Book Review - The Great Movies

The Great Movies by Roger Ebert - The first of a series of books by my all time favorite movie critic.  Before he died he added two more to the series.

Ebert offers relatively brief (couple pages each) commentaries on movies that he thinks belong in the top tier of films.  He admits right off the bat that he can't tell what the standard is for a "great movie".  These are the ones that come to his mind when he thinks about them.  He proceeds to tell you why he believes they belong on the list.

You will recognize plenty of the titles.  Any modest movie lover knows "Casablanca", "Network", "Star Wars", "Pulp Fiction" or "Schindler's List".  Students of the movies will not be surprised to see "Battleship Potemkin", "The Bicycle Thief", "Un Chien Andalue" or "The Seventh Seal" there.  What sucked me in were the odd balls and lesser knowns.  Like "Detour" (which I saw and reviewed after reading about it in the book), the low budget film noir that could be the perfect introduction to this film genre.  It has no pretensions and plenty of flaws.  Yet it remains a truly wonderful movie.  There are plenty of gems among the 100 titles that he explores.

You could easily use this book as the basis for an introduction to film class.  You could still use for upper level course work too.  I was tempted to use it to set up my Netflix queue for the next two years.

If you love the movies and well written commentary(easy to read as well.  Ebert doesn't have to show off), you would be hard pressed to find a better place to start.

Rating - **** Recommended

And On to a New Year

So this is 2014?
Nice.
So far, at least.

Let's get started this year with some thought about why we do what we do and what we are going to do this.

This blog will continue to be "home base" for my radio show "The View From the Phlipside" (now airing M-F at 8 AM and 5 PM on WRFA-LP, Jamestown, NY).  I haven't noted in a while that what you see is the relatively rough scripts that I write each week.  I spend a little time cleaning them up but I just don't have the time and energy to turn them into proper essays.  When I record them I count on my ability to shape them as I go along.  This results in some convoluted sentence structure in the scripts and some missing punctuation and grammar points.  They are what they are and they are written to be spoken aloud.

I will continue to offer some reviews of movies and books.  My focus will be more on older materials.  The reason for this is that there is plenty of contemporary reviews of new media.  The hope of these reviews has always been that I can point people to things that they may not know or may know but aren't sure if they would like.  For all the media that is created new in this age there is still a massive backlog of things too good to simply fall away.  Because I don't get to see as many new movies in the theater as I'd like I'll still watch and review newer stuff too.  But the focus will be on older materials.

There is something new that I hope to explore this year.  That's the highest quality material available on the web.  This will NOT be a review of dog/cat videos and the like.  I believe that there is some real quality material out there that doesn't get the attention it deserves.  I want to be part of fixing that.  If I'm wrong then the Internet is really nothing more than a children's toy and we need to face that if true.

Over the next couple weeks I hope to take some time to fiddle with the site, re-arrange things, maybe remodel the place a bit.  For the moment I am unemployed and so I have the time to go a little deeper.  I also hope to do some writing that looks a little deeper that I can spread across at least the next couple months along with the usual suspects (Great movie, by the way, "The Usual Suspects".  It's the movie that made me say "Kevin Spacey?  Gotta keep my eyes open for this guy").  These posts will appear (assuming I find something worth including) as "The Best of the Web".  I'm kind of looking forward to exploring all this.  If you have a suggestion feel free to pass it along via the comments.

Why Write Reviews?

The primary function of this blog is to support and promote my radio program of the same name.  A radio program where I virtually NEVER review books, movies, music, et cetera.  So why write reviews here?

There are two primary reasons:

• The first is purely functional.  I had originally tried publishing the scripts individually to fill out the posting schedule.  It felt artificial to me and was something of a pain in the butt.  So the reviews are added content for the blog.  Unromantic, I know.
• The second is because I love exploring media.  I watch a lot of movies and read a lot of books plus deal with all kinds of other media along the way.  It seemed like an interesting way to share with my readers and perhaps point them towards things they had never seen or read.

You'll note that I rarely if ever do reviews of current movies or music.  There are plenty of people out there doing that (like this guy - Stewart Smith)  so I didn't feel the need to compete.  But what about this, there are thousands of movies still available going back to the 1920s.  If you're looking for a good movie to watch how likely are you to explore titles you know little or nothing about?  My goal is to point people towards movies that are worth viewing but that may not be as well known to them.  Movie fans no doubt look at my reviews and say "Well everybody knows that movie".  I'm pretty sure they're wrong.  So I'm trying to offer a service for those other movies.

