Susan Brind Morrow has broken the mold of the stilted "authorities"
593969
We have all seen a complainer, protecting his ego, while receiving a gold platter, yet criticizing it's luster, it late delivery, or other distracting collateral. Thus I differ from detractors of Susan Brind Morrow. If someone wants site archeology they should buy such a book, if they want mind splitting insight on the Egyptian mind, they should buy The Dawning Moon of the Mind."

Her well-titled new publication, "The Dawning Moon of the Mind" completes a cycle begun over 4000 years ago by Egyptian thinkers---a contemplation on life, death, and the universe---to which she brings her brilliant archeologist's and linguist's insight in a closely examined analysis of some of the oldest hieroglyphics on earth, bringing them back to life as the coded language revealing thrilling insights to human existence as held by those alive at the time.  Should humans survive our 21st Century bestial degradation, imagine 4000 years forward, the year on earth at say, 6016, during which archeologists, linguists, and poets contemplate the language they called English. Their interpretation are likely to be laughable, as have been those done by Sir Alan Gardiner, poor James P Allen and other established "authorities" of Eqyptian times.

Susan Brind Morrow is a scientist, who instead of merely leaning on academics, engages her genius to reveal the "gold platter" is all its luster. It's apparent she is working in a different league than the others, is combining what is, with her profound linguistic intelligence, and bringing back to 21st century readers a rare trove of insight. Morrow is not afraid to use one of humans highest tools, the mind of poetry, as an excavationary tool. If you differ, dip into Dr. Leonard Shlain's Art And Physics.
3894206
I have read and reviewed all of Jacqueline Homan's books, and this fourth from social muckraker Homan is her most professional and highly developed, if not her most exciting. She is unquestionably the most improved author I have reviewed at PODBRAM, my book review blog, over the past four years.

Ms. Homan speaks in the sort of powerful, literary, compassionate voice that our current left wing political pundits and commentators so desperately lack. If you are at all squeamish about anyone questioning right wing religious politics, Divine Right will make you throw a tantrum fit for a three-year-old. On the other hand, if you have felt like you have been drowning in moronic, religious fascism since The Reagan Years, you will squeal with delight as the author skewers the holier than thou crowd!

Jacqueline is a raging feminist, rightfully so, and I do not begrudge her this choice. You might be surprised to know that I am a white male raised as a Southern Baptist, and Jacqueline speaks the truth to power better than any author I have read, or at least within such an entertaining and thought-provoking manner. Her stabs at misogyny in a male dominated religious culture are right on the money, even if a bit over the top in their irreverence quotient! She will certainly make you laugh out loud with some of her phrasings, although in general, Divine Right is not a humorous book.

The weakest element of Divine Right is the extensive detailing of religious issues and history from the earliest period, as in the B.C. time frame. The author provides far more historical detail in this regard than I care to know. This makes Divine Right compete with Jacqueline's Eyes of a Monster as her most riveting book. My eyes sort of glazed over from all the deep religious history. On the other hand, when she goes after the modern social and economic disasters that have been spawned by our current religious climate, Ms. Homan is dead on target!
3932373
A well written book by a well versed, brilliant public servant. I read the one star reviews, and they are as suspect as their cult leader, DJT.
The author doesn't blame others, one of her first comments is: "I've tried to learn from my own mistakes. There were plenty, as you'll see in this book, AND THEY ARE MINE AND MINE ALONE."  It is her story, and it shows the right's insecurity, that they hate it, and her, so much that they need help from Russian trolls to win elections and stifle the truth.  Sad.
3903173
Other states, most notably New Jersey, think they have the corner on corrupt politicians. Maybe every state thinks so, but Illinois is really trying hard to be the undisputed leader. Four governors in the last 40 years jailed (or about to be); hundreds of Illinois pols, particularly from Chicago, indicted, convicted and sent away during those years; not to mention all the mob connections, hits and misses, even recently. It's breathtaking.

  Is it any wonder that the biggest crook of all, Len Small, gets missed in the fog of history? A Illinois governor in Al Capone's pocket during the 1920s who thought he was above the law is now thought of as a hero in his home town. And nobody blows the whistle, least of all the local newspaper. Did I neglect to add that Small's family owns it and many other papers in the state?

