Book reviews and recommendations
Recent customer book reviews and opinions on books
Trying to decide on what books to read next? We've got some ideas for you! Biblio.com customers and booksellers share their thoughts and opinions on books they've read and enjoyed -- or not...
The Hated Wife
On May 16 2012, feeney said:
"Adam Nicolson's 2001 THE HATED WIFE: CARRIE KIPLING 1862 - 1939 is, I believe, the first "Short Book" that I have ever read. The publisher is Short Books, 15 Highway Terrace, London N5 1UP. *** The paperback book is indeed "short," a mere 96 pages. THE HATED WIFE draws heavily on Caroline Kipling's diary. It is not, I think, a book for persons only vaguely interested in or barely informed about 1905 Nobel Prize winner Joseph Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936). THE HATED WIFE is about Rudyard's wife Caroline Starr Balestier, three years Rudyard's senior, who married the rising literary star when he was 24. Henry James gave the bride away in a small London wedding. *** Why is this book not for everyone? Mainly because it presupposes that you are fairly knowledgeable already about Rudyard Kipling, his times, his parents and sister Trix and his marriage and children. Not once, to my recollection, does author Adam Nicolson's narrative give Carrie's Christian name of Caroline, though he does once reproduce that name as her regular signature. The author assumes that readers are already fiercely prejudiced against Carrie Kipling, regarding her as a friendless, dominating, somehow limiting force on her husband's great genius. Now I, for one, have read a dozen books or so about the Kiplings. And never elsewhere have I seen her called with no little venom "the hated wife." I fear that Nicolson has created a strawman in order to knock it down. *** That said, Nicolson, as do other lengthier biographers, records the concerns of Rudyard's parents and of Henry James about the romance and marriage. In the hands of Carrie, mama Kipling's Ruddy becomes simply Rud. Nicolson argues that whenever possible during their marriage, Rud would dash off alone to be with men in London. If so, it is remarkable how many letters, sometimes two or three daily, the author wrote to his wife on such occasions. ***Nicolson argues that Rudyard Kipling liked his women older and masculine, dominating and capable. He argues as well that after her wedding Carrie let herself go, gained weight, dressed dowdily and lost any original sexual appeal to her husband. He gives her credit for stiffening Rud's spine at times of crisis, but also sharing his cowardly inclination to assign unhappy experiences to oblivion and never speak of them again -- e.g., the death of their young daughter. -OOO-"
Historical Tradition In the Fourth Gospel
On May 15 2012, JoeMThomas said:
"This is the most detailed analysis of both the narrative and oral tradition underlying the gospel of John that I have read. The scholarship is incredibly detailed and balanced."
Like Lions They Fought the Zulu War and The Last Black Empire In South Africa
On May 14 2012, okfine said:
"Very informative well written book."
The Sitting Swing
On May 14 2012, beckvalleybooks said:
"A beautiful heartfelt book describing a little girls life as she grows up under the dominance of a mother who lived in a bubble of how her life and that of her perfect daughters life would be. Starting from fear of loosing her child, her mother protected Irene to the highest degree, constantly being with her, implanting her thoughts and beliefs and even speaking for her, making her believe that she was not to speak her mind at all. Irene was left to feel worthless and that people were not interested in her input in life at all.A little girl petrified that God would punish her for not sticking to his ten rules, learning from her parents that when he was angry he could create plagues or even kill people. A little girl who sat and watched as her parents themselves went against these rules, confused and fearful. A little girl who was being abused by her cousins and was led to believe that this was her own doing and nothing else. A little girl who had no need for education as she WOULD live locally and WOULD be a farmers wife. Then she met her saviour in friend Margie, who made her feel valued and a real person. She began to open up and challenge her mother but she was going against her perfect girl mother and when she tried to run away it was the final straw and brought out a violent side of her mother that she would never forget. In time she escapes by getting a job away from their small hamlet, but doe she really escape?Left with a lifetime of mental as well as physical abuse, Irene follows her friends hype and enrols into the Avalon Center for a 28 day course on overcoming addictions. Extremely skeptical and believing it all to be a waste of time, she carries on believing at least it would help her when working with her therapy clients, hearing that addiction is only a symptom of the real underlying pain. Until one day close to the end of the course she finally gets it, a light bulb moment which positively changed Irene's life forever.Although covering sad points in Irene's life I found myself fascinated reading about her day to day family life and the area around them. The author has written with a truly open and honest hand, even with a little humor at times. Very easy to read, you can feel the desperate emotion and pain felt at the time by the author and you may also find some possible answers to life's problems yourself. I must admit when reading I love books with short chapters, the only problem with The Sitting Swing was that I kept saying to myself just one more, then another and another, it was very hard to actually put the book down. An inspiring memoir that will empower you to look within yourself with understanding and spirituality. Extremely recommended reading."