Yes I still review more current ones.  In part that's because these are movies that I want to see.  Coming up shortly is my review of "Argo" the Academy Award winning movie from just last year.  Never got to see it in the theaters.  So I offer up my review for it.  Maybe you're in the same boat and would like an opinion that's not caught up in the promotional furor.  Other movies coming up include "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" (which will be the oddest review I've ever penned) and "Advise and Consent" an amazingly current movie given that it came out in 1962.

I do offer reviews of books that are coming out soon.  I stumbled onto a partnership that allows me to do that and it's kind of fun.  But I'm really more focused on the other books, the older books I read.  Along the way maybe I can help you find something that you might never have tried otherwise.  I was caught short by how much I enjoyed Dumas' "The Three Musketeers" from 1844 and James Hilton's "Goodbye Mr. Chips" from 1934.  These may be titles that you might never consider but with me leading the way and doing some filtering you might (and dare I say, you should!).

There is a certain egotism inherent in setting yourself up as a critic.  Why should you listen to what I say?  Good question.  I can only offer that I love the media that I review as general categories and I want people to succeed.  Long ago I gave up on trying to make people think I'm clever.  You'll either like my point of view or not.  Although I would note that for years one of my go to movie critics was someone with whom I virtually always disagreed.  He was consistent and therefore an excellent bell weather for me.  

I hope that I can offer something worth reading for you as well.

Besides I have fun doing it.

Book Review - The God's Wife

The God's Wife by Lynn Voedisch (2013)  - Two young women fight for control over their lives separated by thousands of years but connected spiritually.  Rebecca is a dancer in modern Chicago who has been tapped to dance the lead in a new version of Aida.  Neferet is a 16 year old princess of Egypt.  A thin spiritual line connects them in time and space.  Each must find the solution to the challenges they face in worlds that are so profoundly different.

Let me say right at the start that I enjoyed Voedisch's writing.  It was engaging enough to make me want to keep reading.  Sadly the story itself is filled with enormous holes (WHY are these two young women connected?  Who is Sharif really?  What the hell is a stargate doing in this story?), several key characters and relationships are never developed or explored (Rebecca's family is left as rather cartoonish Iowa farm bumpkins) and the end of the story is...inexplicable?

The author has some really rich territory to explore here.  Looking at the place of women in ancient Egypt, especially the one designated the Wife of Amun, the God's Wife. She is a daughter of pharaoh and tossed into the thick of the politics of the Kingdom.  In comparison the internecine politics of a small dance company seem pretty trivial.  That's where the depth of the familial relationship in Iowa could have added so much.  Almost as if she realizes this Voedisch then begins launching increasingly inexplicable plot twists as we head toward that unsatisfying finale. The character of Sharif is this outline only villain who is never explained even when he becomes the center of one of the last minute plot bombs.

I literally sat poking at my Nook wondering where the rest of the book was when I reached the end.  The story had started to wobble alarmingly at that point and then it just suddenly seemed to collapse.  And it was over.  Rebecca and her story line get truly the dirty end of the stick here but Neferet's story line is given a silly storybook ending that just appears out of nowhere.  My very strong impression is that the author decided she'd invested enough time into this project and needed to move.

Unfortunately we're left with a stub of an interesting story that the author simply never made the effort to properly tell.

Very disappointing.  I don't hand out the rating below very often.

Rating - * Don't Bother

Book Review - The Rockin' Chair

The Rockin' Chair by Steven Manchester (2013) -  This is the story of the family of Alice and Big John McCarthy.  It is a touching story of a family that has never mastered the art of being family.  When Alice dies patriarch John finds himself without the buffer of his beloved wife between himself, his son and his grown grandchildren.  Somehow he needs to find the way to lead his family home.

This is the second Steven Manchester novel I've reviewed ("12 Months", July 2012) and like the first I really had no idea what I was getting into when I opened it up.  The second time around was even more satisfying than the first.  Manchester is a writer of great emotional depth and this story will probably bring you to tears several times.  The writing distractions I disliked in the first book are gone and that allows the story to flow cleanly from start to finish.

I grew up in a family that wasn't real good at expressing emotion.  Fortunately for me the resulting childhood was much happier than the ones found here.  But the author does a wonderful job of making these people real and their pain strike you sharply.

If I wanted to get picky there's plenty to pick at.  The characters are overly familiar and not particularly deeply explored (the book is only about 250 pages total).  There's no particular surprise at the end.  Some folks will find the story maudlin or "too religious" (neither of which are particularly accurate).

For me this is a heart warming story of a family finding its way past their own shortcomings and history to find their way back to one another.  To find their way home.

