Archive for July, 2010

The Hole in Our Gospel Richard Stearns

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

 

 

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson; 1ST edition (March 10, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0785229183
ISBN-13: 978-0785229186
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Richard Stearns was living what a lot of people consider the American Dream. A big House, big salary, a jag for a company car. Then he started getting calls to join World Harvest. He tried to run from it, but everywhere he turned something new would happen to make him think he had to take the job. Finally he gave up everything he’d worked for, and flew his family across the country for a 75% cut in salary to become CEO of World Vision U.S.

This is a must read book, whether you are Christian or not, but particularly if you are Christian. It was at times disturbing, and made me realize that despite what I think, I don’t do enough to help others. That is the premise for this book.

The Bible commands that we help out the least among us. His whole point throughout this, is that people have failed in this assignment. He packs the book with statistics, and heartbreaking stories of his visits to other countries, some overran with AIDs suffering.

He begins by usin the illustration that if you out every sentence in the bible that dealt with how we were to treat the poor, the hungry, the needy, that the bible would be nothing but shreds. There would be so many holes you wouldn’t recognize it, yet that’s what a lot of people do all the time. He admits that he has a tendency to really get excited and help when he first returns from a mission, but then things die off, and he falls back into a rut.

One scenario he imagines is that of two churches. One is a church in Africa that has nothing, but is happy. The other is a church here, that has everything it needs, but the people are too busy with their own lives. The man from the African church is transported here, and sees the church, and is astonished, he thinks he will be able to tell them all the stuff he needs help with but as soon as the service is over, they flock out without ever listening to him.

A Shock TV/Radio jock has recently said The Bible had nothing to say about Social Justice, and others have spoken out about community service, yet this whole book is about Social Justice and serving your community, and how it’s commanded by God. I think regardless of your views, and no matter how much you think you are contributing, you should pick it up and read it. I think you’ll find it very eye opening.

About the Author

Richard Stearns has been president of World Vision U.S. since June 1998. As a spokeperson for World Vision he has appeared on CNN, Fix, ABC, NBC, and PBS.
*Disclaimer* A copy of this book was provided for review purposes through Thomas Nelson’s Book Sneeze program. It in no way influenced my review.

You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

The Secret (Of Happiness) – Demosthenes Armeniades

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

 

Perfect Paperback: 466 pages Publisher: Tinseltown Press (July 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0984343105
ISBN-13: 978-0984343102
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Characters:

Max Simon – Billionare.
Dorothy Peabody – Commonly known as Dot, engaged to David.
David Finnegan – A recent college graduate with a too good to be true job offer.
Marcie Rogers – Wal Mart Clerk, prone to day dreaming of a better life.

Synopsis:

A young college graduate read to start a new job, receives an offer too good to be true. But he soon finds out, nothing comes without a price.

Review:

I enjoyed this book. It said it was an offbeat, fairytale thriller. I think that sums it up pretty well. The characters were well developed. I constantly found myself wondering what was going to happen to them. This is a tough book to put into any genre though. It’s part Prince and the Pauper, part essay on poverty, and part a lesson in the costs of having all your dreams come true.

Through the main characters we travel to a mountain top in the Himalayas, outerspace, and just a ride of complete decadence that only money can obtain. It’s hard to fully describe this book without giving spoilers, but in the end the reader truly does find out the secret of happiness.

I’d recommend this book to adults and older teens. There is some strong language, and situations. I enjoyed it, I think you would too, and in the end I was very satisfied with the ending.

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to Rebecca at The Cadence Group for an Advanced Reading Copy of this book. It in now way influenced my review.

You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

The Power of Compassion – Compiled by Pamela Bloom

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

 

 

Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing (May 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1571746293
ISBN-13: 978-1571746290
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This is a collection, of mostly Budddhist writings regarding compassion. Ms. Bloom compiles stories from many different spiritual leaders and how they exhibited the nature of compassion. One example was of a man who had no blank to sleep outside, someone gave him a blanket, but while he was sleeping someone took it. His reaction was happiness for the person who needed the blanket.