How You Can Help Other People
On May 14 2012, jnorris said:
"The insights are ones I used to know. I understand why my preist recommended this book. If you are in a position where you help other people I recommend this book, not as a book to learn from, more a book to remember from."
Daughters Of the Witching Hill
On May 12 2012, redfox said:
"I liked the book, but didn't like the ending. Of course I kind of figured that in less there was some kind of miracle thing with her black dog and her connecting that she was done for. The characters were all interesting, and am glad that the sister got what she deserved. It kept my interest all the way through and will look for more books by this author."
Emily's Robert E
On May 10 2012, BernieWeisz said:
"Review Written by Bernie Weisz, Historian, Pembroke Pines, Florida, USA May 9, 2012 E Mail: BernWei1@aol.com Title of Review: "War and the Finality of Death: Now You See Me, Now You Don't!"Today, U.S. President Barack Obama uses the term "Overseas Contingency Operation." However, it is simply a repackaging of the "'War on Terror" initiated by then US President George W. Bush. Translated, it is close to a two decade global military struggle against any terrorist organization and regime accused of supporting in any way or being connected to militant Islamists and al-Qaeda posing threatening pretensions to America and its allies. The last straw was the "911 attacks." There were many precursors, You pick the main one: The origins of al-Qaeda's inspiration of worldwide terrorism as a reaction to the 1979-1989 Soviet war in Afghanistan, the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in August of 1998 in Kenya and Tanzania, Osama bin Laden's February 1998 signing of his "Fatwa" as the head of al-Qaeda, declaring war on the West and Israel or even the aborted January 1, 2000 bombing of the Los Angeles International Airport. None of the aforementioned compared to the September 11, 2001 New York City, Washington D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania attacks which killed 2,993 people. American war fever was piqued. U.S. armed forces initiated its War in Afghanistan on October 7, 2001. The stated goal was to dismantle the al-Qaeda terrorist organization and eliminate Afghanistan as its base. Although President Bush promised to remove the Taliban regime from power and replace it with a democratic state, over a decade later Americans continue to battle the Taliban insurgency and die in the process.It is those American lives lost that are chosen as the prevailing theme of Tina Marie Fitzgerald's book "Emily's Robert E." While this can be seen as a heartbreaking love story, it is not designed to have what Fitzgerald terms a "Feel good story with a happily ever ending." Wars kill. America should know. The Revolutionary War of 1775 to 1783 killed 25,000 fathers, brothers, etc. This was a drop in the bucket to the U.S. Civil War, claiming a total of 625,000 Confederate and Union lives. Although there were the Indian Wars, the Spanish American and Philippine wars, it would take until 1916 for America to enter the "War to End All Wars." World War II claimed 116,516, and a little over two decades later join the fray against Fascism, killing 405,399 of us. We weren't finished though. Becoming the "world's policeman" against Communist expansion, 36,516 would perish from 1950 to 1953 in Korea and 58,272 in Viet Nam, not to mention the 2,500 still today missing in action, never to be accounted for. After nationwide protests and uproar over America's involvement in Vietnam all being based on a sham attack in the Gulf of Tonkin, the leak of the Pentagon Papers and Nixon's embarrassing exit, this country needed a good reason to go at it again. The end of the war in Iraq claimed 4,477 American dead and 31,965 wounded. The still ongoing operation in Afghanistan stands at 6,280 killed and a staggering 41,936 seriously wounded.Author Fitzgerald makes the reader think carefully about the above statistics. She asks you, the reader, the following; "Casualties aren't just about lives that can never be given back but also about lives seized. When a soldier's life is taken, who immediately thinks of the widow, widower or orphans that were created? It doesn't matter what side a soldier fights for, the results are the same. People rarely think about those who are left behind or about any impending consequences resulting from a person's death; soldier or otherwise. Not only was Fitzgerald herself an ex Marine, she did her homework to write this. Meticulously researching America's Spring, 2003 Iraqi invasion dubbed "Operation Iraqi Freedom," you will find a diary in this book any Marine will concur as to its