Reproduced by generous permission of Tom Elliott and American Mensa, Ltd.,
from MENSA Bulletin, the publication of American Mensa, Ltd. All rights reserved.

Books by Mensans

Title: You're Not the Boss of Me: Empowerment Strategies for an Imperfect Workplace

Author: Frances O. Thomas
Publisher: Lulu.com, Morrisville, N.C.
ISBN: 1-4116-5090-5
It's been said that some Mensans are unemployable because they neither take direction well nor suffer fools gladly. Perhaps it's not their fault, but rather their bosses'. Starting out with a satire of an employee handbook --a 'what not to do' for management - the author draws on her own experiences to offer "a brief look at unsavory, malicious and incompetent bosses and offers suggestions on how to deal with them."

Title: The Marriage Syndrome

Author: Lytton Kavez
Publisher: iUniverse.com Inc.
ISBN: 0-595-16801-7
Self-described as "using stimulating settings as a backdrop of thoughtful analysis of moral and ethical relationship quandaries and an exploration of the struggle between confinement and freedom, and the ambiguity of each," this is a novel which, if made into a movie, could trumpet the claim "A Cast of Thousands!" And the plot is so complex I'm almost tempted to leave it to the author to explain it. Protagonist Steve falls in love with a new employee, but waits until she attains an equal position before revealing his feelings. She has a brief affair with him and then leaves. Steve turns to his cousin, a now-retired prostitute, for psychological support, friendship and advice, and she invites him to accompany her when she moves back to Prague. Meanwhile Steve visits Daytona Beach for closure with his ex-wife and receives life-changing insights from her Trinidadian lover, then departs for Prague. He learns that his cousin is bisexual, and that her equally bisexual 'friend' is really her son, sired by an old Czech man. (Are you following me so far?) Since the cousin is also close to Steve's ex-wife, everyone finally ends up in a family-like camaraderie and lives happily ever after.

Title: Charleston's Old Exchange Building: A Witness to American History

Author: Ruth Miller and Ann Taylor-Andrus
Publisher: The History Press, Charleston, SC
ISBN: 1-59629-046-3
Having lived my life in the shadow of Boston and environs, I've always loved old buildings, with their shadows, images, ghosts and lore. And the subject of this book has it all: Known formally as the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon, it was built in 1768 and served as city hall, post office, prison, British headquarters during the occupation of Charles Town, civic center, military headquarters, customhouse and a site for slave trading and commerce. Dignitaries ranging from George Washington to Prince Charles have been feted there over the years. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975, and is considered by many to be one of the three most important structures of Colonial America, the other two being Independence Hall in Philadelphia and Faneuil Hall in Boston.

Title: Née McColl

Author: Frances McColl
Publisher: iUniverse, Lincoln, Neb.
ISBN: 0-595-34026-1
And speaking of South Carolina, here's a book that describes the life of a South Carolina McColl in the era following World War I, taking you back to those simple days of yesteryear and "poverty, rationing, education, grits and rapists as seen through a child's eyes." Frances wrote this saga for her grandchildren, to "recreate the culture - the times that I was born into, for them," and the drastic changes brought about by 9/11 made preserving the past seem even more important.

Title: Far Away Places: A Collection of Mystical Tales

Author: Sannie Patch
Publisher: Publish America, Frederick, MD
ISBN: 1-4137-5927-0
Now here's a book I can get my teeth into - spanning 12000 B.C. to 2013 A.D., this is a baker's dozen of lighthearted stories about time travel, ghosts, ETs, magic and other weird stuff. So join Sannie as she flips from present to past, and present to future, in such locales as the Nazca lines in Peru, Atlantis, Connecticut, Egypt, Stonehenge, Arizona, New York, Rome, a covered bridge in Vermont, Tulsa, Greece and yes, even Washington D.C. And of course her siting many of her stories in New England scored a few points with me as well. Written mainly as entertainment, it's also educational as the historic facts she provides are true.

Title: A Man of My Words: Reflections on the English Language

Author: Richard Lederer
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 0312317859
This is a paperback reprint of the hardcover version I reviewed back in 2004, so I'll just mention it briefly. It covers the gamut from regional dialects, slang, political correctness, the origin of "OK," puns and circus talk to word games, haunted words and sex and the singular pronoun. A must-add for your reference shelf.

Title: The Thinker's Thesaurus: Sophisticated Alternatives to Common Words

Author: Peter E. Meltzer
Publisher: Marion Street Press, Oak Park, IL
ISBN: 0-9729937-8-9
Move over, Roget, now finally - after 10 years of labor - there's a thesaurus for the rest of us (Mensans). As the title implies, this one contains harder and more sophisticated words, plus it includes a clarifier that adds nuances or specifics (e.g., he cites 32 different words for "woman": slender? - sylph, impish? - gamine, coarse? - fishwife, etc.) And it contains examples taken from current books, periodicals and newspapers to show proper usage and proof that the words are not only real but also contemporary and in play.

Title: Nine Days to Evil

Author: Nancy West
Publisher: Booklocker.com Inc.
ISBN: 0-9747705-0-7
A good suspense/mystery novel, the relevance of Shakespeare, and a look inside the sociopathic personality -- how can you go wrong? Here's the plot in a nutshell: Meredith Laughlin receives a call from her physician husband, Conrad, who is on the road visiting Texas clinics, She hears him cry out, brakes screeching, and the sound of a crash, and the line goes dead. As she forgoes her plans to attend graduate school and searches for answers, she encounters Conrad's competitor for the OB/GYN Department Chair, Detective Sam Vanderhoven, who finds her alluringly attractive, and cynical fellow student Agatha Mundeen, who raises doubts in Meredith's mind. Suspense builds as one friend is threatened, another attacked, and Meredith is stalked, bringing Meredith to the realization that danger lurks around every corner and someone wants her dead.

Title: The Messiah Paradigm (Kendra's Karma)

Author: Daeron Shane
Publisher: Xlibris Corp, Philadelphia, PA
ISBN: 1-4134-61700-0
Inspired by a debate with an Anglican priest in Barbados as to the possibility of "multiple Messiahs," this novel traces the adventures of 18-year-old Kendra Cayley, who has been forcibly abducted to be next in line in the succession of 1,200 Messiahs who have come to as many worlds over the past 13 million years. She is assigned to an alien world in the Andromeda galaxy populated by 14 million contentious human descendents of abductees. There she is faced with battling hostile human-alien hybrids, fractious human guilds, a terrorist clique, and her own fears of physical pain and destruction. All the facets of traditional Messianism are here: esoteric powers, 40 days and nights in the desert, and even a passion and crucifixion. In essence, this is a philosophical exploration of what Messianism represents to humans, but from an alien perspective. Daeron is well-equipped for the task, having degrees in astronomy and physics, teaching physics, mathematics, and general science in Barbados, and co-founding the island's philosophical society.

Title: Going to Nias

Author: Pat Maximoff
Publisher: iUniverse, Lincoln, Neb.
ISBN: 0-595-35440-8
If it weren't for the recent tsunami, most of us would know almost nothing about Indonesia. For those of you as deficient in geography as I am, Indonesia is an island nation made up of three major islands that are among the six largest islands in the world, and the overall length of Indonesia is greater than the breadth of the United States. Sumatra is the largest of these islands, and Nias is an island off the western coast of Sumatra. The letter from which this book derives was written by the author over 50 years ago and chronicles a trip with her husband through Sumatra to Nias at a time when Indonesia was struggling to rebuild. Their journey takes them along uncertain paths through alien cultures, and despite having carefully planned their trip, they reach a point where returning home becomes a challenge.

Title: Murder a la Carte

Author: Prudy Taylor Board
Publisher: Archebooks, Las Vegas, Nev.
ISBN: 1-59507-030-3
Clyde Colby may be the host of a Miami-based TV cooking show, but she was also an accomplished investigative police reporter earlier in her career, so when she arrives at the Far Horizons Beach Resort one rainy Halloween night to do a piece on its chef and runs into a murder, she's back in her old milieu. But as more bodies turn up at what the locals have nicknamed The Last Resort, a newspaper reporter is savagely beaten, and one of the maids known to Clyde mysteriously disappears, the plot thickens and danger lurks. According to reviewers, it's a "delightful mix of romance (with a handsome sailing instructor named Sam), murder, mystery and food" and one that will "leave you hungry for more."

Title: Melville's Clarel and the Intersympathy of Creeds

Author: William Potter
Publisher: Kent State University Press
ISBN: 0-87338-797-X
Sure, we're all familiar with Moby Dick, but I'll lay bets you haven't heard of Melville's 500-page, 18,000-line poem that he wrote in 1876, 25 years after his epic of the great white whale. The poem itself is an example of the "faith-doubt" genre that was popular in Victorian times, a study in comparative religion in post-Darwinian times, and voiced in the views, experiences and debates of its characters, most of whom are American expatriate Protestants. But, as indicated by the "Intersympathy of Creeds" in the title, Potter finds a hoard of non-Christian themes in the poem and attempts to show the underlying truths shared by all faiths, referring to 19th century religious thought as reflected in the writings of Hegel, Hume, Muller, Emerson, Whitman and Schopenhauer.

