.: Knowledge Base

Pax
Author: Meg Davis ISBN: 1591134579The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews These are dark times for the people of the Golden Circle Alliance. The elves,dwarves and humans have been defeated by a nameless enemy from the north,shattering the alliance. Just before the end, King Thine, leader of thealliance, hid his daughter (and heir) so well that many thorough searches havefailed to find her.This might not be so significant, except for the fact...
(No rating) 12-26-2005 Views: 4854

Beyond the Bus Stop: 180 Ways to Help Your Child Succeed in School
Author: Robert E. Weyhmuller, Jr.ISBN: 0325001251The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews When it comes to success in school, children cannot do it alone; they need theassistance of their parents. This book consists of many ways that parents canhelp their child thrive in school. It covers students from pre-school to highschool. Areas like study skills, homework, math, reading and writing arecovered.Read aloud to your child. Find books that...
(No rating) 1-14-2006 Views: 7137

Tesseracts Nine
Authors: Nalo Hopkinson and Geoff Ryman (ed.)ISBN: 1894063265The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsHere is the latest in a yearly collection of speculative fiction stories andpoems from north of the border, in Canada.At an isolated research station in the north, one story concerns talkinglemmings who are looking forward to being eaten by other predators. There is amodern-day vampire story. Mother Teresa moves into an elderly woman's home,...
(No rating) 7-15-2006 Views: 4501

Withdrawal
Author: Michael HoffmanISBN: 1403369402The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews Set in present-day Canada, somewhere near Toronto, this is the story of LenFishman. In his mid-40s, he has returned home after 25 years of aimlesswandering, mostly in Africa. He lives with his mother, in the house in which hegrew up, sleeping on a couch in what used to be his room.Len discovers that Saul, his father, was an amateur philosopher who, perhaps,was not...
(No rating) 1-16-2006 Views: 2340

Frustrated Young Men
Author: John O'Brien: ISBN 0974619604 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews This is a first book from a recent Harvard graduate.These stories deal with real-life subjects, likedepression, love and loneliness. One story looks atparts of growing up and being a teenager about whichsociety has a tendency to forget. Another story isabout a man who carries on a friendship/relationshipwith a young woman with bulimia, to the displeasure ofhis...
(No rating) 4-14-2005 Views: 3975

Inner Coach - Outer Power
Title: Inner Coach - Outer PowerAuthor: Keith Varnum ISBN 189156949X (8/10)The Following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: To view Paul Lappen's other reviews click: Paul Lappen's ReviewsUsing the author's own experiences, this book tellshow anyone can free themselves from emotional andpsychological boundaries and embrace the possibilitiesinherent in this thing called life.There are lifelong spirit guides that Varnum callsAscended Masters, nonphysical beings who impart...
(No rating) 10-12-2004 Views: 16132

Night Soldiers
Author: Peter TuscaroraISBN: 1413766137 Set in the near future, Earth has been taken over by capitalism. Countries havebecome economic zones. There are lots of Little-Rich left, like entertainers andsports stars, but the world is run by five Super-Rich people, calledCapitalists. Individually worth trillions of dollars, they each run a specificpart of the world. Within their areas, they exert absolute control, and there isconstant battle with the other four Capitalists. Techno-military updates...
(No rating) 1-5-2007 Views: 3648

Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered
Author: Carolyn Howard-Johnson: ISBN: 1591295505The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews This is a group of stories about family, and theoccasional strangeness that goes along with it. Asequel to her novel This is The Place, about growingup Mormon in Utah, these stories are partrecollections by older members of the family, and partthings that actually happened to the author when shewas younger.During a drive in the country with her...
(No rating) 4-14-2005 Views: 6273

The Muse and the Mechanism
Author: Josh Davis: ISBN: 0974726176 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews This is the story of Charlie Fell, a twenty somethingwriter living in the small town of Alton. It's arather grubby sort of life, watching his friendssmoke, drink and use various other illicit substances.James, one of Charlie's housemates, is a fall-downdrunk who imprints the outline of his body inCharlie's ceiling because of one of his falls. Charliefinds...
(No rating) 7-8-2005 Views: 2635

Out of Season:The Johnny Luster Story
Author: Mary E. Adams ISBN: 096398697XThe following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews This is the story of Alaska's last great mountainman, a man who was born twocenturies too late.Luster was born in the early 1900s on a Shoshone reservation in Wyoming. From anearly age, he was more interested in hunting and trapping by himself out in thewilderness than in conventional things like school and getting a job. Somethingof a smart aleck, he was constantly...
(No rating) 1-11-2006 Views: 6096

Society at the Crossroads: Choosing the Right Road
Author: Steven Cord ISBN: 0971174245The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews In some ways, America has never had it so good. There is more prosperity, lessdiscrimination and great scientific advances. But, America has to deal withinvoluntary poverty, crime, drug use, violence in the media and falling schoolstandards. While these problems have surface causes, the fundamental cause is aradical change in attitudes, specifically ethical relativism....
(No rating) 1-17-2006 Views: 4263

How to Love the Job You Hate: Job Satisfaction for the 21st Century
Author: Jane Boucher ISBN: 0967959101 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews For a variety of reasons, everyone seems to hate their job these days. This bookshows how to discover just what the problem may be, and how to fall back in lovewith your job.What sort of personality do you have? Are you a detail-person, interested inanalysis and interpretation of information, who finds yourself in apeople-person job? Are you a support-person, best...
(No rating) 1-9-2006 Views: 4098

We Know What You Want: How They Change Your Mind
Author: Martin HowardISBN: 1932857052 The marketers and public relations firms of this world are constantly improvingthe myriad of ways they have to get inside your head and manipulate you to theirway of thinking. This book looks at some of them.Today's supermarkets intentionally place popular items, like milk and bread, asfar from the entrance as possible. That way, the shopper must pass all thoseimpulse items at the end of each aisle. Also, they are subjected to muzak tracksthat will cause...
(No rating) 10-30-2006 Views: 7446

The Tower at Moorkai
Author: H. David BlalockISBN: 1591135133The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsHere is the third in a series about the island of Adylonis, and the Houses vyingfor control of the island. After many years of vacancy, Andalarn Thran, leaderof House Thran, is named Ascendant (in effect, Prime Minister of the islandunder the Emperor on the mainland). This is guaranteed to upset a lot of people,starting with House Suum, a military House who makes no...
(No rating) 7-14-2006 Views: 6025

How to Teach Your Baby to Read
Authors: Glenn Doman and Janet Doman ISBN: 1591170079The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews According to this book, little children (0-5 years old) are more intelligent andcapable of learning than previously imagined. After it is understood that theyhave a huge amount of curiosity about the world around them, the authorsstrongly recommend enriching a child's environment by teaching them to read.The Institutes for the Achievement of Human...
(No rating) 4-25-2006 Views: 3649

101 Simple Suggestions and Quotations to Express
Author: Linda M. Furiate ISBN: 0595324134 The following review was submitted by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsOne of the hardest things for any person to do is toshow compassion and empathy toward someone else. Whena person is grieving, or otherwise having a very hardtime, what does one say or do without going overboard?This book gives the answer.Here are some examples. If someone close to you hasrecently lost a loved one or has been in an accident,send them a card, to...
(No rating) 10-12-2005 Views: 5821

Ship of Fools
Author: Richard Paul Russo ISBN: 0441008933 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsThe multi-generation starship Argonos has aimlessly wandered the galaxy forhundreds of years, searching for any signs of life. Its original mission anddestination have long ago been forgotten. Returning to Earth is not an option,for it has become a toxic, irradiated wasteland.A mysterious signal draws the ship to an abandoned colony on an Earth-likeplanet....
(No rating) 7-14-2006 Views: 5467

