My Picks of the Month
When the
U.S. Justice Department announces it will not enforce the Defense of Marriage
Act you know that same-sex marriage has the full support of the White House. An
interesting new book by William Tucker, Marriage
and Civilization: How Monogamy Made Us Human, ($27.95, Regnery) takes a
look at monogamy and how its adoption by societies in the West made all the
difference in their development as opposed to those that retained polygamy.
Monogamy contributed to less aggressive societies, ones with less crime, less
internal friction, and humanity benefitted from men who took a greater role in
raising children. Spousal relationship benefitted because they were more
devoted to one another. The story of humanity has been one of growing trust and
cooperation between the sexes and this has led to more stable communities and
nation. Every human society has created some form of marriage. Not only do a
couple pledge fidelity to each other, it draws the line between the bonded
couple and the group. Tucker says that everywhere polygamy is practiced, it
creates conflict. There is much to be said for traditional marriage and its
history and practice is presented in this book.
Craig R.
Smith has written seven books individually and, with Lowell Ponte, another
five. These books look at economic and governmental issues with a particular
emphasis on the way progressivism has undermined the dollar and the ability of
the nation to achieve and maintain our remarkable leadership in manufacturing
and in finance. That is beginning to falter and you will want to read The Great Withdrawal: How the Progressives’
100-Year Debasement of American and the Dollar Ends ($19.95, Idea Factory
Press, Phoenix, AZ). Far from being a dry analysis, it is a dramatic
examination of what is happening in America today and why. The book opens with
a look at Detroit, the largest American city to declare bankruptcy and why
decades of bad management and corruption have led to its debasement. This is
happening in many cities across the nation led by progressives. These cities
build huge ranks of government workers with ample pension and other benefits
that thrive off of the middle class until it begins to move to the suburbs to
escape the ever rising taxes and other costs. In addition to the $17 trillion
in debt on the books, the U.S. has off-the-balance-sheet federal liabilities
estimated to be at least $87 trillion. The trillions pumped into the economy in
recent years have largely been wasted via crony capitalism or simply failed to
“stimulate” growth. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Your life and
that of your children and grandchildren are being affected.
In a
nation that appears to be seriously divided, we owe Dr. Wayne Baker, the author
of United America ($15.25, Spirit
Books, @ Amazon.com, softcover) a debt of appreciation for a book about “The
surprising truth about American values, American identity, and the 10 beliefs
that a large majority of Americans hold dear.”
Dr. Baker is the chair of the Management & Organizations area at the
University of Michigan Ross School of Business and his book is based on his
research over several years. The values American share include respect for
others, freedom, security, self-reliance and individualism, justice and
fairness, among others. They are shared by a vast cross-section of Americans of
differing political outlooks, gender, and other elements. These values are
strongly held. The book is not some boring academic study, but a lively
examination of the values and one that will be of use to individual readers as
well as educators and groups devoted to preserving the nation that is suffering
the deliberate effort to divide Americans by class, sex, and other attributes.
I recommend this book for anyone concerned about the current divisions we hear
and read about daily.
Fans
of Hillary Clinton with an eye on the 2016 elections will find HRC: State Secrets and the Rebirth of
Hillary Clinton by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes ($26.00, Crown
Publishing) of interest as these two journalists, the former who covers the
White House for Bloomberg News and the latter for The Hill, look back over the
past years since 2008 when her political ambitions took a hit from an unknown
Illinois Senator when he was became the Democratic Party nominee for President
and won. In the six years since then, she has reemerged on the world stage as
one of its most influential figures. She is now regarded as the front-runner
for the Democratic ticket in 2016 and this book provides a look at what they
regard as a master strategist at work. She would become Obama’s Secretary of
State and one of his greatest allies and advocates. While the authors report
both her successes and stumbles, based on numerous interviews, take the reader
behind the scenes. Both hold her in high regard and this book provides readers
with their coverage and views of the decisions she made and their likely effect
on the next national elections.