Title: Spindle: A Comedy Science Fiction Novel

Author: Ian Taylor
Publisher: Booksurge Publishing (an Amazon.com company)
ISBN: 1-4196-0873-8
This book was edited and submitted by Ian's wife, Karen Hatch Taylor, who is a long-time M and met Ian, an Aussie writer, on the Weird Al Yankovic news group and enticed him over to the United States. In 1998, they got married and now have three children. She thinks he may be the next Douglas Adams (but she's probably just a bit biased). The plot: Peter Turner has just joined Space Force, but things aren't going right. Space Force got his name wrong, assigns him to the worst ship in the sector - the Spindle - and pairs him up with a violent alcoholic. As they sail through space dispensing justice, they manage to take on two aliens as unofficial crewmembers. Summoned to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a planet, the foursome discovers the cause: an enormous planet-eating space beast that is headed toward Earth. Uncovering the beast's unique origins, they devise a plan to save their home planet - but the real key is identifying the man behind the beast.

Title: Maze Zing: Junk Drawer Jewels/A Book of Mazes From Photographs

Author: Jeffrey David Montanye
Publisher: Montanye Arts, Bullville, NY
ISBN: 0-9779702-0-5
This is the first of five planned maze books, a unique approach to maze puzzles that employs digital-sharp photographs of hundreds or even thousands of items you might find in a junk drawer - 900 refrigerator alphabet magnets, 800 safety pins, paper clips, handyman hardware (nuts, bolts, nails, washers, staples), and six pounds of candy Valentine hearts. Or perhaps you'd prefer dominoes, 200 colored dice or matchsticks. Clues to solving each puzzle are provided in the form of a poem that accompanies each photo. Designed as a children's book for ages 8 and up, it will also delight adults. And yes, solutions are included at the back of the book.

Title: Norma's Voice: Love and Hugs, Norma

Author: Norma Posy
Publisher: P.O. Publishing, Clayton, N.C
ISBN: 1-933720-07-7
"I am a transgender. I have lived a life of 72 years as a woman in the body of a man. Norma's Voice is the story of that life." Specifically, Norm(a)'s memoir covers his early childhood (a miserable one as you can guess), his marriage of 24 years to a loving wife, her death and finally, the "death" of his male identity and the birth of womanhood. The theme that runs through the book is the intense need for Norma to scream, and her inability to do so because she has no voice. Only when the memoir ends does she find her voice at last - and the realization she no longer needs to scream. As Norma wrote to me, "I trust the book will illuminate strange (to many) sexual areas, and may help to dispel hate." More power to her!

Title: A Parent's Guide to Gifted Children

Authors: James T. Webb, Ph.D., Janet Gore, M.Ed, Edward Amend Psy.D, and Arlene DeVries, M.S.E.
Publisher: Great Potential Press, Scottsdale AZ
ISBN: 0-910707-52-9
I guess writing books on gifted children is becoming an industry unto itself, as this must be the fifth book I've received on this genera] subject in the past two or three months. But hey, that certainly falls withn our purview, doesn't it? But this one concentrates more on parenting than teaching and concentrates on the importance of family relationships and how to support these children in today's pressure-packed world. Here you'll find guidance on such issues as underachievement, peer relationships, discipline, perfectionism, traditions and values, unhappiness, depression (did you know that one out of every four high-achievers has considered suicide?), motivation, intensity, sibling rivalry and more.

Title: The Call to Shakabaz

Author: Amy Wachspress
Publisher: Woza Books, Talmage, CA
ISBN: 0-9788350-2-6
Let me state clearly at the beginning that this is a children's book, aimed at those in grades 4 through 9 and is in the tradition of The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. The plot: An evil enchanter commands the most powerful weapon in the land, and the use of violence to defeat him is doomed to failure. Can four children light the way for good to prevail? Doshmisi, Denze], Maia and Sonjay are newly orphaned children who discover a carefully guarded secret about their family. They set out for the distant land of Faracadar, where they must attempt to retrieve the powerful Staff of Shakabaz and free the citizenry from the clutches of the ruthless and ma]evolent enchanter Sissrath. As their journey continues, they travel over ocean, under the ground, and into the deepest dungeons of the Final Fortress. By discovering how to use their individual gifts, they are able to fulfill their destiny in their ultimate confrontation with Sissrath.

Title: My Life in Letters: Bane & Blessing

Author: Linda Nelson Gardner
Publisher: Tate Publishing and Enterprises, Mustang, OK
ISBN: 1-5988656-9-2
Ever have the feeling that sometimes life is going too smoothly, and something is bound to happen? Well, that might describe Linda Gardner, -- she started out 2005 happily married to Ray, a chemical engineer/pi]ot/musician/jack-of-all-trades - and love of her life. She was developing new projects, maintaining fulfilling relationships, and deepening her walk with God. Suddenly, in mid-year, disaster strikes - Ray is diagnosed with Mesothelioma, cancer of the lung lining. And then Hurricane Rita ravaged their neighborhood. This book is a collection of the weekly letters she wrote and distributed to 200 people during that time, from January 2005 through the early weeks of 2006, in which she reports on her tria]s, shares her faith and starts to build a new future without Ray.

Title: The Rommel Mission

Author: Ken Kreckel
Publisher: Red Engine Press, Laguna Vista, TX
ISBN: 0-9785158-9-7
I never was much of a history buff back in school, particularly when it came to global conflicts so this is unfami]iar territory for me. This is a historical novel that takes place during the summer of ]944 in Normandy as the D-Day invasion is under way. Field Marshal Rommel, frustrated by Hitler's refusal to provide sufficient troops to stave off the invasion, concludes there is no hope of winning and begins to persuade the officers under his command that the only way to prevent Russia from taking over Germany is to surrender to the Allies forthwith. To this end, he proceeds to begin negotiating and asks Major Helder, the narrator of the story, to assist. All is based on solid historic evidence - many of the characters are rea], Rommel and others did discuss surrendering to the French, and Hitler suspected such a plan and had Rommel's superior (Von Kluge) arrested for it. The only speculative elements are whether the negotiations and surrender attempt actually took place, and whether someone like the fictional major was involved in carrying it out.

Title: Day of the Moon

Author: Cherie Hart
Publisher: AuthorHouse, Bloomington, Ind.
ISBN: 1-41843-147-8
This is a book for pre-teens that conveys a positive set of values in relationships with family and friends and is about gaining self-confidence and believing in yourself, even if your goals seem out of reach. Can 10-year-old Selena learn to trust her own abilities and grow into a person with the strength to face her fears, and will l1-year-old Chris expand beyond his parents' perception of him as a star athlete, but limited academically, to pursue a career in science? Tune in next week.

Title: The Boredom Diet: Permanent Weight Loss as a Matter of Routine

Author: Michael W Woodward
Publisher: Trafford Publishing, Victoria, B.C. Canada
ISBN: 1-4120-4765-X
Weight problems - who doesn't have them? And who hasn't tried to overcome them and failed? 'The boredom diet is not a crash diet and it is not intended for people who just want to lose a couple of pounds quickly. Rather it is intended for people who want to lose a significant amount of weight and to make a permanent change from being fat to being thin." This plan has no drugs, no complex calorie or carb calculations, no memberships, no special foods, no extra ongoing costs and requires no exercise. The basic principle, as hinted at by the title, is by choosing only foods that are simple, limited, repetitive, readily available and easily prepared, you will tend to eat less. Lots of other supporting information too, like why other diets don't work, and the conspiracy of the "food pushers" to keep you fat.

Title: Lovesong for the Bad Priestess

Author: Steven Kedrowski
Publisher: iUniverse, Lincoln, Neb.
ISBN: 0-595-34771-1
Set before the turn ofY2K, this novel deals with two mysterious deaths in a small town. Straight-A overachiever Neal Brunanski has a breakdown when he learns that his kid brother has been murdered. Meanwhile Dennis, a shy 16-year-old, starts questioning his Catholic upbringing, and falls in love with Wendy, a possibly satanic follower who's the main suspect in the second death. Into the midst comes an opportunistic evangelical preacher to take advantage of a porn actress who has begun weeping blood. Dennis and Wendy steal her mother's car and take off, and everyone becomes very suspicious of an occult book called The Devils Advocate (no connection to the movie of the same name). The author compares his style to that of the experimental writers of the '60s and '70s like Vonnegut and Burroughs.

Title: Thicker Than Blood

Author: Penny Rudolph
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, Scottsdale, Ariz.
ISBN: 1-59058-163-6
A "21st century twist on Chinatown - a tale of a lone woman caught in the cross-hairs of California water politics as she battles to outwit a killer." Rachel, a recovering alcoholic and owner of a parking lot in the middle of Los Angeles, witnesses the hit-and-run killing of a water agency executive. Days later her assistant dies under peculiar circumstances. But that's not all folks another water agency official is killed, her own father disappears, and Rachel suspects she may be next. Another recommended summer read for the beach.

Title: HE Was Born Again: The Ultimate Solution

Author: E. Gene Gorrell
Publisher: PublishAmerica
ISBN: 1-4137-5454-6
"I wrote HE Was Born Again in response to The Passion - that focused only on the last eight hours of Jesus' life (death). I think the writer omitted the best part - Jesus' life. I strongly believe Jesus' real passion was to teach us how to live." So Gene decided to write a novel about a slave named Manny, a black man growing up in Alabama in the mid-1800s who becomes an inspiration to thousands, only to face a challenge that could have erased everything he had accomplished. His life is strangely parallel to another brilliant, gifted and passionate man who lived more than 2,000 years ago, and it is left to the reader to decide whether they both lived and died in vain.

