Author: David Baldacci
Hardcover: 448 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
(November 9, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0446195529
Book Description:
Oliver Stone and the Camel Club return in #1 bestselling author David Baldacci's most stunning adventure yet.An attack on the heart of power . . .
In sight of the White House . . . At a place known as . . . HELL'S CORNER John Carr, aka Oliver Stone-once the most skilled assassin his country ever had-stands in Lafayette Park in front of the White House, perhaps for the last time. The president has personally requested that Stone serve his country again on a high-risk, covert mission. Though he's fought for decades to leave his past career behind, Stone has no choice but to say yes.Then Stone's mission changes drastically before it even begins. It's the night of a state dinner honoring the British prime minister. As he watches the prime minister's motorcade leave the White House that evening, a bomb is detonated in Lafayette Park, an apparent terrorist attack against both leaders. It's in the chaotic aftermath that Stone takes on a new, more urgent assignment: find those responsible for the bombing.British MI-6 agent Mary Chapman becomes Stone's partner in the search for the unknown attackers. But their opponents are elusive, capable, and increasingly lethal; worst of all, it seems that the park bombing may just have been the opening salvo in their plan.
With nowhere else to turn, Stone enlists the help of the only people he knows he can trust: the Camel Club. Yet that may be a big mistake.In the shadowy worlds of politics and intelligence, there is no one you can really trust. Nothing is really what it seems to be. And Hell's Corner truly lives up to its name. This may be Oliver Stone's and the Camel Club's last stand.
About the Author...
David Baldacci lives with his family in Virginia. He and his wife have founded the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across America. He invites you to visit him at www.david-baldacci.com and his foundationwww.wishyouwellfoundation.org, and to look into its program to spread books across America at www.FeedingBodyandMind.com.
My Review:
Well-written, filled with political narrative, and action, this book is sure to bring excitement to the reader who enjoys a good thriller. 4 stars****
(Thank you to Hachette Book Group for my review copy.)
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Hollywood Hills / Review
Author: Joseph Wambaugh
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
(November 16, 2010)
ISBN-10: 031612950X
Book Description:
The legendary Hollywood Hills are home to wealth, fame, and power--passing through the neighborhood, it's hard not to get a little greedy. LAPD veteran "Hollywood Nate" Weiss could take or leave the opulence, but he wouldn't say no to onscreen fame. He may get his shot when he catches the appreciative eye of B-list director Rudy Ressler, and his troublemaking fiancée, Leona Brueger, the older-but-still-foxy widow of a processed-meat tycoon. Nate tries to elude her crafty seductions, but consents to keep an eye on their estate in the Hollywood Hills while they're away.
Also minding the mansion is Raleigh Dibble, a hapless ex-con trying to put the past behind him. Raleigh is all too happy to be set up for the job--as butler-cum-watchdog--by Nigel Wickland, Leona's impeccably dressed art dealer. What Raleigh doesn't realize is that under the natty clothes and posh accent, Nigel has a nefarious plan: two paintings hanging on the mansion's walls will guarantee them more money than they've ever seen.Everyone's dreams are just within reach--the only problem is, this is Hollywood.
A circle of teenage burglars that the media has dubbed The Bling Ring has taken to pillaging the homes of Hollywood celebutants like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, and when a pair of drug-addled young copycats stumbles upon Nigel's heist, that's just the beginning of the disaster to come. Soon Hollywood Nate, surfer cops Flotsam and Jetsam, and the rest of the team at Hollywood Station have a deadly situation on their hands.
Hollywood Hills is a raucous and dangerous roller coaster ride that showcases Joseph Wambaugh in vintage form.
(Thank you to Hachette Book Group for my review copy.)
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
(November 16, 2010)
ISBN-10: 031612950X
Book Description:
The legendary Hollywood Hills are home to wealth, fame, and power--passing through the neighborhood, it's hard not to get a little greedy. LAPD veteran "Hollywood Nate" Weiss could take or leave the opulence, but he wouldn't say no to onscreen fame. He may get his shot when he catches the appreciative eye of B-list director Rudy Ressler, and his troublemaking fiancée, Leona Brueger, the older-but-still-foxy widow of a processed-meat tycoon. Nate tries to elude her crafty seductions, but consents to keep an eye on their estate in the Hollywood Hills while they're away.
