Post firs published as Guest Review From Man Of La Book: “The Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers” by Thomas Fleming on http://twofistedreader.com About: The Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers by Thomas Fleming is a history book which tells about the lives of six famous men from the perspective of their relationship with the women in their lives. I do love books which tells us more history from the “trenches”, after all, there are very few big events which aren’t made of small, personal moments. Buy this book in paper or electronic format. Thoughts: The Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers by Thomas Fleming is what one might call “history light”. While there was no new information revealed in the book, it is a wonderful introduction to more serious works which deal with the Founding Fathers, their policies and how the relationships with other influenced their work (which still has ramifications to this day) and their policies. Mr. Fleming does not view the Founding Fathers as untouchable historical figures, but as men of flesh and blood who lived, loved, laughed, hurt and gotten hurt. The author’s research is excellent and his writing style is enjoyable. Those who only learned…

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.

Norman Mailer (31 January, 1923 – 10 November, 2007), one of the greatest American writers hailed from a middle class Jewish family to become one of the most provocative writers of the 1950s. Mailer wrote more than 50 books during his life and won the Pulitzer Prize Twice. Books by Norman Mailer Norman Mailer was born in Long Branch, NJ – however he grew up in Brooklyn, New York. As a 9 year old boy, Mailer wrote a 250 page science fiction story called Invasion from Mars. At age 16 Norman Mailer was admitted to Harvard. At Harvard Mailer majored in Aeronautical Engineering. However he won a writing contest sponsored by Story magazine and already has made up his mind to become a professional writer. When Mailer graduated college, the world was in the turmoil of World War II. Mailer joined the Army and served as a sergeant in the Pacific. After the war, Mailer did his graduate studies at the Sorbonne in Paris. During his time at the Sorbonne he wrote The Naked and the Dead which took him 15 months to write. Published in 1948 The Naked and the Dead became Norman Mailer’s success and…

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…

Welcome to another installment of “Thoughts from the Ran­cor Pit” in which Andrew and David from the fab­u­lous blog “Ran­cors Love to Read” will review books tak­ing place in the Star Wars uni­verse. This time they are reviewing Dark Force Risingthe second installment in The Thrawn Trilogy which popularized the Star Wars books. Buy this Star Wars Book in paper or electronic copy* Andrew: Originally published at http://www.rancorslovetoread.com/2009/01/andrews-review-of-dark-force-rising.html 5/5 Rancors – Timothy Zahn continues the incredible story of the New Republic’s efforts to repel the attacks of the formidable Grand Admiral Thrawn in Dark Force Rising, the second volume of a trilogy. Set five years after Return of the Jedi, this book is an excellent continuation of one of the most interesting storylines in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Since the trilogy was written in the early 1990’s, some details have been contradicted by the prequel films and the immense growth of the saga, but the overall impact of the story is undiminished and things fit together remarkably well. The book opens with Thrawn’s assault upon smuggler Talon Karrde’s base of operations on the planet Myrkr. Karrde is struggling to maintain his profitable neutrality in this conflict, but the open attack by the Empire starts him down a path that…

I’m a bit of a political junky! I’m not as bad as I used to be because, to be honest, the more attention I pay the more I realized how screwed we’re getting by those in power (this is more true on a local level than the federal one). Election season is interesting, the lies, deceits, half truths and obscene amounts of money spent are jaw dropping. Frankly, I cannot see any difference in political ideology or major policies between Obama and Romney. I actually think that the staunch Republicans and staunch Democrats are not seeing a thing beyond an elephant’s ass and a donkey’s tail. After all, Obama (in the role of “The Liberal”) has governed like a conservative Republican – right of center. Romney (in the role of “The Conservative”) has governed left of center previously. So actually, the Republicans should be rooting for Obama, while the Democrats should be supporting Romney. But what do I know…? At the time of this post, the books below were free or $0.99 — please check before downloading. Authors: If you’d like your book to be fea­tured on Tight­wad Tues­days please email me. Freedom Island by J.R. Sinclair American taxpayers begin disappearing…….

Pierre is getting depressed more and more with the challenges life throws at him especially when he realizes that Freemasonry is not giving him a new meaning. He realizes that he doesn’t like the person he is becoming and tries to tell himself that this is not the case, he is not becoming “that” person. However, the questions still torture Pierre.

Article first published as Book Review: The Last Israelis by Noah Beck on Blogcritics About: The Last Israelis by Noah Beck is a short novel taking place mostly on a submarine. The doomsday scenario, a threat to the State of Israel, is the “ripped from the headlines” type of novel. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one eCopy of this book in PDF format— use the Raf­fle­copter form at the end of the post to enter. 263 pages Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc. Language: English ASIN: B008HEFVI2 My rating for The Last Israelis – 4 Buy this book in electronic format Thoughts: The Last Israelis by Noah Beck (website | Facebook) could be considered a military thriller, there are some plot twists and action, however the author approaches the story more on an intellectual side. The setting is a chance for the author to engage in intellectual debates between characters of different backgrounds. The novel does have good characterization; the author builds up each character so there is some background to the debates and the reader understands who each person formulated their ideology over a lifetime of various experiences and family history. What follows is a very interesting and balanced look at Israel…

I love graphic novels. As much as I read many people assume I’m a book snob, OK – maybe, but I do appreciate the graphic novel format. I haven’t been able to figure out the eFormat of graphic novels yet. I read a few on my nook but had to transfer them over to the computer, it simply didn’t work for me but it’s getting better. The story telling in graphic novels takes much talent and work. One cannot simply draw a picture of men in tights, it takes thought, articulation on at least two fronts (writing and drawing), sometimes three (color) and even more. Even though comics have a reputation of being for kids, many comics and graphic novels (a long comic or a collected series) are actually for adults. Believe it or not many graphic novels are written in college level English and several comic book series are the longest running publication using college English (The New York Times is written in 8th grade level English). That being said – below are a few graphic novels I found which are free (at the time of this post). Authors: If you’d like your book to be fea­tured on Tight­wad…

Article first published as Book Review: An African Affair by Nina Darnton on Blogcritics. About: An African Affair by Nina Darnton is a fictional book taking place in Nigeria. Ms Darnton is a seasoned reporter who found herself in a Nigerian jail after her husband, a New York Times reporter, filed some uncomplimentary stories about the ruling regime. 272 pages Publisher: Viking Adult Language: English ISBN-10: 0670022888 My rating for An African Affair – 3 Buy this book in paper or electronic format Thoughts: An African Affair by Nina Darnton (Facebook | Huffington Post) might make a stirring memoir and is a descent political thriller. I truly enjoyed how Ms. Darnton captured Nigerian culture and corruption which is accompanied with vast internal tribal interests as well as vast outside ones such as oil and drugs. I have been in several places where blatant bribery is not only accepted, but expected (I’m looking at you South American border guards) and as shocked as I was the first time, I realize that not many places are that different. But please consider that I spent most of my life in New Jersey where bribery is legal. The writing style is clear, fast and easy to read. Ms. Darnton does…