Title: The Joshua Twin: Birdwatcher One

Author: John McGondel
Publisher: Plato Euclid Press, Derry, NH US
ISBN: 1-58898-751-5

Title: Blood, Sweat, and Fears

Author: John McGondel
Publisher: Plato Euclid Press, Derry, NH US
ISBN: 1-58898-7779
Now The Joshua Twin is my kind of book! I mean, how can you beat a thriller that involves Hitler, Jack the Ripper, the Salem witch trials, terrorists, Satan worshipers, white supremacists, and a secret Vatican brotherhood that possesses Jesus' DNA and plans to produce a clone? It's a bit choppy at the beginning, with each short chapter jumping to a new locale and era. Even the author describes it as "extremely convoluted, a word puzzle that the reader must follow and absorb in order to arrive at the end, which pulls the previous pieces together." Sounds ideal for Mensans, so stick with it and it'll all be resolved - promise! As for Blood, Sweat, and Fears, a collection of speculative fictional short stories, John admits he wrote it to arouse political awarencss and philosophical debate. Besides the title story, there are 20 others such as The Bounty Hunters, Of Bikes and Men, War Inc., and Vacation of Terror.

Title: Reduced Circumstances: A Frank Cole Mystery

Author: Vincent H. O'Neil
Publisher: St Martins Press, New York, NY
ISBN: 978-9312-36966-8
A sequel to Murder in Exile, which I reviewed last year, this book continues the journey of Frank Cole, bankrupt former software designer and now fact-checker and parttime taxi-cab dispatcher as he adjusts to his new life in Exile, Fla. A nervous teenaged boy flags down a Midnight cab near a parking lot full of flashing police lights. The next evening, su spicious-Iooking strangers appear at the taxi stand, asking Frank about where the boy was headed. Then the speed really picks up when the guy who drove the boy runs off, the teenager is revealed as a man with a part, his beautiful girlfriend joins the fray, and a dead body turns up holding a Midnight Taxi Service roadmap. Using his wits as his only weapon, Frank once again has to answer questions about a dead guy he's never even met.

Title: Demon Reich

Author: Thomas Rice
Publisher: Booksurge, Charleston, SC US
ISBN: 1-4196-4708-3
Seems like Hitler and Nazism are popular subjects lately. Describing this as an "alternate history," Thomas asks a lot of "what if" questions: what if Satan had been given a chance to run the world in the form of a demonically-possessed but charismatic leader? And what if he had started off as a pleasant, even idealistic gentleman? What if he succeeded in his conquest - what would the world be like, then and now? Based on historical events, the Book of Job, the Apocrypha, and the Biblical concept of what demons are, the tale begins in World War I, and extends through the '60s and '70s and into our modern age of global terrorism - the latest demonic incarnation.

Title: Lifeblood

Author: Penny Rudolph
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, Scottsdale, AZ US
ISBN: 1-59058-346-9
Rachel Chavez, a recovering alcoholic of Mexican descent, owns and lives in an apartment on the top floor of a parking garage in downtown Los Angeles, and leases parking space and use of a rooftop helicopter pad to local businesses. Tough but vulnerable and struggling to stay sober and keep her business afloat, she is shocked to find two unconscious Mexican boys locked in an abandoned van. She rushes them to the ER, where doctors declare one DOA and the other seriously dehydrated but alive. But when she checks back the next day, the medical center has no record of either child. As she looks for answers, the hospital informs her it wants to lease space in her garage for its staff - good fortune or an ominous development? Penny's pen also produced Thicker Than Blood, which is a prequel to this, as well as Listen to the Mockingbird, a historical mystery/ thriller set in New Mexico during the Civil War.

Title: The Coast Guard in Film

Author: Ralph Judd
Publisher: Trafford, Victoria, BC Canada
ISBN: 1-4120-8414-8
Now here's a book that all you old salts will enjoy. Here's a complete catalog of over 100 commercial films - from feature films and documentaries to serials and "shorts" -- about the Coast Guard from 1914 through 1985, including films where the Coast Guard plays only a small role. Includes all the usual details such as cast, release date, running time, production company, director, credits, synopsis, and even critics' reviews. For those of you old enough to remember, who can forget Don Winslow of the Coast Guard, I Cover the Waterfront, Captain January with Shirley Temple, John Wayne in The Sea Spoilers, Yul Brynner in Port of New York, Sid Caesar in the comedy Tars and Spars, and Randolph Scott and Ralph Bellamy in Coast Guard. So many movie legends starred in at least one film about these guardians of our coasts: Humphrey Bogart, Cesar Romero, Buddy Ebsen, Victor Mature, Gig Young, Bob Hope, Lloyd and Beau Bridges, Cary Grant, and Tab Hunter. The book leads off with an introduction to the history of the cinema - for instance, did you know that three of Thomas Edison's first films featured the Coast Guard? Ralph held a number of positions in the CG, including Chief of Physics at the Coast Guard Academy, Commanding Officer of the CGF Comanche, Captain of the cutter Rockaway, Liaison Officer to the Secret Service, and Airborne Ice Observer in the Antarctic.

Title: Celebrate the USA

Author: Lynn Kuntz, Illustrated by Mark Hicks
Publisher: Gibbs-Smith, Layton, UT
ISBN: 978-1-58685-846-9
Too bad this missed making it into the July column! What a fun and painless way to learn about Uncle Sam, the Liberty Bell, American holidays, the Statue of Liberty, and all the other things we need to teach our kids to hold dear. And they'll love the more than 50 project activities: everything from recipes for Liberty Tea and Liberty Bell cookies to constructing a model of Ben Franklin's glass harmonica and designing flip-flops, beach-towel banners, and Colonial clothing. History classes were never like this! I'm giving my copy to my 6-year-old daughter Angel as a Fourth of July present.

Title: Travels With Mensans

Editors: Neil Matthews and Barry Needoff
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 978-1-84753-340-1
What do Mongolians smuggle on board the Trans-Siberian Express? Where is Paradise and why is it cursed? How do you confuse a would-be mugger in Brazil? Billed as "a collection of some of the best writing from VISA, the award-winning newsletter of British Mensa's Travel SIG," this book presents the experiences, impressions, photos and opinions of more than 40 Mensans who traveled to the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East over a 20-year period. It was written to make the reader think about the nature of travel and tourism, examine what it means to experience new places and cultures, and understand how travel changes the traveler and the traveler impacts the places visited. Scattered throughout are such tidbits as recollections of travel in bygone days and the pros and cons of traveling alone. Published on a not-for-profit basis, with all proceeds donated to the humanitarian organization, Physicians without Borders (Medecins sans Frontieres).

Title: Night Fall

Author: Nelson DeMille
Publisher: Warner Vision, New York, NY
ISBN: 0-446-61662-1
... Dan Brown calls [it] "A true master, his most entertaining novel to date." Think back to July 17, 1996, the date when TWA Flight 800 exploded over Long Island Sound, killing its 230 passengers and crew. The official report says the tragedy was caused by a "mechanical failure" an electric short that ignited fumes in the central fuel tank. Yet more than 100 witnesses reported seeing a missile-like streak of light that rose from the ocean and headed toward the plane seconds before. The controversy continues more than five years later, but there's a nagging rumor that a couple on the beach happened to record the event on video that night. Who are they, where are they, and what happened to that tape? Former NYPD officer John Corey (remember him in Plum Island?), now assigned to the Federal Anti-Terrorist Task Force, and his wife, FBI agent Kate Mayfield, are not about to accept the official story, so they set out on their own to find the tape and the truth. However, forces both inside and outside their respective organizations are dead set against them finding either.

Title: Other Countries/Other Worlds: Fantasy and Fiction for Adults

Author: Louis Fried
Publisher: Outskirts Press, Denver CO
ISBN: 1-4327-0056-1
One thing that Louis and I have in common is that we started out in the field of "data processing" back in the 1950s. But he's a world traveler, and I'm just the opposite. Based on his extensive travels as an international consultant, he's transformed real settings into backgrounds for his fantasies. And fantasies they certainly are: The Dragons Are Coming! (David ben Ezra sends the knights on a dragon chase), Marianne and the Mermaid (falling in love on a tropic isle), Ed's Dream (a man on a hunting trip finds the love of his life in Humboldt County) and The Path to Khan-Baligh (Huang Jinsong becomes a blood brother to Kubla Khan) - just to name a few.

Title: How to Enjoy Calculus

Author: Eli S. Pine
Publisher: Eli Pine, Secaucus NJ
ISBN: 0-917208-02-1
One would naturally think that claiming you can "enjoy" calculus ranks right up there with "the check is in the maiL" And not only enjoy it, but understand it for the first time as well - and all in as little as a week! Describing calculus (which he prefers to call "slope-finding") as "the foremost intellectual achievement of the human mind," Eli, who spent years as a professor of math at Long Island University, has gotten many letters from readers who report they're actually starting to enjoy the subject. One fan, a math professor at the University of Nebraska, went so far as to deem it "the greatest math book ever written." In fact, the book has become so popular that it has sold for as much as $80 on the Internet, but check out www.enjoycalculus.com for a much more reasonable price.

Title: Playing for Real: Worlds Apart, Worlds the Same?

Author: Bruce L. Barton
Publisher: AuthorHouse, Bloomington IN
ISBN: 1-4140-2404-5

Title: Playing for Real: Going Home ... But Where?