  Ridings' book tells an amazing story, all the more stunning because it comes from the public record. Are Chicago Tribune columnists so busy with current crooked pols that they never look in their own morgue? Where are the sensational books about Small? My wife's family lost money in one of Small's bank swindles; thousands of other families did as well. Where's the rage?

  Where are the journalists? Why is Ridings the first?
2818580
Open any newspaper on any day of the week, but do not look at page one. Hidden in the middle, or toward the end one will find in the days events individual testimonials that confirm McClaine Lee has somehow deciphered the intent of Nostradamus. In stunning detail, with crystal like clarity, McClaine Lee warns the world of the coming Moslem War, and America's role as "The Balance". The reader will not think the same about the world after reading this fantastic work.
2754894
Perhaps not the best time to read a non-fiction book about crooked, duplicitous white male government officials --- elected and non --- conspiring to take advantage of and wipe out a minority group, murdering them casually and without fear or reprisal in order to gain more wealth and power. No, it isn't about the current usurper of the presidency and his complicit gop cohorts, but, rather, an episode from the 1920's during which the discovery of oil on Osage land resulted in further pillaging of Native American properties and human rights. Its investigation --- long and labyrinthine and marked by deceitful and homicidal law enforcement officials --- was, in essence, the birth of the modern FBI as founded by J. Edgar Hoover, who was himself a repugnant and amoral human being. As foul as the story is, the writing by the sure-handed David Grann is extremely accomplished, shaped like a well done, fast paced thriller --- albeit, at times, a convolution of difficult to follow connections and names and familial relationships.
2385683
This is Pieter Aspes English-language debut novel, we are introduced to Commissioner Pieter Van In, of the Bruges Special Investigations Department.  (There have apparently been several entries in the series.)  What will turn out to be a case of greater magnitude than any other in his 20-year career begins inauspiciously enough, when Sgt. Guido Versavel comes upon what appears to be a theft in a jewelry store in an expensive shopping district in Bruges.  (And he had just been thinking that there were only three thousand, nine hundred seconds to go before his shift was up.)

On closer inspection, a baffling scenario presents itself:  The alarm has been disabled, the safe has been broken into and all of its contents taken, but the jewels have been dissolved in jars of aqua regia, acid to the uninitiated.  Only when the stores owner is discovered to be the son of Ludovic Degroof, one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the region is there a hint that there is more involved.  Van In wonders: Where do you begin when a case appears to have no suspects and no motive?

DI Van In is ultimately put in charge of the case, which takes on different proportions when other members of the DeGroof family are contacted and threatened.  He is more than ably assisted by the beauteous Deputy Public Prosecutor Hannelore Martens, described by him thusly:  Even in jeans and a white blouse, she was capable of making Miss Belgium look like a spruced-up scarecrow.  Not a conventional whodunit (as the reader is given that information about one-third into the book), this more a question of why, and the answer to that is totally unexpected.  Political implications play a huge role in the way the investigation is conducted.  Ultimately it appears that the seeds of these events were sown many years before.  Written with welcome doses of humor, this is a thoroughly entertaining novel, and is highly recommended.
1985652
Skull and Bones Bush and his cronies

take note. We know who are and are

watching. This book is not correct

on everything but the author does a

real complete job of taking this

criminal administration and the

New World Order on. Bravo, author!
4221798
A home invasion seemingly pulled off by "the gang who couldn't shoot straight" is how Denise Mina opens STILL MIDNIGHT. Two thugs push their way into a small, quiet house and demand to see "Bob," someone who evidently doesn't belong to this Muslim family. The miscreants demand two million pounds in ransom for the patriarch whom they kidnap. And in the panic and confusion, one of the men shoots the teenage daughter by mistake.

Det. Sgt. Alex Morrow, a troubled and very angry cop, believes the case should be hers but is betrayed by her superior when the honors go to her rival, Grant Bannerman, an arrogant careerist who takes credit for work done by his underlings. Morrow is smarter and faster on her feet than Bannerman, but she still must march to his tune, at least this time. She had to work her way into her new promotion while he used other tactics to become a detective sergeant.

