Accidental Reads

Play Dead - by Harlan Coben

2012-01-03T19:09:00.000-08:00

This book begins with Celtic superstar David Baskin and supermodel turned business magnate Laura Ayers honeymooning on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, where David tragically drowns unexpectedly. I'm not spoiling anything by telling you that, although Laura believes that her new husband is dead, he actually faked his death. The real plot twists revolve around why. In doing so, the reader is introduced to both Laura's and David's families and the deceptive secrets of their past.

This is Harlan Coben's first novel. It may not be everyone's cup of tea. The complicated plot has seemingly unending twists and turns that are hard to believe at times. Some may find it hard to endure the story-line to its ending. I, however, somewhat enjoyed reading this book. I have read some of Coben's other books and, knowing that this was his first novel, saw some similarities.

Private - by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

2010-11-14T17:01:00.000-08:00

This is the first novel in a new series for James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. A former Marine helicopter pilot, Jack Morgan, is the protagonist. In this initial installment, we learn that Jack suffers nightmares and struggles to re-create the missing memory from a military conflict where most of the soldiers on his helicopter were killed, but he survived and was decorated as a hero. We learn that Private Investigations, the successful detective agency of his father, was recently reopened by Jack when his imprisoned father gave him the resources to do so. We also find that Jack has a strained relationship with his twin brother, a romantic relationship with his assistant Colleen, and a romantic history with Justine, one of the key investigators in his detective agency. He also works with good friend, Rick Del Rio, who served with him in Afghanistan.

Private Investigations takes on cases involving Jack’s best friend (who’s suspected of murdering his wife), possible game tampering in the NFL (through his uncle), and a series of series of brutal murders of young girls in the LA area that they are helping the local police solve in a pro bono status.

I liked this book and found it a very enjoyable read. I found the characters very interesting and the storyline fast paced. If anything, there was too much going on, however. Rather than focusing on a single investigation, or for that matter, one or two of Jack's personal relationships or difficulties, this book covered a lot of different issues and switched constantly between them. Nonetheless, "Private" held my interest and made me want to keep reading it. When the next episode of this series is published, I plan to read it.

Cut to the Chase: and 99 Other Rules to Liberate Yourself and Gain Back the Gift of Time - by Stuart R. Levine

2010-10-20T19:47:00.000-07:00

I tend to read a fair number of self-improvment, time management, and/or personal organization books. This book represents one of my recent forays into this subject. From my experience, many of these guides expand common sense principles into strategies that work for the author. I personally believe, however, that not every one of these strategies "connects" or "strikes a chord" with every reader. For this reason the quality of advice within some of these "how-tos" is very subjective. Also, across the genre, suggestions may range from very high-level guidance to extremely specific techniques. One approach is not necessarily better than the others, but it makes comparisons sometimes difficult.

Given this experience, expectations, and outlook, I found Cut to the Chase to be somewhat middle of the road. In my opinion, the guidance was solid, practical, easy to understand, and potentially useful. On the other hand, many of the points seemed little more than fairly obvious and common sense principles. This fact may not lessen their importance, however.

In summary, if you are looking for a quick read that provides a solid treatment of fundamental time management concepts, then, this is a book that might be worth a look.

The Accidental Billionaires - by Ben Mezrich

2010-09-24T14:51:00.000-07:00

There is a good chance you have seen the trailer from, an advertisement for, or a story about the upcoming Facebook movie "The Social Network". That movie is based upon this book. In it, Ben Mezrich presents a story about the very beginnings of Facebook, the the social networking giant that, today, has over 500 million active users.

This is the tale of how Mark Zuckerberg, as a Harvard undergraduate, envisioned and created Facebook. It is equally a story, however, about how several others with an early affiliation to Zuckerberg and Facebook were left behind. For example, Eduardo Saverin was a good friend and founding business partner who was eventually pushed aside. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra, who approached Zuckerberg to help them with a social networking site of their own, believe he stole their idea. Sean Parker, the cofounder Napster advised Mark helped Facebook get a foothold in Silicon Valley, but also was forced to leave after being arrested for drug possession.

Mr. Mezrich, himself a Harvard graduate, does a very good job of depicting college life and traditions at this Ivy League campus. He also stresses the message that the social acceptance and sex were key incentives and drivers for the college aged male developers of Facebook.

In an Author's Note, Mr. Mezrich describes this book as a dramatic, narrative account. I am paraphrasing, but he explains that he did a lot of research and portrayed the history and timeline as correctly as possible. In the case of discrepencies, however, he used his best judgement. He also imagined some details of settings or descriptions where they were missing information and similarly changed details about some of the people to protect their privacy. He employs the technique of recreated dialogue. Mark Zuckerberg refused his requests to contibute to the content of this book. This reminded me of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, (a very good book) which employed similar techniques. In that case, however, as John Berendt was writing about many of his own conversations and interactions, it seemed more credible. My biggest doubts with The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayalstem from the fact that, in this book, Mezrich is documenting implications about Mark Zuckerburg's thoughts, motives, and intentions, without ever even talking to him about it.

