Book Review - Assassination of Governor Boggs

I just finished reading "The Assassination of Governor Boggs" by Rod Miller. I was asked to review this by my publicist friend, Tristi Pinkston who will link to this post over on her virtual book tour page. I took a peek at what some of the other reviewers there had to say about the book and was interested to see an interview with the author among them.

This book presents an interesting blend of genres, offering up historical fiction from a mystery/detective approach with some of the style of a western gunslinger tale thrown in for good measure.

The book is a fascinating read. It serves up a fictional character, one Calvin Pogue who works for the renowned Pinkerton detective agency from Chicago who has been assigned to investigate a cold case: the very real failed assassination attempt of Lilburn Boggs, who served as the the sixth Governor of Missouri from 1836 to 1840.

In real life, the culprit who shot Governor Boggs in Independence, MO in May of 1942 was never apprehended, although there was rampant speculation that the crime may have been committed by one Orrin Porter Rockwell, a faithful defender of Mormon leaders Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, and a major character throughout this book.

Governor Boggs was involved in many different issues and events of his day, but is perhaps best remembered as the one who issued the "Mormon Extermination Order"

From Wikipedia: Missouri Executive Order 44, also known as the "Mormon Extermination Order"[1] (alt. exterminating order)[2] in Latter Day Saint history, was an executive order issued on October 27, 1838 by the governor of Missouri, Lilburn Boggs. The directive was issued in the aftermath of the Battle of Crooked River, a clash between Mormons and a unit of the Missouri State Guard in northern Ray County, Missouri, during the so-called "Mormon War" of 1838. Insisting that the Mormons had committed "open and avowed defiance of the laws", and had "made war upon the people of this State," Boggs precipitously directed that "the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace—their outrages are beyond all description."

To this day there are many LDS people who hear the name Lilburn Boggs and think of him as a monster who was the cause of the suffering and death by starvation of many who had to flee their homes following the order. So it is no small wonder that at the time he was shot the bad feelings between Boggs and the Mormon people would lead to speculation about motive for the crime.

In this book the investigation into the shooting of Boggs that very nearly did take his life occurs 20 years after the fact. Upon the death of Governor Boggs, his family hires the Pinkerton Detective Agency to determine once and for all who shot Lilburn all those years ago. They are aware that the statute of limitations on attempted murder had long since passed so it is not a matter of bringing the assailant to justice. They do, however, have a deep desire to put the matter to rest once and for all by knowing who was responsible.

Pogue travels by stagecoach and train to various locations (Independence, MO, Navoo, IL and Salt Lake City, UT and the California gold lands) to interview every person he can find who might be able to shed some light on those long past events. Some of the characters we meet through these interviews are

Sam Brannon

Jacob Wright Harlan

Emma Smith








One of the primary voices in each chapter in that of Porter Rockwell himself, the man who many believed was the shooter.

There is much about this book I liked very much. It's a strong narrative that held my interest. I especially felt a connection with the detective, Calvin Pogue, and loved the detail of his ever vigilant lookout for all manner of toy horses in every town he visited that he would mail with loving letters to his young daughter back in Chicago.

I had read in some of the other reviews for the story that there would be a dramatic "suprise ending", but I NEVER saw coming what actually unfolded.

What made me squirm a bit as I was reading was the whole issue of "historical fiction". Unlike some of that genre, this book has absolutely no footnotes or end pages that detail sources for the historical part to allow the reader to sort it out cleanly from the fiction part. So there were several points where I was left simply wondering "Did that really happen??" That was uncomfortably unsettling for me.

I LOVE reading fiction. I also enjoy reading history. Generally speaking, however, I like to know which is which.

Still, even with that caveat, I can heartily recommend this book. It's a worthy read. Now I'll be off to do a bit more research of my own to see what I can learn about some of these characters.

You can purchase this book at Deseret Book or on Amazon.com

Daddy or the Daughter? Reading the Burkes back to back

For several years now I have been an avid reader and audio book listener of the works of James Lee Burke. The man's word pictures steal away my breath. His complex, very human characters always intrigue me. The man simply writes some of the most STUNNING sentences I've ever encountered after over 40 years of reading hundreds and hundreds of books.

Then recently I got my first taste of his daughter Alafair's work. While both write murder mysteries they are completely different in style. I must say I got far more caught up in the suspense of Alafair's writing. But after finishing her book 212 I returned to one of JLB's earlier works,Sunset Limited. It did not have me on the edge of my seat waiting to learn what was going to happen next the way Alafair's book did. Instead it had me absolutely mesmerized with what was happening NOW due to the amazing language.

I think I like her plots better. I definitely like his sentences better.

Setting is another big difference between the two. Alafair's series takes place in New York City. Dave Robicheaux is a Cajun cop in New Iberia, Louisiana.

I love the sense of place in those bayou books.

Granted, the elder Burke has written other books in other settings, but the ones that completely capture my heart are the misadventures of Nam vet and drunk-in-recovery Robicheaux and his hilarious sidekick in the pork pie hat, Clete Pursel. I've read so many of these I feel like these two guys are old friends.

I'm sure I will read more of Alafair's work. I very much enjoyed 212 (both the area code for NYC and the building number for the murder that occurs in the opening scene of the novel). But when it gets right down to it, my all time favorite writer is still the grand master, James Lee Burke. The voice he brings to his novels is so rich and complex, filled with undercurrents of visceral themes and failed humanity.

Alafair's writing is taunt, driven, full of surprises.

Comparing the two is like asking me if I like chocolate or peanuts better. They are entirely different. But the combination of reading them both back to back is absolutely delicious. Pass the Reeses peanut butter cups please, and hand me another novel.

Latter Rain - BOOK REVIEW

I was asked by my publicist pal, Tristi Pinkston, to read and review the book “The Latter Rain” by James M. Conis. I received a free copy of the book to review, as is the usual custom in the publishing world, but had no obligation to say nice things.

I am going to say them any way. I was very impressed by this book.