The Courtesan Prince
Author: Lynda Williams ISBN: 1894063289The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsSet approximately one thousand years from now, this is the story of the firsttwo interstellar Earth colonies. They were abandoned by Earth after the failureof early attempts at faster-than-light travel. The problems were solved, butideological differences concerning genetic engineering caused outlaw scientiststo sever all contact with Earth and set up their own...
(No rating) 7-14-2006 Views: 5432

The Cattle
Author: Greg M. SarwaISBN: 0976620219 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsAs part of the Real ID Act of 2005, the National Identification System iscreated for American citizens as an anti-terrorism measure. The government goesinto overdrive, collecting personal information to be stored in a highly secureddatabase. Another part of the law mandates the injection of a RFID (radiofrequency identification) chip in all American citizens, and all...
(No rating) 7-14-2006 Views: 5256

Staking Out the Home Landscape
TITLE: Staking Out the Home LandscapeAUTHOR: Paul E. Stake ISBN: 0971917205The Following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: To view Paul Lappen's Other Reviews Click Paul Lappen's ReviewsThis book consists of a series of newspaper columns ongardening, published between 1995-2002 in theWillimantic, Connecticut Chronicle. Stake was aprofessor in the University of Connecticut College ofAgriculture and Natural Resources for more than 25years, until failing health forced his...
(No rating) 10-12-2004 Views: 3464

Red Flash
Author: Kiva WolfeISBN: 1933157062 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsDominick Stanovic is a handsome former triathlete who is part of the family gembusiness in present-day Colorado. He learns that his young nephew was killed bythe Russian Mafia, and stumbles upon a smuggling operation involving his family,the Russians and the Brazilian Mafia.Older brother Serg Stanovic is head of the family gem business, built with helpfrom the Russian...
(No rating) 5-2-2006 Views: 4957

Rainy Day People
Authors: Susan C. Haley with Robert J.DelanyISBN: 0741428741 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsWidowed early, Amber is living by herself by the ocean in Florida. She has aquiet connection with nature, and a wild, reckless side, That is characterizedby her enjoyment of speeding along in her silver convertible, while heavy metalblasts from the car stereo.During a trip into town, Amber meets a man in a local bookstore. There is somesort...
(No rating) 5-2-2006 Views: 2710

Afterburn
Author: S.L. Viehl ISBN: 0451460294 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsPart of a series, this novel is about the planet Kevarzangia Two, and itswater-breathing inhabitants.The Hsktskt slavers have been pushed out of the quadrant, so the four sentientraces, who call themselves the Allied League of Worlds, meet on K-2 for a peaceconference. The participants, two air-breathing races and two water-breathingraces, don't particularly like each...
(No rating) 7-14-2006 Views: 5019

Meditation in a New York Minute
Author: Mark ThorntonISBN: 1591794293In this hectic, 24/7 world, meditation is one of the last things for which mostpeople have any time. This book shows a number of easy ways that anyone can do"mini-meditations" at any time during the day, and that take only one minute ata time.Everyone has an area of calm deep inside themselves. Accessing that area willdecrease stress, re-energize yourself, and enliven the spirit, without closingyour eyes and sitting in a lotus position for...
(No rating) 2-26-2007 Views: 6224

Stealing Magic
Author: Tanya Huff ISBN: 1894063340 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsThis book consists of 2 separate sets of fantasy stories, with differentback-to-back covers (reminiscent of the old Ace Doubles).On one side are stories of Terazin, top-notch thief. To join the Thieves' Guild,one does not simply knock on the front door and ask for an application. It isnecessary to break into the building and make it to the inner sanctum deepunderground,...
(No rating) 7-15-2006 Views: 7255

The SeXX Factor: Breaking the Unwritten Codes that Sabotage Personal and Professional Lives
Authors: Marilou Ryder and Judith BrilesISBN: 0882822187The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsBased on interviews with thousands of men and women, this book exploresattitudes and behaviors of women that cause men to get resentful or angry. Womentherefore find themselves needlessly impeded in their daily lives.If women want to be taken seriously at work, then how is the wearing of sexy andrevealing clothing to work going to help? Most men are...
(No rating) 12-29-2005 Views: 7216

Forbidden Cargo
Author: Rebecca K. RoweISBN: 1894063163 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsSet in 22nd Century Earth, this is the story of two young women caught in themiddle of a power struggle regarding the future of human evolution.The Order has set up a research facility on Mars, where they have created a raceof nano-DNA hybrids called imagofas, thought by many to be the next step inhuman evolution. The Council, on Earth, considers imagofas to be a...
(No rating) 7-14-2006 Views: 6093

Use History Like a Tool
Author: Steven Levy ISBN: 1563437740The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews History, that bane of many a high school and college education, is presented ina different and much more interesting way than in school. History is more thanjust names and dates; it is about the motion of people and events. This bookalso looks at a series of "laws" that anyone can use in their daily lives.An important aspect of history is that it is best...
(No rating) 4-25-2006 Views: 3666

Nirvana
Author: Kevin Marley:ISBN: 1411622197The present review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews A Human Soul is watching the people of Earth from Heaven, knowing that he isabout to be sent there to become human. He is born as Ray Sawol of Philadelphia.Ray grows up in present-day America, about which the author has very little goodto say. His parents get divorced, because of his father's infidelity. Ray is ona constant search for enlightenment, for that undefinable...
(No rating) 1-17-2006 Views: 2391

Sky Bounce
Author: Deanna Miller ISBN: 0972542418The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews In a different plane of existence, Hesper the Alulaand Tristan the Boytaur are secret friends, eventhough their species are supposed to have nothing todo with each other. Late at night, they like to goflying, with Hesper and her wings supplying the wingpower, and holding on to Tristan, a four-leggedcentaur. The leaders of Hesper's people find out, and,as a...
(No rating) 10-22-2005 Views: 4913

October Mourning: A Novel of the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic
Author: James Rada, Jr,ISBN: 0971459932The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews In late 1918, World War I is winding down, but America's major cities, likeBoston and Philadelphia, are being decimated by Spanish Flu.The disease hasn't yet reached Columbia, Maryland, where Dr. Alan Keener, freshout of medical school, treats a young mother named Sarah. She is feeling sickand feverish, classic flu symptoms, for which she is told to go home and...
(No rating) 4-18-2006 Views: 4224

Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World
Authors: Noam Chomsky and David BarsamianISBN: 080507967X The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews In this new set of interviews, America's foremost intellectual activist looks atnew questions of US domestic and foreign policy.In September 2002, the American government announced a new national securitystrategy. Instead of pre-emptive war, which might be covered by the UN Charter,the new strategy will be one of preventive war, which is not...
(No rating) 6-13-2006 Views: 3806

Identity Theft
Author: Silver Lake Publishing StaffISBN: 1563437775The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews Identity theft is the fastest growing consumer threat in America. The explosionof computer and graphics technology has made it a much easier crime toperpetrate than in the past. It is the sort of crime that can happen to anyone,and be perpetrated by anyone.The most practical documents to obtain for an identity thief are a SocialSecurity Card or a...
(No rating) 12-29-2005 Views: 2810

Burn This Book
DreamslaughterISBN: 0997136809 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews This book of quotations had its beginnings in various internet chat rooms overthe past 10 years. That is why the online name Dreamslaughter was chosen as theauthor. It was discovered that using quotes from famous people was a good way tosupport positions in political discussions.Here are some of those quotes:"I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which,...
(No rating) 1-8-2006 Views: 4652

Eve
Author: Aurelio O'Brien ISBN: 1418421588The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsGovil is a man born in the wrong century. In thetradition of all great 19th Century heroes, he needs agreat cause, so he creates for himself a living matenamed Eve. But that's easy for Govil to do.Earth of the 31st Century is a very strange sort ofplace. There are no births or deaths; everyone isimmortal. Everyone is sterile, because things like sexand families...
(No rating) 7-15-2005 Views: 5018

