Now this is what I consider a classic. Can there be a more exciting tale than that of Buck? Well, I don't think so anyway.
Buck is a family pet in California when he is kidnapped and sold into the gold rush up North because he is a strong large dog. He quickly learns that this is a harsh new world, and that it must be treated differently from the tame life he is used to. He becomes part of a sled dog team and struggles to learn the ins and outs of sledding life, including dealing with the other pack dogs. Each new master brings additional lessons and Buck can feel himself growing wilder and wilder, getting closer to his roots as an animal that was not bred in captivity.
Buck is a very inspiring dog, and very real-seeming as well. Since his plight is that of what hundreds of dogs had in real life during the gold rush, it's easy to see how his story has an element of truth in it. I also like how we almost get to see his emotions directly through the telling of this story because you can see the way his thoughts and actions changed and how he adapted. And you really can empathize with him, even though he's a dog. The different people in the book were interesting too, although it's Buck's beloved owner John Thornton that truly steals my heart with his treatment of Buck. The chapters with him in it are some of my favorites. That's not saying the other characters didn't have their place, but he was one that stood out.
Since this is based on a real time in history, I think it does a remarkable job of showing the lesser known aspects of that history. We all know about the Gold Rush, for instance, but few of us knew that regular dogs were being shipped up there to be sled dogs. It never even occurred to me that there were dogs other than huskies doing the work. I also thought that the book was perfectly paced. Since it's technically a kid's book it's shorter than most books, but it's done in such a great way that you become so involved in the book and lose track of time. However, one thing to note considering that this is a kid's book is that there is a great deal of violence and graphic description of fights, killings, etc. For those sensitive hearts that love animals and can't handle one in pain, this isn't a book that should probably be read.
I absolutely love the book and think it should be one of those books that everyone reads at least once in their lifetime. A true classic and one I'm proud to have on the bookshelf at home.
The Call of the Wild
Copyright 1963 (the edition I read anyway)
172 pages
5/13/2012
Protecting the President by Dennis McCarthy
So I never knew that the Secret Service was actually organized to
protect against counterfeiting, and that it wasn't until much later that
they started to protect the President and other notable people in
politics. This book taught me that, and a little more.
Dennis McCarthy was a member of the Secret Service for over twenty years. He joined at the age of thirty and mainly worked with presidents Nixon and Reagan and did a few other assignments as well, including a bit in the counterfeiting realm of things. He actually was there the day Reagan was shot, and this is a big part of the book. He explains what happens that day, and how the Secret Service worked to protect Reagan in the aftermath. He also spends a little time explaining how Nixon was protected and some of the excursions they made with him. In between these stories are short stories of protecting other political figures, some history of the secret service, and some time spent protecting the family of the Presidents.
McCarthy definitely has an interesting tale to be told. I like the way he explained how he did certain things and it wasn't prideful, but he didn't make himself appear in the shadows as well. He took his due where it was earned. The thing I don't like about him though, was how he mentioned his numerous infidelities and tried to blame it on the job and the travel and the stress of protecting the President. I'm sorry, but that's just you being a lousy person, not a side effect of having a stressful job. If you can't tell already, I'm not too fond of cheaters. Moving on to the other people mentioned in the book, it was neat to see an inside look at the Presidents and how they acted around the White House "staff". It was pretty interesting to see who was easy to work with and who wasn't.
I thought the history of the Secret Service included in the book was very informative and definitely a good addition. It was nice to get some background on the job itself in addition to hearing about McCarthy's time spent protecting the Presidents. And it was placed into the book so nicely that it was a seamless transition from history, to actual experiences of McCarthy. This book does deal with a little violence because of the shooting and assassination attempts, etc., but it isn't overly descriptive and definitely isn't glorified. And the book was intriguing enough to keep me interested the whole way through. I wanted to hear the next story and have to say that I largely enjoyed most of them. There were a few, like when he talks about the overseas that weren't as interesting because there wasn't as much detail and I couldn't get immersed into them as well.
Definitely an interesting book if you're at all interested in the Secret Service. You learn a lot and get some behind the scenes looks at what it's like to protect the President.
Protecting the President
Copyright 1985
213 pages
Dennis McCarthy was a member of the Secret Service for over twenty years. He joined at the age of thirty and mainly worked with presidents Nixon and Reagan and did a few other assignments as well, including a bit in the counterfeiting realm of things. He actually was there the day Reagan was shot, and this is a big part of the book. He explains what happens that day, and how the Secret Service worked to protect Reagan in the aftermath. He also spends a little time explaining how Nixon was protected and some of the excursions they made with him. In between these stories are short stories of protecting other political figures, some history of the secret service, and some time spent protecting the family of the Presidents.
