DWD's Reviews

A cautionary tale buried inside some first-rate action. The Profession is a near-future sci-fi action-adventure tale with a great deal of political analysis and some history tossed in as well. Set in the year 2032, the world has become a different place, but not at all unrecognizable. The chaos in the Middle East still reigns supreme on the international scene because oil is still king ($8/gallon gasoline is threatening to collapse America's economy). Iran and Iraq are still fighting, terrorism still exist, the oil states in the Middle East are, at the same time, both strong and unstable. The United States is in the middle of an election that seems to be addressing none of the real issues that the country faces and none of the candidates inspire anyone to anything but changing the channel of the television when they appear. Steven Pressfield America is still acting as the world's de facto policeman, although this role is enhanced by a new creation - the private,

Probably the best travel book about Indiana. West Baden Springs at Christmastime. Photo by DWD. The Indiana Historical Society's My Indiana: 101 Places to See is a colorful, informative guide to touring the state of Indiana. Every one of the 101 sites gets two pages, including at least two color photos (some have as many as four), a multi-paragraph, well-written description of the place and a section called "If You Go" that includes direction, phone numbers, websites, hours of operation and fees. The choices are all solid and are spaced throughout the state. But, I could easily come up with 101 more places to go and see so hopefully the author is considering another volume. (Update: The author has created a book called My Indiana: 101 More Places to See ) Two notes of correction: 1) the entry for West Baden Springs (pp. 200-1) is out of date (thankfully). What was just an abandoned hulk of a ruined hotel (impressive even with pealing paint and no

B-o-o-o-r-i-i-i-n-g I found this 3 1/2 hour audiobook and figured I'd come across a hidden gem. A book about kids by the Berenstains! Who would know more than those folks that have created books, videos, a TV show with lots of wholesome values and fun? What Your Parents Never Told You About Being A Mom Or Dad is full of wholesome values. It offers practical advice on raising kids and a bit of an introduction to the Berenstain's experiences in raising a family. But... It's a tedious listen. Extraordinarily tedious. After the general introduction (20 minutes or so) the book gets bogged down in attempts at pithy humor, quips and puns than just don't work. I forced myself to listen to an hour and a half of the meat of this book and finally couldn't go any longer. While full of good advice, I have to give any book that I cannot finish a one star. This thing should have been edited down to about one hour and it would have had much more impact.

Truly Unique Mystery Duration: 3 hours, 1 minute Mind Slash Matter is a unique entry into the world of mystery thrillers. The hero is a 2-time Oscar-winning screenwriter, Rush Lightbody, who is now a shell of his former self due to Alzheimer's. However, he is able to function due to a wonderful computer that he pre-programmed before the Alzheimer's set in that interacts with him by way of speakers, microphones, videocameras and pagers. Thus, Rush Lightbody is able to convince the outside world that he is still okay by way of a series prompts and firm instructions that come from the computer. Rene Auberjonois At times, it is reminiscent of Peter Sellers' movie Being There in that the people Lightbody interacts with over-interpret his incorrect responses as exceedingly wise responses. Often funny, often sad, this book causes the reader to enter the mind of an Alzheimers victim and get a taste of that alternate reality. It never degrades Alzheimers

I have not read a Stephen King book since Insomnia ... ...because I was so disappointed in that book. So, it's been 12 or 13 years since I've even picked up a Stephen King book. I thought it was time to try again. So, what was the verdict? Enjoyable read. At times, I could not put it down. Stephen King No one writes gore better than King. He adds detail that makes you feel like you were there. King's easy reading style sucks the reader right in and the reader wants to know what is going to happen next. Uncharacteristically, King fails to do much in the area of character development, outside of the main character of Clay. Too bad. One cannot help but to compare Cell to The Stand . It would be unfair to say that Cell is a mini- Stand. The over-arching themes of good vs. evil are not present. The character development is, by comparison, non-existent. Cell is not as good, but not as much of a time investment, either. The plotline is rather s

Engrossing - pulled me right in There are two Stuart Woods out there, at least in my mind. There's the early Stuart Woods that wrote great books like Chiefs and there's the Stone Barrister-writing Stuart Woods that just writes a formula plot, mail it in and collects a check. In White Cargo , a wealthy American, Wendell Catledge, is yachting off of the coast of Colombia when he is attacked by pirates and his wife and daughter are kidnapped and end up in the underworld of the narco-traffickers. Catledge goes underground to find his family in Colombia. White Cargo is definitely an early Stuart Woods book! I found myself pulled into this plot and I just had to know what happened next, despite the fact that the violence and sexual exploitation was a bit too extreme for my tastes. The ending was fairly hokey but the overall strength of the rest of the book more than makes up for that. I rate this book 5 stars out of 5 and it can be found on Amazon.com here: White