DWD's Reviews

  One of the best albums I have ever heard for driving, listening and singing along.  I bought this album on the recommendation of a friend and boy am I glad I did! The lyrics are poignant and yet work. You can tell that he inherited his dad's ( Lonesome Dove author Larry McMurtry) ability to mold and use the English language. But the great thing is that the music is just as good as the lyrics - you'd be singing along even if the words were meaningless. This album was made with John Mellencamp's band - sort of on loan. The music is very solid, but the stories told by the lyrics steal the show. I gave my only copy to a friend (and fellow fan who had worn his cassette out) that was called up to active duty after 9/11 - I knew that he could use the boost more than me. Every McMurtry album has great songs but this one is strong all of the way through! I rate this album 5 stars out of 5. Reviewed on August 14, 2004. This album can be found on Amazon.com here: Too Long

    Awesome album - the first 5 songs are ... ...as great together as any combination that I've ever run across on an album. They remind me of my rural Indiana roots - "Rain on the Scarecrow' starts us out at the farm, 'Grandma's Theme' reminds me of my own grandmother's voice, 'Small Town' and 'Minutes to Memories' link the urban and rural Indiana experience and 'Lonely Ol' Night' captures that restless, lonely spirit that we've all had. Perfectly put together. This is not Mellencamp's best album overall ( Uh-Huh is his best overall album, in my opinion) but it does have many of his absolute best, including 'Lonely ol' Night' and 'Small Town'.  Truly a great album.  Wonderful. I rate this album 5 stars out of 5. It

This book is up and down with an absolutely bizarre middle. Originally published in 1997. As you may know, I taught for 7 years in an inner-city middle school. The issue of race in America came up daily, and some days it was an ever-present feature. I was forced to think about it all of the time and all I know is that I don't know enough to solve the issues and no one ever will. Nevertheless, on occasion I am moved to visit these issues again. This book seemed to be as good a place as any. Tony Brown is a Black man (he prefers that term) who has hosted a PBS discussion show called "Tony Brown's Journal" for years. He also hosts a Saturday talk show on WLS 890 AM out of Chicago that can be heard throughout the Midwest thanks to their high wattage broadcast strength. He is an interesting man and a good discussion leader on his shows. His views were fairly consistent with my own, although I think that his perceptions of white america are a little off, just as

Great read - not really a courtroom thriller Originally published in 1993. Synopsis: The story of a small Pennsylvania oil town that has seen its better days and some of the unique characters that come together to expose a devious plan to dump toxic wastes into the surrounding countryside. My review: This is a great read. It is advertised as a courtroom thriller but that is just as accurate as saying the movie The Princess Bride is a childhood bedtime story. True, it is, but it is so much more. In this case, the story is framed by about 10 pages of courtroom stuff just to give the story a bit of context, but it really is just a plain old novel - with all the foibles and follies that accompany good character creation. I rate this book 5 stars out of 5. This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Winter in the Heart . Reviewed on August 10, 2004.

Not his best by far. Synopsis: Adrienne Cope and Jeffrey Duran are drawn into a web of intrigue and recovered memories as they both look into the death of Adrienne's sister and Jeffrey's psychiatric patient, Nico. They discover an international conspiracy and the drama ensues. My review: This book was pretty boring for the first 168 pages - that's when stuff finally started to get moving - 1/3 of the way through the book. I'd have dropped it long before that except that I'd already read 'The Genesis Code' by this author and enjoyed it and was waiting for this one to improve. I really was disappointed. I give this book 2 stars out of 5. I would have given it a slightly better score but I know the author can do much better than this. Reviewed on August 10, 2004.

Pretty decent story - lots about Caravaggio Synopsis: Part of the series that features a murder in many prominent Washington, D.C. buildings, Murder at the National Gallery is all about the intrigues surrounding the opening of an art show featuring Renaissance artist Caravaggio and a "lost" piece of art that was found just in time for the show. Will the murderer be satisfied with just the murder of a member of the Italian diplomatic corps who had a reputation for stealing Italian masterpieces and selling them to foreign buyers? Are the rumors of forged paintings true? Did someone steal a priceless piece of art? My Review: Mrs. Truman knows her stuff when it comes to the Washington, D.C. social scene because yes, she is the daughter of Harry Truman. This is really a decent book. I've read others in this series and found them of varying quality. However, I found the topic interesting and I was introduced to the concept of 'Art Police.' Washington, D.C.