Both Bannerman and Morrow harbor secrets they would rather their bosses didn't untangle. Bannerman is very uncertain of himself and has a sick mother. Morrow knows she is too mad at the world but finds it hard to hold her tongue or temper. She also would prefer that the powers-that-be not learn about her criminal half-brother.

Eddy, Pat and Malki (the getaway driver) are the criminals and take poor Aamir Anwar to Shugie's house, a pigsty beyond all belief. They keep him there shrouded in a pillowcase, which is how they begin to think of him and thus call him "the pillowcase." When they finally decide to move him, it's to a huge rusted container of some sort. They lock him in, with Malki as the guard, another plan that goes terribly awry and has a deadly outcome.

In the meantime, Morrow and Bannerman discover that the "Bob" who the kidnappers were looking for is really Omar, one of Anwar's sons. He is a hoodlum who dreams of owning his own business, but all who know him are certain this is never going to happen. Throw some drugs, alcohol, dirty money and an "importing-exporting" business into this mix of diverse characters, and add a plot that twists and turns, and you get a suspenseful read.

STILL MIDNIGHT is engaging from the first few lines, and the pace keeps speeding up. Denise Mina's style is approachable and entertaining. Her reputation has been built upon strong characters and tight plots; she doesn't disappoint here.
3655236
I devoured Alexandra Sokoloffs FBI/Huntress series and was totally drawn into the strange, electric and slightly magical relationship between FBI agent Matt Roarke and deadly serial killer, Cara Lindstrom. In many ways this last book is even more magical, suffused as it is with the moons glow, Navajo legend and the Mexican saint, Santa Muerte, or Lady Death. By stark contrast, this is also a strong indictment of the current US president  and Sokoloff doesnt hide her horror of his misogyny. She sees his ascension to power as a real threat for the rights of woman. And she doesnt mince her words: the ascension of the ultimate troll, a sexual predator now determining national policy. For all through this series Sokoloff has spoken up for the rights of women, showing her readers the horrific plight of women who have been trafficked, prostituted or simply neglected by an uncaring system. Hunger Moon takes us into the Canyon de Chelly, deep in Navajo land, where Cara had fled from California after being granted bail. Here too, It looms large  the evil that rampages against women. White men are hunting down and raping Navajo girls, and Cara is hunting the hunters. Soon, however, she finds herself the target of an evil, corrupt law enforcement officer from her past, who whips up hatred against her on several online forums, and offers a reward if shes brought to him alive. Roarke, meanwhile is returning the Bureau with a new focus  to set up a task force focused on protecting young girls from trafficking and abuse. Before setting it up, he has to investigate an uprising against rapists at colleges across the US. Again, this book is beautifully plotted, written in a taut, sophisticated style and features a totally gripping climax that left me breathless. Its ruthless, violent and utterly, utterly readable.
1276919
This is an excellent book that is very easy to read (I read it in two days) and delves deeply into the FBI investigation of Hillary's personal email use while Secretary of State.  It reads like something out of Shakespeare with hubris, greed, arrogance and corruption the dominant character traits shared by the various players.  For anyone who has watched Netflix's "House of Cards", the similarities in this story will be striking.  For the uninformed reviewers that have not read it and say it is a "right wing" hatchet job, Edward Klein was the Editor in Chief of the New York Times Magazine for 10 years and the New York Times does not employ "right wingers" in any capacity let alone as Editor in Chief.  He was also the Foreign Editor of Newsweek for 7 years and a contributing editor of Vanity Fair for 7 years, neither of which is known for its conservative viewpoints. Prior to his books about Hillary Clinton, he published four bestsellers about the Kennedys, all of which were well received by the media.  This is not the resume of a member of "the vast right wing conspiracy."  Read the book.
1083878
The curious thing about Mrs. Clem is that unlike Lizzie Borden, many modern people probably haven't heard of her. Author Wendy Gamber begins this book with a dramatic scene. On a wooded riverbank near the town of Cold Spring (a few miles from Indianapolis), the bodies of Jacob Young and his wife Nancy were discovered brutally murdered, Jacob by a shotgun and Nancy by a pistol, plus a blow to the head. Nancys body was also set on fire either intentionally or by accident. Even though it was only 1868, investigators were sophisticated enough to determine from the position of the gun that this was not a murder-suicide and to discover a womans footprint near the scene. Further investigation revealed that the shotgun was owned by a William J. Abrams and that the shoe probably belonged to Nancy Clem, the wife of a successful Indianapolis grocer. Both were arrested, as well as Clems brother Cilas Hartman, who had rented a buggy drawn by a mare whose shoes matched prints near the crime scene.