The Latter Rain is a complex book that on the surface appears deceptively easy. Although tackling a serious subject (a detailed analysis of the writings of the prophet Isaiah), because Conis’s writing style is very open and engaging, on first impression is seems like it will be a fairly simple read. There is nothing stuffy or ostentatious about how he presents his material. Throughout each chapter Conis outlines various concepts with a basic formula:
1. Make a point 2. Give a biblical scripture which embodies that point. 3. Explain the symbolism of that scripture in clear, every day language. 4. Restate and reinforce the point.

Conis does this so often and so well that at times it truly does seem that the ideas being presented are very simple, even obvious ones. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Reading Isaiah is anything but simple or obvious to most.

For most of my life I have been completely baffled by Isaiah’s writing. I mean seriously, the dude had some horrendous issues with lack of framing. Everything gets topsy turvey because aside from all his metaphor and symbolism, he doesn’t put things into context very well and he had no idea how to build a clean segue. He’d be talking about the problems of his own time among the people of Jerusalem, then all of a sudden he’s off having visions about the end of the world with no transition in between! It’s pretty hard to keep straight without a secret decoder ring.

What Conis attempts to do in this book is to present the secret decoder ring.

While the initial focus begins with Isaiah’s writings, Conis also addresses Ezekiel, Daniel and others, both in the old and new testaments. This book seems to be a painstaking effort to use ONLY biblical references to explain the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

Whether explaining how “rain” is used as a symbol in Deuteronomy or laying out the ways in which the Passover Feat foreshadowed the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Conis uses language that is clear and appealing. Although it is evident throughout that Conis made a thorough and scrupulous study of the Bible in preparing this book, this is no dry, academic treatise. It is very clear that Conis has a strong testimony of God and a true love of the scriptures.

On page 204 he writes:
“What is required to find the Lord? We must seek him with all our hearts and with all our soul. Some are lost and do not even realize it. Others know they are lost and desire relief from their plight, but never appeal to the Lord directly. They seek comfort among the man-made solutions of the earth. But these false organizations have not the power to save, nor satisfy. Only those who seek the Lord directly and call upon him in prayer will ultimately find him and his kingdom. He will guide them out from among the heathen through the promptings of the spirit as if they were led by the hand.”

I was particularly impressed by the section toward the end where Conis explains the Book of Revelations. I must say, while Isaiah usually just confuses me, reading Revelations gives me the heebie jeebies and makes my head hurt! However, using the same technique as with the rest of the book, Conis alternates between the original bible reference from the Book of Revelations and his explanation of the figurative language. (I admit at this section I started skipping past all the bible stuff and only reading Conis’s own writing….) There were several key insights in that section that I found interesting, such as the stuff about the seven candlesticks, the seven seals, and the seven heads of the beast. He makes a case in very convincing manner for what each of these represent. There were a few spots where I became genuinely excited to FINALLY understand something that had previously been clear as mud.

If I have any misgivings about this book at all, it is for what it does NOT say. Nowhere in the book does the author ever say anything directly about the LDS faith. He never mentions the name Joseph Smith. He never talks about the Book of Mormon. I went through the whole thing carefully looking for even a veiled reference to the church. It’s not there. But for anyone who is familiar with the faith at all, there is no doubt whatsoever that establishing the true authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the central purpose of the book.

He talks about thinks like the authority of the priesthood, the apostasy, a restoring of what was lost, the "stick of Judah" and "the stick of Joseph" as two different companion works of scripture, temples, missionaries, God having a physical body. Yeah, it is very abundantly clear that the concepts Consis explains so meticulously with the prophecies and teachings from the bible are those which are the core doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. But he does it in a painstakingly neutral way, NOT taking a voice of proselytizing, but rather pointing out what it is the Bible has alluded to all along, and leaving it up to the reader to decide what they think about it.

So I cannot help but wonder, does it make the book stronger or weaker that he makes all these references to core LDS doctrine without ever naming the church? Will it make the book of greater interest to the non-LDS audience? Will it make it any less appealing to the usual LDS book buying crowd? I honestly don’t know. I suspect part of the appeal of the book to me was how much it reinforced what I already believe to be true. I’m eager to share this book with a couple of my non-LDS friends and get their take on it.

As for me, my impression is that James Conis is an incredibly intelligent, articulate bible scholar who has made a tremendous contribution to scriptural based literature. He definitely answered some questions that I had, and did it in a way that was inviting and clear. It’s not a lightweight book. But for anyone who is even moderately interested in biblical analysis, regardless of what their views about the LDS faith are, I think it will be a very worthwhile read. For those who may be on a journey of faith looking to find personal answers, this is definitely a book I can recommend.

You can see what others have to say about this book at the virtual book tour HERE. (Books reviewed are over on the left - just scroll down to find this one. It's the 6th one down.)I'm the second reviewer so far, there will be several others in the coming weeks.

The book may be purchased HERE

SPECIAL OFFER FOR READERS OF THIS BLOG: when you check out, type in the coupon code Tour to receive 20% off.

Here is some brief bio information about the author:
Mr. Conis’ interest in the scriptures began when he took a course on the New Testament at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The main lecturer for the course was an orthodox Jewish professor, while the recitation sections for the class were taught by lay ministers from Christian faiths. The resulting dynamic of this course created deep philosophical questions concerning the doctrines and truths found in the Bible and those espoused by modern-day religion. This led to a life-long quest on the part of Mr. Conis to understand the true meaning intended by the ancient prophets.

Book Review - Safe Money Millionaire

The book "Safe Money Millionaire" is a short (120 pages) little "How To" book written in a conversational tone for the average person. In it BYU trained Brett Kitchen and Ethan Kap from Utah debunk widely accepted financial wisdom. They lay out a step-by-step method for individuals to protect their assets and make gains WITHOUT risking savings in the volatile unpredictability of the stock market.

Through stories and examples Kitchen and Kap propose a few very basic ideas.
1) wanting to get rich is a worthy goal.
2) much of the popular financial advice for how to do that is flawed.
3) there is a better way.
4) follow us.