McCarthy definitely has an interesting tale to be told. I like the way he explained how he did certain things and it wasn't prideful, but he didn't make himself appear in the shadows as well. He took his due where it was earned. The thing I don't like about him though, was how he mentioned his numerous infidelities and tried to blame it on the job and the travel and the stress of protecting the President. I'm sorry, but that's just you being a lousy person, not a side effect of having a stressful job. If you can't tell already, I'm not too fond of cheaters. Moving on to the other people mentioned in the book, it was neat to see an inside look at the Presidents and how they acted around the White House "staff". It was pretty interesting to see who was easy to work with and who wasn't.
I thought the history of the Secret Service included in the book was very informative and definitely a good addition. It was nice to get some background on the job itself in addition to hearing about McCarthy's time spent protecting the Presidents. And it was placed into the book so nicely that it was a seamless transition from history, to actual experiences of McCarthy. This book does deal with a little violence because of the shooting and assassination attempts, etc., but it isn't overly descriptive and definitely isn't glorified. And the book was intriguing enough to keep me interested the whole way through. I wanted to hear the next story and have to say that I largely enjoyed most of them. There were a few, like when he talks about the overseas that weren't as interesting because there wasn't as much detail and I couldn't get immersed into them as well.
Definitely an interesting book if you're at all interested in the Secret Service. You learn a lot and get some behind the scenes looks at what it's like to protect the President.
Protecting the President
Copyright 1985
213 pages
5/12/2012
Unbinding the Heart by Agapi Stassinopoulos
**This book is part of the Amazon Vine Program**
It looks like I'm probably going against the grain with my thoughts on this book, but unfortunately, I just couldn't bring myself to like it. I thought it was going to be a self help book, about finding joy in your life using Greek wisdom. Instead it was more like a memoir, and was very self focused on Agapi herself.
As a young girl, Agapi was raised by a mother who had a special joy in life, and a very special ability to give to others and have a positive outlook on things. Even after a divorce when Agapi was twelve, her mother still possesses that inner radiance that draws people to her, and it helps her daughters become a success as well. Agapi uses her mother's philosophy to impact her own life and have positive outcomes in what she does. And she details her life from a child to the present day.
This book was very much about Agapi. And while I'm sure she's a wonderful sweet person in real life, the book came across a little self centered. When she talks about other people you can see she genuinely cares about them, but the focus just isn't there. When she talks about her mother, the book is fantastic. In fact, the first few chapters, in which she is talking about her parents, are my favorite. Because her mother especially seemed like an incredible person. But even there she starts to derail a bit. When she talks about her mother going into the hospital, it is in the same breath as saying she is off to some book thing at some place or other being famous. And this happens a lot. I'm glad she has success as that her mother taught her not to practice false modesty, but humbleness is also attractive. Celebrate your successes but don't be consumed by them.
The book itself offered a few gems of wisdom into approaching life. Accepting things is one, wishing good things to happen is another. And I think that these are some useful and helpful tips for life. But as said before this is more of a memoir, not a self help book, and I went into it wanting the self help book, so I may be a little biased as a whole. I also thought that she tended to ramble a bit, and throw unnecessary detail. In describing her mother's stroke, for instance, she felt important to share that it happened in the bathroom "really a large dressing room between the bath and bedroom". Was that and mentioning that they had maids really necessary? I guess I just didn't see the relevance or what it added to the story and wish instead the focus had been on the mother and that experience.
I guess I sound overly harsh on this book but I was a bit disappointed to discover it wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I think Agapi has some good ideas, but this book really should be classified as a memoir, not the self help it's representing itself as. It just wasn't to my taste. Two and a half stars from me.
Unbinding the Heart
Copyright 2012
194 pages
It looks like I'm probably going against the grain with my thoughts on this book, but unfortunately, I just couldn't bring myself to like it. I thought it was going to be a self help book, about finding joy in your life using Greek wisdom. Instead it was more like a memoir, and was very self focused on Agapi herself.
As a young girl, Agapi was raised by a mother who had a special joy in life, and a very special ability to give to others and have a positive outlook on things. Even after a divorce when Agapi was twelve, her mother still possesses that inner radiance that draws people to her, and it helps her daughters become a success as well. Agapi uses her mother's philosophy to impact her own life and have positive outcomes in what she does. And she details her life from a child to the present day.