The Angelic Prophecy
Author: Robert L. Hecker ISBN: 159426256X Michael Modesto is your average hard-driving rock star who is getting tired ofthe music life style. At a post-concert party, he meets a young woman named MarySchaefer, who doesn't look or act like the typical groupie. Against his betterjudgment, he accompanies her to a local hospital that treats crack babies. Heholds one of the babies, and is suddenly convulsed by extreme pain throughouthis body. When he recovers, he finds that the baby is cured....
(No rating) 10-28-2006 Views: 2931

Zollocco: A Novel of Another Universe
Author: Cynthia JoyceISBN: 1594577838 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsThis story is about a woman who, having escaped from adying Earth, lands on a planet governed by sentientforests in the solar system Imenkapur. At first, theforest, called Zollocco, doesn't want her there, butslowly changes its "mind" after realizing that thewoman is at least trying to live in harmony with theforest.She is captured by, and made the...
(No rating) 7-20-2005 Views: 6123

50 Facts That Should Change the World
Autor: Jessica WilliamsISBN: 0972952969The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsHere is another example of the bad job done by themainstream media in informing Americans about thestate of the world. This book presents a number offacts, with accompanying essays, that will not becovered on the evening news.In 2002, more than 80 percent of the world'sexecutions took place in just three countries, China,Iran and America. Black men born in the...
(No rating) 4-16-2005 Views: 5567

Silver Creek
Author: A.H. HoltISBN: 0803496001The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews Several years ago, John Garrett left his father's Arizona cattle ranch, vowingnever to return. Now, a neighboring ranch owner, Tim Hostetter, has beenmurdered, and Garrett cattle have taken over the ranch. An employee of anotherneighboring ranch, owned by Russ Blaine, is found murdered, and some Blainecattle are missing. Garrett's father, Mason, has made no secret of his...
(No rating) 1-8-2006 Views: 3342

The Burning House
Author: H. David BlalockISBN: 1591134390 The following review has been submitted by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsThis is part two of a six-part fantasy series aboutAndalarn Thran, Jarl (leader) of House Thran, one ofseveral Houses on the island of Adylonis. For severalcenturies, no House has had the power to becomeAscendant (to become "Crown Prince" of Adylonis, underthe Emperor on the mainland). Therefore, the choice ofAndalarn Thran, by the Council at...
(No rating) 7-13-2005 Views: 8587

The Intellligence Files: Today's Secrets, Tomorrow's Scandals
Author: Olivier SchmidtISBN: 0932863426 This is a collection of articles from a European online journal calledIntelligence. They deal with that netherworld where national and internationalpolitics, the military and the spy business intersect.It sounds like a good thing for developing countries to put aside large tractsof land for "nature." Such a practice has now become required to receive Westernaid. The poorer a country is, the more land they have to take out of production.How can...
(No rating) 10-20-2006 Views: 3118

Cerulean Blue
Author: Wray MillerISBN: 0972394818 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsThis story is about a near-future Earth, totally changed by a new species ofalgae called Cerulean Blue (years are no longer denominated in AD - Anno Domini,but acb - after cerulean blue). Among its unique properties are the ability toslow the aging process for any animal, including humans, that ingests it. Thealgae also contains plenty of oxygen, so a person could live...
(No rating) 7-14-2006 Views: 8143

God Drug
Author: Stephen L. AntczakISBN: 1892669331(science fiction - 9/10)The following review was submitted by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsTom and Sparrow, his lover, are part of the punk musicscene in present-day Gainesville, Florida. Sparrow ispart of a band that has a gig at Dave-O's, the localpunk music club. Earlier that day, they score someLSD, that was not meant for them, from Galactic Bill,the local drug source.Meantime, near Atlanta, Georgia, a young woman...
(No rating) 7-13-2005 Views: 16598

Turn Off Your Mind: The Mystic Sixties and the Dark Side of the Age of Aquarius
AuthorL Gary LachmanISBN: 0971394237 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews Amid all the other revolutions that happened in the 1960s - sexual, social andpolitical - another revolution took place that has been overlooked byhistorians. A revival of the occult affected all parts of daily life, from theBeatles' journey into psychedelia to the movie Rosemary's Baby to the novelSteppenwolf.There have always been those interested in the idea of...
(No rating) 1-6-2006 Views: 9222

Jerome and the Seraph
Author: Robina WilliamsISBN: 1931201544 At a rural friary in Britain, Brother Jerome slips and cracks his head open onthe gravestone of Brother Aloysius. Jerome is killed instantly. When he wakesup, he is not in Heaven, but alone in a gray, featureless sort of place. Thefirst person he meets is Brother Aloysius, who apologizes for the circumstancesof Jerome's death. Jerome eventually meets up with all the dead Brothers of thefriary. The "leader" or "guide" of the group is...
(No rating) 10-29-2006 Views: 2933

Raising a Reader: A Mother's Tale of Desperation and Delight
Author: Jennie Nash ISBN 0312315341 (non-fiction/child care - 9/10)The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews Teaching a child to read, and getting that child tolike reading, can be one of the most frustrating, andheartwarming, jobs for any parent. This book looks atone family's journey through such a process.One of a parent's biggest wishes for their child isthat they find something about which they arepassionate, something on which they...
(No rating) 4-14-2005 Views: 4029

Cyberjihad
Aurhor: Robert Lanzone ISBN: 1420821458The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews Unbeknownst to the average person, the world is run bya group of interconnected computer networks called theControl Grid, or the Global Security Network. It runseverything from stock markets to America's missiledefense shield.Kyle Pemberton is a Wall Street IT whiz. He takes on aspecial overseas assignment at his firm after thedeath of his friend, and predecessor,...
(No rating) 10-26-2005 Views: 2031

Dragon Tamer
Title: Dragon TamerAuthor:Cole Barton ISBN: 1553952766 This review was contributed by: Paul Lappen -CLICK TO VIEW>>>>Paul Lappen's ReviewsBlake Morgan is a DEA agent. He is involved in twomajor arrest operations, one involving drug running inMexico, and the other involving drug and peoplesmuggling in Seattle. Both are solid arrests, the kindwhere convictions are practically guaranteed. That is,until both suspects are released, and granted immunityfrom prosecution by someone very...
(No rating) 10-22-2004 Views: 2821

At the Threshold of Liquid Geology and Other Automatic
Author: Eric W. Bragg:ISBN: 0595240216 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsTo quote from the back cover of this book: "Thismodern collection of surrealist prose-poems wasinspired by the improvisational method of automaticwriting, popularized by the International Surrealistmovement. From one brain to another without anyliterary rules or standards; the words in theseautomatic writings are not just words, but rays...
(No rating) 12-1-2004 Views: 2075

Booby-Trapped: How to Feel Normal in a Breast-Obsessed
Title: Booby-Trapped: How to Feel Normal in a Breast-ObsessedWorld:Author: Nili Sachs ISBN: 1931646457The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews(Deep Breath) This book looks at a group of women in apsychological therapy group, exploring subjects likefemininity and body image in general, and breast sizein particular.The women are of varying ages and backgrounds. Theirpersonal self-images range from pretty good to awful.The youngest member...
(No rating) 10-31-2004 Views: 22740

The Wave
Author: Walter Mosley ISBN: 0446533637 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsFor the past few nights, Errol Porter has been harassed by strange crank phonecalls. One night, the caller says that he is Errol's father. In the middle ofthe night, Errol breaks into the cemetery where his father was buried severalyears previously. There he finds GT, who looks, talks and acts like a younger,healthier version of his father. Errol takes him home for...
(No rating) 7-15-2006 Views: 5284