Author: Bruce L. Barton
Publisher: AuthorHouse, Bloomington IN
ISBN: 1-4208-3973-X
These two books are part of a trilogy that Bruce, a former Marine, decided to try his hand at writing. He describes his work as a "socio, political, history, military book" involving multiple subplots. Rudi, the protagonist, believes that the new millennium will herald dire events for mankind, and although his family and friends doubt him, his warnings turn out to be prophetic. Rudi and his current companions, all of whom share a keen interest in military tactics, become engaged in a ruthless war conducted by unknown aggressors, with little hope for survival. But a chance witnessing of a key event suddenly grants them the power to change the outcome, and the intervention of beings from another world further augments their military power and takes their battle to the intergalactic level. The costs, however, are great - nothing less than changing the social and political evolution of both worlds. An interesting side note: due to a military-connected iqjury, Bruce has five steel rods in his back, is in constant pain, and had to write the drafts in longhand, lying down and using a palm pilot.

Title: Murder by Proxy

Author: Robert L. Hecker
Publisher: Hard Shell Word Factory, Amherst Junction WI
ISBN: 0-7599-4524-1
Benjamin Roan is minding his own business when he suddenly gets summoned to Washington. The President is dying of leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. Since he has no known close relatives, Roan is asked to find the President's secret daughter, Lisa Day. Roan finds Lisa easily enough, but there are problems from the get-go; not only is someone trying to kill both of them, but Roan realizes he's falling in love with her. And once Lisa discovers that Roan is on a mission from the father who deserted her, her feelings are anything but romantic. Can Roan manage to keep Lisa and himself alive long enough to change those feelings and save the President at the same time?

Title: Classic Literary Trivia

Author: Richard Lederer
Publisher: Gibbs Smith, Layton, UT
ISBN: 1-4236-0212-9
As I mentioned several columns ago, many of Richard's classics are being re-issued as "pocketsized" books, handy for carrying with you anywhere. Literary Trivia (2006, pp., pb.; publ. Gibbs Smith, Layton, Utah, ISBN 1-4236-0211-0) covers a host of legendary authors, titles and works. For example: Santa Claus holds the record for receiving the largest amount of mail each year, but can you tell me what fictitious character comes in second? Classic Literary Trivia includes gems from the Bible, Shakespeare and mythology. Which of these words did Shakespeare invent: dwindle, majestic or generous?

Title: In Praise of the Needlewoman: Embroiderers, Knitters, Lacemakers, and Weavers in Art

Author: Gail Carolyn Sirna
Publisher: Merrell Publications, New York NY
ISBN: 1-85894-341-8
In a nutshell, it "explores artists' depictions of women engaged in the timeless and much-loved pursuit of needlework." Let's face it, in today's cookie-cutter, machine-made world, most of us have never seen handicrafts, much less appreciate them. And those artisans who have such skills are mostly invisible. But that was not always the case as this collection of paintings show. Paintings of needle workers, embroiderers, knitters, lace makers, and weavers were very popular in the past, and over the years such artists as Renoir, Vermeer, Winslow Homer, and Chardin have paid homage to their skills. Although most paintings were done in the 19th and 20th centuries, the book spans over five centuries. Out of nearly 500 such paintings, Gail chose 90 and one by one she comments on its composition, what the setting tells us about the artist's life situation, and the historic context of other elements in the picture.

Title: Flying Tigress

Author: Norah O'Neill
Publisher: Ascending Journey Press, Seattle WA
ISBN: 0-9765555-0-6
Now here is a truly one-of-a-kind book: the memoir of the first female pilot hired by Flying Tigers, a "macho, globe-straddling, cargo airline started by WW II flying aces." Quite a challenge, but Norah's quick wit and passion for flying won her battle for acceptance. Even though a Mensan, she points out that her "high IQ was no substitute for common sense or practical experience, nor was it immediately useful in overcoming prejudice or pioneering in a new field." But there's more to the story - in 1997 she flew her last flight and temporarily succumbed to the twin demons of depression and alcoholism. But true to her spirit and with renewed faith in God, Norah once again won her battle and is now an inspirational speaker who addresses the price to be paid for trying to have it all, and the lessons learned about balance and priorities.

Title: Briga-Doom

Author: Susan Goodwill
Publisher: Midnight Ink/Llewellyn, Woodbury MN
ISBN: 0-7387-1037-7
Romance, laughs and mystery - don't ya just love that kind of combo? Pity poor amateur sleuth Kate London! She attacks her cheating fianceé, Mayor Ronnie Balfours, with a golf cart and later, as icing on the cake, rams a port-a-potty and sends him tumbling down a hill while he is trapped inside. In revenge, the mayor sets about a plan to condemn and demolish her Aunt Kitty's beloved Egyptian Theater. But whoops! The mayor's body suddenly turns up in Kate's trunk, and now she's the prime suspect in his murder. Can it get any worse? Yes. She finds that the town sheriff who drags her off to the pokey is also an ex-lover of hers.

Title: The Cellini Masterpiece

Author: Raymond John
Publisher: North Star Press of St Cloud Inc., St. Cloud, MN 56302
ISBN: 0-87839-233-5
With a title like that, the comparison to Dan Brown's books is inevitable, and several reviewers have noted the similarities. And, like Dan, Raymond writes for thinkers as well as readers. Having an interest in Malta since he was seven, Raymond has used his background as a historian, dealer in collectibles, and former military intelligence specialist to weave the intrigues of that exotic area with the rogue artistry of Benvenuto Cellini, the Turkish leader Suleiman the Magnificent, and the Great Siege of Malta. Rick Olsen, a Minnesota farmer, is called to Malta by his brother Stefto help in the investigation of an archeological find whose roots go back to a 16th century alchemist with ties to Cellini and Suleiman. Upon his arrival, he is attacked, soon discovers that his brother has been kidnapped, and becomes immersed in a plot to take control of the Mediterranean. Along the way he falls in love with Caterina, his cabdriver and guide, and together they solve the puzzle of a mysterious shield that is the key to the terrorist plot.

Title: On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace

Author: Lt. Col. Dave Grossman with Loren W. Christensen
Publisher: PPCT Research Publications, Belleville, IL 62223
ISBN: 0-9649205-1-4
Military combat is something few of us have had the misfortune to face, and therefore we understand little or nothing about it. If you want to know more, here's where to start. Learn about the physiology of fear, human aggression, deadly confrontations, perceptual distortions in the midst of fighting, what makes a warrior, and what post-traumatic stress disorder is really all about. Lt. Col. Grossman is an internationally renowned law enforcement and military trainer and has presented his "Bulletproof Mind" seminars to thousands of police officers and military personnel. Must reading for the military, police, and armed citizens.

Title: Integrated Cost and Schedule Control in Project Management

Author: Ursula Kuehn, PMP
Publisher: Management Concepts, Vienna, Va. 22182
ISBN: 1-56726-170-1
Wait, you say, I don't do project management. But you do, whether it's at home, church, social club, or work. Do analyzing requirements, finding sources and negotiating with suppliers, establishing a budget and timeframe, and taking corrective measures to keep everything under control and within budget sound familiar? If you've ever planned an extended vacation, decided to add a deck in the backyard, overseen a fundraising drive, or done a host of other things, then you've been a project manager. Ursula has taught project management for over ten years, and it's hard to imagine not getting some handy advice from her book.

Title: The Path of Reason: A Philosophy of Nonbelief

Author: Bruce A. Smith
Publisher: iUniverse, Lincoln, Neb 68512
ISBN: 0-595-38532-X
Ah, another seed fallen among the tares... Bruce states that he draws from "the conservative Christian beliefs he once held," among others, and now presents an "atheistic, existentialistic, and humanistic philosophy as an alternative." With so many faiths and opinions, he asks, how can we know which is right and best for us. Sadly, his solution seems to be to shuck them all. Getting beyond that, I can say that he's a convincing and fair-minded writer, and, coming from the same background and having some of the same likes as I do (Richard Bach being one of our favorite authors, for example), I could empathize with him. He confronts such difficult issues as faith and reason, gives you a short course in critical thinking, and entertainingly tromps on such new-age celebs as Carlos Casteneda, Jonathan Edwards, and Shirley MacLaine. Although he touches on reincarnation and other philosophies, he devotes about a third of the book to our Judeo-Christian heritage and belief systems.

Title: Anguished English, Puns Spooken Here: Word Play for Halloween, Have Yourself a Punny Little Christmas: Word Play.for the Holidays, and Get Thee to a Punnery

Author: Richard Lederer
Publisher: Gibbs Smith, Publisher, Layton UT 84041
Just a word to let you know that Gibbs Smith is re-issuing some of Richard's tomes in new, mini-pocketbook-sized (4.25" x 6.75") editions, revised, expanded, and updated.

Title: College Countdown: A Planning "Guide for High School Students (Revised 5th Edition)

Author: Helen Heron
Publisher: Heron Publishing, Oceanside, CA
ISBN: 1-880639-28-9
It might be too late to do you much good for this fall, but there's always next year. Topics include reviewing and choosing between courses of study, preparing your senior year resume, honing your study skills, selecting a college, applying for admission, using the Internet, addressing disability concerns, and analyzing your options for financial aid. And you get a handy countdown calendar to ensure that you complete what you need to do in a timely manner.