accuracy. Describing time spend in the dessert of Iraq's "big sandbox" is true to form. There's an added plus; many anecdotes Fitzgerald included were based on true events in her own life. Hailing from Mena, Arkansas, Fitzgerald included hometown characters, intelligently weaving them into the story. This is also the author's catharsis, infusing the storyline with personal situations in her own life. At the tender age of fifteen, Fitzgerald lost a very important friend, using Emily's Robert E." as a release, analyzing feelings and emotions she had kept to herself for years. Volunteering as a U.S. Marine, Fitzgerald after five months of marriage was in a near fatal automobile accident. The repercussions were ugly; her marriage ended and her military career was cut short. Turning bitterly vitriolic, Fitzgerald lost many friends.However, there was a silver lining, as it served as the impetus to start writing this book with the elements all magically falling into place. Then another twist of unexpected fate, or circumstance occurred. Fitzgerald met Laurie Holt. Eerily seeming to tell the story of Holts's loss of Marine Corporal David R. Baker, her son, the story seemed to be written about her and her family. Killed by an "Improvised Explosive Device" like a roadside bomb or booby trap in Afghanistan while on point, Holt's very first tour would be his last. Fitzgerald mentions her book "Emily's Robert E" provided Holt with the fortitude to go on with life. The author wrote; " Laurie said I saved her life...my book was a light for her. We remain strong friends to this day. I was in attendance at the Honor and Remember flag presentation for David this past November, and I actually took part in the service. Fitzgerald wishes no accolades for this book, and she embodies this in her actions. Not only is the author a self-appointed Veteran's advocate, Fitzgerald writes, talks and teaches about U.S. Military History and what it means to Americans. She comments; "If I only touched one person by the words in my book, then I accomplished what I set out to do."Other issues are brought up in "Emily's Robert E. "The storyline is about a reversal of traditional roles, with the husband staying at home with a child and the wife getting deployed to the war zone, taking on the risks associated with being in a combat zone. Nevertheless, Fitzgerald brings up poignant truisms, such as the egocentric point that if a story doesn't end well, the public doesn't want to read about it unless it is about someone else. Since America took on the English in 1775 to 2012, a total of 1,529,230 U.S. combatants have gone to an early grave, 1,529,230 have been wounded and 38, 159 never found. This book could be about anyone's experience after a loved one dies. In conjunction with the previous stated casualties, Fitzgerald asserts: "Without anyone to remember, the memories of those who have died fade in vain." Want a little taste of what it feels like to lose a son and daughter post 911? Read "William Koch's painful account of how he and his wife Christine are forced to deal with the death of their son Stephen and daughter Lynne in "Casualties of War." Marie Fitzgerald minces no words when she scornfully writes: "Despite All the support and patriotism exhibited by Americans after 911, it didn't take long for people at home to become complacent, even cynical about Iraq. After the war, Iraq was the furthest thing from anybody's minds, unless they got the knock on the door: "We regret to inform you." This book will teach you never to take tomorrow for granted, as Fitzgerald's story will embody.Finally, Fitzgerald brings up the big question of war; "When a soldier's life is taken, who immediately thinks of the widow, widower or orphans created? It doesn't matter what side a soldier fights for, the results are the same. People rarely think about those who are left behind or about any impending consequences resulting from a person's death; soldier or otherwise." Fitzgerald proves this when she mentioned within the story that people in her hometown fought to buy the Mena, Arkansas Times newspaper whenever it contained headlines of celebrities cheating, divorcing or dying. How true is this? Consider the fact that on February 12, 2012, celebrity singer Whitney Houston died from a drug overdose. The headlines on U.S. newspapers reflecting this had record sales. These young men listed, Corporal Kevin J. Reinhard, age 25, Lance Corporal William D. "Billy" Spencer, age 20, Corporal Jon-Luke Bateman, age 22, Lance Corporal Scott D. Harper 21, Corporal Joseph J. Reinhard, age 25 , Lance Corporal Eric J. Orlowski, age 26. Lance Corporal Joshua M. Davis, age 19, and finally Corporal Michael