Another story is that of Yeshe Tsogyal. This story say’s that Yeshe was traveling along one day and came across some men carrying a man on a stretcher. When she inquired they told her the man had been punished by having his kneecaps removed. They were told that only the kneecaps of a woman could help him. She volunteered to give up her kneecaps in order to help this man.

I found the stories to be very inspiring, and touching. They cover things from how animals can be affected by compassion, to how it can change people. I think for anyone whose trying to lead a more open, compassionate life would find a great deal to like about this book.

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to Bonni at Red Wheel Weiser for a review copy of this book. 

You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Allies – Christie Golden

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

 

 

Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: LucasBooks (May 25, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345509145
ISBN-13: 978-0345509147
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Characters:

Allana Solo – Human Female Child
Ben Skywalker – Jedi Knight (Human Male)
Luke Skywalker – Jedi Grand Master (Human Male)
Han Solo – Captain, Millenium Falcon (Human Male)
Leia Organa Solo – Jedi Knight (Human Female)
Gavar Khai – Sith Saber
Vestara Khai – Sith Apprentice
Jaina Solo – Jedi Knight (Female Human)
Jagged Fel – Head of State Galactic Empire (Male Human)
Natasi Daala – Galactic Alliance Chief of State (Human Female)

Overview:

Something is still driving young Jedi Knights insane. Luke Skywalker and his son Ben, enter into an uneasy alliance with the Sith. This is in an effort to get into the Maw and find Abeloth. But as usual, there will be decptions, along the way. Luke enlists the aid of Lando Calrissian, who unknowingly to either at first is joined by Jaina Solo.

In the mean time, Han, Leia, and all the Jedi on Coruscant are surrounded by Mandalorians. The Mandalorians threaten to kill any Jedi’s caught leaving the temple. Han and Leia must work covertly to deliver medicine and messages into the temple. Medicine that is needed for treating those sick Jedi within the temple.

Review:

I liked this book. Christie Golden is now on her second run (third with a short story) in the Star Wars Universe. She really has gotten a hang of the characters, and events. It’s fun to see Ben dealing with his first big crush, on a Sith of all people. I’d actually liked to have seen a little more combat. While there are still more books to go in this series, what seemed like the main plot point doesn’t seem to deliver. I am looking for the next, I’ve enjoyed this series, and there are still some ends created in this novel, that I want to see followed.

If you’ve liked the other books in this series, then you definitely should pick this one up. However, if you haven’t as some haven’t, you can probably skip it. I still hold out hope that the whole series is setting things up for the timeline seen in the Legacy comic series. I wouldn’t even mind a story just on the these Sith. I want to know more about them, and what their agenda is.

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to Kathryn at Random House Audio for a review Audiobook copy. This in no way influenced my review.

You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

Tattoos on the Heart – Father Gregory Boyle, S.J.

Friday, July 16th, 2010

 

Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Lucasbooks (March 24, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345509064
ISBN-13: 978-0345509062
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Recently a minister friend of mine posted this quote from Leonard Cohen: “There’s a crack in everything; it’s how the light gets in.” He then proceeded to open a discussion by asking people to “share a crack / fault / wound of your own life, but also try to catch a glimspe of the gold that sparkles from with it…” When I read Tatoos of the Heart I had that conversation in mind, and briefly that describes the whole topic of this book. It’s about the wounded. Some wounded very deeply, and how they manage through love and compassion, to let the light shine.

This book is about Father Gregory Boyle, S. J. (Society of Jesus), a Jesuit Priest in Los Angeles.  Father Boyle started a program for gang members in his neighborhood.  The program covers things from job training, to tattoo removal, education, mental health and general counseling.  Throughout the book, Father Boyle presents the good and the bad.  Some of the tales you find yourself laughing along with him, while others you feel the depth of his pain.   It’s not just about him though, it is about the gang members, how they try to change, and sometimes despite the changes, their past catches up to them.  It’s also about the compassion.  The love of Christ to accept everyone, and to drop the walls that allow us to exclude this person or that person because they don’t fit our ideas of what Christlike behavior is. 

