Review of
Marvel Star Comics All-Star Collection,
ISBN 9780785142928
Three out of five stars
The four characters
featured in this collection are those that appeal to the younger readers of
comic books. They are “Planet Terry,” “Royal Roy,” “Top Dog,” and “Wally the Wizard.”
Royal Roy is a clear and blatant copy of the “Richie Rich” character in the
Harvey Comics universe. None of them possess superpowers and the main theme of
the stories involving Planet Terry and Wally the Wizard is their search for
their lost parents.
Top Dog is an
intelligent dog that is the only one that can program the Brainstrain supercomputer.
The world is in danger from Mr. Invisible, a man that has the power indicated
by his name. There is little violence in any of these stories, the plots are
tame and within the bounds of what all parents will allow their ten-year-old to
read.
This is a
collection of stories for the child, adults will find the stories fairly dull
and uninteresting.
Review of
Azazel Fantasy Stories,
by Isaac Asimov ISBN 0553283391
Three out of five stars
While I am a
big fan of Isaac Asimov and can accurately claim to have read a majority of his
hundreds of books, the Azazel stories do not thrill me in any way. The plot
device is that Azazel is a small red “demon” with magical powers and can be
called up via an incantation uttered by George Bitternut. Bitternut is a
notorious deadbeat that is always sponging off of others, yet his victims never
seem to mind, even though they know what he is.
The openings of
the stories varies a bit, yet not by much. Therefore, after a few stories, the
reader will tend to skim the first few paragraphs. After the context is
established regarding the difficulties a specific person is having, George will
call up Azazel and have him cast a spell to “correct” the problem. The end
result is one of unintended consequences that are meant to amuse.
In many cases,
the results of George and Azazel’s meddling is predictable, for Asimov
restricts himself to human situations and consequences that involve no violence
or other hostile acts. The commentary is very sexist, in the sense that there
are many references to the curvy female form and other mild sexual acts. This is
a book that I could not read late at night, for it tended to put me to sleep.
Review of
Voices from the Civil War,
by Milton Meltzer ISBN 0690048025
Five out of five stars
These short snippets
written by soldiers and civilians on both sides of the American Civil War show
that the people that fought in it kept their hopes and dreams alive while they
witnessed horrible carnage with many of their comrades and opponents turned into
amorphous masses of discontinuous protoplasm. As is generally the case in civil
wars, there really is not that much difference between the common soldiers
doing the fighting and dying on both sides.
There is a
great deal of valuable context to the snippets written in italicized script
that explains some of the background needed to understand what is being
referenced by the authors of the associated short statements. Without this
text, many of the snippets would not be understood by people not well grounded
in history.
People that
understand what came later in the First World War will know that there were
clear lessons regarding the future of warfare to be learned from the American
Civil War. Those lessons are present in this text. The main weapons on both
sides were muzzle loading muskets and yet one side charging the other’s
prepared positions rarely succeeded. Even when it did success was due to
overwhelming numbers and led to horrific casualties among the attacking forces.
This is
personal history as well as a macro history of a war like so many others. The
side that declared the war for some stated reasons ended up losing those
reasons when it was over.
Review of
Marvel Magazine Group Bizarre Adventures
Number 27
Three out of five stars
The three stories
in this collection all feature one of the members of the X-Men superhero group.
The first is about Jean Grey, originally Marvel Girl and then Phoenix being
mourned by her sister, the second features Iceman at a winter carnival on the
campus of Dartmouth College and the third stars Nightcrawler in a teleportation
fiasco.
None of them
are really all that engaging on the superhero action front, although the first
contains some touching emotional moments of a woman mourning at the grave of
her sister. All are in black and white, limiting the quality of the imagery.
The one featuring Nightcrawler even has an elderly grandma-type lady on a
television screen giving advice to Nightcrawler on how to teleport back to his
own time and space from the bizarre place he has ended up. Didn’t work for me.