When I picked up the book, I thought, with a title like Accidental Billionaires, that this would be a story of nerds triumphing over the cooler social crowd. After reading it, though, I not sure what I think. One interpretation is that Mark Zuckerberg was a manipulative nerd. Another is that he had a brilliant vision for a social networking site and the necessary commitment and skill to make it such a dominant commercial product. I would not consider this a great read, but I don't regret the time I have spent on it either. Now I will definitely have the see the movie.

Worst Case - by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

2010-09-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

Michael Bennett is a New York City cop and single father with a non-traditional clan of ten adopted kids; an Irish priest (Seamus) as his grandfather; and a "god-send" of an au pair (Mary Catherine) to help him keep everyone happy, healthy, and where they need to be. Detective Bennett was first introduced in Step On a Crack, where he was forced to simultaneously deal with a diabolical high-profile hostage situation and his wife's final days, dying of terminal cancer. In Run for Your Life, he matches wits with The Teacher, a twisted but smart and skillful murderer committing violent crimes with no apparent link. In this third installment of the series, Worst Case, Mike is pitted against a frustrated social activist driven to the kidnapping and murder of some of New York's wealthiest children. His activity seems to have a religious (Ash Wednesday) tie and his motivation appears to be an attempt to bring focus and awareness upon the injustices and environmental impacts that occurred as a by-product of the wealth and fortune they had amassed.

The more I read of this series, the more familiar I become with Michael Bennett, his ability to juggle his vastly different family and professional lives, his complicated human emotions, and his quick wit. He is a competent but human protagonist that I genuinely empathize with and appreciate his perspective. On the other hand, this Irish American cop is also a very likable guy. In this novel he works closely with Agent Emily Parker, a beautiful abduction specialist from the FBI. His relationships with both Parker and his nanny, Mary Catherine, evolve to the point of some romantic tension.

As you can probably tell, James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge have certainly drawn me in as a bona-fide fan of this series. I do believe, however, that this book also stands well on its own. While it is obvious that I am not fully objective, I found this a very engaging and enjoyable read and highly recommend it.

The Brass Verdict - by Michael Connelly

2010-02-27T21:17:00.000-08:00

In this legal thriller, Michael Connelly brings back Mickey Haller. Since we left him, in "The Lincoln Lawyer," Mickey has struggled. Confronted with addition, he has critically damaged and jeopordized the relationships with and respect of his daughter and her mother (his ex-wife) that he so values. In this book, we find him putting his life back together.

The story begins with some background about a long-ago case where Mickey, as a young public defender, crosses paths with a rising prosecutor named Jerry Vincent. His loss to Mickey on this case forces Vincent into private practice, something Jerry thanks Haller for. Fast forward a number of years and Jerry Vincent is murdered. It turns out, however, that his contracts contain clauses naming Haller as the person with first shot to take over his cases, should he be unable to represent them himself. Suddenly, Mickey's recovery, going well and including plans to ease back into litigation, is greatly accelerated. Among his "inheritance" from Vincent is is a high profile murder case involving a prominent Hollywood producer, Walter Elliot, who is accused of killing his much younger wife and her lover. The client wants to go to trial on schedule, so Mickey must scramble to keep this case.

Harry Bosch, the lead in many of Connelly's novels, is the detective assigned to the Vincent murder. Harry, the cop, and Mickey, the defense attorney, are somewhat strange allies, but Mickey agrees to be used as bait to draw out the killer. If you are familiar with some of Connelly's other stories, you may already know that Haller and Bosch have a family link. In this novel, more information about that is revealed.

I really like Mickey Haller. He is bright, intelligent, and an excellent lawyer. On the other hand, he has his demons, weaknesses, and flaws. His relationships are somewhat non-traditional. His case manager is an ex-wife and his lead investigator is dating her. The mother of his daughter, Maggie, another ex-wife, is a prosecutor. He genuinely cares for all of them. He adores his daughter, Hayley. In this book, he tries to help out Patrick, a new client he also inherits from Jerry Vincent. He sometimes struggles with the ethics of being a defense attorney, but with good reason. He tries to do the right thing. I really enjoyed seeing this story through his eyes.

Connelly's use of twists and turns in this book, in my opinion, was near perfect. There were enough surprises to keep me engaged and interested, but they were not forced. Many of the events were unexpected, but after reading them, they made sense and fit. All in all, I thought that this was a very good read and I highly recommend it.

The Associate - by John Grisham

2010-02-05T17:51:00.000-08:00

John Grisham is one of my favorite authors. As "The Associate" came out a little over a year ago (January, 2009), I'm not sure what took me so long to get around to it. If you liked Grisham's earlier legal fiction thrillers, this one is of a similar mold.