This book was very much about Agapi. And while I'm sure she's a wonderful sweet person in real life, the book came across a little self centered. When she talks about other people you can see she genuinely cares about them, but the focus just isn't there. When she talks about her mother, the book is fantastic. In fact, the first few chapters, in which she is talking about her parents, are my favorite. Because her mother especially seemed like an incredible person. But even there she starts to derail a bit. When she talks about her mother going into the hospital, it is in the same breath as saying she is off to some book thing at some place or other being famous. And this happens a lot. I'm glad she has success as that her mother taught her not to practice false modesty, but humbleness is also attractive. Celebrate your successes but don't be consumed by them.
The book itself offered a few gems of wisdom into approaching life. Accepting things is one, wishing good things to happen is another. And I think that these are some useful and helpful tips for life. But as said before this is more of a memoir, not a self help book, and I went into it wanting the self help book, so I may be a little biased as a whole. I also thought that she tended to ramble a bit, and throw unnecessary detail. In describing her mother's stroke, for instance, she felt important to share that it happened in the bathroom "really a large dressing room between the bath and bedroom". Was that and mentioning that they had maids really necessary? I guess I just didn't see the relevance or what it added to the story and wish instead the focus had been on the mother and that experience.
I guess I sound overly harsh on this book but I was a bit disappointed to discover it wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I think Agapi has some good ideas, but this book really should be classified as a memoir, not the self help it's representing itself as. It just wasn't to my taste. Two and a half stars from me.
Unbinding the Heart
Copyright 2012
194 pages
5/09/2012
Woodswoman by Anne LaBastille
Anne LaBastille was a pretty amazing woman. In a time
where most women wouldn't think of being on their own, she went out and
built her own cabin in the Adirondacks and lived there alone. And this
book is the telling of her first couple years out there, and a little
bit of her history before that.
With a divorce from her husband in her future, Anne needed to set out and find her own path. After loving hiking, camping, and the outdoors, she decides to buy some land in the Adirondack wilderness and build a small cabin out there. Without electricity and running water, or even an indoor toilet, it's very rustic, but it's where she finds home. Spending her time writing, or with her dog, she finds peace out in the woods, and when she craves company she can always go into town. She even goes over a couple harrowing experiences she has out by herself. But the best thing about being there, is that she gains even more appreciate for the wilderness and the animals that live there.
Anne is the main character in this book. Well, aside from her dog. So we really only see her through her eyes, and she doesn't spend much time on herself. Hardly any actually, she describes the wilderness around her. She does touch on the few romantic interests she had in her life, but they are all positive, despite the relationships ending. Even the man she divorces is shown in a mostly positive light in the book. And her neighbors, aside from a few, are described positively as well. She does tend to show a distaste for litterers and peace disturbers, but really, who could blame her?
Sometimes this book could drag on a little with the descriptions of the wilderness. Although there were pictures to show a little bit of what it was like, it was hard to see what she was trying to describe sometimes. But in all, I found it a very interesting book. I liked the way she lived her life and how she seemed to be so at peace with her decisions. Hers seemed an ideal life in some ways, although I'm not sure I'd ever be ok without an indoor toilet. But to each their own.
An interesting book. I will definitely look into reading the sequel. I'm sure it will be just as interesting as this one.
Woodswoman
Copyright 1976
278 pages
With a divorce from her husband in her future, Anne needed to set out and find her own path. After loving hiking, camping, and the outdoors, she decides to buy some land in the Adirondack wilderness and build a small cabin out there. Without electricity and running water, or even an indoor toilet, it's very rustic, but it's where she finds home. Spending her time writing, or with her dog, she finds peace out in the woods, and when she craves company she can always go into town. She even goes over a couple harrowing experiences she has out by herself. But the best thing about being there, is that she gains even more appreciate for the wilderness and the animals that live there.
Anne is the main character in this book. Well, aside from her dog. So we really only see her through her eyes, and she doesn't spend much time on herself. Hardly any actually, she describes the wilderness around her. She does touch on the few romantic interests she had in her life, but they are all positive, despite the relationships ending. Even the man she divorces is shown in a mostly positive light in the book. And her neighbors, aside from a few, are described positively as well. She does tend to show a distaste for litterers and peace disturbers, but really, who could blame her?
Sometimes this book could drag on a little with the descriptions of the wilderness. Although there were pictures to show a little bit of what it was like, it was hard to see what she was trying to describe sometimes. But in all, I found it a very interesting book. I liked the way she lived her life and how she seemed to be so at peace with her decisions. Hers seemed an ideal life in some ways, although I'm not sure I'd ever be ok without an indoor toilet. But to each their own.
An interesting book. I will definitely look into reading the sequel. I'm sure it will be just as interesting as this one.
