Title: Stand To…A Journey to Manhood
Author: E. Franklin Evans
Published in: Jan 2008
Awards: 2009 Award Winner, Founder’s Award, Mil Writer Soc of America (MWSA)
Silver Medalist, Branson Stars and Flags, 2009
45th Annual Georgia Author of the Year Nominee
See the video trailer at http://www.efranklinevans.com/index.php?page_id=269
Reviewed by W.H. McDonald, Jr. for Military Writer's Society of America
Vietnam veteran and author E. Franklin Evans has captured something very special in his personal war memoir, "Stand To...A Journey to Manhood". We get a good glimpse back into the life and times of a "young man" caught in the vortex of war. The reader is treated to a well written accounting of his experiences surviving both the traumas of battles and people. It is historic, personal and entertaining.
This is one of this decade's "Top 10 Best Memoirs" on the Vietnam War experience. The story is emotionally presented through the eyes of a young Army officer - but it is clearly written with the introspection of a much older author. He looks back at that time and place in his life in an attempt to understand and come to grips with these events. It is truly a journey and one that most readers will find well worth taking with this author.
----
The reviewer is the founder of MWSA, Bill MacDonald. The author won the Founder’s Award for 2008. It was also. iUniverse’s Reader’s Choice, Editor’s Choice, and Publisher’s Choice in 2008.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
This blog, #TheNewBookReview, is "new" because it eschews #bookbigotry. It lets readers, reviewers, authors, and publishers expand the exposure of their favorite reviews, FREE. Info for submissions is in the "Send Me Your Fav Book Review" circle icon in the right column below. Find resources to help your career using the mini search engine below. #TheNewBookReview is a multi-award-winning blog including a MastersInEnglish.org recommendation.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
How To Sue A Telemarketer
How To Sue A Telemarketer
Author's website link – http://www.howtosueatelemarketer.com/
Genre or category – Humor/Legal
ISBN-10: 061533817
ISBN-13: 978-0615338170
About How To Sue A Telemarketer
Telemarketers have been a pain in the general public’s behind for decades. Thanks to their interrupting us day and night, the telephone has been transformed from a convenience, into a source of annoyance and frustration.
How To Sue A Telemarketer: A Manual For Restoring Peace On Earth One Phone Call At A Time is a tongue-in-cheek manual that shows the average citizen how they can fight back against a telemarketer by taking them to small-claims court. Half humorous and half how-to, the book combines comedy with savvy information about the legal system and step-by-step instructions on how consumers can take telemarketers to task.
About Steve Ostrow
A practicing lawyer for 30 years in Cardiff by the Sea, California, Steve also had the unique opportunity to play the celebrity double for Seinfeld’s Cosmo Kramer, originally played by actor Michael Richards, in venues around the country for 10 years. With the additional skills of being a small claim judge and licensed real estate broker, recently Steve turned his attention to writing a tongue in cheek manual on How To Sue A Telemarketer- A Guide to Creating Peace On Earth One Telephone Call At A Time.
Combining his wise guy roots in New York with a laid back California lifestyle, an unusual combination of wit and insight into the legal system is explored in his latest exploit. With insights from a long time yoga practice, the lawyer Steve tries to see a bigger emotional picture of the client’s needs
Topics In How To Sue A Telemarketer by Stephen Ostrow-
• What to do when a telemarketer first calls
• Gathering information to file a civil complaint
• Filing and serving of the complaint
• What to do in court all the way through collection on the judgment
• Everything you need to know about suing telemarketers
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
A Nail Through The Heart Reviewed
TITLE: A Nail Through the Heart
AUTHOR: Timothy Hallinan
GENRE: Mystery
CATEGORY: Thriller
ISBN-10:0061257222
ISBN-13:978-0061257223
Reviewed by Beth Crowley for Murder by Type
REVIEWER'S RATING: 5 Stars
A Nail Through the Heart, the first of Timothy Hallinan's Bangkok thrillers, balances family, love, loyalty, and hope against evil that destroys the spirit and sacrifices innocence to perversion.
I read this book a few years ago. Tim's post, "Behind the Smiles", on the Murder is Everywhere blog, sent me back to the book and I am glad it did. I found things I missed in the first reading and I understand some things better because of what I have learned about Thailand through Tim's posts.
In the blog, Tim writes that Bangkok is the "meat market where the children of the poor, both male and female, go to sell their beauty." The men who use them believe "there has to be something real, something genuine, behind smiles like those. And there are: poverty and powerlessness."