I absolutely loved this story, and love what Father Boyle is accomplishing in these lives.  There is some stronger language, some strong events, due to the content of these stories.  I think young readers might have trouble, but anyone over 14 or 15 should have no issues with it, and parents shouldn’t be wary of letting their teenagers read it, or reading it themselves.  I’d recommend that you do read it.  It definitely gives you a different impression of the “gang life” then you get from the nightly news, or from the movies.  These are the stories of real boys and young men, some who had their lives snuffed out before they had a chance to live them, but even in those cases, those who knew Father Boyle found love even if briefly.

About the Author:

Fr. Gregory Boyle – best known as Fr. Greg by all who meet him — was born in Los Angeles, one of eight children. His father, a third-generation Irish-American, worked in the family-owned dairy in Los Angeles County and his mother worked to keep track of her large family. As a youth, Fr. Greg and several of his siblings worked side by side with their father in the dairy. After graduating from Loyola High School in Los Angeles in 1972, he decided to become a Jesuit and was ordained a priest in 1984. 

He received his BA in English from Gonzaga University; an MA in English from Loyola Marymount University; a Master of Divinity from the Weston School of Theology; and a Sacred Theology Masters degree from the Jesuit School of Theology. 

Prior to 1986 Fr. Boyle taught at Loyola High School and worked with Christian Base Communities in Cochabamba, Bolivia. He was appointed as Pastor of Dolores Mission in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles in 1986 where he served through 1992. He then served as Chaplain of the Islas Marias Penal Colony in Mexico and Folsom Prison, before returning to Los Angeles and Dolores Mission. 

Homeboy Industries traces its roots to “Jobs For A Future” (JFF), a program created in 1988 by Fr. Greg at Dolores Mission parish. In an effort to address the escalating problems and unmet needs of gang-involved youth, Fr. Greg and the community developed positive alternatives, including establishing an elementary school, a day care program and finding legitimate employment for young people. JFF’s success demonstrated the model followed today that many gang members are eager to leave the dangerous and destructive life on the “streets.” 

In 1992, as a response to the civil unrest in Los Angeles, Fr. Greg launched the first business (under the organizational banner of JFF and Proyecto Pastoral, separated from Dolores Mission Church): Homeboy Bakery with a mission to create an environment that provided training, work experience, and above all, the opportunity for rival gang members to work side by side. The success of the Bakery created the groundwork for additional businesses, thus prompting JFF to become an independent non-profit organization, Homeboy Industries, in 2001. Today Homeboy Industries’ nonprofit economic development enterprises include Homeboy Bakery, Homeboy Silkscreen, Homeboy Maintenance, Homeboy/HomegirlMerchandise, and HomegirlCafé
This year, 2008, marks the 20th Anniversary of the work Father Greg began. Homeboy Industries, now located in downtown Los Angeles, is recognized as the largest gang intervention program in the county, and has become a national model.
 
See the Homeboy Industries site here. All the author’s net proceeds from this book will aid Homeboy Industries, and at the site you can also make donations.

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to Nilki at Condor Book Tours for a review copy of this book.

You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

The Castaways – Elin Hilderbrand

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

 

 

Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Back Bay Books; 1 edition (June 8, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316043907
ISBN-13: 978-0316043908
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Characters:

Greg MacAvoy – Singer & Music Teacher at local School.  Estranged from wife over alleged affair with student.

Tess MacAvoy – Wife of Greg MacAvory.   Troubled marriage, and some secrets that have yet to be revealed.

Chief Eddie Kapenash – Nantucket Police Chief.  Investigator of Tess and Greg’s Deaths.

Andrea Kapenash – Wife to Chief.  Cousin to Tess, and in some respects a sister and mother.

Addison Wheeler -Wealthy owner of local realty company. He has some secrets of his own that will be revealed through the story.

Phoebe Wheeler – Wife to Addison. A Twin whose brother died in the 9/11 attacks. She has never gotten over his death, and lives under a constant haze of alchohol and medication.

Jeffrey Drake – Farmer. Former love of Andrea before she married The Chief. Married to Deliliah Drake.

Delilah Drake – Greg’s Party Buddy, they’d often hang together at a local bar, until the wee hours of the morning.

April Peck – Student of Greg’s. Accuses him of affair that nearly wrecks his marriage.