J. Dutcher, age 22 also died that same day, unmentioned or as a small byline in every nationwide newspaper. They died not in a luxury hotel room nursing a drug or alcohol addiction. They died bravely in "the big sandbox" in a harsh country half a world away. They lost their lives as members of the United States Marine Corps, and may God Bless them and their families.How does Marie Fitzgerald account for this? She correctly points out how history is never learned, thus the mistakes of the past continue to be repeated; "The names of W.W. I and II Veterans that once graced those pages had already become forgotten. There weren't many old boys left who'd fought against the Germans or the Japanese. We fought a war against Germany? When'd we do that? Where is Normandy anyway? Allied Forces? What's the deal about December 7nth, 1941? Pearl Harbor?" Also addressed are the mistakes made in Viet Nam and present, including why selective media is streamlined via satellite back to the U.S. in a favorable manner. Commenting on the error made in showing the public too much in America's first "television war," our leaders today are careful in what they allow us to know and show. The year 1968 taught us a lot; the press's interpretation of the Tet Offensive, President Johnson's decision not to run for reelection galvanizing public antiwar support, both Robert Kennedy's and Martin Luther King's assassinations as well as the riots at the Democratic Convention in Chicago. Fitzgerald explains this phenomenon as follows; "Ho Chi Minh? Cambodia? What was the significance of that wall of names in Washington? And what about Bosnia and Somolia? Where are those countries anyway? Why are we fighting over there in the first place?" The ignorance of America can be mind boggling!For Fitzgerald, she correctly points out that political rhetoric like the "Domino Theory" and "Weapons of Mass Destruction" have lost their potency for motivating Americans to fight for our way of life and freedom. Elucidating, Fitzgerald points out; "War had become a comfortably foreign concept, if not an entirely forgotten one to the Generation X'ers, the so-called "entitled" generation of America. For the most part, the idea of war where people get killed, where somebody isn't coming home was forgotten, except by those who had fought in or lost somebody to one. And then, of the soldiers who had gone to fight and were fortunate to make it back, some of them continued to fight personal battles long after their particular war ended." There were 2,700,000 "in country" Viet Nam Vets from 1965 to 1972, In 2012, less than 500,000 are alive. Fighting consequences brought on by "Agent Orange" and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Fitzgerald laments; "The war has never ended for some." And of our troops still in Afghanistan today? Fitzgerald wrote; "The longer we're here, the more I find myself wondering and questioning at least to myself what exactly we have or were supposed to accomplish. We were supposedly coming to fight a war on terrorism, then we were here to help these people and we've only made more of a mess out of things. This country is in worse shape than it was before we got here."Fitzgerald frighteningly continues; "Snipers think of ways to peck off troops before breakfast every morning like we wonder when this is all going to be over every night. Their days start with waking up thinking how many people they'll get to shoot like we wake up wondering what's for chow. That's their job. And don't forget the rebels who know daily schedules who might let a convoy pass today, then maybe tomorrow kill one or two of us just because they can? Roadside bombs go off with such a rate that the noise isn't such a big deal anymore, it's a given." Regardless, Fitzgerald ends this amazing book by reminding us that despite the casualties in all our wars, the following truism exists; "Do you know your purpose today? Or is it just another day? Are you going through the motions of the same routine? If you're a child of God, know that he has assigned a purpose for you today. Fulfilling your purpose does not mean everything will be completed as planned. Why? Interruptions. In his heart, a man plans his cause but the Lord determines his steps. Our tragedies are God's tools. What we do with them is determined by circumstance. It is the gifts given by God that help us in any situation. The gift of life is the most sacred of all." This is sage advice given by an author who intuitively knows exactly how to put things into perspective. "Emily's Robert E." is a book that simply cannot be put down, not to mention one that will compel the reader to perpetually carry its message! "Semper Fi" T.M. Fitzgerald !"
