Xpress Reviews—First Look at New Books, January 7, 2011
Jan 6, 2011Week ending January 7, 2011
Fiction | Nonfiction | Audiobooks
FICTION
Clancy, Tom with Grant Blackwood. Dead or Alive. Putnam. 2010. 950p. ISBN 9780399157233. $28.95. F
After years of waiting by eager fans, Clancy's sequel to Teeth of the Tiger begins where that title left off and features the ensemble characters from previous novels, including John Clark, "Ding" Chavez, and a thoroughly aggravated former president, Jack Ryan Sr. The United States is threatened by the Emir, a shadowy Osama Bin Laden–type terrorist leader who has planned a series of devastating attacks on America and her allies. Internally, a corrupt and inept John Kealty, an old nemesis of Ryan's, is now president, and his actions threaten the country as much as the Emir's, causing Ryan to consider another presidential bid.
Verdict At a whopping 900-plus pages, it would be awful if this thriller wasn't good. Fortunately, it is good, although the complex plot and the large number of characters can be confusing. Still, it is a surprisingly fast read for a Clancy novel and is, as usual, timely and controversial. Better, there is plenty of room for future installments. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 7/10.]—Robert Conroy, Warren, MI
Gunn, Sophie. How Sweet It Is. Forever: Grand Central. Jan. 2011. 387p. ISBN 9780446561990. pap. $7.99. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Lizzie Carpenter lives with her 14-year-old daughter, Paige, in Galton, NY, in the house where she grew up, and has been waitressing in the same diner since finding herself an unwed 16-year-old mother. The Carpenter girls seem content, until word arrives that Paige's long-unheard-from father is coming from Switzerland to get to know his daughter. As Lizzie and her Enemy Club girlfriends bemoan the Ratbastard's possible reappearance, Dante Giovanni sits at the diner counter waiting to restart his life. A year ago, he went through a red light and killed a woman in an oncoming car. Will a bagful of money settle accounts with the woman's daughter, a Galton University student? Tay overhears Lizzie's wish for a handyman who will help her repair her home and then disappear. Is this the outlet for his insomnia as well as his guilt?
Verdict In this first of a quartet featuring female enemies-turned-friends, Gunn lets independent Lizzie finally accept help to get her life back on track while her remorseful Mr. Fix-it tries to figure out if he can ever move forward—even at 25 mph. The writing here is crisp and astute; the dialog crackles with witty charm. Gunn is a pseudonym for author Diana Holquist. For all collections.—Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal
Kaye, Robin. Yours for the Taking. Sourcebooks Casablanca. Jan. 2011. 368p. ISBN 9781402240102. pap. $7.99. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Ben Walsh co-owns a prestigious New York art gallery, but his heart is back in Boise, ID, on the ranch where he lived with his parents until their tragic deaths. His billionaire grandfather says he'll now give Ben the land but only if Ben gets married. Commitment-phobe Ben doesn't want a wife or the ties that marriage entails. His plan? Find a woman who isn't interested in marriage either but who has other goals that Ben's money and a solid prenup will afford. Enter Gina Reyez. The tiny Latina wants to buy her own home and ensure that her married younger sister, Tina, never goes without. Also, Gina's got secrets that some easy cash will help to unravel. Can this business venture find success, especially the no-sex part? What do you think?
Verdict Kaye (Breakfast in Bed) keeps her New York series going with this merger of total opposites who find that finally letting go of the past and of control can lead to love and a bright future. With characters like an interfering elder statesman and a bunch of strapping singles waiting for their own books, this sexy contemporary will satisfy Kaye's readers and enlist a whole passel of new ones. For most public libraries.—Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal
Tapply, William G. The Nomination. Skyhorse, dist. by Norton. Feb. 2011. c.320p. ISBN 9781602399907. $24.95. F
With Tapply's death in 2009, this compelling suspense thriller of broken lives, forgotten memories, and crushed fortunes is a worthy coda to an illustrious publishing career. When the president nominates Thomas Larrigan, a decorated Vietnam veteran and Boston-based federal judge, to serve on the Supreme Court, the FBI's background check uncovers controversial scandals, including spousal abuse, teenage pregnancy, divorce, and desertion. Unknown to Larrigan, the child he fathered in Vietnam has grown up to become a ruthless detective, and his Vietnamese wife is now a Hollywood icon who hires ghostwriter Mac Cassidy to write her memoirs. Larrigan gets Eddie Moran, a Vietnam vet and longtime friend, to conceal these events. Tapply's intricate plot relates the veiled attempts taken by Moran and the feds to remove the damaging evidence.