Title: Aerobiological Engineering Handbook

Author: Wladyslaw J. Kowalski
Publisher: McGraw-Hill, New York, NY
ISBN: 0-0714-0245-4
No, this isn't about building an airplane, and it isn't written by the famous wrestler of yore known more popularly as "Killer" - it's about a new field of study developed by the author and first introduced in 1995. Think Legionnaires' Disease and sick buildings. The focus is on indoor environments, the microbiology of airborne diseases, methods for their control, and the epidemiology of their transmission.

Title: Feminine Prerogatives: 3 Tales of Empowerment

Author: Louise Jaffe
Publisher: Xlibris, Philadelphia, Pa.
ISBN: 1-4257-1098-0
also available in hardcover. Now here's something a bit more provocative: a trilogy of novellas - Lies: A Chorus, Faustina's Upward Fall, and Journeynotes, each featuring a different woman and unified by a focus on feminine choices. Lies: A Chorus is a "fairy tale in reverse" that chronicles the experiences of April Carter and how class, race, and gender impact her upward mobility in our society. Faustina's Upward Fall is a humorous telling of the struggles of a writer, Faustina Cohen, to get published. And Journeynotes tells of Shirley Stone's experiences with journalizing and writing poetry. One reviewer, a singer/songwriter/poet/artist, commented, "I've cried with April Carter, ached with Faustina, and both mourned and rejoiced with Shirley Stone."

Title: Abandoned on Bataan: One Man's Story of Survival

Author: Oliver "Red" Allen, as told to Mildred Allen
Publisher: Crimson Horse Entertainment and Publishing, Boerne, Texas 78006
ISBN: 0-9713184-1-7
"We're the battling bastards of Bataan/No mama, no papa, no Uncle Sam/No aunts, no uncles, no nephews, no nieces/No pills, no planes, no artillery pieces/... And nobody gives a damn!" Most of us have heard of "The Bataan Death March" and are familiar with the horrors thereof, but that was only the beginning. After the six-day, 75-mile march, during which many died, they were shepherded into dank cells, fed abominable food, tortured - and subjected to biological experiments the extent of which they knew little until many years later. Yet Oliver managed to maintain his sense of humor, and he and his comrades pulled off many tricks under the noses of their Japanese guards, from small successes to outright sabotage. An interesting sidelight is that the Smothers Brothers' father was interred in the same camp.

Title: Beneath Branches Hung with Stars: A Collection of Poems

Author: Marsha Macdonald
Publisher: XLibris
ISBN: 1413491375
"Hope
You wrapped rainbows around my heart.
And sealed them
With the promises in your smile."
Culled from the poems that Marsha wrote over a period of three decades, this collection of close to 100 verses covers a wide style and subject, yet at the same time conveys a consistent spiritual thread that embodies "heart, empathy, a love of nature and of life." Titles include "Transcendence," "Iowan Summer," "Alone," "Soul-mates," "Reincarnation," "In the Winter Wood," "Sunday Afternoon Park," and "Make Believe." Friends of Marsha who knew of her work encouraged her to publish this book, and the world is richer for it.

Title: Signet Book of American Essays

Edited by M. Jerry Weiss and Helen S. Weiss
Publisher: Signet Classics/New American Library/Penguin Books, New York
ISBN: 0-451-53021-7
A book every literate person should have on the bookshelf. Contains essays by Ben Franklin, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Albert Einstein, Gloria Steinem, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mark Twain, Erma Bombeck, JFK, our very own Richard Lederer, FDR, Cotton Mather and more, all grouped under education, religion, literacy, individual rights, on the lighter side, etc.

Title: Getting Filthy Rich

Author: David Pereda
Publisher: PublishAmerica, Frederick, Md.
ISBN: 1-4241-2142-6
Nope, not a book by Donald Trump. It's a novel based on a true story, that of Richard Douglas Connerman, a small-time Houston con man. He's made a living bilking investors for years, but now he has plans to go for the gold and become richer than he'd ever dreamed. His intended marks are his own partner and his friends, a group of dumb and wealthy Arabs. Off he goes to the Middle East with his mistress and a check for $2 million in tow as seed money to rip off $20 million. But as he comes to find out, things don't always turn out the way you plan. The basic theme of the novel is that "everything is done with mirrors," and so the story itself is "mirrored" by being told from the first-person point of view by the con man and four other characters.

Title: Abstract Objects, Ideal Forms and Works of Art: An Epistemic and Aesthetic Analysis

Author: Robert Rose-Coutré
Publisher: iUniverse Inc., Lincoln, NE
ISBN: 0-595-41686-1
According to the author, "Joining philosophy of language with phenomenological aesthetics, this book defines the epistemological status of abstract objects and works of art." Well, I guess that clears everything up. Not really, so I'll just let him continue. "Beginning with a provocative converstion among Socrates, Plato, Wittgenstein and Jung, the book introduces the concept and coins the term `Platonic Inductive Fallacy,' deriving from a cycle of language games." He then invokes Robert Stalnaker to clarify the difference between real and actual objects, which gives new insight into the epistemological status of various abstract objects. (With me so far?) Armed with defined abstract objects, the reader is taken through a fascinating journey from 1890s aestheticism to present-day phenomenological aesthetics. The book clearly establishes principles and methods for defining works of art, and applies them to two versions of a Harry James novella, Daisy Miller. Are they merely two versions or are they two separate and distinct works? Hey, and he does it all in a mere 71 pages!

Title: How to Start a Successful Law Practice: The New Lawyer's Guide to Opening an Office as a Solo or Small Firm Attorney

Author: William L. Pfeifer
Publisher: Pipers Willow Inc., Sheridan WY
ISBN: 0-9787277-0-3
I've always been amazed by how many people get a law degree, even pass the bar, but then never practice. Perhaps this book will inspire them to reconsider. If you're a new lawyer who doesn't want to work for a firm or an experienced lawyer who wants to strike out on your own, this could be your ticket to freedom and greater financial rewards. You'll find all the nuts-and-bolts here: how to develop your personal identify, choose a specialty, select a location, set up and equip the office, create a professional image, charge and collect fees, hire a receptionist, and market your practice. Bill has practiced what he preaches, having worked both with a partner and as a solo attorney.

Title: Austrian Cinema: A History

Author: Robert Von Dassanowsky
Publisher: McFarland, Jefferson NC
ISBN: 0-7864-2079-2
Who can forget Marlene Dietrich? Long overdue, this is the first English-language survey of what the Austrian film industry has contributed to the international community, its important bonds with Hollywood, and influential developments in Austrian film history. It covers over a century of Austrian cinema through the nation's various transformations since 1895. Important movements, genres, and films are highlighted with sociopolitical, cultural, and aesthetic details. Included are the many actors, directors, producers, writers, cinematographers, editors, composers and other artists who have made their mark in Austrian cinema in the past, along with new faces that will be prominent in the 21st century.

Title: Project Girl

Author: Janet McDonald
Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux, University of California Press, Berkeley CA
ISBN: 0-520-22345-4
Rags-to-riches tales can sometimes be true, as is the case in this memoir of the roller coaster ride that took Janet from a crime-ridden Brooklyn housing project to some of the most prestigious schools in the U.S. (Vassar, NYU, Columbia) and ultimately to a career in Paris as an international corporate lawyer. And, of course, becoming a member of Mensa. Janet writes, "I wrote this book to portray the struggle of bright kids born in poverty, and to show the resilience and mettle of the human spirit. This book is used in classrooms across the country ... in courses in Urban Studies, American Studies, Ethnic Studies, and psychology."

Title: Celts and Kings

Author: Melvin C. Hathorn
Publisher: Aventine Press, Sandiego CA
ISBN: 1-59330-411-01
What better time to read a historical novel about Ireland than close to St. Patrick's Day? The protagonist, John Michaels, has been fired from his job at a software company (how familiar is that!) and is taking a holiday in Ireland to find his roots. Naturally he crosses paths with an attractive young graduate student, and the mystical attraction is mutual. Behind it all is an event that took place in 1607 - known to history as the Flight of the Earls, the unexplained departure of the Celtic Earls from the Auld Sod - and the story of a forbidden love that goes back 400 years. If you want a pleasant way to catch up on Irish history and to understand the problems facing modern Ireland, this is the book to read!

Title: Sex, Lies and the Bible: How Human Sexual Behavior is Controlled through the Corruption of the Bible

Author: Francis Ritter CLI
Publisher: Diverse Publications/Candid Press, Oceanside CA
ISBN: 0-9706351-1-7
Most of us who've had some degree of religious education know that Jesus saved a prostitute from being stoned to death, forgiving her and telling her to "Go and sin no more." Well, that's nothing - according to Frank. God and the Bible grant free license to do whatever our hearts desire. But the religious "controllers" - Moses and St. Paul, for starters - "decided that human sexuality and preferences had to be reined in and subjugated ... they knew better than God what sexual activity humans should be allowed to engage in, and to what extent that activity would be allowed to be enjoyed." To make matters worse, the creators of the King James Bible added their own brand of sexual censorship. So what's the truth - are masturbation, adultery, prostitution, incest, homosexuality and bestiality as verboten as we've been led to believe? Why was Christ mostly silent about such matters? Read this and find out.