Kyle McAvoy is editor of the Yale Law Journal and has a very bright future. He is being recruited by top law firms, including Scully & Pershing of Wall Street, with whom he had a summer internship. As the well grounded son of a small town (York, Pennsylvania), main street lawyer, though, he has more idealistic goals for his prospective legal career. When ambushed with a newly surfaced video of an episode from his past, all of that quickly changes, however. Years earlier, while at Duquesne University, Kyle an his roomates wound up drunk in a room with a young girl. Two of the boys (not Kyle) had sex with the girl while she may have been passed out. At the time, allegations of rape were quietly dismissed. Now, however, the emergence of a video changes things. It threatens not only Kyle's bright future, but also places his old college roommates and friends at risk. Because of this, he is forced to succumb to blackmail.

A mysterious man with the alias, Bennie Wright, becomes his handler and forces him to work as his spy, towards the goal of obtaining highly classified information associated with a multibillion-dollar lawsuit between two defense industry giants. Kyle must, against his will, turn his life over to a New York firm and assume the highly competitive and stressful, but well-paid position of a first-year associate. Although he continually struggles to achieve an acceptable balance between keeping Bennie happy and avoiding the slippery slope of ethical and/or criminal behavior, events are quickly pushing him towards a point of no return, where he will eventually be forced to provide unauthorized and confidential client information. Constantly under surveillance, his life is no longer his own. Who is Bennie and who is he working for? Can Kyle survive this and find a way out?

In my opinion, the true strength of Grisham's novels lies in his characterization. Almost everyone in the story is interesting for one reason or another. In "The Associate," that is just as true as ever. His college buddies are Joey Bernardo, the newly responsible Pittsburgh stock-broker with a fiance and a baby on the way, and Baxter Tate, an alcholic and addict from a wealthy family who is going through a last chance detox and finds religion. Kyle himself comes from a somewhat broken but functional family. His father is a decent man who has dedicated his life to the practice of law within and on behalf of the small town community that he lives in. Although divorced from Kyle's mother, he looks after her. On her meds, she is an untalented, but contented artisan. Off of her meds, her life is much more depressing. Through Kyle's new career, we are exposed to many interesting associates and partners. His friend and love interest, Dale, for example, is a rather quiet, former math teacher turned lawyer. Above all, Mr. Grisham is a consummate storyteller and, personally, I find his characters to have depth.

I found "The Associate" fast paced and a very enjoyable read. Many may not appreciate the ending. Given my previously noted bias, you may want to take this with a slightly skeptical view, but I recommend this book. In the end, I found it an interesting story that I wanted to keep reading all the way through. Those are the kind of books I like to read.

Richistan - by Robert Frank

2010-01-31T18:47:00.000-08:00

"Richistan" is a book that provides some insight into the lifestyles of the rich (some may not really be considered famous). The author, Robert Frank, maintains a blog for the Wall Street Journal entitled The Wealth Report. On June 5, 2007, his post, "Why Richistan? Why Now?" was about the release of this book on that day. In this article, he points out that "the wealthy weren’t just getting wealthier — they were forming their own virtual country. They were wealthier than most nations, with the top 1% controlling $17 trillion in wealth. And they were increasingly building a self-contained world, with its own health-care system (concierge doctors), travel system (private jets, destination clubs) and language. ... They had created their own breakaway republic — one I called Richistan. ... The real story behind all this wealth, however, isn’t in the numbers. It’s in the people, and how they’re changing the culture and character of wealth in America. Richistan is largely about a country in flux — one in which Old Money is being shoved aside by self-made entrepreneurs, philanthropy is changing from passive check-writing to “high-engagement philanthropy" ... Most of all, Richistan is about the entertaining way that today’s rich are making, spending, donating and living with their wealth."

Although Richistan's population is less than 10 million today, they control more than 90% of America's wealth. Even in Richistan, however, there is a hierarchy. Lower Richistan with its members having only $1 million to $10 million in net worth are considered by many to be simply affluent, rather than true Richistanis. The world of personal jets, amazing yachts, and corporation sized house staffs, are found in Middle and Upper Richistan, as well as Billionaireville. Just as the gap between the most wealthy and the poor is ever widening, so is a similar gap between the wealthiest and entry-level Richistanis. In case you are too jealous of those in Richistan, however, apparently, having all of that money brings its own set of problems. Improving (or even just maintaining) ones lifestyle can be stressful. For example, Richistan is faced with a much higher inflation rate.

Although this book is only a few years old, it precedes most of the recent and dramatic economic downturn. As such, a recurring thought to me throughout the book, was what impact, if any, that the recent economic crisis had on Richistan. In a March 18, 2009 blog post entitled "Help, I’ve Been Deported From Richistan", Frank somewhat addreses just this question. He explains that, "now, the Richistan border is jammed–with people getting deported. It turns out that many of these immigrants acted like they belonged but were really illegal aliens who got into Richistan with tourist visas and fake passports, also known as borrowed money. Others lost their right to citizenship through their investments: The number of millionaires dropped by a quarter last year and is likely to drop again this year." I would expect, however, that the things have probably turned around more quickly for Richistan than the rest of us. In reality, recent events have probably only accelerated even further separation of Richistan, and its wealth, from the rest of society.

