Rise to Rebellion

Reliving Past Lives

Brotherhood of War

     The Generals

                VI

Day of Deceit

Red Dragon

This is one of the most engrossing novels I’ve read in a long time. It is about a crime scene analyst’s efforts to stop a brutal serial killer. This book was written by Harris before he wrote Silence of the Lambs, and introduces Hannibal Lector for the first time. I was really amazed at the insight to police procedures that the book provides. It will hold your attention right through the last page.

Boone’s Lick

McMurtry is a talented author and one of my favorites. He’s written the Lonesome Dove trilogy, as well as Places in the Heart, and other lesser known books, twenty three in all. In this one he again bases his story in the old west in the period following the Civil War. The author blends historical fact with humor as he relates the travels of the Cecil Family as they cross the plains from Missouri to Wyoming, as seen through the eyes of fifteen year old Shay Cecil. The family’s adventures include encounters with the Cheyenne and the Sioux Indians, as well as none other than Wild Bill Hickock.

An interesting book about the life of Alan Greenspan, a fascinating man. It provides the reader with a brief background of Greenspan’s youth, then moves on to document how he has progressed from a twenty seven year old business consultant to the Chairmanship of the Federal Reserve. The author takes you into the Fed meetings and describes how Greenspan has successfully steered our economy from 1983 to 2000. There have been a number of times that our national economy might have seriously faltered, and with it the economies of much of the rest of the world, had it not been for the insightful guidance of Alan Greenspan.

 He is credited with providing the longest period of financial prosperity in our nation’s history. Fortune magazine has printed “In Greenspan we trust”, and Business Week ran an article titled “Alan Greenspan’s Brave New World”. His briefings to congress and frequent addresses to economic groups are monitored closely by brokers and investors. His words, inflections and even attitude are analyzed and reported by the media.

The book shows him to be politically astute, manipulative, ethical and absolutely dedicated to meeting his responsibilities. All attributes necessary to survive in the shark infested waters of our nation’s capitol.

I found the beginning of the book to be an easy read. However, once the author started into the complicated economic problems facing the Fed, it required me to slow down and concentrate, often re-reading paragraphs before moving on.

Recommendation: If you follow the stock market, or have some interest in the economy, the book is enlightening, but I doubt it will make you a smarter investor.

with Jeff Himmelman

This is the week that confirmation hearings are taking place for our new presidential appointees. Many are being challenged for positions they have expressed in years passed. However, one has been welcomed and warmly endorsed by both parties. That man is Colin Powell and this book is his story. He was born in Harlem to immigrant parents from Jamaica. A barely average student, he found his way into the military through ROTC. He found that he loved military life, and the book recounts his climb through the ranks to the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  It also provides insight to his personal life, family and hobbies.  There are many references to the powerful and famous with whom he has come in contact. This man has already lived what is often referred to as “the American dream”. Now he is about to become our Secretary of State. I don’t believe we could hope for a better one.

Recommendation: It’s an easy and fascinating read. Try it.

This is a well written and candid book that starts by familiarizing the reader with highlights from the careers of John McCain’s father and grandfather, both of whom were senior ranking naval officers. The author’s words reflect the deep pride and love he holds for both of these men. Their successful careers predestined that John would attend the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. Athletic, fun loving and something of a rebel, John broke most of the rules at the academy, barely avoiding expulsion. He was known as a “hell-raiser” by his classmates and as an indifferent student by his instructors. He graduated fifth from the bottom of his class.

The real meat of the book concerns the six year period of McCain’s internment as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Shot down over Hanoi, injured and refused medical attention, interrogated and brutally beaten, starved and treated inhumanly by his captors, McCain remained rebellious and refused to give them any satisfaction. As the book reveals the torturous experience he endured, the reader will be amazed the man’s tenacity. The book ends with his repatriation and prior to the start of his political career.

with Mark Salter

The Civil War as the Soldier Saw It

The first, Winfield Scott, already a national hero from the war of 1812, and the General in charge of an 8000 man expeditionary force deep in the heart of Mexico. The author shows Scott to have been physically large, intellectually deep, vain and short tempered, beset by a broad array of problems, from an inexperienced and overly ambitious general staff, to a lack of political support from the administration in Washington. Additionally he faces dire logistical problems and much larger opposing forces led by the second central character in this book, the famed General Santa Anna. The third central character is a young Captain of Army Engineers named Robert E. Lee. Lee's heroic exploits cause Gen. Scott to report him to be "..the most effective officer in the field that I have ever known."