Venturing away from books a bit, Tripp Braden (website | @TrippBraden) has written a post on his experiences with early civil rights leaders when attending college. As a lover of history I found this piece interesting and enlightning and would like to share it with you (yes, you!) on this day. Post first published as Create a Great Leadership Team Like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on http://www.trippbraden.com What made Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. such a powerful serving leader? Can we use the same principles he used to help impact our world today? During the 1980’s, I was given an opportunity to interview his wife and several of his closest associates about what they felt about the civil rights movement and what made Dr. King effective as a man and as a leader. I met with several people in Dr. King’s inner circle. They included Coretta Scott King, Andrew Young, Ralph David Abernathy Sr., Jesse Jackson, and James Meredith. Each had a different perspective on Dr. King but I believe each can help us better understand the man who changed our world so much. The first thing you notice about all the people around Dr. King was that they…

Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas is the second book in what is now knows as the d’Artagnan Romances (the first being The Three Musketeers and the third being The Vicomte de Bragelonne). As in the previous book, the novel was serialized in 1845 before being published in book format.

British children’s author A.A. Milne (18 January, 1882 – 31 January, 1956). Most people know his most beloved creation Winnie the Pooh.

We all know Benjamin Franklin from history classes and the teacher might have mentioned his other notable achievements, however Mr. Franklin had many notable achievements – far too many to mention in a 45 minute classroom. This biography is a terrific sweeping read and full of insights.

[Accompany Eugene Uttley on a mythological “hero’s journey” to another world and back again, and join him as he articulates the prize that he won there — The Ultimate Boon. Through his struggles in coping with schizophrenia, Uttley has come to know what he wants. Now he just needs to figure out how to get it. This experimental open letter includes original and appropriated prose, poetry, song, prayer… memoir, travelogue, sketches of Uttley’s present-day life, and literary exegesis. Its many sources and topics are ranging, but circle always back to the overarching theme of recovery from mental illness through better knowledge of self and becoming more whole, a complex process both mental and spiritual, which entails increasing awareness of connectedness to the greater whole, the infinite.] Enter the Giveaway Today Review / Authors Den / Bio / Interview / Blog / Facebook / Twitter. We hope you’ll enjoy the opportunity to visit each of these sites on this tour: Oh, Chrys! D.S. White Marat M’saev Daan Fly High Brooke Blogs A Grumpy Young Woman Delia Bourne R. Tsoumbakos BooksRUsOnline Mary’s Cup of Tea Girl-Who-Reads Uttley’s Take

About: Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier is a historical fiction novel taking place in 17th Century Holland. The book has fascinating descriptions of the times, how people lived and behaved. 256 pages Publisher: Plume; Deluxe edition (August 30, 2005) Language: English ISBN-10: 0452287022 My rating for Girl with a Pearl Earring – 3 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* More Books by Tracy Chevalier Thoughts: Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier (website | Facebook | @Tracy_Chevalier)was neither here nor there. The story seems like an episode of the old British drama “Upstairs Downstairs” set in Holland with a coming of age story neatly tucked in it as well. The plot is somewhat interesting with one well developed character (Griet) and none others I cared about. The book is written very well but nothing happens and for awhile I was actually bored. Some of the characters are well developed but I was hoping for Johannes Vermeer’s character to be more in depth. To my disappoint Vermeer played a minor (yet important) part in the book. However, the descriptions of 17th Century Holland, the class system and mercantile society were excellent, which by itself was worth finishing the book. The descriptions of how the paintings were…

Buy this Star Wars Book in paper or elec­tronic copy* Andrew: Orig­i­nally pub­lished at: http://www.rancorslovetoread.com/2009/01/andrews-review-of-jedi-academy-trilogy_2371.html 2/5 Rancors – Champions of the Force is the final book in Kevin J. Anderson’s Jedi Academy Trilogy. It continues much in the vein of the first two novels: a somewhat promising and engaging storyline is dragged down by pedestrian writing and some very hokey scenes. The 300-some pages of this book are essentially one extended climax to the trilogy. One battle in particular, the assault on the Imperial facility in the Maw, almost stretches the entire length of the story. The Bantam Spectra era of Star Wars novels was noted for the authors’ predilection to invent “superweapons-of-the-week.” True to form, this trilogy contains not one but two in the form of a prototype (but fully functional) Death Star and the even more powerful Sun Crusher. It’s not that hard to swallow the existence of a prototype Death Star, although the idea feels a trifle overused after seeing them in A New Hope and Return of the Jedi. However, the Sun Crusher concept goes beyond the pale. Anderson asks the reader to accept it took a 100+ kilometer wide sphere to support a laser that could destroy…

American author Alice Hegan Rice was born on this day in 1879 (d: 10 February, 1942). She is best known for her novel Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch which was published in 1901. Books by Alice Hegan Rice Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch was a thinly veiled social commentary, with memorable characters fighting enormous odds. The book was an immediate success and was translated to both stage and screen. Mrs. Hegan is also known as a life-long philanthropist. Among the author’s literati circle were Annie Fellows Johnston and Thornton Wilder. She was praised by President Theodore Roosevelt. Mrs. Hegan’s most known works are set among the urban poor in Kentucky. The author got to know those people while volunteering as a settlement worker. Alice Hegan Rice wrote a sequel to Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch called Lovey Mary (published in 1903) in which an orphan girl runs away from the orphanage and is taken in by Mrs. Wiggs. Hegan’s husband, Cale Young Rice, was a poet and dramatist. Hegan’s uncle was author Frances Little. Hegan’s works were translated to German, Swedish, French and Danish during her lifetime. Even though we remember Hegan for her novels, she was…

Article first published as Book Review: Cervantes Street by Jaime Manrique on Blogcritics About: Cervantes Street by Jaime Manrique is a historical-fiction novel about Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra’s journey to write Don Quixote. The book is peppered with literary references to Cervantes’ works as well as works of the time, while I didn’t get many I did enjoy learning about them. 320 pages Publisher: Akashic Books (September 4, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 161775126X My rat­ing for Cervantes Street — 5 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* Thoughts: As followers of my blog know, I am a big fan of Don Quixote, probably more to the nostalgia associated with the story from my childhood than anything to do with the classic story. However, when I did read the full length novel (both parts) I understood why the book has become such a literary classic. Unfortunately, many readers get daunted by the sheer size of Don Quixote. The stories in the classic tale need knowledge of the time’s pop-culture in order to fully enjoy the reading experience. However, the same could be said for Shakespeare and several other authors from the far and not-so-far past. For those readers who are overwhelmed by the size of the classic book, Cervantes…

The start of the buildup of the Gulf War (1990) is where the book takes off to relevancy not only when published, but today also since we are still facing some of those issues, as well as many others. General Schwarzkopf was assigned to Central Command not long before Iraq invaded Kuwait, in this book the General states that he prepared his troops for war in the Middle East since, to his estimation, a war in Europe is unlikely. As Bush 41 made it clear that Iraqi aggression will not go unnoticed, General Schwarzkopf realized that he might be at the center of fight.