I am generally
a big fan of the X-Men superhero group, in this instance the word to describe
was I experiences was “disappointment.”
Review of
Snapshots of History: Cedar Rapids
1849-1999, published by “The Gazette”
Five out of five stars
As an older
lifelong resident of Iowa that has never lived more than ten miles from Cedar
Rapids, there are many of the images in this collection that I recognize.
Furthermore, I understand many more of the captions associated with images in
the book. The movie theaters used to have free movies for children on the day
after Thanksgiving, so a group of us always went. My favorite at the time was
the World Theater, it always seemed so massive to this young boy. Therefore,
the image in this book of the front of what is now a relic brought back some
fond memories of watching Three Stooges movies with a bag of popcorn and a soft
drink. Back then, you were allowed to bring in your own popcorn, so all each of
us needed was two quarters and we were good for snacks and drinks.
These kinds of
memories are what will be triggered when long-term residents look through this
book. Nearly all of the businesses and most of the buildings are nothing but
memories, things get wore out and must be replaced. This is a book to keep so
that you can look through it every few years and smile about the events of your
youth.
Review of
Leonardo Da Vinci for Kids: His Life and
Ideas, by Janis Herbert ISBN 1556522983
Five out of five stars
For decades, my
all-time most admired person down through history has been Leonardo Da Vinci.
In my opinion, he is the most talented person of all time. Most people know him
through two of the most famous paintings of all time, “Mona Lisa” and “The Last
Supper.” However, his artwork was only a small fraction of his accomplishments.
Da Vinci was a
superb engineer in both the civil and military sense. He designed operational weapons
of war, elaborate canal and waterflow systems and can be credited with the ideas
behind many modern inventions. Given the resources of the defense budget of a
nation state, many of his ideas could have been rendered operational, even
given the technology of the day. His drawings of human anatomy were unsurpassed
for centuries. It can be argued that he was the most knowledgeable person
regarding human anatomy of his time.
The list goes
on and on, with most of the high points of Da Vinci’s achievements covered here,
albeit briefly. He was a person that should be studied by the modern
generation, he was truly a Renaissance Man in the broadest sense of the term. When
you include his study and understanding of sound, some of his work can be
covered in music classes. This book is a worthy addition to every library for
young people, he was truly a maestro across nearly the entire liberal arts
spectrum.
Review of
The Tree Of Life,
by Peter Sis ISBN 9780374456283
Five out of five stars
Charles Darwin literally
used evolution to produce a revolution in scientific thought. Despite the
overwhelming evidence in favor of the evolution of species, it is a battle that
continues to be fought. Debates still take place in the United States over
whether it should even be taught in the public schools. This book is a brief
biography of Charles Darwin and there are some very disturbing notes.
Using excerpts
from Darwin’s diary as well as facts about the “Beagle” and entries from the
ship’s log, maps and images, this is a short but excellent rendition of the
life of Darwin. It is also a look into his thought processes as he converted his
observations and experiences into a sound and justified scientific theory.
There are also passages about how Darwin explored the
lands that he visited. An expedition up into the Andes to 12,000 feet, crossing
the Andes through the Portillo Pass, climbing Mount Wellington in Tasmania and
camping on the open plains.
Along with his
work that led to his theory, Darwin puts down some notes that are unfortunately
historically accurate. There are the sentences, “Meet General Rosas – hired by
Argentinian government to exterminate the Indians. I am a witness but can do
nothing.” While describing his experiences in Australia, there are the two journal
entries, “Again troubled by the treatment of aborigines” and “Wherever the
European would tread, death seems to pursue the aboriginal.”
This is the best
book about the life and scientific work of Charles Darwin written for young
people that I have ever encountered. It is a work that can and should be read
by people of all ages and is a worthy addition to all libraries.
Review of
Tibet: Through the Red Box,
by Peter Sis, ISBN 9780374375522
Five out of five stars
Presented as a
work of nonfiction, this is a story that sounds like fiction, yet has enough
unusual aspects to fit into the category of “you can’t make this stuff up.”
