Sociology, Anthropology and Law all coaxed into one great memoir. This is a true story about an African woman from Togo defying her cultural laws by fleeing from the common practice of FGM (female genital mutilation) only to face imprisonment and degredation in America. Fauziya and her team of laywers fight the justice and cultural system of America to grant Fauziya asylum. After reading this book I automatically searched for journal and newspaper articles from the 90's to read about the events in real time. A gripping and emotional memoir.

Are we destroying ourselves as we better ourselves or merely taking intelligent risks? This book, by an industrial chemist who is enthusiastic about her topic, points out all the toxins and hormone-disrupters we make use of every day. She shows how most chemicals we use are untested, or not tested in the combinations in which they are used, how easy it is for these chemicals to enter our body, how different doses and forms of a chemical(say liquid and gas,) will behave differently so testing on one is not testing on another. In short she points out how much we do not know, and how uneasing that is when we consider how egregious a substance has to be in order to be tested, let alone banned.

She counsels against panic, because what will that accomplish, and suggests some common sense solutions to lessening our exposures. She sees hope in how the European Union is handling the problem and advises the reader towards a sensible activism.

In this worthy, short, dense book, respected American religious historian, Mark Noll, shows how the Christian faith of Evangelicals is coherent with an active, curious, rigorous, approach to the life of the mind. He does this by framing intellectual discourse within a Christology that is based on the creeds of the early Church. In short, he hopes to de-scandalize the American Christian mind, and for this members of all denominations, not just the Evangelical ones, can be thankful. This reviewer's only small quibble is that Noll interprets the Nicene creed to denote a specific atonement theory, which some would argue is quite a reach. Also, he may find that the quandries of interpretation do not entirely disappear with the hermanuetics he proposes. Still, these are small objections to a work so vast in suggestion and possibility. One hopes it will lead to many fresh intellectual developements that will enrich the life of the mind for all.

This book sends two clear messages. The first is that it is very important to develope your own personal distinctive style. The other is that there are rules to chic, many rules, and it is important to follow them. And if you get confused, just glom onto a look from one of the three always and everywear acceptable fashion icons: Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Onassis or Grace Kelly.

While many of the rules are plain common sense and good advice for anyone on whom they weren't imprinted early, what is distressing is that for all the rules, there are few passages explaining -how- to develope a personal style. It is not easy to step aside from the throng and listen for an inaudible melody. It takes a weird combination of brass, humility, stubbornness, openness and creativity. It would be great if all the rules were balanced by ways for discovering how and when to break them and/or reconcile them into a personal, satisfying style. Plus, it would make this book feel like a book, not a pamphlet stretched into a book.

Ah, maybe this reviewer's style is getting too tainted by old curmurgeon, for perhaps I am attaching too much crit to a frivilous product. There is alot of good information here, it is presented in an pleasent way, and as such is worth a quick look-see.

Plastic, a material that barely existed a century ago is now present in most objects that are part of our daily lives. They have made the world a cheaper and more efficient place to live. They have also made it one with an almost insurmountable trash problem, since plastic is as close to forever as any material gets. Author Freinkel does a good job in creating a readable, fact-filled story of what it is and how we discovered it, how and of what it is made, what it is used for, why it is used, how it can be toxic or a hormone-disrupter and what can or may not be done about that, how it is disposed of, what happens to it, what can or could happen to it, and the how and why of the search for new bio-plastics. In short, everything a layperson would like to know, and in telling us-- she does not bore our socks off, which, when you think about it, is quite an achievement.

Our modern world is so obsessed by newness that we often let go of great old stuff even though there is nothing better to replace it with. Well, the author of this collation of delightful cultural bric-a-brac declares well-mannered war on this tendency, firing off this book as a droll salvo against a tendentious mediocracy. She seeks to disarm such opponents with delight, please any allies with wit, and charm all in her path. Which she easily does. So dear reader, read this. You will seldom so enjoy being so vastly improved.

Here is a fine distillation of very liberal Christianity. The prolific author is a Quaker pastor who's faith and agape will appeal even to readers who's Christianity might not be quite as liberal, since the author's goodwill and common sense are ever charming. He shows how liberal Christianity has worked in his life and the lives of others, and how it can answer to the needs of many presently alienated from mainstream and conservative Christianity. While the style of the book is easy-going, there is much to ponder here for both believers and non-believers.