Rating - **** Good Read

Book Review - Be The Monkey

Be The Monkey - Ebooks and Self-Publishing  - A Conversation Between Authors Barry Eisler and Joe Konrath

This is a different kind of book about the new different kind of books.  Eisler and Konrath are successful authors who are making money (even serious money) by publishing digitally.  The book is the record of a live Google Docs conversation between them back in 2011.  Just shortly before the conversation Eisler turned down a two book, $500,000 contract with St. Martin's Press because he believed he would be better served to publish those books himself.

The conversation takes your through the entire argument for self publishing ebooks - creative control, financial and longevity.  You should be warned - this are two long time friends and they don't edit themselves in this forum.  Some of the stuff in here is a little raw (like the subject of the title.  I'm still afraid to follow the link provided) but all of it is compelling.

I was traveling recently and turned to this book because nothing else in my Nook grabbed me.  I thought I'd while away long hours in airports and planes.  What I got was a book that I could not set down.  As a hopeful author and long time student of new media these two deconstructed several long held beliefs and put a perfectly rational replacement in each place.

This isn't a book that is going to interest everyone.  In fact you have to be into the intricacies of book publishing or an author to find this book attractive at first blush.  But I would recommend that anyone interested in the future of books read this short (141 pages) but powerful book.

Rating - **** Recommended

Intellectual Terrorism, Media Bingeing, Well Excuse Me

 "The View From the Phlipside" is a media commentary program airing on WRFA-LP, Jamestown NY.  It can be heard Monday through Friday just after 8 AM and 5 PM.  The following are scripts which may not exactly match the aired version of the program.  Mostly because the host may suddenly choose to add or subtract words at a moments notice.  WRFA-LP is not responsible for any such silliness or the opinions expressed.  You can listen to a live stream of WRFA or find a podcast of this program at wrfalp.com.  Copyright 2013 by Jay Phillippi.  All Rights Reserved.  You like what you see?  Drop me a line and we can talk.

Program scripts from week of September 23, 2013


My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, radio, the movies and more.  I love them, and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View from the Phlipside. 

Well Excuse Me                                                                                          

Let me start off by saying I have no delusions about the impact of my commentaries.  I know I have an audience among WRFA listeners because some of you have made the point of telling me you enjoy these programs.  And I know I have a small following of the blog that is connected to this show.  Just Google “The View From the Phlipside” and you’ll find it.  There you’ll not only find the scripts to each week’s programs but reviews of movies and books.

It’s that last fact that spurs today’s program.  I review movies and books because I love them.  My hope is that I can point folks in the direction of examples that they will enjoy, even help them choose from the enormous universe of these particular media.  Again, I have no illusions about what I do.  I do it because I enjoy it and because I’ve gotten some positive response from authors and publishers.

There’s a website called NetGalley that links up reviewers with publishers and vice versa.  You go on, fill out a bio sheet and then request titles.  Over the last year or so I’ve done about 8.

Last week I received a very politely worded e-mail from the folks at Viking Publishing telling me that I didn’t meet their standards as a reviewer and therefore they declined to offer me a copy of the book I’d requested.

For the record NetGalley deals in digital books, ebooks.  So there was no question about postage and handling and publishing costs and the like.

I’m not really angry about this rejection as much as I’m puzzled and bemused.  The cost of letting me review their book is effectively ZERO.  So from a cost to benefit basis it appears that Viking is saying my review has a negative value.  It’s just not worth anything to have me review the book.

In an age when legacy publishers like Viking are screaming about the future of their industry, when fewer people are reading, when ebooks are becoming the larger part of the publishing industry, when the Internet is becoming a bigger part of how all of us make decisions on what we buy will someone please explain to me how getting a review that costs you nothing and might just result in sales or word of mouth is worth nothing?

I’m not going to mention the book because I don’t want to punish the author.  But I think this is a case of the publisher being penny wise and pound foolish.

At least that’s the thought in this tiny and apparently unimportant little corner of the world.

Media Bingeing                                                                                     

Binge eating?  Bad thing.
Binge drinking? VERY bad thing.
Binge viewing?  That’s an interesting topic of conversation.

Have you come across this concept before?  Binge viewing is watching episode after episode after episode of a TV series or movie series.  You might call watching a marathon on one of the cable networks binge viewing.  You could certainly do it if you bought an entire season of a TV show on DVD or Blu-ray.  But binge viewing really took off with the advent of services like Netflix that allowed you access to not just episode after episode but season after season of TV series for a single low price.  You can just plug in and take off for an entire day.  No commercials, no disc changing.  It’s not a marathon, it’s a binge.

The dictionary defines binge as an unrestrained, immoderate period of self indulgence.  The words uncontrolled and excessive also appear in definitions.

So this is generally not associated with behaviors that should be a regular part of our lives.  See binge eating and binge drinking.