Kidnapped
On May 10 2012, feeney said:
"If ever a book's title clearly sketched its contents, it is Robert Louis Stevenson's full name for his 1886 novel "KIDNAPPED - BEING THE ADVENTURES OF DAVID BALFOUR: HOW HE WAS KIDNAPPED AND CAST AWAY; HIS SUFFERING IN A DESERT ISLE; HIS JOURNEY IN THE WEST HIGHLANDS; HIS ACQUAINTANCE WITH ALAN BRECK STEWART AND OTHER NOTORIOUS HIGHLAND JACOBITES; WITH ALL THAT HE SUFFERED AT THE HANDS OF HIS UNCLE, EBENEZER BALFOUR OF SHAWS, FALSELY SO-CALLED; WRITTEN BY HIMSELF AND NOW SET FORTH BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON." Phew! *** KIDNAPPED was an instant literary success. -- First, because it was about Scotland, both the author's native lowlands and the wild, mysterious, alien-language islands and highlands. It narrates a few warm weather months in 1751. -- Second, with both his parents now dead, late teens David Balfour is sent from the village where his father had been schoolmaster back "home" with a letter of introduction to his father's evil younger brother Ebenezer Balfour. Ebenezer is currently the miserly laird of Shaws, a dilapidated estate near Edinburgh. To prevent David from reclaiming his rights, uncle Ebenezer sells him to a greedy sea captain for later resale into servitude in South Carolina. -- Thirdly, at sea, sailing all around the top of Scotland from the east coast into the treacherous, rocky waters of the Inner Hebrides, David Balfour's life intersects with that of historically attested Alan Breck Stewart. Stewart is collecting money for Scottish losers in the 1745-46 rising, now living in impoverished exile in France with James Stewart, their "King across the water." *** After fighting off together an evil captain and crew, then shipwrecked and briefly parted off the west coast of Scotland, David and Alan pursue their now intertwined missions. Alan needs to get safely across enemy territory back to France with money that he has collected. David must return to the Firth of Forth to regain his inheritance. Each is of service to the other. Alan helps puritanical David become a man, teaches him swordcraft and the ways of the life-embracing Catholic highlands. *** Their story is told in later years by David Balfour himself, from the point of view of a sheltered adolescent lowlander, a Calvinist, a temperate and docile accepter of the political status quo in Scotland. David writes with both exasperation and deep affection about his meteoric and astonishingly opposite hero: a Catholic, the greatest swordsman of the Highlands, an unapologetic man of the world, a gambler who loses all David's money at cards playing with a Highland chief. Women and girls are few and far between. Romance barely flickers once toward tale's end as a brave girl rows the pair across the Firth of Forth to safety. David is frequently ill, very ill, a human condition, he notes in passing, that is rarely mentioned by writers of books for boys. ***On the surface KIDNAPPED is pure boys' adventure tale, complete with unrelenting chase over mountains and through the heather by King George's Redcoats who think -- erroneously -- that Alan, abetted by David, has murdered a high ranking, historically attested Scottish collaborator of King George. Here is a pair of moral and cultural opposites who do much good to each other. In 1886 author Stevenson had just read Mark Twain's THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN and it shows in KIDNAPPED. *** More deeply, KIDNAPPED is about an abnormally cruel period in Scottish-English history, told largely from the point of view of the gallant highland losers. KIDNAPPED is Robert Louis Stevenson's exploration of the divided Scottish psyche: highlands v. lowlands, Gaelic v. Scots as mutually incomprehensible languages, Catholicism v. Presbyterianism, Stewart Kings v. Hanoverians, agricultual mountain clans v. small nuclear retail trading nuclear families living between Glasgow and Edinburgh. This is not a profound book, but it is a very good one. And in pock-faced, diminutive, swashbuckling Alan Breck Stewart readers have a hero not soon forgotten. -OOO-"
Song Of the Paddle
On May 8 2012, stoviecraig said:
"I found the book recommended on the Song of the Paddle forum and although now slightly dated style-wise it is an utter classic. The ethos and principles of wilderness travel are fully explored and discussed as well as the art of canoeing. It is the antithesis of the modern box-tick, instant satisfaction mentality and is a refreshing antidote to some of the self-styled modern 'experts'.Find a copy, read it and emulate. It is a true inspiration."
