Article first published as Book Review: False Friends by Stephen Leather on Blogcritics. About: False Friends by Stephen Leather is a fictional book in the Dan Shepherd series. This is the 9th book in the series, but can be read as a standalone book. 512 pages Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Language: English ISBN-10: 0340925000 My rat­ing for False Friends — 4 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* More Books by Stephen Leather Thoughts: False Friends by Stephen Leather (website | Facebook | @stephenleather | Blog) was my first Dan Shepherd book and it was a pleasant surprise. Even though I haven’t read any of the other books in the series, it did not interfere with this story. The author, through his characters, really doesn’t like the US, especially its politics and actions as a country. Those parts are not comfortable to read, but as a follower of current events I am well aware how the US is viewed in many parts of the world so it was no surprise to see so in print (again). The author also gives voice to several moderate Muslims, many which exist, to counter the extreme Muslim voices we hear on a regular base. The story moves along at a descent…

Article first published as Book Review: The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of “Hallelujah” by Alan Light on Blogcritics. About: The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of “Hallelujah” by Alan Light is a non-fiction book which traces the strange route of a song. That song, one of the most popular ones in the world, is “Hallelujah” by master wordsmith Leonard Cohen. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. 288 pages Publisher: Atria Books Language: English ISBN-10: 1451657846 My rating for The Holy or the Broken – 4 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* Thoughts: The Holy or the Broken by Alan Light is a fascinating book about the cultural phenomena known as “Hallelujah”. This is a song which I love but have never given much thought to it, the tune is simple and I’m positive that the first time I heard it; I believed that it was an old song I have heard before. Strangely, this marker of pop-culture is fairly new. Written in the 80’s, “Hallelujah” was on the only Leonard Cohen album rejected…