Also minding the mansion is Raleigh Dibble, a hapless ex-con trying to put the past behind him. Raleigh is all too happy to be set up for the job--as butler-cum-watchdog--by Nigel Wickland, Leona's impeccably dressed art dealer. What Raleigh doesn't realize is that under the natty clothes and posh accent, Nigel has a nefarious plan: two paintings hanging on the mansion's walls will guarantee them more money than they've ever seen.Everyone's dreams are just within reach--the only problem is, this is Hollywood.
A circle of teenage burglars that the media has dubbed The Bling Ring has taken to pillaging the homes of Hollywood celebutants like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, and when a pair of drug-addled young copycats stumbles upon Nigel's heist, that's just the beginning of the disaster to come. Soon Hollywood Nate, surfer cops Flotsam and Jetsam, and the rest of the team at Hollywood Station have a deadly situation on their hands.
Hollywood Hills is a raucous and dangerous roller coaster ride that showcases Joseph Wambaugh in vintage form.
(Thank you to Hachette Book Group for my review copy.)
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Scorpions / Review
Author: Noah Feldman
Hardcover: 528 pages
Publisher: Twelve
1St Edition edition (November 8, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0446580570
Book Description...
A tiny, ebullient Jew who started as America's leading liberal and ended as its most famous judicial conservative. A Klansman who became an absolutist advocate of free speech and civil rights. A backcountry lawyer who started off trying cases about cows and went on to conduct the most important international trial ever. A self-invented, tall-tale Westerner who narrowly missed the presidency but expanded individual freedom beyond what anyone before had dreamed. Four more different men could hardly be imagined. Yet they had certain things in common. Each was a self-made man who came from humble beginnings on the edge of poverty. Each had driving ambition and a will to succeed. Each was, in his own way, a genius. They began as close allies and friends of FDR, but the quest to shape a new Constitution led them to competition and sometimes outright warfare. SCORPIONS tells the story of these four great justices: their relationship with Roosevelt, with each other, and with the turbulent world of the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. It also serves as a history of the modern Constitution itself.
About the Author...
Noah Feldman is the author of four previous books: The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State (Princeton University Press, 2008), Divided By God (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2005); What We Owe Iraq (Princeton University Press, 2004); and After Jihad (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2003). In 2003, he served as senior constitutional advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, and subsequently advised members of the Iraqi Governing Council on the drafting of an interim constitution. Esquire named him among seventy-five influential figures for the 21st century and New York magazine designated him as one of three top "influentials in ideas." He is currently a professor at Harvard University, a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, and an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
My Review...
A well-written and fancinating overview of the times, politics, and personalities of four of America's most liberal judges. Well worth reading!
(Thanks to Hachette Book Group for my review copy.)
Hardcover: 528 pages
Publisher: Twelve
1St Edition edition (November 8, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0446580570
Book Description...
A tiny, ebullient Jew who started as America's leading liberal and ended as its most famous judicial conservative. A Klansman who became an absolutist advocate of free speech and civil rights. A backcountry lawyer who started off trying cases about cows and went on to conduct the most important international trial ever. A self-invented, tall-tale Westerner who narrowly missed the presidency but expanded individual freedom beyond what anyone before had dreamed. Four more different men could hardly be imagined. Yet they had certain things in common. Each was a self-made man who came from humble beginnings on the edge of poverty. Each had driving ambition and a will to succeed. Each was, in his own way, a genius. They began as close allies and friends of FDR, but the quest to shape a new Constitution led them to competition and sometimes outright warfare. SCORPIONS tells the story of these four great justices: their relationship with Roosevelt, with each other, and with the turbulent world of the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. It also serves as a history of the modern Constitution itself.
About the Author...
Noah Feldman is the author of four previous books: The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State (Princeton University Press, 2008), Divided By God (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2005); What We Owe Iraq (Princeton University Press, 2004); and After Jihad (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2003). In 2003, he served as senior constitutional advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, and subsequently advised members of the Iraqi Governing Council on the drafting of an interim constitution. Esquire named him among seventy-five influential figures for the 21st century and New York magazine designated him as one of three top "influentials in ideas." He is currently a professor at Harvard University, a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, and an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
My Review...
A well-written and fancinating overview of the times, politics, and personalities of four of America's most liberal judges. Well worth reading!
(Thanks to Hachette Book Group for my review copy.)
Friday, January 14, 2011
Lies The Government Told You
Author: Judge Andrew P. NapolitanoHardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
(March 2, 2010)
ISBN-10: 1595552669
Book Description:
What new crisis will the federal government manufacture in order to acquire more power over individuals? What new lies will it tell?
