bwoods43

• Rated 5 stars

“Have you ever seen an advertisement and wondered how truthful it was? For example, does the leading toothpaste really fight cavities, gum disease and world poverty? Is your favorite politician's opponent actually planning to raise taxes while lowering tooth decay?

If the thought has crossed your mind, you'll be interested in "un•Spun - finding facts in a world of disinformation" by Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Hall Jamieson. The authors run through a bunch of ways for the general public to weigh fact versus fiction in both political and commercial product marketing campaigns.

The book was loaded with laughs, and I'm still amazed at what people actually believe. The problem is that the people who believe anything probably won't read this book, even if I tell them that their favorite soap contains arsenic. Or, as the PR guy would say, "loaded with essential earth elements."”

bwoods43 wrote this review Tuesday, January 20 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“Writing a review for Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is sort of Catch-22. If I don't tell you enough about it, you probably won't be interested in the book. But if I tell you too much, you won't have to read it because you'll already know what it's about.

But I suppose I should try.

In general, I liked the book. It was a little difficult to get into at first, mostly because the book focuses on war stories, and I'm not really that into war-type fiction. At the same time, though, the dialogue is exceptionally witty and kept me entertained throughout the novel.

Some people have compared "The Developers" to "Catch-22," which I take as the utmost compliment. I see some similarities in the two, although I bow to Heller in producing a classic.

So, in telling you about "Catch-22," I'm not spending more time marketing "The Developers," so other people might not ever see if there is anything alike about the two books. I suppose it's a Catch-22, but I'm willing to live with it.”

bwoods43 wrote this review Tuesday, January 20 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“Before moving to Baltimore, I had had little experience riding most types of mass transportation. Back at home in Louisville, I occasionally took the bus places, but most of my other experiences were infrequent. I can count on one hand the number of cities (Chicago, Boston, Seattle, San Francisco) where I had ridden some form of public transit.

Subway by Horace MunginBut after being in Baltimore for two years, including a job in D.C., I quickly saw the light rail, subway, commuter train and bus from a completely different angle. That's exactly what I hoped to get out of "Subway - After the Irish" by Horace Mungin. I was not disappointed.

Mungin's historical fiction novel traverses the ins and outs of the New York subway system through a tumultuous time period primarily during the '60s and '70s. The focus switches between the work on the subway (and the stress that can come with it), various political issues and general chit-chat that oftentimes connected work , current issues and pleasure.

Reading "Subway" almost makes you feel as if you are one of the workers with the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority, or maybe an innocent bystander riding one of the long legs of a route. The emotions throughout the men and women vary from fear to adulation to depression to acceptance during the book's journey. And those descriptors are not necessarily in any particular order, because it depends on whether or not you want to take the role of conductor or passenger.

At the very least, I think you'll have a better appreciation of the folks who run the mass transportation units near you. And if you're interested in the political and ethnic events surrounding New York during this time period, then you'll find an extra bonus in "Subway." All aboard!”

bwoods43 wrote this review Tuesday, January 20 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“These days, most people are content to watch "CSI" or "NCIS" to receive their fill of criminal investigations. While the shows are entertaining, they are obviously not real, and as we all know, usually the truth is stranger than fiction.

Take, for instance, the Kitty Genovese and Barbara Kralik murder trials, which are both covered in "Twisted Confessions" by Charles E. Skoller. Both instances were particularly gruesome, and both had a bizarre twist. The most bizarre thing about the Genovese occurrence is that no one came to her aid, in spite of numerous neighbors hearing her screams for help. With the Kralik case, two people confessed to the murder, which sort of makes it difficult to prosecute either one separately.

