NEW eBooks About People

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

The Audacity of Hope eBook edition

It is eerily fitting that the author of The Audacity of Hope was written by a man who had the audacity to run for President of the United States of America. One look at the portrait on the cover told you that his chance to be President was roughly equivalent to the proverbial snowball in hell.

And yet somehow we woke up this morning with "a skinny black kid with a funny name" as the next President of the USA. Unbelievable from where I sit!

It wasn't that long ago (70 years) that the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow a "colored" woman to give a concert in their hall. As a side note -- I always find this story the ultimate irony! Women who's ancestors fought and died for freedom actually denying Marian Anderson access to a building! But I digress.

I am old enough to remember Selma and Montgomery and the passage of the Voting Rights Act. I am old enough to have heard Martin Luther King voice his dream.

In those dark days it seemed an impossible dream! Just the idea that his "children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character" was unfathomable. And yet this morning those children will wake up to a country where their Dad's dream has come true!

My Dad used to say that "we are saved by hope." As a teenager I thought it was perhaps the corniest thing I had ever hears. And yet this morning I can't help but think that he was on to something.

After all. what keeps us going in the face of incredible odds? It is sometimes simply the belief in a positive outcome; the feeling we can get what we want or that at the very least everything will turn out for the best.

Hope brings out the best in all of us. Hope is the sometimes the only thing that gets us out of bed in the morning. Hope is the bedrock of the American Dream. And at least for this moment in time, hope reigns in America.

If you haven't done so yet, do yourself a favor and read Barak Obama's message of hope:

In July 2004, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. One phrase in particular anchored itself in listeners’ minds, a reminder that for all the discord and struggle to be found in our history as a nation, we have always been guided by a dogged optimism in the future, or what Senator Obama called “the audacity of hope.”

Now, in The Audacity of Hope, Senator Obama calls for a different brand of politics–a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the “endless clash of armies” we see in congress and on the campaign trail; a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of “our improbable experiment in democracy.” He explores those forces–from the fear of losing to the perpetual need to raise money to the power of the media–that can stifle even the best-intentioned politician. He also writes, with surprising intimacy and self-deprecating humor, about settling in as a senator, seeking to balance the demands of public service and family life, and his own deepening religious commitment.

At the heart of this book is Senator Obama’s vision of how we can move beyond our divisions to tackle concrete problems. He examines the growing economic insecurity of American families, the racial and religious tensions within the body politic, and the transnational threats–from terrorism to pandemic–that gather beyond our shores. And he grapples with the role that faith plays in a democracy–where it is vital and where it must never intrude. Underlying his stories about family, friends, members of the Senate, even the president, is a vigorous search for connection: the foundation for a radically hopeful political consensus.

A senator and a lawyer, a professor and a father, a Christian and a skeptic, and above all a student of history and human nature, Senator Obama has written a book of transforming power. Only by returning to the principles that gave birth to our Constitution, he says, can Americans repair a political process that is broken, and restore to working order a government that has fallen dangerously out of touch with millions of ordinary Americans. Those Americans are out there, he writes–“waiting for Republicans and Democrats to catch up with them.”

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Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Speaking for Myself by Cherie Blair eBook edition

  Do you ever play the game?  You know, the one where you sit around with a bunch of people and talk about which famous (or almost famous) person you would like to sit down and have dinner with?  We play it often.  And in the last few years I have often said, "Cherie Blair."  I just had a feeling . . .

I mean, here is a woman who is married to the Prime Minister of England, works as an attorney (and in this book I found out she is also a judge), has a family and still manages to show up for official functions. 

You can tell from her accent that she isn't exactly "upper crust" and the British Press have a field day reporting on her.  Most of the reporting less than flattering, but somehow managing to show her as a REAL flesh and blood person with a real inner life.

Often these conjectures about people are hilariously off base.  But in Cherie Blair's case they may not be. 

Speaking for Myself is her accounting of her life.  Her telling of her own history is frank, opinionated, unsentimental and humorous.  It is at times a painfully honest account of who she is (and not always to her benefit).

She is a study in contrasts and contradictions.  A high achieving professional and a devoted wife and mother.  A political operator who has a tin ear when it comes to handling people and personalities. A pugnacious defender of her husband who sees him warts and all.  She has tremendous insecurities about money and this drives her to make some very unwise choices.  She is in fact, very human.  I ended up liking her a lot! 