A Nail Through the Heart is about family, love, loyalty, hope, and the future but it is also about the debasement of the most innocent of humanity and the evil which kills beauty because there is no need for beauty when power is all that matters. Poke's search for a missing man and his maid leads him to Madame Wing who offers Poke the money he needs to speed along adoption process that will make Miaow, and 8 year-old street child, legally his. The money will help his love, Rose, establish her business. Madame Wing wants Poke to find an envelope but he must not look at the contents. One man did and had to die for doing so. The threads come together in the end to a satisfying, almost, conclusion.
This is a book that the reader won't want to put down. Since I first read it, I have thought, on occasion, of "Growing-Younger Man", the man whose face is so tight Poke wonders how he chews. Why do people try so hard to pretend that they haven't experienced life? Why is youth so envied when it is the young who haven't yet had the time to develop the life-skills that allow us to keep living?
But that is a minor issue compared to what the author is really serving up. Child pornography is financed by the people who buy it. Anyone who does is as guilty as the men who perform the abuse. They do it for the world wide audience who know without question that what they are seeing on the screen isn't pretend. And then there is the ultimate question: When is the taking of a life not a wrong? Are all murderers equally guilty? How should society respond when, as Poke says, "The victims were guilty....and the murderers were innocent?"
Finally, the book reminded me that I haven't told my children enough about the killing fields of Cambodia. As the victims of the holocaust should never be forgotten, neither should the victims of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. We have an obligation to them as well.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Memoir about Finding Oneself Will Especially Resonate with American Indians
One Small Sacrifice: Lost Children of the Indian Adoption Projects
By Trace A. DeMeyer
Memoir-NonFiction
ISBN: 978-0-557-25599-3.
Originally reviewed by John Christian Hopkins, for the national Native newspaper News From Indian Country
The Beatles sang of a long and winding road, but they never set foot on the long, treacherous path of a Native American adoptee that is strewn with potholes, dead-ends and disappointment.
Award-winning Native journalist Trace A. DeMeyer shares the heartfelt journey of loss, loneliness and finding love in her powerful, new memoir “One Small Sacrifice: Lost Children of the Indian Adoption Projects,” an exposé on generations of American Indian children adopted by non-Indian families.
One reader told DeMeyer it was like being “punched in the gut.”
Pulling no punches, DeMeyer, who now lives in Greenfield, Mass., with her husband, Herb, rips away the illusion that adoption ends happily ever after as soon as the documents are signed and finalized.
She delves into the dark world of doubts – “Why didn’t my mom want me?” – and the fear that asking too many questions would cause her adoptive parents to throw her away all over again.
She suffered years of abuse – emotionally, sexually, and physically – as pain became her constant companion and a pretend happy smile her childhood defense against the torrent of doubts in her life.
DeMeyer spent years meeting and talking with other “Split Feathers,” Native American children taken from their homes and placed in non-Indian families; she discovered that her experiences weren’t new or unique, that many other adoptees, just like her, had unanswered questions, mountains of sadness and, often, shattered lives.
Conquering that tumultuous beginning felt like the easy part as DeMeyer attempted to find her birth family. Her first obstacle was that her adoption was “closed,” meaning sealed and she had no legal right to view her own file!
A sympathetic judge in her Wisconsin hometown allowed DeMeyer to look at her file when she was 22; she found tantalizing clues about her birth family, and even more questions to haunt her as sought to come full circle and discover who she really was.
“I read this powerful book cover to cover, Trace tells her story with such compassion and truthfulness,” Alutiiq-Cherokee adoptee and author Anecia O’Carroll wrote. “Her memories, feelings and facts are written with such unflinching truth, in my mind and heart, she is a warrior and a hero.”
Known for her exceptional print interviews with famous Native Americans such as Leonard Peltier and John Trudell, DeMeyer started research on adoptees in 2004, which led to this fact-filled, 227-page biography that includes congressional testimony, evidence of Indian Adoption Projects and how the Indian Child Welfare Act came to exist.
This jaw-dropping narrative of living as an adoptee, her search, meeting birth relatives, will surely raise eyebrows and question the validity of sealed records and the billion dollar adoption industry. Trace DeMeyer’s blog, updated often, can be found at www.splitfeathers.blogspot.com.