Title: Love, Relationships and Reflective Meditation

Author: Katharine Gates
Publisher: AuthorHouse, Bloomington IN
ISBN: 1-4184-5410-9
A sequel to Reflective Meditation and The Power of Your Thoughts, this book focuses on romantic relationships. Chapter 1 suggests how to cope with family, friends and other sometimes difficult alliances in your life by using reflective meditation to quiet your thoughts and relieve frustration. Chapter 2 serves up a "recipe for romance" by giving you a checklist of all the essential ingredients for a successful relationship. It will "appeal to other Mensans [because] it forces one to be logical and analytical." Chapter 3 is a love story, and the remaining chapters are stories illustrating some of the common problems faced by those in love.

Title: Last Survivors

Author: Robert Ernest Hubbard
Publisher: Aventine Press, San Diego CA US
ISBN: 1-59330-347-5
A great resource for a Trivial Pursuit game. Who was the last surviving Civil War veteran? Last living silent screen star? Last living Old West lawman? Last living passenger of the car in which JFK was assassinated? Last surviving U. S. slave? Last surviving participant in the Boston Tea Party? Over 500 "last of's" in all, each with some interesting details. The book is arranged by date within major categories, such as Entertainment, U. S. Presidential History, Religion, Sports and so on. I found the TV section the most interesting -- did you know that Paul Winchell was not only the last survivor of the 1950s TV ventriloquists, but also held the patent for the first artificial heart?

Title: Greater Sound by Far: Poems

Author: Skylar Hamilton Burris
Publisher: Lulu, www.lulu.com
ISBN: none
"I write poetry because I cannot not write poetry," says Skylar. Here's a collection for all poetic tastes -- a sampling of enough sonnets, ballads, couplets, haiku and unbound free verse to satisfy the thirstiest poetry lover. These are poems of faith and struggle, of hope and inspiration. Skylar founded Ancient Paths Literary Magazine in 1998 and is the author of Conviction: A Sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

Title: The Age of Manipulation: The CON in CONfidence, the SIN in SINcere

Author: Wilson Bryan Key, Ph.D.
Publisher: Madison Books, Lanham MA US
ISBN: 0-8191-8653-8
Hidden erotic images in liquor ads, hypnotic commands blended into our music. They're out to get us, and we don't even know it. Yes, I'm talking about those who secretly try to control us through subliminal techniques. Subliminal advertising has been the subject of several bestsellers since the 1950s (Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard being the most popular), and in fact, the AAAA once ran a counter-ad that stated, "People Have Been Trying to Find the Breasts in These Ice Cubes Since 1957." Key wrote his first book on the subject, Subliminal Seduction, in 1973. So what to make of it all? Are we innocent victims of Machiavellian manipulation, or are most such claims due to overactive imagination and sometimes a pencil is just a pencil? And if it is real, is it more than just trying to get us to buy a particular brand of toothpaste or deodorant? Does it have significant political, religious and moral implications as well? Can you say "mind control?"

Title: The Scorecard: How to Fix Your Man in One Year or Less

Author: Julie Bell and Donna Brown with Judith Newman
Publisher: Gotham Books/Penguin Books, New York NY US
ISBN: 1-592-40201-1
Want your spouse to do his share of housework, be more attentive to your sexual needs, and take a more active role in raising the children? Fine, but I think their solution is way over the top -- kicking the husband out of the house until he agrees to a list of demands? Sorry, baby, see ya later. Maybe that's why I've been happily single for the last 25 years, but I'll give it a fair shake: according to the authors, this book will help you figure out what you can live with and what you can't, and "was written to provide every woman with the strategy, support and encouragement to identify what she deserves -- and to insist on getting it." The key points on the scorecard are: Communicate, Deal, Work, Love, Celebrate, Play, Share, Plan and Evolve. The husbands have a chance to tell their side of the story, so fair is fair, and at least for these two couples, the plan worked spectacularly.

Title: My Unforgettable Jazz Friends Duke, Benny, Nat, Rex...

Author: Claire P. Gordon
Publisher: Phase V Press, Arroyo Grande CA US www.myjazzfriends.com
ISBN: 0-974-98140-1
Having personally known a number of celebs myself, I can appreciate the joys that Claire has experienced in hanging out with these people, and of course I treasure her preservation of a colorful, bygone era. Having discovered the music of Duke Ellington in her teens, she went on to become friends with Maxine Sullivan, Nat "King" Cole, "Dizzy" Gillespie, and Benny Carter, as well as disk jockeys, songwriters, and fellow jazz buffs. She was much more than a groupie -- she was Ellington's secretary, married songwriter Irving Gordon, was a close friend of Norman Granz, sat in on Nat Cole's first Capitol recording session, and was the only female sales person in Milt Gabler's Commodore Music Store in New York City. She's refreshingly honest and acknowledges that this is more about her personal memories than precise accuracy: "Memory can play tricks -- I have tried to verify dates and names as much as possible. Some of my memories do not jibe with facts as written in other places. What can I say? One of us is wrong."

Title: Hoover Dam: An Historic Novel

Author: Harry Birchard
Publisher: Xlibris Corp., Philadelphia PA US
ISBN: 0-7388-1733-3
Thought by many to be one of the seven wonders of U. S. architecture, the Hoover Dam -- begun in 1931 and completed well ahead of schedule four years later -- is twice as high as the next largest dam ever built. Inspired by a post-retirement trip that Harry took with his wife, this book is a fictionalized biography of the people who contributed to this remarkable structure.

Title: Ancient Forests: A Closer Look at Fossil Wood

Author: Frank J. Daniels and Richard D. Dayvault
Publisher: Western Colorado Publishing Company
ISBN: 978-0-9662938-1-4
What more can I say... This is a beautifully executed coffee-table-sized book that the publisher modestly trumpets as "the most intriguing, beautiful, and informative book of all time" (and, incidentally, weighs 7¼ pounds). Bridging paleobotany and mineralogy, it takes you on a fascinating tour in exploring the intricacies of fossil wood and its mineralization and cell structures, and it's a visual smorgasbord of colors and textures.

Title: God's Universe

Author: Les Burgess
Publisher: Trafford Publishing Co., Victoria, B.C., Canada
ISBN: 1-4120-7602-1
I could write a book in trying to explain this book, but that's not possible. The challenge of explaining the universe is unimaginable, and I'm in awe of a man like Les who has the chutzpah to tackle it. He covers such diverse topics as the beginning and end of the universe, whether UFOs exist, how religions came into being, how four-dimension reality relates in a three-dimensional world, the time-space continuum, Einstein's theories and their relevance to God's revelations, why each of us is at the center of our unique view of the universe, how man's trinitarian nature is in the image of God, what does the future hold, and on and on. In Les' words, "What is unique in my teaching is that God is the ultimate scientist and logician, creator and source of all things, and the ultimate dramatist, whose purpose is to raise man to divinity in true communion with himself and with nature, of which God is the head and mind."

Title: The Astrology of Great Sex: What Your Lover Wants

Author: Myrna Lamb
Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing Co., Charlottesville, Va., US
ISBN: 1-57174-509-2
Now that I've got your attention... Based on traditional astrological principles and interviews of 1,200 men and women regarding their sexual turn-ons (and turn-offs), Myrna gives you the inside scoop on what makes for a magical or not-so-magical hookup for each sign. What attracts them, their sexual attitudes and behaviors, how they interact with their five senses, and "the big O."

Title: The Advent of the King

Author: Fletcher King
Publisher: AuthorHouse, Bloomington, IN US
ISBN: 1-4259-1493-4
Set in the 9th century, the story is about Christian, the young king of the tiny kingdom of Speyron, who has come to realize his reign cannot endure -- his subjects have become mysteriously infertile and are rumored to be on the verge of rebellion, and a neighboring country is gathering an army to invade his territory. According to his court advisors, the only hope he has is to find and gain the cooperation of a peasant woman who is rumored to see the future and may be able to tell him how to save his throne. However before he can do that, he's exiled from the palace and forced into hiding by a peasant uprising. Although the author says it's not a historical novel, there is much richness in his portrayal of palace life and the day-to-day battles, insurrections and religious fervor of the period. One reviewer praised his fully human and totally believable characters and the fact that the novel hasn't "even a hint of the sort of cardboard stuffing that has given adventure fiction such a bad name over the years."

Title: What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea -- Even Water -- Based on Expert Advice from America's Best Sommeliers

Author: Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page
Publisher: Little Brown/Bulfinch Press, New York, NY US
ISBN: 0-8212-5718-8
Now here's a coffee-table-sized book you'll enjoy diving into, with a rich lasagna and a bottle of chilled Chianti at your side. The authors claim that what you drink with your meals is as important as what you eat, and that this book "has the potential to be the most important book you read this year." Think like a sommelier and transform every meal -- breakfast, lunch and dinner -- from ordinary to extraordinary. Fifteen hundred entries provide advice that is based on the collective wisdom of award-winning experts at dozens of America's best restaurants, and they cover every beverage from wines and waters to green tea, coffee and cider, matched up with every food from jambalaya and Kentucky Fried Chicken to fettucine and French toast. Interspersed among the beverage-food entries are recipes, advice and anecdotes.

Title: Mommy: Please Come Home

Author: Kevin Tremblay
Publisher: Main BookshelfLLC, Ripley, ME US
ISBN: 0-9770561-0-4
As one reviewer opined, "This unusual autobiographical memoir defies classification." Kevin is a Boston native, so some of the account is local. Before she died, his mother (the "Mommy" of the title) asked him to write about what happened to her. He writes that he survived an attempted abortion (that killed his twin) and that his mother, diagnosed as mentally ill, was the victim of government-sponsored brainwashing and behavioral reprogramming referred to as the MK-Ultra/MONARCH program, and therein lies a very unusual mix of Satanists, shadow governments, occult mind control and other unbelievable claims. Yet despite it all Kevin taught himself to read, became a successful horticulturist, real estate broker, and poet and trained his mind to the point where he qualified for Mensa.

