A Universe From Nothing is a non-fiction science book about the origins of the universe by theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss. Krauss is a phenomenally insightful writer that approaches this cosmological argument from a point of view that is accessible and digestible to someone with no prior experience of physics or astronomy. Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format* Some of the questions Krauss tackles in his book include where the universe came from, what came before it, what the future entails and why there is something instead of nothing. Krauss begins his tale diagnosing the origin of the universe from the Big Bang up to the Cosmological Microwave Background Radiation. In A Universe from Nothing, Krauss dismisses String Theory as he claims it provides an inadequate amount of scientific proof for success. In addition, Krauss has argued effectively in A Universe from Nothing that the origins and physics of the Universe do not require any supernatural deity or god. Krauss argues that “nothing” is unstable and eventually through quantum fluctuations a an immense period of inflation could occur which was the result of the Big Bang. Moreover, this is a book for anyone interested in learning more about cosmology in a way that…

Yesterday I posted about James Sheehan’s book The Lawyer’s Lawyer. I have been given 3 (three) copies to give away so simply fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Give­away Give­away ends: April 30, 2013 US Ship­ping Addresses Only No PO Boxes Win­ners will have 24 hours to write back with their address, oth­er­wise an alter­nate win­ner will be picked Congratulations: skkorman@, jtretin@, flyergal82@

Article first published as Book Review: The Lawyer’s Lawyer by James Sheehan on Blogcritics. About: The Lawyer’s Lawyer by James Sheehan is a fictional story taking place in present day Florida. Mr. Sheehan works at Stetson University in Tampa, FL and teaches trail law. 416 pages Publisher: Center Street Language: English ISBN-10: 1455508667 My rat­ing for The Lawyer’s Lawyer — 4 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format More books by James Sheehan Thoughts: The Lawyer’s Lawyer by James Sheehan (website | Facebook | @James_Sheehan_) was a delight to read. I got this book a few months ago, but just picked it up and finished it in about two days. While there are several directions the book pulls the reader towards, the real strength lays in the courtroom drama which Mr. Sheehan so eloquently brings to life. I’ll even go further and say that the sidebars the lawyers had while approaching the bench were some of the most interesting, fascinating conversation I’ve read in this genre. The author did a great job telling the story while staying away from many technical terms (“legalese”) and if used, explaining them almost immediately. The narrative is smooth and eloquent which makes for an easy read despite the setting. The protagonist of the…

Buy this Star Wars Book in paper or elec­tronic copy* Andrew: Orig­i­nally pub­lished at: http://www.rancorslovetoread.com/2010/01/andrews-review-of-corellian-trilogy-vol.html 3/5 Rancors – Assault at Selonia, the second volume in Roger MacBride Allen’s Corellian Trilogy, picks up the pace considerably from the leisurely first book. The story opens with our heroes stuck in various predicaments. Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian have left the fringes of the interdiction field blocking all access to the Corellian system and are on their way back to Coruscant to report and formulate a strategy. Han Solo and Chief of State Leia Organa Solo are being held prisoner in separate facilities by Han’s treacherous cousin Thracken Sal-Solo. Han and Leia’s children have escaped along with Chewbacca and are on the run looking for a hiding hole. The New Republic is working to identify the true puppet masters behind the Corellian situation, on the theory that Thracken’s Human League and the other Corellian splinter groups simply don’t have the wherewithal to have put together such a large-scale conspiracy. There is quite a bit more action in Assault at Selonia than is found in its predecessor. The book opens with Thracken conducting an interrogation of Han followed by a forced fight pitting him against an intimidating Selonian named Dracmus. A great…

Richard Harding Davis (18 April, 1864 – 11 April, 1916) wrote fiction as well as being a noted journalist and war correspondent. During his lifetime Mr. Davis was one of the most active and influential journalists in the country. Davis’ mother, Rebecca Harding Davis, was a prominent writer. During the 1890s Davis was already a well known writer, a reporter for The Sun and managing editor for Harper’s Weekly. Davis was the first American war correspondent to cover the Spanish-American War, the Second Boer War, and the First World War. Newspaper giant William Randolph Hearst commissioned Davis to cover the Cuban rebellion against Spain with illustrator Frederick Remington. Davis wrote to major stories that contributed greatly to the interest in the struggle of the Cubans. One was “The Death of Rodriguez” which described the execution of a young prisoner, the second about a strip search of a young woman. Hearst changed the second story, saying that the search has been done by male guard, as a result Davis resigned and never worked for Hearst again. During the Spanish-American War (1898) Davis was reporting from the U.S. Navy flagship New York. Reporting for Scribner’s Magazine, the New York Herald and the…

