Target: Patton by Robert Wilcox

December 21, 1945 – a date that many people do not know the significance of unlike June 6, 1944 or July 4, 1776.  December 21, 1945 should be remembered by all Americans as the day we lost one our best fighting generals in our history.  On that day, General George S. Patton succumbed to complications from injuries he suffered in an automobile “accident” on December 9, 1945.  I write “accident” because there are some that think the accident was an elaborate plot to assassinate Patton.  Robert Wilcox’s Target: Patton, The Plot to Assassinate General George S. Patton provides a compelling argument supporting the idea that Patton was killed for his outspokenness against the Soviets.

Here is a synopsis of the book (in part) from its publisher:

He was the most controversial American general in World War II–and also one of the most successful, courageous, and audacious. As a post-war administrator of defeated Germany, he sounded alarm bells about the dangers of Soviet encroachment into Europe.  Politically, he was a lightning rod–an outspoken conservative who continually embarrassed his superiors with his uncensored, undiplomatic, and unrestrained comments to the press. He was General George S. Patton Jr., old Blood and Guts.

In 1945, shortly before he was to fly home to the states as a conquering hero, he was involved in a mysterious car crash that left him partially paralyzed.

Two weeks later, just as his doctors were about to send him home to finish his recovery, he was dead.

The army ruled the car crash an accident, his death natural. Yet witness testimony on the crash conflicted, key players in the incident disappeared, official reports vanished, soldiers were ordered to keep silent, and there was no autopsy performed on the body.

Investigative and military reporter Robert Wilcox, author of Black Aces High and Wings of Fury, has spent more than ten years investigating these mysteries, and in Target: Patton he has written an electrifying account of the shocking circumstances–long hidden from the public–surrounding the death of America’s most famous general.

This is a very well-written and researched book.  Wilcox clearly did his homework when he wrote this book.  I am amazed at the amount of information that he puts in writing.  All of this information is well-organized for the most part -  a few times Wilcox’s tangents could have been pared back.  I particularly think that the parts of the book regarding the infiltration of the Soviet spies into our political hierarchy is fascinating.

Read more..

In the Mail: Mark Sanford Memorial Edition

–> American Adulterer by Jed Mercurio

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Mercurio’s third novel is a riveting imagining of the inner life of a satyrlike John F. Kennedy, referred to as the subject, as he beds a steady stream of starlets, interns and prostitutes. Kennedy’s well-known insatiable and sometimes comical philandering is juxtaposed against his often cruel relationship with Jacqueline, his brilliance as a statesman (excerpts from his actual speeches are included) and devotion as a father, offering a unique portrait of a powerful yet stricken and conflicted man. The villains are the methamphetamine-prescribing doctors and the bloodthirsty American generals pushing the world to the brink of Armageddon. JFK’s contemporaries are also cast in provocative roles, with the coke-sniffing Marilyn Monroe plotting to be first lady, the mobbed-up Frank Sinatra and Kennedy’s Soviet counterpart—a peace-seeking Nikita Khrushchev—all making memorable appearances. Kennedy has figured prominently in hundreds of books, but Mercurio’s take on the subject is fresh, bold and provocative.

–> Two of the Deadliest: New Tales of Lust, Greed, and Murder from Outstanding Women of Mystery by Elizabeth George

Publishers Weekly

George’s all-original anthology showcases 18 stories by established women mystery writers and five by relative unknowns. While not every entry is a winner, the wide variety of styles and settings will please most mystery fans. Especially strong are Linda Barnes’s Catch Your Death, a classic tale of love gone wrong told by an appealing narrator, and Stephanie Bond’s satisfyingly twisty Bump in the Night. In Gold Fever, Dana Stabenow fits quick characterizations, an exotic locale (Alaska) and a tidy plot into a few pages. Marcia Talley’s tightly written Can You Hear Me Now is modest in ambition—but who doesn’t like to see a rude cellphone user get his comeuppance? Among the newcomers, Z. Kelley’s Anything Helps is particularly notable for its charm. Other contributors include Carolyn Hart, Laura Lippman and S.J. Rozan.

–> The Divorce Party: A Novel by Laura Dave

From the Publisher

Laura Dave is widely recognized as an up-and-coming talent in women’s fiction. Now, with her characteristic wit and warmth, she captures a much-discussed cultural phenomenon that has never been profiled in fiction before—divorce celebrations. Set in Hamptons high society, The Divorce Party features two women—one newly engaged and one at the end of her marriage—trying to answer the same question: when should you fight to save a relationship, and when should you let go?