Title: The Martin Method: Ten Steps to Building Conscience, Self-Discipline, Moral Maturity, and Nice Kids!

Author: Lyn S. Martin, PhD.
Publisher: Insight Unlimited, Essex, CT US
ISBN: 0-9759373-0-8
Definitely not on the same wavelength as James Dobson's Dare to Discipline book, this one purports to bring about good behavior through moral development and conscience building. Boiled down to one sentence: Children are not good or bad, but their behavior can be right or wrong. According to Lyn, "the method takes only minutes to implement, and best of all, puts responsibility for his or her actions directly on the child, keeps tempers in check, and avoids the ineffectiveness of punishments and rewards." Unfortunately. a totally opposite approach is in vogue today: provide children with everything, protect them from all failure, and hand out rewards indiscriminately -- which, as she points out, "encourages `false high esteem,' the kind that is dangerous because it promotes narcissism and people who cannot accept failure and are more likely to be angry, frustrated, spouse abusers and criminals."

Title: Dreams and Visions: Fourteen Flights of Fantasy

Editors: M. Jerry Weiss and Helen S. Weiss
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates, New York, New York
ISBN: 0-765-31249-2
Believing, as Einstein did, that "imagination is more important than knowledge," Jerry and Helen have compiled a collection of fantasy stories by prize-winning young adult authors to help middle and high school students see the power of imagination. Stories include Jameel and the House if Djinn, Dry Spell, Depressing Acres, Baseball in Iraq, Majority Rules, and The Hidden Girl. This should be one book you won't have to force your kids to read.

Title: First, Do No Harm

Author: Dr. Ira E. Williams
Publisher: Dr. Ira Williams, Greenville, South Carolina
ISBN: 0-9754524-1-X
"Twice as many people are killed by medical errors today as die in traffic accidents." When the first medical malpractice crisis occurred back in the mid-1970's, the medical community proposed civil litigation as the best review system. Now, 30 years later, most realize this was not the answer. Dr. Williams argues that peer review is the only system that recognizes the "art" of medicine and enables doctors to fairly judge other doctors, without interference of marginally knowledgeable attorneys, courts and juries. Chapter headings include "Lethal Medicine," "Trust Us - We're Professionals," "Amphitheater of the Absured," "Peer Review: The Fox in the Henhouse,","The Party Line: Organized Medicine's Track Record," "Band-Aids and Palliatives," "Prescribing the Cure," and "Call to Action." Some stories will shock you, like the opening one about a surgeon who, not being able to find a titanium rod to stabilize a patient's spine, used a nearby screwdriver instead. Dr. Williams is a long-practicing oral and maxillofacial surgeon.

Title: Executive Peace Corps

Authors: Robert and Ida Rugenstein
Publisher: Publishers Graphic Co, Carol Stream, Illinois
ISBN: 09663402-5-6
If you're a business executive who finds him- or herself with nothing to do, here's a great idea: join the authors and hundreds of others who have volunteered to go to developing countries as consultants. Projects generally last one to three months and pay the expenses of the volunteer and spouse, but no salary other than a great sense of personal satisfaction. Under the auspices of the International Executive Service Corp., the Rugensteins, whose expertise is in the garment industry, have worked on more than 45 different projects on five continents. This book chronicles their experiences in helping to set up clothing factories in such exotic outreaches as Zimbabwe, Egypt, El Salvador, Morocco, Haiti, Peru, Honduras, India, and Russia and will give you a good idea of what you're in for if you should decide to sign on.

Title: In Search of Lost Time: New and Selected Poems

Author: Prof. Dr. Hirsch Lazaar Silverman
Publisher: Chetana Litereary Group, Mangalore, India
ISBN: none
Frustrations
Nearly always
Turn strongly
Into obsessions.
And "frustration" is probably an apt word for those trying to order this book, since it is published in India with no ISBN identifier. Described in one article as a man who "writes poetry that combines his experience as a clinical and forensic psychologist with his philisophical leanings," Hirsch has amassed 12 books of poetry. This latest one contains 70-plus poems that span 25 years and cover a wide variety of topics relating to our time on earth: Youthfulness, history, human nature, love, death, modernity and so much more.

Title: In Praise of Givers

Author: Jim Doherty
Publisher: Jim Doherty, Richmond, Virginia
ISBN: 0-9770151-0-6
Jim set out to chronicle the acts and motives if 71 individuals, couples and families who were "givers," who contributed time, money, labor and pother assistance to local organizations and communities. Through these stories, you'll learn of opportunities available through the Salvation Army, Big Brothers and Sisters, Boy Scouts, Food Banks, Friends Association, churches, Physicians for Peace, blood banks, United Way, YWCA and other groups, and it is Jim's hope that reading these inspiring stories will encourage others to seek out ways to serve others and lead a more fulfilling life.

Title: Who Killed the Heartbreak Kid?

Author: Mel Waldman
Publisher: iUniverse, Lincoln, Nebraska
ISBN: 0-595-37278-3
As hinted at by the offbeat title, this book is an amalgam of mystery, dark comedy and metaphysics -- now how can you beat a combination like that? Wait, there's more -- it's also a study of post-traumatic stress disorder and multiple personality. The protagonist, Dave Gould, is a survivor, having suffered abuse as a child, attempts on his life, and the disappearance of his wife Maria and son Bobby many years ago. Understandably, this has affected his present relationships, expecially with the current girlfriend Jennifer and buddy Larry (the Heartbreak Kid of the title). Suddenly more trauma -- Jennifer becomes seriously ill, and Larry is murdered, whereupon (in Mel's whimsical universe), Dave's deceased Jewish mother begins to communicate with her son, guiding him through these rough shoals of life. Dr. Waldman is a psychologist, as well as a poet, writer, artist and singer/songwriter, and his stories have appeared in dozens of detective/mystery magazines. He wrote this book to give readers a better understanding of PTSD and multiple personality in a palatable form.

Title: The Rise and Fall of the United States -- Third Edition

Author: Harold Farrall
Publisher: Dorrance Publishing, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
ISBN: 0-8059-6795-8
"I came to the conclusion that the United States mainly comprises the descendants of the tribes of Israel and thus is entitled to the inheritance promised by God." Harold isn't the first to attempt to link the destiny of israel with that of the U.S. (the Mormons and certain radio evangelists are prime examples). He addresses a plethora of societal ills as evidence that the U.S. is sliding away from God and towards damnation. If you love scriptural references, this book is chock full of them. When asked why he'd recommend this book to Mensans, Harold replied, "I get the impression that Mensans are caught up in the affairs of the world, embracing hedonism, which is the path to destruction." (Who, us?)

Title: Forestry

Author: Catherine Raven
Publisher: Chelsea House, New York, New York
ISBN: 0-7910-8752-2
This book is part of the Green World series, which focuses on the relationship between plants and humans rather than concentrating exclusively on plant anatomy and physiology. Meeting academic science curriculum standards, the series would be an excellent addition to any school library. Catherine, who has a Ph.D. in biology and undergraduate degrees in zoology and botany, explores the world of forestry, from types of trees and shrubs grown for commercial and medicinal use, to the impact of trees on human society and the environment.

Title: How to Build a Successful 401(K) and Retirement Program Advisory Business

Authors: Steff C. Chalk and Christopher H. Barlow
Publisher: Chalk Sharp & Associates, Cincinnati, Ohio
ISBN: 0-9776618-0-6
You know, I was just thinking about starting a new business in my retirement years! And here we have a distillation of 45 years of CSA's experience as financial advisors, a "start-to-finish read for the novice or a reference guide for the seasoned professional." Using an easy-to-read question-and-answer format, this book provides practical help in setting a strategy, developing a business plan, establishing strategic partners, building leadership and generating new accounts. Retirement planning is today's hot topic, but competitve and ever-changing as well, and this should give you a much-needed edge.

Title: Sleight of Mind

Author: George Ulett, M.D., edited by Lucy Knapp
Publisher: Warren H. Green, Inc., St. Louis, Missouri
ISBN: 0-87527-550-8
"We must always ask of our own thoughts as well as the utterances of others, 'What is the evidence, what are the facts?'" What is faith? How do we come by our beliefs -- whether it is in the Trinity or in alternative medicine or in life after death? Part autobiography and part essay, this work centers on the interaction of culture and brain chemistry that makes us "believe all manner of things that have no basis in fact." Dr. Ulett, who was born practically next door to me in Needham, Mass., and has authored more than 225 articles and books, draws from a distinguished medical career and his 70 years as an amateur magician to muse on religion, magic, superstition, history and science.