Her journey takes her to Illinois to meet her birthfather in 1996 where she learns about her Cherokee-Shawnee ancestry.
In the 1870s Ponca chef Standing Bear had to take his case to court to prove he was a human being; but DeMeyer’s journey took her further as she tried to prove to herself that she was somebody, too.
---
The reviewer is author of Carlomagno: The Pirate Prince,
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
By Trace A. DeMeyer
Memoir-NonFiction
ISBN: 978-0-557-25599-3.
Originally reviewed by John Christian Hopkins, for the national Native newspaper News From Indian Country
The Beatles sang of a long and winding road, but they never set foot on the long, treacherous path of a Native American adoptee that is strewn with potholes, dead-ends and disappointment.
Award-winning Native journalist Trace A. DeMeyer shares the heartfelt journey of loss, loneliness and finding love in her powerful, new memoir “One Small Sacrifice: Lost Children of the Indian Adoption Projects,” an exposé on generations of American Indian children adopted by non-Indian families.
One reader told DeMeyer it was like being “punched in the gut.”
Pulling no punches, DeMeyer, who now lives in Greenfield, Mass., with her husband, Herb, rips away the illusion that adoption ends happily ever after as soon as the documents are signed and finalized.
She delves into the dark world of doubts – “Why didn’t my mom want me?” – and the fear that asking too many questions would cause her adoptive parents to throw her away all over again.
She suffered years of abuse – emotionally, sexually, and physically – as pain became her constant companion and a pretend happy smile her childhood defense against the torrent of doubts in her life.
DeMeyer spent years meeting and talking with other “Split Feathers,” Native American children taken from their homes and placed in non-Indian families; she discovered that her experiences weren’t new or unique, that many other adoptees, just like her, had unanswered questions, mountains of sadness and, often, shattered lives.
Conquering that tumultuous beginning felt like the easy part as DeMeyer attempted to find her birth family. Her first obstacle was that her adoption was “closed,” meaning sealed and she had no legal right to view her own file!
A sympathetic judge in her Wisconsin hometown allowed DeMeyer to look at her file when she was 22; she found tantalizing clues about her birth family, and even more questions to haunt her as sought to come full circle and discover who she really was.
“I read this powerful book cover to cover, Trace tells her story with such compassion and truthfulness,” Alutiiq-Cherokee adoptee and author Anecia O’Carroll wrote. “Her memories, feelings and facts are written with such unflinching truth, in my mind and heart, she is a warrior and a hero.”
Known for her exceptional print interviews with famous Native Americans such as Leonard Peltier and John Trudell, DeMeyer started research on adoptees in 2004, which led to this fact-filled, 227-page biography that includes congressional testimony, evidence of Indian Adoption Projects and how the Indian Child Welfare Act came to exist.
This jaw-dropping narrative of living as an adoptee, her search, meeting birth relatives, will surely raise eyebrows and question the validity of sealed records and the billion dollar adoption industry. Trace DeMeyer’s blog, updated often, can be found at www.splitfeathers.blogspot.com.
Her journey takes her to Illinois to meet her birthfather in 1996 where she learns about her Cherokee-Shawnee ancestry.
In the 1870s Ponca chef Standing Bear had to take his case to court to prove he was a human being; but DeMeyer’s journey took her further as she tried to prove to herself that she was somebody, too.
---
The reviewer is author of Carlomagno: The Pirate Prince,
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Monday, August 9, 2010
Travel Book a Won't-Forget Narrative, Too
Lost Angel Walkabout-One Traveler's Tales
By Linda Ballou, http://www.lindaballouauthor.com/
ISBN 978:1449971526
ISBN 978-1449971526
Price $14.95
Available at Amazon.com and Kindle Reader editionas well as all major online distribution sites. Signed copy with free shipping at author’s site: http://www.lindaballouauthor.com/
Reviewed by Bonnie Neely, editor of RealTravelAdventures.com e-zine and top Amazon Reviewer
Lost Angel Walkabout by Linda Ballou is one of the most beautifully written travel books I have ever read. Linda tells her personal experiences of her many travels in different continents and environs. She is well-known as a top adventure travel writer, and her tales of her intrepid soul's search for beauty in the wilds and her ability to rouse physically to any demands of the setting will thrill the reader. She increased my desire to become more physically fit so that I could do some of the things she is daring and fit enough to do. She grew up in Alaska and has always loved horses. Her travel tales about returning to that wonderful environ and her experiences in many different places which involved riding horses are so beautifully inspiring. Linda also leads walkabouts in Los Angeles. I highly recommend her book as a treasure you will want to read, and then to re-read aloud to anyone who might want to listen. Her use of words is very commanding and her descriptions so vivid you will feel you have traveled alongside her and seen all the beauty of the surroundings which she so deeply appreciates. This is a MUST READ!