Verdict Known for his perceptive characters and flowing style, Tapply (Outwitting Trolls) caps his career with a brilliant and intriguing story. For comprehensive collections of contemporary American fiction.—Jerry P. Miller, Cambridge, MA
Walton, Jo. Among Others. Tor. Jan. 2011. c.304p. ISBN 9780765321534. $24.99. FANTASY
World Fantasy Award winner Walton (Tooth and Claw) spins an enchanting tale filled with libraries and magic through the pages of a young woman's diary. Morwenna and her twin, Morganna, spent their childhood sur-rounded by Welsh ruins and fairies. Torn from her sister and hiding from her crazy mother, Morwenna finds herself in the care of her estranged father and his eerily controlling sisters. Surrounded by things strange and unfamiliar, she struggles to find safety and balance through protective magic, enigmatic fairies, and the pages of sf and fantasy novels. Interlibrary loan privileges, a book club at the public library, and the handsome and disreputable Wim help Morwenna manage the cruelty of classmates and evade her mother's sorcerous clutches. But even protective magic leaves a trail, and Morwenna ends up fighting for her life and everything she's come to believe.
Verdict A delightful reminder of the wonder and power of books and the libraries that keep them.—Jennifer Anderson, Texas A&M Univ.–Corpus Christi
NONFICTION
Buckler, Michael L. From Microsoft to Malawi: Learning on the Front Lines as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Hamilton: Rowman & Littlefield. Feb. 2011. 228p. ISBN 9780761854159. $62.99; pap. ISBN 9780761854012. $19.95. ED
Written like a journal, this fish-out-of-water memoir is clearly heartfelt. Buckler left a law career to take a two-year Peace Corps assignment in a village school in Malawi. He here chronicles his arrival and subsequent adjustment to life in rural Africa. He was supported through the difficult transition and mentored in work and in life by the school headmaster—their relationship is a particularly touching piece of the story. Buckler, in turn, served as mentor (and housemate) to three local boys who would become the first in the village to pass the college entrance exam. He was motivated to write this book in hopes of providing a college fund from the proceeds for the boys he refers to as his sons.
Verdict Inspiring and heartbreaking, Buckler's account of the endless obstacles encountered by his students and colleagues and their hope and persistence to succeed makes for compelling reading. Recommended for anyone contemplating volunteer work in the developing world and for those who enjoy chronicles of self-discovery and renewal through sacrifice.—Sara Holder, McGill Univ., Montreal
Cebrián, Juan Luis. The Piano Player in the Brothel: The Future of Journalism. Overlook, dist. by Penguin. Feb. 2011. c.192p. tr. from Spanish by Eduardo Schmid. ISBN 9781590203941. $24.95. COMM
What is the future of journalism? Cebrián (Red Doll), a novelist and one of the original editors of Spain's newspaper of record, El País, analyzes the changes to the traditional newspaper in particular and to the profession in general. In this collection of insightful and instructive essays, he addresses the challenges journalists face in this age of instantaneous electronic media. The illustrious newspaperman brings a sense of history and gravitas to his writing, a result of living and working in a country transitioning from the media-restricted Fascist regime of Francisco Franco to a struggling democracy with a free and open press. This experience is what leads Cebrián to assert that journalism plays a vital role in protecting civil liberties and democratic values.