When the author was very young and growing up in Czechoslovakia shortly after
the end of World War II, his filmmaker father left on what he called an
expedition. His mission was to film the Chinese construction crews as they were
building a road through the mountains from China to Lhasa in Tibet. Since his
father was also educating his Chinese counterparts on the making of
documentaries, the expectation was that the project would only last a few
months.
While working,
there was a catastrophic accident of the side of a mountain caving down and the
father and a few others were trapped on the other side. With no possibility of
linking back up with the rest of the construction crew, their only hope was to
continue forward in hopes of reaching the forbidden city of Lhasa.
This book is
based on the father’s diary that was kept in a red box. Through it we are given
a glimpse of what life was like in Tibet before the Chinese takeover. The
people lived like they had for centuries, doing the same work in the same ways.
Despite their clear foreign origin and strangeness, the Tibetans were very
friendly and always willing to help them.
There are many interesting and unusual situations in
this adventure, the most unusual involves a letter carrier. After the collapse
of the mountain as the stranded team was making their way towards Lhasa, a
small boy wearing bells suddenly appeared. He hands the father a letter from
his family, giving new meaning to the postal carrier’s mantra, “Neither snow
nor rain . . . “
This is a great
story; it is easy to see why it was a winner of a Caldecott Honor.
Review of
Bats & Gloves of Glory,
by Marion Renick
Four out of five stars
This book of
juvenile fiction is about the love of baseball and not about actually playing
the game. Bruce is a boy with one real passion, baseball. He follows and understands
the game at a level far beyond his years. When his class is issued a challenge
to develop and present their hobbies with a major prize at stake, all he can
think of is how to turn his passion for baseball into a hobby.
The temporal
setting is a time when there was town team baseball with several levels of
minor league baseball down to the D category. There is a local team with a star
outfielder named Ted Taves that Bruce is a fan off. Fortunately, when Bruce
goes to the ballpark alone, he meets a former player that is now a scout for a
major league team. This gives Bruce an opportunity to enter the inner world of
the players and the umpires, giving him and the reader a glimpse inside the
world of the players and officials.
This book is
not an adventure and there is almost no action on the field. It is about
blending your passion for a sport into schoolwork that will end in a reward for
the entire class. Therefore, every member of the class must come up with a
quality presentation of their hobby. If the reader is into action stories, then
this will disappoint. Yet, it will appeal to the young reader that is not into
sports and wild adventure stories, but is interested in following your passion,
independent of the circumstances.
Review of
Nannygoats,
by Ralph Mills
Five out of five stars
Ordinarily, a
nanny goat is the term for a female goat, but in this context, it is the term
the author’s family uses to refer to a short anecdotal story. The author was born
in 1902 and graduated from Cornell College in Iowa in 1925, with the exception
of a stint in the American navy he worked as a civil engineer his entire
career. A lifelong Iowan, most of these stories are about events in his youth. There
are 37 in all.
The author’s
father was the local doctor before there were x-rays, antibiotics and many of
the other life-saving treatments. Several of the stories deal with his hitching
up the team of horses and going with his father to one medical emergency or
another. One of the most interesting was when his father went to the parked
gypsy caravan to deliver a baby. In those days, payment for medical services
was often in farm goods or firewood, but the gypsy paid cash.
The author was
a witness to the appearance of the automobile and the airplane. One of the most
amazing stories is number 30. Around 1910, the man who ran a bicycle shop in Grinnell,
Iowa built and flew his own plane. Everyone was amazed when it passed overhead.
Those who know the history of the invention of the plane will know that Orville
and Wilbur Wright honed their mechanical skills working on bicycles.
While these
stories are entertaining, they are not spectacular. Just the reminisces of an
elderly man that had a lot of fun growing up in Iowa in the early years of the
twentieth century.