Here is a slow-paced, thoughtful, realistic, evolving-into-maturity tale packaged as a mystery. Set in Cambridge, MA, this is the story of a 40-year old, drifting, used-book dealer who, in the course of solving surrounding mysteries, finds the means within his own life to form deeper relationships and a greater sense of purpose. The book is perhaps a little too slow paced, and some of the characters seem abit flat, nevertheless, when the resolutions begin, the reader is primed and satisfied by what transpires. Worth a read if this is the sort of stuff you like. This reviewer admired the way the author captured the feel of ordinary life.

This is one of the most useful and inspiring Christian books this reviewer has read of late. The author looks at the ways we use psychological defenses, most especially projection, to wall ourselves off from the full effects of love, most especially divine love. The author accepts that we can only know love imperfectly, but shows how, if we chose, we can shed at least some of the most common and hurtful of our illusions. The author, who is a member of the Taize community in France, obviously practices what he preaches; his words resonate with authenticity and conviction.

Baron-Cohen is a well-respected researcher on such topics as psychopathy and autism. Here he turns his expertise into a exploration of how our brains work and what this means for us as human beings. He looks at our brain's capacity for empathy: what enables it and what restrains it, and from this presents possible future ways of encouraging its development. He sees lack of empathy, which is present in both psychopathy and autism, as a combination of genetic and situational factors. His plea for empathy as the universal solvent is heart-felt and gives weight to an otherwise clinical argument. This reviewer, however, was slightly uneased by the thought of neurological quick fixes; we still know so little about the meta-universe of the brain that even a small nudge here or there could have difficult, unintended side-effects. Yet the author, an excellent writer excited by his work, is so full of the universal solvent for those who suffer from its lack, that a plea for humility seems almost ... unempathetic.

This is a warm, fascinating, well-written book by a clinical psychologist. It consists of 5 short essays that outline the lives of 5 major female writers ... and how each writer found strength and consolation in the company of their dogs. Each woman's character is deliniated ... as is each dog's. Adams, who has a keen eye for the telling details, manages to pull the reader into these lives, human and canine, in a way that rivals good fiction. Highly recommended for dog-lovers looking for literary stories, not just kitsch.

Richard Rohr, of the Franciscan order, is a prolific writer on Christian spirituality; Andreas Ebert is a Lutheran minister and a translator. Together these two authors have "baptized" the Enneagram so that it can be used in a Christian context, as a tool to help with either pastoral counseling or personal and spiritual growth. It is a well-written, concise presentation that will be useful for anyone interested

Harry was shot to death. His body disappeared into the water and he's been gone six months.

Ghost story takes us along for the wild ride of Harry's spirit as he bumps and clunks along on the mission to find his killer.

The Corpsetaker has returned, has snatched poor Mort Linquist, and is looking for a new home - his body. Luckily, Mort is an ectomancer, which means he can see and hear spirits, including Harry's. Aided by a little help from friends like Molly Carpenter, Murphy and the Leanensidhe, Harry just might have a ghost of chance to accomplish his mission, and get a life - literally!

The World of Narnia is not the peaceful place Peter, Susan, Edmond and Lucy remember. While it is true that Jadis, the Queen of Winter no longer threatens the land, other evil is making mischief.

Betrayed and forced to run for his life, a young prince of Narnia calls upon the help of the ancient Kings and Queens of Cair Paravel. Magic, danger, sword play and quick wits may not be enough to set two warring nations to rights.

Once a King or Queen in Narnia, always a King or Queen in Narnia, but this time they must face the dangers without the help of old allies.

Hey, spacecowkids, remember legendary times when books about the future were fun? Well, now they are again!-- even though this time around-- it's all set in the past.

The above gobblygook arises from this reviewer's surprised enjoyment of one of the best bits of alternative history she has yet read. It's WWII, the fate of the world is at stake--and it's up to a bunch of eccentric nerds, visionaries and crackerjacks to save humanity. And I'm not talking the Manhatten Project.

For duty has called forth ex-military macho man and science fiction writer Robert Heinlein to round up the doggies: Aspergy Issac Asimov, sauve Sprague de Camp and ego-loon R. Lafayette Hubbard to rebuild the future and create top-secret super tech weapons (thou, unbeknownst to them,-- really --to distract attention from the Manhattan Project.)

Can they do it in time, outwitting officious supervisors, marital problems, an inability to come up with any workable results, government spies, and one actual villian? Does the work of Tesla hold the key? Will the secret of the Philadlephia Experiment be explained? Will you find out why New Jersey still exists?