One of the basic premises of this book is that investing money in a 401K retirement plan is a bad idea. Kitchen and Kap definitely have an uphill battle to get every day Americans to believe that 401K's are unwise. Even after the horrendous financial meltdown of 2008, MANY people are still very much committed to the idea that 401K's are one of the best ways to plan for retirement. But like salmon swimming upstream, tearing down that idea is exactly what they set out to do, going against the current council of many popular money folks with a lot more name recognition.

That being said - just because a person gets famous in financial advice circles does NOT mean the advice they give is sound. There are plenty of Dave Ramsey Bashers or people who hate Suze Orman out there. I LOVE the quote from Bertrand Russell that Kitchen and Kap included on page 25: "Even when the experts all agree, they may well be mistaken."

Understanding the problems with 401K's was pretty easy for me. Where I balked was at the alternative they offered: Cash value insurance plans. I'll admit right up front, I have a VERY STRONG personal bias against most forms of insurance. Getting past that bias was all but insurmountable for me.

Ideas are tenacious little buggers. Once a person has latched on to some idea, opinion or value they tend to burrow deep into our psyche, with roots deeper than a mallow weed. In a world full of ever shifting, complex information, most of us are more likely to notice the things that CONFIRM what we already believe rather than giving our attention over to the things that contradict. We are constantly on the lookout for the bits and pieces that tell us what we already know to be true IS true, so we can continue to hold on tight to our ideas, feeling confident we are right. We are human deleting machines... we go around daily ignoring or refuting the data from our lives that suggests we might just be going down a wrong path (no matter how valid that information may be).

So no matter how clearly the book explained the merit of having a 101 Plan, it just didn't appeal to me. While I do begrudgingly fork out money each month to insure my life, my home and my car, I resent what I see as a "fear tax". I believe ALL insurance companies operate on focusing people's fear and worry.

Personally, I'd rather have a chunk of cash in a safe, interest bearing fund and rely on THAT to help me get through the difficulty I would face in the unforeseen event of my pipes bursting or my car crashing or my house burning down. I long for the day when I can be 100% self insured. I'm not there yet. But I really do want to be able to forget about any insurance policy at all (other than medical care) at some point in the future.

So wrapping my mind around the notion that using cash value life insurance as an alternative investment was a leap that I had more than a little difficulty wrestling with. Also, wanting to know a little bit about the backgrounds of the authors I did some digging. I found Brett Kitchen's FaceBook page and see there that he is in insurance sales. Oh really? Having an insurance salesman tell me that buying a cash value life insurance policy is a wonderful idea just feels a bit like having a fox guard my hen house. He may have some very valid points to make, but my skeptic brain wonders how much of the advice here will benefit ME and how much will benefit HIM if I should take it.

However, I kept reading.

Even if I disregard that part of the book all together, there were several other little gems along the way.

I was impressed by the part that explained that getting a fat income tax refund is NOT in your best interest. (I've never understood why people feel so good about letting Uncle Sam use their money all year long for free.) I totally agree with the concept of structuring deductions so the amount you pay IN to the IRS comes as close as possible to amount you will be billed. If I want to have a cushion "just to be sure" I will put that amount into a separate bank account THAT PAYS INTEREST TO ME and then have it available to pay any remaining tax bill that may come due.

There were also a few other things that were worth the read.

When I was done with the book I cruised over to take the online quiz at the authors' website to find out my TRUE FINANCIAL AGE. (This is supposed to assess how many more years I will have to work before I can securely retire.) I must admit, I plugged in all the required numbers with a bit of trepidation. I was pleasantly surprised, however, when it said I could retire at 64. REALLY? Huh, I figured I'd be working AT LEAST another 15 years which would put me closer to 70. But no matter.... truth is I will work for the insurance benefits whether I need the actual pay check or not.

Bottom line for me, this book is worth picking up. It is a quick, easy read that has some useful information. Even if you don't agree with or follow all of their advice (like me), I think it is a good stepping stone in becoming more educated about financial matters and goes a long way to demystify the investment world.

To see what other reviewers had to say about this book, check out Tristi Pinkston's Virtual Book Tours HERE and scroll down till you see this book over on the right hand side among others that have been reviewed.

To buy this book you can go to Amazon.com or check out your local bookstore.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book so I would review it. I had no obligation to say favorable things and have no other incentives for this posting.

Willful Suspension of Disbelief

Anyone who reads fiction is very familiar with the concept of "willful suspension of disbelief". This has to do with our voluntarily going along with the plot, characters and theme of a story, allowing ourselves to get caught up in the tale "as if" it were real, even though we know it is not.

Over the years I have read quite a bit of science fiction and a smattering of fantasy works. I grew up reading Tolkein's tales of Middle Earth and spent a few years in my 20's as an avid Trekkie, to the point that I would use phrases and analogies in my every day conversations based on the world created by Gene Roddenberry.

So I am no stranger to Willful Suspension of Disbelief (WSB).

Still, when a book violates not only the rules of the known universe, but also seems to change its own rules midstream, my mind balks.

Such was the case with my recent read of Sweet Dreams by Bosie author, Aaron Patterson.

But here is my quandary.... I am not sure which bothers me more, for a book to be totally predictable or for a book to shift gears so suddenly and unexpectedly that I lose my ability to believe in it.

I get bored with books that plod through a formula so entrenched that on page 30 you can pretty much guess how it will end. However, if an author is going to take a wild leap of changing all the rules of who characters are or what they have experienced there better be plenty of explanation to make those shifts plausible. I simply did not think Patterson met that standard with this book.

There were pieces of this novel that I genuinely liked. On two different nights I sat up late turning pages because I was very engaged in the story and simply could not put it down. It held my interest and made me want to know how all the pieces were going to fit together.

My frustration is, I don't think they did fit together. At least not enough for me. When I got to the part where THE WHOLE BOOK turned on it's head to go off in a different direction I was beyond skeptical. I kept looking for enough back story to make sense of the shift and it simply didn't play out. There was one point that had the potential for some fascinating spins that just never completely materialized.

