Category: Books

The Firemaker by Peter May

The Firemaker by Peter May

Posted on by Jack

I was very surprised to see The Firemaker by Peter May available as an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) on Netgalley. I thought this was an older book. But I have been a fan of Peter May since reading his Lewis trilogy so I was interested.

The Firemaker is the first book in his set of China thrillers set in the 1990 and early 2000s. I checked and this series was published between 1999 and 2004. The reason for an ARC is this is a re-release in early 2018. The best explanation for why he decided on a re-release is the Introduction by the author.
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A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived by Adam Rutherford

A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived by Adam Rutherford

Posted on by Jack

The full title is “A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold Through Our Genes “ .  Adam Rutherford is hardly a household name at least here in the US. But I hope it will be a name that people looking for good science writing will remember.
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This is How It Begins by Joan Dempsey

This is How It Begins by Joan Dempsey

Posted on by Jack

This is How It Begins is a very good book. I thought it was so good I read it twice.

I will sometimes re-read books but usually after a good interval has passed. I think this may be the first that I have read a book twice within a few weeks. It is definitely the only one that I read twice before the book was released.

It is that good. Continue reading “This is How It Begins by Joan Dempsey”

Democracy Amendments and change for the better

Democracy Amendments and change for the better

Posted on by Jack

Our democracy is in trouble.  Our political system is broken.  We have seen these problems growing and continuing to get worse.  How can our democracy be saved? Does “The Democracy Amendments”  hold the answer?

The full title is “The Democracy Amendments: How to Amend Our U.S. Constitution to Rescue Democracy for All Citizens”. The author is Rick Hubbard. It is available in both Kindle and paperback editions.

I think Rick Hubbard identified the problem and suggested a solution and I agree that it would be nice.  However, I don’t think this or any like it will happen anytime soon.

Still, I think the book worthwhile.  It gives a good summary of many problems with our democracy.  It proposes a solution.  Not a solution that I think will work but important because we will never solve this or any other problem without a good idea about the proper direction of move.

In the 2016 election many people voted for change.  Unfortunately the result seems not to be a change for the better,  I hope this book and more like it will get the people thinking about change and the type of change that will be good for our democracy.

The people can change our democracy.  Let’s hope the next time that we will have change for the better.   It will be a difficult road and we will face a good bit of resistance. It may take more time than some would like but it can be done.

Two Paths: America Divided or United by John Kasich

Two Paths: America Divided or United by John Kasich

Posted on by Jack

John Kasich  is a 2 term governor of Ohio and a former  U.S. congressman. In the House of Representatives he was on the Armed Services Committee and was chairman of the  Budget  Committee the last time we had a balanced budget.  So he does know a bit about governing and fiscal matters. Continue reading “Two Paths: America Divided or United by John Kasich”

Race for the Flash Stone by K. Patrick Donoghue

Race for the Flash Stone by K. Patrick Donoghue

Posted on by Jack

Race for the Flash Stone is the second of a series. I liked the first one Shadows of the Stone Benders much more than expected and reviewed it last year). It did not seem like the type of book I would enjoy. But the write-up I saw on Netgalley was interesting. So I thought I would give it a try.

For those who are not familiar with Netgalley, it is a website for those who like to read an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) of books and are willing to share an opinion of the book. In my case, I write reviews.
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The Death of Expertise: …and Why it Matters

The Death of Expertise: …and Why it Matters

Posted on by Jack

I liked The Death of Expertise but I was a bit concerned. The full title is The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters and it is by Thomas M. Nichols, a professor at the U.S. Naval War College .
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Letters to a Young Writer by Colum McCann

Letters to a Young Writer by Colum McCann

Posted on by Jack

The full title is Letters to a Young Writer: Some Practical and Philosophical Advice. And it is by Colum McCann one of the best writers around in my opinion.

I like Colum McCann’s writing and that is why I decided to read this book. My guess is it is not so much aimed at the young but at the new writer or anyone interested in improving their writing.
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1984 anthology for 21st century

1984 anthology for 21st century

Posted on by Jack

I started reading this 1984 anthology of essays as it seemed timely. The full title is “1984 in the 21st Century: An Anthology of Essays” and I enjoyed it very much. There is a series of essays of varying length and approaches to applying George Orwell’s 1984 to our modern society. The editor (Lori Perkins) has assembled a very interesting series of essays.
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The Twentieth Day of January

The Twentieth Day of January

Posted on by Jack

The Twentieth Day of January  by Ted Allbeury sounded interesting but I was a bit leery.  Sounded a bit too much like a novel  ”ripped from today’s headlines” , as they say.

The basic premise is that a Presidential election is won by a candidate aided by Russia.  I figured it was probably very quickly written to be one of the first books  on our Presidential election on the market  and had a good chance of being both poorly written and a bit of political nonsense.
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Cybersecurity : Hack-Proof Your Life Now!

Cybersecurity : Hack-Proof Your Life Now!

Posted on by Jack

The full title is Hack-Proof Your Life Now! The New Cybersecurity Rules: Protect your email, computers, and bank accounts from hacks, malware, and identity theft by Sean M. Bailey  and Devin Kropp .

Highly recommended.  I thought I was good about cybersecurity and keeping the bad guys from hacking into my accounts.  I consider myself an experienced computer user and pretty good about safety  online but I learned quite a bit here.
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Update on a modern dystopian thriller

Update on a modern dystopian thriller

Posted on by Jack

Several months ago I reviewed The Punishments by J.B. Winsor. I just wanted to update it a bit. This modern dystopian thriller has not changed since my review but it may be even more appropriate for our times.

The United States government is taken over by Christian fundamentalists. There are many similarities to the situation in the United States today. This story about the growth of government power and efforts to limit it makes for a fine thriller.
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Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA

Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA

Posted on by Jack

I am finding family but not in the same way.  And I use some of the same techniques.  But this book is about a very different quest than mine.

This was a bit of an unusual experience for me.  I was browsing Amazon looking for something else.  I forget what but that is unimportant.  My hobby is genealogy and last Christmas I was given an autosomal DNA test kit. The results confirmed several known relationships and one suspected relationship.  It also opened several unexpected avenues of research.

So I am acquainted with the uses and power of DNA for genealogy but still feel very much like a beginner in genetic genealogy.
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Rescuing Retirement: Guarantee Retirement Security

Rescuing Retirement: Guarantee Retirement Security

Posted on by Jack

Rescuing Retirement is an interesting and important book. Millions of older Americans are living in poverty or close to it. Our retirement system is broken. And we should and can fix it. This book is about how we do that.

The full title is Rescuing Retirement: A Plan to Guarantee Retirement Security for All Americans by Tony James and Teresa Ghilarducci.
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Echoes of Sherlock Holmes

Echoes of Sherlock Holmes

Posted on by Jack

Echoes of Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger is a good collection of short stories.

The short stories in Echoes of Sherlock Holmes are not necessarily about Holmes. The authors were just asked to write a story inspired by Holmes.

I’m over half way through now and I’ll take a little break in reading this book now since I have other things to do but that is the good thing about short stores. You can read one or 2 at a sitting and put the book down for days or even weeks without a thought to losing the flow of the story.

I found some stories to be better than others but this is to be expected in anthology such as this.