Review of "Russia As I Saw It," by Vern L. Schield

 Review of

Russia As I Saw It, by Vern L. Schield

Four out of five stars

The author grew up in Iowa and is a classic case of the self-made man. He was a talented mechanic and founded Bantam, a company that made heavy construction equipment and was located in Waverly, Iowa. When I was young the term “Bantam” was used to refer to all machines that had a certain form.

 In 1956, after years of effort, Schield was allowed to take a tour of the Soviet Union. At the time, this was a very difficult thing for an American to do. This book is an account of his experiences in what was truly a very foreign land at the time.

 Consistent with the accounts of other travelers of that time period, Schield found the Soviet people extremely curious about Americans. For many, he was the first one that they had encountered. He took many pens with him, and they were a prized possession of the recipients. Even though they could not read the text, the promotional material that he brought with him was pored over by the people he met.

 This is one more demonstration that when people meet, even those under adversarial governments, human curiosity wins out over animosity. An expert on heavy construction equipment, Schield also provides some expert commentary on what he saw in action during his trip.

Review of "Womp Womp, Issue 2," by Brandon Lehmann

 Review of

Womp Womp, Issue 2, by Brandon Lehmann

Four out of five stars

Good comics, repetitive images

 While the short stories in this collection of graphic stories are good, they suffer from the issue of having repetitive images with few things other than the dialog balloons changed. For example, the first story is about the invention of the making of bread. There are 18 captions that have the same two men in the foreground with the same two people in the background. There are no discernable changes in the background and the position of the arms of the two main characters does change. Specifically, the arms of the character on the left. The topic of how complex the operation of baking bread and how the discovery of the process was not an easy task is one that is interesting. It was no doubt a series of trials and likely accidents that led to the development of the process.

 The second story is a short one that is right out of the story by Edgar Allan Poe, “The Cask of Amontillado.” There are nine captions with a man holding a mason’s trowel and leaning against a half-finished brick wall and speaking to someone on the other side. In this case, the topic is not wine, but the usefulness of walls.

 Some of the other stories offer social commentary about commercials for pharmaceuticals, men with their shirts off, book reports in school and a spoof of the Hercule Poirot character from Agatha Christie novels. While some are simplistic, others require knowledge of various literary works in order to understand them. It is a fun book and a quick read.

Review of "Harlan Ellison’s Dream Corridor Quarterly"

 Review of

Harlan Ellison’s Dream Corridor Quarterly ISBN 1569711690

Five out of five stars

Bizarre as only Ellison can do it

 This collection of short stories in graphic form show Ellison in his most twisted form. They depict people and situations that are most unusual. Some of the basic plot devices are standard science fiction fare, for example, the man that goes back in time and meets himself as a child. Yet, it takes a twist that is pure Ellison.

 My favorite is the love story featuring an elderly man and woman. He is a serial terrorist that plants pipe bombs in the city and he identifies an elderly woman that is apparently stalking him. When he confronts her, she saves him from arrest by killing an officer, she is also a serial killer. The only possible outcome of this meeting is love as they walk away arm-in-arm to what they think will be a happy life together.

 Twisted is as twisted does is a great explanation of the work of Harlan Ellison. These stories are an existence proof of that adage.

Review of "The Secret Surrender," by Allen Dulles

 Review of

The Secret Surrender, by Allen Dulles

Five out of five stars

Solution to a complex problem

 One of the greatest accomplishments of the Second World War was not achieved on the battlefield, but in a secret negotiations. During the war, Allen Dulles was the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) chief in Switzerland. The OSS was the precursor to the CIA. As a neutral country having borders with Germany and Fascist controlled Italy during the war, it was a place where both sides could move and interact relatively freely.

 In the last year of the war as the Allies bloodily moved up the Italian peninsula, it became increasingly clear that Germany was going to be defeated. The questions then took the form of how many would die, how much physical destruction there would be, and which forces would be in control of what territory on the day the war ended.

 Dulles and his team were the intermediaries between Allied commanders, the German commanders in northern Italy and the Italian partisan fighters working against the Germans. Through perseverance, determination, great courage on the part of some German commanders and some incredible luck, a surrender in place of the German forces took place May 2, 1945. This action saved a great deal of death and destruction in northern Italy and kept communist forces from taking control of a large section of Italian territory.

 This is a fascinating book as Dulles explains all of the conflicting forces in play as German power and control began to wane in Northern Italy. Some of the German commanders took great personal risk in their negotiations, there were genuine threats against their person and members of their families. History is replete with colossal failures of the intelligence communities this was one of the incredible successes.