Add to that some truly INSIPID dialogue and some extraneous sentences that annoyed the dickens out of me making me want to trade my whole kingdom for a decent copy editor (which could also have helped with the multiple typos my teacher eyes kept finding scattered throughout).

So I'm torn...is this a book I would recommend? It truly had some things about it I liked very much. I can see why some would very much enjoy it. I've just passed it on to my husband to get his impressions. I suspect the James Bond elements of slick agent with awesome technology will appeal to him. Still, for me there are just too many holes. MAYBE some of the questions the book left me hanging with will be resolved in later episodes of this series. Or not. I guess I just might have to read the next book to find out.

BOOK REVIEW - Sleight of Hand

I spend A LOT of time reading on my computer. Because of that, I did not think I would mind reading this book online. However, when it comes to reading for pleasure, I just want to hold the book in my hands and turn the pages. I would not rule out reading another e-book, but clearly it is NOT my preferred format. Particularly with this book, I found the non-standard font and the lack of page numbers distracting. It simply did not feel like a "real" book, and I missed that.

Still - Sleight of Hand by Deanna Blackhurst (an e-book published on Smashwords) was such an intriguing read that I couldn't put it down.

The book deals with concepts of choice and accountability, justice and mercy through the story Daniel Cabrero, a con man who has manipulated, cheated, and lied his way through life. Daniel dies of a heart attack on page 5 of the book. The rest of the story deals with how he comes to terms with the "afterlife" he finds himself in.

Daniel is transported to a lovely rural setting that SEEMS like heaven. It's not. When his spirit guide, Jonah, explains that Daniel is actually in "Wasteland", Daniel begins to scheme like he has never schemed before in order to con his way out and into the comfort of Paradise City. After all, those skill sets had worked for him in life, why not in death as well?

While Blackhurst is an LDS author and some of the concepts of afterlife are clearly influenced by the doctrines of her faith, this book is NOT "Mormon Fiction". It is very much a non-denominational speculative tale about what MIGHT be around the corner when we die. It does not preach or proselytize. Blackhurst addresses serious themes in ways that are sometimes humorous and sometimes thought provoking.

As I was reading descriptions of the frustration Daniel felt at being able to drink all the cold beer he wanted but could never get that familiar warm "buzz" of intoxication since he had no body, it made me wonder what sort of things I would most miss.

However, the notion of being able to savor all of the richest, most decadent foods you might dream up with no health consequences sounded pretty heavenly to me.

As Daniel is faced with choices for the next steps he will make in his spiritual progression we are given flashbacks into the ill deeds he has committed throughout his life. This is clearly the G or PG version as the language is generally tame and our bad boy protagonist keeps showing a certain reserve of scruples that stop him from doing things that might be considered truly vile.

Nevertheless, we witness the many ways that one person's choices can impact others as Daniel is forced to recognize the harm he has caused. What he chooses to do about that will determine what his ultimate fate will be.

There were parts of the book I REALLY liked. I appreciated some of the little details about the physical environment...

"The path they traveled curved slightly to the right and then to the left, Daniel noticed, as it meandered its way through the greenery. The foliage was dense, sometimes creating a canopy above their heads, but there was nothing dark or shadowy about the place. In fact, there were no shadows at all, and when he looked up, Daniel could find no trace of sun above them.

"We don't require a burning star for light or warmth here", Jonah said, as if reading Daniel's thoughts. "Each living thing has a light within itself. The purpose of the sky is simply to reflect that light."

There were parts I did not like. Some of the supporting characters seemed a bit contrived. There was never really an adequate explanation about Jonah's predicament.
Also there was one plot twist that served to add suspense and build depth to the Daniel Cabrero character, but the details seemed very unrealistic to me.

Still, overall it was a good read. I enjoyed it and will more than likely look for other work by this same author.

If you are interested to see what OTHER people had to say about this book - check out the side bar of Tristi Pinkston's virtual book tour site. Mine is the second review so far. Others will be added in the coming weeks.

One last note - I would caution the writer to be a little more careful when selecting a title.

When doing a Google search for "Sleight of Hand ebook" I found another that was ALSO published on Smashwords - a completely different novel with the same title by CJ Lyons.

There is a Nook ebook about tribes and vampires by Lauren Dane ALSO titled Sleight of Hand.

There is a mystery for Microsoft Reader by Wilhelm Kate by that same title.

There is an ultra steamy bodice-ripper romance for Kindle by Katrina Strauss of the same name.

There is a thriller that takes place in Las Vegas by Jeff Marriotte with AGAIN, that same title.

Mind you, these are just e-books. There are others in traditional print format.
So my advice to any authors out there is do a little research before you pick a title for your baby book. It can avoid a whole lot of needless confusion.

Book Review - Kisser by Stuart Woods

Have you ever finished reading a book and wished you had back the six or eight hours it took you to slog your way through it? Kisser, by Stuart Woods, was that kind of book.

This is the 17th novel in the Stone Barrington series, and frankly, I was disappointed and embarrassed for poor Stone. While none of the books could ever be accused of being overly cerebral, the earlier volumes were at least reasonably entertaining and inoffensive. I recall reading a few years ago that were actually quite fun, although I usually got tired of hearing what Stone Barrington was wearing.

This book had none of the charm or interest I recall from Woods' earlier works. It went from one scene of gratuitous sex to another with a sloppy plot, poor character development and insipid dialogue. As far as being the "exciting new page turner..." claimed on the dust jacket - not hardly.

I picked it it up because my husband had checked it out from the library and had it along on our recent trip to Salt Lake City. I'd mainly brought along serious stuff and was in the mood for a diversion. I thought this book could provide some fun escape. I should not have bothered. At two or three points I almost put it down because I didn't like the language or the ridiculous sex scenes. However, I kept at it thinking that it would get better. It didn't. From the first page to the last, I never found myself able to engage with the story and there were several spots where it was just plain weak writing. I felt like Woods let his audience down and did a disservice to an established character.

