DWD's Reviews

A twist on the L.A. detective novel Published in 2012 by  Hay House Visions . For years, Los Angeles has been the home of the detective story. For Raymond Chandler, Dragnet , Robert Crais, Michael Connelly and even videogames like L.A. Noire , Los Angeles has been the seedy, diverse world that has all of the secrets that our intrepid detective heroes must dig up and expose. Tenzing Norbu (he goes by Ten) is a different kind of detective in that he grew up in a monastery and used to be a Buddhist monk but moved to America at the age of 18. His literary hero is Sherlock Holmes and he has just retired from LAPD as a detective because the job was simply getting too bureaucratic - too much paperwork, not enough mystery-solving. Ten may not be a monk any longer but he is still a practicing Buddhist. That's a different twist, and in some ways a refreshing twist on the stereotype of the alcohol-abusing chain smoking detective. Not that Ten is a prude, but he is mindful of wh

Good but with problems If you do not already know something about the War of 1812, I cannot recommend this book for your reading pleasure. Why not? The author, David Nevin, goes into the story without much of an explanation of who the characters are and just assumes you know who they are. I would have recommended a small two to three page introduction that laid out the issues of the day and something about the personalities of the day as well. Dolley Madison (1768-1849) Instead, we spend page after page getting these introductions as a part of the story. Along the way, Nevin introduces us to the innermost thoughts of such people as James Madison, Andrew Jackson, Winfield Scott and Dolley Madison. Nevin seems fascinated in exploring each of these characters as sexual beings. We get to read about James Madison's lusting for Dolley (he refers to her breasts so often that I blush when I see Madison in my history book). However, the book is saved by his descrip

A very solid but one-dimensional look at the Civil War Union General Lewis "Lew" Wallace (1827-1905) Originally published in 1926 Photographic History edition published in 2009 by Konecky and Konecky . Walter Geer's title for this book, Campaigns of the Civil War: a Photographic History , certainly describes it - this is a no-frills look at the battle action of the Civil War with little analysis of the political situation that led to the war or influenced the way it was prosecuted.  There is no chapter about the daily life of the typical soldier. There is nothing about home front difficulties or even much about the navies of either side. So, if you are looking for an in-depth history of the war, this is not your book. But, if you are a serious student of the war, especially the land campaigns, this is a very solid history. The text is strong, but almost all of the original maps are too busy. They are clearly the style of map that was popular when the book wa

Great as a resource but... Published in 2012 by Regnery History 197 pages of text, 63 pages of appendices, end notes and an index. I am torn when it comes to The Founding Fathers Guide to the Constitution , which is the reason for the three star review. I will start with the positives: -McClanahan gives a thorough, research-based look at the original arguments that went into the creation of the Constitution and is aiming right at the current debates about the proper roles of federal, state and local governments. This is a timely work and points out the obvious truth that our national government is busy doing things in 2012 that it was never designed to do and it has been doing those things for a long time despite the stated fears of many of the Founding Fathers that the government would eventually become bloated and intrusive . -He points out both sides of the arguments and provides generous quotes that explain how the discussions progressed and eventually resolved themselve

Published by Hatchette Audio in 2004 Read by Peter J. Fernandez and Denis O'Hare Duration: 8 hours, 19 minutes The real problem with James Patterson's works right now is that he has become a corporate thing - James Patterson, Inc. James Patterson, Inc. produces a large amount of books, movies and even TV shows, but like nationwide fast food chains that produce large amounts of food in a short amount of time, Patterson's prodigious output suffers from a serious lack of quality. The last 3 Patterson books I've reviewed have all had gaping holes in the plot. Does he even have his work edited any longer, or do they just print them up as soon as the rough draft comes in? London Bridges features Alex Cross, Patterson's most enduring character and the star of much better books like Kiss the Girls . In this one, Alex is confronted by two of his arch-villain foes at the same time - the Weasel and the Wolf. Unfortunately, Alex is cheapened by being in

Have a little fun, learn a little something Published by Lonely Planet in 2011. 208 pages. The cover of this book perfectly describes it: "Cool stuff to know about every country in the world." Inside, every country, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe has one page in this book. Every page includes some basic facts, including the flag, the population, the language spoken, the currency and its area in square miles and kilometers. But, that is not the strength of this book. The best feature of this book is the rest of each page - the random facts that make each country unique. For example, on the United Arab Emirates page we learn that they have the world's tallest building (about twice as tall as the Empire State Building), see a design created out of man-made islands and learn that they make snow on an indoor ski slope in a shopping mall there. Everything is laid out with beautiful color pictures, always has information about people and animals in the country and i