Party Like a Rock Star Even When You're Poor as Dirt
Author: Camper English ISBN: 1555838774The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews This book gives many ways for people to save money on their rock and rolllife-style.The single best thing to do is to visit many websites as possible, for bands,clubs, art galleries, etc, depending on your interests. While you're there, lookfor freebies or other discounts, but sign up for their e-mail list. The vastmajority of messages received will be little...
(No rating) 4-8-2006 Views: 5099

Green Day: American Idiots and the New Punk Explosion
Author: Ben MyersISBN: 193285732x This is an unauthorized, but very favorable, biography of Green Day, one of theworld's biggest punk music bands.The trio that became Green Day grew up in small towns near San Francisco. Eachcoming from difficult family circumstances, they fell in love with punk music(the Dead Kennedys, the Sex Pistols, the Buzzcocks, among many others). Theyformed a band, and soon became mainstays at a place called 924 Gilman. It waslittle more than a vacant building, but it...
(No rating) 10-20-2006 Views: 7296

Signals
Aurthor:Kevin D. RandleISBN 0-441-01039-3The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsSet in near future Earth, a signal has been receivedfrom space whose origin can't be explained. Theinitial thought is that it comes from one of theplanets or moons in this system, or that it's somepreviously unknown pulsar or other interstellar noisemaker. All that is known about the source of thesignal is that it is 50 light years away, and that itis heading...
(No rating) 5-18-2005 Views: 1996

The Monster at Our Door: The Global Threat of Avian Flu
Author: Mike Davis ISBN: 1595580115 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews This book is a comprehensive look at just what bird (or avian) flu is all about,and what the world is, or is not, doing about it.Influenzas are divided into three major categories. Types B & C are relativelymild, leading to the common cold, or, at worst, the winter flu. But Type A isthe unpredictable, and lethal, strain that is fully entrenched among the...
(No rating) 4-11-2006 Views: 7078

Such Men are Dangerous: The Fanatics of 1692 and 2004
Title: Such Men are Dangerous: The Fanatics of 1692 and 2004Author: Frances HillISBN: 0942679288The Following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: To view Paul Lappen's other reviews click here: Paul Lappen's ReviewsThis book compares the men behind the Salem WitchcraftTrials of 1692 to the Bush II Administration. Thecomparisons are distressingly close.Massachusetts of the 1690s was a very rigid sort ofplace. Those in power were ideologues who believedthat their version of Calvinism...
(No rating) 10-12-2004 Views: 3320

Chindi
Author: Jack McDevittISBN: 0441009387 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsA couple of hundred years from now, a routine survey mission to a neutron starpicks up a few seconds of what seems like a transmission of alien origin. Thereception wasn't long enough to determine where it came from or where it wasgoing. The next step for the neutron star is to turn into a black hole, so thereshouldn't be anyone or anything in the vicinity. After...
(No rating) 7-14-2006 Views: 4778

Keaen
Author: Till NoeverISBN: 1894063082The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsThis fantasy story is about the land of Keaen, whosecentral idea or concept is the survival of an ancientCovenant between the ruler and the people. Onemanifestation of that Covenant is that the ruler ofKeaen can not marry or even have a lover. Heirs to thethrone are created by the ruler impregnating any womanin the kingdom that he wishes. If a male child isborn,...
(No rating) 7-16-2005 Views: 5970

The Coming
Author: Joe Haldeman:ISBN: 0441008763 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsIn the middle of the 21st Century, Aurora Bell is an Astronomy professor at theUniversity of Florida in Gainesville. One day, she receives a message from outerspace ("We're Coming") that seems to herald the arrival of alien visitors. Thealien ship is traveling at just under the speed of light, and will arrive on NewYear's Day, three months from now.Earth of...
(No rating) 7-14-2006 Views: 6971

The Rapture of Maturity: A Legacy of Lifelong Learning
Author: Charles D. HayesISBN: 0962197947The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews"What will people say about me after I'm gone?" "After the funeral, and afterthe will, how will everyone think of me?" For the average young person, suchthoughts are not important. However, once a person reaches their 50th birthday,such thoughts become much more important. That's what this book is all about.The author looks at properties of...
(No rating) 5-2-2006 Views: 4683

Keeping the Masses Down: How to Escape the Vicious Downward Spiral of Poverty
Authors: August K. Anderson and Nola L. KelseyISBN: 1420867520This workbook will help to prepare anyone, young or old, for success in anAmerica with a rapidly shrinking middle class.Do you have a wildest dream or a lifelong goal? If cost was no object, whatwould you like to do with your life? Why don't you start to do something aboutit? This does not mean abandoning your present life, all at once and startingover, but working, step by step, toward that Ultimate Goal.No one can change the...
(No rating) 10-29-2006 Views: 3272

This is Burning Man
Author: Brian DohertyISBN 0316711543The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews Burning Man is the arts/creativity/freedom/whatever festival held everySeptember in the Nevada desert.It started in 1980s San Francisco, in part as a reaction to Ronald Reagan'sAmerica. A man named Larry Harvey and some friends gathered on a San Francisconude beach to burn a wooden effigy of a man (for no especially good reason). Theevent was "adopted" by...
(No rating) 1-3-2006 Views: 4991

Sam Boone: Front to Back
Author: Bud SparhawkISBN: 0970971176 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsIn the late 22nd Century, Earth's first interstellarspaceship is involved in a collision with a muchlarger vessel outside the approved travel lanes. Inits desperation to avoid the Galactic Hegemony, thecaptain gives Earth a more modern ship out of itsinventory. This allows Earth to build more ships, andexplore local space. Intelligent life is prettycommon, and the...
(No rating) 8-1-2005 Views: 6843

50 Simple Things You Can Do to Fight the Right
Earthworks PressISBN: 0977689700The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews As the title states, this book describes a number of things that anyone can doto counteract the Right's strong influence in present-day America.Some of the actions included require little or no effort. Join a progressivegroup, be it local or international. Take back control of the American politicalvocabulary. Donate a subscription to a progressive magazine to your...
(No rating) 6-23-2006 Views: 4074

Picoverse
Author: Robert A. Metzger:ISBN: 0441008992Genre: Science Fiction The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsSet in present-day America, Katie McGuire and her ex-husband Horst Wittkowskiare nuclear physicists working on a potential fusion generator called a sonomak.Right after their federal funding is eliminated, they are approached byAlexandra Mitchell, a mysterious woman with unlimited resources, to keep theproject going. It seems that the...
(No rating) 5-28-2005 Views: 4868

The Road of Silk
Authors: Matt Afsahi and Barbara Dysonwilliams ISBN: 0974764469The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsThis fantasy story is about Queen Yasamin ofGwendomere, who agrees to marry King Amir of Dragonvalin order to save her kingdom. She is to become SecondWife to Amir, because Medusimia, Queen and First Wife,has yet to produce an heir. Medusimia is irate at this"competition," so she conspires with Vulmire, aman-beast who lives in a...
(No rating) 7-16-2005 Views: 7639

Memoirs of a Virus Programmer
Author: Pete FliesISBN: 0976542684 Living near Minneapolis, Johnny Pepper is a young software engineer who gets ajob at the high-tech Beamer Corporation. He can't wait to do some actualsoftware engineering, but is told to read manuals until the right project comesalong. His office mate is Danny, a very cynical person who spends his daysreading news items off the Internet to Johnny, despite Johnny's absolutedisinterest, and in gabbing with a woman named Fillmore. Needless to say, Dannydoes...
(No rating) 10-29-2006 Views: 3639