Review of
Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher
Columbus, by Peter Sis, ISBN 0679806288
Three out of five stars
The legend of Christopher
Columbus is a topic well covered in elementary school, all learn the phrase, “In
1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” However, there is a great deal of
nonsense associated with the facts of the legends. At the time Columbus was
lobbying for his voyage west to go east, few learned people believed the world
was flat. The Greeks conclusively proved that it was round using sound
scientific principles and that knowledge was never lost. The misconception that
people believed Columbus would sail off the edge of the Earth does not appear
in this book.
What is omitted
is the real factual debate that was taking place and was critical to the concept
that Columbus was stating, that it was possible to reach the east by sailing
west. Columbus believed that the Earth was far smaller than it is. Therefore,
if it were not for the continents of the western hemisphere, Columbus and his
crew would have perished long before they reached land.
There is a colossal error midway through the
book. It is in the sentence, “Six years later, Christopher Columbus was still
the only one to believe that land lay to the west, across the ocean, and that
riches would be found there.” Since all learned people believed the Earth was
round and there is reason to believe that the stories of Viking expeditions to
New England were known to the educated classes of Europe, this sentence is nonsense.
Given that the existence of Asia was known, and it was also known that the
Earth was round, then many people were aware of the potential to sail west to go
east. It is unfortunate that such falsehoods always seem to find their way into
books about Columbus.
Review of
Herblock On All Fronts,
by Herbert Block
Five out of five stars
Herbert Block
was one of the greatest cartoonists and writers of social and political opinion
of all time. While he occasionally used text, his post potent weapon was his
drawing pencil. His cartoons projected sarcasm, joy, despair and other
emotions, all with power behind them.
The cartoons in
this collection date were published in the 1970s, yet most of the topics are
still in the news. Government and corporate corruption, greedy corporations
interested only in holding and increasing their level of profits, polluters
that demand the right to pollute and feckless members of Congress interested
only in their re-election to their posts.
This is not an instance of history repeating itself,
the problems of the country simply have not fundamentally changed in forty
years. “Jobs with pollution and environmental damage” was the mantra that Block
complained about, while there has been some improvement in environmental
regulations, the recent rollbacks are an indication that we need more Herbert Blocks
to visualize the frustrations regarding the direction the country is headed.
Review of
Star Trek the Next Generation: Crossover,
by Michael Jan Friedman ISBN 0671896776
Five out of five stars
The fundamental
premise of this novel is the presence of Ambassador Spock in the Romulan Empire
working tirelessly for the idealistic goal of “Unification,” a combining of the
planet Vulcan with the Romulan Empire. To the leadership of the Romulan Empire,
this makes the followers of Spock traitors and subject to execution. When Spock
and his group of Romulan followers is captured by the Romulan authorities, it
is clear to the Federation leadership that a crisis of the highest order is
upon them. Fortunately, the Romulan leadership is unaware that they have Spock.
Hearing of the
capture, Scotty decides to take matters into his own hands, taking over a
museum piece starship with the original Romulan cloaking device introduced in
the episode “The Enterprise Incident” of the original series. As only Scotty
can do it, he single-handedly takes the ship into Romulan space in an attempt
to rescue Spock.
Meanwhile,
Admiral McCoy is brought on board the Enterprise commanded by Captain Picard in
order to use his knowledge of Spock to facilitate a recovery of Spock. Picard’s
tactic is to try to get the captured group voluntarily turned over to him,
something that McCoy objects to.
This story is
very similar to “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock,” in that the basic
premise is the commandeering of a starship in pursuit of a personal goal. Once
again, Scotty is the miracle worker, although even he cannot do it all himself.
It takes some clever actions by Spock on the ground, decisive action by Captain
Picard and some outrageous verbal sparring with the Romulan commander by McCoy
to get Spock to safety aboard a starship and back in Federation space.