I was determined I was not going to make any New Years resolutions this year. I think I'm going to change my mind. It's going to be a long time before I will be willing to pick up any novel by Stuart Woods (if ever), but more importantly if I ever pick up another book by ANYONE that appears this lame in the first 50 pages I will put it down and never look back. This book was a complete waste of time.

Book Review - LUCKY by Alice Sebold

I just finished listening to the audio book "Lucky" by Alice Sebold. I have to admit, had I known what the book was going to be about, I would have passed. However, having very much enjoyed her highly acclaimed novel "The Lovely Bones", when I saw her name on the CD case of this one sitting on the library shelf I scooped it up without much looking. I knew Sebold to be a writer with the capacity to craft incredibly powerful word pictures, whose sentences riveted me. I was very much looking forward to another one of her tales.

However, it became apparent in the first five minutes this was no novel. It is, in fact, her harrowing autobiographical account of having been brutally raped by a stranger at age 18, of the trial that convicted her assailant and all the many ways that having been so savagely violated impacted her life. She didn't flinch with words in describing exactly what happened to her. She describes the brutality and degradation of the attack in infinite detail. Yet she also does not over sensationalize her experience of being a "victim" of a violent sex crime. She relays her experiences in matter-of-fact report which she reads nearly dead-pan, with all the passion and inflection of Joe Friday.

Sebold's skill with words served her well as she wove her story. I was particularly impressed by the balance with which she gave back story vignettes of her childhood and about her family, just enough to portray a clear picture of who the 18 year old virgin was that was attacked that day that forever severed her life into a grim dichotomy of before and after. By having a picture of who she was as a daughter and as a sister, seeing what she was like in high school as well as getting glimpses into her freshman college friendships it allows the reader to more fully comprehend the split between the "before" Alice Sebold and the after.

Where the book fell down some was towards the end where she brushes around a period of her life that seemed equally significant. She alludes to much with shadow images she never quite brings into view. Particularly because of the unscathing detail of the earlier parts it made the later sections feel something between rushed and deliberately vague, which I found unsatisfying.

Overall though, this is a very powerful, well written book. It's not for everyone as it does have extremely graphic descriptions of her assault which could be a painful trigger for anyone with their own baggage of trauma history, which sadly includes far too many people. However, those willing to bear witness to the horrific part of Sebold's experience that accounts for the first few pages will be drawn in and captivated by her descriptions of coming to terms with that event - how it changed her and how she made sense of her life in the aftermath.

MOST people will not experience what Sebold did. However, sexual violence is far from a rare occurrence in this country.

A website from Ohio University reports that "In the United States, 1.3 women are raped every minute. That results in 78 rapes each hour, 1872 rapes each day, 56160 rapes each month and 683,280 rapes each year. 1 out of every 3 American women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime. The United States has the world's highest rape rate of the countries that publish such statistics. It's 4 times higher than Germany, 13 times higher than England, and 20 times higher than Japan."

As horrific as it is for a woman (or man, for that matter) to have to experience, too often that experience is made worse because of the negative social perceptions and stigma associated with it. In the book "Lucky" Sebold describes what it was like being looked at as "the girl who was raped" and the degree to which she internalized the view of being damaged goods.

This is a powerful book to read because it is incredibly well written. It is an important book to read because it takes an unscathing look not only at the ugly crime of rape, but also on the social and legal responses to that crime.

BOOK REVIEW - Who's At the Door?

I was recently asked by my writer/publisher pal, Tristi Pinkston, to do a review of the book “Who’s at the Door" by Dan Harrington. I've always been happy to join in the blog tours of books, so of course I said yes.

Who's at the Door? is a quick and easy read in which author Dan Harrington describes his meetings with a succession of different LDS missionaries in the town of Augusta, Maine between 2007 and 2009. As an aspiring writer with one publication credit in a local newspaper, Harrington initially became interested in learning more about the “Elders” as subjects for a human interest article he planned to write. Over time he developed friendships with several of the missionaries who served in that area. He allowed them to continue to come to his home to teach lessons about LDS doctrine, known as “taking the discussions”, and through that process begins to more closely examine his own beliefs.

When I first picked up the book I thought this was going to be a snapshot into the life of LDS missionaries. This is not that kind of story. Instead, Harrington turns the tables by capturing what it was like to be an “investigator”, a person learning about the teachings of the church. He describes his feelings about the different principles he is introduced to and reflects on how those teachings fit or did not fit with his established beliefs. He tells bits and pieces of what it was like to visit an LDS congregation and explores the things that he admires about or struggles with regarding the church and its members.

Clearly this book is intended for an LDS audience. While Harrington holds onto the “outsider’s view” in describing the teachings and traditions of the church, he portrays Latter-day Saints in very positive terms. Even when he reaches the points that hold him back from embracing the religion, he gives “the Mormons” the benefit of the doubt at every turn.

Harrington seems quite sincere in his affection and admiration for the missionaries. At several points throughout the book it seemed to me that he was less motivated in his ongoing meetings with the Elders by any serious spiritual searching than he was simply a guy who needed friends. He appeared to enjoy spiritual discussions to a point, but most of his focus was on the personal sincerity of the various elders he encountered and the fun times they had when he would take the guys to various restaurants to share a meal.

One thing that was very much missing from the story was how any of Harrington’s established friends may have reacted to him spending so much time with the Elders. He briefly mentions talking to his parents and sister about his interest in the church. Yet never once did he mention anything about other friends of his over a time span of three years. To me, that seemed to reinforce the notion that perhaps he was a guy that didn’t have many people he felt close to in his life, which may have been why he was so open to spending as much time with the missionaries as he did.

In the epilogue to the book Harrington writes: “I don’t think too many conversions hinge on how accurate the Book of Mormon may or may not be. People want a place to be accepted, a place to hear about God, a place where they feel God hears them. Simply put, most people aren’t theologians. Neither am I. That’s what we have in common.” That, for me, was the most telling passage of the entire book.

