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People of the Book: A Novel 100 reviews
Geraldine Brooks
Viking Adult, 2008
an ambitious success
"People of the Book" drew me in with its title, and had me enthralled from the first page. This is an ambitious work, which could have been a disaster in the hands of a less skilled writer. But Geraldine Brooks does not disappoint; on the contrary, she exceeds my highest expectations. "People of the Book" is an intricate tapestry of one focal point through history, showing the mingled impact of ...
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My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey 16 reviews
Jill Bolte Taylor
Viking Adult, 2008
Profound Insight and Spiritual Wisdom
This remarkable book, "My Stroke of Insight" by Jill Bolte Taylor is far more than a dynamic story of a brain scientist, who suffered a massive stroke and amazingly recovered. It inspires the willingness to look beyond what we think is reality to an exploration of human consciousness and its limitless possibilities.
For anyone who has contemplated the value of spiritual awakening, those who ...
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The Political Mind: Why You Can't Understand 21st-Century American Politics with an 18th-Century Brain 1 review
George Lakoff
Viking Adult, 2008
Brainy politics vs Enlightenment politics?
George Lakoff, cognitive scientist and political commentator, returns in The Political Mind to themes already made familiar in earlier books such as Moral Politics (2002), Don't Think of an Elephant (2004) and Whose Freedom? (2007). He argues that political discourse arises from a process of conceptual and metaphorical framing which ultimately is grounded in the way the brain works, and that an ...
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A Place Called Canterbury: Tales of the New Old Age in America10 reviews
Dudley Clendinen
Viking Adult, 2008
A must read for anyone with aging parents
This is a marvelous book. Beautifully written and extremely poignant. Being a southerner myself, I didn't find the dialect annoying. It was spot on. As Linda Ellerbee said on the dust jacket, I want to give a copy of this book to all of my friends and family. I laughed, cried and hated for it to end.
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City of Thieves: A Novel7 reviews
David Benioff
Viking Adult, 2008
Great Russians
One doesn't usually read the great Russians for the jokes. In "Love and Death", Woody Allen parodies a bleak Tolstoy-esque passage, "Wheat. All there is in life is wheat....Wheat with feathers. Cream of wheat." But a close reader like Woody would recognize the dark humor always bubbling beneath the surface of novels like "The Brothers Karamazov", "A Hero of Our Time", "The Nose", despite the ...
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Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism21 reviews
Kevin Phillips
Viking Adult, 2008
wonderful book
if you read the 'prize' and alan's 'the age of turbulance' you will definitely like this book. this book provide a new perspective to the petro-dollar by analyzing the development of financial industries in USA.
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Home to Holly Springs (Father Tim, Book 1)125 reviews
Jan Karon
Viking Adult, 2007
She's Done it Again!!
I just stayed up late and finished "Home to Holly Springs." I must confess that I checked it out from the library, for the first time NOT buying the latest Karon book as I've done in the past, because I just couldn't believe she could pull off another storyline as well as she's done in the past. But she did...I'll be buying my own copy soon.
The characters are refreshing and easy to relate ...
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Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches25 reviews
John W. Dean
Viking Adult, 2007
How "Worse" Is It?
This is the third in a series of books that John W. Dean has written about the failures of the Republican party to govern over the past 40 years. He has a platform from which to speak. A self-professed "card-carrying Republican" for most of his life, he has also seen at first-hand how government can go badly wrong, having been White House Counsel during the "imperial" presidency of Richard Nixon. ...
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The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts17 reviews
Tom Farley, Tanner Colby
Viking Adult, 2008
Best book i've read in a long time...
I never write reviews on Amazon, or about books for that matter. But, I wanted to let people know that this book is a fantastic read. It's insightful, funny and disheartening. I found Chris's life story to be fascinating in both good and bad ways. If you are at all familiar with his comedy, or who he was as a person, then you should definitely read this book.
