Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts

April 25, 2012

The Quaker State Affair by Dan Romain


What happens when "someday" finally arrives?


Book Summary: A mysterious explosion in Taiwan. Nuclear secrets stolen from Los Alamos. China's manifest destiny at hand. In the near future, America and China go head to head in a battle of technological bluffs, setting in motion a chain of events that could lead to skyrocketing oil prices, the end of the dollar, the American way of life, and the republic itself. The only man who might have an answer in the midst of the international crisis is Patrick "Mac" McDaniels, a world-renowned physicist who wants nothing to do with the government. Has he been conducting revolutionary energy research in secret? And if so, will McDaniels be America's salvation, or its ruin? 

My review:  The Quaker State Affair is an excellent book! The story is believable, and relatable to the economics and the oil industry in the world today.  Newsworthy events we read about and sometimes worry about as well.

Not only is China attempting to pull off world economic chaos and domination, it is during the American Presidential election. The current President has enough on his plate, then this mysterious explosion happens, and China is prepared to take over as world economic leader.  Will China pull it off?  Can Mac, the physicist genius, come up with an energy solution in time?  If so, is he willing to work with the government?



The story is fast paced, action packed and keeps the reader engaged and wanting more.  The characters and dialog are entertaining and compelling. If you like political thrillers/mysteries, then you will love this book! 
It was so good, I feel like a movie is going to be coming next!    5 stars



I was given an ARC of this book from Tribute Books for an honest review.
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For more information on the book: The Quaker State Affair website

For more information on the author, please visit: Dan Romain's business website

Information for Tribute Books and blog tour: Tribute Books blog tour


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Reviewed by MaryAnn at 10:37 AM 2 comments
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February 7, 2011

Dear Mrs. Kennedy by Jay Mulvaney and Paul De Angelis

When was the last time you sat down and wrote and mailed a real letter? Try one million letters. Ever since I visited the American History Museum in DC last year I've had a small fascination with Jacqueline Kennedy. Maybe it's because she was beautiful or a style icon, or maybe because her husband was killed. One way or another after seeing her pictures and hearing a little bit of her story I jumped at the chance to review a new book called, Dear Mrs. Kennedy: The World Shares Its Grief Letters, November 1963, by Jay Mulvaney and Paul De Angelis.

The book is a compilation of a portion of the million letters that Mrs. Kennedy received in the few weeks after JFK's assassination. Letters from men, women, children, family members, political leaders, celebrities, and anyone else you could think of. Letters that tell the story of what happened in those months following his death.

Am I glad I read this book? Yes. Did it satisfy my Kennedy fascination, somewhat. Would I recommend this book to others? Yes. It was a quick, though slightly repetitive, read and gave me insight into one of the most compelling events and one of the most compelling families in American history.


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Reviewed by Britni at 8:23 AM 0 comments
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May 19, 2010

The Virtues of Mendacity- On Lying in Politics by Martin Jay

Allan Megill, of the University of Virginia, lauded The Virtues of Mendacity as a book that will, "surely become a primary reference point for anyone who wants to think seriously about lies and lying."

I agree. This book is well-organized, well-researched, and well-written. It is not, however, a book one reads for pleasure. It is a reference book.

The book is organized into three simple chapters: On Lying, On the Political, and On Lying In Politics. (As a side note, I would have enjoyed the book more if it had contained subsections within those three chapters simply because it would have given me more visual and mental breaks. )

In the end this is a sound piece of scholarly work that those in politics and academia will appreciate.

---

After having my husband read my review I have been thoroughly scolded for not being honest enough. Ironic, I know.

Okay, honestly...this book was boring. I made a commitment to read it. A hard working publicist took the time and money to send me a copy of this book. Had it not been for those factors I wouldn't have finished it. In retrospect even my review of this book was boring, for that I apologize.

The reason I hesitate to share those feelings is that this isn’t a bad book. I don’t believe it was written with the intent to entertain. It was written to inform and to ask people to think more about our culture in regards to political mendacity.

If I were still in college and preparing to write a paper on lies, lying, or politics this would be the first book cited in my paper. I guess what I am trying to say is that this book has a place. However, that place is not on my lap.


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Reviewed by Jenny @ An Apple for the Crafter at 2:22 PM 3 comments
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April 16, 2009

Ultimatum by Matthew Glass

In Ultimatum, Matthew Glass, puts together an eerily possible futuristic scenario. President elect in 2032, Joseph Benton, discovers the global warming problem he was preparing for is more rapidly approaching then he’s prepared for. Political maneuvering ensues.