Review of "Barnstormers: Three Kids, A Mystery and a Magic Baseball," by Loren Long and Phil Bildner

 Review of

Barnstormers: Three Kids, A Mystery and a Magic Baseball, by Loren Long and Phil Bildner ISBN 9781416918639

Four out of five stars

Too much incidental magic

 The best characteristic of this book is the introduction and explanation of baseball terms from the early years of the game. Phrases such as “left garden” for left field, “ace” for a run scored, “ant killer” for a hard ground ball, “striker” for a batter, and “hand down” for an out are introduced and explained.

 The context is a game between the Travelin’ Nine that is traveling (barnstorming) across the nation playing local teams and the year is 1899. The game in question is being played locally in order to retire some of the massive debt that has been incurred by the Payne family. Griffith, Ruby and Graham are the three Payne children, and they do what they can to help out, passing out flyers and rooting during the game.

 While the basic information about the game played in this timeframe is interesting, the on field apparitions seen only by some are aspects of the plot that sometimes seem senseless. They have no affect on the outcome, add nothing to the revenue from the game and are overemphasized. They are a weakness in what is otherwise a very entertaining book.

Review of "Star Wars Jedi Quest," by Jude Watson

 Review of

Star Wars Jedi Quest, by Jude Watson ISBN 0439367174

Four out of five stars

 Anakin and Obi-Wan between episode 1 and 2

  Anakin is in his early teen years and rapidly becoming a true Jedi knight. However, he is still a boy, so he is lacking in the superb mental discipline that is characteristic of a Jedi. Obi-Wan does his best to keep his occasionally rebellious Padawan under control, but he is not always listened to. In this case a slaver named Krayn has been raiding planets for some time in order to have labor for his spice works. Obi-Wan and Anakin are given the task of infiltrating Krayn’s operation in order to learn the specifics so that it can be shut down.

 Getting inside Krayn’s ship is fairly easily done, but when they encounter some slaves, Anakin remembers his youth where his mother and he were slaves. Therefore, he picks an inappropriate time to disobey Obi-Wan and Anakin is enslaved in the spice works. It is a brutal place where slaves are often severely punished, poorly fed and frequently worked to death. Anakin seems to have no hope until he receives aid from an unusual source. Since Obi-Wan knows where Anakin is held, he poses as a consultant in order to infiltrate the planet.

 Written at the YA level, this book is a solid element of the print thread of the Star Wars story. It portrays Anakin as he most certainly would be at the age of twelve. Extremely talented and capable in the Jedi arts, yet impulsive and emotional as he grows into the role of a Jedi knight. The action moves well and there are hints regarding his dark and twisted future.

Review of "Go, Team, Go!," by John R. Tunis

 Review of

Go, Team, Go!, by John R. Tunis ISBN 9780688092863

Five out of five stars

Great lesson about the character of sports

When I was in middle school, I read every sports fiction book in the Harding Middle School and Hiawatha public libraries. This was one of my favorites and I enjoyed it just as much when I read it again. There is a lesson in this book that transcends sports, which is something that Tunis does as well as anyone.
The high school basketball team of Ridgewood, Indiana has won the state title and the players are on top of the world. However, this is a town that has its’ problems. There is a great deal of gambling going on and many citizens are betting that the team will win the state title the following year. All of the starters are back, so it seems like a good bet. Unfortunately, the team members start to believe that the rules do not apply to them. These beliefs are buoyed by the majority of the people in the town, who feed their egos. When the only real bad apple among the varsity players is disciplined, the remaining four players resign.
Rather than back down, the coach stands firm and plays his B team. At first they get shelled, but gradually they form a cohesive unit. When the school holds a pep rally in support of the new team, they catch fire and start to win.
The story is told from the perspective of Little Tom, son of the mayor and a member of the original varsity. He spends a great deal of the story feeling sorry for himself and making excuses for his bad behavior. Finally, to his credit, he goes to the coach and offers to help with the team. The coach readily accepts the help and together they coach their team deep into the state tournament. Since he was man enough to admit his mistake, his girlfriend takes him back and he rises above what he was to become a man proud of himself once again.
This story is a reminder of what seems to be lacking in sports these days, a concern for the character of the players that rises above concerns for winning. While winning is always desirable, how you play the game will almost always matter more in the long run. Tunis writes those points as well as anyone ever has, which is why I admire him so much as a writer. He teaches a very valuable lesson about life by wrapping it up in the thrill of sports.