Christine Zibas
Reviewer Christine Zibas has spent all of her life in love with books, and most of her life working with words. She has a B.A. in Political Science from Western Illinois University and did advanced studies in politics and publishing at WIU, Oxford University, George Washington University, and Stanford.
For many years Christine was an editor in the
think tank world, editing books and reports on international
relations and military studies. She worked at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. and the Johns
Hopkins Foreign Policy Institute, where she served as director of
publications. In London she was the editor at the International
Institute for Strategic Studies. To read more of Christine's Reviews CLICK HERE
Articles by this Author
Susannah, a Lawyer: From Tragedy to Triumph Reviewed By Christine Zibas Of Bookpleasures.com
- By Christine Zibas
- Published September 14, 2009
- Historical Fiction
Author: Ruth Rymer
ISBN: 978-1934938416
Publisher: Langdon Street Press
The historical detail never trumps the story, but instead intertwines perfectly to support this engaging tale
Destruction of Innocence: A True Story of Child Abduction Reviewed By Christine Zibas of Bookpleasures.com
- By Christine Zibas
- Published July 5, 2009
- General Non-Fiction
Author: Rosalie Hollingsworth
ISBN: 978-1-4401-2502-7
This is a true story of amazing courage and bravery in the face of so much difficulty and disappointment
Review: Unpolished Gem: My Mother, My Grandmother, and Me
- By Christine Zibas
- Published April 16, 2009
- Biographies & Memoirs
Author: Alice Pung
Publisher: Plume
ISBN: 978-0-452-29000-6
There’s something about the tale of a new immigrant that allows us to see our own world in a new way. In this debut nonfiction memoir by Alice Pung, the stories contained within “Unpolished Gem” reflect the conflicts (both internal and external) of a person straddling two worlds, the ultimate outsider, never comfortable in either.
Review: Armed and Glamorous: A Crime of Fashion Mystery
- By Christine Zibas
- Published March 26, 2009
- Crime & Mystery
Author: Ellen Byerrum
Publisher: Obsidian
ISBN: 978-0-451-22456-9
It’s hard to believe that fashion and murder would make a good mix, but in “Armed and Glamorous,” it’s a winning combination. Add to that the fashion-challenged setting of Washington, DC, and this is a book (and series) that is sure to please fans of “cozy” mysteries, and women readers generally.
Review: Why GM Matters: Inside the Race to Transform an American Icon
- By Christine Zibas
- Published March 14, 2009
- General Non-Fiction
Author: William J. Holstein
Publisher: Walker & Company
ISBN: 978-0-8027-1718-4
Can GM survive? More importantly, should it? These are the questions being posed by journalists almost daily, whether covering Capitol Hill or reporting on Wall Street losses by the Big Three. It’s a story that hasn’t fully played out, and also one that has gotten little background coverage…until now. In his brilliant new book, William Holstein lays out the case for GM:
Review: French Letters/Virginia’s War: Tierra, Texas, 1944
- By Christine Zibas
- Published February 17, 2009
- GENERAL FICTION REVIEWS
Author: Jack Woodville London
Publisher:Vire
Press
ISBN: 978-0-9815975-0-8
Author Jack London has given his readers a great opening salvo in “Virginia’s War,” something to sink their teeth into--a town worth exploring, interesting and complicated relationships, power struggles, and overshadowing it all, a World War. If London can keep up the pace of “Virginia’s War” into volume two, he will surely have a winning trilogy on his hands.
Review: Hollywood Bohemians
- By Christine Zibas
- Published December 18, 2008
- GENERAL NON-FICTION REVIEWS
Brett L Abrams
McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers
ISBN: 978-0-7864-3929-4
In this comprehensive overview of the development of Hollywood (particularly between 1917-1941), author Brett Abrams demonstrates how those who crossed the boundaries of the society’s sexual norms had a unique role to play in creating the image we have today of Tinseltown. Today most people’s image of Hollywood is one of a laissez faire, “anything goes” town dedicated to the movie business. Yet it wasn’t always that way.
Review: Alpana Pours
- By Christine Zibas
- Published November 14, 2008
- General Non-Fiction
This would make a great holiday gift!
Authors: Alpana Singh with Robert Scarola
Publishers: Academy Chicago Publishers
ISBN: 978-0-89733-546-1
Alpana Pours is not like any wine book you’re likely to see on the shelves of your local bookstore. Instead of overwhelming you with arcane facts and vintages, Alpana Singh (TV hostess of Chicago’s “Check Please” restaurant review show on PBS) has written a lifestyle book centered on the subject of feeling comfortable around wine. It seems that for most people, wine can be a little intimidating. Most of us go to a nice restaurant, get handed a wine list, and then proceed to squirm in our seats, unsure what to order yet wishing to appear confident that the wine we select will be worth the big bucks we will pay out to enjoy this pleasure.
Review: Consequences of Sin
- By Christine Zibas
- Published November 9, 2008
- Crime & Mystery
Author: Clare Langley-Hawthorne
Title: Penguin Books
ISBN: 978-0-14-311293-8
In this historical mystery, the heroine is an unlikely Edwardian character: Ursula (“Sully” to her intimate friends) Marlow is an aspiring journalist, an heiress living in London’s posh Belgravia neighborhood, and an Oxford graduate. Clearly, she is a young woman with her own mind. One indication of that is her role as a suffragette, something frowned upon by many in her social circle, who wonder how she will ever gain a husband when she is so very willful?