Overview:

Greg and Tess MacAvoy are celebrating their 12th anniversary. They decide to go out on a boat to have a romantic evening alone. Somehow during this voyage, the boat capsizes, and they are both drowned. Their 6 friends are left behind to uncover what happened.

Review:

This book reminded me a lot of The Big Chill. A large group of friends, trying to find the answers to why two of their friends were killed, and what was going on in their last days.

There are many secrets that are unveiled throughout the book. Secrets that involve many, sometimes all of the friends. In many ways, it also had that soap opera storyline quality about it.

While the book wasn’t one of my favorites, I could see that for female readers and maybe some male readers, it would have it’s appeal. To me I could visualize a woman sitting on a sunny beach reading this book. It definitely seems like it would be a good beach book

If you are into relationship stories, or books that reveal secrets within families, then you’d probably like this book. It did keep me interested in finding out what all the unknown questions were. I’d recommend it as a good summer book, or a good take to the beach book.

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to Valerie at Hachette Book Group for a review copy of this book.

You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.

Interview: Tim Wendel – Author of Red Rain

Friday, July 9th, 2010

Rhodes Review:  Who are some of the writers you enjoy? Books?

Tim Wendel: When I was beginning to write fiction in the late 1980s, I was fortune to attend the Squaw Valley Writers Conference several times. There I met Richard Ford, Carolyn Doty, Oakley Hall – among many other top-notch writers and teachers. In fact, Oakley Hall (WARLOCK, THE DOWNHILL RACERS) was gracious enough to endorse RED RAIN. It may have been the last book he blurbed before dying late last year. Reading-wise, my tastes tend to be pretty eclectic. I just finished MANHUNT, the story of the Lincoln assassination and chasing down John Wilkes Booth. I’m following that up with WHO WILL RUN THE FROG HOSPITAL? by Lorrie Moore, which I’m teaching in my fiction workshop this summer at Johns Hopkins University. There are certain writers I tend to return to, especially when I’m struggling with a project. They include Ford, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sarah Vowell and Michael Ondaatje.

Rhodes Review: How do you come up with Story Ideas?

Tim Wendel: When I go to a party, especially in the Washington, D.C. area, where I live, I really listen to what the buzz in about. In a roundabout way, that’s what led me to writing RED RAIN. It was in the last few months of Bill Clinton’s administration and several us were discussing how jaded things had become, how may be it wasn’t best that all the secrets were out, so to speak. That’s when a complete stranger asked if we knew about the best-kept secret of World War II – the Japanese fire balloons. He was with the Smithsonian and he told us a bit about the balloons. How close to 10,000 were launched from Japan. How they started forest fires throughout the West. I couldn’t get the story out of my head and a few days later I was at the National Archives and then the Library of Congress beginning to research the novel.

Rhodes Review: How do you get your inspiration/muse to write?

Tim Wendel: I try to write every weekday morning. That’s especially true if I’m working on a rough draft for a project. I really believe you have to be open to things, have that notebook available. If not, those insights or ways to do a scene will move on to somebody else. I wrote my first novel, CASTRO’S CURVEBALL, on the Metro, D.C.’s subway. I had an intense day job at the time with USA Today. I didn’t have much free time, but I tried to write at least a page in my spiral notebook every day on the Metro going to work. One day I almost didn’t write. It seemed to be pointless. But with my stop only minutes away, I got out my notebook and started to write in a voice that I like to think is more desperate and innocent than my own. I ended up rewriting the novel in that voice, the voice of Billy Bryan, a washed-up ballplayer in Havana. I’m convinced that if I hadn’t picked up my pen that day, that voice/character would have moved on to some other writer.

Rhodes Review: What is the hardest part of writing for you?

Tim Wendel: The time alone. Sticking to the task at hand. You have to have some fun, change things up. That’s why I write both fiction and nonfiction. Recently I’ve had great success with a nonfiction book called HIGH HEAT: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE FASTBALL AND THE IMPROBABLE SEARCH FOR THE FASTEST PITCHER OF ALL TIME. Certainly there are constants in my work like history, narrative even parallel storylines, but you have to find a way to keep yourself interested.

Rhodes Review: What’s the best thing about being an author?

