On this day in 1819 James Russell Lowell (d: 12 August, 1891) was born in Cambridge, MA. Mr. Lowell was a poet, critic editor and even a diplomat. Works by James Russell Lowell Lowell attended Harvard at age 15. He was known as a troublemaker and wrote: “During Freshman year, I did nothing, during Sophomore year I did nothing, during Junior year I did nothing, and during Senior year I have thus far done nothing in the way of college studies.“ For his first attempts at poetry, Lowell wrote for the Harvardiana literary magazine (which he also edited). He freely admitted that his poems were bad and said that “I was as great an ass as ever brayed & thought it singing.” Even though he was elected “class poet” (1838) he was not allowed to read a poem on Class Day since he was suspended. Lowell did graduate from Harvard and not knowing what to do he decided to practice law. Lowell married Maria White, a sister of a Harvard classmate, who persuaded him to become an abolitionist. The Lowells had 4 children, however only one lived past infancy. Lowell grieved over his children and particular his first born, Rose,…

Article first published as Book Review: The Thief of Auschwitz by Jon Clinch on Blogcritics. About: The Thief of Auschwitz by Jon Clinch is a fictional book telling of a family’s struggle to survive. Mr. Clinch’s previous books, Finn and Kings of the Earth won awards and commendation from around the country. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy to two winners of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. My rating for The Thief of Auschwitz – 5 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* More Books by Jon Clinch More Rec­om­mended World War II books on Man of la BookStore Thoughts: The Thief of Auschwitz by Jon Clinch (website | Facebook | @jonclinch) is a fascinating and well written book. Even though short, Mr. Clinch is an excellent storyteller presenting a beautiful story and tight page-turner. The story portrays a Jewish family trying to stay sane in a world gone mad. The family is trying to salvage a bit of civility wherever they can in a place that could on be described as hell on earth. The story doesn’t have many twists, but several convenient plot points which, although a bit too convenient are central to…

Article first published as Book Review: Bombing Hitler: The Story of the Man Who Almost Assassinated the Führer by Hellmut G. Haasis, Translated by William Odom on Blogcritics About: Bombing Hitler: The Story of the Man Who Almost Assassinated the Führer by Hellmut G. Haasis, (translated by William Odom) is the true story of Georg Elser and his failed attempt on Hitler’s life. 240 pages Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing Language: English ISBN-10: 1616087412 My rat­ing for Bombing Hitler— 4 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* More Rec­om­mended World War II books on Man of la BookStore Thoughts: Bombing Hitler by Hellmut G. Haasis tells of Georg Elser’s decision to assassinate Hitler in a Munich Beer Hall. Elser’s said that he simply wanted to” prevent even greater bloodshed through my act”. Elser, a blue collar worker, worked and planned for months in order to plant a bomb in a pillar which supports the roof of the beer hall. The bomb worked, killing eight people, but missing its intended target who had to leave early for Berlin (cutting his speech from 2 hours to a mere hour). The book is a well researched document, using interviews from first hand sources as well as historical documentation, the author…

Arti­cle first pub­lished as The Book Theif by Markus Zusak on Blog­crit­ics About: The Book Thief by Austrian author Markus Zusak is a novel taking place in Nazi Germany. The book was published in 2006, since then it has won many awards and spent over 230 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list. 576 pages Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Language: English ISBN-10: 0375842209 My rating for The Book Thief – 4 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* More Rec­om­mended World War II books on Man of la BookStore Thoughts: She was a girl. In Nazi Germany. How fitting that she was discovering the power of words. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a very popular novel, mainly among the YA crowd, and I can certainly see why. The book celebrates the power of the written word, of language, encourages people to read has an interesting twist in the narration. The book approach to the Holocaust, not straight on but looking from the sidelines, will appeal to teens as well as adults. The young heroine, Liesel Meminger who is a feisty girl who navigates through the claustrophobic and schizophrenic world of adults in Nazi Germany is both smart and tough, with…

Four college graduates volunteer at a refugee camp for Somalis in Kenya. After a few weeks they go on a vacation and disappear. The hijackers demand huge amounts of ransom from the families.

Prolific English author Sax Rohmer was born on this day in 1883. Mr. Rohmer is best known for his series featuring the mastermind Dr. Fu Manchu.

I was asked to announce the release of the paperback version of The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose (which I reviewed previously), the book has a cool new cover and is a very good read. SYNOPSIS: A Secret Worth Dying For. Jac L’Etoile is plunged into a world she thought she’d left behind when her brother, coheir to their father’s storied French perfumery, makes an earthshattering discovery in the family archives, and then suddenly goes missing— leaving a dead body in his wake. In Paris to investigate his disappearance, Jac becomes haunted by the legend of the House of L’Etoile. If there is an ancient perfume developed in Cleopatra’s time that holds the power to unlock memories of past lives, possessing it is not only worth living for . . . it’s worth killing for, too.Fusing history, passion and suspense in an intoxicating web that moves from Cleopatra’s Egypt and the terrors of revolutionary France to Tibet’s battle with China and the glamour of modern-day Paris, this marvelous, spellbinding novel comes to life as richly as our most wildly imagined dreams. Read an EXCERPT. Buy Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound

We all love bookends, a great way to display your books and call attention to a special collection. I found some pretty cool bookends over the years and every once in a while I go back to see if there is something new under the sun. I love how you can find a bookend to compliment any collection of books or decor. And you know what? There always is. My favorite is the first one, the bookish bookends if you will. I already have the books in mind to put in between. Which one is your favorite? 2 – Two Library Books Book End with Drawers Wood Bookend 6″h Pair Right and Left by bombayjewel Tech Tools Desktop Madness Series Stop Hand Bookends by Tech Tools Wide Eyed Owl Bookends by SPI Home Sailing Ships Nautical Book Ends by Asher Home Decorators Portal 2 Bookends by ThinkGeek Design Ideas A to Z Bookends by Design Ideas Pair of Leaning Ladies Bookends by Kikkerland Black+Blum James the Bookend Bookend by Black+Blum Bird Cage Bookends by Anecdotal Aardvark Elegant Scroll Bookends by Anecdotal Aardvark Zohar – Man of la Book

Upon reading Malcolm Gladwell’s book, “Outliers”, I was drawn to a passage about violence in the American South and that region’s culture of honor. He posited that this was a relic of Scots-Irish culture, particularly as it applies to the hill people who eventually settled in Appalachia area

The dictionary definition of ”fact” is ”something known to exist or to have happened,” whereas ”faith”generally is described as ”belief not based on proof.” There are 10,000 religions worldwide, eighteen of which are major Christian religions, and among Christians there are 9,000 separate denominations. Each of those religions and denominations has its own belief system–its followers act on faith–even though, as author Jack Gage points out, ”all the adherents of these different belief systems inhabit the same world, with the same physical facts, with access to the same knowledge.” So how and why did so many religions come into existence? And how do the various religious explanations–whether Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, or any other–for how the world and the people in it began stack up against scientific fact? Buy this book in from Amazon.com* Q&A with Author Jack Gage: Can you tell us about the journey that led you to write your book? Although I got my first college degree in Business Administration, and the second a Juris Doctorate in law, at heart I’ve always been fascinated by science and particularly astronomy. I was raised by my parents as an Episcopalian but the things I was taught there seemed inconsistent…