Of course you will. Because you will read this book, and smile and laugh and wonder why most authors lack the talent to turn out such a light-hearted, good-hearted romp anymore? Sidenote: de Camp was a great Free Library supporter. I had the pleasure of several witty flirtations with him in the early 80s at Library events. So, while I have only read one of his works--if I could aim a thought ray at the author (who deserves to quit his day job,) it would be , more delightful de Camp, more delightful de Camp...and a library.

This is a great sports book that details that scandal and corruption of AAU and College basketball. The Author George Dohrmann, Pulitzer Prize reporter for Sport Illustrated did a great job covering this story. Dohrmann follow a 10 years old AAU, boys basketball team for 8 years. He was allow total access to the team after promising their Coach Joe Keller that he would not publish his story until after all this team members, were in college. Dohrmann document the corruption that began with Demetrius Walker who was an innocent 10yrs. old that was manipulated and fed an “Hoop Dream “ of become the next Lebron James. This story other main character is the insane, money driven Coach Joe Keller who main purpose of coaching this group of elite 10 years older, was on the hope of financial gain in the future, through sneaker company and college coaches trying to get their hands their hands on the next superstar basketball player AT ALL COST. Dohrmann talks about how sorry it’s for these kids and the families who most of the time are poor and very ill-informed and look at basketball to be their way current situation. Even to the point where their parents would put them in harm way with the dream of one day become a millionaire in the N.B.A. I guarantee you that after reading this book you will look at AAU basketball very-very differently.

Let's be real, there are as many books about the Crusades as there were participants in them. Thomas Asbridge, however, has managed to synthesize almost everything that came before; he has elaborated on it, fleshed out the folks, and posed insightful and new questions that are relevant to today's world as much as that of the Crusader. There is no question in my mind that this is the authoritative history of all of the Crusades, nor that you will think so, too.

The Crusades, for all the ugliness it describes, is actually an easy to read book, and moves more like a novel than a textbook. It is not so difficult that it would turn off a new-to-the-subject reader, but it is comprehensive and provocative enough to be interesting to those who might have already read a lot of other books about the individual crusades.One thing I particularly liked was that Asbridge did not get bogged down in the scandal/gossip about Kings Phillip and Richard-- instead he reported things objectively and juxtaposed different information and documents so that we might form our own conclusions... always a great thing in my opinion. (This person gets tired of reading the prurient speculation about their relationship upon which every author of every book written about their Crusade seems to dwell.)

In college, I had a professor who called books by authors like Dan Brown, Matt Reilly and Raymond Khoury "Romances of Ideas." Into this crowded field of religious and historical mystery/thrillers steps Simon Toyne with Sanctus. It's well worth the read and is a conceptual stand out for its singular plotline and protagonists.

Shady parallel-church organizations, medeival orders complete with hitmen, hidden Sacraments, a secretive Citadel in Ruin, Turkey, a Detective and an American investigative reporter make this thriller eminently readable and fast-paced. There are some spots where you must simply suspend credibility, but just when you think it might be getting a little too fantastic, Toyne pulls back from the edge and returns to the realm of the believable.

Sanctus is a thoroughly grounded pulse-pounder that only asks you to believe in a small miracle, rather than a series of consecutive and causal ones. Though there are some plot flaws and noticeable weak points, it is an intelligent, fast read, and people who like to look at history and imagine it another way will really get a kick out of Toyne's premise.

I could not put this book down. It is Willy Wonka meets the Hunger Games.
Set in the future, a Steve Jobs type billionaire (born in the 1970s) dies and leaves his entire fortune and company stock to whoever in the world finds the easter egg hidden in his most popular multi-user virtual reality game, Oasis. The only clue is that a knowledge of 1980s geek culture is necessary to win. A number of years pass before the first clue is found by an 18 year old kid.

It is interesting to read a book for which you are obviously to old to be its intended audience. This book feels as if it is written for people under 40. Its style is conversational, almost blog-like. The typesetting is blocky and ultra-contemporary. But its message is as old or almost as old as Christianity.

The book argues for the -possibility-(not the dogma,) of Universalism, the idea that the idea that sinners suffer for infinity in hell might be off the mark. As an Evangelical pastor, the first argument that Bell makes is that eternal damnation as doctrine might not be Biblical. He goes over relevent passages and shows how mistranslation and lack of context has shaded their meaning into a finality not originally meant. Using this as his base he then goes on to meditate on and mediate the conundrums that hell or its lack presents.

This is well worthwhile for anyone interested in the subject. For older readers, it is worth overcoming the difficulties the presentation offers; Bell can be a powerful writer. This reviewer's only regret is that Bell does not look at the long Catholic and Orthadox traditions that have asked the same questions that he has. But maybe that is his next book.