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The Beach House
Jane Green
Viking Adult, 2008
The perfect title for the perfect beach read from the New York Times bestselling Author Jane Green is one of the preeminent authors of women’s fiction today, and with each new novel, her audience grows. Green’s avid and loyal fans follow her because she writes about the true-to-life dilemmas of women—and The Beach House will not disappoint. Known in Nantucket as the crazy woman who lives in the rambling house atop the bluff, Nan doesn’t ...
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The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology119 reviews
Ray Kurzweil
Viking Adult, 2005
A "must read"
Ray Kurzweil is an exceedingly intelligent and perceptive individual. His scientific insight into the future is fascinating and frightening. I am listing this as a "must read" to all of my top students.
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Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and ... 1 review
Ahmed Rashid
Viking Adult, 2008
A very important work
This timely and critical book gives and experts overview of the current situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan and should serve as a wake uo call for policy makers interested in the region and people interested in the threat that instability and renewed Islamism pose. Here we are walked through the current unending war in Afghanistan and given a tour of the history of the American ...
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The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature28 reviews
Steven Pinker
Viking Adult, 2007
Insight through language
In his recent book, "The Stuff of Thought", author Steven Pinker makes a compelling case for hypocrisy being a vital habit in human conversation. His chapter "Games People Play" argues that hypocrisy furnishes us with a means to ease our ways through conversations in which we face potentially awkward or risk-filled circumstances. He therefore argues that hypocrisy is a necessary value in the ...
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Perfumes: The Guide60 reviews
Luca Turin, Tania Sanchez
Viking Adult, 2008
Smell Those Sparkling Top Notes!
This is a delightful and truly fascinating book. My husband and I took turns reading it aloud (he said, "It's like wine, isn't it?") and it even got him to not-too-grudgingly agree to try wearing one of the five-star Masterpiece feminines-to-be-worn-as-masculines. The idea of smelling like a Vietnamese beef-mint salad ("Diorella") is just too appealing for him... For myself, I'm tickled by the ...
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In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex276 reviews
Nathaniel Philbrick
Viking Adult, 2000
A Whale of Tale...Not To Be Missed...
Once again, truth is stranger that fiction. No one could have, would have made this up. It would be too unbelievable on the silver screen or on the small screen....even in the pages of novel---But this did happen.
A whale, being pursued, turning on its pursuers and sinking a whale ship!!! Quite a story in its own right, but the crew's efforts to get home safely make it a gripping read.
A ...
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Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire: The Methods and Madness Inside Room 5668 reviews
Rafe Esquith
Viking Adult, 2007
A Great Book for Teachers and Teaching Students
My name is Lydia and I read it as part of an assignment for my teaching education classes. I loved this book. Esquith makes the classroom come alive in real life and on paper and his rebuke of traditional teaching is swift and precise. His students are different and think about learning differently because he teaches differently. While his all out style is not for every teacher you can ...
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Financial Peace Revisited62 reviews
Dave Ramsey
Viking Adult, 2003
Gain Control of Your Financial Future
"Since money problems and fights are statistically the biggest problem in marriage, any one of us who is wise will be on guard against these problems and looking for ways to win." ~ pg. 207
After reading Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover," I was interested in seeing what he had to say in "Financial Peace Revisited." My husband and I are reading all his books and so far we have set up a ...
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American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21stCentury187 reviews
Kevin Phillips
Viking Adult, 2006
Incisive
Kevin Phillips never fails to cut through the historical fog in documenting the sociopolitical forces at work in the shaping of our current society. Definitely worth your time.
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What the Gospels Meant14 reviews
Garry Wills
Viking Adult, 2008
The Yin & Yang of the 4 Gospels !
Prof. Wills put forth this book to deepen our understanding of the Gospels. The Gospels are not biographies, or history books, or treatises (P.5). The Gospels thus find Jesus present in persecution (Mark), in instruction (Matthew), in consolation (Luke), and in mystical exaltation (John) (P.8)
He quoted from scholar Raymond Brown in explaining and commenting on the four Gospels with ...
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Miss Julia Paints the Town (Miss Julia)16 reviews
Ann B. Ross
Viking Adult, 2008
MIss Julia Paints the Town
Miss Julia is always fun to read and I pass them along to others to enjoy. I hope there will be more of this series.
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