Woodswoman
Copyright 1976
278 pages
5/08/2012
The 5 Greatest Spankings of All Time by Rob Wood
**This book was received as a free advanced Reviewer's Copy**
What an amusing short story. I call it a short story because this is not a novel length book, but rather just snippets in time of a family that seemed to be pretty wild. And humourous, despite the trouble that Rob Wood and his three brothers got into, this book was definitely laugh out loud funny.
Rob Wood and his brothers had a penchant for getting in trouble. And with that trouble usually came the "lickins" from their father. Today we know "lickins" as spankings, in which the book is aptly named. With a little preface chapter showing the types of different spankings that could be achieved and the different rules that when broken, would warrant a spanking, we are introduced to these brothers and shown how easily they were able to make mischief. From there we are taken to the five greatest spankings of all time, and what was done to deserve them. And oh my did they ever get themselves into trouble. From decimating a pig roast, to spooking a horse, to burning down the garage, these boys definitely earned their "lickins".
I like the way that Wood describes himself and his brothers. He doesn't even try to pretend that they were well behaved. In fact, he even sympathizes with his parents and the exhaustion they must have felt trying to raise the three. The three are pretty wild and what my mother would call "all boy." And his parents are pretty entertaining too. The father gets more time in the book since he is the giver of the spankings, but the mother is mentioned a little bit. I actually would have liked to see more of her and some more in depth description of her reactions to the mischief. A little time is even devoted to the grandparents, who despite being against spankings, had to deal with the behavior as well.
The book, as said before, is short, but I actually think it was the perfect length. Sure Wood could have made it the ten greatest spankings of all time, but I think that would have gotten redundant after awhile and he did best by choosing just five. And the five he chose, I have to say I laughed out loud on about all four of them. The only one I really didn't involved the horse and I just didn't see as much humor in that one. Although it did show the different styles between the grandparents "lickins" and the parents "lickins." There's a little bit of bad language in this book, but it's mostly censored out and I can't say that it would be the type to offend anyone. In fact, the only ones who may have trouble with this book are those people who hate spanking. Which to be honest, I'm against abuse, but never spankings as they are intended to be, a punishment that is strictly controlled. But others don't share the same opinions and they may not find the humor in this book.
Definitely a good little read. I'd recommend it for anyone nostalgic for the fifties, or those who miss hanging out with their siblings, or those who just enjoy a good laugh. Because of all things this book will do, it will definitely make you laugh.
The 5 Greatest Spankings of All Time
Copyright 2012
102 pages
What an amusing short story. I call it a short story because this is not a novel length book, but rather just snippets in time of a family that seemed to be pretty wild. And humourous, despite the trouble that Rob Wood and his three brothers got into, this book was definitely laugh out loud funny.
Rob Wood and his brothers had a penchant for getting in trouble. And with that trouble usually came the "lickins" from their father. Today we know "lickins" as spankings, in which the book is aptly named. With a little preface chapter showing the types of different spankings that could be achieved and the different rules that when broken, would warrant a spanking, we are introduced to these brothers and shown how easily they were able to make mischief. From there we are taken to the five greatest spankings of all time, and what was done to deserve them. And oh my did they ever get themselves into trouble. From decimating a pig roast, to spooking a horse, to burning down the garage, these boys definitely earned their "lickins".
I like the way that Wood describes himself and his brothers. He doesn't even try to pretend that they were well behaved. In fact, he even sympathizes with his parents and the exhaustion they must have felt trying to raise the three. The three are pretty wild and what my mother would call "all boy." And his parents are pretty entertaining too. The father gets more time in the book since he is the giver of the spankings, but the mother is mentioned a little bit. I actually would have liked to see more of her and some more in depth description of her reactions to the mischief. A little time is even devoted to the grandparents, who despite being against spankings, had to deal with the behavior as well.
The book, as said before, is short, but I actually think it was the perfect length. Sure Wood could have made it the ten greatest spankings of all time, but I think that would have gotten redundant after awhile and he did best by choosing just five. And the five he chose, I have to say I laughed out loud on about all four of them. The only one I really didn't involved the horse and I just didn't see as much humor in that one. Although it did show the different styles between the grandparents "lickins" and the parents "lickins." There's a little bit of bad language in this book, but it's mostly censored out and I can't say that it would be the type to offend anyone. In fact, the only ones who may have trouble with this book are those people who hate spanking. Which to be honest, I'm against abuse, but never spankings as they are intended to be, a punishment that is strictly controlled. But others don't share the same opinions and they may not find the humor in this book.
Definitely a good little read. I'd recommend it for anyone nostalgic for the fifties, or those who miss hanging out with their siblings, or those who just enjoy a good laugh. Because of all things this book will do, it will definitely make you laugh.
The 5 Greatest Spankings of All Time
Copyright 2012
102 pages
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)