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May 2008  Archive Review Page
Orso's Recommendations - commentary on new releases
Reviewed by Chelsea A. Kerrington In Murder of a Medici Princess, Caroline Murphy describes the spirited but all-too-brief life of Renaissance princess, Isabella de Medici. The second daughter of Duke Cosimo I, ruler of sixteenth-century In her study, Murphy celebrates Isabella's charisma by sharing intimate details of the princess' family-life, providing readers with a true sense of character that goes beyond strict ‘historical basis.' As Murphy demonstrates, Isabella's adventurous nature and blatant flouting of the era's gender expectations (coupled with her unique beauty and a feminine sweetness) made her the focus of both the Medici court and her father's affections. Isabella was Cosimo's second daughter (his first girl had died at the age of six) and she was quick to receive her father's undivided attention, affection, and protection, as Cosimo became intent on keeping his favorite daughter happy and safe. Through historical records and epistolary correspondence between court secretaries, the childrens' caregivers and Isabella and her siblings, Murphy tells the collective story of the Medici family with great detail, smoothly weaving her own speculations and interpretations with the fabric of historical fact – this book that reads as much a dramatic novel as it does a historical biography. The ornate family residences in Florence and Tuscany provide rich backdrops for Murphy's narrative, and the author describes Isabella's familial relationships in great depth while artfully acknowledging the rumors that would surface regarding the unusual closeness between the princess and her father (as well as between her and her younger brother, Giovanni). However, to Murphy's great credit, she does not dwell on this part of the story, instead leaving readers alone to draw their own conclusions. The princess' life was one of turmoil, adventure and bold self-expression, and Murphy is able to capture this in an engrossing style. In one particularly memorable passage (following Cosimo's death in 1574), Murphy writes of Isabella's deteriorating security and independence as her moody older brother, Francesco, took the reins. Suddenly, Isabella found herself in a very different world than the one presided over by her father, who had been a lover of aesthetic beauty and ruler committed to the plight of the people. To the contrary, her brother harbored a deep disregard for
In Murder of a Medici Princess, Murphy takes her readers on a compelling ride through the dark allure of Renaissance Italy, taking us deep into the drama of the Medici hierarchy in a story that brims with both beauty and corruption. In the end, it's a story that illuminates a hidden world that likely defines many a royal family past and present.
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Reviewed by Miranda Orso Behind the eyes, minds and pens of the twenty-seven contributors of this captivating book dwells a heightened sense of being memorialized in the flawless beauty of the written word. As readers will immediately note, even though most of the authors collected here are without sight, they are not without and an interesting story or poem meant to help the public better understand blindness. For example, “Bud and Me Around the World,” written by Sanford Rosenthal, paints a picture of what everyday life is like with a guide dog – offering readers a real chance to explore the challenges that this disability presents. And just what kinds of “problems” might blind people encounter because their eyes are attached to the eyes of a dog? Apparently, despite clearly written laws, it is generally an uneducated public that causes the most trouble for the visually impaired; as Rosenthal writes: “There were many places where we were refused accommodations. Apartments suddenly became occupied when we arrived. Sometimes they blatantly stated the obvious; one of us was a dog. It didn't matter to them that the law was on my side. ” (At page 36). Stepping further into the collection, Albert Cooper's “Oh, Thank God I'm Blind” serves as an interesting cry for society to begin to recognize people with disabilities and their vital role in the American workplace. Specifically, Cooper asks that lawmakers, corporations and the general public acknowledge people with disabilities as important, productive members of the community, saying [that] “It takes a great deal of strength to overcome biased attitudes against individuals who may appear to be different, but every now and then we need to take a reality check and stand up for what is right.” (At page 109). In sum, this book is filled with intimate stories and poems that awaken the mind and spirit of the reader. Simply, what is most striking about Behind Our Eyes is the amount of courage and conviction required to tell these stories – each of the contributors inspiring us to look beyond preconceived notions of ‘disability.' Basically, Behind Our Eyes forces each of us to confront the harsh reality that says that life is cruel. Bluntly, a disability can strike anyone at any time – blindness taking no discretion as to who it affects and when. However, the writers of this book teach us that behind every disability is still a strong- willed human spirit with the ability to persevere. As Rosenthal and his co-writers demonstrate, with the help of aides, canes and guide dogs, a dark world can be permanently illuminated and a quality life savored. Order from amazon.com
Miranda Orso is a freelance writer currently residing in
Reviewed by Frank Aiello In Good Governance, the authors begin their text with a caustic statement by Peter Drucker – that “[a]ll nonprofit boards have one thing in common. They do not work.” However, as many commentators in this area have previously noted, the higher standards imposed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (now seen as a model for nonprofit and for-profit entities alike) are reasons enough for nonprofit board members to implement effective corporate controls and oversight policies over all financial transactions. Readers will note that the spectacular oversight failures Sarbanes-Oxley was created to protect against are at the very core of the collapse and subsequent bankruptcy of the nonprofit Allegheny Health Education and Research Foundation health system. The Allegheny Health debacle is especially instructive of a board's exposure for failure to provide effective financial oversight, since it resulted in, among other issues, allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission that two senior officers had not only overstated a subsidiary's net income on its annual financial statement but had also failed to provide “continuing disclosure” in financial secondary markets. Given the possibility of such grave consequences, Laughlin's and Andringa's text offers a primary ‘nuts & bolts' roadmap detailing the written policies to be followed by a working board in order to satisfy the principles of effective practice for charitable organizations as mandated by the Advisory Committee on Self-Regulation of the Charitable Sector. In addition, the authors provide a sample template of a Board Policy Manual, which they consider to be the first prerequisite of an effective governance management system. Good Governance provides a one-of-a-kind manual outlining in cogent and practical detail how non-profit governing boards should go about their business. Since the information in this book provides a snapshot of the typical non-profit's structure, it should be required reading for non-profit administrators and for the members of the volunteer boards charged with ‘steering the ship.' Order from amazon.com Frank Aiello. 2007. All rights reserved. Frank Aiello and The Electric Review. Frank Aiello is an attorney who has practiced law in California since the 1970s, including criminal defense, civil and probate work. He holds a History degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Law degree from Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco; he has also studied Anthropology, Sociology and Political Science extensively. Reach him via The Electric Review.
By John Aiello Health care is topic one on everybody's plate. How do you afford to see the doctor? How do you cope with the astronomical rise in the cost of medical insurance? How do you choose a prescription plan if you're senior? And probably most important of all – how do you find a doctor who is going to provide the kind of care that is right for you and your family? Indeed, these are all good questions which do not enjoy the benefit of formulaic answers. So…just where does that leave the consumer? How to Get the Health Care You Want, written by patient advocate Laura Casey, is a good place to start, a stepping-stone across a torrent of information that gives us a well-designed road map from which to begin our journey. How to Get the Health Care You Want is about navigating through the overly-confusing labyrinth of the American health care system, a book centered on how the patient/consumer should go about developing successful relationships with their doctors (and related care-givers). Basically, those select patients who do not dread going to the doctor are good communicators who see that the impact of medical treatment is lessened by knowing what to expect. Accordingly, each of us needs to become comfortable with asking doctors questions as we seek to understand the things which are occurring to our bodies. And that's where Casey's book excels, outlining how patients can obtain the information they need in order to make informed and sensible decisions about their health care. And the author writes: “Never hesitate to advocate and communicate about everything. Communicate with your caregivers so they know and understand what hurts, what is important to you, why you are seeking care, how you feel, that you are scared, confident, happy, and that blueberries don't taste good anymore. Whatever you believe is important information for you to communicate with your healthcare providers. What the provider does with that information will tell you whether or not this provider is a good match for you….” (At Chapter 2). It all comes down to realizing that the doctor-patient relationship is about you. Yes, you indeed have a say in the process. Too many times, people enter a physician's office afraid to ask questions, afraid to look stupid or seem pushy. And this is absolutely the wrong approach for patients (and one of the main reasons so many people dread the idea of doctor visits). The simple truth remains that doctors are not deities. To the contrary, they can be approached in the same fashion you approach any other professional you are hiring to provide a service (in this case, the difference is that service is directed at healing a breakdown within your body). In sum, the best aspect of Casey's How to Get the Health Care You Want is found in the way she teaches her readers that, in order to get the kind of medical care you want, you must take the point and become a less passive patient. For just as in every other business and personal relationship, the best doctor-patient relations are forged through dialogue, awareness and mutual understanding. Recommended to all consumers as a general reference text. Simply, this book deserves to be in our homes because it strives to teach us to not be afraid to tailor our medical care to our own specific needs. In addition, anyone with kids will find this an indispensable guide, stressing the fact that parents need to ask the right kinds of questions to insure their children receive the right kind of medical attention. Order from amazon.com
Reviewed by Cathy Houts I am an educated woman, and, typically, I am not supposed to be addicted to a television show. Yet, every single Sunday, I find myself carefully planning my time so that I will be sitting in front of the television at 9 p.m. anticipating the next installment of Desperate Housewives.
Truthfully, I have spent hours analyzing my need to see this show every week.At first I thought it was the genre that was attracting me, but what exactly is the genre? Soap opera, murder mystery, comedy, or drama? So imagine my delight when I discovered that this is in fact a prominent topic in the essays that make up the new I.B. Tauris release, Reading Desperate Housewives: Beyond the White Picket Fence. For example, in the essay titled Murder and Mayhem on Wisteria Lane:A study of genre and cultural context in Desperate Housewives, the editors include a well-developed discussion of dramedy:
“D<SPAN>ramedies blend the comic and the serious in different ways; some separate comic and dramatic storylines, while others combine drama and comedy together.” (Page 131) The term dramedy first appeared in the 1980's to describe a wave of genre-blurring television series such as Moonlighting and The Wonder Years. It used not only elements of drama and comedy, but also employed idiosyncrasy, exaggeration, absurdity and incongruity to drive a point home.
In the last decade, the genre has grown to include not only hour-long series, but also half-hour sitcoms with more serious plots which have not been shot in front of an audience.Examples of half-hour versions o dramedies include M*A*S*H, and Hooperman.As far as commercial appeal, the hour-long series have generally fared better, spawning a list of current hits that include Desperate Housewives, Boston Legal and Sex and the City.
“As Cherry [creator Marc Cherry] acknowledges, the series uses dramatic and comedic elements to reveal the tragedy beneath ‘the antics these women face'.Bree Van de Kamp provides the best example of this serio/comic blend.Her obsessive/compulsive housekeeping, though comic, has a serious origin.She tells Zach that when her mother was killed by a car, she washed away the blood.It made her feel better. So, while Bree's domestic achievements may be funny by virtue of their excessiveness, their effects are rooted in tragedy.” (Page 132)
So then…perhaps it is the genre that draws me to the television week after week. Still, genre alone can't be the only thing that keeps me watching, waiting, wondering, and wanting more.Thus, it must also be the shapely assemblage of characters, too.
As long-time viewers of Housewives know, the women of Wisteria Lane are each an icon of post-feminist America.Specifically, Gabrielle, the Nuevo-riche trophy wife, is bored by her marriage and seeks satisfaction outside the bonds of marriage; Susan, the attractive divorce', longs for someone to take care of her; Bree, the seemingly perfect wife and mother, serves as a throw back to June Cleaver; Lynette Scalvo is a high-powered business woman who gave it all up to be a stay-at-home mom; and lastly, Edie Britt – the single independent one seems to have it all…or does she?
“The secrets of the four main protagonists are not as immediately shocking as Mary Alice's. Materialistic Gabrielle is a ‘drowning woman' and John, her teenage lover, is ‘her life-raft.' Her secret is that, although she has everything she wants, she must ‘have been wanting all the wrong things'.For Lynette is the façade of being the perfect stay-at-home mom.When she meets old colleague Natalie Kline, in the supermarket, who asks ‘Don't you just love being a mom?' she responds ‘as she always does,' narrates Mary Alice, with the lie, ‘it's the best job I've ever had.' Under the immaculate surface of Bree's home, there is a disastrous marriage to a man secretly needing to express sexual dominance, and highly problematic relationships with her children.Behind Susan's door is emotional chaos, a messy divorce and an inappropriate dependency on her teenage daughter.” (Page 37)
This blend of characters (their relationships and motivations), coupled with style and plot (and everything that happens behind closed doors) is what keeps America (and certainly this reviewer) watching.
And actually, that's also the beauty of Reading Desperate Housewives – the book serving as a vehicle that allows for fans of the series to examine themselves in the context of the characters that populate the show, examining how and why this dysfunctional group of screen faces has come to captivate the American consciousness.
And when writers are writing about a television series, the best they can hope to accomplish is to open up our eyes and force us to ponder exactly why we watch. In this regard, Reading Desperate Housewives is an absolute success. Recommended to all viewers who follow the series. Further recommended to libraries in both the public and private sectors as a long-term reference. Like the Deadwood Reader also published by Tauris and reviewed below, this volume helps to define the art and ideals of the culture. ~The Editor
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Reviewed By Frank Aiello "More than providing services to them, taking people's money is what makes organizations real, be they formal, informal, or temporary." E.B. Farnum, Mayor of Deadwood. Like David Chase, who created The Sopranos, David Milch uses Deadwood as both a vehicle to exorcize his personal demons and a device to expose the random hypocrisy which allows America to conduct business as usual" a process novelist James Ellroy has termed "mass-market nostalgia." Near the end of Deadwood's third season, while being queried about his war service by robber-baron George Hearst's unnamed, grizzled henchmen, Al Swearengen, a proud member of the "69th New York" and proprietor of the Gem Saloon (Deadwood's first bagnio and commercial establishment), caustically replies that he spent his time during the war cutting throats as a member of the "Cocksucker's Brigade" and "commander of the all-whore detachment." Just like Milch in real life, Swearengen ardently rejects the myth of American expansion in order to expose imperialism for the historical fraud it truly is. In one scene, Swearengen stands on the Gem's balcony and overlooks the camp, suddenly recognizing that, with the arrival of Cy Tolliver and Francis Wolcott (Hearst's front man and a murderer of defenseless whores), his world will soon be castrated -- eviscerated by unseen and malevolent forces symbolized by the construction of the first telegraph poles. As he watches the first poles being erected, Swearengen disdainfully utters: "Messages from invisible sources, some people think of as progress." In this text, David Lavery, Chair in Film and TV at London's Brunel University, has complied a diverse series of essays which investigate the characters and themes which populate the landscape of Deadwood's first two seasons. One of the most insightful of these essays is titled "Divining the Celestials," written by Paul Wright and Hailin Zhou and exploring the use of the Chinese subculture in the series. Wright and Zhou begin the piece with a quote from Ellroy's novel, American Tabloid, acknowledging that "[o]ur continuing narrative is blurred past truth and fiction. Only a reckless verisimilitude can set that line straight." It is interesting to note that, like Ellroy, Milch intuitively understand that history is not only created by world leaders, but also by the legions of bottom feeders our leaders generally ignore; and the authors of Divining the Celestials write: "Deadwood, both as a historical stage and in the unflinchingly Hobbesian imagination of show-runner Milch, offers us a fascinating, disquieting glimpse into the cauldron of civic ambition, predatory avarice, Machiavellian statesmanship and unrepentant vulgarity all of which fueled the American project to transform an untamed frontier into a domesticated heartland...Milch's series unapologetically explores the darkest aspects of American expansionism and economic adventurism." [pp. 157-158.] If any episode symbolizes Milch's descent into America's heart of darkness, it is the final episode of Season One, entitled "Sold Under Sin." This episode comes to chronicle the evolution of Wu charting the Celestial and symbolic severance of his ties to his birthland and his coming of age as a citizen of Deadwood (culminating as Swearengen's counterpart in "Chink Alley)." Like Swearengen, Cy Tolliver and George Hearst, Wu "sees the fuckin' possibilities of things" ("Plague" 1.6); still, Swearengen constantly warns Wu to avoid being a sucker, to avoid believing that any form of justice or fairness exists: "Where did you start thinking that every wrong had a remedy, Wu? Did you come to camp for justice or to make your fuckin' way?" In the scene which closes Season Two, Wu answers Swearengen after having massacred Hearst's Celestial, Lee, while Lee was in the throes of an opium dream. In turn, Wright and Zhou's analysis of the aftermath is noteworthy:
This series makes it clear that both Hearst's empire and the industrial capitalism require the game to be rigged in order to “secur[e] the color." Further, through George Hearst, Milch has artfully synthesized Deadwood's marriage of fantasy and reality into one character. Cornishmen, celestials, the whores of Chink Alley who service his workers they are all necessary sacrifices unto Hearst's vision - and his version of American destiny. In fleshing out a Nineteenth century version of extreme corporate success, Milch seems to follow Ellroy's Hobbesian dictum to "embrace bad men and the price they paid to secretly define their time". Or, in the dark and caustic words of Al Swearengen: "Every fuckin' beatin' I'm grateful for. Every fuckin' one of them. Get all the trust beat outta you. And you know what the fuckin' world is." In these mad times amid a world over-torn in strife, these are words to live by. Deadwood, along with The Sopranos and The Wire (all HBO features) embody the best of modern-day film making; accordingly, Lavery's study comes to capture the heart of Deadwood and its colorful landscape. Fans of the series will gain much from the text as it allows readers to touch and taste the characters. Recommended to all viewers who follow the series; also recommended to libraries in both the public and private sectors as a long-term reference which serves to define the art and consciousness of the culture. ~The Editor Order from amazon.com © Frank Aiello. 2006. All rights reserved. Frank Aiello and The Electric Review. Frank Aiello is an attorney who has practiced law in California since the 1970s, including criminal defense, civil and probate work. He holds a History degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Law degree from Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco; he has also studied Anthropology, Sociology and Political Science extensively. Reach him via The Electric Review.
By John Aiello This time of year, diet books abound! As summer takes hold, every other author seems to have the answer to weight loss and better health contained in their latest release. Yet, in reality, most of these books only serve as rehashes of old ideas that offer little substantive help. But not so with Inflammation Free by Monica Reinagel (one-time Managing Editor for Medical Digest): This book simply crackles with a wealth of new information that should enlighten even the most skeptical of readers. Science has established that the damage inflammation causes within arteries and cell systems can contribute significantly to myriad disorders, including heart disease, Alzheimer's, diabetes, osteoporosis and some cancers -- conditions that affect tens of millions of people throughout the world causing untold hours of suffering. Like with so many other forms of disease, we have identified inflammation as a deep-rooted problem -- but what's the answer to controlling or mitigating its affects? According to Reinagel's in depth treatise, the answer to reducing the incidence of inflammation comes in regulating the things you put in your body. Read: Diet. Diet. Diet. Inflammation Free explains in detail the role inflammation plays in disease and how it adversely acts upon the body. After providing this necessary background, Reinagel sets forth a tangible dietary plan that the general consumer can use with ease -- plotting out what foods are needed for proper metabolic balance and then including several potent recipes to show the direction one should be going in. According to Reinagel, things like fish oil and certain aromatic spices (ginger, cayenne, turmeric) can significantly reduce the amount of inflammation in the body and lessen the pain common with conditions like arthritis. However, rather than take these items in supplemental form, it is better for the over-all health of the body to ingest these properties naturally through the foods you consume. The best option for success is to customize your inflammation free diet to your specific needs and tastes, carefully limiting fats and carbohydrates in sensible and sustainable ways. As with any diet, however, healthy dishes must be appealing or the dieter won't last long on his regimen. To this end, Reinagel includes a variety of recipes that make it easy to be health-conscious while not sacrificing taste (things like avocado salsa, tomato crostini and ginger marinated tuna) bristle with flavor and serve to make eating an event rather than dietary drudgery. The never-ending battle against weight and its impact on the body has plagued man for centuries (at times shortening his life-span and the quality of his day-to-day existence). However, advances in science have recently given us the opportunity to know what is happening within ourselves, giving us the opportunity to do things that will result in less damage to these delicate systems of blood and bone. In short, it all begins with education. And Monica Reinagel's Inflammation Free is a $25 resource that brings the classroom right into your home. Recommended to the general reader, and especially to anyone fighting against diabetes, hypertension or heart disease. Original without the fake flash, Inflammation Free is a skillful blend of scientific theory and common-sense application - a smart resource with the health of the reader in mind. Should you step out and give any new diet strategy a try this year, Reinagel's should be the one. Order from amazon.com
Reviewed By Frank Aiello By his own admission, Peter White gained entry into America's power elite in ultra-quick fashion – initially as a junior member of a legal team working on the Watergate case, then as the government's chief counsel in a major antitrust suit against the petroleum industry; and finally, as a partner in Fulbright & Jaworski (once again paired with Leon Jaworski). However, somewhere along that path, White also came face to face with his own mortality as his perfect existence fell apart at the seams, falling into an abyss of alcoholism and multiple divorces. At one point in the text, White refers to an "irresponsible personality" caught in the "cyclical interplay of fear and greed" -- terms which seem to describe his own secret life of binges and self-loathing. Although White chronicles his intensely personal passage in chapters with pithy titles such as "Human Systems," "Conversation," "Community," and "The Practice of Intended Uses," he could have just as easily used epigrams or some other poetic form of expression (since his unspoken spiritual mentors might fall in line with Heraclitus, or the Cold Mountain poet, Han Shan). In his treatise, White not only speaks eloquently of the pressures of an inhuman and inhumane business culture which destroys those at the top as well as the bottom, but also writes of a degradation of moral values now endemic in these mega-systems of Capitalism. Moreover, White deftly acknowledges the doctrine central to Buddhist thought: This idea that suffering exists to be conquered the only pathway to true enlightenment." Or as White states in his final chapter: "Humanity may die in cataclysm or it may live in spiritual ascension, fully accepting the end of days. Which will it be?" Recommended to libraries in both the public sector and at the college level: This is a unique book from a unique man who has been at the top of both the business and political worlds, only to come to find that the money and fame are hollow. The lesson: Our salvation comes through many solitary and internal journeys. ~ The Editor. Order from amazon.com © Frank Aiello. 2006. All rights reserved. Frank Aiello and The Electric Review. Frank Aiello is an attorney who has practiced law in California since the 1970s, including criminal defense, civil and probate work. He holds a History degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Law degree from Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco; he has also studied Anthropology, Sociology and Political Science extensively. Reach him via The Electric Review.
Reviewed By Frank Aiello Shlomo Ben-Ami has been Israel's Ambassador to Spain, a member of the Knesset, a participant in the 2000 Camp David Summit and Minister of Public Security (before ultimately becoming its Minister of Foreign Affairs). Given these lofty credentials, Ben-Ami's bitter criticism of Israel's Zionist leaders and their conduct against the Arab populace is both noteworthy and thought provoking, and the story he paints in Scars Of War will no doubt captivate the most stoic of readers. Speaking here to the founding fathers of Zionism, Ben-Ami states: "Zion" however, was not an empty land waiting only for the Jews to claim and possess it. When David Ben-Gurion, the future founder of the State of Israel and its first prime minister arrived in Palestine in 1906, the country consisted of 700,000 inhabitants, 55,000 of which were Jews, and only 550 could be classified as Zionist pioneers . The bulk of the Jewish population was made up of religious communities that did not see themselves as political Zionists. " {p. 2.] Although Zionism originally espoused principles of self-help based on "Jewish labour" without having to resort to the exploitation of the local population, Ben-Ami's unique perspective traces the movement to its genesis, dissecting its layers with a multi-dimensional precision: "Zionism was also a movement of conquest, colonisation and settlement in the service of a just and righteous but also self-indulgent national cause. An enterprise of national liberation and human emancipation that was forced to use the tools of colonial penetration, it was a schizophrenic movement, which suffered from an irreconcilable incongruity between its liberating message and the offensive practices it used to advance it." [p. 3.] Israel's nationalist policies and colonial aspirations became readily apparent after Israel's victory in the Six Day War (June 1967), when, as Menachim Begin noted, ‘it was decided not to decide' issues relating to future Palestinian autonomy that could ultimately give birth to a Palestinian state. However, this decision by Israel's leaders ‘not to decide' would bring disastrous consequences; Ben-Ami writes: "Israel's sin in the aftermath of the war lay in her total misunderstanding of the conditions that were created by her victory. She developed, therefore, no reasonable strategy as to best turn her military supremacy into a political tool and use her exploits in the battlefield in order to change the nature of her relations with the Arab. world. Instead, she fell back conveniently on the politics of immobilism and faits accomplis. There was no Israeli peace initiative, and there was no credible and thoughtful response to the initiatives coming from others. In fact, the first to understand the meaning of the new conditions created by the war were, surprisingly, the local Palestinian leaders throughout the West Bank and, conspicuously, also junior Israeli officials... [S]hocked by the rout of the Arab armies, the Palestinian local leaders were nevertheless quick to get back on their feet, assume responsibility for the destiny of their people and plead for a peace deal with Israel. [pp. 125-126.] . . . Israel was wrong to assume that she could acquire new lands and have peace at the same time. But the Arabs had an illusion of their own: to get back their territories without offering peace in return. Nasser's persistent search for a national and Pan-Arab purpose, and the belief of the Ba'ath in Syria that only through direct confrontation with Israel could the lost territories be recovered and the problem of Palestine be settled, fed the cycle of Arab rejectionism and Israeli inertia. The Israelis' hubris and the Arabs' sense of humiliation proved to be a fatal combination. " [p. 130.] In Scars Of War Ben-Ami does not pretend to be tactful in describing either Israeli or Arab leaders; instead, he opts to offer unflattering portraits of both. Of Golda Meir, Ben-Ami writes: "She was a self-righteous, intransigent and stubborn iron lady who turned political inaction and righteousness into a system of government. Her unwillingness to question the position of the complacent military, and the support she received from her close relations with President Nixon, who was more concerned with the task of curbing the Soviet penetration into the Middle East than with the need to advance an Arab-Israeli peace, made her premiership one of an almost inevitable decline toward war." [pp. 130-131.] Of Gamal Abdel Nassar, Ben-Ami asserts: "He would not accept a separate peace with Israel or the demilitarisation of the Sinai peninsula. Nassar simply would not consider peace on the basis of military defeat. His major concern at that point was not how to negotiate a reasonable compromise with Israel, but how to acquire sophisticated weapons from the Soviet Union in order to erase the impact of the 1967 defeat." [p. 132.] And in describing Arafat during the period of the Oslo peace process, Ben-Ami notes: "The expression ‘peace of the brave' used ad nauseam by Arafat never convinced anyone, not even Rabin, that the commitments Arafat undertook were indeed irrevocable. Notwithstanding his pledge to renounce violence, he never really relinquished the terror card. It was precisely this that destroyed Rabin politically before he was destroyed physically by a Jewish zealot. It was that same terror card that would also bring about the defeat of Shimon Peres and the ascendancy of Benjamin Netanyahu in the aftermath of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. Arafat excelled in destroying his peace partners and in directly enhancing the prospects of the hard Right in Israel." [p. 213.] In sum, Ben-Ami's text is a remarkable study of this torn region of the world presented from an insider's perspective. Here, Ben-Ami eloquently and forcefully tells of the failures of a government and its personalities, revealing the faces of the failures which ultimately gave rise to the 'killing fields' and the abattoir mentality that now typifies "business as usual' in the Middle East. As Ben-Ami himself stated in an interview with Yedioth Aharonoth: "We have created a state, we have been admitted to the UN, we strive to have orderly relations with the international community, yet we still continue to behave as if we are a Yishuv. The entire peace enterprise of this government is aimed at leading the nation to opt, once and for all, between being a state or a Yishuv." [ p. 274.] Recommended as either a primary teaching text in history or poli-science courses that seek to examine the evolution of the Middle East nations through their on-going conflicts. Scars Of War is noted for its impeccable writing and its enormous depth -- an authoritative and wide-reaching treatise that touches on many new perspectives. Further recommended to all libraries in both the public sector and at the college level as a general reference text. Order from amazon.com © Frank Aiello. 2006. All rights reserved. Frank Aiello and The Electric Review. Frank Aiello is an attorney who has practiced law in California since the 1970s, including criminal defense, civil and probate work. He holds a History degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Law degree from Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco; he has also studied Anthropology, Sociology and Political Science extensively. Reach him via The Electric Review.
Reviewed By Frank Aiello The late Abraham Pais, himself a leading theoretical physicist, science writer and most importantly, friend and colleague to J. Robert Oppenheimer, opens his biography with lines by the poet, John Dryden: Great wits are sure to madness near allied, And thin partitions do their bounds divide. Pais' text begins with the shocking revelation that, while engaged post graduate work at Goettingen (in the company of pioneers like Max Born who were exploring the newly discovered territory of quantum mechanics), Oppenheimer sought psychoanalysis for what he believed was schizophrenia. On another occasion during the same period, Oppenheimer reportedly crept under a cafe table in Goettingen and began barking like a dog. [p. 12.] Pais' text also includes searing observations with regard to Oppenheimer's private life (and especially about Oppenheimer's wife, Kitty, who Pais says was an alcoholic): "Quite independently from her drinking, I have found Kitty the most despicable female I have ever known because of her cruelty . . . To an outsider like me, Oppenheimer's family life looked like hell on earth. The worst of it all was that inevitably the two children had to suffer. I have seen how Kitty and Peter did not get along well and was surprised when Peter left home for good in his late teens and broke all contact with his mother. Toni, the daughter poor dear Toni ended by taking her own life." [p. 143.] None of this anecdotal evidence, however insightful, can take away from Oppenheimer's work in theoretical physics or his entry on the world stage heading the Los Alamos project in development of the atomic bomb. Although Oppenheimer had no apparent administrative skills, he was chosen by Colonel Leslie Groves as the scientific head of the then top secret Project Y in October, 1942. Pais spends only a few pages chronicling the Los Alamos project, but prophetically notes that when the first atomic bomb explosion occurred in 1945 near Alamogordo Air Force Base in a desolate area aptly known as Jornado del Muerto, Oppenheimer recalled a line from the Bhagavad-Gita: "I am become death, the shatterer of worlds." Yet, the most informative portion of Pais' text concerns the hearing before the Atomic Energy Commission that was convened to revoke Oppenheimer's security clearance. This hearing began in December, 1953 and revolved in part around Oppenheimer's reluctance (according to Edward Teller and others) to delay the development of the hydrogen bomb. Pais' analysis, together with the summary of material provided by Robert P. Crease, provides a microscopic view into the post World War II world of fear-mongering and intellectual slander. For instance, Crease notes that Teller was the government's key witness against Oppenheimer and the only actual witness who approaching Oppenheimer's scientific expertise. And Crease bluntly points out: "Having been fortunate enough to have escaped Nazi Germany, Teller wrote in his Memoirs, 'I had the obligation to do whatever I could to protect freedom.' But he often interpreted 'protect' to mean stigmatizing colleagues who insufficiently shared his political enthusiasms. Philip Morrison, Robert Serber and Steven Weinberg were among the eminent U.S. physicists whose careers Teller denounced or otherwise tried to harm careers in retaliation for their political views." [p. 244.] In the end, Pais believes that Oppenheimer's real tragedy was not that he was at the epicenter of the Communist witch hunts of the 1950's, but instead, that he failed to achieve the lofty heights in physics that his early worked appeared to guarantee. As Pais' wrote of his former colleague: "His tragedy was that he was almost a genius." This text is recommended to all libraries in the public sector as a general reference title. Order from amazon.com © Frank Aiello. 2006. All rights reserved. Frank Aiello and The Electric Review. Frank Aiello is an attorney who has practiced law in California since the 1970s, including criminal defense, civil and probate work. He holds a History degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Law degree from Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco; he has also studied Anthropology, Sociology and Political Science extensively. Reach him via The Electric Review.
Reviewed By Frank Aiello A French wag once remarked to me,not altogether in jest "that the French aristocracy retains a genetic memory of the events that led up to the Revolution in the summer of 1789, further asserting that they do not intend to repeat their past mistakes." In light of the national riots this past fall originating in the suburb of Clichy-Sous-Bois among the current underclass of sans-culotte, it appears as if the France is once again collapsing into the ancient stench of unrest (a fact that was artfully soft-pedaled by the international press). However, as Roger Chartier has noted, revolutions are indeed possible once they become conceivable (an assertion which forms the core of The French Revolution). In William Scott's superb chapter, "From Social to Cultural History," he warns that any analysis based upon current culture may itself create a new intellectual blindness. Yet, as Scott himself notes, the social revolution surrounding the Paris upheavals of May, 1968 was indeed intellectually exciting: "With experience so diversified, questions of identity and self-expression challenged old solidarities, often imposed or inherited . . .Questions of gender and sexuality attained a new openness. New links and loyalties were forged, from choice and affinity . . .Historians of France could not but be aware of the new intellectual currents from Paris. Michel Foucault opened up for unprecedented scrutiny both new areas of inquiry and old institutions and activities. Prisons, hospitals and clinics, and asylums, though often secretive and murky, had produced ever-expanding discourses of power and knowledge. Claim to expertise were used to justify the extension of their powers of control over matters of health and sexuality and therefore over each person's body. The historian's take was to use a ‘genealogical' method to trace back such discourses to their often ignoble origins, to use 'archeological' means to uncover structures, in order to subvert them . . . All these intellectuals derided any 'scientific' pretensions history might have. Truth was relative to positions occupied in the contest for power." [ pp. 123-124.] Scott's writing is always careful to balance all parts of the story. For example, he provides a detailed acknowledgment of the diversity of knowledge that the study of the Revolution requires (while never failing to address the intellectual debt every student owes to the first historian of the Revolution, Jules Michelet): "Jules Michelet, whom many historians of whatever school, see as the greatest historian of the Revolution is unclassifiable partly because of his passionate engagement with the issues, shunning the alibi of cold objectivity. Michelet's interest in popular beliefs, customs, folklore, myths, forms of sociability; his sensitivity to feeling; his attention to the cultural role of women; the evocative poetry of his descriptions; the power of his imagination; even his own contorted psychology all make him especially attractive to cultural historians. But his times and ours are very different." [p.138.] Yet, despite his concern over what he views the "uncritical prominence of cultural history today", Scott notes that "[whether ‘revolution' is a thing of the past or not, the end of the history of revolutions and their origins has evidently not arrived..." [Id.] Recommended as a primary class text in courses focused on the history of France. Would also prove valuable as a reference text for both academic and public sector libraries for its long-term research value. Order from amazon.com
Also of Note From Palgrave WHY THE BOERS LOST THE WAR. Leopold Scholtz. Palgrave. Reviewed By Frank Aiello This selection marks a brief and lucid account of the Anglo-Boer War written by the son of Afrikans historian, G.D. Scholtz, who himself was born only a few years after that conflict ended. The book begins with a sharp and thunderous punch, as the author asks in his preface "[if the Boers] were so brave, fought so well and so often had the Rooinekke ("Red necks") on the back foot, how did it then happen that they lost the War?" Scholtz approaches this question by using Mao's theoretical model of guerrilla warfare which is conducted in three stages. In the first stage, the struggle begins slowly, expanding into a widespread war. In the second stage, the guerrillas consolidate their position and establish an alternative government. Finally, in the third stage, the guerrillas are able to attack the government forces and defeat them in conventional warfare. [p. 93.] Viewed from the perspective of a century of international conflict, Scholtz' analysis of one of the first guerrilla wars of the Twentieth century makes interesting reading. Consider the following: "There is no doubt that the larger part of the Boer republics and the two British colonies were well suited to guerrilla warfare from the geographical point of view. Guerrilla forces flourish, in geographical terms, in inaccessible territories. These would include areas with an underdeveloped infrastructure. In modern times — and because of the comparative ease of aerial reconnaissance and rapid troop deployment by aircraft and helicopters— this would generally mean mountainous terrain and/or terrain with dense vegetation, as the experience in Cyprus, Vietnam, the former Rhodesia and Namibia/Angola has indicated. In order to combat the guerrillas they need to be pursued relentlessly and, in doing so, it is necessary to keep track of their whereabouts." [p. 90.] And this: " The last two factors — attitude of the local population and the strength of the guerrillas— are interdependent and should be regarded together. The attitude of the local population id often decisive for the successor failure of any guerrilla movement. Mao Zedong coined the catchy phrase that a guerrilla can be compared to the local population as a fish to water. Just as a fish cannot survive without water, so a guerrilla cannot subsist without the active assistance and protection of the local population..." [Id.] From Scholtz's perspective, it is apparent that the Boers did not follow Mao's model due to a combination of factors, including a divided leadership and loyalties and the ferocious independence of the Boers themselves. An instance of such divided loyalties late in the conflict is reflected in the following passage: "One of the leaders of the Burgher Peace Committee was General Piet de Wet, Christiaan de Wet's brother. In February, 1901, he wrote an open letter to his brother, trying to convince him of the futility of further resistance. Similar efforts were undertaken vis a vis Transvaal officers, but all of these efforts failed miserably. The Boers reacted by arresting the Committee's emissaries and severely horsewhipping them. At least two of the envoys, Meyer de Kock and J.J. Morgendaal, were executed. De Wet also threatened to kill his brother like a dog if he ever encountered him....[p. 106.] In the end, the Boers were caught in a stranglehold led by British General Kitchener, whose objective was to drive the Free Staters in front of a single, unbroken line, the so-called "New Model Drive," which left behind scorched earth and concentration camps: "Another aspect of British operations concerned the establishment of concentration camps. We have already seen that the sympathy and support of the local population is an indispensable condition for the success of a guerrilla war. Because Kitchener knew full well that he would never voluntarily obtain any support of the Boer women and children on the family farms, he simply confronted the problem by relocating every woman and child, almost without exception, to the concentration camps...The USA in Vietnam and the Rhodesians also used the same method. Although the practice and execution of each differed in more ways than one from Kitchener's the underlying policy and motivation remains the same. " [p. 123.] This is one of the only texts to examine the fall of the Boers with such clarity and flair. A natural choice for instructors teaching courses dedicated to the history of South Africa. Further recommended to all college-level libraries as a general reference text. Order from amazon.com © Frank Aiello. 2006. All rights reserved. Frank Aiello and The Electric Review. Frank Aiello is an attorney who has practiced law in California since the 1970s, including criminal defense, civil and probate work. He holds a History degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Law degree from Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco; he has also studied Anthropology, Sociology and Political Science extensively. Reach him via The Electric Review.
Reviewed by Frank Aiello Corruption as we know it began early in the American Labor Movement, epitomized by the bombing of the Los Angeles Times building in the early morning hours of October 1, 1910. The bombmasters were actually brothers (John and James McNamara) who would come to be hailed as innocent martyrs to labor's cause by its highest-ranking czars, (including Samuel Gompers and Eugene Debs). The bombing of The Times would come to be a watershed event, for even after the McNameras acknowledged their guilt, progressives such as Debs and Louis D. Brandeis continued to argue that the brothers were the victims of the great trusts and corporations that were quickly over-taking the American landscape. However, Fitch points out: "The progressives' defense would have been more effective if either of the McNamaras had actually been wage earners. [fn] John didn't work on an office building, he worked in one: the Ironworkers' Indianapolis headquarters, in the American Central Life Building. He provided his brother with a $1,000-a-month expense account nearly $19,000 in today's dollars. Most of it was spent on the union's dynamite projects, but a lot went to his several mistresses. [fn]" [p.111] Furthermore, as Fitch documents, terrorism was an accepted means of doing business in this new America: "[f]ar from being frantic gestures of desperation, the bombings were premised on cost-benefit analyses. Bombers justified their high fees on business grounds too: ‘Well, you know,' explained one bomber, ‘it costs something to get the wind to blow the right way.' " [p. 112] As inferred by the title of this text, solidarity was definitely for sale in Chicago in 1905 when Con Shea led a "sympathy" strike for the alleged benefit of 17 garment workers against corporate giant Montgomery Wards (this after Shea himself had lobbied the local Teamsters Union to make such strikes illegal): "Why first make sympathy strikes illegal and then carry one out ? One plausible reason was to make sure that genuine, freely given solidarity was legally impossible. That way, he could sell his ersatz brand. Employers want to know who can turn strikes on and off. To the extent that workers make their own decisions, Shea would have been superfluous." [p. 126] Perhaps such collusion is the reason that the AFL-CIO have been opposed to progressive health care plans obtained in Germany, Great Britain and Canada decades ago (and the reason why employee health care benefits continue to erode on a daily basis). As an example, witness the Bush Administration's push for "consumer-directed health care" this bureaucratic gobblyspeak that really means that in the future all "laboring stiffs" will have to pay their own way. Some of the richest material of Solidarity For Sale is found in Fitch's chapter "Pension Fund Looting for Dummies," which details the looting of union pension funds by the Genovese crime family (a con that couldn't be more timely to our current state of affairs): "The point, of course, was to make it seem as if the properties weren't overvalued. For this, it was necessary to reach out to ‘connected' real estate appraisers. Alfio DiFranco, an Ozone Park Realtor and a Genovese associate, explained how the abandoned, decrepit buildings in central Brooklyn near the Holy Cross Cemetery would soon be worth even more millions than he was estimating: Real estate in this general area is now coming into its own' he explained in his report to the pension fund trustees, ‘with values excalaterating [sic] due to the unique structure of the subject.' Satisfied by this analysis, the trustees asked no questions and bought the Brooklyn properties for over $3 million. The plan was to rehabilitate the buildings. But only four months after the purchase, one of the Brooklyn tenements, which was being used as a crack house, collapsed before its anticipated 'excalateration' in value. " [pp. 130-131] To a jaundiced eye, the Genovese scheme bears little difference to the Bush Administration's flooding the market with cheap money disguised as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans ear-marked for residential construction. In actuality, these loans only serve to artificially inflate the values of millions of suburban houses (as well as promoting a temporary swelling of the GDP). In turn, one must wonder how many of these bloated values have been transformed into "bundled securities" and purchased by the administrators of union pension plans throughout the country for the supposed security of the rank and file?... As Fitch notes in his final chapter, "[r]epublics are best defended not by advanced missile systems, but by citizens who form common bonds. Without those felt ties "without solidarity the pursuit of common interests is impossible." Accordingly, if the era of organized labor movements is indeed in its twilight, perhaps an apathetic rank and file has only itself to blame. Order from amazon.com © Frank Aiello. 2006. All rights reserved. Frank Aiello and The Electric Review.
Reviewed by Jacob Aiello In Crawl Space, Edie Meidav follows up her critically acclaimed and masterfully constructed The Far Field, introducing the most unlikely of protagonists in a quest to excuse the wrongs of which he's been accused. In the story, Emile Poulquet is a war criminal, a former Vichy prefect responsible for deporting thousands of French Jews during the war; some fifty years later, he is finally standing trial for his crimes. After fleeing incarceration in Paris, Emile returns to the land of his childhood to deliver his last will and confront the woman he blames for manipulating his sordid and haphazard life. Emile arrives incognito at the site of his prefecture only to find it over-run by Jewish refugees and international journalists attending a wartime reunion. Maneuvering among the survivors of those he had condemned during the war, he finds himself in the same situation as those refugees he'd displaced: hunted by the government and by his own haunting guilt. The book's title, intimating visions of Anne Frank tucked uncomfortably in her small attic, becomes ironic in its reference to Emile's life in hiding. As a fugitive discovering old age, Emile must rely on the kindness and compassion of strangers to shelter and care for him. As time spirals, he straddles the divide between his need for anonymity and his desire to reveal himself (and the power he once held to the world around him). Despite his countless facades, Emile commands our complete attention -- maintaining a startling lack of pretense, completely at ease among the gypsies and runaways who adopt him as their own. The way this character springs to life is a testament to the skill of its creator. Accordingly, Meidav writes with absolute authority, revealing the deep grays of the human condition, the overlapping of morality, demonstrating how the monsters of our history were not so much evil as weak. Here, adrift in Emile's world, the desire for mutual love and companionship equally inspires man's greatest deeds and most horrific crimes. Finally, instead of arousing in us a dark vengeance or rage against him, we merely feel pity for Emile's wretchedness (the distanced reflections of ourselves witnessed in his desperate motivations). In between these lines reads the message of a universal guilt: We are all culpable, and only distinguished by our degrees of regret. As Meidav reaches the end of the path, there are no grand de Gaulle pronouncements, no terrifying Hitler proclamations. Instead, we find ourselves in the midst of many lost people trying to purge their physical and emotional childhood scars, all clinging to deluded versions of history in order to survive. Historical. Riveting. Multidimensional in plot and scope - Crawl Space is a major event in fiction this year. Moreover, in addition to the splendid characters and vital depiction, this remains a story about each of us: An epilogue to the wars among the petty, this portrait of a place where people hide out among their overflowing skeletons as their crawl space quickly runs out of air. Order from amazon.com Jacob Aiello is an advanced student of literature at Portland State University. See the Fiction Corner for one of his original short stories.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW EDIE MEIDAV ON "CRAWL SPACE"
By John Aiello Tell me about your background, Edie. Well, I was born in Toronto. My father, he was born in Poland, and grew up in Israel. As a child, I lived in many places throughout the United States, but the truth is that I didn't feel very American. Actually, I developed an ironic slant on the American culture. Questioning anything that seemed like a cultural orthodoxy ended up being the household religion. And where were you educated? I went to school in Oakland and Berkeley [California] during the height of bussing in 1970s and 80s. For college, I went to Yale for my undergrad work and then to Mills College [Oakland] for my Masters. Along the way I did a lot of things, studying film and dance. Looking back, I would say my main education happened between high school and college when so many new ideas opened up... Who are your influences -- what writers do you go back to and who laid the foundation for what you are doing now as a novelist? I was influenced by poetry, really. Writers like Rilke, Yates, Ashbury, Stevens-- and of course the Romantics were very meaningful to me. I also read the Beat Generation writers in high school. As a woman author it's hard to locate yourself in the beginning. I guess, looking back, I wanted to be a Beat writer and I lived that lifestyle for awhile, traveling extensively. How does your current position at New College of California in San Francisco (Director of Writing and Consciousness at the Master's Level) assist or impact your work as a writer? I feel the classroom is a utopian experiment -- especially in San Francisco in this particular college in this particular program (which encourages such a deep freedom of expression). The classroom can be a crucible for society, and at New College, the students' diversity creates a wonderful heat. In actuality, they teach me as much as I teach them. I care for my students, sometimes so much that their concerns colonize my mind -- which is probably a good thing... "Crawl Space" is a unique and important book on many levels -- something totally fresh in many respects. How did you come upon the unique subject matter of this book? Where was the seed of its genesis born? Well, as I said before, my father was born in Poland, and much of his family was exterminated. Ostensibly, my ancestry traces back to second-century Palestine, and I something of a complicated relationship with Palestine/Israel. But getting back to how "Crawl Space" evolved, I was teaching in New York at the time, and one day I was walking through an exhibit of French deportation camp photos (these pictures showed countless skeletal French citizens, soon to be deported to the death camps in Poland). Shortly after that experience, I traveled to France and lived for a time in a tiny rural town. When I got there I began to write -- it was an effort to examine what it is like to inhabit the mind of evil. If I lived during those times [of the war and wholesale exterminations], would I have really been "good" and "noble"? Would I have been part of the Resistance or part of the Vichy regime? I think as a child I felt I was prone to evil...prone to petty childhood moments. "Crawl Space" has come to be about all that. I understand that you have a small child. How has motherhood changed your writing, and have you attempted to fuse these changes with your creative work? It's a deep and daily on-going question. I try to sneak out of the house every day at 5:30 or 6 AM and go to a cafe to write for at least an hour. If I can touch the page once a day I feel happy and come back to my daughter feeling replenished. My daughter has given to me a new-found sense of stakes and responsibility. And that responsibility is vast -- all consuming. But I think it's helped to focus me and has given my writing greater maturity. Having a child and writing at the same time -- it's a great dance, a lesson in balance! Would you share something about your work patterns? Do you work in fiction on a daily basis or only when a certain mood strikes you? I have a background in the visual arts and, to speak figuratively, I have many canvases going at one time. No matter the other smaller projects I am working on, I always like to have a novel in the works: it becomes the prism for all reflections. In terms of writing, I like to give myself a quota -- something like 1,000 words a day. I think the idea of a quota helps me to outwit the superego and avert subliminal censorship. Because you have to write, you tap into the subconscious and get out of your own way: then the story emerges. OK, so where do you go from here, from the truly amazing plateau you've reached with this book? When I was writing "Crawl Space" I was living in Mendocino. I was very isolated, and it was during my pregnancy. I felt as if I were milking a stone, trying to get that story out. And then after I wrote it, I felt a combination of pity and love for the book. Now, beginning a new novel, I am back to that place: wondering if I am wandering in the dark.This new novel is set in California and it looks at girlhood friendship, motherhood, dystopia, and the death penalty. Honestly, I often feel like an eighty-year-old man in a woman's body. My first few novels were written that way -- looking at the world through the eyes of men. Now I'm writing in a female voice, tapping into that side. "Crawl Space" delves into a murky historical darkness that might be hard for some people to accept. Have you had any adverse/harsh comment on it or on your depiction of the subject matter? While writing the book, I found myself imagining various ideal readers, and then also someone who might feel their strong Jewish identity threatened by the story. After "Crawl Space" was published, it got mostly a warm response. It was warmly received by the New York Times, but I somehow felt the reviewer might have been threatened by the underlying theme of evil being explored. Still, I think most readers take the book for what it actually is: an exploration of "good" and "evil" in a given historical context that can be read without threatening too many orthodoxies. And the essence of its message? That history always judges us.....
Reviewed by Jacob Aiello Summer is upon us, and like the home state of our esteemed President, ‘tis the season where everything becomes bigge</I>r. Blockbuster movies with big characters and big explosions (with some of them based on big books). And Painkiller, Will Staeger's debut novel, is destined to become just one of those big books. In it, a rogue Chinese general has concocted a conspiracy to impose nuclear war upon America, while only a retired CIA officer and his junior (though undoubtedly attractive) CIA analyst possess the knowledge and wherewithal to do anything about it. Painkiller's protagonist, W. Cooper, is equal parts Jimmy Buffet, Jack Ryan and Gary Cooper (his namesake). The type of gruff, chauvinistic hero reminiscent of Ian Fleming spy novels and Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns, Cooper is aging, antisocial and perfectly content to live out the remainder of his life amid rum drinks (from which we get the title) and conch fritters. But such a idyllic retreat is not in the cards for him. Possessing a seemingly endless pool of wealth, Cooper begins his expedition to abate the ghosts that haunt him. Along the way he encounters Haitian slave zombies, criminal expatriates, crooked politicians (of course!), fundamentalist muscle-bound Chinese terrorists and, à la Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Cod</B>e, even a homicidal albino (why are poor albinos always getting a bad rap??). Make no mistake, Painkiller is a quick-paced page-turner. Structured with not-so-typical cliffhanger chapter-endings, this endless stream of action constantly ratchets up the reader's acceptance of conceivability, until you find yourself on a trail you never thought you'd be on. While it's true that the story does, at times, prey on our post-9/11 insecurities - rogue terrorist factions, nuclear war, fascist extremists - the plot never strays far from the realm of fictional reality. Accordingly, we can enjoy the tale despite its frightening parallels to real life because its recounting is so sensationalistic. In effect, it offers a reprieve from our daily tension by giving us an exaggerated image of precisely that which is threatening us. In the end, Painkiller doesn't leave the reader with any epiphanies or realizations -- nor does it claim to. Instead, it serves as an enjoyable potboiler of a political thriller and on that count alone, it delivers nicely. ***Incidentally, the modest hometown of this reviewer and The Electric Review (Mount Shasta, California) makes a memorable appearance after falling in contact with a nuclear bomb (talk about dumb luck!). ~Jacob Aiello Order from amazon.com Jacob Aiello is an advanced student of literature at Portland State University. See the Fiction Corner for one of his original short stories.
Reviewed by Jacob Aiello In Transgressions, a collection of ten novellas written by some of today's most acclaimed suspense novelists (and edited by noted mystery writer Ed McBain, who also contributes one selection), the genre of noir and suspense is flipped on its head and modernized, blended with the immediacy of compelling social commentary. From the onset, readers will find a great deal of deep and penetrating material here: From the existential anarchist detective Archibald Lawless of Walter Mosley's Archibald Lawless, Anarchist at Large: Walking the Line, to the malicious teenage girls of Joyce Carol Oates' The Corn Maiden - it's the world of the outsider examined in the aftermath of 9/11. The point here is to allow each of us to decide for ourselves whether or not what they said is true: Is irony really dead? Is America really in the hollow and desperate state that the media tells us it is in? However, Transgressions is by no means a collection of stories about the events of 9/11; yet still, the wake of that tragedy is imbued in each of these stories in tones both subtle and overt. In The Things They Left Behind by Stephen King - unquestionably the most evident 9/11 novella - a man begins inexplicably finding the possessions of former acquaintances who died in the attacks on the Twin Towers. An accessible blend of magical realism and psychological closure, The Things They Left Behind reads with King's trademark character development, the natural progression of the story line exploring the loss of our enigmatic safety and that cocky self assurance Americans once held so confidently. Noted mystery author Donald E. Westlake's novella, Walking Around Money, prefers to suggest the more subtle, psychological effects of 9/11. A vague uneasiness is felt by one of the characters whenever he is in New York City, in large, open crowds, or in telephone booths. And while its cause is never explicitly stated, this piece subtlety speaks volumes as to 9/11's vast psychological reach. In The Corn Maiden, it is the disregard for human life that is examined in Joyce Carol Oates' inimitable stunningly horrifying fashion. Here, a neglected, disillusioned and vengeful adolescent girl abducts another young girl for a sacrificial rite, and it triggers a disastrous spiral of scapegoating and sorrow. It is as though The Corn Maiden's story unfolds within a parallel world, a world complete with all the horrors and injustices of our own, a place where 9/11 is merely a lie told to the abducted girl to frighten her into submission. These references only provide a brief glimpse into the perspectives which Transgressions explores. The stories presented here are well-written and especially varied in their conventions and stylistic touches, offering the reader everything from comic mystery to horrifying suspense to somber contemplation - each of these stories entertaining, thought- provoking and individually engaging. As a whole, however, the pieces comprising Transgressions come together to speak to the vastly more important role literature plays in tragic and desperate times: for its books like these that help us heal, helping us to understand the things that are occurring in our world. Order from amazon.com Jacob Aiello is an advanced student of literature at Portland State University. See the Fiction Corner for one of his original short stories.
Reviewed By Jacob Aiello Rabbi Shmuley Boteach's book, Hating Women: America's Hostile Campaign Against the Fairer Sex, analyzes the ever-increasing degradation of women through American mass media - a book which subliminally (and almost simultaneously) recalls the archaic classifications of women as philanderer, villain, whore and servant. Rabbi Boteach argues that forty years after the civil rights and women's movement, this society has repressed its latent anti-Semitism, racism and misogyny as a solved problem. Yet, in reality, our apathy has only increased, blinding us into a replay of medieval prejudice and patriarchy. Boteach's dissection of our cultural misogyny and the growing trend of female objectification traverses from the rise of pop music princesses Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson ( teenagers who rely more on the size of their chest than the depth of their voice), to the astounding popularity of the degrading Girls Gone Wild videos, to the crass cultural stereotype of women seen in the new wave of reality television shows like The Bachelo</I>r, Are You Hot?, Who Wants to Marry A Millionaire? and Extreme Makeover.. Despite Boteach's religious background, Hating Women for the most part avoids preachy moralizing and Puritanism. His orthodox Judaic stance can be apparent at times, but the rabbi synthesizes his religious beliefs with sharp wit, clever observations and biting prose. But perhaps most importantly, Boteach describes the limited avenues of success contemporary society offers the modern woman. Instead of encouraging women to embrace their femininity, Boteach argues the feminist movement has taught women to behave like men. Rather than be the catalyst for productivity with a conscience, modern woman has become all aggression and manipulation, as bad as men in both their professional and personal lives. It is a troubling issue to be sure, and in addressing this dichotomy, Boteach charges women with reclaiming their independence by embracing what is theirs as opposed to just mimicking the flaws of men. Hating Women is a welcome inclusion in what will hopefully be America's re-recognition of our latent misogyny. Yet, it should be noted that for every Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, there is a woman, a film, an artist struggling to succeed in our culture on their own terms. Order from amazon.com or go to harpercollins.com Jacob Aiello is an advanced student of literature at Portland State University. See the Fiction Corner for one of his original short stories.
Reviewed By Jacob Aiello Jess Walter, in his new novel Citizen Vince, introduces Vince Camden, a supposedly reformed credit card thief transplanted into a small Spokane, Washington town on the cusp of the 1980 presidential election. After turning state's evidence and testifying against the Mafia, Camden has been ‘relocated' - selling stolen credit cards by dusk and managing a donut shop ("Donut Make You Hungry") by dawn. And then one day the inevitable happens and the past finally catches up with him. Through his harrowing journey to rectify the debt he owes the Mafia (with the police right-around-the-corner on his tail), Vince simultaneously ponders perhaps the most existential question of all: Who to vote for? As you gather from the story line, it's difficult to classify this novel: Part noir Mafia thriller, part political commentary, part classic morality tale with existential twist. However, throughout each of these possible classifications, the true binding thread remains Walter's protagonist - Vince Camden. Strangely familiar and yet utterly unique, Camden is a rogue Bogie for the pre-Reagan administration. Here, we find a man contemplating death and politics while shilling out weed and stolen credit cards to prostitutes. And it is this inimitable dichotomy of depravity (together with this almost childlike longing for political honesty) that draws the reader so close to him. However, the true joy of Citizen Vince is in Walter's command of dialogue -- this blind infusion of energy merges the nostalgic biting tongue of Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe, Rick Blaine with the oddly endearing naïveté of Vince Camden to create a language of its own. But this is not to imply that narration is lacking. To the contrary, the pop and crackle of the dialogue is made possible by the somber near melancholy hue of the prose that surrounds it. In one passage, Vince is contemplating the dead he has known, the futile hope of criminals and prostitutes and ghosts: "You're going to miss my open house." Then, before he can say anything: "It's okay." She clears the dishes, smiles, and says, in a voice rich with delusions, the voice of real estate hookers and criminal bakers: "Well, you'll just have to come to the next one" (86). As we move through the novel, we find that certain plot revelations are subtle - sometimes a bit too subtle; to the unmindful reader, some wonderful material can be wholly overlooked. Yet still, the wonder of Citizen Vince is in Walter's seamless synthesis of politics and underworld culture. Funny, endearing and darkly optimistic, not since Jim Jarmusch's film "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" have we seen these subjects so artfully blended. But above all else, Citizen Vince is a tale of authenticity and honesty, a book about how the political candidates we choose mirror our own posturing and morality (or lack thereof). In Walter's world, the cop is as corrupt as the criminal, but none can hold a candle to the strut of the candidate. In the end, Citizen Vince is a novel to read and enjoy, this grand demonstration of witty dialogue and Mafioso pantomime. Still, when the final sentence is read, the charm of the novel will only be complimented by its gravitas. It seems odd now, but in the world of Citizen Vince, on the eve of the 1980 presidential election, salvation was actually possible. Order from amazon.com or go to harpercollins.com Jacob Aiello is an advanced student of literature at Portland State University. See the Fiction Corner for one of his original short stories.
By Jacob Aiello In A View From the Eye of the Storm: Terror and Reason In the Middle Eas</B>t, Hiram Harari examines the recent and continuing conflict between Islamic fanaticism and anti-Semitism throughout the world. Although a theoretical physicist by profession, Harari tackles the subject under the guise of "proverbial taxi driver" - implying his arguments are not that of a scientist but of someone who has lived in the Middle East, witnessed its events and formed very definitive opinions about its status. Thus, this book is a well-formed expression of those opinions. Harari's study began as a not-for-publication lecture he gave for an international advisory board discussing the problem of terrorism and the Middle Eastern crisis - including its causes and effects and his own theoretical solution. The text was eventually disseminated and circulated without permission all over the world, provoking Harari to revisit his arguments and expound on them in a fully developed manuscript. Whatever your personal position on the political spectrum, A View From the Eye of the Storm is nonetheless a sobering look at the state of the world, or Globania, as Harari pseudo-affectionately calls it. At once wryly comedic and disturbingly daring, Harari writes in an informally casual style that dramatically counters the gravity of his subject (as prefaced in his introduction): "I apologize to the victims of terror for occasionally using humor in this book. The subject is not funny at all, but part of what has kept the Jews alive for centuries is the ability to laugh and smile in difficult times. I see no reason to allow the terrorists to spoil this tradition." In this book, Harari shifts back and forth between cautious optimism and despairing woe, his prose a mixed with deftly-placed analogies and dark parables of suffering, obstacles overcome and lessons to be learned. The Middle East is undoubtedly the "eye of the storm" now, just as Germany and Poland were sixty-five years ago, and Harari adroitly compares the growing anti-Semitism today with the rise of the Nazi party and the remaining world's refusal to take that threat seriously. To be sure, A View From the Eye of the Storm is a controversial book, and those seeking comfort, escapism and reassurance would do well to keep their distance. Yet they would also do well to remember that an informed populace is the best defense against tyranny. In View, Harari reminds us that now, more than ever, that only the open-mindedness of the populace will open the door to world peace. As Harari himself suggests through his "proverbial taxi driver" role, the impulse to agree or disagree with these sometimes blunt perspectives is entirely arbitrary. But what is truly important -- and the thing which makes this book a top-priority read -- is the uncensored, unpropagandized and unspun opinions of one man who has lived through all the tragedies and events we in America know only through the subjective filter of our own mass media. Accordingly, we would all do well to read it and broaden our views. To utilize Harari's beloved analogies: The precipitation of our storm is religious fundamentalism and fanatic nationalism. Education is our umbrella. Order from amazon.comor go to harpercollins.com Jacob Aiello is an advanced student of literature at Portland State University. See the Fiction Corner for one of his original short stories.
By John Aiello Jose Canseco is taking a hell-of-a lot of flak for writing this book, as baseball insiders and myriad writers take pot-shots at him for his admissions about steroid use that often reveal the hidden stories of the behind the scenes world of big-money athletics. Canseco, who played major league baseball into the new millennium, was one of the purest hitters to ever come upon the modern era of the game. He had that rare combination of power and speed and was blessed with tremendous athletic instinct, all of which helped to lead the Oakland A's to a World's Championship in 1989. However, Juiced isn't merely about the ball yard. To the contrary, it's a tell-all "biography" in which Canseco is ballsy enough to admit that he used steroids (or juice) to enhance his prowess on the diamond (indifferent to the very real long-term effects that juice could have on his health). According to this book, Canseco was known as "The Chemist" - a true connoisseur of these drugs, he became adroit at mixing steroid cocktails, searching for just the right combo that might add yet another layer of ripples to his already impressive frame: "Remember back when Mark McGwire and I were called the ‘Bash Brothers' during our time together on those memorable Oakland A's teams from the late 1980s to early 1990s? I didn't always like that tag, but people were right that McGwire and I spent a lot of time together. Of course we didn't talk much. What we did, more times than I can count, was go into a bathroom stall together to shoot up steroids. That's right, after batting practice, or right before the game, Mark and I would duck into a stall in the men's room, load our syringes, and inject ourselves. I always injected myself, because I had practiced enough to know just what I was doing, but often would inject Mark as well." (Pages 7&8 ) Pretty startling stuff, indeed -- these the confessions of a baseball star reading so much like our horrific perceptions of junkies huddled in urban stairwells, shooting up, hungry for that next fix. But these aren't junkies. No; instead, they're among the wealthiest entertainers in the world, these men who are idolized by so many youngsters throughout the world: "People want to be entertained at the ballpark. They want baseball to be fun and exciting. Home runs are fun and exciting. They are easy for even the most casual fan to appreciate. Steroid-enhanced athletes hit more home runs. So yes, I have personally reshaped the game of baseball through my example and teaching." (Page 9) Baseball insiders are saying that Canseco's book is bullshit and that his motives for lying are numerous: (1) He's bitter that he didn't get a chance to crack the 500 career homer list and this is his way of getting back at the game; (2) He's a washed up fallen star looking for any tie to the game -- and the steroid scandal is it; (3) He's resentful that others who he played with (and among) have received the accolades he thinks he deserves and his steroid book is a way to take them all down a notch. Still, I don't buy that Canseco made all this up. Nope. It reeks of honesty to me. Plus, it's hard to refute the fact that players in this modern-day era of baseball have gotten too big and too strong - seemingly capable of superhuman feats. Looking at the modern game objectively, it just seems plausible that at least some of this raw physical ability is coming from chemicals and artificial means - and not just extra hours in the weight room. In retrospect, I think the real reason so many are angry at Canseco is that he's betrayed the code of the locker room. Baseball is literally built around the "clubhouse" -- it's an old boy's club and Canseco has told the world the secrets of the scene. He's embarrassed a lot of folks, and he's taken some of the luster off our perception of these people. Yet, that does not make him a liar. It might make him unlikeable to some, but we all must remember that he's not the first person to raise these questions. He is, however, the first to step out this far and then not back down from the fetid stench of controversy. Readers will quickly note that Juiced is not a literary masterpiece in the realm of Hemingway or Genet. It is, however, a well-written sports tell-all, with some startlingly human admissions about lost opportunity and failure: "I had a terrible time adjusting to jail. I had a cell to myself, but it was only eight feet long by five feet wide...I'm not using the term nervous breakdown lightly. I've gone through bad periods before, but I have never experienced anything like that, and I hope I never will again. It all became too much for me. It felt like something inside me was being crushed..." (Pages 253&254) In the end, I think we hold baseball players and other athletes in too high esteem. They're just people, and it is unhealthy for their lives to consume/command our own. We need to separate ourselves from their world and simply see them for what they are. Obviously, we all know that rock-n-rollers have routinely used drugs and have drank to excess, yet we don't dismiss or devalue their art just because of their taste for drink. Moreover, if Poe was actually under the influence of opium while he was writing "The Raven" does it make the poem any less magnificent? The answer to this question is an emphatic no. Instead, we should take a lesson from Canseco's book, and distance ourselves from the hero worship of athletes. We need to simply admit that these people are very gifted physical specimens who entertain us on the ball field. The story basically ends there. It's high time for some stark realism now: The fact is that baseball players are mere human beings, and as mortals, they are going to fall victim to traps like steroids and drugs and alcohol - the same as you and I could. In the end, it's up to each of us to live out our lives, and then pay for any consequences that might be owed. Recommended to all libraries at the public sector and college level as a general reference text that will appeal to fans of the game and to students of sociology studying the effects of steroid use on modern culture. Order from amazon.com or go to harpercollins.com
Reviewed by Frank Aiello "Supersize portions, the drift away from the family meal, the over-abundance of calorie-packed foods, the ubiquitous ads for the latest sugary and fatty snacks --with so many forces working against kids, we all have to do more than count calories ..." (Page 76) Obesity kills and childhood obesity destroys children in both mind and body. That's the theme of Generation Extra Large (written by nutritionist Lisa Tartamella and Elaine Herscher and Chris Woolston, editors for the on-line consumer medical journal Consumer Health Interactive). Generation chronicles the nightmare of childhood obesity in America, showing us in no uncertain terms that children are growing old before their time. From girls afflicted with hormonal imbalances (resulting in growths of thick facial hair), to adolescent boys so corpulent their genitals are hidden, today's kids are suffering from a litany of orthopedic problems (in addition to diabetes and heart disease). And it's all being caused by over-eating. As Herscher (a former investigative reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle), Woolston and Tartamella note, America has the fattest children in the world; however, the United States is no longer alone in this regard. From tiny Maori villages in New Zealand, from Ghana to Brazil to China, children have gone from bantam weights to heavy weights in less than a generation. Sadly, obesity is now a global epidemic. But who is to blame? Have so many children from so many diverse cultures all lost their collective willpower at the same time? The authors note that blaming the victim remains a popular pastime. For instance, William Steiger, a member of George W. Bush's administration, has stated that "personal responsibility" is the key to solving the worldwide obesity epidemic. However, Michael Lowe, a professor of psychology at Drexel University and an expert in weight loss, calls the personal responsibility argument "bullshit." Instead, Lowe states that the Bush Administration is simply parroting the industry line intent on focusing attention away from corporate predators who have created a worldwide toxic environment. But such demands for personal responsibility are music to the ears of school districts that have sold out the health and welfare of children in the name of local economics; the authors write: "For years, soda companies have been signing exclusive, largely secret contracts with school districts to install vending machines on school property in exchange for cash." -(Page 78)- As this passage makes clear, many school districts across the country now regularly enter into "partnerships" with corporate giants such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, McDonalds, and Taco Bell, allowing mountains of chips, oceans of soda pop and gigantic "happy meals" into school cafeterias in return for a fat corporate payoff. For example, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has documented the business practices of Coca Cola and Pepsi who negotiate the exclusive right to sell their product in schools by agreeing to return a portion of its profits to underfunded districts for needed textbooks, sports and band programs. The result: Coke and Pepsi get brand loyalty and we get fat children running on empty. The authors of Generation Extra Large do not expect that this global epidemic will be cured overnight, although they provide a wealth of practical advice meant to get children off the couch, meant to promote healthy food alternatives and physical exercise. Nevertheless, a true change in the present corporate culture of irresponsible greed won't happen until parents organize themselves and create a national movement. As Texas Agricultural Commissioner Susan Combs said: "Give me a million mad moms..." Combs' comments, along with this text, serve as a wake up call to save your children. Order from amazon.com © Frank Aiello. 2005. All rights reserved. Frank Aiello and The Electric Review.
As we move head-long into 2008, Miranda Orso, contributing writer to The Electric Review, offers these recommendations for New Year's stocking-stuffers:
Reviewed by Miranda Orso Roy Freirich's depiction of the aftermath of a senseless shooting in Anytown, America offers an intimate glimpse of what is becoming too common an occurrence – the sad story of the victims always told in the same way, whether the shooting takes place at a restaurant, the mall or a college campus. Usually, an estranged gunman with a history of mental problems and a stockpile of weapons unleashes his wrath on the unsuspecting. People die, and blood is shed. Later, over tears and coffee and candlelight, a community attempts to rebuild itself – until the next chapter of the same story is rewritten. And as the watchful eye of the media and the public it serves focuses on the juicy next newsbyte, Freirich's story attempts to dissect the reasons behind these random acts of brutality. In Winged Creatures, a truly captivating story unfolds as we explore both the lives and the recovery process of six victims of a shooting at Carby's restaurant. Here, through a combination of the characters' vivid memories and the author's masterful style, a universal tale of tragedy is brought to life. In one dark and stunning passage, we kneel beside Anne Hagen as she watches the gunman open fire and shoot her father. In her search to come to terms with the incomprehensible, Anne forms an extremely close relationship with God. And it is here, through her faith, that she is able to cope with (and rationalize) the irrational. However, as we make our way though Winged Creatures, it is the children's recovery process that is both the most heart-wrenching and the most riveting. Obviously, children have a hard time discussing violence, and they often seek to be brave in silence. Basically, as the author teaches us, kids think that if they don't talk about their fear it doesn't exist. Yet, eventually, young and old alike realize that “not saying anything” doesn't bring any closure. Everyone who witnessed the shooting at Carby's has a story to tell. In one poignant passage, a driving instructor named Charlie veers down a path of self destructive behavior before stumbling on a turning point; and Freirich writes: “Charlie wipes grateful tears…and a nod and a bow return him to a portion of his bounty, that he now knows is the sole opportunity in his life to provide a life worthy of his family's love and of himself, since he as twice been spared the worst and lived to tell” (At page 209). Through counseling and self-revelation, each of these characters comes to learn how to live with their grief. Yes, their eyes look back into memory and recount a story that is at once devastating and heartbreaking. Yet, the light that Freirich sheds on the recovery process shows each reader that hope can indeed exist in every life should we allow it to blossom.