Tim Wendel: Your time can be your own. At least sometimes. Writing can be difficult and pulling together a real scene of dynamite may seem impossible some days. But I haven’t found anything else as satisfying when it does come together.

Rhodes Review: What advice would you give aspiring authors?

Tim Wendel: Put in the time. I don’t think there’s any formula were X amount of time equals a quality short story or novel. But you have to carry the story with you for a time. You cannot just work on it when you’re inspired. Sometimes the most “blah” days can lead to real revelations and epiphanies about your story. And, please, listen to your characters. It’s OK if somebody starts to take over a piece, really kick butt and take names. Let them, even if that isn’t part of the working outline. Often that’s a real sign you’re on to something big.

Rhodes Review: What is your current writing project?

Tim Wendel: I just finished a new novel set near Niagara Falls, where I grew up. It’s entitled OVER THE FALLS, and the characters and setting are all somewhat star-crossed. My next project will probably be nonfiction, perhaps set in the 1960s. Things seem so divisive today, so I found myself wondering when were things as or even more divisive. That’s the ’60s for me, so I think there are some lessons and great stories to be found there.

Rhodes Review: What was the writing process like for Red Rain?

Tim Wendel: It was swirl when it came to research and writing. Some of my peers like to do a huge block of research before they start writing. But with RED RAIN, I’d research some and then write and then research some more to make a scene or character really pop. For example, I read several biographies about General Douglas MacArthur. Looking back on it, I did much the same thing with Fidel Castro and the first novel. I even traveled to Japan to get the scenes in Kyoto and Nara right. Fortunately, those places suffered little damage during World War II. So, with RED RAIN, I found myself moving back and forth. I’m lucky that National Archives and Library of Congress are near my home.

Rhodes Review: Do you think we’d ever be able to pull off something like Red Rain in Today’s environment?

Tim Wendel: I think it would be difficult to launch such a campaign, one of paper balloons, about 33 feet diameter, with incendiary bombs attached, in this day and age. Still, we must remember that evil is almost close by, and often the most ingenious attacks or schemes are so simple in design. Of course, I’m also thinking about 9/11 here.

Rhodes Review: What made you want to write this book?

Tim Wendel: The untold story of the fire balloons was the starting point. But writing RED RAIN helped me finish writing about a world and force that I’d gotten to know many years before. What I’m talking about is fire and the people who fight forest fires for a living. Two decades or so ago, when I was barely out of college, I was on a Hot Shot crew in Arizona. These guys and the smokejumpers are the top fire fighters in the West. I filled up notebooks about that experience and in RED RAIN I finally found a home for that material. Much of fire scenes, where the crew is battling the blazes ignited by the fire balloons, comes from those times. It’s certainly based a real life and moments I participated in.

Rhodes Review: Were things like the giant fire taken from your experience or based on real life events?

Tim Wendel: They were taken from my experiences on the fire-line and also subsequent experiences covering large-scale events. For example, I covered the Yellowstone Fires for The Washington Post and did an investigative front-page story about the Storm King Fire in Colorado for USA Today.

Rhodes Review: If you can, tell my readers about your fire fighting experience.

Tim Wendel: I think I’m one of the few writers who has fought fires as a job and also covered several of the biggest blazes in recent memory. So, I’ve seen forest fires from several different angles and perspectives. When things go badly, it’s often a result of people not trusting each other in a basic, necessary way. For example, on my fire crew, we often debated politics and national issues. I was from the East and sometimes didn’t see eye to eye with my crew members, who were mostly raised in the West. But deep down I trusted my crew leader and squad bosses. In essence, they earned my unmatched trust. On a fire if they said we’re going this way and doing this, my reaction was no questions asked. I trusted those guys with my life. Other fire crews lack that common link and I fear for them when things get hairy, even out of control.

Rhodes Review: You mention a famous Mascot in the narrative, was this a real connection to the balloons, or just a fictional account?  I remember the story from the forestry service when I was young, and just wondered now, if it had been a propaganda film.