So what’s the down side on binge viewing?  Well there’s that whole circles-under-the-blank-staring-eyes-of-a-zombie look.  It’s followed by the inability to talk about anything else for days which is then followed by a complete collapse into catatonia as your brain attempts to go back to processing real life.  So there’s probably no real long run negative effects.

But I’d like to argue against making binge viewing a regular part of your media consumption.  There are things that you have to give up when you go on a binge.  That’s any opportunity to savor what you’re seeing.  If the show you’re watching is just eye candy, like Baywatch or Dancing With the Stars, then go for it.  Gorge yourself.

But for shows that offer some depth, some story telling, some deep characterization do yourself a favor and take a break.  After every episode or two stop and give yourself the chance to revel in the quality of what you’re seeing.  Letting the show appeal to more than just the short term rush of enjoyment.  It’s the difference between just getting high and full engagement with an experience at every level.

So when it comes to media bingeing it’s mostly about picking your spot.

Intellectual Terrorism                                                                                                     

This week, the week of September 22, is Banned Books Week.  Each year the American Library Association highlights the attempts around our nation to ban certain books from libraries, especially school libraries.  What kind of books?  Books like these, all of which appear on recent lists compiled by the ALA:
Harry Potter by JK Rowling, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, The Kite Runner by Kaled Husseini, Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeliene L’Engle, the Goosebump series by RL Stine, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Hadden and just to fill out our irony quotient for the week Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.  A book that is about book banning.

Banned Books Week is designed to celebrate our freedom to read.  The freedom to explore ideas, even odious ones.  Let me be clear about two concepts.  

First I believe that people that want to ban books, to limit other people’s access to books they believe are somehow “dangerous” are intellectual and cultural terrorists.  Having no faith in the strength of their own point of view to stand up to a challenge they try to insure the supremacy of that view by banning opposing ones.  It’s pretty much the same technique used in political spheres by bomb throwing terrorists.  And should be fought against with the same energy and determination we bring to the bomb throwers.

The other thing is that I think this protection should extend to all books.  The most odious, vile, evil book I can think of is called “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”.  It is a hoax created in Russia in 1903 that has been used for a century of violence and hatred aimed at Jewish populations worldwide.  There is not a micron of truth in this horrible book.
But it should not be banned.  Ideas need to be dragged into the light, to be examined, weighed and judged.  Only those who fear ideas want them hidden away.  Only those who do not trust humanity want to place blinders on their fellows.  Only those who can not compete in the market of thought will demand that theirs be the only thought permitted.

Pick up a book and read it.  Fight back against the terrorists of free thought and read a banned book.

Call that the View From the Phlipside

Book Review - Inferno

Inferno by Dan Brown (2013) - Robert Langdon is back again using his knowledge of symbols to save the world.  This time it is the philosophy of Transhumanism, which believes that humans need to enter into the process of their own evolution, that stands at the center of the threat.  One genius has come up with own solution to saving humanity, one that may just involve the end of humanity itself.

Set mostly in Florence and Venice Brown puts Dante's "Inferno" as the key to unraveling the mystery in this novel.  History, current events and ancient symbols weave together once again as Brown takes the reader on an exciting ride to the end.

So my real question is this: why would anyone come within a hundred miles of Harvard symbology professor Robert Langdon?  Disaster follows this guy like a new puppy.  But then so do beautiful women so it's not a bad life I suppose.

This book has all the positive and negative qualities of the Langdon series from Brown.  It requires a slight warping of history sometimes and there are some logical flaws but on the whole Brown can tell a story.  If you're reading Brown for history (or theology) you should probably be careful.  If you're reading him to get a great flavor of those subjects plus have a rollicking good read then you're in the right place.  I will admit that it's great to have a hero that doesn't need guns or fisticuffs to save the world.  You just need to be smart and pay attention.

Decidedly better than the last (which I think is easily the weakest of the series) you'll have a great time reading the story then want to look up the history and finally go visit the places Brown has taken you in your imagination.  Can't think of much higher praise.

Rating - ****  Worth A Look

Book Review - More Forensics and Fiction

More Forensics and Fiction: Crime Writers Morbidly Curious Questions Expertly Answered by D.P. Lyle, M.D. (2012) -  D.P. Lyle has worked as a consultant to TV shows like "CSI Miami", "House" and "Law and Order".  He's also made quite a little cottage industry out of writing books about forensics science including a series of books where he answers questions he has received from authors doing research for their own books.  Dr. Lyle is quick to point out that he's not trying to help the bad guys but is just trying to keep things accurate in the world of fiction.

The questions can almost hysterically funny ("What injuries can result from depleted uranium bullets?", "Could my killer completely drain a human body of blood and make it appear as if a vampire were the culprit?") to the obscure ("How were comas treated in the 1500's?") to the painful ("How is a castration performed?").  The answers are fascinating in their detail and reasoning.