It turned out that Young, Abrams, and Clem were running a lucrative Ponzi scheme and that Clem had owed Young $22,000 in relation to it. Although the exact sequence of events was never discovered, prosecutors suggested that the protagonists in this drama had gone to the river together (it was a popular spot for outings). They proposed that Clem had ridden in the Youngs buggy, that Hartman and Abrams had secretly followed in the rented buggy, that Hartman had shot Jacob Young, and that Clem had shot Nancy Young with a pistol (which was never found) and then finished her off with a rock. Hartman confessed to the murders but exonerated Clem. He then either committed suicide in jail or was murdered by his cellmate Abrams. Abrams was convicted of killing the Youngs and received a life sentence, but was pardoned by the state governor and died a respected citizen.

Nancy Clem was tried for the murders five times, almost six. Her trials, not her alleged crimes per se, are the focus of this book. Wendy Gamber describes how the trials mirror contemporary, often conflicting attitudes about gender, business, marriage, and race relations. Was it acceptable for a married woman, whose husband was able to support her, to engage in business and control her share of the proceeds? Was it possible for a businesswoman to have male partners and investors who were not also sexual partners? Could a respectable middle-class housewife possibly commit murder? Was the testimony of a colored witness reliable?

Clem was never convicted of either Cold Spring murder, though she later served four years in prison for perjury and forgery. She was divorced from her husband, and spent her remaining years selling dubious patent remedies under the name of Mrs. Dr. Patterson. On her deathbed (in 1897) she swore to her son that she had not committed the Cold Spring murders but that she knew who did. However, she never revealed the murderers name. Gamber suggests that Clem failed to become as famous as Lizzie Borden because Clem was punished for *something,* whereas Lizzie Borden got away with it and spent the rest of her life cheerfully enjoying her large inheritance.
4731578
Miss Seeton has as much in common with Miss Marple as Abbott and Costello have with Holmes and Watson. Actually she has more in common with Abbott and Costello, her antics, like theirs resulting in immense quantities of comic mayhem. 

Miss Seeton wouldn't call herself a detective. She has no idea that the police use her because of her amazing ability to unknowingly upset the plans of hardened criminals. Armed only with her umbrella, handbag and immense navet Miss Seeton manages to survive fire and flood barely singed, much to the frustration of the criminal class. It is no surprise these comic mysteries have as loyal a following today as they did when the series began in the late 60s.

In Witch Miss Seeton, the police require Miss Seeton's assistance in investigating a nuisance - Nuscience - a cult that attracts the very wealthy and very gullible. At the same time, rumors of witches have Plummerton residents up in arms and scheduling exorcisms.

Witch Miss Seeton is a cute comic mystery, very different from common cozies as Miss Seeton, the main character is more of a catalyst than an amateur detective. Even though she is instrumental to the police, she honestly has no clue what is going on. These mysteries will appeal more to those who like their humor blended with nostalgia. 

4/5

I received a copy of Witch Miss Seeton from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

--Crittermom
2609551
A very entertaining book on a very star-crossed family. I agree with the reviewer who said she didn't want the book to end; the author renders this true crime story will relentless precision. Susan elicits some sympathy for undergoing Felix's manipulative 'therapy' when she was a minor. In a sort of cocktail of explosive intolerance and robotic coolness, she sets about destroying the love, security, happiness, or any sort of emotional independence of those closest to her.

Susan and Felix's marriage was so symbiotic that he followed along with her dangerous delusions. The satanic cult phase was only the most ludicrous example: if they thought their kids' day care center was actually a front for a sadistic, murderous cult, why did they keep taking the kids there? It's as though Felix came to crave the excitement and attention of a whistleblower, not realizing the complete absurdity of his beliefs. Maybe he was so bonded to Susan, that nothing was too nutty, if not going along with her meant disloyalty.

