Review of "Bitch Planet Book Two," by Kelly Sue Deconnick and Valentine De Landro

 Review of

Bitch Planet Book Two, by Kelly Sue Deconnick and Valentine De Landro, ISBN 9781632157171

Five out of five stars

Hard dystopia based on some reality

 In the content advisory page, the statistic that 1 in 16 incarcerated females reported being sexually assaulted while in prison is stated. This is hardly surprising, anecdotal evidence indicates that the rate is higher in male prisons. Yet, it is a statistic that demonstrates that life in prison his hard, in many cases, the main threat is from other inmates.

 This is the second volume in a series about a dystopia where women are incarcerated in a very high-tech prison. There are AI holograms that simulate people and there are serious fights for dominance among the inmates. Yet, there is an underlying plotline that some of the inmates are political prisoners. Specifically, a woman named Eleanor Doane.

There are snippets of information to references to some form of massive games, extremely wealthy and powerful men that control the lives of most other people. One of those men is referred to as “high father.”

 While this graphic novel is entertaining, it is almost impossible to make sense of it all if you have not read volume 1. I encountered this book in a used bookstore and once I read it, began a search for the first volume. This is a great story, but there are enough holes in the understanding to both intrigue and frustrate you. There is no “story to date” leading page.

Review of "Stop-Action," by Dick Butkus and Robert W. Billings

 Review of

Stop-Action, by Dick Butkus and Robert W. Billings

Four out of five stars

The monster does not appear

 This book about “the most feared man in football,” Dick Butkus is surprisingly tame. There are several videos available online where opponents portray Butkus as a maniac with a killer nature on the field. In one video, he is proclaimed the all-time most feared tackler in the history of the NFL. Which puts him ahead of people such as “the Assassin” Jack Tatum and Ronnie Lott.

 There is almost none of that controlled fury in this book. It is a rather tame description of his family life as well as his frustrations in playing for a team that rarely won and even more rarely had a winning season. Most of the failures were on the offensive side of the ball, and Butkus is extremely critical of their performance. However, according to him, he rarely took them to task for their failures.

 If you are looking for the textual equivalent of the fury that Butkus demonstrated on the football field, this is not the book for you. However, it does show Butkus as a human outside of his profession as a human wrecking ball.

Review of "The Lessons of Terror: A History of Warfare Against Civilians," by Caleb Carr

 Review of

The Lessons of Terror: A History of Warfare Against Civilians, by Caleb Carr ISBN 9780375760747

Five out of five stars

Lessons have not been learned

 As any serious student of history knows and is well documented in this book, waging war on civilians is almost always counterproductive. In the modern world since the advent of aerial carpet bombing of population centers, the mass killing of non-combatants has never led to a capitulation. The first such instance was the Allied bombing of Europe in World War II, which did almost nothing to end the will of the Germans to keep fighting. It took a successful land invasion to force the surrender.

 In the American war in Vietnam, the United States dropped approximately 8 million tons of bombs on Indochina compared to approximately 4 million on Europe in World War II. Again, to no measurable effect. In the Vietnam War, the hawks constantly screamed, “Bomb them back to the stone age!” The North Vietnamese won.

 It is not well known, but in the Korean War, the United States carpet bombed all the population centers in North Korea, again to no effect. Other than to provide a reminder to the people what ruthlessness the U. S. is capable of. North Korea survived the war and is still a nation.

 There is a more recent example, and that is the Second Gulf War. Before the land invasion, the U. S. political and military leaders proudly proclaimed their policy of “shock and awe” against Iraq. They constantly boasted that their initial attack would be so overwhelming that all opposition would quickly cease. While the coalition forces easily moved over land to occupy Iraq, there was no pacification of the country, with a long-standing brutal war that was a combination of a guerilla and civil war. U. S. forces finally withdrew, leaving the situation worse than when they entered. Coalition forces also dropped a massive amount of munitions on Afghanistan, again to no effect on the willingness of the opposition to keep fighting. The ousted Taliban are once again in power.

 As Carr states so very clearly and accurately, killing the civilians never works, yet modern militaries have never learned this lesson. The historical record back to the Roman Legions is used as evidence to demonstrate the truth of this thesis. In this matter, the leaders are so enamored of their expensive weapons that they refuse to learn the obvious lesson of history, indiscriminate killing does not work.

 As a postscript of modern times, the Russian military is systematically reducing the cities of Ukraine to rubble, yet there has not been the slightest wavering of the Ukrainian people in continuing the fight. In fact, it has increased their determination to win the war. Demonstrating that the disease is not restricted to the American military and political leaders.

Review of "Not Another Teen Movie," DVD version

 Review of

Not Another Teen Movie, DVD version

Four out of five stars

The “Airplane” of teen movies

 This movie is so loaded with cliches’ and standard situations of teen movies that it reminded me of the classic comedy “Airplane.” There were so many bad jokes, many of which were predictable, that “Airplane” ended up being funny. By the time it was made, there had been so many airplane disaster movies that often recycled the same situations, there was plenty of well-known material to work with.