Not really bed time reading but great fun for people who love forensics or just enjoy learning strange stuff.

Rating - *** Worth A Look

Book Review - The Crime of Julian Wells

The Crime of Julian Wells by Thomas H. Cook (2012) - What do you do when your best friend from childhood commits suicide?  Julian Wells is a well known crime writer who specializes in getting inside the heads of some of the worst serial killers around the globe.  Did his subject matter finally become too much for him or was there something else?   His best friend, Philip Anders, must look back into their shared history to find the answers.  The journey will takes Anders to places, both physical and emotional, that will put him in great danger.

This book reminded me very quickly of the classic Graham Greene novel "The Third Man" that involves a very similar mystery.  This is not a story with lots of action and violence.  It's commonly described as a "cerebral mystery" where little is as it appears and memories are found to be distortions of the truth.  Some folks are going to find this book slow because of that but for those looking for some serious mental stimulation along with a mystery they will be rewarded.  Cook is an author with a long record of success and very competent story teller.  At the same time I can't say I was blown away by the book.  Glad I read it, don't know that I'll ever pick it up again.

Rating - *** Worth A Look

Book Review - Flesh and Bone

Flesh and Bone by Jefferson Bass (2007) - Set against the backdrop of the University of Tennessee's legendary "Body Farm" forensic researcher Dr. Bill Brockton finds himself accused of the gruesome murder of a beautiful medical examiner that he had been working with on a case.  Video evidence seems to seal the deal so he turns to the most successful defense attorney in the area, a man with whom he has dueled many times in the court room.  Together they will try and find the truth.

Jefferson Bass is the pseudonym of a writing partnership (journalist Jon Jefferson and the actual founder of the Body Farm Dr.William Bass) so you know they get the facts right.  For a fan of forensics this book is a great mystery novel with all the right bits of forensic blood and guts mixed in.  There is some odd additions of politics that are sure to set off some people.  Too often characters in books seem to live in these sterile, opinion free worlds so to find some that have normal conversations about things that come up during the story is fine with me.  I don't agree with everything said but that's pretty realistic too.  At the same time there was the usual number of "dumb moves" by the main character.  Can't believe his attorney let him do several things that happen in the book.  Get a little tired of characters who turn out to be their own worst enemies.

Won't call this the best mystery I've ever read but it was well worth a look.

Rating - *** Worth A Look

Book Review - The Kingmaking

The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick - (2009)  - It takes a certain amount of courage to take on one of the most familiar legends in the English language.  Most of us have seen several versions of the story of King Arthur, Guinevere and the Knights of the Round Table.  It's a pretty well established story.  So credit Hollick for taking it on and trying for a different feel.

This is the story of son of Uthr Pendragon who will grow to become the legendary Arthur Pendragon.  Arthur believes he has a claim on the English throne.  The path toward that kingship is filled with danger, politics and death.  He will make decisions that he will regret and nearly lose the great love of his life Gwenhwyfar.  This book is the first in a trilogy called Pendragon's Banner.

This version is much more realistic than the Disney version some of us grew up with or the stylized version of Excalibur and it bears no resemblance to the musical "Camelot".  In fact I should note that this is not a book for children or the squeamish.  There are several passages that some will find disturbing of rape and violent death.  At the same time given the realistic slant that the author is reaching for they are perfectly appropriate here.  This was a violent age and a casually violent one at that.

Hollick does a nice job telling the story.   She fills in gaps in the sparse actual history and makes reasonable reaches to tie the legend into the history of that time and place.  Because she leans toward more historically correct names and spellings the reader may bog down at times, especially with the more Welsh names.  She conveniently offers a pronunciation guide at the beginning that I found helped a lot.

The author is a former library assistant who fell in love with stories of Arthur and the Dark Ages.  She written several historical fiction novels that have been very well received.  "The Kingmaking" shows you why.

I found the book fascinating and look forward to snagging the next two in the series.

Rating - **** Recommended

Book Review - The Black Count

The Black Count - Glory, Revolution, Betrayal and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss (2012) - If you are at all familiar with French literature you know the name Dumas.  Alexandre Dumas (pere) and Alexandre Dumas (fils).  Father and son, and two of the great names of French writing.  Unknown to me, and I'd wager a fair number of you as well, is that there was an Alexandre Duma (grand pere).