As a former foreign correspondent, Robert Frank states his intent and goal to "cover Richistan just as I would cover another country. I wouldn’t judge the rich as heroes or villains, any more than I would judge Indonesians when covering Indonesia. My job would simply be to tell the reader what their world is like and what’s happening there." I think he did an admirable job of achieving this goal. I found the book both informative and entertaining, but always objective.

Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar - by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein

2010-01-23T07:23:00.000-08:00

Philosophy is normally "not my thing." In general, I am not a "big thinker" and my interests lie more in the details of how things work rather than in questions such as "why do they exist?" or "what is the greater purpose or meaning?." I do enjoy humor, however, and to me, even a corny joke can be quite enjoyable. This offering, then, which frames philosophical concepts in terms of jokes, is my kind of philosophy book. The authors present philosophy and comedy in a manner they term "philogagging." From Aristotle to Augustine, Nietzsche, Descartes, and Sartre, the concepts of many philosophers are illustrated in a lighthearted and amazingly comprehensible manner through jokes. If you're not into deep philosphical thinking, this book offers some exposure to some weighty thoughts in a very light manner.

There are a number of reasons one may want to read this book. The authors are real philosophy majors with a Harvard academic pedigree. This book could be used as a tool to help one learn and better understand philosophy. The presentation of concepts in the context of jokes was, for my simple brain, very helpful to better understanding and comprehension. While I certainly learned from this book, however, I did not treat it as a textbook. Enjoyment and entertainment was my objective and I was a satisfied customer. While stand-up comics would probably be hard pressed to find material in this book, I found it quite humorous. While what is funny and what is not can be a very subjective opinion, I found this book funny enough to keep me hooked and wanting to read more. I enjoyed this book in both its concept and its organization. I recommend it. Cathcart and Klein also have a new book: Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates: Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explore Life, Death, the Afterlife, and Everything in Between
which looks to be in a similar vein. If you enjoy politics, you may consider Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington. Look for either or both of these in a future review. I intend to check them out when I get the chance.

The Winner - by David Baldacci

2010-01-14T20:53:00.000-08:00

LuAnn Tyler is a very poor young mother in Georgia with movie star looks, little education, and a loser boyfriend. Responding to a potential job interview, she is offered a chance to become the guaranteed winner of the national lottery. LuAnn, a good and moral person, struggles with any involvement in something illegal like cheating to win the lottery, but in an unexpected and unfortunate turn of events is forced into accepting the deal, winning the money, and then disappearing from sight.

After ten years of living like a fugitive, LuAnn sneaks back into the United States under her new name. When a reporter stumbles across an unexpected anomaly and the man behind the lottery fix gets wind of her return against his will, however, LuAnn has a serious problem. I don't want to give too much of the story away, but LuAnn is not the only person who is hiding behind a different identity. In fact, it is a fairly common theme throughout the novel. Baldacci does a great job at intertwining deception and truth to keep the reader guessing.

I found "The Winner" to be very enjoyable and a great read. I was hooked throughout. As you might expect in a thriller, most of the characters are quite extraordinary - none of your run of the mill or average types. All are very well developed, however, and very human. I was able to relate to, on some level, each of the characters on this book. Don't get me wrong, I was behind LuAnn throughout the book, but Baldacci does a great job of incorporating shades of morality throughout the book to make me think about what is right, what is wrong, and what would I do. How could I not recommend it.

After the Stroke: My Journey Back to Life - by Mark McEwen

2010-01-09T10:31:00.000-08:00

The version I read of this book was actually titled "Change in the Weather." As the same book (to my understanding) is currently being marketed and sold as "After the Stroke," I am using the current title and cover image for this review.

While I was never a regular viewer of CBS morning news shows, I do know who Mark McEwen is and find him to be a very likable and talented celebrity. In 2005, after having moved to Orlando, where he was news anchor for a local station there, Mark suffered a stroke during a visit to Baltimore. This was mis-diagnosed, and on his trip home, he subsequently suffered a massive stroke. This book provides a sketch of Mark's life both before and after the stroke. This narrative about his life not only bolstered my positive opinion of him as an on-air personality, but also showed him to be courageous, hard-working, and caring, while at the same time very human.

A stated purpose of the book is to educate about stroke and stroke prevention. By sharing his first hand experience, McEwen does this quite effectively. Although I have had some personal exposure to friends and family who have experienced relatively minor strokes, reading this book made me acutely aware of how little I really knew. Whether this information will be of use to you in stroke prevention, early detection of possible stroke in you or someone around you, or in understanding the implications and possibilities of stroke recovery, this is information we all should know. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in America and the leading cause of adult disability. According to the National Stroke Association, up to 80% of all strokes are preventable.

Rage - by Jonathan Kellerman

2009-12-26T10:08:00.000-08:00

For those familiar with Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware novels, "Rage" is the 19th installment of that series. If you enjoy the team of psychologist Delaware's and his friend LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis's often unorthodox approach to solving criminal mysteries with some surprising and unexpected outcomes, you won't be disappointed with this story.