 The situation is similar with this movie, the case openly identifies several of the main characters in  a high school along with the roles they will fill. There is the popular jock, nasty cheerleader, the pretty girl masked by her attempts to be unattractive, a token black male with limited dialog and a female foreign exchange student that attends classes while being naked.

 There is the father that is an alcoholic veteran of Vietnam, young males trying desperately to have sex, males peeking into the girls’ locker room, the wild party when the parents are gone and a mushy airport scene at the end where the male professes his love for the girl about to fly away out of his life.

 Of course, there are several lame excuses for a young female to be naked, deliberate ham acting and dialog that is predictable. When watching the movie, it is easy to think that the writers had an easy time with the screenplay. For the scenes are standard fare and in most scenes, the lines to be uttered have to a large extent have already been scripted. Yet, the movie works as a comedy, as long as there is no anticipation of great art.

 

 

Review of "PT 109: John F. Kennedy in World War II," by Robert J. Donovan

 Review of

PT 109: John F. Kennedy in World War II, by Robert J. Donovan

Five out of five stars

The making of a President

 Starting with George Washington, many of the U. S. Presidents risked their lives in fighting for their country. This book is a reasonably accurate historical account of the wartime actions of John F. Kennedy. Even though he had a back condition that could have kept him out of World War II, Kennedy pleaded with his father to find a doctor that would certify him fit for duty.

 He eventually ended up as the skipper of PT 109, a fast boat that operated against the Japanese in the islands of the South Pacific around Guadalcanal. Like many members of the armed forces, much of their time was spent in routine tasks that bored them. Yet, one night the 109 was cut into pieces when it was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. This initiated a difficult fight for survival among the crew, it was here that John Kennedy proved his worth as a sailor.

 Although he only commanded a small crew on a small boat, Kennedy’s actions were truly heroic and all the men that survived the collision were eventually rescued. It is a story of perseverance against long odds in the presence of the enemy. Worthy of the song and movie that were made about it. Given the small margin of victory over Richard Nixon in the 1960 Presidential election, the wartime action of John Kennedy likely provided the margin of victory.

Review of "Sharing Good Times," by Jimmy Carter

 Review of

Sharing Good Times, by Jimmy Carter, ISBN 9780743270335

Five out of five stars

Retirement is not his thing

 Years ago, when former president Jimmy Carter was in the news I told a couple of my co-workers that he was a far better ex-president than he was a president. His list of accomplishments in the economic and political arenas are very impressive and he has met with many of the major world leaders. Especially interesting was his rendition of his time with North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung. There is the real belief that had Kim Il-Sung not died soon after, there could have been a comprehensive deal between the United States and North Korea.

 This book is a non-sequential memoir of Carter’s life, starting with his childhood in rural Georgia. While readers familiar with Carter’s boyhood will learn nothing new, those passages are short. What is really interesting are his travels around the world, his hunting and fishing in remote places and his activism in improving the lives of people in the Third World.

 The Carter Center is one of the leading advocates for human rights and one of the leading organizations in monitoring elections around the world. Carter is also a very hands-on person in building houses under the Habitat for Humanity program. As Carter mentions in this book, Habitat for Humanity is a world-wide organization, something that is not well-known.

 From climbing mountains to jogging in remote places to traveling to other countries and meeting with their leaders, Jimmy Carter and his wife ‎Rosalynn Carter have indeed kept busy since he became an ex-president. It is clear that they have enjoyed their life since then, whether it be in events involving family or just the two of them on yet another adventure. Jimmy Carter also demonstrates once again that he is a very good writer, the prose is simple and understandable. This is a fun book to read, far more than a simple, “How I spent my retirement” synopsis.

Review of "The League," by Thatcher Heldring

 Review of

The League, by Thatcher Heldring, ISBN 9780385741811

Five out of five stars

Coming of age as a young teen

 Wyatt Parker is about to enter high school and he is small for his age. That is one of the primary reasons he is regularly bullied and lacks the self-confidence to stand up for himself. His father is an ardent golfer and wants Wyatt to feel the same way, even though he doesn’t have a passion for the game. Wyatt has a desire to play more energetic sports, but his parents are afraid that he will get injured.

 Wyatt’s older brother Aaron is a bit of a rebel, and he is a member of a sandlot football team that plays another team. While they have some rules, they bang each other up quite a bit. Against the wishes of their parents and lying to them about their whereabouts, first Aaron and then Wyatt are on one of the teams.

 At first, Wyatt is reluctant to put himself at risk, but suddenly he is belted by Aaron, who tells him that if he survived that, he could take it, so get into the game. Realizing that he enjoyed the contact, Wyatt finds himself enjoying the significant physical contact. Both boys lie to their parents about their activities, so there is an eventual day of reckoning.

 Wyatt is also friends with Evan, the girl next door. They bounce around the idea of “dating,” doing things together but being careful not to do date things such as holding hands. When Wyatt encounters the primary bully that torments him at school, he discovers that his willingness to take the punishment garners him respect and the bullying stops and there are movements towards actual friendship.

 Even though Wyatt deceives his parents and lies to one of his friends, this book succeeds, because ultimately it is the story of a boy chasing his dream and that pursuit has a very positive effect on his life.