A book
that is likely to generate a lot of discussion is The Meat Racket: The Secret Takeover of America’s Food Business by
Christopher Leonard ($28.00, Simon & Schuster). I must confess I was
astonished to learn that when you’re buying beef, pork or chicken, it turns out
that four beef companies control 85% of the national market while four
companies control 65% of the park. As Leonard points out, forty years ago there
were 36 companies that produced chicken, but now there are two that provide
half of the chicken we eat, controlling every aspect of the process from the
egg to the chicken to the chicken nugget. The result is that meat prices
relentlessly increase while the share of every dollar that goes to farmers is
falling. The profit margins of the nation’s biggest meat packers continue to rise
even as the national economy is lagging in other sectors. The Big Four, Tyson,
Cargill, JSB, and Smithfield saw their average profit margin double between
2008 and 2009, and then double again between 2009 and 2010. Why the federal
government felt it necessary to send millions to these and other farmers in
“farm aid” begins to raise serious questions for consumers and 80% of the farm
bill was devoted to funding food stamps. Anyone interested in how this sector
of the economy functions will find this book very interesting and just a tad
scary.
One of my
enduring childhood memories was riding the train to the New Jersey shore where
my grandparents lived and, since it was the war years, I recall visiting with
the many young soldiers who were on the train, all destined for combat. At my
grandparent’s home, the trains came by every day and it was a treat to wave at
the engineers and have them wave back. Trains in those days belched huge clouds
of black smoke. These memories were evoked by Tom Zoellner’s book, Train, ($32.95, Viking) in which he
tells of his rail travels around the world, starting in the birthplace of the
locomotive in England. He shares the history of trains in the various nations
he visits from Russia, China, India, in South America and, of course, the U.S.
where the train transformed and expanded the nation to the West. Along the way
he talked with many others on those trains and gains a glimpse into their
lives. He does so with a gift for prose that borders on poetry. He is a very
good writer and that greatly enhances the trips he invites the reader to take
with him.
Readers
are just as frequently writers and many wish to polish their skills. A book
that will help them is Natalie Goldberg’s The
True Secret of Writing: Connecting Life with Language ($16.00, Atria Books,
softcover) in which she draws on her four decades as a teacher and writer to
share her practical experience. She has written twelve books and this one will
prove helpful to anyone who wants to learn how to tap into their own life. For
anyone headed for college this fall or attending one, Halley Bondy has written
an entertaining book, 77 Things You
Absolutely Have to Do Before You Finish College ($14.99, Zest Books,
softcover). A great gift for high school grads and college students, it is
filled with ideas that will surely enhance the experience beyond the classroom.
Among her tips are starting an on-campus club, learn how to prepare a perfect
meal, and learn self-defense. There’s bound to be a recommendation in the book
that a student will find worth trying out.
Getting Down to Business
(Books)
For those
coming out of college and looking toward a career in the world of business,
Robert L. Dilenschneider provides a lot of good advice in The Critical First Years of Your Professional Life ($15.00, Citadel
Kensington, softcover). The author made his name in the field of public
relations, but has found time to author a dozen advice books. This one includes
a foreword by TV business news host, Maria Bartiromo, who notes that “Mobility,
personal and professional, has dramatically increased” and that “Technology has
created new opportunities for advancement in the world of work.” Dilenschneider
recalls an era when mentors helped the newcomer learn the ropes. His book
“substitutes for all those generous men and women who would have helped you in
an earlier era.” If you or someone you
know is just starting out, make sure they read his book. It will give them an
advantage of those who do not.
These are
nervous times for investors, but there are some fundamentals and Timothy F.
