the head: "If there is a visual definition of the lushness, the strength, and the beauty of women, this painting is it."

Cesar Martinez's "Hombre que le Gustan las Mujeres (The Man who Loves Women)" is funny and a sadly realistic portrayal of the ways that men see women.

Patssi Valdez's "Room on the Verge"

Patssi Valdez was the painter that stole the show in Indianapolis, at least from the comments I heard. Her pictures are so bright and have the power to make the viewer feel as though he or she is being drawn in to the canvas, especially with works like "Room on the Verge." Another painting of hers graces the cover of the book.

I did not care for the works of a couple of established artists: Gronk and Mel Casas. The Casas pieces in this show seemed less like a work of art and more like very large, not very clever political cartoons. That being said, it was entirely appropriate to include their works considering their standing in the Chicano art movement.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge.

Reviewed on February 17, 2008