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
By Linda Ballou, http://www.lindaballouauthor.com/
ISBN 978:1449971526
ISBN 978-1449971526
Price $14.95
Available at Amazon.com and Kindle Reader editionas well as all major online distribution sites. Signed copy with free shipping at author’s site: http://www.lindaballouauthor.com/
Reviewed by Bonnie Neely, editor of RealTravelAdventures.com e-zine and top Amazon Reviewer
Lost Angel Walkabout by Linda Ballou is one of the most beautifully written travel books I have ever read. Linda tells her personal experiences of her many travels in different continents and environs. She is well-known as a top adventure travel writer, and her tales of her intrepid soul's search for beauty in the wilds and her ability to rouse physically to any demands of the setting will thrill the reader. She increased my desire to become more physically fit so that I could do some of the things she is daring and fit enough to do. She grew up in Alaska and has always loved horses. Her travel tales about returning to that wonderful environ and her experiences in many different places which involved riding horses are so beautifully inspiring. Linda also leads walkabouts in Los Angeles. I highly recommend her book as a treasure you will want to read, and then to re-read aloud to anyone who might want to listen. Her use of words is very commanding and her descriptions so vivid you will feel you have traveled alongside her and seen all the beauty of the surroundings which she so deeply appreciates. This is a MUST READ!
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Military Memoir Is Military Writers Society of America Gold Medal Winner
An American Knight
Subtitle: The Life of Col. John Ripley
ISBN-10: 1877905410
ISBN-13: 978-187790541
Category: Biography, Military
By Norman Fulkerson
Publisher: The American TFP
$14.95
REVIEWED BY John Horvat originally for TFP
"There are plenty of books that tell the soldier’s story and take the reader beyond media accounts by showing the human face of war.
However, there are few books that go beyond the soldier’s story. That is not to say the soldier’s story is not inspiring. However, these are times that clamor not only for soldiers but heroes. People need story of moral leadership from those who can get things done on any field of battle.
An American Knight: The Life of Colonel John W. Ripley, USMC is one such story. Author Norman J. Fulkerson has written a riveting cradle-to-grave biography of Col. John W. Ripley that engages, inspires and motivates. In his warm and appealing style, Mr. Fulkerson not only tells of a true Marine legend of the Vietnam era, he tells the story of an American knight.
At first glance, this portrayal might seem difficult. Knights are supposed to be riding white horses and wearing shining armor not combat fatigues. Knights usually aren’t Americans since they belong to times past. Yet Mr. Fulkerson seems to relish the paradox as he tells his story.
Indeed, Col. Ripley was an archetypal American. His upbringing in a small town America is all apple pie. One is treated to accounts of his mischievous “Huckleberry Finn” childhood adventures that warm the heart with a glimpse of those simpler “cracker barrel” times. John Ripley’s story starts like that of so many other energetic youth who lived on the wild side of things during the fifties. And it may well have ended there.
But then, suddenly we see a change in John Ripley. He comes to represent another no less archetypal American – that heroic American with a can-do attitude, relentless drive and solid patriotism. One sees him join the Marines, enter the U.S. Naval Academy, and deploy in distant Vietnam where he became a living legend.
Here the archetypal American meets the knight.
One can definitely see the knight in the feats of Col. Ripley. He is most commonly known for his heroic action in Vietnam during the Easter Offensive of 1972, where he faced down over 30,000 North Vietnamese and 200 enemy tanks. Praying to God for help, Ripley proceeded to blow up the Dong Ha Bridge, preventing the enemy from crossing.
As stunning as the Dong Ha story is, there are only a few chapters dedicate to this feat. However, it is obvious that Mr. Fulkerson is not just telling the story of a Marine legend; he is telling the story of a real knight.
Knights do more than just fight battles. They fight that most important of all struggles: the battle against themselves. With unshakable faith in God, they overcome their defects and vices and present a role model of spotless character to a society in need of them. They go beyond the call of duty and sacrifice themselves for the common good on any battlefield. They live up to a code of chivalry that our permissive society believes impossible to follow.