McCarthy, a former president of Charles Schwab & Company before leading
overseas asset management companies. His book, The Safe Investor: How to Make Your Money Grow in a Volatile Global
Economy ($30.00, Palgrave Macmillan) should be your first investment
whether you are just starting out or whether you are questioning your present
investment program. Despite the plethora of investment information available,
most people feel uncomfortable to some degree these days. This book shows the
reader how to mesh three dimensions of investing, asset classes, countries, and
time to create a strategy that will ensure they have enough to get them through
their retirement years. Since many have others manage their investments,
McCarthy tells readers what they need to know to make a good choice and what to
expect. There are so many choices an
investor can make that it is surely helpful to understand one’s own psyche
before putting money on the line and that is what Brian Portnoy’s new book is
all about. The Investor’s Paradox: The
Power of Simplicity in a World of Overwhelming Choice ($27,00, Palgrave
Macmillan) is the work of a man who has been advising hedge funds and mutual
funds for the past 14 years. Portnoy is currently the Head of Alternative
Investments and Strategic Initiatives for Chicago Equity Partners, a $10
billion asset manager and he came to them with an impressive resume so the
reader can be confident he really knows what he is writing about. He addresses
how to select the right money managers and investment vehicles and how to avoid
the losers. With literally tens of thousands of investment choices, his advice
and insights regarding what he calls behavioral finance, he demystifies the
opaque world of financial entities, providing practical tools for investment
success.
All of us
have sat through too many meetings that had no structure and did not lead
others in the room toward successful cooperation. In Moments of Impact: How to Design Strategic Conversations that
Accelerate Change ($32.00, Simon and Schuster) authors Chris Ertel and Lisa
Kay Solomon are on a mission to eradicate time-sucking, energy-depleting
meetings and workshops, and replace them with high-engagement strategic
conversations that foster better cooperation. Their book offers a few core
principles on the best ways to get an organization facing a high-stakes
challenge to address it despite conditions of uncertainty using inter-active
problem-solving sessions that engage participants, not just analytically, but
creatively and emotionally as well. This book will help leaders at all levels
achieve this whether it is a business challenge, educators and healthcare
practitioners mired in slow-to-change sectors, or enterprising business school
students with ambitions to tackle the big challenges.
For those who have to
make a presentation, the first problem to overcome is the “jitters”, the fear
of not being able sell ideas by using visual thinking. In Show and Tell: How Everybody Can Make Extraordinary Presentations Dan
Roam ($27.95, Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin) presents a powerful guide to
give everyone the confidence they need to share their story with any audience.
Roam has previously authored two international bestsellers and this book is
relatively short, but goes right to the core of how to help others see what we
see. Filled with page after page of illustrations, he demonstrates how to
entertain, educate and motivate an audience. He has worked with major
corporations and his book will show you how to achieve the success that he has
had.
There
isn’t an industry, business or enterprise of any kind that doesn’t have
associations. There are an estimated 100,000 professional and trade societies
that can help anyone open the doors to their personal success. Robert Skrob,
CPA, CAE, is an expert and he has written Your
Association Shortcut: The Definitive Guide for Generating Customers Through
Associations ($7.86, Association Marketing, softcover). This book,
officially published in April, but available now via Amazon.com, will teach you
how find associations in your field and to select the best ones for your brand.
Then he teaches how to get the most value from your association. He has coached
a diverse range of associations including some of the largest in the world in
fields that include medical, manufacturing, chambers of commerce, from the
local to the state and national levels. And he has helped thousands of
companies tap into the power of associations to generate customers for their
own business. “Associations are the affiliate partner you never knew you had,
promoting your company as a member benefit” says Skkrob, “Plus association
marketing gives you more credibility as everything you do carries the implied
endorsement of the association.” As someone who has provided public relations
services to associations over the years, this is a book you definitely should
read.
To Your Health
We now
live in times when you’re not old until you have gotten passed 70 or so.
Maintaining one’s health to ensure that the senior years are not beleaguered by
ill health has become a significant concern. That’s why books like Robert
Moroney’s book, Total Body
Detoxification: The Way to Healthy Aging ($16.95, Swing-Hi Press,
softcover) is well worth reading even if you are still in your early years. The
author details his own battles with lung cancer and hepatitis that causes
stress and addictions to alcohol and drugs. Then he shows, step by step, the
research, modalities, and healing regimens he employed to help himself and
others recover from physically and mentally debilitating conditions. He’s been
in private practice for 16 years as a nutritionist and peak-performance coach.
As someone who has taken vitamins and minerals to enhance my own health, there
is much in this book that will benefit any readers. You can avoid the toxins
and you were learn which ones and why.
