Indianapolis Then and Now (Then & Now Series) by Nelson Price

Fascinating

Originally published in 2004 by Pavilion Books.

144 pages.

Indianapolis Then and Now is part of a series that looks at cities all over the country. While this book would most likely be of limited interest to non-Hoosiers, I found this book to be riveting. I've lived in Indy for almost all of my adult life and I often visited the city as a child.

The format of the book is side by side photos of an Indianapolis address in the past (from 60 - 150 years ago) and a current photo of the same building. Sometimes the same buildings and landmarks are still in places, other times there are whole new buildings and landscapes.

Part of Indy's canal walk (photo by DWD)

Most striking are the changes in the area around Indy's much lauded canal walk, White River State Park and IUPUI. I was also surprised that the Indianapolis Star building is actually quite old - two beautiful buildings with character were merged into one building and then covered with one of the most boring brick facades I have ever seen on any building anywhere. Too bad.

Strongly recommended for residents of Indianapolis as a unique gift.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

Thsi book can be found on Amazon.com here: Indianapolis: Then and Now.

Reviewed on January 6, 2008.

Biggest Brother: The Life Of Major Dick Winters, The Man Who Led The Band of Brothers by Larry Alexander

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Published by NAL Hardcover in 2005
320 pages

An enjoyable memoir of Dick Winters' life, mostly focusing on his time in the military. Dick Winters is one of the main focuses of the splendid HBO biographical mini-series Band of Brothers and the Stephen Ambrose book by the same name. Throughout, Winters gives open and honest assessments of fellow officers and soldiers, and training levels of replacements soldiers and Korean War soldiers.

Dick Winters (1918-2011)

I have not yet read Stephen Ambrose's book Band of Brothers, but am a giant fan of the mini-series. Dick Winters re-tells this story with the focus on his own experiences. The Nixon-Winters and Stobel-Winters relationships are explored a bit more in-depth than are presented in the TV program.

The pacing of the non-military aspects of his life is generally very good, with the exception of one page early that goes into too much detail about his family background. This reflects the fact that the author is also a Pennsylvanian who is from the same area that Winters grew up in. Those family connections mean something to locals, but I skimmed it and hoped that the rest of the book wasn't going to be like that one. It was not and the rest of the book was really quite good.

A must for World War II devotees and recommended reading for fans of Band of Brothers.

I rate this biography 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Biggest Brother: The Life of Major Dick Winters, The Man Who Led the Band of Brothers.

Reviewed on January 6, 2008.

Mysteries of the Ancient World by National Geographic Society

Okay, but a bit disappointing

Published in 1979 by National Geographic

So, why am I disappointed?

I was hoping for an theme-based work that looked at different mysterious objects, behaviors and cultures of the ancient world across the world and made comparisons and connections between them.

Instead, Mysteries of the Ancient World is a series of unrelated articles that have the look and feel of the National Geographic style. Don't get me wrong - I like the National Geographic style but the book as a whole lacks flow and feels more like a copy of the magazine than a special book. It is not an integrated work and leaves out plenty of big mysteries (Great Zimbabwe, Nazca Lines, Petra, the Olmecs) in favor of smaller mysteries such as the Etruscans and Catal Huyuk.

Topics include:

-The Etruscans
-Ice age cave paintings
-Stonehenge and related Megaliths
-Minoan civilization
-Mycenaean civilization
-Catal Huyuk and Jericho
-Easter Island and the South Pacific Ocean
-Ancient Egypt
-Ancient India

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Mysteries of the Ancient World.

Reviewed January 8, 2008

Great Maps of the Civil War: Pivotal Battles and Campaigns Featuring 32 Removable Maps (Museum in a Book) by William J. Miller

A beautiful book. Recommended for map lovers and hard-core Civil War buffs.

Published by Rutledge Hill Press (Thomas Nelson) in 2004.

48 pages 

Thomas Nelson's Rutledge Hill Press publishing division has created a lovely book that tells a simple narrative of the Civil War focusing on the importance of maps in the war and the men who made them.

The cover of the book is designed to look like a leather bound canvas portfolio, much like a mapmaker's sketchbook of the era. The text of the book is beautifully printed on high quality paper. I appreciated the fact that the publishers included lots of pictures of everyday soldiers - not just the same old posed shots of the generals and politicians.

Lincoln and McClellan after Antietam

There are 32 removable maps included as well. The removable maps are stored in between the pages. The publisher has printed on only one side of the thick paper pages and then glued the blank sides together on the edges to make an envelope of sorts between the pages. The maps are securely stored so there is no chance of accidentally losing a map.

I would not recommend this book as an introduction to the topic of the Civil War since it does precious little to introduce the issues that caused the war or Reconstruction. However, it is an attractive volume that would be welcome in the collection of any Civil War buff.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Great Maps of the Civil War.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

Reviewed on January 10, 2008.

Life in a Nutshell: A Nutty Look at Life, Marriage, TV, and Dogs by Dick Wolfsie

Pleasant musings from the mind of Wolfsie

Published in 2001 by Guilde Press of Indiana.
189 pages.

Dick Wolfsie is a local TV morning show personality in Indianapolis. He specializes in finding the offbeat and showing it to everyone with a camera and an interview. He used to share this responsibility with his lovable dog Barney, a runaway beagle that he found one day. Unfortunately, Barney is no longer with us.

Dick Wolfsie's writings are mostly light-hearted humourous musings about life. Many are re-prints from a column he writes.

While I rarely laughed out loud at his commentary, I did find it amusing and enjoyed myself. Recomended for that middle-aged dad that's hard to buy for.

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Reviewed on January 17, 2008.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Life in a Nutshell.

Indiana Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities, and Other Offbeat Stuff by Dick Wolfsie

Wolfsie's lighthearted, witty style is perfect for this topic

Published in 2003 by Globe Pequot
306 pages

Indianapolis TV personality Dick Wolfsie is well-known in Central Indiana for finding fun, interesting human-interest segments for his station's morning show. Wolfsie continues this theme by digging up oddities from all over the Hoosier state that would interest any traveler who wants to stray from the beaten path. Wolfsie provides a description of the curiosity, organized by region, and alphabetized by the town in which it is located. The book covers five regions and includes a map of that region that labels every town mentioned in that section of the book, no matter how small the town.

Examples include the RV museum in Elkhart, a jar museum in Muncie and the site of John Dillinger's first official crime in Mooresville.

Wolfsie includes addresses, phone numbers, websites, e-mail addresses, and contact names (some are only available through appointments). Rough directions from Indianapolis are included.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Indiana Curiosities.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

Reviewed on January 28, 2008.

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.