And thus, Mr. Fulkerson presents Col. Ripley as a true knight. Inside the pages of his book, one finds the devout manly Catholic, the faithful husband, the loving father, and the Southern gentleman. One sees the commander, the warrior and leader. There is also the administrator, scholar and mentor.
There is one field of battle where Col. Ripley excelled and that was the field of public opinion. This knight was not afraid to voice his opinions even when they went against the “politically correct” opinion of the times. When testifying before Congress, he did not waver in expressing his opposition to homosexuality in the military and women in combat. Such moral battles are often more terrible than those of the physical battlefield!
Thus, Mr. Fulkerson presents a figure who is both American and knight. He proves that such a portrayal need not be a paradox. It should rather be a model.
An American Knight is an inspiring story but it is also a challenge. In these times of political correctness, it challenges all Americans to have the moral courage of someone who stands firm. When so many wilt and waver, it calls upon all to find and look to an uncommon human type – the knight – for the kind of moral leadership needed to weather the storms ahead.
--
"There are Two Types of Pain in this World: The Temporary Pain of Discipline, or the Permanent Pain of Regret" -- anonymous
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Subtitle: The Life of Col. John Ripley
ISBN-10: 1877905410
ISBN-13: 978-187790541
Category: Biography, Military
By Norman Fulkerson
Publisher: The American TFP
$14.95
REVIEWED BY John Horvat originally for TFP
"There are plenty of books that tell the soldier’s story and take the reader beyond media accounts by showing the human face of war.
However, there are few books that go beyond the soldier’s story. That is not to say the soldier’s story is not inspiring. However, these are times that clamor not only for soldiers but heroes. People need story of moral leadership from those who can get things done on any field of battle.
An American Knight: The Life of Colonel John W. Ripley, USMC is one such story. Author Norman J. Fulkerson has written a riveting cradle-to-grave biography of Col. John W. Ripley that engages, inspires and motivates. In his warm and appealing style, Mr. Fulkerson not only tells of a true Marine legend of the Vietnam era, he tells the story of an American knight.
At first glance, this portrayal might seem difficult. Knights are supposed to be riding white horses and wearing shining armor not combat fatigues. Knights usually aren’t Americans since they belong to times past. Yet Mr. Fulkerson seems to relish the paradox as he tells his story.
Indeed, Col. Ripley was an archetypal American. His upbringing in a small town America is all apple pie. One is treated to accounts of his mischievous “Huckleberry Finn” childhood adventures that warm the heart with a glimpse of those simpler “cracker barrel” times. John Ripley’s story starts like that of so many other energetic youth who lived on the wild side of things during the fifties. And it may well have ended there.
But then, suddenly we see a change in John Ripley. He comes to represent another no less archetypal American – that heroic American with a can-do attitude, relentless drive and solid patriotism. One sees him join the Marines, enter the U.S. Naval Academy, and deploy in distant Vietnam where he became a living legend.
Here the archetypal American meets the knight.
One can definitely see the knight in the feats of Col. Ripley. He is most commonly known for his heroic action in Vietnam during the Easter Offensive of 1972, where he faced down over 30,000 North Vietnamese and 200 enemy tanks. Praying to God for help, Ripley proceeded to blow up the Dong Ha Bridge, preventing the enemy from crossing.
As stunning as the Dong Ha story is, there are only a few chapters dedicate to this feat. However, it is obvious that Mr. Fulkerson is not just telling the story of a Marine legend; he is telling the story of a real knight.
Knights do more than just fight battles. They fight that most important of all struggles: the battle against themselves. With unshakable faith in God, they overcome their defects and vices and present a role model of spotless character to a society in need of them. They go beyond the call of duty and sacrifice themselves for the common good on any battlefield. They live up to a code of chivalry that our permissive society believes impossible to follow.
And thus, Mr. Fulkerson presents Col. Ripley as a true knight. Inside the pages of his book, one finds the devout manly Catholic, the faithful husband, the loving father, and the Southern gentleman. One sees the commander, the warrior and leader. There is also the administrator, scholar and mentor.
There is one field of battle where Col. Ripley excelled and that was the field of public opinion. This knight was not afraid to voice his opinions even when they went against the “politically correct” opinion of the times. When testifying before Congress, he did not waver in expressing his opposition to homosexuality in the military and women in combat. Such moral battles are often more terrible than those of the physical battlefield!