The Warm Wind of Palestine
Author: Scott S. CryeISBN: 193207757X (fiction - 9/10)The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsJenna Haabeb is a strong-willed young woman living inthe middle American town of Springfield. She is ahighly respected doctor and medical researcher workingat the local hospital. However, she is also aPalestinian in post-9/11 America, a place of hostilityand suspicion toward an unknown part of the world.She has made many friends,...
(No rating) 4-14-2005 Views: 3229

What Night Brings
Author: Carla Trujillo ISBN: 1880684942 Set in the Bay Area of the 1960s, this novel is narrated by Marci Cruz, aneleven-year-old Latina who fervently wishes for two things. The first is for Godto turn her into a boy, because she has something of a crush on Raquel, herteenaged neighbor; the second is for Eddie, her father, to disappear.A couple of times a week, Eddie beats Marci, and Corin, her younger sister, forsome infraction, usually with his leather belt. It always occurs when...
(No rating) 10-25-2006 Views: 4287

Bookstore Tourism
Title: Bookstore TourismAuthor: Larry Portzlin ISBN 0975893408Genre: General Non-Fiction/Literary The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen -CLICK TO VIEW>>>>Paul Lappen's Reviews Bookstore Tourism is a new way to help independent bookstores by marketing them as tourist destinations and encouraging booklovers to plan bus trips to towns with unique bookstores. Instead of, for instance, taking a bus trip to the Statue of Liberty, why not take a trip to the...
(No rating) 10-23-2004 Views: 2184

A Hawk in the Sun
Author: Leon R. PowerISBN: 0931625408 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsIn the 1970s, the author was a graduate student atIdaho State University, working toward his PhD inZoology. He wrote a 300-page dissertation onferruginous hawks. This book is a shorter,less-scientific version of that dissertation.Ferruginous hawks are the largest hawk in NorthAmerica. They are also very shy birds, so they areconsidered a good barometer for measuring...
(No rating) 10-12-2005 Views: 5337

The Conrad Chronicles: Revolt
Author: Heather HobsonISBN: 1413743099The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsFor the past couple of hundred planetary cycles, agroup of humans living on the planet Aleron have beenbuilding a peaceful, thriving society. But the eldershave been hiding a big secret. They were exiled fromthe planet Karna, their actual home, for using theirConrad (telepathy and telekinesis) abilities.Xavier, a hothead who wants to be the next Conradleader,...
(No rating) 7-15-2005 Views: 7492

For Sarah
Author: Annie Harmon, 2005,ISBN: 141377010x The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews In their own words, this is the story of the Welsh sisters, and their lives withJack, their mean and abusive stepfather.Every Sunday, the whole family attended church, like the typical happy family.The rest of the week, there were beatings (with a leather belt) and molestation,for little or no reason. The family wore hand-me-down clothes. The justicesystem...
(No rating) 5-2-2006 Views: 3105

Citizen Cyborg
Author: James Hughe ISBN: 0813341981The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews New technologies are coming in the near future thathave the potential to radically change what it meansto be human. This book looks at why democraticsocieties must respond to things like cloning, geneticengineering and nanotechnology, instead of pretendingthat they don't exist.What the author calls "bio-Luddites" are opposed tosuch new technologies, because...
(No rating) 10-13-2005 Views: 2754

I Am Alive and You are Dead: A Journey into the Mind of Philip K. Dick
Author: Emanuel CarrereISBN: 0312424515This book is not just a biography of Philip K. Dick, famous science fictionwriter; the movies Blade Runner, Total Recall and Minority Report are based onhis stories. It is also an attempt to find out what made him tick, to get insidehis mind. And that is a strange place to be.Dick was born in 1928, near Berkeley, California, half of a set of twins.Evidently, his mother knew little or nothing about child rearing, because Jane,his twin, died at 6 weeks of...
(No rating) 10-20-2006 Views: 7798

What Can I Do? An Alphabet for Living
Author: Lisa Harrow,ISBN: 1931498660The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsMost people want to do whatever they can to make theworld a better place and protect the Earth. For them,marching in demonstrations or engaging in directaction is not an option. What to do? In subjectsranging from Air to Water to Food to Global Warming,this book lists many web sites with more informationto get the reader involved in protecting...
(No rating) 4-20-2005 Views: 8907

CAFTA and Free Trade: What Every American Should Know,
Author: Greg Spotts ISBN: 1932857168The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsThis book looks at CAFTA, the Central American FreeTrade Agreement, the newest attempt to bring "freetrade" to the Western Hemisphere. A companion to therecently released DVD called "American Jobs," thisbook shows that the reality of free trade is nowherenear as bright as the promise.If free trade in general, and CAFTA in particular, issuch a...
(No rating) 4-22-2005 Views: 6136

Capitalist Punishment: Prison Privatization and Human Rights
Author: Andrew Coyle et al (ed.), 2003: ISBN 0932863353, (Non-fiction/politics - 9/10)The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsPrison privatization has become a major public policyissue over the last few years, in America and aroundthe world. Advocates say that private corporations canrun prisons better and cheaper than the state.According to the contributors to this book, thepromise is much greater than the reality.Prison corporations...
(No rating) 4-14-2005 Views: 4405

Being Frank: My Time With Frank Zappa
Author:Nigey Lennon,ISBN 187939541X The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews Lennon was your average rebellious teenager in 1960sCalifornia, until she discovered a strange lookingalbum by someone named Frank Zappa at the local recordstore. She bought everything she could find by him,and wore out the albums due to playing them over andover. A budding songwriter, she and her boyfriendrecorded several songs on reel-to-reel tape and sentthem...
(No rating) 4-14-2005 Views: 17997

Perdido Street Station
Author: China MievilleISBN: 0345443020The following review was contrbuted by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsNew Crobuzon is a sprawling city, that is also verypolluted and dirty. It is a place where all sorts ofraces, including humans and Re-mades (those who havebeen physically altered for various reasons, notalways with their consent) live in fear ofParliament's brutal Militia.Isaac is an eccentric scientist studying Chaos Theory.One day, he is approached by Yagharek, a...
(No rating) 10-23-2005 Views: 6547

Shining Mountains, Western Sea
Author: Margaret WymanISBN: 1931857016The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews This novel tells the story of the expedition of Lewis and Clark across early1800s America, but not from the usual perspective. It doesn't use the point ofview of Lewis or Clark, but those of John Colter and George Shannon, twoPrivates on the expedition.Colter is an experienced mountain man and hunter, and Shannon is aninexperienced graduate of West Point, who tries,...
(No rating) 4-25-2006 Views: 2791

The Fluoride Deception
Title: The Fluoride Deception, Author: Christopher Bryson: ISBN: 1-58322-526-9 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen -CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Other Reviews"If you accidentally swallow more than used forbrushing, get medical help or contact a Poison ControlCenter right away." Those words, or something similar,are on every tube of fluoride toothpaste sold inAmerica. What could be in it to cause such a warning?According to this book, it's the fluoride.Fluoride is...
(No rating) 10-12-2004 Views: 18547

God, Science and the Cosmic Jigsaw
Author: Jonathan KingsleyISBN: 1932047980 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsMany people are looking for something "more" out oflife, like a closer relationship with God. The problemis that they are reluctant to give up their belief inthe scientific view of things. They feel that a deeperfaith in God is supposed to equal acceptance ofcreationism and rejection of evolution. This bookshows that there is a middle path, that...
(No rating) 7-8-2005 Views: 6095

Guardian
Author: Joe Haldeman: ISBN: 0441009778The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsWritten as a memoir, much of this book takes place in 19th Century America. RosaColeman was a part of high society in Philadelphia. After witnessing her husbandsodomizing Daniel, their young son, she picked him up and fled across unchartedAmerica by train and steamboat. Pinkerton detectives working for her husbandwere never far behind.Months later, they found...
(No rating) 6-24-2005 Views: 5049