Both the strength and the weakness of this story is that the experience of investigating a religion is a deeply personal thing. Each individual’s journey is unique. So ultimately this book tells us a lot about Dan Harrington’s view and experiences in exploring the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but offers very little that can be generalized to investigators as a group.

Some seek out a new church hoping to find a community where they can feel the reassurance of nice people who they enjoy being around. Others focus more on pursuing a spiritual confirmation about the truth of the principles taught. Some may be drawn to the church for its reputation of providing support in times of need. Perhaps the greatest value this book held for me was the ways in which it prompted me to take a closer look at my own motives for my involvement with my church family. Reading this book served as a catalyst for me to re-examine what the source of my own commitment to my faith is. Beyond that, it was a reminder to me about the importance of being open and supportive toward those who may come to investigate our faith. Because, as the prophet Gordon B. Hinkley taught us, one of the first things all new members need to feel welcome in church is to have a friend.

If you are looking for a fast read for the holidays, you can purchase this book HERE

BOOK REVIEW - Cleansing of America

I am one of those people who will cover my eyes during the scary parts of a movie. I eschew situations that fill me with a sense of creepiness or dread. I have a few friends who are willing to pay big bucks for experiences deliberately calculated to scare the snot out of them. (think bungee jumping and other high adrenaline adventures.) Not me. No high flying zip line trips through jungles or forests. No precarious climbs up the side of rock faces. I like to keep my feet firmly upon Terra firma with a solid surety that I am absolutely safe.

So imagine my discomfort as I read through the pages of a book all about the prophecies of the last days on this earth that details with laser sharp precision the sort of travails that will be known immediately prior to the second coming of Jesus Christ. Piece by piece this book gave evidence of how much death, destruction and trauma is going to happen, hitting the righteous and wicked alike. Holy tomatoes, it was not an easy read.

However, as I thought about what I would say in a review of the book “Cleaning of America” the word that kept coming to me over and over as I reflected on what my take away was from this book was COMFORT. Odd, huh?

Here’s the thing…while Dr. W. Cleon Skousen pulls absolutely no punches in detailing what will occur in the last days in sometimes dreadful clarity, he also gave very clear council about how to prepare for and thrive during those turbulent times.

I don’t know about you, but when I read the book of Revelations I get confused more than intimidated. All that figurative language just sort of rattles around in my brain. I've also read various works by different people from different faiths explaining their take on "Prophecies of the Last Days". Most of it leaves me feeling confused as much as spooked. What I liked best about the book Cleansing of America is that even though it deals with some very big and complex topics, the language is absolutely approachable and easy to understand.

Hey, I'm no literary lightweight and having been blessed with a graduate education I have a better than average vocabulary. Nevertheless, when I read things by authors like James Talmage or other heavy hitters of revered gospel works I often come away frustrated more than uplifted because I have to spend so much time looking up words in a dictionary that I lose track of what it is they are trying to say. In sharp contrast, this book is something I could stick with all the way through because it made sense to me. It is FAR from fluff reading. There is real meat here and holds some big ideas that left me pondering for a long, long time. Still, it is presented in a manner that most any reasonbly literate adult could understand, and that appealed to me. (Even the parts that made me want to pull the covers over my eyes.)

While it is not at all light reading, Skousen takes you step by step through things prophets have taught about the last days and then lays out specific real world examples that illustrate how those very things are coming to pass. He ties together a myriad of teachings in a way that makes his message abundantly clear. The opening sections really are pretty scary. But if you stick with it he also lays out how we as a people can hold firm to what we know to be true to get through those hard times to take part in the miracles and blessings that will also be a part of the last days.

The main points I gleaned from this book are these: We are in the winding down times of the great plan of salvation. There is a reason for many of the events that are unfolding in the world now. In the days to come there will be even more precarious and turbulent events. Without question, there will be a great deal of suffering for the righteous and wicked alike. But as we hold fast to the teachings of Jesus Christ and put our full trust in Him, we do NOT need to be afraid. Even when we have to endure tremendous adversity, we will be comforted and blessed. That does not mean we will be rescued from all the bad stuff. Even many of the elect will fall vicitim to what's coming. Let's face it, we ALL will die sooner or later. Some of those deaths will be those of good, righteous people who fall prey to the violence and volatility of both natural and man made catastrophes we know will come.

Still, what this book reminded me in very powerful ways is that how we choose to live during what may be the darkest and most difficult days of human history really does matter. We don't have to just cower in the dark because bad stuff is coming. We can make choices about what we stand up for and how we conduct our lives. We were specifically chosen to be upon the earth at this time to face down these very events. So no matter what tempests may be coming, there is a clear path that will protect us from the chaos in all the ways that really matter. The bottom line for me from this book can be found in Section 38, Verse 30 of the Doctrine and Covenants: “If ye are prepared ye shall not fear..”

Several other bloggers have also written reviews of this book. If you would like to read more about what others have to say on this work you can find the links to their reviews by clicking HERE.

Many thanks to Tristi Pinkston over at Valor Publishing for giving me the privlege of this sneak preview read and an opportunity to review this book. It is scheduled to be released April 1. You can pre-order it now at a discounted price by going HERE.

It is unsettling book, to be sure, but I think a very worth while read.

New Virtual Book Tour on the Way

Trisiti Pinkston is at it again.

A successful writer herself, Tristi also works as Senior Editor of Valor Publishing. In that role she has been a real champion of finding fresh and innovative ways to get the word out about new books coming to market. One that she has successfully done is the "Virtual Book Tour" in which several bloggers are invited to read a pre-release copy of a new book and then write a candid review of that book on their blogs.

I have been fortunate enough to be included in this gathering of readers in the past. On March 24 I will be reviewing The Cleansing of America by Dr. W. Cleon Skousen.(Click HERE for a biography of Skousen)

While I have heard a lot about Skousen's past works, I have not yet read any of his books. I have a PDF file of this soon to be published work on a flash drive I will take with me as I am traveling to Arizona this week. I have about a three hour lay over in Salt Lake at an airport that does NOT offer free wi-fi. (What's the deal SLC?) So instead of bemoaning the fact that I can't get online while I'm there I'll use that time to do some reading.