And even if you don't like her much, her "ringseat to history" make this compelling reading. Her recounting of the events, stories about the people and insights into government make it a fascinating read.

Sure, some of the intricacies of the British legal system and Parliamentary maneuverings are dense and to me as an American a little boring.  But her story and her voice will keep you reading.

Here is the publisher's notes:

Even if she hadn't married Tony Blair, Cherie's story would have been amazing. Abandoned by her actor father, she overcame obstacles to become one of the UK's most successful barristers. But when Labour took power in 1997, she faced new challenges: her husband was the first prime minister in recent history with a young family, and Cherie was the first PM's wife with a serious career. Now, she gives a complete account of her own life--an astonishing journey for a woman whose unconventional childhood was full of drama and who grew up with a fierce sense of justice.

In her autobiography she reveals for the first time what it was like to combine life as a working mother with life married to the prime minister. She writes about her encounters with scores of foreign leaders and her friendships with Presidents Clinton and Bush, as well as with Hillary and Laura. And she offers inside details of her relationships with the royals, including Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, and Princess Diana.

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Monday, July 14, 2008

The Secret History of the American Empire eBook edition

This week Henri give us an analysis of his "light" weekend reading with a review of John Perkins' The Secret History of the American EmpireHe calls it

      John Perkins and Caesar

If you have ever wondered what it was like to live in the time of Christ you may have been interested enough to read a little of the history of the Roman Empire. Imperial might reached its longest lasting pinnacle in recorded human history starting around that time. The might of that empire has long faded but its works still are visible over much of the Continent where it was born. Is this Republic going the way of the Roman Republic which preceded the Empire? Are we becoming a modern version of Rome?

I think it is unlikely after reading several books promoting that point of view. Most of them were thoughtful and insightful but it is a false premise that defines their argument. In the power of the corporations that define our economic empire, if the word even fits this model, there is a whole new thing altering the face of this planet. Whether the corporate model should be used in building a human social and economic system, and whether it is good or evil, remains to be seen. What is clearly true is that it is not built on either the Roman model or even the colonial model of the British Empire. Imperial power is less the issue than raw economic force in this world.

John Perkins, author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" and his new book, The Secret History of the American Empire, comes down on the side of the argument that points out the evils in the system. While it would be impossible to argue about the evils of some of the actions he writes about it is also hard to swallow whole the imperial construct he sees operating here.

I give this latest book a good rating because it could wake up a few people who have not traveled extensively in the poorer nations. The argument that we as a nation are the author of much of the misery that is engendered there is even easy to follow. But that argument is erroneous in that it is ascribing the power to the USA to alter that piece of the world very much for the better or worse by manipulating corporations. Those corporations are manipulating every government on earth at this point in history. Ours is no exception. The difference here is that we can take back our power over our government if we are willing to pay the attention to politics that such an act requires.

The issue of Imperial power versus corporate power needs to be addressed in every nation on earth. The power of corporate interests transcends any nation state's power in the world we live in today. We started forming governments to protect us from the tribe down the block as much as any one thing. If there were any litanies being said today they might include the plea to God, "From the power of the corporate raiders oh Lord deliver us." Part of the financial mess in this country is due to the chaos engendered by diverse corporate interests hijacking our government and using it as a tool for increasing their power.

I do recommend this latest book and hope that it doesn't depress you too much. It has that capacity but it also makes some good points and has some honest statements about the perversion of power and the capacity to create wealth when it is not used for the benefit of humanity. Do read it if you have the stomach it requires.

The Publishers' analysis follows:

Riveting expose of international corruption-and what we can do about it, from the author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, which spent over a year on the New York Times bestseller list. In his stunning memoir, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins detailed his former role as an "economic hit man" in the international corporate skullduggery of a de facto American Empire. This riveting, behind-the-scenes expose unfolded like a cinematic blockbuster told through the eyes of a man who once helped shape that empire.

Now, in The Secret History of the American Empire, Perkins zeroes in on hot spots around the world and, drawing on interviews with other hit men, jackals, reporters, and activists, examines the current geopolitical crisis. Instability is the norm: It's clear that the world we've created is dangerous and no longer sustainable. How did we get here? Who's responsible? What good have we done and at what cost? And what can we do to change things for the next generations? Addressing these questions and more, Perkins reveals the secret history behind the events that have created the American Empire, including: * The current Latin-American revolution and its lessons for democracy * How the "defeats" in Vietnam and Iraq benefited big business * The role of Israel as "Fortress America" in the Middle East * Tragic repercussions of the IMF's "Asian Economic Collapse" * U.S. blunders in Tibet, Congo, Lebanon, and Venezuela * Jackal (CIA operatives) forays to assassinate democratic presidents.