Title: Canyon of Bones: An Alaskan Tale within Tales

Author: Steven C. Levi
Publisher: Parsnackle Press, Anchorage, Alaska
ISBN: none
"I always try to write something different," writes Steven, and he always has. Such books as Sourdough Journalist, The Alaskan Traveler, Capitol Punishment and Travel *Smart Alaska come to mind. Here's his latest: a narrative poem -- a novella "with a new twist: a story within a story within a story ...and with a plot line that carries the reader into the last story and back to the first." It's about an Alaskan Sourdough who tells of a troupe of miners in Juneau during World War II who find a diary and a gold map next to a corpse deep in a crevice of the Mendenhall Glacier. This diary relates how thge dead man spent all summer searching for gold, then sought refuge for the winter in an abandoned steamship. During the winter, he is visited by a lost miner who has gone mad from the cold and who tells of finding a gold vein in a remote canyon. But the mad miner discovered he was not the first; in the canyon is a falling down cabin, and inside the cabin is the skeleton of a woman chained to a bed, along with a diary that tells her own story of finding the gold and how the canyon is cursed.

Title: Word Wizard: Super Bloopers, Rich Reflections, and Other Acts of Word Magic

Author: Richard Lederer
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, New York, New York
ISBN: 0-3112-35171-2
"Ominous clergyman = sinister minister." "Put your best foot forward - now let's see ... we have a good foot and a better foot, but we don't have a third -- and best -- foot." "TWENTY-NINE is spelled with straight letters made of straight lines only -- 29 of them to be exact, and ambidextrous is alphabetically ambidextrous (its left half -- ambide -- uses letters from the left half of the alphabet, and its right half -- xtrous -- uses letters from the right half)." If such trivia amuses you, then you'll be happy to hear that Richard, the author of more than 30 books on the English language, is back again with more. Some of the pieces will appear familiar, as this is a compilation of his best and most popular essays, but it includes new ones as well.

Title: Fine Flickering Hungers: An anthology of erotic short stories and poetry

Author: Alessia Brio
Publisher: Phaze, Cincinnati, Ohio
ISBN: 1-59426-540-2
"A collection of eight erotic short stories with accompanying poetry. Sexual scenarios vary from hetero- to mono- to homosexual to group, with the only common thread being that they seldom (if ever) take place in a bed... The fantasies swirling around in my head reached a critical mass. I had to set them free to make room for more. I write to make people feel good about themselves, about their sexuality and about their passions. Call it 'erotic altruism'." Definitely a book for bedtime reading, offering an imaginative romp stretching from "Boiling Point" and "Surrogate Sin" to "Topping Love," "Wetter Has Never Been Better" and "Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun: Learning to Love Halloween." Something for everyone, and literately and lushly written besides. Hot, hot, hot -- don't say I didn't warn ya.

Title: Backlot Requiem: A Rick Walter Mystery

Author: G. E. Nordell
Publisher: iUniverse, Lincoln, Nebraska
ISBN: 0-595-34128-4
To borrow from the title of an old radio drama series, I love a mystery, and this one is short and sweet. Move over Raymond Chandler, Nordell's Rick Walker, P.I., has taken center stage. A groundbreaking ceremony at National Picture Studios unearths a body, and Rick is called in to solve the 30-year-old murder. But the case is complicated by kidnapping thugs, mesmerizing women, dying suspects and blackmail, and before he's through, Rick has uncovered shocking revelations about a dying film director and his wild daughters, a legendary film star of the silent screen and a very discreet love affair.

Title: The Signet Book of Short Plays

Editor: M. Jerry Weiss
Publisher: Signet Classics/New American Library/Penguin Group, New York, New York
ISBN: 0-451-52964-2
Here's a great way to become acquainted with the lesser-known works of great American playwrights -- both old and new -- from Gore Vidal and Tennessee Williams to David Ives and Shel Silverstein. The selections are varied with such gems as Coming through the Rye by William Saroyan, Tender Offer by Wendy Wasserstein, and The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden by Thornton Wilder. A biography of each playwright appears at the end of the volume and includes the numerous awards that each has won. Jerry writes, "I am an avid playgoer and play reader, and perhaps my best reason for editing this book is a hope of sharing my enthusiasm for the theater with others."

Title: Rocked by Murder

Author: Ken Kreckel
Publisher: PublishAmerica, Frederick, Maryland
ISBN: 1-4137-6284-0
Claiming to be the first murder mystery featuring geologists and set in a university geology department, the book begins with John Jennick, a visiting professor of geology, discovering the body of his longtime friend and colleague in a deserted lab with his head crushed. Finding himself the chief suspect, Jennick, assisted by Fiona Notting-Simpson, a female instructor in the department, attempts to uncover the real perpetrator and, along the way, encounters a myriad of deceptions, suspicions, scandals and past tragic events, including some in his own life. And if that weren't enough, he has to cope with the attraction he's beginning to feel for the instructor, despit ethe fact that he's still mourning the untimely death of his wife. As a professional geophysicist, as well as a writer of historical fiction and mysteries, Ken knows whereof he speaks.

Title: A dictionary of International Units -- Metric Matters: Names and Symbols

Author: Philip Bladon
Publisher: iUniverse, Lincoln, Nebraska
ISBN: 0-595-37115-9
Here's your guide to "Le Systeme Internationale d'Unites" (SI) system of metric nomenclature so you will no longer be guilty of committing faux pas when talking and writing about such matters. For example, if you have ever written "Kg" for kilogram, "nano" for nanoseconds, or "mVs" for millivolts, slap your hand! According to the standard, "unit names must never begin with a capital letter," "prefixes must only be used when combined with a unit," and "symbols must remain unaltered in the plural." By the way, did you know that watts, volts, joules and amperes were all named after scientists?

Title: Nam-a-Rama

Author: Phillip Jennings
Publisher: Forge, New York, New York
ISBN: 0-765-31120-8
In brief, Phil -- a former Marine captain and helicopter pilot who flew more than 300 missions in Vietnam and who also flew for Air America in Laos -- has written a black humor, acid satire about the Vietnam Conflict. Described on the book jacket as "Catch-22 meets Apocalypse Now," it tells the story of an American president who hatches the war at a White House pizza party, then later decides to end it by sending in helicopter pilots Jack Armstrong and his friend Gearhardt, along with peacenik movie star Barbonells, to assassinate Ho Chi Minh. Just to illustrate the broad-brushed humor, imagine a scene where Armstrong is in a Mustang (car, not plane) with North Vietnamese General Giap, being chased by Ho Chi Minh in a Corvette. But as one reviewer noted, there are some very real battle scenes interspersed here and there, and "the break from insanity to reality adds to the horror." This was Booksense's "Notable Book for March" and Amazon's "Editor Breakout Book for Spring 2005," snagged a starred review in Publisher's Weekly, and was nominated for the New York Library Association's Book of the Year (fiction).

Title: My North Korea Vacation

Author: Jim Koepke
Publisher: PublishAmerica, Frederick, Maryland
ISBN: 1-4241-1957-X
First Vietnam, now Korea -- where next? An action/political thriller that strives to challenge your perceptions of political machinations and the reality of "shadow governments" and their nefarious intrigues. To wit, this is a fictionalized explanation of the hidden causes behind a historic naval battle that occurred between North and South Korea, wherein Chinese spies blackmail and compromise an American president, preventing him from halting the theft of nuclear weapons secrets. Cue up a shadow government to accomplish what the U.S. can't do officially, resulting in covert operatives infiltrating North Korea to sabotage their nuclear weapons development.

Title: The Reluctant Assassin: A Western Story

Author: Preston Darby, M.D.
Publisher: Five Star, Waterville, Maine
ISBN: 1-59414-151-7
There are probably as many conspiracy theories about the murder of President Lincoln as there are about the JFK assassination, and the debate continues. Now along comes Dr. Darby's novel theorizing that perhaps John Wilkes Booth did not die in a remote barn but escaped to lead a full and adventurous life -- a fictional work characterized by the author as "an entertaining and informative mental exercise based on historically accurate speculation." Starting with the investigation of the mummified body of a man found in an abandoned barn in Texas, the plot moves along swiftly as an object purporting to be the diary of JWB is found inside the corpse. Is the diary authentic, does it point to the involvement of officials at the highest echelons of the Lincoln Administration, and is the body really Booth's?

Title: Hans Paasche: Militant Pacifist in Imperial Germany

Author: Werner Lange, translated by David Kobick
Publisher: Trafford Publishing, Victoria, British Columbia
ISBN: 1-4120-5246-7
"Here rests a fighter for peace and for understanding among peoples, slain in 1920, a victim of his beliefs. Ich habe mehr gesat als geschnitten." (I have sown more than I have reaped.) -- Graveside plaque.
Most of us have probably never heard of Hans Paasche, but in his 40 short years (1881-1920), he had a colorful and contradiction-filled life. He was both a German naval officer with a distinguished record and, later, a staunch pacifist and anti-war activist who was incarcerated as a traitor for his outspoken views. He was an avid hunter, yet an advocate of wildlife conservation. He was a crusading reformer as a member of the Lebenstraum movement and a victim of an unreformable system. Ultimately, he was branded a threat to German society and was mysteriously shot to death by the military during a weapons search at his country estate of Waldfrieden.

Title: Royals of England: A Guide for Readers, Travelers and Genealogists

Authors: Kathleen Spaltro and Noeline Bridge
Publisher: iUniverse, Lincoln, Nebraska
ISBN: 0-595-37312-7
A treasure trove of information in Britain's royal families, including 42 profiles of royal houses from William the Conqueror to Queen Victoria and Albert (sorry, nothing more recent than that, as titillating as that might have been). The book stresses geographic locales, and following each profile is an account of the sites associated with that person in England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy and elsewhere. But fear not -- a place name index and personal name index provide invaluable cross-references that will help you sort everything out.