His preference was to be known simply as Alex.  The eldest Dumas was the son of a minor French aristocrat and a Haitian slave woman who would rise to nearly rival Napoleon in his day.  Bonaparte would eventually turn his back on his fellow general and let him suffer in an Italian prison while Napoleon became emperor.  Because Dumas was persona non grata Reiss works hard to find background on the character.  The middle Dumas wrote a hagiographic biography of his father.  At the same time the general appears to have been an amazing person.  Brilliant general, outstanding swordsman and horseman, beloved by his troops as well as his wife and children.

I've always wondered at the rather rabid reaction to the Bonaparte name you sometimes find in European, especially English, histories.  He is generally treated rather warmly in American schools (at least when I went through) as something of French freedom fighter who goes a little wrong at the end.  I came away with a very different view of him after this book.  Nasty little man.

Dumas pere based one of his most popular books "The Count of Monte Christo" on his father's time in an Italian prison following the betrayal by Bonaparte.  The two year ordeal shortened the elder Dumas's life and he died at just 43 years old.

This is a fascinating piece of French history that I never knew and Riess does a wonderful job telling the story.  If you'd like a little adventure with your history I think you'll like this one.

Rating - **** Recommended

Book Review - The Three Musketeers

"The Three Musketeers" by Alexandre Dumas (pere) - 1844

Having just read a biography of Dumas's father (for which I thought I'd written a review but apparently not) I was happy to dive into this great classic of French literature hiding on my Nook.

The basic story is fairly well known - a young man, d'Artagnon, arrives in Paris looking to join the fabled Musketeers.  This is an elite group of guards assigned to the King.  He first fights, then is befriended by, three musketeers, Athos, Porthos and Aramis.  Together they drink and fight and laugh together through adventures that will take them to England and back.  Along the way they will face some dangerous foes.

To be honest my impression of the story before I turned a page came from the movies.  Which seemed to be mostly men in the absurd (to my eye) clothing of 17th century France having sword fights and being drunk.  It all seemed rather lightweight and silly.  On the other hand this novel (originally a serial) is highly regarded and it launched the fame of the elder Dumas.  So I swung into it.

What I found was a wonderful story and fabulous characters.  I know that d'Artagnon is the romantic lead and seems to get the hero worship but for me it was the silent but wise Athos that drew me in.  He is a man with secrets and burdens.  At the same time he watches over his friends and is there for them when needed.  In the movies Aramis always seems a bit hypocritical in his devotion to the church.  Dumas shows a young man struggling between his calling to God and earthly callings like friendship and duty.

As with any work translated into English the phrasing is sometime  awkward.  It's obvious that idiomatic phrases in French were rather woodenly translated into English so at times the writing is a bit strange.  That's clearly not the fault of the author.  Once source notes that one early translation by William Barrow discretely deletes any scene that seems to be about intimate relations.  While that may have made sense in 1800s England it is foolish now and you would lose some of the quality of the novel by reading such a translation.  My copy is the Barnes and Noble Classics edition and the translator is listed as unknown.

This is a great fun adventure novel filled with wonderful characters of real depth.  Well worth the read.

Rating - **** Recommended

Book Review - Short stories from Neil Gaiman and Bill Veeck

How to Talk to Girls at Parties (with an excerpt from "The Ocean at the End of the Lane") by Neil Gaiman -  This is a short story by the acclaimed author with an excerpt of a novel.  In it two English lads in the 1970s go to a party and discover what most of us discovered back then.  Girls are different.  As the night goes on they discover that these girls are a lot more different than most.  Nominated for a Hugo for Best Story it also won a Locust award in 2007.

I haven't read a lot of Gaiman (an oversight that appalls my daughter, just appalls her) but I do know enough to look for his puckish sense of humor.  This is a quick fun read.

The excerpt from the novel is interesting in a completely different way.  Gaiman takes us to that fantasy world that exists just at the edge of what we all "know" to be reality.  It looks like someplace normal but it really isn't.  A man re-visits the places of his childhood and ends up wishing he hadn't.  There are memories that should have been left buried and he must rely on the strange girl Lettie Hempstock to find his way through.  Just another item in favor of digging in and exploring Gaiman's output in greater detail.

Rating - **** Recommended

Bill Veeck's Crosstown Classic by Bill Veeck - You can not claim to love this history of baseball if you do not know the name Bill Veeck.  Veeck is one of the great innovators, promotors, personalities and owners in the history of the American Game.  This book is part of a series of short works called "Chicago Shorts".  It covers the time when Veeck was buying the Chicago White Sox from the Comiskey family.  Now the Comiskeys were characters unto themselves so it's a clash of the titans.  It's a fascinating look into one of the most unique careers in American sports.  Sports fans of all kinds should read this.  It's even fun if you're not.

