Book Reviews
A Riddle in Stone Deciphered
Joseph Turbeville
(Reviewed: June, 2012)
This slim volume gathers a collection of articles by Joseph Turbeville relating to the dimensions of the Great Pyramid and its relationship to many historical mathematical numbers and/or functions. Turbeville has developed a computation process called “Glimmer Tables,” and in many of his articles included here, he ties together these two subjects. The book’s purpose […]
Hiphopetry
Rolando Condry
(Reviewed: June, 2012)
It’s difficult to discern exactly how “hiphopetry” differs from run-of-the-mill poetry or run-of-the-mill hip-hop. The portmanteau serves as the title of a new collection of free-form verses by Rolando Condry, writings that lack the formal structures of poetry in its most academic sense and the rhyme schemes of the best hip-hop. Instead, Condry writes in […]
Surviving Mental Illness: My Story
Linda Naomi Katz
(Reviewed: June, 2012)
Linda Naomi Katz was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 24, but she suspects her mental illness began in her teen years when she struggled with anxiety, nervousness and excessive sadness. This memoir relates her personal journey, covering the various drugs she was given to keep her moods under control, the many jobs she tried […]
The Reagan Revolution and the Developing Countries (1980-1990) A Seminal Decade For Predicting The World Economic Future
Lawrence Feiner
(Reviewed: June, 2012)
Lawrence Feiner and Richard Melson, both former principals of the Cambridge Forecast Group, have written a sharp challenge to prevailing economic thought. The authors argue that despite the chaos that seems to have enveloped the world economy since the end of the Cold War (as typified in the writings of Francis Fukuyama, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and […]
Aussie Yarns
John McAulay
(Reviewed: June, 2012)
In this collection of Australian-based tales, writer John McAulay takes the novel approach of following his short works of fiction with an explanation of their inspiration, and a poem on the same theme. Sometimes this three-prong approach results in added insight; other times, it can feel preachy and unnecessary. But as a whole, this is […]
Triumph: In the Face of Struggles, Annoyances, Stalking, Schemes and Coverts Revealed
Merrinda Wright
(Reviewed: June, 2012)
Merrinda Wright was born into her own Cinderella story, a rejected child taken in by a resentful grandmother after her parents split. She was punished for being “like your black daddy” while most of the family was more “lightskinned.” Undaunted, Merrinda grew up in West Virginia as “a child with many dreams,” as she explains […]
Where’s Miss Mary?
Liz Hamlin
(Reviewed: June, 2012)
After the death of her husband, lonely Ruth McBain takes in 6-year-old Lark as a foster child. Thus begins Liz Hamlin’s suspenseful fourth novel about greed, duplicity and murder.
The story is set in a remote neighborhood, where Ruth is continually baffled by Lark’s behavior. Lark’s social worker isn’t allowed to violate Lark’s privacy and […]
Failure Masquerading as Success
Rudolph Cumberbatch
(Reviewed: June, 2012)
When Barbados-born, Harvard-educated surgeon Rudolph Cumberbatch joined the Veteran Affairs as chief of surgery in 1985 after years of private practice, he fully expected to do all he could to honor his veteran patients and protect them from harm. At the VA hospital in Cheyenne, Wyoming, he received high praise for the staff’s professionalism and […]
Live Above the Clouds
Pamela Jean Garner
(Reviewed: June, 2012)
Pamela J. Garner’s Live Above the Clouds is a collection of heart-felt poems of inspiration and devotion expressing her abiding faith in and connection with God. Her unadorned, even plainspoken language provides an effective setting for the all-but-inexpressible convictions she’s trying to put into words.
The ballad-like poem, “At Jesus’ Feet,” demonstrates Garner’s quiet, unobtrusive […]
Poetic Stories from theYin and Yang of Life
Angellia Moore
(Reviewed: June, 2012)
In Poetic Stories from the Yin and Yang of Life, Angellia Moore doesn’t shy away from including cues from her training as a sixth-grade teacher as she explores her creative side. Individually, the poems explore themes of perception, doubt, confidence, freedom and, as her title indicates, basic issues of balance. Collectively, they share a tone […]