DWD's Reviews

Entertaining Sports Autobiography Published by Ballantine Books in April of 2012 Jim Abbott will always be known as "that one-handed pitcher" and in Imperfect he discusses the fact that his life has always been defined by his birth defect. Or, has it? As I read this book I found myself wondering if his missing hand limited him, propelled him or if he would have gone just as far if he had had both hands? Abbott and Brown work together to create a very readable, entertaining book. I found the descriptions of 1970s and 1980s era Flint, Michigan and his life growing up just as compelling as his stories of how he overcame the difficulties he encountered by having just one hand. I was aware of Jim Abbott as he played but as his career waned I lost track of him. Also, I had no memory of his playing in the 1987 Pan-American games in Indianapolis even though I have always lived in Indiana and those games were a very big deal when Indianapolis hosted them. Abbott tells t

A well-written different view on the story of World War II Published in 2002 by Crown Publishers (Random House) This book is aimed at students from grades 5-12, although I found it interesting and learned a lot. World War II histories abound. Histories of the complete war, various theaters, biographies of units and single officers fill the bookshelves. I have seen books that look at the role of women in the war - the home front, as pilots, intelligence officers and so on. But, I have never seen anything about female war correspondents. I did not even know that there were female war correspondents - I simply assumed that the sexist attitudes of the day would have not allowed them to work. Happily, I have been enlightened by Penny Colman. She tells the story of the war through the eyes of several female war correspondents - sometimes through direct quotes, sometimes through reproductions of the headlines of their articles that are placed throughout like in a scrapbook. The hist

Published in 2006 by HighBridge Duration: 1 hour Usually Ray and Tom Magliozzi's "Car Talk" show on NPR is a mixture of humor, stories and lots of advice on car repair and maintenance. This collection, though, is all funny stories (only the barest amount of car advice is given).  There are sixteen stories in all, with topics ranging from the dangers of carrying plywood on the roof of your car to what to do if a customer brings in a really smelly car to how one of the brother's did during his stint in the army as a young man (hint: not well). Some are really funny, some are merely amusing but if you are a fan of the show you will enjoy this collection. Get this audiobook from Amazon.com here: Car Talk: The Greatest Stories Ever Told: Once Upon a Car Fire . I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5. Reviewed on April 1, 2012. <br /> <img src="http://wms.assoc-amazon.com/20070822/US/img/noscript.gif?tag=dwsre-20" alt="&quo

Published in 1986 by Simon and Schuster Read by Leonard Nimoy and George Takei Duration: 90 minutes I picked up this audiobook on cassette at a clearance book sale in the "who's going to want this stuff?" section. Mostly, it was serious junk. Educational software that only operates on Apple IIe,  VHS copies of movies that I've never heard of starring some guy that was on some TV show that I barely remember and DVDs of some pastor's sermons on any number of topics (still in the plastic!). And, suddenly, I find a memory from my high school and college years - a genuine Star Trek audiobook from 1986!...on audiocassette! And...narrated by George Takei and Leonard Nimoy! So, I scuttle out of there like I've found a gold bar and pop it in car's cassette player - one of the advantages of having a 12 year old car is that it has a multimedia (CD and cassette) stereo system. Back in the day, audiobooks were almost always abridged, sometimes criminally. Thi

Great book for school age kids Published in 2001 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers Stephen E. Ambrose is perhaps best known as the author of Band of Brothers , the book that inspired the HBO mini-series of the same name. His passion for World War II continues in this book aimed at upper elementary through high school students. A Kamikaze plane about to hit an American ship (In the book on page 78) While there is nothing new in this book, it is a fantastic introduction to the war. All of the major theaters are covered and, perhaps best of all, there is a full page 10" x 10"  picture from the war that show everything from the home front to kamikaze planes to Hitler in a elaborate Nazi rally to Holocaust victims and even more. Those pictures and the little ones scattered on the other pages make the book much more vivid. There are also plenty of pictures of the young men and women that were involved - pictures that make the war seem more real. Throw in Ambrose&#

Okay story, great production Published in 2009 by GraphicAudio Multicast performance featuring 26 actors Duration: Approximately 7 hours . Batman is called to duty to fight Enfer, a new villain whose name means "Hell" in French. Enfer is skilled with fire and explosives and suffered a transformation similar to that of Joker but his change involved a massive explosion. Enfer is hired to free the inmates of Arkham Asylum by its director, Dr. Crane. His arson burns the asylum and lets dozens of inmates free, including the Joker. While escaping through Gotham City's sewer system, the Joker accidentally stumbles into a back entrance into the Bat Cave. The Joker assaults Alfred, steals a Bat Suit and the BatMobile and starts a crime wave while pretending to be Batman, turning public opinion against Batman. Enfer continues to burn the city. He wishes to attract the attention of The Joker in hopes of joining forces. Can Batman stop Enfer and The Joker before his reput