Healthy
Joints for Life by Dr. Richard Diana, MD, ($17.95, Harlequin, softcover) an
orthopedic surgeon and a clinical instructor at the Yale School of Medicine was
a former National Football League player and he uses that experience and his
later profession to learn how to deal with problems involving inflammation, a
common joint ailment. He has put his plan to reduce pain and inflammation, how
to avoid surgery, and to get moving again into his book. Having been named a
Top 100 Doctor, he has been an orthopedic consultant to several collegiate
athletic programs, as well as the Boston Red Sox. His book provides a proven 8-week program
that can help any reader with joint-related physical ailments.
Biographies and Memoirs
Reading
about the lives of real people, past and present, is an excellent way to not
only learn the lessons of history, but to learn how others coped with the
challenges of their times.
A new look
at James and Dolly Madison is provided by Bruce Chadwick in a biography of the
same name, America’s First Power Couple:
James & Dolly Madison ($24.95, Prometheus Books) regarding the fourth
President’s service and the role that his wife played. Historians have tended
to regard Madison, credited with much of the creation of the Constitution, as a
boring, average President, while others have regarded him as a vibrant, tough
leaders and a very successful commander in chief during the War of 1812. A new
portrait emerges as the result of recently uncovered troves of letters at the
University of Virginia, among other sources. He credits a lot of Madison’s
success to the political savvy of his much younger wife whose social skills
created a dynamic role for the position of First Lady with parties and backdoor
politicking. This makes for lively reading about a couple whose life together
contributed much to the future course of the nation.
We
remember F. Scott Fitzgerald for his book, “The Great Gatsby.” In Careless
People: Murder, Mayhem, and the Invention of the Great Gatsby, ($29.95,
Penguin Press) Sarah Churchill takes us back to the autumn of 1922 when he was
at the height of his fame for “Tales of the Jazz Age.” His return to New York that year coincided
with another event, the discovery of a brutal double murder in New Jersey, an
unsolved case that is all but forgotten today. The news coverage of the event,
however, would influence Fitzgerald who began writing “Gatsby” in the autumn of
that year. He would write of his fictional characters, “They were careless
people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and retreated back
into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them
together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”
An
interesting memoir by Tony Cointreau, Ethel
Merman, Mother Teresa…And Me: My Improbable Journey from Chateaux in France to
the Slums of Calcutta ($24.95, Prospecta Press) is the story of a life of a
man who was an heir to the French liqueur family who enjoyed a successful
international singing career and, after several years on the Cointreau board of
directors, found himself seeking something more meaningful for his life. Despite
the wealth and success, his youth was impacted by an emotionally remote mother,
an angry bullying brother, a cold and unprotective Swiss nurse, and a sexually
predatory school teacher, all of which led him on a lifelong quest for
unconditional love and for a mother figure. Initially he found her in the
internationally acclaimed beauty, Lee Lehman, and then the famed Broadway diva,
Ethel Merman, who became his mentor and “other mother.” His memoir addresses
his close family relationships with both women and, then in quest of more
meaning to life, his years of work and friendship with Mother Teresa as his
“last mother.” He speaks of the value of sharing even a small part of oneself
with others.
Ethel Merman was a
legendary Broadway musical star and Nothing
Like A Dame: Conversations with the Great Women of Musical Theatre by Eddie
Shapiro ($39.95, Oxford University Press) will delight anyone who loves the
musical theatre with its interviews of twenty of the greatest leading women of
Broadway. Among them are Carol Channing, Chita Rivera, Angela Lansbury, and
Patti LuPone, along with some of the younger stars such as Audra McDonald and
Kristin Chenoweth. Shapiro’s encyclopedia knowledge enhances the conversations.
He is a longtime critic who has covered the arts for several publications.
