DWD's Reviews

Don't know much about economics? Well... Charles Wheelan If, like most, you don't know much about economics, than I strongly recommend giving yourself a painless, entertaining introduction to the major concepts by checking out Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science . Serious economists are sure to argue all sorts of fine points with Charles Wheelan , but the broad strokes of economic theory are laid out in an easy-to-read, fun, informative format that uses no graphs, charts or mathematical formulae. The experts may love all of those tools and jargon, but they do get in the way for most everyone else. Wheelan is one of those rare people who speaks technical econ-speak and regular English and can translate for the majority. This is a strong enough book that I would seriously recommend it for anyone taking a basic econ class as a primer. I would also recommend it as a supplemental textbook to go along with a basic econ textbook for advance

Often frustrating. Sometimes shocking. Never boring. Read by Tom Weiner Duration: 10.5 hours Blackstone Audio Unabridged. Robert A. Heinlein was recognized many times over as a master of the science fiction tale – he is a multiple winner of the Hugo award and the first recipient of the Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement. Heinlein is one of those golden age writers that moved science fiction from being stories strictly for kids to a separate and recognized literary genre for adults, too. Robert A. Heinlein  (1907-1988) Farnham’s Freehold is, at best, a difficult book. Perhaps books like this were a requirement when moving science fiction from a kid’s genre to an adult genre. It seems that Heinlein the iconoclast was out to irritate as many sensibilities as possible in an attempt to question some of society’s long held ideas about race, sex and the male-female relationships, even if it caused the story to suffer at the expense of all of that questioning.

An important look at a terrible act On August 7, 1930 a crowd of hundreds, possibly thousands swarmed around the Grant County Court House in Marion, Indiana with the intent to remove three black teenagers and kill them by hanging from the trees on the Court House lawn - a lynching. Two of the young men were lynched, the third was spared for reasons that no one seems to remember. The survivor claims it was a miracle that he was released and put back into the jail, and it may well have been so. Nevertheless, it may have mostly disappeared from America's collective memory except as an aberration from the stereotypical norm of lynchings being a mostly Southern phenomenon. That is, it may have been forgotten except for the picture taken by a local photographer named Lawrence Beitler who printed off hundreds of copies and sold them to gawkers the next day. Those copies made their way across the state and eventually across the world to be reprinted in newspapers, magazines, textbook

A nifty little biography Mark Horne's J.R.R. Tolkien is an enjoyable biography of the famed writer of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is not a large biography (130 pages) but, if you are like me and knew just a little about Tolkien and wanted to know a bit more, this biography fits the bill perfectly. Horne begins with quite a bit of detail about Tolkien's early life, especially the difficulties caused by the loss of his father when  J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) he was very young and the death of his mother when he was 12 years old. His mother's faith and the difficulties she endured when she converted to Catholicism are very important foundations of Tolkien's young life. Tolkien's relationship with his wife Edith (both before and after they were married) are covered quite well. Horne skimps a bit on his children and we almost completely lose track of Tolkien's brother, who endured the same difficulties but chose a different path thr

Read by David Stuart. Duration: 8 hours, 27 minutes While not as action-packed as The Last Detective (which follows Indigo Slam in the series, but I've not read a single one of them in order so why start now?), this is a strong book. Lots of smart comments, action and twists and turns, although the very last twist was so obvious that only the clinically brain dead couldn't see it coming. But, that didn't lessen the overall value of the book for me. Elvis is hired by a group of children who have been living on their own for a while to find their missing father. As the investigation progresses, Cole and his enigmatic partner Joe Pike get caught up in the Witness Protection Program, a counterfeiting ring, a crime syndicate and all sorts of other incidents of violence and mayhem. Cole's deep down soft heart and his smart mouth are, of course, an enjoyable part of the story. The audiobook is read by David Stuart who captures the voice of Elvis Cole perfectly.

Jack Arute (center)  joking with Tony Kanaan Jack Arute's first Indy 500 was in 1969 as an 18-year-old spectator. His family owns a track in the Northeast and racing is in his blood. His dad passed down a love for the Indy 500 in particular. In Jack Arute's Tales from Indy 500 , Arute only tells stories from 1969 to the present (2004 in the hardback version, 2005 in the paperback version). Nothing too complicated and a real fun read, especially if you want to re-live some of the more exciting, interesting and sad moments from the last 35 years or so. I'd recommend the paperback version over the hardback since it has been expanded to include the 2005 race - the race where Danica Patrick became a household name. This is a quick read - I finished it in just one evening, but to be fair, I did read into the wee hours of the morning because the stories were that much fun. I rate this book 4 stars out of 5. This book can be found on Amazon.com here: