Book defends use of mercenaries
By CARL HARTMAN
For The Associated Press
“Highway to Hell — Dispatches From a Mercenary in Iraq” (Broadway Books 273 pages, $24.95), by John Geddes: It’s a chatty British page-turner that describes a lot of “slotting along a dual carriageway.”
Do you need an interpreter?
John Geddes’ actual style is a lot more reader-friendly than that, though he seems to think any American ought to understand that “slotting” is British military slang for killing. “Dual carriageway” just means any two-way road or street. That could be an understated British way to describe the desolate 330-mile stretch between Baghdad and Iraq’s border with Jordan. Geddes calls it the “Highway to Hell.”
His writing involves copious use of what most American publications call expletives — an uncensored version of the speech habits in American as well as British armed forces. Geddes spells out all the words. Read more …
Spitz biography’s timing couldn’t be more perfect
By Howard Cohen
McClatchy Newspapers
“Mark Spitz,” by Richard J. Foster (Santa Monica, $24.95)
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Richard J. Foster’s authorized biography of Mark Spitz could not have come along at a more opportune time. On Saturday, swimming events begin in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics, where Spitz’s name will be heard repeatedly. The 58-year-old Californian, who made two Olympic teams (1968 and ‘72), is inextricably linked with this year’s golden boy Michael Phelps from Maryland who, at 23 and in his second Olympics, aims to beat Spitz’s record-setting haul of seven gold medals at the Munich games in 1972. Read more …
Book review: The gang’s back: Werewolves, vampires and all
BY SARA ROSE
Associated Press Writer
“Breaking Dawn” (Little, Brown and Company, 754 pages, $22.99) by Stephenie Meyer: The heartbreakingly beautiful vampires, loyal werewolves and emotionally torn humans are back for one last round in “Breaking Dawn,” the fourth and last installment in the fanatically loved “Twilight Saga” series.
It’s a book with some surprises. But the big event takes place near the tale’s beginning, leaving the rest of the pages free to detail (and detail, and detail) the shockwaves.
Like the other books in the series, “Breaking Dawn” is a story of a community of vampires living relatively peacefully among humans. It examine what happens when a vampire and human fall in love, and the implications for their friendships, families, and life itself. Read more …
Book Review: Unraveling a twisty mystery involving crazy relatives
COCKATIELS AT SEVEN
By Donna Andrews
St. Martin’s Minotaur,
304 pages, $23.95
Reviewed by David Marshall James
A metalworker ought to have nerves of steel. One slip of the wrist could lead to a failed objet d’art or a super-serious burn.
Newlywed Meg Lanslow may be a whiz when it comes to forging creations out of her blacksmith’s furnace, but she nearly falls to pieces when it comes to having a baby.
Actually, he’s a 2-year-old who isn’t so terrible, as long as his blanket and “security” stuffed kitty are within chubby arm’s reach. Also, “Auntie Meg” must quickly pull herself together to figure out why the toddler’s mother has dropped him off with Meg and not bothered to return for long hours turning into days. Read more …
Million-selling opening for vampire series finale
Harry Potter is still king, but the final book of Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series did manage a million-selling debut.
“Breaking Dawn,” the fourth of Meyer’s sensational teen vampire series, sold 1.3 million copies in the first 24 hours after its midnight, Aug. 2 release. Publisher Little, Brown Books for Young Readers announced Monday that it has gone back for 500,000 more copies, making the total print run 3.7 million.
The numbers for “Breaking Dawn” are comparable to the openings of a pair of famous memoirs: former President Clinton’s “My Life” and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s “Living History.” But they don’t approach the unveiling of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” The seventh and final volume of J.K. Rowling’s fantasy series sold 8.3 million copies in its first 24 hours in the United States alone.
— Associated Press
Vampire love: Mormon housewife wrote mega-selling teen-vampire romance saga
By NATASHA DERRICK
nderrick@thestate.com
“I read ‘Twilight,’ before it was cool to read ‘Twilight,’” Ellen Tweedy proudly proclaims on a button on her Facebook page.
Just when did it become “cool” to read “Twilight?” For that matter, what exactly is “Twilight”?
The saga, as it’s referred to by author Stephenie Meyer, began five years ago as an epic 498-page love story of a clumsy girl named Bella Swan who falls for an incredibly gorgeous vampire named Edward Cullen. She’s 17 and mortal; he’s been 17 for nearly 100 years with no end in sight. Oh, and he’s extremely attracted to the scent of her blood.
Their tumultuous relationship was chronicled in two sequels, “New Moon” and “Eclipse.” The fourth and final book of the series, “Breaking Dawn,” will be released Saturday. Read more …
I don’t mean to complain, but …
By Barbara Rose
Chicago Tribune
Jon Gordon seems like a great guy. He’s funny, he’s upbeat. Hundreds turn out to hear what he has to say about succeeding in life and work.
His latest book, “The No Complaining Rule, Positive Ways to Deal with Negativity at Work,” is a fictional account based on a real-life story about a health-care staffing company where the chief executive implemented a no-complaining policy.
I took the self-assessment at the end of his book and guess what? I’m a complainer. Not a “major complainer,” but a complainer nonetheless.
Gordon’s book said I spend too much time on the “Complain Train” and I need to get on the “Energy Bus” instead. But before I board the bus, I’m summoning energy for one last train ride.
Here are my five biggest complaints about Gordon and his book: Read more …
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