Verdict This gem of a book is a valuable manual for aspiring journalists and an informative guidebook for the rest of us.—Donna Marie Smith, Palm Beach Cty. Lib. Syst., FL
Chalabi, Tamara. Late for Tea at the Deer Palace: The Lost Dreams of My Iraqi Family. Harper: HarperCollins. Jan. 2011. c.448p. illus. maps. index. ISBN 9780061240393. $27.99. AUTOBIOG
The daughter of controversial Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi and a Ph.D. historian writes here about Iraq, a country she barely knew—the Chalabis went into exile in the 1950s—yet she felt drenched in its rich scenes through the tales of her exiled relatives. Her family has shaped her sense of a place called Iraq mainly through memories and folk stories. Chalabi elegantly narrates her family history, merging it with that of Iraq, from the Ottomans all the way to the birth of the modern state and her family's exile. We see the prestigious and rich Alchalibi family, who played political and administrative roles for decades in Iraq; we witness high lifestyles, gossip, women's voices, picnics with the royals—and the exile. Through this memoir, Chalabi tries to reinvent Iraq, claim it as her own, and defy the sense of estrangement that weighs heavily upon her. She visits Iraq for the first time, after the fall of Saddam, to find it a broken place wrapped with the dust of wars, so unlike the place lavishly introduced to her in the stories of her uprooted family.
Verdict Through this vibrant literary memoir, readers learn about Iraq's history and a notable family's experience of the country, no matter how far away. Recommended for general readers.—Sadiq Alkoriji, South Regional Lib., Broward Cty., FL
Farnsworth, Ward. Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric. Godine. Jan. 2011. 256p. ISBN 9781567923858. $26.95. COMM
This book, despite its broad title, treats only one part of rhetoric: the word patterns that skilled speakers and writers use in order to heighten the impact of their messages. Farnsworth (law & assoc. dean for academic affairs, Boston Univ. Sch. of Law) defines and exemplifies 18 patterns, such as chiasmus (structural reversal, as in JFK's "Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country") and anaphora (initial repetition, as in Churchill's "we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight...in the air"). Farnsworth's guide is similar to Richard A. Lanham's A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms but covers fewer topics, in more depth and with more examples. The inclusion of the author's name in the title, as though the work has gained the status of a classic simply by being published, is part of a regrettable trend in language guidebooks.
Verdict An engaging and accessible guide, valuable to all who wish to improve their rhetorical skills or better appreciate the abilities of others.—Lisa Richmond, Wheaton Coll. Lib., IL
Fox, Mindy (text) & Ellen Silverman (photogs.). A Bird in the Oven and Then Some: 20 Ways To Roast the Perfect Chicken Plus 80 Delectable Recipes. Kyle: Kyle Cathie, dist. by National Bk. Network. 2010. 176p. photogs. index. ISBN 9781906868338. $24.95. COOKING
As the food editor of La Cucina Italiana magazine and coauthor of two cookbooks (The Craft of Baking; Olives and Oranges), Fox knows her kitchen. Like Tony Rosenfeld (150 Things To Make with a Roast Chicken), she shares her love of this traditional dish. Both books show cooks how to roast a chicken, but while Rosenfeld relies on marinades, rubs, and a grill, Fox often places the flavorings between skin and meat and puts the bird in the oven. From purchasing to roasting to the leftovers, Fox carefully guides readers on the best techniques. She even includes sides to accompany the dish. Using an occasional exotic ingredient, such as Sriracha sauce or fennel pollen (for which she includes sources), Fox presents roast chicken with variations (Roast Chicken with Mustard Butter, Peruvian Roast Chicken).
Verdict Recommended for foodies and chefs wanting to move beyond the basic roast chicken.—Ginny Wolter, Toledo–Lucas Cty. P.L.
Hallissy, Jennifer. The Write Start: A Guide to Nurturing Writing at Every Stage, from Scribbling to Forming Letters and Writing Stories. Trumpeter: Shambhala, dist. by Random. 2010. c.160p. ISBN 9781590308370. pap. $17.95. ED
For parents who want to help their children develop a strong foundation for writing, Hallissy, a pediatric occupational therapist, offers tips and activities to facilitate putting words on the page, including lists of materials that will spark children's enthusiasm. The majority of the book consists of 52 hands-on activities that family members can do together. Each activity includes instructions, a list of materials, and variations for different writing levels—Scribblers, Spellers, Storytellers, and Scholars. In addition, work sheets and customizable prompts can be found in the "Templates" section. Boxes offer further ideas to help encourage children to write at home, and Hallissy provides a list of writing resources for parents to consult.