From the U.S. military in Iraq to infrastructure development in Indonesia, from Peace Corps volunteers in Africa to jackals in Venezuela, Perkins exposes a conspiracy of corruption that has fueled instability and anti-Americanism around the globe. Alarming yet hopeful, this book provides a compassionate plan to reimagine our world.

Monday, July 7, 2008

The Girl I Left Behind eBook Edition

The Girl I Left Behind is a perfect counterpoint to the Wednesday SistersI hadn't planned it this way.  But overnight I moved seamlessly from the fictional 60s to the non-fictional version.

Judith Nies' memoir is the story of her transformation from a naive small town girl to an worldly aware women.  It is part coming of age story, part travelogue and part history lesson.  It is a report from the front lines from someone who lived it.

Neis captures the essence of the other sixties.  Not the "sex, drugs and rock and roll" variety.  She portrays in detail the political transformation of a generation. 

She weaves together the stories of the cold war, the CIA and the FBI into the fabric of civil rights marches, Vietnam war teach-ins and women's sit ins.  She tells of government secrecy and downright lies.  She talks of old boy's clubs and class in America.

Her stories of working on Capitol Hill in the late sixties bring some of the pivotal players of that time into sharp focus.  They are all on display from Congressman Burton of California to Daniel Ellsburg; from Senator Fulbright to Gloria Stienem. She even manages to compare and contrast the political climate of 1964 and 2004.

She graphically reminds of us of why "The Political is Personal".

This is very much the story of women.  Women and their quest for educations and votes.  Women seeking equal access to and opportunity in the workplace.  The fight for viable health care, birth control and child care. It is the story of women in the 20th century with a straight line from the suffragettes to NOW.  Unfortunately,  many of these stories have have been forgotten. It is important that we remember them and that we honor the brave women who tirelessly worked to ensure that women today have a measure of equality.

Most young women of today take it for granted that a women can vote.  They never question the idea that they can choose a career and be taken seriously in the workplace. Most young girls don't even question the "right" to play sports or have equal access to public accommodations.  Thankfully, most young women do not really understand institutionalized sexual harassment. 

And for all of that, women are too often judged by their appearance, and faced with conflicting demands about who and what they should be.

We've come a long way, baby . . . and we still have a long, long way to go!

Here is the publishers synopsis:

At the height of the Vietnam War protests, twenty-eight-year-old Judith Nies and her husband lived a seemingly idyllic life. Both were building their respective careers in Washington—Nies as the speechwriter and chief staffer to a core group of antiwar congressmen, her husband as a Treasury department economist. They lived in the carriage house of the famed Marjorie Merriweather Post estate. But when her husband brought home a list of questions from an FBI file with Judith's name on the front, Nies soon realized that her life was about to take a radical turn. Shocked to find herself the focus of an FBI investigation into her political activities, Nies began to reevaluate her role as grateful employee and dutiful wife. In The Girl I Left Behind, she chronicles the experiences of those women who, like herself, reinvented their lives in the midst of a wildly shifting social and political landscape.

In a fresh, candid look at the 1960s, Nies pairs illuminating descriptions of feminist leaders, women's liberation protests, and other pivotal social developments with the story of her own transformation into a staunch activist and writer. From exposing institutionalized sexism on Capitol Hill in her first published article to orchestrating the removal of a separate "Ladies Gallery" on the House floor to taking leadership of the Women in Fellowships Committee, Nies discusses her own efforts to enlarge women's choices and to change the workplace—and how the repercussions of those efforts in the sixties can still be felt today.

A heartfelt memoir and piercing social commentary, The Girl I Left Behind recounts one woman's courageous journey toward independence and equality. It also evaluates the consequences of the feminist movement on the same women who made it happen—and on the daughters born in their wake.

Use Coupon Code BKS4ME at checkout to receive a 5% Discount on this eBook Title!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

A Place Called Canterbury: Tales of the New Old Age in America eBook edition

  A Place called Canterbury is a humorous and sometimes touching, meditation on how today's elderly live.

When his mother moved to a Tampa Bay Life Care Retirement Community, Canterbury Tower, Dudley Clendinen got an up close and very personal look at retirement and old age in America. 