Eight years earlier, Alex was called upon to evaluate two young boys, barely teenagers, who had kidnapped two-year old Kristal Malley from a mall and murdered her. The two boys were Troy Turner, who seemed an intelligent child psychopath, and Rand Duchay, who appeared to be an easily led and slow-witted accomplice. The boys were sent away to California's troubled youth correctional system without any real understanding of why these children would do such a terrible thing to an innocent two-year-old girl. Troy Turner was, himself, brutally murdered in prison. Rand Duchay, however, survived, and at age 21 was released.

Out of the blue, Alex Delaware gets a phone call from the recently freed Duchay asking to meet and talk, but is murdered before they have they have the chance. Was it simple fate that a child-killer himself met a violent end? Did someone try to get revenge for Rand's horrible crime? Barnett Malley, Kristal's father, is an obvious suspect. A young couple who served as "religious advisors" for the boys, however, also seem to be curiously linked in unexpected ways. Alex and Milo are determined to sort it all out. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride and, hence, highly recommend this book.

Promise Me - by Harlan Coben

2009-12-11T19:15:00.000-08:00

"Promise Me" is another installment of Harlan Coben's basketball star turned sports/talent agent with "extra" skills, Myron Bolitar. At a party, Myron overhears part of a conversation with two teenaged girls. In an effort to prevent them ever from riding in a car with friends (or others) who have been drinking, he ends up asking them to call him, if ever in trouble, and he will come and get them with no strings (or questions) attached. When, at a later date, one of the girls, Aimee Biel, takes him up on his offer, Bolitar picks her up as he said he would. After dropping her off, though, supposedly at her friend's house, she disappears. Although Myron's friends have cautioned him against trying to save people, he must jump into this mystery with both feet. He feels a duty to Aimee, her parents, and himself to find out what happened and make sure she's okay.

Harlan Coben does a skillful job of weaving a suspenseful thriller by methodically uncovering a set of intriguing clues that Myron eventually pieces together to uncover the truth. He utilizes and further develops a cast of characters in this novel with real complexity and depth. From his best friend, Windsor Horne Lockwood III (Win), to his business partner and friend Esperanza, to his quirky parents whom he aspires to become, to his former and current love interests (Jessica and Ali respectively), to county investigator Lauren Mews from other Coben tales, to unorthodox friend Big Cyndi, and to all of the Livingston, New Jersey area based personalities Myron encounters in pursuit of this case, they all are quintessentially human with strengths and weaknesses, talents and faults, and non-trivial backgrounds. One some plane, Myron (and hence the reader) empathizes with all of them. Much of the appeal of this book is experiencing Myron's internal conflict with issues that have no easy answers.

On Harlan Coben's web-page for this book (http://www.harlancoben.com/static/novels/pm.htm), the author says, "I wanted to have my cake and eat it too. I wanted to write a gut-wrenching suspense thriller that would top all of my stand-alones. And I wanted to write a book that would be uniquely Myron. I think I did that with Promise Me." Well, I agree. This was indeed a very good book.

Predictably Irrational - by Dan Ariely

2009-12-10T21:28:00.000-08:00

This book is about behavioral economics. While the subject alone may convince many would be readers to move onto another title, I would highly recommend otherwise.

Dan Ariely describes, in a very entertaining and informative style, why the assumption of rational behavior, which underlies most classic economic theory, is not always valid. Don’t be concerned, however, that the reader will be forced to interpret a traditional scientific dissertation on this topic. Instead, he or she will be treated to explanations of his concepts and findings in terms of everyday, common human behavior which everyone can easily understand and relate to. Further, he backs his concepts with descriptions of real-life experiments with some very enlightening and somewhat surprising results. By reading this book, I think you will gain some personal insight into how we all make real-life decisions. The result is not only the presentation of fascinating information (although I was certainly engaged by it and truly didn’t want to put the book down), but also the demonstration of how these findings might potentially be applied in ingenious manners to improve our lives in personal or societal ways.

For instance, the author explains that humans make decisions in a “relative” context. When carrying out our attempts at rational comparison, however, many factors can affect us irrationally. For example, he demonstrates how we are insensibly biased towards something that is free. He shows that, in our minds, the cost of an item affects its value (e.g., an aspirin costing fifty cents cures headaches more effectively than the same aspirin priced at only 5 cents). He explains that ownership can tremendously skew our valuation of items (e.g., in a pool of loyal Duke basketball fans competing in a lottery for hard to get tickets, those actually awarded tickets valued them at roughly ten times the value of those who were offered a chance at purchasing the tickets after
losing the lottery). He illustrates how nonsensical price associations (e.g. Social Security digits) can even affect human valuation decisions.

