Feb 16 2010

The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer now in paperback

If for some odd reason you are reading this blog and have not yet read Olen Steinhauer’s The Tourist please rectify that ASAP.

This may seem a tad pushy but, trust me, I am doing you a favor.

The paperback is out today (and you can buy an ebook as well) so you really have no excuse at this point.

As I said in my review:

What makes Steinhauer different from so many writers of international thrillers is his ability to write a suspenseful espionage plot and yet still have elements of the more literary aspect of novels.  The writing is tight and even graceful at times.  The characters are not cardboard cutouts and Steinhauer delves into their psychological make up and personality for more than just plot plausibility.

And Olen has provided some hand picked music to go with the release. So head over there and get your The Tourist iMix

So stop by your local bookstore or click on the link above and read The Tourist so you are ready when  The Nearest Exit comes out in May.

Booklist review of The Nearest Exit below.

Keep Reading

By Kevin Holtsberry • News • 0 • Tags: , , ,

Feb 15 2010

The Imperial Cruise by James Bradley

I finished James Bradley’s The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War a few days ago and I have been thinking about the book ever since.  He writes about an ugly period of our country’s foreign policy – when the United States joined the ranks of the colonial powers by its acquisition of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Cuba (Cuba for a brief period).  Our leaders at the time cloaked our colonization in terms of helping the natives to become civilized and then giving them back their sovereignty once they were civilized.

The book centers around the 1905 cruise led by Secretary of War William Howard Taft that visited the Phillipines, Japan, China, and Korea and that had a secret agenda – Taft was ordered by President Theodore Roosevelt to make an unofficial treaty with Japan that encouraged the Japanese to adopt their own “Monroe Doctrine” for Asia.  Bradley claims that this secret treaty caused the Japanese to be more aggressive in their foreign affairs and eventually led to war with the United States (Bradley never explains how this treaty led to the events of World War II in the Pacific – there were too many other events that occurred between the signing and the beginning of World War II).

I do think that Bradley is dead-on with his criticism of Taft – he knew practically nothing of the countries he was visiting, but he was our lead diplomat in the tour.  In trying to project a strong American image, Taft came across at times as clueless.  Bradley states that Taft was sent because he was a front man and “yes” man for Roosevelt (apparently Roosevelt was the de facto Secretary of State and Secretary of War).

Keep Reading

By Jeff Grim • Reviews • 4 • Tags: , , , , ,

Feb 13 2010

The World’s Bloodiest History by Joseph Cummins

The World’s Bloodiest History: Massacre, Genocide, and the Scars They Left on Civilization by Joseph  is not a book about the happiest of topics, but it does provide some interesting insights.  The book has examples of some highlights, or should I say lowlights, of human history – how we so easily kill those who are different from us.

The book begins with the Roman sacking of Carthage in 146 BCE and ends with the massacre of Bosnian Muslims by Christian Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1995. Cummins covers many of the largest atrocities committed in history, but he also describes some not so well-known.  They all share the common link of being turning points in history.  For example, Cummins mentions the massacre of Cheyenne Indians (mainly women, children, and elderly) by Colorado militia in 1864.  He argues that this action triggered Indian uprisings and attacks across the West - more importantly it convinced the various Indian tribes that they could not trust the whites (they had signed a peace treaty and wrongly assumed they were safe).  After this, some of the worst fighting in the history of warfare between Indians and whites occurred.

Keep Reading

By Jeff Grim • Reviews • 0

Feb 13 2010

Atalanta and the Arcadian Beast by Jane Yolen & Robert Harris

A while back I stumbled on Atalanta and the Arcadian Beast by Jane Yolen & Robert Harris at Half Priced Books and picked it for a couple of bucks.  After having read the Merlin Triology by Yolen I decided it was a good time to check out this Young Hero Series.  I had already read one rendition of the Atalanta story (Quiver by Stephanie Spinner) so I was also interested to see how another YA author approached the story.

You really don’t need to know anything about the myth, however, to enjoy the story.  It really reads like a fast paced adventure story.  Here is the publisher’s teaser:

When her adopted father is slain by a strange beast, Atalanta is determined to take care of herself. She is happy in the forest with only her friend Urso — a giant bear — for company. She wants nothing to do with the world of men.

But the ferocious creature that killed her father is still out there, and Atalanta can’t resist the opportunity to hunt it down, even if that means she has to join forces with a group of hunters to do so. Atalanta must prove that she is as strong and brave as any of the others, as they search together for the deadly Arcadian Beast.

It is an interesting blend of action adventure and subtle explorations of issues like family, gender and identity that are so prevalent in Greek mythology

More below.

Keep Reading

By Kevin Holtsberry • Reviews • 1 • Tags: , , , , , ,

Feb 11 2010

In the Mail: How to Achieve Heaven on Earth

How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth by John Wade III (Editor)

Synopsis

This collection of inspirational essays from 100 of the world’s leading thinkers, statesmen, artists, and theologians addresses the question of how to make the world a better place.

Contributors include Al Gore, David Brooks, Tony Blair, Thomas L. Friedman, George Bush, Nicholas D. Kristoff, Leonard Pitts Jr., James K. Glassman, Ted Turner, and many more.

By Kevin Holtsberry • In The Mail • 0 • Tags: , ,

1 2 3 4 5 6