Verdict Parents or teachers looking for lesson ideas will find the activities and templates useful. However, because there is already a wide variety of books of this nature available, this isn't an essential addition.—Karen McCoy, Fort Lewis Coll. Lib., Durango, CO
Hannings, Bud. Every Day of the Civil War: A Chronological Encyclopedia. McFarland. 2010. c.640p. photogs. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780786456123. $125. REF
Hannings (Chronology of the American Revolution: Military and Political Actions Day by Day; American Revolutionary War Leaders: A Biographical Dictionary) has completed an exhaustive day-by-day account of the military actions of the American Civil War. For each day, events are segregated by state with added entries for naval actions, events related to Union or Confederate generals, and rarely national events. The notations on generals deal with promotions, appointments to new commands, or courts martial. The work includes seven appendixes including rosters of Union and Confederate generals, Union naval officers, naval actions, and Medal of Honor recipients. There is also a short bibliography. The entries vary widely in length, ranging from just a couple of sentences to several pages. The use of language is also inconsistent: for example, Union and Confederate are interchanged with Yankee and Rebel with great frequency even within the same paragraph. While there is a bibliography, it is certainly not expansive in scope, and there are no specific citations, even when the author is clearly quoting another work. More troubling is the inclusion in many entries of judgments on the impact or significance of an event, and it is unclear if these are the views of the author or have been taken from another source.
Verdict For aficionados, not scholars, this work is recommended for a general audience with a significant interest in the Civil War but not for a serious research collection.—Ryan Johnson, Univ. of Mississippi, Oxford
Logue, Mark & Peter Conradi. The King's Speech. Sterling. Feb. 2011. 256p. photogs. index. ISBN 9781402786761. pap. $14.95. HIST
Crisis rocked the British monarchy in 1936, when a shy, unexpected, and speech-impaired king was thrust forward to pull the country together and inspire confidence after his older brother, Edward VIII, abdicated. King George VI had already begun speech therapy when still Duke of York, with transplanted Australian Lionel Logue (coauthor Logue's grandfather), an elocutionist and speech therapist with new techniques. The duke's wife, the future Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother), had read of Logue's breathing and confidence-building techniques and brought her husband to him. Logue instilled self-assurance in the new king (father of Queen Elizabeth II), identified "trouble spots" in his prepared speeches, and provided moral support, all contributing to a rare friendship that was to last until George VI's death in 1952. Based in part upon Logue's newly discovered diaries, the authors' (Logue, custodian of the Logue Archive, and Conradi, editor, London's Sunday Times) work details this bit of history, brought to prominence by the current film of the same name.
Verdict With interest in the royal family now high and with Oscar buzz surrounding the movie, this meshing of two different personalities into one extraordinary story is all the more compelling. Anyone interested in biography, the royal family, or the movie will enjoy discovering this book.—Maria C. Bagshaw, Ecolab, St. Paul
Pitt, Leonard. Paris: A Journey Through Time. Counterpoint. 2010. 224p. illus. maps. ISBN 9781582436227. pap. $29.95. TRAV
Pitt, who has written two other volumes on Paris (Walks Through Lost Paris: A Journey into the Heart of Historic Paris; Paris Postcards: The Golden Age), carefully examines the city's neighborhoods, mainly through his contemporary photographs, which he juxtaposes with historic photographs from the identical viewpoint. For several neighborhoods, Pitt includes historic, detailed maps; walking tours; and the area's legacy, outlining the development of Paris over hundreds of years. The evolution of the City of Light's famous—and hidden—neighborhoods encompassed demolition, construction, and reconstruction, and Pitt's exploration reveals architectural trends, population growth, transportation, and design.