Tim Wendel: Much of the discussion and scenes involving Smokey the Bear are based in fact and the research I did. Besides learning the real story behind his inception, that he was the brainchild of a D.C. government worker, I wanted the reader to know that there’s often a real disconnect between the policy at the top and what needs to be done in the field. We cannot stop all wildland fires. It may be next to impossible with the way the world is changing climate-wise and more people building near parkland. The old adage of fighting fire with fire makes as much sense today as it ever did. To simply prevent fire, as Smokey advises, simply delays the day of reckoning. It allows the fuel loads to build, for people to perhaps become complacent, before a major fire happens again.

Rhodes Review: Are there any appearances/conventions you’d like to announce to our readers?

Tim Wendel: Just look for more such interviews on the web. It’s a great way to hear from readers and they can always contact me at www.timwendel.com or on Tim Wendel Books on Facebook. Thank-you.

Red Rain – Tim Wendel

Friday, July 9th, 2010

 

Paperback: 270 pages
Publisher: The Writer’s Lair Books (September 21, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0975440217
ISBN-13: 978-0975440216
Order from here:
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Characters:

Yoshi – A Young Japanese woman
Neil Starling – Sailor and Forest Fire fighter
Leo Webb – Member of Fire Fighting Group

Summary:

This novel takes place during WW2 after our win over Germany. We are still fighting the forces of the Japanese Empire. The Japanese have developed a new form of weapon. If successful, it could be very devastating to the U.S. and boost Japanese morale. This weapon is known as a fire balloon. This was a hydrogen balloon with various bombs. Some were 26 pound incendiaries (fire bombs) and four 11 lb incendiary devices attached. The balloons were ineffective, and the Japanese dropped their plans, but only because the government was able to keep the full damage reports quiet. In a course of about one year, Japan launched over 9000 of these balloons. About 300 landed, 6 people were killed. One balloon made it as far as Detroit, Michigan.

Story:

This story is about Yoshi, Neil Starling, and Leo Webb. Yoshi’s family has been confined to the Manzanar Internment Camp. Neil Starling as part of a special government project contacts her about helping the government. He promises to help her family out, and they need her to go into Japan, and find out what is going on with the fire bombs and gather all the intelligence she can.

In Japan, Yoshi gets involved with the main scientist behind the fire balloons. She must take on a Mata Hari type job, getting information from him, passing it on, while keeping herself from being discovered. She has some support from others in Japan, mostly a kindly old woman who shows up when Yoshi needs help most.

While Yoshi is busy in Japan, Neil Starling is busy commanding a force of firefighters in Payson, Arizona. Their job is to fight all these mysterious fires that are breaking out in the forests. Leo Webb is one of the young members of this group of firefighters.

Review:

I enjoyed this story. It was pretty fast paced. The writing style and language would be suitable for anyone over 13 I think. It uncovers a little known event during WW2. The characters seemed real, and their emotions were real. Yoshi is forced to behave in ways that go against character, but is driven out of love for her country to gather all the information she can. That is probably one of the sadder aspects of this time period. Many Japanese were willing, able, and allowed to fight for their new country, while their families were held prisoner in camps.

It gives a pretty good look at what some of the internment camp was like, as well as how some people were not as opposed to Japanese Americans as others were.

If I have one problem with this book, it’s that some relationships seemed forced. It seems they didn’t develop until later chapters, then suddenly “boom”, without me feeling any connection between the characters. I’d like to have seen more time spent on developing these relationships, as it is they seem to come across as an afterthought.

If you want a good look at a time period that doesn’t always get a lot of attention, then pick this book up. I think you’d like it.

About the Author:

Tim Wendel is the author of eight books, including the recent release HIGH HEAT: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE FASTBALL AND THE IMPROBABLE SEARCH FOR THE FASTEST PITCHER OF ALL TIME (Da Capo Press).

His writing has appeared in the The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Weekend, Washingtonian, National Geographic Traveler, The Potomac Review, Gargoyle, GQ and Esquire.   His columns appear on the USA Today op-ed page, where he is on the Board of Contributors.

He lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his wife and their two children.

*Disclaimer* A special thanks goes out to Shana at The Writer’s Lair Books  for a review copy of this book. It in no way influenced my review.

See our interview here be sure and leave a question for Tim and that will register you to win a signed copy of Red Rain.

You can discuss it here or join my facebook page and discuss it there.