The story moves
at a brisk space with the emphasis on what the members of the crew of the original
series will do for each other. There is a fundamental total loyalty to each
other that leads them to a “whatever is necessary” mindset. Something that is
not played as strongly in STTNG. That is the best part of the plot and a
reminder of the original series episode, “The Empath.” While that was not a
strong episode, it did feature the storyline where Kirk, Spock and McCoy were
each willing to die to protect the other two.
Review of
Buchanan’s Gamble,
by Jonas Ward
Four out of five stars
The story opens
with Buchanan in San Francisco checking into a fancy hotel with his friend the
prizefighter Coco Bean. They are looking for action in the ring, specifically a
bout with Konecke, the toughest man in town. After the fight, Buchanan leaves
Coco and travels to Culebra, a town in serious trouble. Buchanan met a woman
named Flo Dockerty at the fight and she also ends up in Culebra.
People are being
killed, there is uncertainty over the town bank with the strong hint of
corruption. When friends of Buchanan are killed, he takes over the management
of a saloon and interjects himself into the affairs of the town. This of course
leads to violence, contrary to Buchanan’s peaceable nature.
While it is
entertaining, the story is somewhat predictable. Flo has matrimonial designs on
Buchanan and he of course has no interest in her while admitting she is a very
attractive woman. There is a tense scene where Buchanan is apparently trapped,
but with the aid of Flo and some other allies, he is able to emerge Victorious
and maintain his freedom to go where he wants unencumbered. The last two lines
are, “But marriage? Never!”
Review of
Traditional Chinese Cut-paper Designs:
Collected & Edited by Bernd Melchers ISBN 0486235815
Five out of five stars
When one thinks
of paper art forms in nature, the first thought in nearly everyone’s mind is “origami.”
Yet, there are other such art forms and this book features one that is incredible,
the art of creating detailed designs by cutting paper. The art form is not just
the cutting of outlines, but the removal of tiny sections inside the outline to
create elaborate detail.
The designs in
this book were collected from native artists in Shantung, China in 1913. They
represent a meticulous attention to detail characteristic of the oriental
artist. Many of the images are of people in various activities, from a man with
a sword about to swing it through to a man quietly fishing. The images in this
collection are all black and white, with the empty spaces in the paper serving
as the white.
This is an artbook
that the novice can enjoy and could be used by art teachers that are looking
for new and unusual forms of art to introduce in their classes. Those lacking
in fine manual dexterity will struggle though.
Review of
The Case of the Fenced-In Woman,
by Erle Stanley Gardner
Four out of five stars
This Perry
Mason tale is different from most of the others as there is no real dramatic
courtroom scene where all is revealed. In this case, the identity of the
murderer is not revealed during the trial and not completely resolved by Mason
at the end. Of course, when Perry Mason makes a statement about what he
believes to be the truth at the end, the reader is inclined to agree.
The plot device
of a house being fenced down the middle as a consequence of a divorce action
has been used before. Loring Carson is a builder and a horrible husband and
there are divorce proceedings between him and his wife Vivian. Given the
difference in ownership rights, Vivian is entitled to exactly one physical half
of the house.
Loring Carson
has been disingenuous with Morley Eden, convincing him that there is no problem
with Vivian’s ownership until he comes home and finds a barbed wire fence
through the house, including the swimming pool. Eden is forced to live in the
other half of the house. Furthermore, Vivian Carson is a former model and she
tries to get Eden to violate her space so that she can get a contempt of court
citation. Skimpy bikinis by the pool and a lingerie demonstration party are two
of her tactics.
All this changes
when Loring Carson is found stabbed to death in the house and Morley Eden and
Vivian Carson are put on trial for his murder. It is a case that sends Mason to
Las Vegas where he gambles and plays the game with the women that work in the
casinos so that he can obtain the information he desires.
One very good
aspect of this Mason story is that the adversarial relationship between Mason
and Lieutenant Tragg is severely downplayed. Tragg even gives Mason praise for
his honesty and seeks out his advice when the case seems unsolvable. Since both
men want the truth to be discovered, they really should work together more than
they do. There was also no appearance by fall-guy district attorney Hamilton
Burger. That is always a plus as well.