The book is as much an indictment of psychiatry as it is a critique of Susan's personality. One wonders how her life would be different If she had never met Felix. His absence from her life would've saved him from being killed, but what else might she have done instead? It's clear that from an early age, before she met Felix, that she was already a narcissistic person who thought she was special.

Since we cant get Felix's side of the story, we're left wondering why Susan didn't get help when it might still have done some good. I probably have answered my own question by inferring that he bought into her delusional of superiority: we don't have to do anything we don't want to, even if that means we might have to kill someone along the way.  That they might want to kill each other, while an irritating thought, can't get in the way of their concept of status.

The trial coverage is the best part of the book. Susan made the case for the prosecution by parading her delusional thinking in public while all the time thinking she was persuasive. Of course she attracted the attention due a train wreck. Actually, I think many people are fascinated by the Susans of the world, those who see what they can get away with, even when they're caught.

I realize that I'm generalizing from the behavior of this couple, but that shows the author's ability to give the reader a lot to think about. I highly recommend this book for the true crime reader.
1194792
This is a great book.  Never hearing oF Marueen Dowd, I picked the book up just on its title, Once I started reading it I haven't been able to put it down(well except for now to write this review).  Im utterly amazed, that if infact these are real collums that were assembled to form a anthology, and if she didn't edit the chapters and they are indeed the way they appeared in the papper, it utterly striking to me than on how accurate Marueen has potrayed the events leading up to now... Was anyone in the white house actually reading these pieces while they were orginally published, tham it stupidfy's(sp?) me why things have gotten as out of control as they are now... W. is very scary man, it amazes me that a c student can become president (as W. has so amazingly said).... hmm what an aspiration to look up to....
760958
Unlike the so-called book reviews before my post, I actually did read the book.  Ann defines how vicious and vindictive the left really are.  She points a finger at who the real hate mongers are.  Interestingly, they don't even attempt to challenge her ideas by taking a different approach to reviewing her book.  You only need to read the negative reviews, barely a half step forward before what she says in the pages of her book become blazingly self evident.  The book is filled with quotes from seemingly objective news sources about the hate that liberal's have for conservatives.  All lies?  No less than 35 pages are dedicated to documenting the sources of all the liberal lies about conservatives propagated by the liberal mainstream media.  Following her well-documented footnotes quickly vanquishes any argument of "he said", "she said".
  The compilation of liberal vindictiveness and sources together in one place alone is a gold mine to take to task your local liberal at any fireside debate.  She exposes the liberal argument's tactics, not to challenge the ideas of a conservative, but to simply attack the conservative.  By page 30 you get a documented idea of who does most of the real "hating" in American political circles.  A poster writes that she is "UN American".  I graciously beg to differ.  In just six posts, her patriotism and intelligence have already been questioned.  The point of the book is quickly proven.
  I find it interesting that even with the detail at which she documents her sources, liberals will still call it lies while the rambling of some liberal writer without a single shred of documented evidence will be ordained as divine truth.
2286614
This book is the story of a life-long Republican retired federal judge's seven year struggle to unravel the truth behind a vast government conspiracy to conceal willful violations of our country's laws by President Ronald Reagan and many members of his cabinet,CIA officials, members of his national security team and assorted Republican political operatives both inside Congress and out. Mr. Walsh does yeoman work in presenting the unvarnished truth he and his many assistants were finally able to decipher out of hundreds of thousands of original documents and the direct testimony of those his team were able to catch in their lies and bring into court under indictment. The complex legal issues and large cast of perpetrators makes this a difficult and necessarily repetitve slog, but the chilling story is one that Americans of any political persuasion need to be aware of. Lead by a naive President in  the early stages of Alzheimers disease,and guided by a perverse notion of patriotic anticommunism that was the bedrock of cold war Republicanism, our top leaders deliberately violated laws put in place by Congress and even their own foreign policies relating to terrorism. When discovered these "patriots" launched an unprecedented web of lies and stonewalling to save Reagan from  possible impeachment. Mr. Walsh was impeded at every step of his investigation and by all branches of the government. The importance of this account by Mr. Walsh is that irregardless of the legal results of the investigations, the truth of what happened and who did it is revealed for all to see. When this party touts its patriotism, beliefs in the rule of law and self responsiblity and the importance of character, remember what happened here.