The man
who conceived of the method of saving the life of someone choking on something
is told in Heimlich Maneuvers: My
Seventy Years of Lifesaving Innovation by Dr. Henry J. Heimlich, MD
($19.95, Prometheus Books, softcover). His memoir tells of his best known
procedure as wll as his other life-saving inventions. He is the inventor of the
Heimlich Chest Drain Valve that saved thousands of lives during the Vietnam War
and the MicroTrach which provides a remarkably efficient way to for people to
take oxygen. Anyone interested in medicine will find this memoir of interest as
he describes his research, as well as the controversy and resistance he
encountered. A very different memoir is found in The Bosnia List: A Memoir of War, Exile, and Return ($16.00,
Penguin Books, softcover) by Kenan Trebincevic and Susan Shapiro who brought
her journalist skills to bear on the story that begins when Tebincevic was age
eleven, living a happy life in the quiet Bosnian town of Breko. In the spring
of 1992, war broke out and his friends, neighbors, and teammates all turn on
him because he was Muslim. He relates his family’s final terrifying year in
Bosnia and their miraculous escape from the brutal ethnic cleansing that
ravaged the former Yugoslavia. Though he swore he would never return, after two
decades in America he honored his father’s wish to visit their former homeland.
The visit in which he wanted to revenge the treatment his family received tells
a story of redemption for the horrors to which they and others were
subjected.
Books for Young Readers
& Teens
One of my
favorite publishers of books for young readers is Charlesbridge of Watertown,
MA. In February they published for the very young, Feathers—Not Just for Flying by Melissa Stewart, illustrated by
Sarah S. Brannen, ($17.95) that provides a glimpse into the real lives of birds
in the wild and the role their feathers play for flight and camouflage or to
line a nest. It’s educational and entertaining. This month Wild About Bears by Jeannie Brett ($17.95) will also appeal to
those aged 6 through 9. They author introduces them to all eight species of
bear and via some great watercolors, takes them around the world where they
live including a map of where they can be found, as well as interesting
information about bear traits and behavior, how they raise their young, and how
they find food. This book, too, is both educational and entertaining. For those
aged 4 to 7, there’s Music Everywhere! By
Maya Anjera, Elise Hofer Derstine and Cynthia Pon, ($17.95) published in
February as a celebration of music and the joy it brings. It is filled with
photos of children around the world singing, dancing, and playing instruments.
It will inspire some youngsters to explore their own musical passions. Behold the Beautiful Dung Beetle by
Cheryl Bardoe and illustrated by Alan Marks ($16.95) is aimed at those age 5 to
9 and they might find fascinating to learn about a beetle that loves to feed on
dung. Sounds disgusting, but it isn’t. It is filled with amazing facts and
compelling images that will appeal to the very young. Older readers, age 10 and
up will find Ocean of Fire: The Burning
of Columbia, 1865 by T. Neill Anderson ($16.95) an insight into the Civil
War as the author tells of Sherman’s march on Atlanta that included the
destruction of southern cities like Columbia in South Carolina. The story is
told through several characters, both real and imagined. This is historical
fiction that makes such events come alive for younger readers.
Tony Tuso
Faber has teamed up with Benton Rudd, an illustrator, for a series of books in “The
Poodle Tales” series and book one is Poodlemania
($15.99, Mindster Media) that readers from age 4 to 9 will enjoy for both
the artwork and the delightful story of a boy and girl poodle who get together
and share various growing up skills, life lessons that readers will learn as
well. The stories are light, comical, heartfelt, and educational. You can check
out this book and the series at www.thepoodletales.com. The author is a very talented lady
who began her modeling career at age 13, published a California magazine, and
pursued many other interests. She and her husband, Bruce, live in Orange County
with their three poodles. Find Momo ($14.95,
Quirk Books) is filled with photos by photographer Andrew Knapp of his border
collie. He began posting photos of Momo in Instagram hiding out in all kinds of
settings from Central Park in New York as well as fields, snow banks, and toy
stores. They became an Internet sensation and young readers age 4 to 7 will
surely enjoy them in this delightful book.