The Miracle Of Dialogue
On May 8 2012, liberty4all said:
"A Miracle of Insight about Interpersonal Communication This book is not only "an oldie and a goodie," it freights insights that are important and need to be widely known some fifty (50) years after it was written. Here are a few things this book and Reuel Howe taught me in 1965: 1. There are barriers to communication (which Howe defines as "the meeting of meanings") that are inevitably found in every relationship.2. Five of the barriers Howe explicates that tend to block the meeting of meanings are our images, defenses, anxieties, cross purposes, and words: a) The images we hold about our partner or things often "speak louder" to us than our partner's words; we therefore "can't hear" or discount what they are saying or view them in a wrong light. Seeing our potential mate reading Playboy or the Holy Bible may give us very accurate or very inaccurate information about them, depending upon our images.b) The defense mechanisms that helped us survive childhood now sometimes distort our perceptions; "blind" us to accurately seeing or hearing events and messages; cause us to impute values and motivations to others that are, in fact, our own; make us deny and forget that certain things were said or done, etc.c) The number and intensity or amount of the anxieties we carry, no matter how caused, can block accurate perception, hearing, and the amount of potentially threatening new information we can "take in." d) If partners hold crossed purposes they tend to have a barrier to communication than must be overcome or dealt with as they negotiate to a satisfying solution.e) The assumed meanings of words or language can vary according to individuals, families, traditions, regions, ethnic groups, religions, nations, etc. Mis-perception of meanings, negatively or positively, can lead to a presumed unity or agreement or to its opposite, to frustration, to false images of the partner, to shock, to anger and conflict, to felt betrayals, or blaming and accusations, etc. One little word can sometimes become a very big deal with real consequences, sometimes unnecessarily so. It is far better to check things out than reacting, over-reacting or "wildly running with our assumptions."Most people don't know that there are barriers to the meeting of meanings inevitably in even good relationships, nor that a communication grinch may not be anybody's fault! (We may just have bumped up against one or more of those invisible and inevitable "barriers.") Our 51% or greater divorce rate might indicate that most of us don't know that blaming or accusing one's partner when frustrated may just be compounding the problem, adding to the barriers that must be overcome for communion and communication to take place! In addition to those mentioned, we often create more barriers to communication when we angrily vent, yell at, use profanity, ridicule, label or call names, use sarcasm, constantly criticize, are generally hostile, discounting, disrespectful, nasty, or have a low EQ. 3. Two things are required for the barriers to the meeting of meanings to be overcome and for communication to take place, according to Reuel Howe: a) We must honor and learn to assume responsibility not only for our own, but also for our partner's, ontological concern, human beings' natural concern for their being, their physical and psychological survival and well-being. b)...We need to dialogue with our partner or mate, have a conversation that involves two human beings who not only "send" but also "receive," two centers of worth and dignity who care not only about being heard but also about truly hearing, each taking into account the ontological concern of both partners while working to allow their meanings to truly meet.I've loved the following words by Reuel Howe about The Miracle of Dialogue for fifty years or so, and I wish every one who cares about his or her relationships could be reminded of them every day:"Only through dialogue are we saved from enmity toward one another. Dialogue is to love, what blood is to the body...When dialogue stops, love dies and resentment is born. Only dialogue could restore a dead relationship. This is the miracle of dialogue."I highly recommend this book. --Rev. J. Roland Cole""
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