Review of
Starry Messenger,
by Peter Sis ISBN 9780374470272
Five out of five stars
For people that
know and love science, Galileo Galilei is a hero of several forms. His case
also demonstrates that truth eventually wins out over “truth.” He was one of
the founders of modern science, yet was prosecuted and sentenced to house
arrest for his beliefs regarding the structure of the local section of the universe.
While it did take over 300 years to exonerate him, long after his theories were
proven correct, it did make him a martyr of the cause of science and truth.
This book is a
brief and effective recapitulation of the life of this man that advanced the
cause of science and paid for it with his freedom. It also is another
demonstration of the pitfalls of accepting belief over rationally derived
science. This is a lesson that is just as important in the modern age of science
denial as it was in the sixteenth century.
Review of
The Empress and the Silkworm,
by Lily Toy Hong, ISBN 0807520098
Five out of five stars
Most legends
are good stories and nothing more, it is hard to create a plausible set of
facts to match the tale. That is not the case with the story of the discovery
of silk. The legend is that a Chinese noblewoman somehow has a silkworm cocoon fall
into her tea and the liquid caused the fibers to unwind. Noting how pretty and
strong the fiber was, the noblewoman realized the value. Later she had a dream
that her husband was clothed in fabric made from silk.
All of this is
plausible and perhaps even likely. It is another of the stories about serendipity
and accidents favoring the prepared mind in the advancement of human achievement.
I first read about this legend while in elementary school and find it as
fascinating now as I did when I first read it. This book would be a quality addition
to elementary school libraries, both public and private.
Review of
Greenberg
The Vampire, by J. M. DeMatteis et. al. ISBN
0871350904
Five out of five stars
This book is a different
and enjoyable instance of the vampire plotline. The main character Greenberg is
a unique combination of traits; he is a vampire and a successful writer.
However, his writing skills seem to have deserted him, all that he puts down on
paper now is trash. His writer’s block is so intense that he sometimes reacts
violently to any mention of what he is working on.
There are
several threads to the plot, including Greenberg’s old Jewish parents and the
vampire code, which is to not feed off of humans. Greenberg was converted by
accident when the vampire woman he was with was in the throes of sexual
passion. There are other evil spirits that make an occasional appearance and
must be dealt with.
With a contract
in hand for a movie script, Greenberg exhibits more of an artistic temperament
than that of an aged member of the vampire clan. The last two pages contain a
letter by Greenberg to his mother where he thanks her for all she did. A love
letter from a vampire son to his non-vampire mother, what an ending. His is a
lifestyle that only a mother could love.
Review of
The
Punisher: Assassin’s Guild, by Jo Duffy et. al. ISBN 0871354608
Four out of five stars
This story is
based on the premise that there is an assassin’s guild being run out of an
oriental restaurant. All of the assassins are oriental, and they openly talk
about it being a career profession followed by their ancestors before them.
When a potential client appears and lays down their money, there is a
conference and the members conduct a negative auction to determine who will do
the task.
The Punisher becomes
aware of the group and he openly courts one of the female assassins in a deadly
game. He is immediately recognized when he goes into the restaurant, so there
is no subterfuge on his part. After a suitable interval that includes sexual
adventures, the Punisher and the guild agree to join forces to take down the
leader of a criminal enterprise that is very heavily guarded.
Two of the assassins’
team with the Punisher to form an assault unit to move through the heavily
guarded building and kill the kingpin. As is always the case with the punisher,
the action is brutal and unforgiving, there are no wounded left behind when the
Punisher and the assassins do their work.
One of the most
interesting aspects of this story is that the two groups know of each other and
have a natural enmity, yet they work together. The reader wonders throughout the
story whether the ending will include a climactic battle between the Punisher
and the members of the assassin’s guild. All are professional killers of the
highest caliber.
