The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown

I actually read this just before our recent move. I needed something to relax me after another day of kids bouncing off the walls without some of their favorite possessions. I didn't have a t.v. anymore and I didn't want to check out a library book and possibly have it packed into a box by accident. So I went to the local boxmart and hemmed and hawed. I usually like to try before I buy, however I remembered enjoying The Da Vinci Code, and with the recurring character Prof. Langdon making another appearance in The Lost Symbol, I figured I wasn't going to regret the money I laid down. And I didn't.

Mr. Brown's frenetic pace and constant scene switching make their presence immediately felt as the reader follows Robert Langdon through the depths of the U.S. Capitol building and other locales in Washington D.C.. Again, there is a desperate life-or-death race against time in which Prof. Langdom must solve arcane hints in order to satisfy a madman who has abducted a dear friend. I won't give the ending or much of the plot away, but THIS time I actually managed to predict WHERE 'the end' would take place a few chapters before the final cover.

As I have mentioned in other reviews, I hate frequent flashbacking. One or two is fine if you need to reveal something about a character's past, but constant back and forth interrupts the flow of the story. Dan Brown ALMOST did it too much for my taste in this book, but at least when he did, there was usually a crucial concept or detail to reveal.

Once again, the book reads more like a screenplay than a novel. It guarantees a page-turner the first time around. Unfortunately, this book, like The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, is like a magic trick once you've learned how it's done; a second time around just isn't as exciting.

I would advise parents to give this book a look-see before handing it over to their teens. There are some nasty murders/deaths in the story and parents probably ought to monitor the amount of graphic violence their kids are exposed too.

Still, it was, as my father says, "a good read".

Mormonhermitmom's Interview with Mark Shurtleff, author of Am I Not a Man?

I had a chance to pick Mr. Shurtleff's brains a bit via email. My thanks to him for taking the time out of his busy Senate run to chat!

If your current run for the U.S. Senate doesn't work out, do you have any plans on writing more books based on Supreme Court cases? For instance, Plessy vs. Ferguson or Brown vs. Board of Education?

I’ve found that I enjoy writing so much that whether I win or lose the Senate race, I will continue writing (usually late at night.) I am interested in writing more historical novels based on famous cases but I have begun work on the incredible true story of an experience I had while serving as a JAG officer in the United States Navy. I represented a Chief Petty Officer who was charged in a General Court Martial of wearing unauthorized medals (including silver and bronze stars and purple hearts) and refusing a direct order to remove them. His claim was that he earned them in secret combat operations in Laos during the Vietnam War. Because those missions were still classified top secret, his military record did not include those awards.

The case became one of intrigue, suspense and ultimately murder of one of my witnesses, as I delved into the mysteries of top secret military actions and the terrible price paid by many of the men and women who served in that conflict. As I traveled to the Pentagon and met with officials, veterans, and POW families, my own preconceived notions and “my country right or wrong” attitude I had grown up with, began to change. The book is entitled An Apostrophe to Nam. The title and theme of the book are taken from the famous soliloquy from Shakespeare’s Hamlet that has been called “An Apostrophe to Man:” ‘Oh what a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world - the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? man delights not me.”

What was the first book you remember reading on your own as a child?

I read a lot as a child. I can’t remember the very first book, but in third and fourth grade I became very interested in a series of history books called “I Was There …” I remember liking the war stories like “I Was There at Pearl Harbor” and “I Was There at the Battle of the Bulge.” In fifth grade I loved a book called “The Fighting Prince of Donegal,” and read it over many times. I also totally got into “My Side of the Mountain” and imagined myself as that boy living in a hollow tree in the forest and surviving off the land. I next got into Edgar Alan Poe and Ray Bradbury and in junior high totally fell in love with J.R.R. Tolkien. In junior high I also joined the Military Book Club. My fondest memories of summer (beyond swimming in Pudding Pond, tubing Nickel Ditch, camping at Big Rock, playing Sandlot baseball and cooking Mulligan Stew in a coffee can on a fire next to my fort,) was running to the Bookmobile every Thursday afternoon.