The Legend of Juggin' Joe
The Legend of Juggin' JoeISBN: 1411625889 Joe Jeckel was born tenth out of eleven children on a hardscrabble farm in thehills of upstate New York. His parents, Doc and Isabel, didn't have much, butthey managed. Joe was one of those who had a real talent for getting in trouble.One day, in his early teens, Joe gathers up some jugs to hold what comes out ofthe family still, a popular pastime. The only way to determine if a jug is emptyor full is to blow across the top of it, which Joe...
(No rating) 10-29-2006 Views: 5561

Belle Harbor Skeletons
Author:Susan M. HooperISBN 1414013728 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews Arnie Kotkin and Barnaby Moss are lifelong friends inthe small town of Lawton, NY. Girls were never animportant part of their lives while growing up. Theirdecision to live together as a gay couple, while notexactly a surprise, elicits two very different familyreactions, the subject of this book.The Moss family comes from a lower-middle classbackground, and...
(No rating) 4-14-2005 Views: 2328

Virgil Fox (The Dish)
Authors: Richard Torrence and Marshall YeagerISBN 097129707X The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews Based on a memoir by Ted Alan Worth, this is a look ateasily the most famous organist since Johann SebastianBach.Worth first met Fox when he played an organ concert ata church in California. Worth was totally blown awayby the things Fox did that day; he didn't just playthe organ (from memory, which was unheard of in theorgan world), he mastered...
(No rating) 10-12-2005 Views: 4940

Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book
Author: Gerard Jones,ISBN: 0465036562This book is a history of that ubiquitous part of contemporary Americanadolescent life, the comic book.In the early part of the 20th Century, there were an entire generation of malegeeks and outsiders who enjoyed reading this crazy literature called sciencefiction. Mainly Jewish, and usually living in the Lower East Side of Manhattan,they combined their fantasies and youthful traumas into the square-jawed heroeswho are now a central part of pop culture.A...
(No rating) 10-29-2006 Views: 3897

Many Children Left Behind
Authors: Deborah Meier and George WoodISBN: 0807004596The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsThe nationwide No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act is thelatest attempt to reform American education. It issupposed to do this through enforcing a system ofstandards and accountability through standardizedtesting. According to the authors in this book, NCLBactually hurts, instead of helps, children, especiallyurban children.The biggest problem is...
(No rating) 7-29-2005 Views: 4282

Pledge of Honor
Author: Lori L. Anderson ISBN: 1413407102 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsJamie McGivens and Tony Stone are among a group ofhumans who have been kidnapped and taken to the planetElos, by a humanoid race called the Berloff. The menare to be slaves, and the women are to be used forbreeding. Jamie becomes the property of Locom, theleader of the Berloff.Keenu is the grown son of the leader of a race ofnative Elosians, who have...
(No rating) 7-26-2005 Views: 4902

Plowin' Newground
Title: Plowin' NewgroundAuthor: Jerry W. Brown ISBN: 0970557523 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsGeorge "Jickie" Jennings is the son of a moonshinerfrom the Louisiana Bayou. He realizes, early on, thateducation was his ticket out, so scholarships toTulane University, then UCLA-Berkeley, lead to himbecoming a civilian scientist with the DefenseDepartment. He is called back home when Ersel, hisfather, is severely injured in...
(No rating) 10-31-2004 Views: 2255

Writing Crime New York Style
Author: Joseph L. Giacalone,ISBN 1414053517 Genre: True crime/literaryThe following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsMany books have been written attempting to explain lawand police procedure for crime writers; few arewritten by real cops. This book, written by an 11-yearveteran of the NYPD, looks at real police proceduresin the Big Apple.It gives the street addresses, coverage areas andmajor landmarks for all the precincts in the fiveboroughs....
(No rating) 11-30-2004 Views: 8846

The El-eventh Hour
Author: Lily G. StephenISBN: 0971265917 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsThis story, part 2 of a trilogy, is about Miranda, ayoung woman whose interest in physics leads to moretheoretical subjects like hyperspace and alternateuniverses. A friend of her mother, Willa Carson,agrees to take Miranda on a trip to Peru to visitsites like Macchu Picchu. Her parents aren't exactlythrilled at the idea, but they agree. On the way toPeru, the...
(No rating) 7-24-2005 Views: 5316

Passion v. Arrogance
Author: Margaret E.J. Broderick, 2005,ISBN: 0976259761The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsThis is the true story of two women, Margaret (theauthor) and Angee, who decide to start a woman-ownedwinery in the American Midwest.In general, things go exceptionally well. There arethe usual ups and downs as with any startup, but forMargaret and Angee, it's mostly up. They experiencedouble-digit growth each year, their winery becomesknown...
(No rating) 8-17-2005 Views: 3149

Ending Entrenched Power
Author: Curtis L. Harris ISBN: 0595268412Genre Religion/politicsThe following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsEntrenched power is when people in authority, inbusiness, government or religion, serve themselvesinstead of those they are supposed to represent.In the beginning, God created the Universe and NaturalLaw. The author is not talking about any particularconception of God, but means "God" as a more generalterm. People discovered...
(No rating) 7-8-2005 Views: 7355

Letters From Afghanistan
Author: Eloise Hanner ISBN: 0828320837 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsIt was the year 1971. The author, a recent collegegraduate from Idaho, and her fiance (soon to be herhusband) decide to join the Peace Corps. They aren'tqualified to do much except teach English, so theyapplied for somewhere in the South Pacific, and had towait several months for an opening. After a weekend ofmore intense interviews in Chicago, they finally...
(No rating) 7-8-2005 Views: 3933

Glitter and Greed: The Secret World of the Diamond Cartel
Author: Janine RobertsISBN: 0971394296The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsThis book takes a much-needed look inside the diamondbusiness. The myth is that diamonds are so expensiveat the local jewelry store because they are very rare.Nothing could be farther from the truth.South Africa is one of the world's major diamondproducers. Conditions for the black miners inside themines can best be described as barbaric. The minersare locked in...
(No rating) 7-8-2005 Views: 4085

The Sixth World
Title: The Sixth World:Author: Margaret Evans ISBN: 1413400531The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsSet in present-day California, Joe Magee is aworld-renowned anthropologist and expert on Mayanculture, working for a local museum. He is set to leadan expedition into California's Central Valley toexplore the bizarre possibility that Mayan culture mayhave made it that far north, before they disappearedmany centuries ago. Magee is told to...
(No rating) 10-31-2004 Views: 7557

Even the Stones
Author: Marie Jakober ISBN: 189406318XThe following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsThis historical fantasy is about an ancient land, andits young queen's fight for her crown, her freedom andthe man she loves.Several years previously, Marwen of Kamilan waskidnapped and forced into a marriage with a heartlesslord from the neighboring kingdom of Dravia. With thehelp of Keri, a warrior/minstrel who is part of acaravan passing through Dravia, Marwen...
(No rating) 7-14-2005 Views: 5934

Don't Eat This Book: Fast Food and the Supersizing of America
Author Morgan SpurlockISBN: 0399152601The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsFrom the person behind the documentary Supersize Me,this book looks at the fast food industry in America.He explores the ways in which fast food is marketed tochildren, the supersizing of the fast food menu andthe accompanying rise in conditions like obesity,heart disease and diabetes, even among children.The average school cafeteria has replaced its foodwith...
(No rating) 7-30-2005 Views: 8583

Patrons In a Bar
Author: A.J. BuressISBN: 1591290503The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsThis is the story of Jake Tidwell, your averagefresh-out-of-college type, living near Pittsburgh.Looking for more from life than the usual 9 to 5 job,Jake takes off for a year of traveling around America.He also figures that, as a would-be writer, he shouldhave some experiences worth writing about.Jake is one of those who likes his liquor and drugs,and has something...
(No rating) 11-30-2004 Views: 1942