Thus, Mr. Fulkerson presents a figure who is both American and knight. He proves that such a portrayal need not be a paradox. It should rather be a model.
An American Knight is an inspiring story but it is also a challenge. In these times of political correctness, it challenges all Americans to have the moral courage of someone who stands firm. When so many wilt and waver, it calls upon all to find and look to an uncommon human type – the knight – for the kind of moral leadership needed to weather the storms ahead.
--
"There are Two Types of Pain in this World: The Temporary Pain of Discipline, or the Permanent Pain of Regret" -- anonymous
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Friday, August 6, 2010
"Crestmont" Delivers Multi-Layered Read
Crestmont
By Holly Weiss
Historical Fiction
ISBN978-1-935188-10-0
Reviewed by Shelley Stout, author of Radium Halos, for Goodreads
In Holly Weiss’ debut novel, 22-year-old aspiring singer Gracie Antes discovers the meaning and the rewards of hard work. She applies for a position as housemaid at the lakeside Crestmont Inn in Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania in 1925. Her employer Margaret Woods, daughter of the creator and designer of the inn, sees something special in the young, naïve Gracie. During the next two years, these vastly different women bond in a special way through hardship, family strife, and responsibilities.
Gracie has one goal in mind—to earn enough money to fulfill her dream to become a singer. At first, she saves her meager earnings, but soon discovers life away from home comes with expenses. Gracie must find a way to fit in and slowly makes friends with her coworkers, but when Margaret Woods takes a fall, breaking her arm, Gracie leaves the staff dormitory to live with Margaret, her husband William, and their two young daughters. While there, Gracie learns what it takes to manage and run the Crestmont Inn, and her dreams must be put on hold.
Weiss creates distinctive characters through realistic description and believable dialogue. The staff at the Crestmont Inn includes unique individuals, from whom Gracie learns and matures as a young woman. When Gracie becomes the caregiver to a neighboring older woman in poor health, she discovers her own inner strengths.
Further, Weiss does a superb job of creating a distinct narrative world for the reader. Her details are authentic and engaging, invoking the aromas of the massive inn kitchen and the beauty and grandeur of the Pennsylvania countryside. One can almost see the morning sun reflecting off the lake, “like tinsel on the trees near the shore.” The building and grounds create the canvas for this finely woven tapestry—the inn itself becomes one of the main characters.
Crestmont is a debut novel for the history buff or for anyone who enjoys entering a past world and remaining there. An enjoyable stay at the inn, with ample staff to meet your needs.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
By Holly Weiss
Historical Fiction
ISBN978-1-935188-10-0
Reviewed by Shelley Stout, author of Radium Halos, for Goodreads
In Holly Weiss’ debut novel, 22-year-old aspiring singer Gracie Antes discovers the meaning and the rewards of hard work. She applies for a position as housemaid at the lakeside Crestmont Inn in Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania in 1925. Her employer Margaret Woods, daughter of the creator and designer of the inn, sees something special in the young, naïve Gracie. During the next two years, these vastly different women bond in a special way through hardship, family strife, and responsibilities.
Gracie has one goal in mind—to earn enough money to fulfill her dream to become a singer. At first, she saves her meager earnings, but soon discovers life away from home comes with expenses. Gracie must find a way to fit in and slowly makes friends with her coworkers, but when Margaret Woods takes a fall, breaking her arm, Gracie leaves the staff dormitory to live with Margaret, her husband William, and their two young daughters. While there, Gracie learns what it takes to manage and run the Crestmont Inn, and her dreams must be put on hold.
Weiss creates distinctive characters through realistic description and believable dialogue. The staff at the Crestmont Inn includes unique individuals, from whom Gracie learns and matures as a young woman. When Gracie becomes the caregiver to a neighboring older woman in poor health, she discovers her own inner strengths.
Further, Weiss does a superb job of creating a distinct narrative world for the reader. Her details are authentic and engaging, invoking the aromas of the massive inn kitchen and the beauty and grandeur of the Pennsylvania countryside. One can almost see the morning sun reflecting off the lake, “like tinsel on the trees near the shore.” The building and grounds create the canvas for this finely woven tapestry—the inn itself becomes one of the main characters.
Crestmont is a debut novel for the history buff or for anyone who enjoys entering a past world and remaining there. An enjoyable stay at the inn, with ample staff to meet your needs.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)