Verdict For the traveler who wants to delve into the intimate neighborhoods of Paris while trying to piece together the city's colorful history, this intimate and stunning presentation is the book to study and take along.—Melinda Stivers Leach, Precision Editorial Svcs., Boulder, CO
Thornton, Yvonne S., M.D., with Anita Bartholomew. Something To Prove: A Daughter's Journey To Fulfill a Father's Legacy; A Memoir. Kaplan. Jan. 2011. c.272p. illus. ISBN 9781607147244. $24.99. AUTOBIOG
Picking up where her first memoir, The Ditchdigger's Daughters, left off, Thornton (obstetrics & gynecology, New York Medical Coll.), with Bartholomew (former contributing editor, Reader's Digest), writes of her hard work to ascend to the top of her field as a board-certified physician and professor in maternal-fetal medicine. It was the early 1980s, and she encountered both sexism and racism. Thornton writes candidly about the prejudice, unfairness, and setbacks she met with in her career—such as being relegated to inappropriate office space and denied promotions at more than one New York hospital. She also writes of the personal joys, challenges, and occasional heartbreak of being a mother, balancing responsibilities at work and at home. As readers of her first memoir will recall, Thornton's father had only a tenth-grade education but pushed his five daughters to become doctors (four of them did), while also equipping them with the valuable "life lessons" they would need to navigate a sometimes cruel world and rise above adversity.
Verdict This book reads as though you're listening to and talking with a friend at the kitchen table. Thornton's frank, relaxed manner makes it accessible to general readers as well as students of women's or African American memoir. Worth considering also for those looking for inspirational reads.—Eboni A. Francis, Oberlin Coll. Lib., OH
AUDIOBOOKS
Brown, Rita Mae. A Nose for Justice. 7 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 8¾ hrs. Recorded Bks. 2010. ISBN 9781449831745. $77.75; Playaway digital (Mar. 15, 2011); digital download. F
Brown (www.ritamaebrown.com), author of the highly successful Virginia-based mystery series featuring feline detective Mrs. Murphy, introduces a new, Nevada-based series featuring two dogs, Baxter and King, and their owners, Mags and her great-aunt "Jeep." Life on Jeep's ranch is punctuated by feuds over local water rights and two unexplained deaths, which Mags, Jeep, the dogs, and the local lawmen collectively try to solve. Unfortunately, Brown's growing tendency to insert political and social commentary into the mouths of her characters is excessively prevalent here; the book also has serious plotting issues. Still, even on a bad day, Brown is a better writer than most others in the mystery genre. Two-time Audie Award nominee Johanna Parker does a highly competent job with the narration, sounding as though she's truly enjoying herself.
Verdict For Brown's many fans and anyone liking mysteries that feature animals. [Also available as an ebook, a large-print hc (Wheeler), a standard hc (Ballantine), and, in September 2011, a mass-market pb (Ballantine).—Ed.]—I. Pour-El, Des Moines Area Community Coll., Boone, IA
Li, Yiyun. Gold Boy, Emerald Girl: Stories. 7 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 7¾ hrs. Recorded Bks. 2010. ISBN 9781440752223. $77.75; digital download. F
Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award-winning Chinese American writer Li (www.yiyunli.com) follows up her first novel, The Vagrants, with this outstanding collection of nine vignettes brilliantly portraying old and new China from the perspectives of the elderly, who have seen vast change, and the young, who feel everything can be found electronically. In simply titled tales like "Sworn Sisters," "Sweeping Past," and "Kindness," Li manages to encapsulate all aspects of the human condition. The four narrators—Angela Lin, James Yaegashi, Jackie Chung, and Jennifer Ikeda—demonstrate great emotional range; their gorgeous, individualized accents and storytelling methods will keep listeners enthralled.
Verdict Short story and world literature fans as well as those liking poetic writing will be enchanted. ["A window on life's darker side...recommended for [those] interested in short stories and Asian fiction," read the review of the Random hc, LJ 6/15/10; also available as an ebook.—Ed.]—Susan G. Baird, formerly with Oak Lawn P.L., IL
