Posted in Book Reviews on February 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“Dave Barry Slept Here, A Sort of History of the United States” by Dave Barry
If there is such a thing as literary sleight of hand, this writer, comedian & magician has it down! Analytically, there are so many tongue-in-cheek references, hammy malapropisms & schlock terms interwoven with wry humor & a smidgeon of facts in this paperback as [...]
Posted in Book Reviews on February 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“Onward We Charge – The Heroic Story of Darby’s Rangers in WWII” by H. Paul Jeffers (940.54127 D213)
Good biographies are more than just an accounting of a famous person’s life. They are a portrait of someone the reader presumably does not know, and therefore only as revealing [...]
Posted in Book Reviews on February 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
What Do Muslims Believe? – the Roots and Realities of Modern Islam by Aiauddin Sardar. New York: Walker & Company, 2007. 140 pages, including glossary & index.
This Pakistani-British author gives us a positively-slanted inside view of the Quran and Islam. Nevertheless, he criticizes Islam today for being medieval, patriarchal, puritanical, antiquated, [...]
Posted in Book Reviews on February 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Islam – A Concise Introduction, by Neal Robinson. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1999. 197 pages.
This British author gives a positive spin on the history of Muhammad, the Quran, and Islam, and a short summary of what is required of a Muslim. It concludes with a description of Islamic denominations and [...]
Posted in Book Reviews on February 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Origins of the Koran – Classic Essays on Islam’s Holy Book by Ibn Warraq, Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 1998. 411 pages.
Ibn Warraq is the pseudonym for a Muslim background scholar who is now an atheist living in the West. His object here is “to bring to the study of Islam [...]
Posted in Book Reviews on February 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“Ryan Perry did not know that something in him was broken.” That’s the
first sentence of “Your Heart Belongs to Me“, the latest novel by Dean
Koontz. It’s 337 pages long, but the first ten pages already have many
of the elements you may be used to if you are a frequent reader of
Koontz’s novels. [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on February 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West by Benazir Bhutto. 2008, 328 pages. This interesting book was finished just days before Bhutto, a candidate for the Pakistani Parliament, was assassinated by Islamic militants. She tries to reconcile Islamic theology with moderation, democracy, women’s rights and tolerance, and argues for the West to take [...]
Posted in Book Reviews on February 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Journal of John Winthrop 1630-1649, abridged edition
by Richard S. Dunn & Laetitia Yeandle
My expectations for this book were to experience a first hand look at the founding of our country. I knew that the Puritan English could be a little wordy, but I was hoping the abridged edition would be easier to understand. This book [...]
Posted in Book Reviews on February 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
When Henry met Claire for the first time he was 28 and she was 20. When Claire met Henry for the first time she was 6 and he was 36. This is just one of the temporal conundrums you’ll be faced with reading “The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger. Ordinary relationships can be complex. [...]
Posted in Book Reviews on February 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I Am Not a Cop! – a novel, by Richard Belzer, with Michael Black
(Mystery section at Atascadero Branch)
Richard Belzer does a superb job with his character on TV’s Law & Order. Though I do not agree with his politics, I also enjoy him on stage, doing stand-up comedy. His wit & intellect lend a particular [...]
Posted in Book Reviews on February 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Living Architecture, a biography of H. H. Richardson (720.92), James F. O’Gorman
Timing is everything, and this man’s life & career were no exception. Born in the South, H.H. Richardson was coming into manhood at the advent of the Civil War. Torn between his emotional ties to home, and his political agreement with the North, HHR [...]
Posted in Book Reviews on February 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Terrorist Hunter the Extraordinary Story of a Woman Who Went Undercover to Infiltrate the Radical Islamic Groups Operating in America by Annonymous. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. 335 pages
This is a real page-turner, proving that reality is more interesting than fiction. The author, a Jewish woman, emigrated from Iraq to Israel in the 70s and then [...]
Posted in Book Reviews on February 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
I saw Sarah Vowell in an interview just following the release of her book and found her to be quick witted, candid and very knowledgeable about the politics and history of the United States. I have a keen interest in history and wanted to see the perspective she could bring [...]
Posted in Book Reviews on February 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Destination Stalingrad by P.F. Round
This was an enjoyable story taking place during the World War II conflict between Germany and Russia. The tale travels well between the fictional love story of a German officer and a Russian civilian, and the factual events that eventually turned the outcome of the war. [...]