The book documents similar results for moral decision-making. For example, Ariely describes an experiment which demonstrates radical shifts between results during “cold” and “passionate” mental states (he used arousal for his experiment, but pointed out that anger, fear, or any other such criteria would likely produce similar results). He provides data to show that people are more honest when cash is directly involved. Likewise, he shows that moral reminders (e.g., honor codes or recalling the ten commandments) actually reduce dishonesty. He points out the differences between business and social norms and some unanticipated results of trying to blend the two.

In summary, I found this to be a great book. I thoroughly enjoyed it, learned much, and highly recommend it. I hope you read it and have a similar experience.

You've Been Warned - by James Patterson & Howard Roughan

2009-11-28T19:46:00.000-08:00

Although thoroughly engaging and enjoyable, this book was a little bit on the "weird" side. After finishing this book, I'm still not exactly sure what happened. While reading it, however, I was thoroughly captivated.

Kristin Burns is a young aspiring photographer living in New York and on the cusp of a successful career. Her current day job is nanny for Michael and Penley Turnbull's two young children. Kristin is very personable and likable. Her boss, Penley, is not so much. As her boyfriend is Penley's husband Michael, however, she is not completely objective on the matter.

Although Kristin considers herself one of the sanest people she knows, her life has become a succession of very strange and scary episodes. She is haunted by a recurring nightmare of murder and death. The line between her dreams and reality become increasingly blurred. Some of her pictures exhibit a peculiar transparency. She sees people from her past, who have been dead. Hostilities between herself and her neighbor intensify. Other unexplained weird and frightening things happen to her. In summary, she is losing her grip on the life she has chosen and is being warned to abandon it.

The ending of this book is probably its most controversial part. Some may find it ingenious. Some may find it deep and meaningful. Some may find it disappointing. Personally, I find it a little of all of these things. As I mentioned up front, I'm still not sure exactly what happened at the very end. This did not ruin the story for me, however. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride up to and through the end of this story. Although it may or may not have been the author's intent, I have obtained closure by applying my own interpretation.

In summary, I highly recommend this book. If you regularly read James Patterson, however, "you've been warned." This book is unlike any other James Patterson novel I have read. In my opinion, though, that is a great reason to read it.

Dead Time - by Stephen White

2009-11-06T18:57:00.000-08:00

This was not one of my favorite reads. I didn't hate the book and don't regret my time spent with it, but I was somewhat distracted by what I perceived as a jumble of many simultaneous tales. In addition, it is told from the viewpoint of both Colorado psychologist Alan Gregory and his ex-wife Meredith. My first reaction to this was a little bit of annoyance of sitting through the same story twice from multiple viewpoints. After finding out more about the author and the series, however, I softened significantly on these initial reactions.

The primary storyline ties the disappearance of a young women, pregnant as a surrogate for Meredith and her fiance, to a yet unsolved series of events from a Grand Canyon camping trip, during a record-breaking heatwave, many years earlier. Meredith asks for Alan's help with this while a lot of other things are going on in his life. Prior to this, their friend Adrienne, has just died and Alan and his wife Lauren, were granted custody of her son. As a background to the main plot, Alan has taken his stepson to New York, to re-unite with his mother's family and Lauren and their daughter have flown to Holland to reconnect with a daughter she gave up long ago. With Alan's help, Meredith hires Sam Purdy, Alan's detective friend with his own troubled past. Alan ends up in Los Angeles, to question his friend's daughter about the Grand Canyon camping trip. In addition to unraveling the secrets from the past, he confronts potential cracks in his own relationships.

As I indicated at the beginning of this review I thought that the book was, in general, quite captivating, but, at times seemed somewhat unfocused. I think part of my problem, however, was that I jumped, completely uninitiated, into the sixteenth novel of Stephen White's Dr. Alan Gregory series. When I started this book, I was not even aware that it was part of a series, let alone such a well developed one. The fifteen earlier series thrillers, ranging from Privileged Information (1991) to Dry Ice (2007) probably provide a lot of history and background that would probably make many of the things that I found distracting much more meaningful. I did find the characters in this book very complex and interesting. For the most part, I like the author's writing style. I will definitely try another book in this series.

As a final, somewhat trivial, note, I expected the title "Dead Time", in the traditional murder mystery mindset, to refer to some event of murder or death. While that might be part of an intended "double meaning," I was kind of surprised at the numerous references throughout the book to "dead time" in a conversational sense. There were also several references to cleavage (the other kind) and on Stephen White's web site, he indicates that Cleavage was a working title that didn't survive the publishing process. Not sure why I find this kind of stuff so interesting -- I just do.

Words That Work - by Dr. Frank Luntz

2009-11-05T09:19:00.000-08:00

Now I'm not a very political person. When I picked up this book from my library, it wasn't because I knew who Frank Luntz is. Well, I quickly learned that he helped develop the language for the Republican Contract with America that led to an election of the first Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in forty years. Dr. Luntz also worked for Republican mayor Rudy Giuliani and seems to be identified by most as a Republican pollster. From the stories in this book, however, he seems to have consulted an extensive but quite diverse set of political and corporate clients on winning word choices. Luntz's fundamental advice is the subtitle of this book: "It's not what you say, it's what people hear."