Reviewed by Miranda Orso Be forewarned – you may need a tab or two of Dramamine to navigate through the mind-bending world that's been created by novelist Alan Fox in The Seeker in Forever, as this flight through the imagination requires a full and complete appreciation for the raw, elemental beauty of the human experience. In The Seeker in Forever, Fox builds a surreal yet engrossing series of poignant characters that tell an enchanting story of a young man and woman as they are thrust into a world gone weary with corruption (the “he-being” Miles Roark and the “she-being” Daphne Fox left alone to defend themselves against the unknown and its vast ‘unreality'). Throughout the story, the duo's fight to understand reality is a struggle strewn with brutal physical exchanges and philosophical feelings, as well as with moments of enticing sexuality – the audience introduced into a whirlwind of life's pleasures and pain as seen through the eyes of two searching specters. For example, at one point in the story, Miles, in the company of his deluded mentor, Scofield, questions the idea of existence itself; and Fox writes: “Difficulties, slaps, and knocks, blows. Hammerholds and hammering death. Troubles…this was where the trip took on its full force gale. And all of the people in this world. All of the people, in this whole wide world…” (Page 91). As the story unfolds, Fox directs us down a path where every twisting turn results in visceral reactions from mind and body – it's almost as if the author is waiting for the audience to stand up and say: “Here's to being wild! Make every moment come alive…Here's to being wild as wild can be!” And there's no doubt that life and its journey (as told by Fox) are anything but boring; the lucid landscape he paints in this book creates an engrossing fantasy-world that tells the tale of battles being waged in both the internal and external world. Ultimately, it's a story that has no end.
Reviewed by Miranda Orso It seems as though there was nowhere to hide in 1941. Men from every corner of In this wonderful novel, Mike Vaccaro draws readers into another series of historical, ground-breaking battles being fought – this time in the wide world of sports (as man and animal shared the bright spotlight in the midst of international turmoil, war and discontent). As Vaccaro recreates these magical moments from the worlds of baseball, boxing and horse racing, he draws readers deep into the breath-taking excitement of every event: “But as Whirlaway began to make his move, as his ears perked up, so did the crowd's spirit. Slowly the roar began to build, and slowly the horses out ahead began to wonder what all the commotion was about, something they'd learn sooner than any of them could have imagined.” Read on, and you can hear the thunderous roar of the crowd as the enigmatic thoroughbred Whirlaway speeds to an exciting Triple Crown victory – this perfect recounting of one of the most fantastic stories in the history of sports. Now read on: In one of the boxing pieces, the ring spins to life; suddenly, you can smell the blood pouring through the headlines that memorialized Joe Louis' deepest wounds. This book has the capability to appeal to sports fans, history buffs or John Q. Public – the true-life-magic of this one undeniably great year ‘on the field' now beautifully preserved in Vaccaro's captivating memoir that carefully weaves together America history with the history of sport.
Reviewed by Miranda Orso I hate to use puns, but this book is truly mesmerizing. When I began reading it, I was ready to journey into the realm of classified CIA secrets and mind control. As it turned out, I was in for one strange trip indeed. Streatfield simply does a stellar job of exploring various brainwashing techniques, expanding the collective mind of his audience along the way. In one particular chapter, he describes, in extraordinary detail, one of the first documented accounts of a human ingesting psychedelic mushrooms: “To Wasson, it suddenly became clear that the walls of the house had been blown apart, or dissolved, the spirits of the men inside ejected, catapulted at great velocity over the jungles of southern Mexico and into the mountains that rose, tier above tier, into heaven.” At another juncture, Streatfield also delves into the mystery of the stigma of heavy metal music and its ability to inspire the unstable to commit acts of violence. For years, critics have said that evil ‘satanic' metal lyrics were literally driving people mad. In addition, parents all over the world have alleged that behind locked doors, America's youth were drunk on music - it's underlying core brimming with covert messages of death and destruction. Here, Streatfield's treatise shows us that the metal movement is not only an important moment in the history of music, but also a big moment in the history of brainwashing that's been overlooked. In the end, the author's engrossing writing style recreates some very interesting and very bizarre moments in the history of mind control. I dare say that parts of this book are truly…hypnotizing.
Reviewed by Miranda Orso I experienced a wide range of emotions when I started reading this book. At first, curiosity reigned supreme as I wondered about the science of competition. But then, as I scanned over the author's background, I started to get worried (for Case is a “math man” with a Ph.D. in Mathematics). Immediately, I had flashbacks to more than one awful moment in math class when I would find myself completely lost while some faceless teacher drew funny symbols on the chalkboard and assigned value to imaginary numbers. However, just as quickly my dread and worry were put to rest when Case let readers know [that] “though every effort has been made to minimize the number of pages infected with mathematical symbolism, I know not how to eliminate them all.” Readers will note that even though Case is a highly school mathematical expert, he does try to keep up his end of the bargain and limit the numbers-attack on his audience. For example, in chapter 5, he breaks down the “primal conflict” between the pitcher and batter in baseball (using multiple diagrams to successfully deconstruct the various pitches and their numerous intentions). While some of the author's other ideas end up marred in muddy mathematical theory, other concepts are set forth simply and are easy to follow. For example, in chapter 8, Case dissects the art of auctions byway of the story of three scientists who studied the process of a sealed-bid auction. This information was not only deeply intriguing, but it also served to set the tone for the compelling places Case could bring us (once we waded beyond our subconscious aversion to the idea of higher mathematics).
Reviewed by Miranda Orso In his sequel to Big Lives, Joe Conason leaves no question as to what side of the political fence he sits on. Basically, this book is a wake up call and an answer to the 1935 Sinclair Lewis novel, It Can't Happen Here (a popular story based on “a clownish, sinister, and brutal homegrown fascism, spurred by patriots and preachers”). Here, the author draws on the obvious and not-so-obvious parts of Lewis' poignant novel that eerily foreshadow The story begins as an elected official uses the idea of war to infringe upon the rights of the whole for his own personal power and wealth (haven't we heard this scenario somewhere before?). The story goes on to expose various aspects of the political underground where Americans are invited into the puppet master's lair. Will we make it? Will we survive? Conason is right – the story is undeniably close to what Lewis penned 52 years ago. And it really is not a good thing. It Can Happen Here shows readers how much “it” really does happen here on a daily basis. And the author begs the question: Are we headed toward the end of American democracy? According to past and the present events – the answer lies in the idle hands of the often overly-complacent American public. Will we make it? Will we survive? Perhaps the answer is echoed in the words of Abraham Lincoln (which begin Chapter 4): “As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.”
Reviewed by Miranda Orso This book raises some very interesting and worthwhile questions about our reliance on a standardized approach to education. Specifically, while we have integrated computer labs and technology into most school curriculums, Shaffer points out that we still have yet to harness the potential of “epistemic video games.” In turn, he suggests we should combine these various electronic technological advances with these burgeoning generations of beta babies in order to create a modern approach to the educational demands of the new millennium. According to Shaffer, by incorporating video games into the classroom, teachers can better prepare students for common ‘real world' situations. And in the course of his treatise, the author makes a valid argument for the power of the gaming mentality, showing us how it can be applied to the process of learning. In one particularly compelling passage, Shaffer talks about “The Debate Game” (where students engage in debates in order to utilize the knowledge they are acquiring). As Shaffer points out, by implementing his method, students are forced to participate and engage in active discussion (which will eventually lead to mastery of the subject). In addition, Shaffer has developed his own computer games designed specifically for learning purposes (and to simulate real-world professional scenarios). For example, in Escher's World,” Shaffer built a game based on a studio course in order to encourage young architects in training to refine their design skills (and harpen their understanding of geometry). In the end, Shaffer brilliantly supports his theory that video games can actually help children learn by using an array of examples that show that in every virtual computer world there lurks a clever teacher full of new ways to educate
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By John Aiello Probably no other government benefit has caused senior citizens more consternation than the Medicare Part D Drug Program which was launched on January 1, 2006. The program, with many footnotes and exceptions and with many conditional riders, threw both providers and beneficiaries for a loop as seniors wondered what plan to choose to best meet their particular needs. Jones and Bartlett Publishers and author Jack Fincham (University of Georgia College of Pharmacy) should be commended for dedicating themselves to creating this manual, for it serves as a primer for both pharmacists and Medicare beneficiaries, documenting the core of the Part D Program in clear and concise terms. Here, readers will be presented with information on just how the program works and how it can be used in conjunction with other coverage to provide the best protection for the individual. Will I lose my existing insurance coverage if I apply for a Medicare Part D Plan? Do I qualify for extra help and how do I apply for it? What is this donut hole everyone is talking about and how will this impact me? Will my pharmacy take Part D plans or is this only good in certain places? Will my medication be covered, or is this Plan only good for generic drugs? Every senior presents with their own unique set of questions and it can be a daunting task to formulate these questions in such a way to elicit the right answers. And that's where Fincham's book comes into play, as it affords seniors, medical professionals and dedicated caregivers a one-stop source for the ‘right answers.' Accordingly, t<SPAN>opics ofcoverage include an overview of the Medicare Program and how Part D marries to it; an overview of the Part D component and how to determine if your needs fit into its myriad frames; how to choose a plan; how to apply for extra help; in addition to what drugs and pharmacies are covered (to name highlights).
However, the best aspect of this text (in addition to the data it collects) is the way that it has been organized and presented. Even though Fincham is a professor of Pharmacy Care with deep knowledge of his subject, he has written this book with the elderly consumer in mind. To this end, chapters are written in a ‘step-by-step' manner that gives the reader the information they need in clear, ‘no-frills' language. Simply, Fincham's goal is to educate his audience and he has taken great pains to insure that he speaks to his readers - and not over them. In the end, Medicare Part D is a wonderful public resource dedicated to educating the elderly and their primary caregivers on an insurance program that has the potential to provide great help for many (as long as they can approach the application process with knowledge on how to pick a carrier that best fits their life-needs). Recommended to all Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers – this manual that contains answers to all the important questions pertaining to the Medicare Part D Drug Program. In addition, both Pharmacists (and pharmacy-technicians) will find answers to many complicated and commonly-asked questions here. If nothing else, Fincham teaches consumers what questions they need to ask about the Part D Program; for this reason alone, Medicare Part D should be available at counter-racks in pharmacies throughout the country. Priced at only $20.00, this handy reference will pay for itself immediately. Order from amazon.com
By John AielloThe jacket of this book proclaims – “every man need this book!” And this emphatic statement couldn't ring more true. As cancer continues to threaten the lives of millions every year, tumors of the prostate remain every man's over-riding concern: For just as breast cancer creates the specter of female mortality, prostate disease brings men face-to-face with their greatest fear – the loss of virility.
Here, Dr. Patrick Walsh (one of the leading experts in the study of prostate cancer and a professor of Urology at Johns Hopkins) has created a manual that is meant to educate the lay reader on maintaining both prostate health (in addition to teaching us how to deal with a diagnosis of disease should we one day be challenged by it).
Above all else, Walsh sets out to tell his audience that this disease is not some formulaic set of symptoms that strikes every patient in the same way. To the contrary, each man presents with individualized symptoms and unique concerns - -the lesson if you are a patient is not to feel as if you need to ‘fit a certain mold.' Instead, as Walsh teaches, you must develop a proper care-plan that suits your basic needs.
In addition, Walsh brings his readers into the classroom for a crash course on prostate health. Topics of coverage include the causes of the disease and how to assess individual risk factors (including age, heredity and diet); how modifications in lifestyle can delay and in some cases prevent the onset of cancer; the importance of the PSA test and the digital-rectal exam as a means of preventing the onset of cancer; advancements in prostate cancer treatment; and methods for maintaining potency and continence after treatment has taken place (which are two of the most worrisome aspects of prostate cancer for the typical man).
What sets this book apart from other similar manuals on prostate health is Dr. Walsh's prowess as a writer: Walsh has attained the ability to write science for a general audience, carefully delineating complicated medical concepts in a clear and insightful way that imparts vital information while not overwhelming or frightening off the reader.
In Guide, Dr. Walsh succeeds in building a relationship with his audience because he knows that the men coming to this book are scared of this kind of cancer, these men in need of patience and understanding if they are to reach a place where they might conquer the taste of fear and fight back their disease.
As noted, this is title belongs in the library of every man 45 years and older: Like it or not, all men eventually will have to deal with the idea of a prostate disease as a normal component to the aging process.Order from amazon.com
By John Aiello In this day and age, when the incidence of cardiovascular disease and diabetes are steadily rising, we have all been put on notice – it has now become time to bear full responsibility for yourself and learn to control those things you are consuming. It is beyond question that diet is at the core of good health; simply, a diet low in saturated fat and processed sugar, but high in fruits, fish and vegetables, can reduce the long-term risk for cancer and heart disease. In this book, Bennett and Sinatra confirm the work of scientific researchers who have for decades subscribed to the fact that too much sugar and too many carbohydrates can ravage the body's balance and cause an over-all system meltdown. Sugar Shock, which has enjoyed wide-spread critical acclaim, was written by journalist Connie Bennett (in collaboration with Dr. Stephen T. Sinatra), and it tells the story of how Bennett was able to kick her sugar habit, in turn healing herself of an array of symptoms (including long-standing bouts of fatigue).