I look forward to seeing what the book has to offer and I very much appreciate Tristi's continued confidence in me as a reviewer. I'm excited to have the opportunity to give this book careful thought and share my reactions to it here.

BOOK REVIEW - Left to Tell

I recently read the book Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza with Steve Erwin. This was an incredibly powerful book. This is the first person account of a women who survived the horrific mass genocide that occurred in Rawanda in 1994. She did a lot more than survive that unimaginable atrocity. She emerged from the experience with a deep connection to God and found the power to forgive ... not just forgive those who said something nasty or slighted her in some way socially, but to truly forgive people who had brutally hacked her family to death with machetes. This woman does not sugar coat what happened. In harrowing detail she describes how her homeland unravelled into senseless violence that took the lives of hundreds of thousands of her people.
(From BBC News: "Between April and June 1994, an estimated 800,000 Rwandans were killed in the space of 100 days")

She goes on to describe how she hid from the killing spree that murdered most of her family, spending 91 days huddled in a small bathroom with seven other women, nearly starving, waiting for the maddness in the street to stop.

During that time the thing that allowed this woman to hold on to her sanity was to immerse herself in prayer and scripture study. She gave over her whole soul to knowing God as everything she new unravelled around her. She rode through waves of terror and rage, absolute shock and horror - and yet came out the other side having found a level of peace that almost defies understanding.

This book raised so many questions for me.

How is it possible that human beings are capable of such senseless violence toward people they knew and cared about?

How is it possible for anyone to fully forgive that level of insane cruelty?

Why is it that so much of the world turned their backs on this atrocity, allowing hundreds of thousands to die without interveneing and yet when WHITE faces are the ones being murdered in other parts of the world (Such as Bosnia)we are so much quicker to step in.

How much did US policy contribute to what happened in Rawanda? Who's version do I believe? (Michael Chossudovsky gives some very unsettling accounts in Part II of Chapter 7 entitled "Economic Genocide in Rwanda", of the Second Edition of The Globalisation of Poverty and the New World Order, Global Research, 2003. This text is in part based on the results of an earlier study conducted by the author together with Belgian economist and Senator Pierre Galand on the use of Rwanda's 1990-94 external debt to finance the military and paramilitary. )

This book makes me seriously ponder many global issues. But it also moves me to reflect on my own faith and willingness to forgive those who have harmed me - in matters from the trivial to the profound.

The writing is clear. The message is clearer. We may be utterly powerless to control what happens TO us, but it is entirely up to each one of us to determine what happens WITHIN us in response to whatever challenges life brings.

Powerful book that I will be thinking about for a very long time.

BOOK REVIEW- Am I Not A Man? The Dred Scott Story

I just finished reading the book "Am I Not A Man? The Dred Scott Story" by Mark Shurtleff. This was a powerful book.

Mark Shurtleff, Attorney General for the State of Utah, spent five years carefully researching the story of Dred Scott, an illiterate slave who sued for freedom in the 1800's. In law school Shurtleff had studied the case of Scott vs. Sanford - a case that is very significant because the Supreme Court had overturned an act of Congress. Years later Shurtleff became interested in the case again, only this time he sought to more fully understand the person of Dred Scott rather than just the facts of legal precedent. He also became very interested in the various members of the Blow family who fought so tirelessly to assist their former slave to win his freedom after having sold him off to help pay their own debts.

The book is very meticulously researched and clearly details many incidents of the time in stark accuracy according to the documents Shurtleff uncovered. While the "personalities" involved are of necessity conjecture, assigning motives, thoughts, and dialogue that are entirely creations of the author, the EVENTS that are reported throughout this book are very real.

Historical fiction is an interesting genre. With some it is difficult to sort out where the history starts and stops and when the fiction begins. This book was a strong departure from that pattern. And that, perhaps, is both the strength and the weakness of this book. There were times as I was reading it that I had difficulty assigning a "voice" to the story as it vacillated between the writer's attempt to create believable characters against the backdrop of such detailed historical accounts. Clearly much of what is included comes from the various letters, newspaper reports, court records, deeds, wills, and other tangible evidence of the times. I found myself continually switching tracks in my mind. Just when I would begin to get caught up in caring about the PEOPLE I was reading about, the tale would then segue off into various factual tangents... a detail about Francis Scott Key or a sideline about various Indian treaties. I found it distracting. YES, they helped portray a more complete picture of what was going on at the time. But for me, too often those details, even though true and sometimes quite interesting, were not entirely germane to the story of Dred Scott. So I felt the narrative was cluttered with way too much of the HISTORY and weak when it came to the FICTION.

I suspect that Shurtleff would be an excellent writer of non fiction accounts that would be fascinating to read. He is clearly an intelligent, articulate guy who has very carefully studied every detail of this time period and of the parties involved.

FICTION writing, however, has more to do with imagination. I would like to see what Shurtleff might do if he were to attempt a straight fiction piece - simply weaving a story of believable characters sorting their way through some sort of conflict or struggle. It would be fine if the backdrop were loosely based on actual events. But to mix the fiction with such detailed research was frustrating for me. I could never fully engage in unfolding of the plot enough to fully care about the characters. Juxtaposed as they were against all the detailed facts kept bringing me up short in how I responded to the book, never letting me give myself over to the degree of willful suspension of disbelief that can make fiction reading so delightful. Still, I could never entirely immerse myself in enjoying the analytical world of related facts that generally appeals to me in reading non-fiction because that kept getting interspersed with dialogue that seemed to me a bit contrived.

