For professional travelers ….

I read mainly when I travel, which means that I have lots of half-read books by my bedside at home.  Airport security being what it is, I tend to arrive early, and browse the bookstores while waiting for a flight.  I generally buy one or two new books per trip.  Those that have barely roused my interest lie half-finished, after having been tossed from my suitcase on my return, and languish on the floor until we move house ….. at which point they are disposed of by my wife, who is much less sentimental than I about these things …. for even the modest books I would tend to amass.

This blog is not for academic scholars, but for those individuals who fancy a good read of any nature. We can all be absorbed by a great book, even the dyslexic among us.  And I have to admit that my Mother used to skim through books to see what happened at the end!  My father had a more academic approach, and even wrote a few novels in English and Czech. Now that I have bared my soul, I invite you to check out these books, good and bad, to make comments, and to suggest other choice morsels of note.

Enjoy!

Hunting Eichmann by Neal Bascomb

Published: First Mariner Books, 2010

I have tried to avoid confronting the Holocaust head-on because I find it so unbelievably depressing ….. indeed I have passed by this chilling and engaging book so many times in the airport book stores, and instead taken the easy path by purchasing some other ….

But the principals in this story chose not to take the easy path ….  when all others had moved on for political or personal reasons, they persisted in their search for the architects of the massacre of 6 million jews.

Every man, woman and child needs to be thoroughly aware of the fate of those who perished, and of those who perpetrated their crimes. Of concern to me is the question: should this happen today in our own community, what would our reaction be?  Isuspect that, in reality, it would be no different …..  we would turn a blind eye, concerned only about our own lives, and those of our families. Even the Catholic church was complicit in hiding and protecting thousands of Eichmanns after the war. Few States and Countries were without Nazi sympathizers, many at a high level, in government, in the Church, amongst royalty. 

The sad story is that ethnic and religious cleansing continues unabated around the world in locations not immediately in front of our eyes.

Rating:  Z-Best

Z-Best, Z-OK, Z-worst

“The Girl Who ….” Stieg Larsson Trilogy

Writing this best seller took Stieg Larsson a boatload of talent, research, dedication, and focus.  But if he were still alive today, he would undoubtedly express his gratitude to Reg Keeland who captured the essence, the flavor and innuendo of the original text of this epic trilogy, so that the English-speaking world has access to this most satisfying series of books!

It is eerily strange that the book seems to mirror Larsson’s own life, and even more strange that he died shortly after having delivered the manuscripts to his publisher for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.

Americans are ignorant of many things European, but still the series is flying off the shelves.  Larsson weaves together a plot and scenario so convincing that one is not sure what is fiction and what is an accurate portrayal of life in Sweden. Most of us live in ignorance of child abuse, prostitution, police and political inturpitude, and business shenanigans. But here it is all brought to life, and is very much in your face. It’s impossible not to appreciate the heroine, with whom it would be best not to tangle.

Z-Best

Ratings: Z-Best, Z-OK, Z-worst

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

Algonquin Books, 2009

I couldn’t put this depressing book down ….. personal happiness at any cost, even one’s own life ….. the sordid nature of love is that it knows no rationality, is driven by the very insanity it creates, only to be let down oh so cruelly when the wasted effervescence is gone.

Goolrick has given us The Reliable Wife, one who is not what she appears. I have known grown men, clever men, experienced men, be deceived in a similar fashion.  I tell my students that ‘it’ is all about sex, power, and money, and for a time at least, we can all be swayed by the allure of love.  Three cheers for this wonderful novel, a great period piece, you can almost feel the velvet …..

Z-Best

Ratings: Z-Best, Z-OK, Z-worst

Denialism by Michael Specter

How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives

Penguin Press, New York, 2009

I first heard about Michael Specter while listening to National Public Radio, in an interview that was surely worth the annual subscription …. and what a breath of fresh air! For too long we have been bombarded with too many crazy people telling us how to live our lives, what to eat, what keeps us healthy, how to be ‘natural’, and other BS.  The au current will tell us that vaccines kill our children, that we can’t exist without antioxidants, that we have to keep out of the sun (OK … I believe that UVB causes cancer) but surely a little sunshine is good for us ?

This book examines many of these and other issues that may have a smattering of relevance, but generally are promoted in such a fanatic manner as to become nonsense. Who says that antioxidents cure cancer, or have any real benefit outside the test tube? And is it not clear that excessive doses of vitamins are often toxic to us?

Specter is the most rational of men, and brings us these facts in reasoned, thoroughly researched and supported manner. This book should be standard reference text for all healthcare providers and philosophers alike.

Z-Best

Ratings: Z-Best, Z-OK, Z-worst

The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer

Minotaur Books. New York 2009. Fiction.

Le Carre is one of my favorite authors, and in some ways Steinhauer, in The Tourist, maganged to capture some of his style, though without the slog and attention to focus one occasionally needs in Le Carre’s books. Fast paced, plots as complex as an aging Claret, and as current as the Wall Street Journal, this will keep you rivited from LA to JFK!

Z-Best

Ratings: Z-Best, Z-OK, Z-worst

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