Bennett, a confessed “sugar addict,” found the key to better health in a revision of her diet. And as we read through this book, Bennett's transformation provides keen insight into the simple fact that over-indulging in carbs and sugary treats can literally throw the body into ‘shock' - confusing the metabolic process and altering the way organ systems assimilate nutrients.
What's best about this book (aside from the wealth of practical data it imparts), is that Bennett's story is told in common terms – this isn't some distant scientific treatise steeped in nutritional charts and long-winded medical-center diatribes. To the contrary, Sugar Shock excels at speaking in a conversational tone that is at all times empathetic to the plight of the reader. Obviously, Bennett has been in your shoes and has played victim to an imbalanced diet. Accordingly, she is able to tell her story in blunt and human terms, inspiring her audience to take a more proactive role in monitoring their meals and protecting themselves. Recommended to readers who are battling obesity and struggling to kick a reliance on ‘quick energy foods' – in short, Sugar Shock is about coming to terms with the fact that the foods you are eating could be causing you to feel sick and lack drive. Further recommended to libraries in the public sector as a general reference text. Order from amazon.com
By John Aiello Many folks dream of dropping those extra pounds and replacing the flab with svelte muscle. The only thing is – they not only don't know how to get there. They don't know where to start. Yes, it's quite a daunting task – figuring out how to lose weight figuring out how to effectively exercise so those nagging pounds stay off and the motivation to move stays sky-high. Enter John Basedow. In this new book from fitness expert Basedow, readers will be presented with a step-by-step manual on how to confront the idea of exercise and diet in a rational and effective manner. Instead of writing another meaningless ‘how to diet' book long on words and short on stamina, Basedow has taken a different approach – looking to teach us that the key to weight control can only be discovered when you change the composition of your body: In essence, the secret is only as simple as replacing fat-mass with lean layers of muscle. Again, easier said then done, right? Well, not necessarily. Here, Basedow shares his secret to a healthier and stronger body – namely, combining elements of nutrition, exercise and nutritional supplements in order to safely reverse the path of a body gone out of control. And he writes: “Fitness made Simple gives people great results because it works with human nature, not against it. It's not a short-term diet; it's a lifestyle change. I'll get into details starting in the next chapter, but right now I'll give you three basic ideas that make Fitness made Simple work: The program I created based on those three ideas has helped people 18 to 80.” In these brief paragraphs, Basedow begins to forge his permanent road to good health – simply, it's about changing your lifestyle, not the things inside your refrigerator. And it's about motivating yourself to move rather than recline in front of the television set. Simply, it's a commitment to change bad attitudes and unproductive habits as you go about changing the face that stares back through the tangled lips of the mirror. Yet, going further, what's best about this manual is the way Basedow integrates passages of his own story into this fitness guide that offers heart-healthy recipes appended to instructions on how to effectively work out your body so fat lines slowly give way to muscle and tone. As we make our way through Fitness made Simple, we learn that Basedow himself had many personal challenges to overcome. And rather than running away and hiding, he met his challenges head-on, fighting against passivity, committing himself to a way-of-life and not some week-long fad. In sum, Fitness made Simple is a book about losing weight that shows rather than tells. Is it going to be easy? No way! Is it going to be worth it? Only you can answer that question – after you've honestly made the attempt to change your ways.
Recommended to anyone looking to lose weight and sharpen muscle tone in a safe
and sensible manner. Noted for its honest and straight-forward tone that never
wavers in its mantra – ‘success is up to the individual and not the
process.' Order from amazon.com
Reviewed by Rebecca Thomas Who would've thought that The Legend of Sleepy Hollow could be so destructive? In Nerds: Who They Are and Why We Need Them, David Anderegg uses Sleepy Hollow as one tool to explore the nerd stereotype in America and its effects on our society – especially on our children. When delving into the roots of our nation's nerd stereotype, Anderegg engages two bright American icons: Ralph Waldo Emerson's speech about the American Man of Action; and Washington Irving's Sleepy Hollow. Most of us have come to view Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman as a vital piece of Accordingly, Old European learning is defeated by American Action. And in the end, it is American Action who gets the girl. Yet, just what kind of message, Anderegg argues, is this sending to our children? Sit back and contemplate the question for a moment and you begin to see his point. The nerd stereotype seems to be a permanent part of modern life. At first, it seems harmless enough, a topic we can joke about, because, after all, we know that nerds can get by just fine on their own; thus, what's the harm in joking about them? But children see the equation much differently. Utilizing humor and thought-provoking analysis, Anderegg illustrates that the nerd stereotype is harmful to a child's development, evidencing his points by-way of pertinent pop-culture references, research data and a poignant series of interviews with young people on the subject. “We act like it's all in good fun to communicate to our kids that people who are smart and do well in school and like science fiction and computers are also people who smell bad and look ugly and are so repulsive that they are not allowed to have girlfriends. And then we wonder why it's so hard to motivate kids to do well in school.” (p.33) In short, Nerds is a call to arms for Anderegg argues that as children become more self-conscious, specifically between the ages of eight to thirteen (the “tween” years), they will do whatever it takes to be labeled as “normal.” Anderegg asserts that “tweens” “are precisely the kids who should be protected from nerd/geek stereotypes, because…they use these rigid stereotypes to make decisions (like concluding that “taking advanced math and science is for nerds”) that affect their school careers for several years.” (p. 173). Anderegg completely exhausts the topic of “nerdity” in this book. For example, in the opening chapter, The Field Guide to Nerds or Why Nerds Are so Gay, he defines the universal face of the nerd and then effectively explores the connection between nerds and magic. Packing the pages with detailed information, Anderegg makes Nerds a delight to read, giving us a fresh perspective on this harsh stereotype while inspiring readers to think twice before they use the word in the future. Moreover, this book will prove itself invaluable to parents as they start to teach their kids what words and nicknames can do to the one being labeled. Basically, if we want our children to succeed in disciplines like math and science and to have a true love for learning, we must nip this stereotype in the bud. Ultimately, Anderegg wrote Nerds to make us aware of the stereotype and of the problems it causes. And that, it seems, is the first step to our collective recovery.
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Rebecca Thomas is a freelance writer from
KNOCK YOURSELF UP. A Tell-all Guide to Becoming a Single Mom. Louise Sloan. Avery.By John Aiello Initially, I was going to assign this book to a contributing writer to The Electric Review – more specifically, I was going to assign it to a female writer who I thought might better be able to deal with the vast female perspective of Louise Sloan's very personal memoir. However, after being sucked into the vortex of this story by Sloan's evocative and layered writing, I decided that perhaps that tact would not do justice to the passion of her book or to its important message – the purpose of this book to bring attention to the changing perspectives of the culture and its traditional familial structure. Here, Sloan tells the story of her choice to become pregnant without having a husband, carefully escorting her readers into the every nuance of that decision. In Knock Yourself Up, we learn of the random things bouncing through Sloan's head as she sought a sperm donor as she grappled with questions about the inevitable changes that motherhood would bring to her life. Tough questions, indeed – with no formulaic answers at the ready. Instead, it's all comes down to individual eyes and how to make the process applicable to your own path. In Knock Yourself Up, Sloan throws down the gauntlet and frankly confronts the idea of single parenthood by choice. Stepping back and looking at this equation objectively is difficult, since everything we've been taught is centered in the tradition of the mother-father family unit (as evinced by our television culture where “Leave it to Beaver” serves as everyone's picture of the perfect home-life). Yet, as Sloan shows us, “Leave it to Beaver” isn't everyone's dream, and there are women out there who hunger to know the wonders of motherhood without being married; and Sloan writes: “My original intention with this book was to start with the idea that a mature single woman with adequate resources having a baby thoughtfully on her own was an OK thing to do, and move on from there…” You see, above all else, Sloan is writing about freedom, writing about the idea of liberty, writing about the concept of individuality. Basically, this book says that it is perfectly fine to be yourself and act in your best interests, saying that it's perfectly acceptable to live your life as you see fit rather than as someone else expects you to live. Yet, going further, Sloan makes an even deeper statement – that individuality doesn't have to stop at questions of dress or sexual orientation; instead, these questions can extend to how you choose to structure your family and how you choose to help further the collective cause of the world. As readers will quickly learn, Knock Yourself Up transcends ‘straight versus gay,' transcending ‘right versus left.' Rather, the book's about the idea that single parents can in fact present a child with an ordered and happy home life…if they themselves are strong individuals with self-actualized cores and a true understanding of their place in the world. I surmise that many traditionalists will take umbrage with Sloan's point of view and with the family unit she has created. However, even if you disagree with her ideals, you must tip your hat to this lady's guts – for it takes a strong stomach to step out alone into these uncertain times and raise a child without ‘dad' around. In addition, it takes much courage to step out as a writer and tell the world such a personal story. Accordingly, readers will be touched not only by Sloan's writing but by her passionate honesty and fragile human-ness. Recommended to all women thinking of becoming mothers – even if your married, the themes Sloan touches on here are universal in tone and speak to the mission of mothers in both traditional and non-traditional relationships. Order from amazon.com
Reviewed by Frank Aiello Many of the essays in this text are intensely autobiographical ruminations, such as Stewart Shapiro's introductory essay, subtitled “Ruminations of a Fool” (from Psalms 14:1). Here, the Orthodox Judaism of Shapiro's childhood cannot survive his questioning of the literal reading of Genesis, eventually falling victim to God's demand that Abraham sacrifice his son, Isaac. Viewed in the context of the demands of the “War on Terror” on both the man of faith and the doubter, some of Shapiro's skepticism hits very close to home: “Lots of people did what Abraham was prepared to do—sacrifice a close relative in obedience to a higher power...Nowadays, we read almost daily of people who kill innocent human beings claiming that they are doing what God wants. We call them terrorists, or would-be terrorists, if (like Abraham) they are stopped at the last minute...Whatever else we may think of such people, I presume that we do not doubt the sincerity of their beliefs. They must be sincere, since many of them deliberately kill themselves in the process. It is the beliefs themselves that are sick, demented, irrational. No God would want this, we tell ourselves. The philosopher in me still asks the question: What's the difference between the near sacrifice of Isaac and contemporary religious terrorism?” Like Shapiro, Edwin Curley's doubts began in adolescence, at a time when he could not accept the articles of religion (including predestination), nor accept the doctrine that said that “most people, whatever their shortcomings, had sinned so extravagantly that they deserved eternal punishment.” In addition, Curley also could not reconcile the dilemma of the free will defense (w</SPAN>hich argues that freedom and the moral goodness which may result from it can solve the problem of evil). As Curley puts it: “There is a problem, of course, about appealing to human freedom to solve the problem of evil when you also believe in predestination and divine foreknowledge.” Once again mirroring Shapiro, Curley is outwardly troubled by God's admonition to Abraham in Genesis 22. And in his distress, he offers a lucid description of his heretic conversion: “If there is a God who is liable to command anything, and if our highest loyalty must be to this God, there is no act — save disobedience to God — that we can safely say is out of bounds, no act of a kind that simply must not be done, not even genocide...If the mass slaughter of the innocent is not wrong, then we don't know how to tell the difference between right and wrong, even in what would appear to be the clearest cases. We must either give up Christianity or give up morality. I choose heresy.” Who are we and where are we going? Do we need God to light the way? Or is this concept of the divine but an illusion that provides a thick salve for our failures, allowing us to cope with death and make it one more day? Obviously, these are questions for the ages, and they speak to the holy mysteries that have haunted man since the dawn of time. In turn, Recommended as a supporting class text in all philosophy courses that examine the idea of religion. In addition, the general reader will likely find this book compelling as they proceed forth on their own solitary journey. © Frank Aiello. 2007. All rights reserved. Frank Aiello and The Electric Review.
TEN MINUTES WITH AUTHOR LOUISE ANTONY Can you tell me a bit about your background? I grew up in upstate |