The average age of the Canterbury Tower resident is 86,  The same age as my mother is now.  I used to think that 86 was ancient.  I could barely imagine anyone living that long.  These days, not only can I imagine it, I am watching a whole generation of my family living into their 80s and 90s.

My mother at 86 has barely slowed down.  She has a more active social life than I do.  My Dad's oldest sister is 90+ and (except for her hearing) is going strong.  Based on my heredity I am going to be around for a very long time. It is fair to say that for me A Place Called Canterbury is both an inspiration and a cautionary tale.

Let's face it.  Stories about old people have a predictable ending.  Too often they are by turns depressing or maudlin. A Place Called Canterbury is anything but. There are poignant stories that made me tear up.  There are stories that made me laugh out loud.  There are stories that made me think.  There were stories that put me to sleep. In the end these tales are not so much a chronicle of old age but a celebration of what it means to be human.

Canterbury Towers, as described by Clendinen, is full of fascinating characters who refuse grow old.  They are committed to living life to its fullest; they forget things, they tell funny stories, they snack after sex, they drink martinis and have wonderful social debates.  Clendinen reports it all. 

He says that in writing this book he "set out to be diarist and chronicler."  He did his job well.  His Mother, if she could read this book, would be proud. 

You probably do not want to read this book on an empty stomach -- all the descriptions of food will send you to the freezer for ice cream.  And as I read, I couldn't help but think of my Dad who used to say -- "The best thing about old age is that it beats the alternative. "  

This book is certainly not everyone's cup of tea.  It is only recommended for anyone who is aging or has an aging Mother.

OK -- here is what the publisher says:

In 1994 New York Times writer Dudley Clendinen's mother-a Southern matron of iron will but creaking bones-sold her house and moved to Canterbury Tower, a geriatric apartment building with full services and a nursing wing in Tampa Bay.

There she landed in a microcosm of the New Old Age. Canterbury was filled not just with old Tampa neighbors but also with strangers from across the country. Wealthy, middle class, or barely afloat; Christian, Jewish, or faithless; proud, widowed, or still married; grumpy or dear-they had all come together, at the average age of eighty-six, in search of a last place to live and die.

A Place Called Canterbury is a beautifully written, often hilarious, deeply moving look at how the oldest Americans are living with the reality of living longer. Peopled by brave, daffy, memorable characters determined to grow old with dignity-and to help one another avoid the dreaded nursing wing-A Place Called Canterbury is a kind of soap opera.

Likewise, it is a poignant chronicle of the last years of the Greatest Generation and their children, the Boomers, as they are drawn into old age with their parents. A Place Called Canterbury is an essential read for anyone with aging parents and anyone wondering what their own old age will look like.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Beautiful Insights on Life and Death from the Animals

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'Tell Me Where It Hurts' by Nick Trout. This book was amazing! I laughed, I cried, but mostly some of the tales of profound love between humans and animals, gave me chills. Dr. Nick Trout is the vet you wish you had, calling your pet "Cute Thing You.." and working with skill and compassion to keep your animal friend happy and healthy. In the book Dr. Trout condenses his 25 years of veterinary practice into a single very busy day, which starts at 2:47 a.m. with an emergency wake-up call. A 10-year-old German Shepherd with a life-threatening stomach problem requires emergency surgery. Even with a stomach about to burst, the old dog wags her tail when they meet. The book ends late at night, at 10:02 p.m., with this same old dog. What a journey in between.

'Animals in Spirit: Our Faithful Companion' by Penelope Smith. This eBook is a beautiful, heartfelt, and sensitive guide to animals' perspectives on the death and dying process, as well their experiences in the spiritual dimension after leaving the physical body. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who has loved and lost an animal. There is a wonderful exercise for helping people to connect with the spirits of their animal friends who have died, as well as a beautiful grief and memorial ritual contributed by animal communicator Barbara Janelle. My favorite passage in the book is at the very end, in a poetic inspiration that came through Penelope, which states, in part: "Flow with spirit, ever-changing in its guises. See the wildflowers bloom and die and give their seeds to the Earth. Nothing ever really dies or fades. Everything dissolves into unity and flows into another sea or shower or puff of air". Use the Coupon Code Below to receive a Discount on these two eBook Titles.