Throughout our history, the federal government has lied to send our children off to war, lied to take our money, lied to steal our property, lied to gain our trust, and lied to enhance its power over us. Not only does the government lie to us, we lie to ourselves. We won't admit that each time we let the government get away with misleading us, we are allowing it to increase in size and power and decrease our personal liberty.
In acquiescing to the government's continuous fraudulent behavior, we bear partial responsibility for the erosion of our individual liberties and the ever-expanding federal regulation of private behavior. This book attacks the culture in government that facilitates lying, and it challenges readers to recognize that culture, to confront it, and to be rid of it.
My Review:
I found the book to be an interesting take on the relationship between government and citizens. Having said that, I did take exception with Judge Napolitano's gratuitous criticism of the Constitution when he stated "many Americans, including the Founding Fathers, recognized that it was wrong, in a way, makes us even more responsible for the crimes committed against the African-American race." Who is "us"?
In fairness to the Founders and the Constitution, the reality of the world in which it was created must be acknowledged. Never the less, Fredrick Douglas said that the Constitution "paved the road to abolition...." In other words, it was actually an anti-slavery document. Instead of a work producing shame and quilt, the Constitution should be looked upon with deep reverence, gratitude, and respect.
Lies The Government Told Us contains seventeen lies Napolitano feels we have been told. All Men Are Created Equal; Every Vote Counts; Your Body Is Your Temple; It's Only A Temporary Government Program; I'm From the Government, and I'm Here to Help; We Are Winning The War on Drugs; and America Has a Free Market are some of those he discusses in detail.
All in all, Judge Napolitano's book is a good read. I recommend it to anyone, irrespective of political persuasion. 4 stars****
(Thank you to Thomas Nelson for my review copy.)
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Coming Back / Review
Author: Marcia Muller
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
(October 28, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0446581062
Book Description:
In Locked In, San Francisco private eye Sharon McCone was shot in the head and suffered from locked-in syndrome: almost total paralysis but with an alert, conscious mind. Now, as Sharon struggles to regain control over her body, she wants everything to go back to normal, but realizes that it may not be possible to return to her old life. Meanwhile, Sharon's relationships are suffering. Her husband is impatient with her refusal to accept help and some of her colleagues doubt her abilities after the accident. But when Sharon's friend from physical therapy goes missing, she must call upon those closest to her to find out the truth behind the disappearance. The investigation soon points to issues of national security and proves to be the most dangerous and critical case yet for Sharon and her colleagues.
My Review:
The first book I read by Marcia Muller was Locked In, in which the heroine,
Sharon McCone was shot in the head and lay dying in the locked in syndrome. In her new book, Coming Back, Sharon battles to regain her old self. While there are challenges with family and friends, there is also a murder that must be resolved. Can Sharon return to her former life? Can she help in some way to solve her friend's murder? These are the questions that we encounter in this intriguing story. If you liked Locked In, you must read this sequel.
(Thank you to Hachette Book Group for my review copy.)
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
(October 28, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0446581062
Book Description:
In Locked In, San Francisco private eye Sharon McCone was shot in the head and suffered from locked-in syndrome: almost total paralysis but with an alert, conscious mind. Now, as Sharon struggles to regain control over her body, she wants everything to go back to normal, but realizes that it may not be possible to return to her old life. Meanwhile, Sharon's relationships are suffering. Her husband is impatient with her refusal to accept help and some of her colleagues doubt her abilities after the accident. But when Sharon's friend from physical therapy goes missing, she must call upon those closest to her to find out the truth behind the disappearance. The investigation soon points to issues of national security and proves to be the most dangerous and critical case yet for Sharon and her colleagues.
My Review:
The first book I read by Marcia Muller was Locked In, in which the heroine,
Sharon McCone was shot in the head and lay dying in the locked in syndrome. In her new book, Coming Back, Sharon battles to regain her old self. While there are challenges with family and friends, there is also a murder that must be resolved. Can Sharon return to her former life? Can she help in some way to solve her friend's murder? These are the questions that we encounter in this intriguing story. If you liked Locked In, you must read this sequel.
(Thank you to Hachette Book Group for my review copy.)
The Trials of Zion / Review
Author: Alan M. Dershowitz
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
(October 1, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0446576735
Book Description:
A shocking act of terror brings the Middle East to the point of explosion. As the resulting political conflict threatens to erupt, a young Jewish-American lawyer joins the defense team of an arrested but possibly innocent Palestinian. Soon the lawyer's father, a famed criminal attorney, must win the Palestinian's case or risk losing his daughter forever. To do so, he must take into account the tormented history of the Holy Land from every possible angle.