An insightful and funny multi-generational story, this deeply moving novel is sure to touch anyone whose heart has weathered an unexpected storm.

Shimmer by Eric Barnes

The word I bet you will hear used a lot to describe Eric Barnes debut novel Shimmer is “timely.”  With the sentencing of Bernie Madoff, and the general climate of the economy in the aftermath of the financial crisis, this seems like the perfect time for a thriller about a high tech mega-corporation that is really a giant ponzi scheme.

Here is the publisher’s blurb to give you a feel for the plot:

In just three years, CEO Robbie Case has grown Core Communications, a data technology company, from 30 people to over 5,000. Now a $20 billion company made legendary by its sudden success, Core is based on a technology no other company can come close to copying, a revolutionary breakthrough known as drawing blood from a mainframe. And Robbie, its 35-year-old CEO, is acclaimed worldwide for his vision, leadership and wealth. Except that all of it is based on a lie. The technology doesn t work, the finances are built on a Ponzi scheme of stock sales and shell corporations, and Robbie is struggling to keep the company alive, to protect the friends who work for him and all that they ve built. Each day, Robbie tries to push the catastrophe back a little further, while his employees believe that they are all moving closer to grace, the day their stock options vest, when they will be made rich for their faith and loyalty and hard work.

In essence what Barnes has attempted is to get inside the mind of high tech con man.  What type of person does this sort of thing?  What would it be like to be at the center of such a scheme?  Robbie Case is his attempt at flushing this out; an answer in the form of a character.

I found Shimmer to be unlike almost any other book I have read. It was interesting and entertaining but there was something about it that didn’t quite click.

Read more..

The Vanishing Sculptor by Donita K. Paul

It must be Christian fiction week here at CM as today we have another example; although very different from the Shack.  The Vanishing Sculptor is not theology thinly disguised as a novel but rather a novel with a subtle theological point.

Here is the description from the publishers:

Donita K. Paul’s 250,000-plus-selling DragonKeeper Chronicles series has attracted a wide spectrum of dedicated fans–and they’re sure to fall in love with the new characters and adventures in her latest superbly-crafted novel for all ages. It’s a mind-boggling fantasy that inhabits the same world as the DragonKeeper Chronicles, but in a different country and an earlier time, where the people know little of Wulder and nothing of Paladin.

In The Vanishing Sculptor, readers will meet Tipper, a young emerlindian who’s responsible for the upkeep of her family’s estate during her sculptor father’s absence. Tipper soon discovers that her actions have unbalanced the whole foundation of her world, and she must act quickly to undo the calamitous threat. But how can she save her father and her world on her own? The task is too huge for one person, so she gathers the help of some unlikely companions–including the nearly five-foot tall parrot Beccaroon–and eventually witnesses the loving care and miraculous resources of Wulder. Through Tipper’s breathtaking story, readers will discover the beauty of knowing and serving God.

Interestingly enough, the first and last sentences above are points worth discussing. I missed the strong connection to the Dragon Keeper Chronicles when I first started reading and I think this had an impact on my experience.  And I also think the last sentence (re: the beauty of knowing and serving God) over-states things a bit.

More on those issues, and more, below. Read more..

The Shack by William P. Young

One of my oft repeated phrases is: “Better late than never.”  The sad fact is that I have all too many chances to utter it.  I bring this up because it seems a perfect application to this review.  Those bloggers who are organized and on top of things tend to offer reviews when a topic, book, or author is in the news and/or the hot topic of conversation.

While The Shack is still the topic of conversation around the country and around the world, the story is by now well know and thoroughly debated. (See this New York Times article for a flavor)

I first read the book back when it was much more a burgeoning phenomenon but never got around to putting my thoughts and reactions down in pixels.  But when my church’s Sunday School class offered this as one of its book discussions I decided to go back and resist it.

For those of you unfamiliar with the book here is a brief description:

Mackenzie Allen Philips’ youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack’s world forever.

After a second reading, I found that while its literary merit left a lot to be desired, and its theology was shaky in parts, as a whole it was a thought provoking and worthwhile read.

Below I will look at the book’s literary, theological, and philosophical implications. I’m not sure this matters at this point, but there will be “spoilers” involved. Read more..