So I was both fascinated and frustrated by this book. In many ways it remains a good read and taught me much about our nation's history of that period that I had not known previously. It also made me hungry to know more about the Blows. I was very curious about what led them to have the moral courage to stand up for their friend Dred Scott the way that they did, at considerable risk and expense to themselves. As a follow up to this book I would love to see Shurtleff attempt a retelling of the same period exclusively from their point of view - only this time really allow himself to give way to the fiction. I believe he could accomplish much with that by staying true to the characters he clearly has much admiration for (and rightfully so) if he could manage to avoid being so married to the details of the research.

NOTE: You can read reviews of what others thought about this important book by following links to their blogs listed for the Virtual Book Tour HERE.

Crazy For the Storm

Check out the review I just wrote of Crazy For the Storm by Norman Ollestad over on Page Nibbers. AMAZING BOOK!!!!

Here are a few links to what OTHERS have said about this book:

June 07, 2009 Sarah Willis in the Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH)

June 14, 2009 Washington Post

July 08, 2009 Pen on Fire - Audio interview of author by Marie Stone

Strange Piece of Paradise

Back in May I wrote a posting here about the book "Strange Piece of Paradise" by Terri Jentz.

I left it up for three or four days and then took it down, marking it as "draft" so the words were still captured for ME, but no longer available for those who read this blog. I felt way too exposed by having made references in my comments to some of my early trauma history. It creeped me out that people whose esteem I crave would know the bad nasty secrets of my past. So I made the words go away.

I've thought a lot about why I wrote it in the first place, why I took it down, and why after all these years I still have so much struggle with owning the fact that the old horrors should NOT infer any shame on me. Whether or not I ever adequately answer those questions is anybody's guess. It's something that remains deeply unresolved for me.

I've been corresponding some with the author Terri Jentz over the past months. We've been batting around a conversation about the key issue of people standing mute when evil occurs. If I can't even speak out about my own history, how can I expect anyone else to stand up when they see someone being harmed?

I see no need to go on and on about the gorey details or to make those events the centerpiece of my life's story. But by maintaining the iron clad secrecy about it that is my usual pattern I think I do both myself and all victimized children a disservice.

So, all squeemishness aside, I'm reposting my comments about Strange Piece of Paradise, and not editing out the parts that initially made my skin crawl. There are no graphic tales or anything all that self revealing. Still, for me even saying this much felt like swollowing a coarse stone. Truth be told, I really don't care so much about the "strangers" who might read this. But those folks I know in the real world who are likely to see it...that's the part that gives me pause. I have no doubt that in the days and weeks to come I'll have plenty of opportunities to process that discomfort further and maybe learn from it some.

Terri will be coming back to central Oregon the end of this month to give a "town hall" sort of meeting to talk about the issue of why people look away or keep silent in the face of evil. She will be speaking at Paulina Springs bookstore in Sisters, Oregon, on July 28th at 6:30. Should be an interesting group there, including many who know players in the story. I'm not sure my schedule will permit me to go, but I aim to try if I can arrange it.

Whether I make it there in body or not, I'm definitely with Terri in spirit and wish her every success. Her ability to reclaim her life after an unspeakable crime that nearly killed her speaks volumes to the strength of her core self. I don't know her personally, so I can't really say how much she has actually moved on or how much her life remains intertwined with those events of over 20 years ago. But either way, it seems to me she has taken some very positive steps by fully owning what happened to her and being willing to explore the impact of those events.

While I certainly have no intention of writing a book or going on tour to talk about my own harms there is still much I can learn from her candor.

So here's the post. Hopefully, this time I'll have the guts to let it stand.

*******

I just finished listening to a very powerful audio book, Strange Piece of Paradise by Terri Jentz.

I am both haunted and affirmed by this book.

Ms Jentz and her Yale roommate survived a horrific attack while camping near Redmond, OR in 1977. A man deliberately drove over the top of the tent they were sleeping in, then went after the both of them with an ax. It is an absolute miracle that either girl lived through it at all, let alone that they were both able to go on to have powerful, productive lives.

The book chronicles her investigation into that crime which was never solved.

The "true crime" genre generally does not appeal to me at all. However, this book is so much more than that. The word pictures Jentz paints are as breathtaking as the peaked mountains of the area where she was nearly killed. Her book is just the right mix of personal account and social commentary. Her skill with language keeps the reader engaged, maintaining a taunt story with sometimes harrowing details, yet is not overwhelming. Her training in English Literature at Yale definitely shows.

While I've never had to endure the sort of crime Jentz experienced, her depiction of disassociation in the beginning of the book is all too familiar to me. I know that sort of splitting. I also know what it's like to wake up from nightmares years after an assault and feel the creepiness of dream dancing with memory shudder through my skin.

Her tenacious determination to track down the truth of what really happened to her that night leads her to discoveries about evil that go beyond most people's imagination...yet perhaps even more disconcerting is her realization that despite the fact that dozens of people either knew or suspected who did this terrible crime the perpetrator was never arrested, never prosecuted, never punished.

This is why Jentz's story is so riveting for me. While our traumas were very, very different, I know something of the incredulity and impotent rage one feels when others stand by seeing the bad thing happen, having the power to intervene, but instead do NOTHING. Coming to terms with that is something I expect I will do battle with in one fashion or another until I am in my grave.

I get it that there is badness. But I am more harmed, and I believe our culture as a whole is more damaged, by the failure of decent people to stand up and speak out against evil than we are by the consequences of the evil itself.

While the legal outcomes are very different, there are some parallels to what went on in Bend and Redmond, Oregon in the '70s and the case of Kitty Genovese who was murdered outside her apartment in 1964 while dozens of neighbors did nothing to intervene.

At the time of the Genovese murder the press went crazy with statements about how urban living led to such a shameful and wanton lack of regard for a fellow human being. A considerable amount of research and discussion into the social phenomena of "diffusion of responsibility" and "bystander effect" was done for years afterwards. I still teach those very principles in my own sociology courses. They are key principles we social scientists cut our academic teeth on.

But Jenz's story gives clear evidence that even in small town America people can refuse to see or acknowledge danger/evil in their midst. The reasons for this are complex, and unravelling THAT has been the heart of my own journey.