Where did you have to look to find details about Dred Scott's life beyond extant court documents?

A lot of books have been written about Dred Scott but almost all of them focused on the case and its significance (although most missed the importance of the case to the election of Abraham Lincoln.) What little was written about his life was contradictory. So I went to Southampton County Virginia and looked at old court documents and records to learn what I could about the Blow family which helped me get to the most likely truth about where Dred was born and grew up. I wanted to experience the rivers and forests and cotton fields that Dred experienced. I searched lots of records to try and find a location for the Blow’s Olde Place Plantation, but was unsuccessful. I finally found an old map that listed a dirt road called Olde Place Road in the area where the plantation was rumored to be, and spent some time out where Dred was born and grew up. Not a lot has changed in 200 years.

I then traveled to every place he had lived and tried to do much of the same. I visited the wild Tennessee River, Huntsville, Alabama, St. Louis, Missouri, Rock Island, Illinois, Davenport, Iowa, Ft. Snelling, Minnesota, and Corpus Christi, Texas. I learned a lot when I got to know and interviewed Dred’s great, great granddaughter Lynne Jackson, and listened to the family lore. All of this research helped me focus in on the most likely truth of all the disparate tales and I believe that I have written a more accurate portrayal of his life than anything that has ever been written before.

What was the last book you read? Who is your favorite author/s?

I needed an escape and so quickly read Dan Brown’s new novel The Lost Symbol. Just before that I finally finished War and Peace which has been sitting on my nightstand for a few years as I slowly made my way through it when I couldn’t write another word on my novel. I love and have read most of the works of Charles Dickens, John Steinbeck, James Michener, and David McCullough. Finally, this might sound weird. but I also love Stephen King. His tales are horrible, but I just love the way he writes. The man knows how to tell a story!

On an unrelated note: What's your favorite dessert?

My mom’s peach cobbler (with a little milk on top.).

Am I Not a Man? The Dred Scott Story, by Mark L. Shurtleff

I remember just a little bit about the Dred Scott case from my American History classes. The Supreme Court at the time ruled that a negro slave was essentially less than a human being. Unfortunately, the instructor just barrelled on to the American Civil war without getting into Dred Scott's story. Mr. Shurtleff goes much deeper, putting flesh and blood on the bones of an old court case, breathing the harrowing story back to life.

The story of Sam Blow, aka Dred Scott, would contain sufficient hardship, struggle and hard-earned reward all by itself. Shurtleff goes beyond Dred Scott's story in this new historic fiction novel. He reaches back into colonial times for the story of Peter Blow, the first of a family of Virginia tobacco planters that eventually succumb to the temptation of owning slaves as a source of labor. Shurtleff interweaves the lives of those who would help decide Dred's fate such as U. S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Taney, and the members of the Blow family who grew up regarding Dred as an older brother. Even Abraham Lincoln's story comes to light as Dred's lawsuit for his freedom stretches out for years.

Shurtleff asserts that without Dred Scott's legal fight and the damning opinion written by Judge Taney, Abraham Lincoln may not have had the political ammunition to win his race for the presidency of the United States. Shurtleff's case is certainly well constructed, as one would expect from a state attorney general. Shurtleff holds up Dred's fight for freedom in the courts as not just an individual's assertion of equality, but a turning point in the struggle of a whole people to gain recognition as human beings worthy of respect and equal treatment under the law.

Gripping and thoughtful, this is a good escape for history buffs.

You can purchase a hardcover copy here at Amazon
Or if you have a Kindle you can get a copy here.

Going on a brief sabbatical

I haven't read a book in a week. I'm trying to prepare for a move across two states, and I know if I start reading a book now, I'm going to be in serious trouble when it's time to load the moving truck.