The Feng Shui Matrix: Another Way to Inherit the Earth
Author: Kartar DiamondISBN: 0967193796 For the uninitiated, feng shui is an ancient oriental system of balancing a person’s surroundings to achieve a happier and healthier life. It is no different than eating a balanced diet to achieve better physical health. The first thing a person should do is to find out what direction their house faces. Don’t assume that it faces directly east, for example, or directly south; buy a good compass and find out for sure. It matters. The...
(No rating) 4-10-2007 Views: 5905

Lost in the Void
Lost in the VoidAuthor: L.M. WalkerISBN: 1420855883The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsThis is the true story of Lana, an American living andworking in Germany. Her marriage to Sean had not beengoing well, and they were trying to reconcile. Afterbeing told that she could not get pregnant, she foundherself pregnant with twins. She felt that shecouldn't ask Sean to become their father, even thoughhe was very willing to do so, and had been...
(No rating) 10-14-2005 Views: 8131

In Praise of Slowness: How a Worldwide Movement is Challenging the Cult of Speed
Title: In Praise of Slowness: How a Worldwide Movement isChallenging the Cult of Speed: Author: Carl HonoreISBN: 006054578X (General non-fiction)The Following Review Was Contrubuted by: Paul Lappen -CLICK TO VIEW>>>>Paul Lappen's ReviewsWe live in an era of speed, where everything movesfaster than ever before. Ever since the IndustrialRevolution, the idea has been to cram more into eachminute of the day. Any unoccupied time during the day,whether for adults or children, is...
(No rating) 10-14-2004 Views: 2377

In Lieu of Heaven
Author: Kevin Archer ISBN 1413421865Genre: Fiction/ReligionThe following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews A man is walking along a path, not totally sure ofwhere he is going. In the middle of a desolatelandscape, he suddenly encounters a lush, greenforest. Exploring the forest, he comes across a mancooking a meal by a fire, a small cabin nearby. Thetraveler is invited to sit and realx for a while, asif he was expected. The forest resident (for...
(No rating) 2-24-2005 Views: 7128

Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days
Author: Alastair Reynolds, 2005,ISBN: 0441012388 (science fiction - 9/10)The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen & CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsThe first of these two novellas, set in the author's *Revelation Space*universe, is about an alien tower, obviously part of a long-dead civilization,on a desolate planet. Decomposed bodies and body parts around the base show thatextreme care is a very good idea. A man named Childe assembles a group of peopleto explore the...
(No rating) 6-21-2005 Views: 8376

Armed Madhouse
Author: Greg Palast, 2006,ISBN: 0525949682 The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's ReviewsHere is another compendium of political and corporate con men who would sellyour future and your children's future to the highest bidder (or give it away totheir political friends).Everyone thinks that George Bush had a secret plan to seize Iraq's oil.Actually, there were 2 secret plans. The neo-con/Pentagon plan involvedprivatizing, or selling off, Iraq's vast...
(No rating) 7-11-2006 Views: 1903

Thran Reborn by H. David Blalock
The following review was contributed by: PAUL LAPPEN Andalarn Thran, head of House Thran, is attempting to reestablish his family on the island of Adylonis. The House was exiled to the mainland several hundred years previously when it took sides against another human House who had attacked a race of dwarves called the Telmet. Andalarn is not the hero type, being a merchant with five children. With help from an elven healer named Baliak, he appeals to the Telmet for help in restoring House...
(No rating) 10-19-2004 Views: 3131

Inner Coach - Outer Power by Keith Varnum
The following review was contributed by PAUL LAPPEN Using the author's own experiences, this book tells how anyone can free themselves from emotional and psychological boundaries and embrace the possibilities inherent in this thing called life. There are lifelong spirit guides that Varnum calls Ascended Masters, nonphysical beings who impart their wisdom to him. Occasionally, they have to use the equivalent of a kick in the rear end when the author isn't ""listening.""...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 4893

A Mortal Glamour
Author: Chelsea Quinn YarbroISBN: 13: 9780809557943You Can Purchase This Book From Amazon
(No rating) 7-26-2007 Views: 3581

Zen Computer by Philip Toshio Sudo
Reviewed by Paul Lappen It might be difficult to come up with two more disparate parts of daily life than computers and Zen. The author shows how the two actually go together really well, and how using a computer is very zen-like. When sitting at the computer, take some time and meditate while looking at the number keys at the top of the keybaord. Proper breathing is essential. Those ten keys span the entire range of the digital and Zen universes, from 1 to 0. Among the...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 3105

The Wished-For Country by Wayne Karlin
Reviewed by Paul Lappen This novel takes place in the mid-1600s, during the founding of the Maryland colony, in what is now Maryland and southern New Jersey. It was a time of seemingly constant conflict between the various nearby Indian tribes, whether for land or beaver pelts to sell to the white man, conflict which got brutal and bloody. The story revolves around three men: James Hallam, an indentured servant and carpenter, Ezekiel, an African slave who came to Maryland by way of Barbados,...
(No rating) 10-10-2004 Views: 3834

Working the Hard Side of the Street by Kirk Alex
The following review was contributed by PAUL LAPPEN This is a group of short stories and poems about life in present-day Hollywood, as seen from the bottom looking up. Alex is a native of Sarajevo who found himself in Los Angeles by way of Brussels and Chicago (plus an army stint in Vietnam). He had writing in his blood, and figured L.A. was the place to go. While amassing rejection slips, he worked a variety of jobs including furniture moving, painting apartments, TV repos...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 7993

Talking to Richard by Gary Sherbell
Reviewed by Paul Lappen Steven Goren is an Administrative Law Judge in the Subway Division of the New York court system. He is the person who decides how much of a fine must be paid by people who jump the turnstiles or smoke on the subway platform. He has grown to loathe Richard Rankin, famous defense lawyer. Rankin does whatever he can to get his clients acquitted, usually by painting them as political victims or by playing the race card. One night, sitting in a bar, Goren hears, and is very...
(No rating) 10-19-2004 Views: 7068

Real Life Notes by Kenneth Jedding
Reviewed by PAUL LAPPEN So you've just graduated from college or are otherwise about to enter the workforce. Now what? This book attempts to give some answers. This book doesn't try to say that Career X will be the fastest growing in the next 10 years, or entry-level jobs in Career Y will be worth a certain salary per year. It asks questions like: What is your goal in life? A goal of ""making lots of money"" would seem to indicate a career in computers or the financial sector....
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 4462

III Met by Moonlight by Sarah A. Hoyt
Reviewed by Paul Lappen One day, a young William Shakespeare comes home from his teaching job to find his wife, Nan, and infant daughter, Susanna, missing. Stick figures have been left in their beds, which means that they haven't just left, they've been kidnapped by elves. Having no idea what to do or who to see, Will starts to think that his wife and child are gone forever. Meantime, at a nearby elven castle invisible to humans, Titania and Oberon, the King and Queen, have...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 2948

Operation Supergoose
Click Here To Purchase Operation Supergoose Operation Supergoose, Author: William Hart Publisher:Timberline Press
(No rating) 7-28-2008 Views: 2509

50 Things You're Not Supposed to Know by Russ Kick
The following review was contributed by Paul Lappen Are you being kept in the dark about the world around you? Do you feel that there things the government and media won't tell you, but you can't quite put it into words? This is the book for you. Written in bite-size chunks, this book presents a number of things not told to the public. What the world knows as the Ten Commandments are not what Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai on those stone tablets (read Exodus Chapters 20 and...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 3765

