A review of Kill the Messenger: The Media’s Role in the Fate of the World, by Maria Armoudian. @@@@@ (5 out of 5). In Kill the Messenger, political scientist and radio broadcaster Maria Armoudian ably examines the central role of mass media in human affairs over the course of the 20th Century.
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A review of Lucky Stiff, by Deborah Coonts. @@@@ (4 out of 5). The entomologists who are gathering at the Babylon Hotel & Resort in Las Vegas for their annual convention somehow manage to lose several million angry bees on the same day that what’s left of a woman known as a crooked bookmaker turns up in the shark tank at a nearby hotel. Shenanigans ensue, surprises happen, and the good guys win in the end. This is hardly fine literature, but who cares?
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The face that peers out at you from the cover is immeasurably sad. It’s the face of a man in middle age weighed down by lifetimes of tragedy. The man — one of the most remarkable novelists of the 20th century — is Kurt Vonnegut, known throughout much of his adult life as Kurt...
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A review of Shock Wave: A Virgil Flowers Novel, by John Sandford. @@@@ (4 out of 5). In Shock Wave, the fifth in John Sanders’ Virgil Flowers series, Virgil is sent to investigate a fatal bombing at the site of a future big-box store that is carefully positioned not to be a Wal-Mart even though it clearly is.
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A review of This Changes Everything: Occupy Wall Street and the 99% Movement, edited by Sarah van Gelder and the staff of Yes! Magazine. @@@@ (4 out of 5). In a fast-paced series of short articles, this well-organized little book brings together the thoughts and observations of several individuals critical to the launching of the Occupy Wall Street movement as well as a number of outside observers who are close to the movement.
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Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review,
with links to other science fiction content.
Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review,
with links to other nonfiction content.
The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.
Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.
The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.