As is my habit (and many others), I publish a lame “best of” list every year. Mind you, these are just some of the book I really enjoyed this year, but not all. Usually a waste of cyberspace on Thanksgiving but hey … why not, right? Hope you enjoy my list, maybe get a few recommendations for you and yours and have a Happy Thanksgiving. Outlaw Platoon by Sean Parnell &John Bruning Out­law Pla­toon raises some impor­tant ques­tions which needed to be asked (pre­pared­ness, effec­tive­ness, pro­fes­sion­al­ism) but that are dif­fi­cult to face. The book is a must-read for any­one inter­ested in the cur­rent war, com­bat or mil­i­tary life. Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format* The Ariadne Objective: The Underground War to Rescue Crete from the Nazis by Wes Davis The Ari­adne Objec­tive reads like a first rate World War II spy novel which could only be the prod­uct of the author’s fevered imag­i­na­tion. The fact the this book is non-fiction, with all the col­or­ful char­ac­ters, humor and fan­tas­tic adven­tures makes it all the better. Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format* The Color of Light by Helen Maryles Shankman The Color of Light by Helen Maryles Shankman is a novel which explores art, the Holo­caust, human­ity and, of course, vam­pires. The vam­pire in the story runs…

The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy to three (3) winners of The Gods of Heavenly Punishment–to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. On Writing Unlikable Places A few months back, like many writers—and women writers in particular, I suspect–I followed the literary debate over “likable” characters with some interest. For those who might have missed, it all started with an interview Publishers Weekly sat down to with novelist Claire Messud, and their guileless assertion that Nora, the unambiguously furious main character of Messud’s novel The Woman Upstairs, wasn’t someone they’d “want to be friends with.” As Jennifer Weiner later put it in Slate in her thought-provoking response to the exchange, Messud all but “flipped the table”: For heaven’s sake, what kind of question is that? Would you want to be friends with Humbert Humbert? Would you want to be friends with Mickey Sabbath? Saleem Sinai? Hamlet? Krapp? Oedipus? Oscar Wao? Antigone? Raskolnikov? Any of the characters in The Corrections? Any of the characters in Infinite Jest? Any of the characters in anything Pynchon has ever written? Or Martin Amis? Or Orhan Pamuk? Or Alice Munro, for that matter? If you’re reading to find friends,…

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…

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

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…

For the next 4 hours (3.5 by now), the hardcover copy Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever by Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard will be discounted to $3 (regular price $28) Click here to reserve your copy. A riveting historical narrative of the heart-stopping events surrounding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and the first work of history from mega-bestselling author Bill O’Reilly The anchor of The O’Reilly Factor recounts one of the most dramatic stories in American history—how one gunshot changed the country forever. In the spring of 1865, the bloody saga of America’s Civil War finally comes to an end after a series of increasingly harrowing battles. President Abraham Lincoln’s generous terms for Robert E. Lee’s surrender are devised to fulfill Lincoln’s dream of healing a divided nation, with the former Confederates allowed to reintegrate into American society. But one man and his band of murderous accomplices, perhaps reaching into the highest ranks of the U.S. government, are not appeased. In the midst of the patriotic celebrations in Washington D.C., John Wilkes Booth—charismatic ladies’ man and impenitent racist—murders Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre. A furious manhunt ensues and Booth immediately becomes the country’s most wanted fugitive….

I’m not much of a science fiction reader, I used to love the genre, and maybe will again. As a former fan I still do appreciate the genre and when I saw these books, available for this week only for $2.99 I thought others would like to know about them. These title range from hard core sci-fi, to magic to urban fantasy. At the time of this post, the books below were free or $2.99 — please check before downloading. Nightshifted (An Edie Spence Novel) by Cassie Alexander From debut author Cassie Alexander comes a spectacular new urban fantasy series where working the nightshift can be a real nightmare. Nothing compares to being Nightshifted. Nursing school prepared Edie Spence for a lot of things. Burn victims? No problem. Severed limbs? Piece of cake. Vampires? No way in hell. But as the newest nurse on Y4, the secret ward hidden in the bowels of County Hospital, Edie has her hands full with every paranormal patient you can imagine—from vamps and were-things to zombies and beyond… Edie’s just trying to learn the ropes so she can get through her latest shift unscathed. But when a vampire servant turns to dust under her…

Article first published as Book Review: Jane: The Woman Who Loved Tarzan by Robin Maxwell on Blogcritics. About: Jane: The Woman Who Loved Tarzan by Robin Maxwell is a feminine take on the famous Burroughs novel. This book tells the famous story from the view point of Jane Porter, Tarzan’s love interest. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book— use the Raf­fle­copter form at the end of the post to enter. 320 pages Publisher: Tor Books Language: English ISBN-10: 0765333589 My rating for Jane – 4 Buy this book in paper or electronic format More Books by Robin Maxwell Thoughts: Jane: The Woman Who Loved Tarzan by Robin Maxwell (website | Facebook | @TheRobinMaxwell) is not a retelling of the origin story of Tarzan, but a reimagining of the mythology originally created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I was very excited about this novel, Tarzan has always been a favorite (who can forget those wonderful comics and Johnny Weissmuller films) and in preparation read the original Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs. To be honest, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the book again (I read it as a kid), I can certainly see why it is considered a classic and captures the imagination of…

Please note: The prices for the post are cur­rent at the time of the post, please pay atten­tion to make sure they haven’t changed before purchase. Authors: If you’d like your book to be fea­tured on Tight­wad Tues­days please email me. A Medical Emergency, Major-General ‘Ginger’ Burston and the Army Medical Service in World War II by Ian Howie-Willis Australian soldiers and their American Allies won the land war against Japan in the Pacific islands because they were healthier than their enemies. The troops’ fighting spirit, their armaments, their naval and air support and their generals were certainly key ingredients in the Allied victory. Without good health, however, these other factors would have been nullified. Malaria, the great scourge of armies throughout history, threatened the health of the Allies and the Japanese alike. The army that could beat malaria would also defeat its military foe because troops shivering, sweating and shaking with malarial fever cannot shoot straight, let alone fight. In World War II the Allies eventually beat the Japanese — a victory based, to a large part, on the success of the Australian Army Medical Service in defeating malaria. Their Japanese counterpart never won this battle. Major-General ‘Ginger’ Burston led…

Article first published as Book Review: The Risk Agent by Ridley Pearson on Blogcritics. About: The Risk Agent by Ridley Pearson is a fictional mystery/thriller taking place in China. The book is the first of a new series. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book— use the Raf­fle­copter form at the end of the post to enter. 432 pages Publisher: Putnam Adult Language: English ISBN-10: 0399158839 My rating for The Risk Agent – 4 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format More Books by Ridley Pearson Thoughts: The Risk Agent by Ridley Pearson (website | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Pinterest) is a whirlwind of a ride through the business world of China. While I don’t know enough about the business world in that part of the world, that part of the novel certainly seemed authentic to me and made for a fascinating read. It seems that in China many companies, especially those who are not based in China, have a habit of giving incentives to government officials in order to gain the upper hand in the bidding process, or simply just flat out to get a job. Much like elections “incentives” (campaign donations), the act is frowned on officially but…