Disinformation: The Interviews by Richard Metzger
Reviewed by Paul Lappen For a couple of years, the Disinformation TV series was shown in Britain. It dealt with all sorts of strange topics. Through a quirk of fate, it was scheduled right after Ally McBeal, an unintended bit of surrealism. In America, the show was bought by the Sci-Fi Channel, but never shown, because they suddenly realized just what they had. The interviews reprinted here represent the tame ""intellectual"" part of the show. The companion DVD contains the more...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 4801

160 Degrees of Deviation: The Case for the Corporate Cynic by Jerome Alexander
The following review was contributed by PAUL LAPPEN Even the best organizations have good intentions when instituting new plans or policies. Something always seems to go wrong, because of a type of manager called the 160 Degree Deviator. These are people with their own agendas who damage company morale and cause frustration to rise. The reason that they aren't called 180 Degree Deviators is that the author gives the company 20 degrees ""credit"" for having the right idea....
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 7245

Looking for the Summer by Robert W. Norris
Reviewed by Paul Lappen American David Thompson is a Vietnam War conscientious objector. After spending a year in military prison, during which time he became estranged from his family, he travels around Europe, not really sure where he's going or what he's doing. In Paris, he meets a man named Hasan, who encourages David to accompany him back to Iran, his homeland. David is assured that plenty of jobs for foreigners are available. Their paths diverge for a while, and they meet up again a few...
(No rating) 10-19-2004 Views: 7076

A Man Called Stan by Jay Henning
The following review as contributed by Paul Lappen This book tells the life story of an average person named Stan. Told in seemingly random pieces, he experiences turbulent and quiet periods, as if he was traveling down a river. In one section, Stan is heading to work,a nameless corporate sort of job that he hates. There is a new receptionist, a beautiful young woman named Anne. Stan eventually gets up the guts to talk to her. He asks her out on a picnic, but sleeps late on the...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 4401

High-Tech Careers for Low Tech People by William A. Schaffer
The following review was contributed by PAUL LAPPEN You would like to get a job in the high-tech field, but there is a problem. You're convinced that you are unqualified because your college degree (if you even have a degree) is in something like Early French Literature, or you don't know the difference between a gigabyte and a trilobyte. Fear not, help has arrived. The average high-tech company consists of more than just engineers and computer programmers. It also consists of...
(No rating) 10-10-2004 Views: 2707

Abuse Your Illusions: The Disinformation Guide to Media Mirages and Establishment Lies by Russ Kick (ed.)
The following book was reviewed by PAUL LAPPEN This is another in a series of books containing articles on subjects that will not be covered in the mainstream press. Spanning the political spectrum, the independent researchers, media critics and other experts behind these pieces (many written especially for this book) blow away the fog that keeps us confused. Greg Palast catches the news media in several blatant lies; not just misinterpretation, but actual, black and white,...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 5477

Beginning College 101: How to Achieve Real Success in by J.B. Robson
Reviewed by PAUL LAPPEN Going away to college is one of the biggest, and sometimes the most traumatic, moments of any person's life. This book attempts to answer some of the questions on the mind of every incoming freshman. If the school is close enough, one of the first questions to be answered is: To live on campus or to commute? Living on campus presents much greater opportunities for meeting people and getting involved in school activities, but finances may dictate...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 5058

Book of Lies: The Disinformation Guide to Magick and the Occult by Richard Metzger (ed.)
Reviewed by Paul Lappen Magick is defined as ""the art and science of causing change in conformity with will"" (Aleister Crowley). That's the intention behind the pieces in this book, to look at many aspects of magick and the occult, and thereby do really interesting things with the concept of reality. Peter Levenda looks at Hitler's obsession with the occult, and a side of World War II fought with spells as much as with bullets. Daniel Pinchbeck tells the story of how he...
(No rating) 10-19-2004 Views: 5491

Censored 2003: The Top 25 Censored Stories by Peter Phillips and Project Censored (ed.)
The present review was contributed by: PAUL LAPPEN Based at Sonoma State University in California, Project Censored is a program that yearly chooses the top 25 most underreported news stories in America. A national panel of judges whittles a list of more than 700 nominated stories down to those that are summarized here. The stories must contain information that the American population has a right to know, it has implications for people in America, it must be backed up with solid...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 4554

Wolf's Rite by Terry Persun
Reviewed by Paul Lappen Llewellyn ""Lew"" Smith is a hot-shot New York advertising executive. He is also obnoxious, controlling, manipulative and willing to walk over anyone to get what he wants. In short, he is a thoroughly dislikable person, the sort of person who deserves to die in the early part of the novel. One day, his boss sends him to New Mexico to do some pro bono advertising work for a group of Navajo indians. When he arrives, a couple of other Native Americans,...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 2105

The Ig Nobel Prizes: The Annals of Improbable by Marc Abrahams
The following review was contributed by: PAUL LAPPEN This book brings together two areas of human endeavor that don't normally go together: science and humor. The Ig Nobel Awards (actually held every year at Harvard University) honor those achievements which ""cannot or should not be reproduced."" Did you know that elevator music may help prevent the common cold? Companies like Enron, Global Crossing, Tyco, Waste Management and WorldCom shared an award for adapting the...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 3986

Atlantis Continued by Moe Dickson
The following review was contributed by: PAUL LAPPEN Everyone ""knows"" that life on Earth started due to alien infestation. This novel shows how it was done. The planet Atlantis has spent millennia working on other planets throughout the galaxy, helping their native civilizations to survive and thrive. For various reasons, the planet Earth was passed over seven times in the past. Finally, approval was given and an observation base was set up on the far side of Earth's moon....
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 2140

Robbing Us Blind: The Return of the Bush Gang and the Mugging of America by Steve Brouwer
The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen This book looks at the myriad of ways that average and lower-income Americans have been systematically robbed of their monetary wealth through deliberate government policy. That wealth has been given to the top 1 percent of the people, in terms of income, by a group of elites and super-rich that the author calls the Bush Gang. The Bush family has been at, or near, the seat of American power for 16 of the last 24 years. To give one...
(No rating) 10-19-2004 Views: 6103

The Exception to the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers and the Media That Love by Amy Goodman and David Goodman
The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen This book exposes the lies, crimes and corruptions of the American elite, aided and bolstered by big media conglomerates. One of the reasons for the American invasion of Iraq was because Saddam Hussein used poison gas in 1988 against the Kurdish town of Halabja. The US Senate overwhelmingly passed sanctions against Iraq in response. The sanctions were squelched by the Reagan and Bush I Administrations, because Saddam...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 2398

I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay by Harlan Ellison and Isaac Asimov
The following review was contributed by: PAUL LAPPEN This is Ellison's script, written in the late 1970s, for a full-length movie incorporating several of Asimov's classic I, Robot stories. The essay which begins this book is not as vitriolic as some others of Ellison's, but it pulls no punches in chronicling the script's journey through Hollywood. The process was characterized by delay after delay. The script was supposedly ""impossible"" to film. At one point, Ellison...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 3891

Opening Bell by Keith D. Cummings
Reviewed by Paul Lappen This is the story of a financial, and political, coup d'etat in near-future America. Marc Reid is now a hot-shot New York investment banker. Having watched the family business in Virginia be wiped out by greedy lawyers, and the general degradation of America, he hatches a long-term plan to take America away from the life-long welfare recipients and give it back to hard-working Americans. He knows that the plan will take years to come to...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 3004

Such Men are Dangerous: The Fanatics of 1692 and 2004 by Frances Hill
The following review was submitted by: PAUL LAPPEN This book compares the men behind the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692 to the Bush II Administration. The comparisons are distressingly close. Massachusetts of the 1690s was a very rigid sort of place. Those in power were ideologues who believed that their version of Calvinism was the only way and the only truth. Everyone who came to Massachusetts was required by law to attend Puritan services. Belonging to any other church was...
(No rating) 1-1-1970 Views: 3448

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