The action does stall at times giving way to much dialogue and consequential discussion. However, Glasses writing is crisp and the conclusion is dramatic as could be desired. The fear this novel conjures is in its realism. Though disturbing, Ultimatum is not a traditional thriller as expected, but more of a look at cause and effect politics and international policy which to some may be even scarier. Those interested in political and environmental intrigue will surely enjoy this debut.


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Reviewed by Sara at 4:41 PM 0 comments
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April 2, 2009

It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis

This book is what is referred to as a "negative utopia," a futuristic (futuristic being a very relative term here) depiction of a world gone wrong, usually in a political sense.

This book was actually written in the early 30's during the Great Depression, and takes place in the late 30's. During this time the ideas of Socialism were looking pretty good to a lot of people who were unable to find work or to afford the simplest utilities. The book assumes that it is a given that the government will have to take control of any corporation that provides something that effects all people, such as utilities. The heros are Liberals, the bad guys are conservatives that want a more corporate state.

The funny thing about political extremism is that if you go too far to one side, you'll actually find yourself coming out on the opposite end. It's not really a scale, it's more like a circle. I've seen this with my husband, who's so right-wing that his right-wing desires end up being the very things the left wing advocates, though he will never admit it. They want the same things for different reasons. Sinclair doesn't himself make this connection, but unwittingly demonstrates it in this book.

This book is meant to show how a horrible dictatorship could come about even in America, in a place where such a thing seems impossible. In their economic crisis, the Americans in this book elect Buzz Windrip because he promises that every family will receive $5,000 a year (probably about equivalent to $40k a year now) no matter what. He promises to eliminate unemployment and crime and create a smaller government. And so he's elected. But he eliminates unemployment by sending everyone to work camps, and crime by rounding up everyone even suspected of ever having committed a crime and having them shot. He abolishes all political parties and creates his own. He creates smaller government by abolishing statehood and setting up six large disctricts run by tyrranical commissioners. In the meantime detractors are killed or sent to concentration camps. A new Underground Railroad is established to send refugees to Canada.

It seems like Sinclair took elements of Soviet Russia (although some of his heros are communists) and Nazi Germany (althought this was pre-WWII, the Nazis were in power when the novel was written) and smooshed them together to show how such a regime could happen in the USA. A lot of the situation was really unique to that time period though and truly could not happen now, such as the media being limited to radio and newsprint and information therefore easily repressed or delayed.

It was hard to get into. It didn't actually get interesting until the last third or so, and had an open ending. It was funny in some places and horribly boring in others, but that's probably because a lot of the language and situations were familiar to that time and not to me.

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Reviewed by Memarie Lane at 12:06 PM 2 comments
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November 10, 2008

The American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

This is a brand new book by Curtis Sittenfeld, also the author of the best-seller Prep, and I devoured every second of it. The book is supposed to be loosely based on the life of Laura Bush, but I didn't really think about that while I was reading it.

A quick synopsis from the book- "One what might have been one of the most significant days in her husband's presidency, Alice Blackwell considers the strange and unlikely path that has led her to the White House -- the repurcussions of a life lived, as she puts it, "almost in opposition to itself. A kind, bookish only child born in the 1940s, Alice learned the virtures of politeness early on from her stolid parents and small Wisconsin hometown. But a tragic accident when she was seventeen shattered her identity and made her understand the fragility of life and the tenousness of luck. So more than a decade later, when she met boisterous Charlie Blackwell, she barely gave him a second look. And then, much to her surprise, Alice fell for Charlie.

The book follows Alice's life from her childhoood to the end of her husband's presidency. I don't know a lot of historical facts on Laura and George Bush, and I kind of forgot it was even based on their life until the very end of the book. Sittenfeld is captivating in her writing and really made her main character, Alice, very intruiging. It took me a while to get through the book because it's a little long, but anytime I picked it up I couldn't put it back down. Sittenfeld's writing is funny, passionate, and realistic all at the same time. In this book she deals with everything from death to homosexuality (briefly) to war and politics, and it all somehow fits right in. Once you get to the end of the book, you almost feel a connection and sympathy for Alice and in some ways, our first lady. But for me the book was really all about Alice finding out who she was rather than being told by everyone around her, and that's what made it a book worth reading for me. I will definitely be picking up Sittenfeld's other books as well.
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Reviewed by Britni at 11:37 PM 0 comments
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