THE TRIALS OF ZION combines the tension of the greatest courtroom dramas with the action of a fast-moving thriller, all set against the colorful backdrop of one of the most complex cultural settings in the world. Filled with memorable characters, this novel offers readers not only compelling suspense, but a panoramic view of the history of a beloved and bitterly contested land, and a sharply controversial perspective on the sources of--and the possible solutions to--the world's longest and most crucial international crisis.
My Review:
The Trials of Zion is a superb, well-told, fast moving thriller that is thoroughly entertaining. The reader will get a look into the history of the Middle East while enjoying a first rate tale of intrigue. A page-turner.
(Thank you to Hachette Book Group for my review copy.)
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
(October 1, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0446576735
Book Description:
A shocking act of terror brings the Middle East to the point of explosion. As the resulting political conflict threatens to erupt, a young Jewish-American lawyer joins the defense team of an arrested but possibly innocent Palestinian. Soon the lawyer's father, a famed criminal attorney, must win the Palestinian's case or risk losing his daughter forever. To do so, he must take into account the tormented history of the Holy Land from every possible angle.
THE TRIALS OF ZION combines the tension of the greatest courtroom dramas with the action of a fast-moving thriller, all set against the colorful backdrop of one of the most complex cultural settings in the world. Filled with memorable characters, this novel offers readers not only compelling suspense, but a panoramic view of the history of a beloved and bitterly contested land, and a sharply controversial perspective on the sources of--and the possible solutions to--the world's longest and most crucial international crisis.
My Review:
The Trials of Zion is a superb, well-told, fast moving thriller that is thoroughly entertaining. The reader will get a look into the history of the Middle East while enjoying a first rate tale of intrigue. A page-turner.
(Thank you to Hachette Book Group for my review copy.)
Monday, December 20, 2010
Don't Blink / Review
Author: James Patterson
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
(September 27, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0316036234
Book Description:
The good...
New York's Lombardo's Steak House is famous for three reasons--the menu, the clientele, and now, the gruesome murder of an infamous mob lawyer. Effortlessly, the assassin slips through the police's fingers, and his absence sparks a blaze of accusations about who ordered the hit.
The bad...
Seated at a nearby table, reporter Nick Daniels is conducting a once-in-a-lifetime interview with a legendary baseball bad-boy. In the chaos, he accidentally captures a key piece of evidence that lands him in the middle of an all-out war between Italian and Russian mafia forces. NYPD captains, district attorneys, mayoral candidates, media kingpins, and one shockingly beautiful magazine editor are all pushing their own agendas--on both sides of the law.
And the dead...
Back off--or die--is the clear message Nick receives as he investigates for a story of his own.Heedless, and perhaps in love with his beautiful editor, Nick endures humiliation, threats, violence, and worse in a thriller that overturns every expectation and finishes with the kind of flourish only James Patterson knows.
My Review:
Don't Blink may not be Patterson's best, but it is a good, fun read. For readers who follow author Patterson, it is one that you will not want to miss. I for one, enjoy collecting his books...some being great and others not so. This one fits somewhere in the middle, in my opinion. 3 stars***
(Thank you to Hachette Book Group for my review copy.)
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
(September 27, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0316036234
Book Description:
The good...
New York's Lombardo's Steak House is famous for three reasons--the menu, the clientele, and now, the gruesome murder of an infamous mob lawyer. Effortlessly, the assassin slips through the police's fingers, and his absence sparks a blaze of accusations about who ordered the hit.
The bad...
Seated at a nearby table, reporter Nick Daniels is conducting a once-in-a-lifetime interview with a legendary baseball bad-boy. In the chaos, he accidentally captures a key piece of evidence that lands him in the middle of an all-out war between Italian and Russian mafia forces. NYPD captains, district attorneys, mayoral candidates, media kingpins, and one shockingly beautiful magazine editor are all pushing their own agendas--on both sides of the law.
And the dead...
Back off--or die--is the clear message Nick receives as he investigates for a story of his own.Heedless, and perhaps in love with his beautiful editor, Nick endures humiliation, threats, violence, and worse in a thriller that overturns every expectation and finishes with the kind of flourish only James Patterson knows.
My Review:
Don't Blink may not be Patterson's best, but it is a good, fun read. For readers who follow author Patterson, it is one that you will not want to miss. I for one, enjoy collecting his books...some being great and others not so. This one fits somewhere in the middle, in my opinion. 3 stars***
(Thank you to Hachette Book Group for my review copy.)
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