This book does deliver on its promise to deliver useful guidelines for crafting "words that work." It also contains examples to illustrate his points which are interesting, often insightful, and even entertaining. In some ways, the topic of this book and its examples seem manipulative -- the same message delivered with a different set of words can have much different results. In reality, though, the use of language to impart the desired meaning is a powerful tool that we all should learn to better utilize. It is encouraging to me that, as this book shows, the simpler and more direct approach usually wins out over attempts to utilize an impressive vocabulary or unnecessary eloquence. I enjoyed this book and learned some things. I am skeptical, however, that I would be able to easily spot and recognize such significant perception differences between, say, "estate tax" and "death tax". This book was, hopefully, a good first start though.

The Woods - by Harlen Coben

2009-10-31T17:13:00.000-07:00

From the beginning of this novel, you quickly understand that Paul Copeland, a New Jersey prosecutor, was forever scarred from a tragic and traumatic past. The story opens with the death of his father, and Paul's reflection of how, as a youth, he had followed him repeatedly into the woods to witness him grieving over and "digging for" his sister. Twenty years earlier, four teenagers at a summer camp were victims in the woods. Two were found murdered and two had disappeared. Paul had been at that camp and his sister had been one of the teens that was never found. The lives of the teens from that summer and their families had been significantly changed and deeply affected by the events of that night. Just a few months after burying his father, however, Paul is dragged back into the search for his sister and the truth about what happened that night, when a seemingly unrelated homicide connects back to the horror of those woods.

Harlen Coben does a skillful job of parceling out details of Paul's history, the events of that night, and how those attached to the tragedy were deeply affected by it. He completes the picture at a pace that keeps the story intriguing but suspenseful. Paul is warned to leave the past alone, but he persists and uncovers secrets that neither he nor the reader expect to find.

Paul's journey back into his past is accompanied by his current efforts to prosecute a group of fraternity boys for the rape of a poor young black stripper. He seeks justice and must battle the attempts by a rich and powerful father to protect his son. Paul's black and white perspective of right and wrong in this case is contrasted against what the father of his teenage friend, the father of his girlfriend from summer camp, his own father, and ultimately himself are willing to do for their children.

I very much enjoyed this book. The storyline was interesting and engaging and the plot twists kept surprising me until the very end. I highly recommend this novel.

Why We Want You to Be Rich -- by Donald J. Trump and Robert T. Kiyosaki

2009-10-09T17:46:00.000-07:00

Donald Trump is an icon -- I think that I have watched every season of "The Apprentice" and likely read and hear about him elsewhere from various news or American pop culture sources. Several years ago, I read one of Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad books. Therefore, I consider myself somewhat familiar with these two authors and what they stand for. Nonetheless, I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. Billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump partnering with millionaire and top personal finance author Robert Kiyosaki on a book about being rich. It certainly isn't a "how-to" book, but I didn't expect that. It discusses their shared passion for real estate, but it doesn't really offer any advice specific to that field. They both share personal stories about family, friends, and their own experiences (failures and successes), but it is not auto-biographical. While there is much in this book that is inspirational, I wouldn't say that is the focus of the book either. Instead, I would categorize this book as "applied philosophy" discussions in which Donald and Robert share their viewpoints on core values and principles that make people wealthy, successful, and happy. As you might expect from these two, this book thinks big. They discuss their viewpoints on the global economy, America's financial problems, and how by becoming rich, people can become part of the solution. Donald and Robert both point out that the world of today is not what the typical baby-boomer, say, was educated to achieve in. They both seem truly committed to financial education and I sensed a genuine desire to help others through teaching.
If you are looking for a blueprint for becoming rich, this is not your book. If you are expecting a business textbook, you will likewise be disappointed. If you want some insight into Trump's and Kiyosaki's guiding principles and values, as well as how and why they differ from commonly understood and practiced financial approaches, then I think you will be glad you read this book. In the end, this book educated me, it helped me try to think bigger, it forced me to reflect introspectively, it inspired me, it scared me, and it encouraged me. Above all, it reinforced that, in the end, I am the one ultimately responsible for my financial (and other) success and failure. I found this book a "page-turner" just as I might a good novel. I now want to dedicate more energy towards the types of financial and business education and experiences discussed in this book.

The Whole Truth - by David Baldacci

2009-10-02T20:03:00.000-07:00

I am a fan of David Baldacci's novels. I have read many from his Camel Club series, his Sean King and Michelle Maxwell series, and others. I picked up this book, then, with a well defined set of expectations.