Ironically, the books are usually among the first things I pack. Let's face it; my personal library sits for much of the time, because I'm looking for something new. The library is mostly the books that I haven't decided whether I can live without them, or I know I definitely can't live without them, or they were gifts and even though I would love to regift them, I don't dare. I know I should be more ruthless, but I do hang on to books a long time before they I make them leave (they usually have to fall apart first).

There is a review coming up in a week or so, but I've long since read the book and I'm just waiting my turn on the blog tour, so that post is scheduled and ready to go without further input from me.

I wonder what will be the first book I read when I get to the new place? What will the library look like? What will my new library card look like? Will they have a good children's section? Will I have to have everything I read brought in on interlibrary loan, or will everything I want be right there? You know you're settled in a new place when you can finally take the time to get to the library and come home and cozy up to a new book in your new place. I can't wait.

A Nod to the FTC and a Heads Up for Readers

I heard, on the radio of all places, that the FTC is looking to crack down on bloggers who do product reviews but don't alert their readers that they received compensation for doing so. In the interest of covering my prodigous backside, I make this statement:

If you read one of my book reviews, and it contains a link to a website(s) where the book can be purchased, it is very likely, although not guaranteed, that I have received a free copy of the book from the publisher. I have never received monetary compensation up to this point. I do occasionally put up links to purchase a book when I REALLY like the book, but have not received a copy of the book from a publisher.

I will tag all review posts of books that I did in fact receive a copy from the publisher thus: SPONSORED

Clear as mud? Good. Glad to get that out of the way.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer

This book describes a young man's efforts to build a windmill to generate electricity for his family after a drought and the resultant famine brought the tenuousness of their existance painfully to the fore. Growing up in Malawi, William's life consisted of subsistence farming, trying to get good enough grades to pass exams that would let him further his education, hunting for birds, and tearing apart radios so he could learn to repair them. When he could no longer attend school for lack of tuition money, he spent his time at a local library devouring every book on applied science and electricity they had. By observing pedal powered bicycle lights, and with access to a scrapyard, he experimented with bits and pieces of junk until he finally had a working windmill that powered a single car headlight lamp. That later led to a homemade switch, a circuit breaker, a mobile phone charging station, and a chance at a higher education through the efforts of professors, bloggers, and technological innovators from the United States and elsewhere.

This true story makes me truly grateful for what I have. William's ingenuity in recycling what I would normally think of as useless junk reminds me of the universal attribute that true survivors have to adapt to incredible adversity. An inspiring story that our young people need to read. The poverty in Malawi provides a stark contrast to American wealth; even those in America who consider themselves poor would have to reassess that perception. The environment that William grew up in makes his achievements that much more astounding.

Parents could use this story to discuss the importance of education, the value of hard work, the necessity of environmental balance, the riskiness of subsistence farming to factors such as weather/political subsidies, and persistence in the face of overwhelming odds.

You can purchase The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind at Amazon.

You can learn more about William's efforts at
www.movingwindmills.org
williamkamkwamba.typepad.com
www.bryanmealer.com

The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy

I can usually pick something good out of most any book I read, but I had a really hard time with this one.

Basically, we are shown the most disfunctional parts of an Indian family in a most disjointed way. The reader is dragged through two time periods, constant switching from one to another and from the point of view of too many characters. The "happiest" moment, the moment that the past was "leading" up to and was the cause of the misery in the present, the moment that was hinted at, insinuated about, glorified and at the same time reviled, was nothing more than a sex scene. And an uncomfortably descriptive one at that.

The quotes from Rudyard Kipling and The Sound of Music couldn't save this story from the rubbish heap. Even though I sympathize with those who endure abuse of all kinds and oppressive societies, this book only made me want to turn away in disgust. There is no redemption, no salvation, no hope. If that was the author's intention, it worked. I certainly HOPE to never hear, see, or read the story again.

Moms, guide your kids to better stuff, this one isn't worth the time.