Skoller, who was the prosecutor for both of these cases, tells the story of the cases as he lived it. There's no need for him to create a fictitious story line because it is intriguing enough as it occurred. I finished the book on the same day I started, and although I didn't read it straight through, I kept wondering exactly how the mysteries of whodunit would be solved.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in high profile crime court cases. "CSI" isn't bad, but why settle for that when you could read about cases that actually did occur?”

bwoods43 wrote this review Tuesday, January 20 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“While I do not consider myself an expert in many things, one thing I feel a bit knowledgeable about is the genre of business-related books. I haven't read all 540,495,317 books in this field, nor do I plan to do so, because most are written by authors who think that because a company made billions of dollars by having its employees wear Hawaiian shirts on Fridays, the CEO of said company is a genius.

Daniel Lakstins is not one of those authors. In fact, his book "30 Careers Before 30: Finding Your Dream Job Faster Than I Did" is quite the opposite. Lakstins gives actual information that will help real people find worthwhile jobs by choosing appropriate career paths. The information in his book is not necessarily unique, but the presentation is. He gives clear examples of how an individual should determine his or her ultimate goal in employment.

Do you switch jobs every other day, looking for your perfect fit? Do you have problems at your current job, but you're not sure how to get out? Do you eventually want to start your own business, but are unsure where to start? Lakstins has answers to all of these questions, but he doesn't bore the reader with drawn-out explanations. His real-life examples are concise, and his advice in nearly every situation is spot on.

If you are easily bored with self-help career/business books, but you are still looking for answers regarding a career path, this might be one to check out. It's a fast read, primarily because there's not a lot of fluff. My only suggestion about "30 Careers" would be including some research from other business-related material. Then again, if the other material is ridiculously watered down, maybe leaving it out is the best recipe for success.”

bwoods43 wrote this review Tuesday, January 20 2009. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 5 stars

“Regardless of your current view of the Bible, specifically the Old Testament, it would be difficult to argue that every single passage ultimately displayed a God of complete compassion to all mankind. Many assume that various actions taken during this period were necessary "evils," while others do not think so highly of destroying some beings for the benefit of others.

And who's to say one side is right and one side is wrong? With a disagreement as complex and gigantic as obliterating thousands, perhaps millions, of people, there's only one thing to do: have a trial. This is precisely what author Mohamed Mughal proposes in the last act of "Resolution 786," a book steep with thought-provoking possibilities centered on life, religion and love. The first two acts focus on main character Adam Hueghlomm's childhood, as a Muslim and Jewish boy, along with his varied relationship with girlfriend Becca. But the last half of the book is devoted to Hueghlomm's work in Iraq and the trial, where God must face the tribunal of his past atrocities.

This is not a typical book I would probably pick up in the store, yet once I found myself immersed in the text, I had a hard time putting it down, especially during the trial. Mughal's characters ask the questions that many of us have, or have had, during our struggles with determining our beliefs and who we really are on this earth. The interrogation by Hueghlomm and the wittiness supplied by God seem realistic, even though the possibility of this happening outside the realm of fiction seems inconceivable.

Mughal has a way of painting detailed pictures with allegorical descriptions, and I hope that this is just the beginning of more writings on the same topics.”

bwoods43 wrote this review Tuesday, January 20 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 3 stars

“In general, I'm not a huge fan of inspirational books. I think that people have become enamored with novels like these because they need motivation to make something out of their lives. But, more times than not, once they've put the book away, they revert back to their usual lives and don't make any changes. Not only that, but many inspirational books are too shallow and bland to reach the surface of giving people hope. Enter Jason Deierlein and his new book "Return from a Comatose Mind." Deierllein doesn't need to convolute his story by embellishing the novel topic. He was in a horrific automobile accident, after which he was stuck in a coma for a few months before finally waking up. His book chronicles the journey before, during and after the coma, complete with as many honest descriptions as possible. There's nothing overly complex about the novel. The proverbial moral of the story is to enjoy the life you have, instead of being happy about the things you do not have. While it's easy to just say something like this, it's not always practical to live this way for some people. It's a shame that tragedies oftentimes are the only things that help people realize how to live life to the fullest. Jason Deierlein wants people to learn from his experiences, without going through a similar ordeal that he had to endure.”