Today I picked up my package from World Book Night at Barnes & Noble. The book I chose was Playing for Pizza by John Grisham which I have read before. The reason I picked this book is because accord to the WBN website they want the books to be given to “light and non-readers”. I feel that this book is perfect for this group, it is a light read, a fun story and not intimidating. I’m looking forward to giving out the books and seeing what the feedback would be like. Meantime here are some pictures from the package I got, including a good looking “book giver” sticker. Zohar – Man of la Book

About: Fear in the Sunlight by Nicola Upson is a mystery novel taking place in 1936. This is the fourth book in a series starring author Josephine Tey. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. 432 pages Publisher: Faber & Faber Language: English ISBN-10: 0571246281 My rat­ing for Fear in the Sunlight — 3 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format More books by Nicola Upson Thoughts: The reason I chose to read Fear in the Sunlight by Nicola Upson (website | Facebook) was because Alfred Hitchcock was in the story, I had no idea it was part of a series and probably wouldn’t have noticed either until I read it somewhere. I was looking forward to read a good mystery which was somewhat involved in Hitchcock’s movies. However the famed director is a character in this novel much like anyone else. Granted, not everyone has his insecurities and eccentricities but there is no Hitchcock specific take on the story. The story was very slow to start but once it got going it held my interest until the end, but the large cast of characters kept me confused and I…

About: Wildflowers of Terezin by Robert Elmer is a historical fiction book taking place in Denmark during World War II. The book is well researched and an enthralling read. 335 pages Publisher: Abingdon Press Language: English ISBN-10: 1426701926 My rat­ing for Wildflowers of Terezin — 5 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* More Books by Robert Elmer More Rec­om­mended World War II books on Man of la BookStore Thoughts: Wildflowers of Terezin by Robert Elmer (website) was an interesting read. I originally got this book due to my great interest in World War II and was delighted to find out that it takes place in Denmark because I have yet to read any WWII stories from that region. The book held my interest throughout, part history, part fiction and part religious it manages to show the best and worst of men and women when life deals them a losing hand. I have heard many books, both fiction and non-fiction about the Jews of World War II, and in comparison their treatment wasn’t as bad as the rest of Europe – but that is of course speaking as someone living in a free country 50 years later who never had to drop everything and flee for his life. Upon finishing…

Finally, after years of marriage I made good on my promise to take my beloved wife to the Cherry Blossom festival in Washington D.C. Unbeknownst to her and the kids, I slyly embedded a few history lessons in there as well. How can you not when in such an environment? We all had our own agenda, my wife wanted to see the Cherry blossoms (check), my daughter wanted to go the natural history museum (delayed), son wanted to see Lincoln (check) and Daddy wanted to see the James Bond exhibit in the spy museum (delayed, probably canceled). Enjoying a $5 corn dog (that’s FIVE DOLLARS EACH!!!) My wife grew up in the mid-west so she wasn’t much into history. I grew up on the east coast where American history comes alive. You learn about the Boston Tea Party and go to Boston Harbor, you learn about the Constitution and get to visit Philadelphia’s Constitution Hall, learn about government and get to see Congress in (in)action. JeneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyY!!!! Once I started dragging the family along on historical field trips they started to realize that the figures in books were actual historical figures instead of the equivalent of Grimm Brothers fair-tales. George Washington…

About: The Call of the Wild by Jack London is a classic short story written in 1903. Originally no one wanted to publish the book, however, Macmillan agreed to take a chance on the unknown writer and payed him $2,000 with no royalties. Even though the publishers and editors didn’t like the title London stuck with it. Seven years later an editor wrote: “I’ll be damned if that very muchly-rejected title didn’t become a phrase in the English language. This is only one of many experiences concerning titles, wherein editors, booksellers, and publishers absolutely missed.” 64 pages Publisher: Dover Publications; Dover Thrift Edition Language: English ISBN-10: 0486264726 Buy this book in paper or electronic format* More Books by Jack London Thoughts: I purposely avoided The Call of the Wild by Jack London as a teenager, the novel simply didn’t appeal to me. I’m glad I avoided it because upon reading this classic story as an adult, I believe I would have hated it as a teen. There is some violence and cruelty in the book, but I believe the language is what would have done me in. Not to knock down any teenage bibliophiles, but I believe that the vocabulary would have been a bit too much…