From Blue Martin Publications, there’s Sofia’s Stoop Story: 18th
Street, Brooklyn by Lou Fancher and Steve Johnson ($17.95) that is set in
the 1960s as Uncle Frankie begins telling Sofia and her counsins a story about
the day he met the baseball geat, Carl Furillo. Sofia is called away by her
Nana to do some errands and when she returns the story is over, but Uncle
Frankie shares the whole story with her and he gives her a keepsake that he has
saved since 1947. It is evocative of the era and locale, and beautifully
illustrated. A series of books from Wigu Publishing is devoted to the theme of
“When I Grow Up I Want to Be…” and the latest is A Teacher ($12.99) that begins with a girl named Carlee who wants
to become one. Her own mother is a new teacher at her school and readers
journey with Carlee on first day there as she learns about her own independence
and identity. This series is quite inspiring.
For
readers age 9 to 13, two books from Capstone will provide some reading
pleasure. Sherlock, Lupin & Me: The
Dark Lady by Irene Adler which draws on the original Sherlock stories and
offers a romp through 1870s France in pursuit of both a murderer and a thief.
The twist is that the characters are introduced as children, making the story
more accessible to a young audience as they find themselves caught up in a web
of crime they must investigate. It is the first in a new series. Secrets & Spies: Treason by Jo
Macauley delves into the world of England’s Reformation era as a young spy
unravels dangerous plots against the kind. A second book in this series is
title Plague and features a
14-year-old Beth Johnson, a talented and beautiful young actress. The year is 1664
and she becomes embroiled in a perilous adventure to unravel a plant to kill
Charles II. Both books are priced at 12.95 and are a good investment in
encouraging a young reader to discover the pleasures of fiction.
Novels, Novels, Novels
Fans of J.A. Nance is back with her 50th book. Moving Target ($25.99,
Touchstone, an imprint of Simon & Schuster) is yet another detective novel
in which a police academy-trained former reporter, Ali Reynolds, embarks on a
trip to England with her longtime household assistant and right-hand man,
Leland Brooks. Her greatest concern is helping her friend face his
long-estranged family, but Ali soon finders herself investigating violent
crimes spanning two continents and eras as vicious attacks unfold in Texas and
an unsolved murder from the 1950s Bournemouth, Leland’s hometown resurfaces.
Though they seem unconnected, they are and readers will not put this book down
until they get to the last page.
Some
years ago I reviewed Cynthia Hamilton’s novel, “Lucky at Love” and since then
she has published three more, the latest of which is Spouse Trap ($14.00, Woodstock Press, softcover) in which Madeline
Ridley, a Santa Barbara fundraising socialite sees her perfect life collapse in
a swirl of blackmail, sabotage, and deceit after she awakens in a hotel
room—alone, naked, and with a splitting headache and no idea how she got there.
A group of lurid photos has been sent to her husband. She is in for the battle
of a lifetime, but she discovers who her real enemy is. This is the first installment
in a new series and provides lots of provocative, interesting reading.
Just
out this month is Bobby Cole’s novel, The
Rented Mule ($ 14.95, Thomas
& Mercer, softcover). It is a tough, clever caper about a businessman who
has been set up by a mysterious criminal to take the fall for his wife’s
kidnapping. Behind what seems a good life, Cooper Dixon has been caught up in a
never-ending cycle of arguments with his wife and his cocaine-addicted business
partner is scheming to sell his business out from under him. When his wife is
kidnapped his face is all over the television news and Dixon must depend on an
unlikely ally to rescue his wife and clear his name.
Robyn
Carr has won a number of awards for her previous novels and you will find out
why when you read Four Friends ($24.95,
Harlequin MIRA) that debuts in April. It is a gripping story of four
forty-something women whose lives hit the marital skids, but they find the
strength and courage to face the difficult challenges they face. Set in the San
Francisco neighborhood of Mill Valley, friends and neighbors think Gerry has
the perfect marriage with her husband Phil. It is a relationship that is more
comfortable than passionate after 25 years, three children and demanding
careers. She discovers an affair her husband had years before and he is
committed to do to make up to her, but she finds it difficult to forgive him.
With her friends she must come to terms as they too must cope with marital
problems. The shifting relationships make for interesting reading, one they
many will see in their own lives and around them.
That’s it
for March! Tell your friends, family, and coworkers about Bookviews.com, a
monthly report on books that include nonfiction and fiction that may not
receive the attention in the mainstream media they deserve.