bwoods43 wrote this review Sunday, February 24 2008. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“I've held off writing this review for nearly a month now, for a couple of reasons. First, I didn't finish the last few pages until the other day, even though I had read nearly the entire book more than a month ago. Second, I really didn't know how to rate this book. And unfortunately, I still don't. "If on a Winter's Night a Traveler" by Italo Calvino takes the reader on an interesting journey though a gambit of initial book chapters. Every other chapter is devoted to opening a new story, and each of these chapters is thoroughly interesting. Meanwhile, the "story" within the story concerns the main character, labeled as "the reader," who is trying to determine why the book is disjointed in this fashion. The lead individual has to weave his way through random beginnings and also other characters to determine what is going on. The idea behind the story is easy to grasp nearly immediately. The philosophies discussed concerning reading and the reader are more than just interesting ... they are stimulating to a certain degree of fascination. "What happens outside of the book?" and "When does the reader know when one book stops and another starts?" are the types of questions asked. The reader finds himself/herself perplexed during these even chapters, and even more estranged when starting yet another seemingly new story. I think the best parts are the first chapters that are scattered throughout the novel. I enjoyed the book, but I would have appreciated it more if the story concerning the reader would have been developed a bit differently, maybe as more of a backdrop to begin. Regardless, I recommend "If on a Winter's Night a Traveler" to anyone who wants to read something unique and has the ability to change the notion of what a book really is on a whim.”

bwoods43 wrote this review Sunday, February 24 2008. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 3 stars

“For the most part, I'll pretty much pick up and read any book, although I can usually tell how interested I'll be in it within the first 20 pages. I found a copy of "Neuromancer" by William Gibson at (no joke) the dump, and even though I wasn't mesmerized by the jacket text, I thought I'd give it a shot. After all, I remember seeing the title on various greatest-books lists, realizing later that it had won the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award and the Hugo Award in 1984. The novel was full of cyberpunk action, although I somehow missed its relevance for the first 150 pages (of the 270-page book). I felt like the story would begin to make sense once I turned the page, only to find more confusion there. Near the end, I finally began to sort out the characters and the plot line, but I think it was too late to enjoy it. Now, I'm not blaming Gibson for this; I think I subconsciously skimmed the first half of the book without detailing its occurrences. If you aren't into techspeak, you may want to avoid this ... and even if you are into it, make sure you pay attention at the beginning of the book. Hopefully the book was worthy of its awards, and it definitely wasn't bad enough to trash, but I wouldn't rank it as one of my favorites, either.”

bwoods43 wrote this review Sunday, February 24 2008. ( reply | permalink )

2 of 2 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 5 stars

“Nearly everyone I have talked to has heard of Upton Sinclair, a muckraker at the turn of the 20th Century. And more often than that, people have heard of "The Jungle," one of his masterpieces. Yet I have not encountered a single person who has read the book, nor anyone who knows more about the book than its focus on the meat-packing industry. True, Sinclair goes into vivid detail regarding one of the main meat production plants in Chicago in the early 1900s. Many of his descriptions are too grotesque to start to explain here, although I'm sure you can gather what the general gist of his writings may have contained. In fact, the novel led to new legislation for checks and balances between the government and the food industry with the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906. Even still, I do not think this is the primary reason the book is not read more often than it is. The last third of the book is devoted to Sinclair's ideas on Socialism and the reasons this could cure America's problems. His information is biased, no doubt, but it is valuable nonetheless. Unfortunately, with the capitalistic society that surrounds the U.S., any evidence that a strong government is the sole answer is sure to be thwarted by nearly everyone in charge. Is this a good thing? It depends on who is answering the question. Corporations should not be allowed to take advantage of its employees. Governments should not be allowed to take advantage of its citizens. Both do, in more respects than can be described here. It's coincidental that the problems exposed in "The Jungle" are eerily similar to those of many large corporations today. You may argue they are completely different because the meatpacking plants were obviously endangering society. And you don't think 100 years from now, the same things will be said of numerous businesses today?”

bwoods43 wrote this review Sunday, February 24 2008. ( reply | permalink )