Rating - *** Worth A Look

Book Review - The Retribution by Val McDermid

The Retribution by Val McDermid -  I don't think I've read anything else by this Scottish author and that's clearly a mistake on my part.  While it's yet another forensic profiling meets crazed serial killer novel McDermid finds ways to bring a little freshness to the ideas.  The book is the latest in a series and I'm told it's not the best.  If this is the runt of the litter I can hardly wait to see McDermid at her best.  A case where her worst (and it's not a perfect novel) is better than a lot of people's best.  I do know of (but have never seen) the TV series "Wire in the Blood" which is based on one of the books in this series.

The story revolves around the two recurring characters profiler Dr. Tony Hill and Police Inspector Carol Jordan.  Beyond being professional partners these two have a very complicated and dysfunctional personal relationship as well.  Hill is the poster child for poor socialization while Jordan deals with her guilt and personal problems mostly through gin and anger.  The good doctor acknowledges that his skill in tracking down sociopaths is that he is very nearly one himself.  These are not warm and cuddly characters but they are interesting.  In this book they face an old nemesis, Jacko Vance, the national TV celebrity that they sent aware years before.  He's effected his escape and is seeking a little retribution from those he sees as having betrayed him.  Vance chooses his revenge carefully and comes at people from an angle rather than head on.  That gives the story a little freshness for me.  It's a serial killer novel so expect some blood and gore plus just the tiniest little bit of weird sex.

In the end the book stands out for me from the others of this genre I've read recently.  McDermid has a new book in this series with a 2013 publish date so I may take a look at it or go back and start from the beginning.

Rating - *** Worth A Look

Book Review - 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne  Somehow in all the years of science fiction reading I've done I have somehow managed to never read this classic by Verne.  It is a classic story of a man who turns his back on civilization after his family is presumably killed.  But rather than disappear into the wilderness of the land Captain Nemo chooses the ocean as his refuge.  He builds the greatest ship of the age, the Nautilus, and wanders the oceans free from the constraints of anyone's wish except his own.  The seafaring nations of the world believe the Nautilus to be some vicious animal of the deeps and attempt to kill it.  In once such attempt three men, Professor Aronnax, his servant Conseil and Canadian whaler Ned Land are rescued after their ship is severely damaged.  Nemo chooses to rescue them but his condition is severe.  They are never to leave the Nautilus again.

Verne does a stellar job of weaving the complicated character of Nemo and the individual personalities of the other three into an engaging story.  In film versions Nemo is often left as a one dimensional martinet which is a terrible disservice to Verne's creation.  The author isn't afraid to play with ambiguity either.  We're never really clear what happened to Verne's wife and daughter and you can draw your own conclusions about what happens to the Nautilus at the end.  For a book written over 140 years ago it's predictions on technology are pretty good.  The story telling is even better.

I read this as a Nook book and found the footnotes and additional information links to be much better laid out and useful than some.  It really added to my enjoyment of the book and made great use of the special "talents" of an e-book reader.

For science fiction fans this is a 5 star must own.  For everyone else it should be on your lifetime reading list somewhere.

Rating - **** Recommended 

Book Review - The Men Who Lost America

The Men Who Lost America - British Leadership, the American Revolution, and the Fate of the Empire. By Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy

In school we all learned the American mythology of how we won our independence from Great Britain.  It wasn't until I was in college that some of the detail of that part of our history was drawn into clearer focus.  Too often the American victory is taken as inevitable. Us good, them bad, we win.  As always the truth is much more nuanced than that.

The second level of understanding usually takes us to the "poor leadership" model.  The military officers were second rate and the governmental leaders were fools.  That's still a pretty simplistic look at what in fact is a complex and difficult piece of historical terrain.

Author O'Shaughnessy takes us to a whole new place (as Americans that is) and looks at the war from the point of view of those who lead it and opposed it on the British side.  Ten pivotal people are examined and their roles dissected.  The picture that emerges is fascinating.  From King George III to his Prime Minster Lord North (who disliked the term Prime Minister, did not use it and asked repeatedly for years to be allowed to resign) to the commanders in the field (the brothers Howe, one a general the other an admiral, Burgoyne, Cornwallis and Rodney) the task they set before themselves never matched the reality that awaited in the colonies.  The government was split on the subject of the war.  As a result sometimes contradictory instructions were sent to the commanders.  The Army chose repeatedly to use tactics seemingly designed to make their life hard.  The use of German mercenaries was seen as an insult by those who saw this as a conflict among English peoples.  Beyond that were the use of plunder and terror that simply stiffened the opposition.  Add in the bits that we were taught - over extended supply lines, slow communication, byzantine administration and often enormous egos - and the situation was essentially unwinnable from the start.