Five books I failed to finish

I am the type who really works at finishing the books I start.  Ever since I first started at a young age on my path to full fledged bibliophile, I have avoided “quitting” on a book at all costs.  For me to not finish felt like a failure; a nagging sense of a half-completed job.

Since becoming a book reviewer/blogger – and as my life has grown busy with kids, work, etc. – I have gotten more comfortable in not finishing books.  I guess I have less time to waste and so feel less charitable towards bad books.

But it isn’t always a bad book either.  Sometimes a book just doesn’t work for me at the time.  I am not able to focus on it or my mood doesn’t match the book’s style or form. Sometimes things just don’t click and I find it necessary to abandon a book or keep reading out of guilt.

I thought it might be interesting, as a sort of confession, to offer five books I have failed to finish in the last year or so. At least this way the books get a little publicity (there’s no such thing as bad, right?).

Here is my list:

1. Amerika: The Missing Person: A New Translation, Based on the Restored Text by Franz Kafka.  This is one of those that I don’t blame the book so much as my inability to focus.  When I picked this up I had a lot going on and was only reading it in small snippets before bed.  I just never got into it and so put it aside.  I still plan to read it in the future.
2. Binu and the Great Wall by Tong Su.  This one just fell flat for me.  I have read most of the Canongate Myths books and enjoyed them.  But at some point I had to recognize that this one was a chore to read and I didn’t want to finish.  It had some interesting aspects to it, but the story didn’t seem to be going anywhere and held no insights for me.  Perhaps, my unfamiliarity with the source of this myth and the underlying culture handicapped me.
3. George Washington on Leadership by Richard Brookhiser.  This is another one where I blame me rather than the author (who is one of my favorites).  If you are interested in history and leadership this is actually an interesting and informative book.  But I had a lot of other reading to do for my job at the time and I put it aside to work on a project and never picked it up.  It has joined its brothers on the To Be Finished pile.
4. Wide Awake: The Future Is Waiting Within You by Erwin Raphael McManus.  I am not sure what to make of this one.   A publisher was kind enough to send me an advance copy and I thought it would be an interesting book.  But, while I didn’t hate it, it just never seemed to connect for me.  It was a little to close to Christian pop psychology for my tastes and I never finished it.
5. Enduring Justice (Defenders of Hope Series #3) by Amy N. Wallace.  This was a combination.  I was reading it when I had a lot of books I was trying to review and this one was part of a blog tour where I need to post by a certain date.  I had two choices: finish it and all likelihood write a negative review or drop it and move on.  I chose the later.

As you can see, there isn’t really one type of book or genre involved.  What also jumps out at me is the circumstances surrounding my reading.  If I am very busy, under a lot of stress, or doing a lot of reading for work my patience seems to give out quickly.  If I am reading for pleasure, and particularly when I have a lot of books I am really excited about reading, I just have a hard time reading something I don’t enjoy or that seem like work.

When do you stop reading a book?  Do you feel guilty or do you see it as an essential time management tool (life is to short to read bad books)?  Do you put books aside and pick them up again later?  I would love to know your experience.

Book Giveaway: The Vanishing Sculptor

UPDATE: This book giveaway now closed. Congrats to Phil the winner.

I have a free copy of The Vanishing Sculptor by Donita K. Paul to giveaway.

Donita K. Paul’s 250,000-plus-selling DragonKeeper Chronicles series has attracted a wide spectrum of dedicated fans–and they’re sure to fall in love with the new characters and adventures in her latest superbly-crafted novel for all ages. It’s a mind-boggling fantasy that inhabits the same world as the DragonKeeper Chronicles, but in a different country and an earlier time, where the people know little of Wulder and nothing of Paladin.

In The Vanishing Sculptor, readers will meet Tipper, a young emerlindian who’s responsible for the upkeep of her family’s estate during her sculptor father’s absence. Tipper soon discovers that her actions have unbalanced the whole foundation of her world, and she must act quickly to undo the calamitous threat. But how can she save her father and her world on her own? The task is too huge for one person, so she gathers the help of some unlikely companions–including the nearly five-foot tall parrot Beccaroon–and eventually witnesses the loving care and miraculous resources of Wulder. Through Tipper’s breathtaking story, readers will discover the beauty of knowing and serving God.

The winner will be drawn from the comment section of this post via the random number generator.  Deadline for entry is Thursday, June 25.

So if the above sounds interesting leave a comment and tell your friends.

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