In many ways, this book was indeed what I expected. This was a political thriller pitting a powerful man, and his abuse of power, against an exceptionally skilled hero with a very complex past. Nicholas Creel, heading the world's largest defense contractor, is a very wealthy man with very grand financial and socio-political goals. His ambitions lead him to work with a perception management firm to manipulate world events. Shaw is in many ways an indentured servant, who has been railroaded into helping con, trap, capture, or kill very bad terrorists, drug dealers, international weapons dealers, and the like. His life is a series of dangerous assignments that help keep the world safe. As he is incredibly good at what he does, he has somehow managed to survive situations that few (maybe no) others could. Shaw's girlfriend, Anna, is a genius mind, working in a political think-tank, who somewhat inadvertently involves herself within Creel's sinister plot. Katie James, a journalist with a complex past of her own crosses paths with first Shaw and then an unexpected chance at a story that could rejuvenate her career.

In other ways, this book surprised me. Shaw is deeply in love with Anna and gets engaged. He wants to retire, but that may not be allowed. After the engagement, Anna and her parents learn much more about his secret life. Can their relationship survive? I didn't expect this type of emotional depth.

This setup leads to a very interesting and page-turning storyline evoking a wide range of emotions. Many of the plot twists were predictable, but some were truly surprising. The characters were complex and interesting. The bad guys weren't pure evil and the good guys weren't unblemished. I found it a captivating and truly enjoyable story. As I probably enjoy the thriller and murder mystery genres most, I may be somewhat biased, but I would recommend this novel.

True Believer -- by Nicholas Sparks

2009-09-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

I typically do not read Nicholas Sparks' books. He is a talented story teller, but the tragedies inherent in his novels are not the genre that I typically like to read. I'm not sure why I picked this one up, but with a much lighter beginning, telling of Jeremy Marsh, a scientific journalist, uncovering the fraud and deception of a psychic "mind reader" and getting a big career break by reporting it on a prime-time TV news magazine show, I decided to stick with it. For his next story, Jeremy travels to a small North Carolina town to investigate unexplained lights observed by many at a nearby cemetery. Although the reader follows Jeremy through his research of the intriguing legend associated with the "haunted" cemetery and his work to solve the mystery behind the ghostly lights, this is really a book about impossible love. Jeremy, the New Yorker, and Lexie, the small town girl needing to look after her grandmother, fall in love, but it seems they will not be able to follow that love and be together. Each have been deeply hurt in the past.

This is indeed a romance story and not one I would typically select. It kept me interested and reading, however, and, in the end, I found it quite enjoyable.

Traffic -- by Tom Vanderbilt

2009-09-19T18:58:00.000-07:00

This book promised to explore "why we drive the way we do (and what it says about us)." I was a little skeptical about how a book of this length about traffic could remain interesting and my kids even teased me about getting another "geek book." I was pleasantly surprised, however. In college, I actually studied queueing theory (from a mathematical perspective). For me then, I found the discussion in this book on the psychology of queues (a traffic jam is after all just a type of queue) quite interesting. If, like me, you've ever wondered about things like why we drive on the right side of the road and some countries drive on the left side of the road, what traffic is like outside of America, and what is the impact of new automotive safety technology on death and injury rates, then this book will offer you some insight. This book addresses how drivers interact (and don't interact) with their vehicles, other drivers, bikers, and pedestrians. The book talks about intersections, roundabouts, road markings, signs (and the lack of signs), late and early merging, ramp metering, traffic enforcement, and much more. In the vein of a Malcolm Gladwell book, this book references and cites a wide range of interesting facts and studies in an organized and coherent way. I enjoyed this book so much, that I even checked out the author's blog on this subject: howwedrive.com in search of more information on the topic.

Sail -- by James Patterson

2009-09-10T22:33:00.000-07:00

So I decided to read back-to-back James Patterson stories. This book was very enjoyable and, as I do most of his books, I recommend it. When reading it, however, I must admit to feeling somewhat conflicted about it. At times it felt too predictable, but then something unexpected would happen to pull me back in.

The story is about a wealthy widow, who with a career as a doctor, does not have the relationship with her children that she wants. They are taking a sailing vacation, with her brother-in-law Jake, as a desperate attempt to save the family. She has the seemingly perfect and supportive husband, who is not taking the trip with them. After embarking on the trip, seemingly terrible luck puts the family in precarious situations but ultimately draws them closer together. There is more than coincidence, however, behind all of their misfortune.

For me, this was an enjoyable read. This type of story is probably my favorite genre. While I might not consider this book one of my all time favorites, I certainly don't regret spending the time to read it. In some sense, however, I appreciated it more retrospectively, after completing it, than while in the middle of it.

Cross Country -- by James Patterson

2009-09-01T17:57:00.000-07:00

I'm a fan of Alex Cross. This story was not my favorite in the series, but in my biased opinion, a worthwhile read. Alex trys to track a vicious killer and his gang into his home turf in Africa. He quickly discovers that policework by an American cop in these foreign nations has many different challenges than he has faced in his previous cases. This book is more about Alex's survival than his investigative skills. Somehow, though, he persists in Africa and discovers some powerful secrets. When he is finally forced back home, he arrives just in time to face some horrible consequences. In true Alex Cross fashion, when others would let it go, he follows the case through to the end. For Alex Cross, however, "the end" is relative. His cases always weave a complicated web.