TELL ME WHERE IT HURTS eBook edition by Trout, Nick
Nick Trout is a staff surgeon at the Angell Animal Medical Center and lives near Boston, Massachusetts.
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Animals in Spirit: Our faithful companions' transition to the afterlife eBook edition by Smith, Penelope
How do animals feel about crossing over? What do they communicate to us after they die? How can we contact animals in spirit? Losing an animal companion can be a painful experience, yet by examining their transition from a spiritual perspective, Animals in Spirit explores the process of dying from the viewpoints of animals and their people.
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Buy either of these titles this week, and recieve an extra 5% off your total purchase - so read all you want - these titles and much more await you at eBooksAboutEverything.com!
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Monday, February 4, 2008

True Crime at It's Best. You Won't Believe It!

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'Marked for Death' by Brian J. Karem. In one night, I read this eBook cover to cover. The case itself was interesting with a nice insight provided by the author into the mind and planned actions of the two evil female killers. The author really researched the characters of this book. If you are a true crime fan this is a must read!

'Never Enough' by Joe McGinniss. I do not read a lot of true-crime nonfiction, and I have never read any of this author's prior works, but I picked this up after reading an excerpt in a magazine. The story resonates with me, as it involves well-off, educated people with three young children. That's about where the similarities end -- the family here, the Kissels, are a fractured, distorted version of the American dream, brought expertly to life by Joe McGinniss. Love, money, lust, power, and cold-blooded murder amid the lavish life in Hong Kong, this book has it all. Use the Coupon Code below for a Discount on either or both of these eBook Titles.

Marked for Death eBook edition by Karem, Brian J.
A seasoned investigative reporter takes us behind the scenes of one of the most shocking cases in California history when a greedy and seductive wife brutally murders her devoted husband. Tavia Williams thought her new stepmother was sweet and charming.
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Never Enough eBook edition by McGinniss, Joe
At thirty-nine, Nancy Kissel had it all: glamour, gusto, garishly flaunted wealth, and the royal lifestyle of the expatriate wife. Not to mention three young children and what a friend described as ""the best marriage in the universe."" That marriage -- to Merrill Lynch and former Goldman Sachs investment banker Robert Kissel -- ended abruptly one November night in 2003 in the bedroom of their luxury apartment
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Buy either of these titles this week, and recieve an extra 5% off your total purchase - so read all you want - these titles and much more await you at eBooksAboutEverything.com!
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BKS4ME

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Interesting And True All In One...

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'Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder:' by Ann Rule. In Ann Rules' latest publication SMOKE, MIRRORS AND MURDER readers are given a wide variety of true crime stories; very much reminiscent of her days of magazine writing. I started it and didn't put it down until I had read every page. Ann has a writing style that a novelist would envy in terms of its apparently effortless flow and she ensures - without fail. This eBook is filled with all the tension, drama, and poetic imagery that reveals the tragedy of the human victims involved in the book.

'The Best American Crime Reporting 2007' by Linda Fairstein. The book begins with the story of Sal and Mabel Mangano, the New Orleans nursing home owners who were accused of abandoning their residents to Hurricane Katrina. There is another fascinating story of a New York writer who unwittingly shares his apartment with a subject of "America's Most Wanted," and another story of a young female medical intern who disappeared the day before 9/11 and whose fate is still unknown. Every story in this book is a page-turner, and I highly recommend it. Check below for the Coupon Code to receive a Discount on either of these two eBook Titles.

Ann Rule's Crime Files: Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder: And Other True Cases (Mobipocket) eBook edition by Rule, Ann
Includes Ann Rule's insider commentary on the Mary Winkler murder case REAL-LIFE MURDER. REAL-LIFE MYSTERY. In some murder cases, the truth behind the most tragic of crimes crystallizes with relative ease. Not so with these fascinating accounts drawn from the personal files of Ann Rule, America's #1 bestselling true-crime writer.
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Best American Crime Reporting 2007, The eBook edition by Fairstein, Linda
Thieves, liars, killers, and conspirators—it's a criminal world out there, and someone has got to write about it. An eclectic collection of the year's best reportage, The Best American Crime Reporting 2007 brings together the murderers and muscle men, the masterminds, and the mysteries and missteps that make for brilliant stories, told by the aces of the true crime genre.
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Buy either of these titles this week, and recieve an extra 5% off your total purchase - so read all you want - these titles and much more await you at eBooksAboutEverything.com!
Use the following coupon code at checkout:
BCF4MP

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