Now on the American side there were similar problems.  A weak central government that was essentially bankrupt, divided on the subject of the war and always capable of giving contradictory instruction to its generals.  It was only because of the quality of the military leadership on BOTH sides that this war went on as long as it did.  The political leadership in England remained in some quarters astoundingly tone deaf to what was actually happening in America.  Some of them, including the King, wanted to continue on fighting even after Cornwallis's surrender.

Beyond the fine story telling and wonderful insight that O'Shaughnessy brings to the story I was struck by the parallels to modern American history.  Now we are the world power attempting to bring order to the world through military might.  Too often it seems we are as tone deaf to the reality of the situations in those countries where we have been fighting for a decade as King George III was.  His book stands as a stern warning of what may lie before us is we insist on following that path.

For the history lover this is a great book.  I would expect that those dedicated to the history of the War of Independence will classify this one as a must have.

"The Men Who Lost America" will hit bookshelves on June 28, 2013.

Rating - **** Recommended 

Book Review - The Lost Cyclist

The Lost Cyclist - David V. Herlihy (2010)  - The sub-title here is "The Epic Tale Of An American Adventurer And His Mysterious Disappearance" which offers a nice little summation.

This is the story of Frank Lenz an early star in the world of bicycling.  Bicycles are such a common object that we forget that once there was a time when they were new.  In the late 1800's bicycles were the rage.  Starting with the challenging "ordinary"or "Pennyfarthing" then moving to the "safety", which is the origin of the bicycle most of us know today, bicycling was a craze in America and Europe.  Out of Pittsburgh, PA came several of the best of the early riders including Lenz.  His specialty was long distance riding or touring.  While he had great success on the ordinary Lenz was always running second to his rivals and he wanted more than that.  He found it in the innovative new safety bike with it's pneumatic tires (previously bike tires had been solid rubber.  The inflatable tire was a huge step up in comfort and ease of riding).  What he really needed was a momentous ride.

The ride he chose was to go around the world on his bike.  Beginning in the States he would travel west to Japan, then China and across Asia finally to Europe and home.  Others had done similar trips but never this direction and never with the intent to ride the entire way.  Previous riders had covered long sections of the trip by train which Lenz refused to do.  The Pittsburgh native would make it as far as Turkey and then never be heard from again.  To this day a mystery surrounds the end of the trip.

Herlihy covers the challenges and trials of the trip with a story teller's skill.  From Lenz's early days in racing and touring through the many challenges that would face him before he even made it to Turkey the author draws you into the tale.  The rider is often his own worst enemy while at the same time his courage and incredible physical determination take him past obstacles that would have balked any ordinary person.  The story follows right through the investigation launched into his death and the roadblocks that impede it.

And Lenz himself  is often the greatest challenge on the trip.  Like many of his time he assumes a natural superiority over anyone who isn't like him.  There is an ingrained racism in American culture that is right at the surface in those days.  Add in the strong element of cultural superiority that was at its height at this point in American history and Lenz is bound to create ill will among those with narrower world views and/or longer histories than our own.  It seems quite possible that he crossed the wrong person at the wrong time resulting in his death.

If you love well written history you should enjoy this.  If you're a cyclist (or wheel man as we were referred to back in the day) with a love of history this one should definitely be on your list.

Rating - **** Recommended

Book Review - The Time Keeper

The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom (2012 Hyperion)  Got this one as a Christmas present.  I read "Tuesdays with Morrie" a couple years ago and was moved by Albom's story.  So I was happy to put this on the To Read pile.

The book tells the story of Father Time.  He was the human who first invented time keeping and is condemned (?) by God to live in a cave listening to the voices of all the humans who wish for more time.  Eventually he is freed to follow two specific people, a young girl who wants less time and a fabulously wealthy man who wants more.

The storytelling isn't bad.  Albom has been word-smithing for decades now and knows how to make words do what he wants.  At the same time I kept feeling "It's A Wonderful Life" tap me on the shoulder as I read.  Both Sarah and Vincent will get their George Bailey moment as Dor (Father Time's real name) shows them what happens after their death.  Dor meanwhile struggles with memories of the life he lost so many years ago.

It's an interesting series of stories but at the end my reaction was "What's the point?".  Albom lays claim early on to a point of view that says creating a clock is a sin.  That's why Dor is punished.  I'm not sure I see that.  Certainly there is a mistake in mortgaging our lives to a false understanding of time.  It can't be stopped, it can't be negotiated with and in the end we will all cease.  Time is inexorable and uncaring.  We need to deal with it and realize that this moment, right now is a precious thing that we need enjoy and use well.

In the end Albom gets that line of thinking started so I guess that's a success.  I'm just left with a book that I don't mind having read but don't feel any great desire to ever re-visit.

Rating - *** Worth A Look (with a shrug)