Title: Self-Publishers Monthly
“Your One-Stop Source for Self-Publishing Success”
Vol. I, #1, July 2013
Author: Various
as a work for hire with enhancements by Paul Smedberg
(http://www.paulsmedberg.com),
Publisher and/or Distributor: Unlimited Publishing LLC,
Pages: 34 Kindle E-Book Magazine Dependent on Reader and User
ASIN B00E2WF8YU
Price: $ 0.99
Publishing Date: 2013
Reader: Bob Spear
Price: $ 0.99
Publishing Date: 2013
Reader: Bob SpeaRating: 5 hearts
This first edition is an outstanding collection of information and tips for independent publishers and self-publishing authors. Its five columnists have some of the best reputations in the industry, of whom I am personally acquainted with three of them. Published by independent publishing veteran, Dan Snow, and self-publishing guru, Dan Poynter, Self-Publishers Monthly is a Kindle-based digital publication that charges out of the starting gate explaining the different types of self-publishers and why they need to be taken seriously.
Here are the first edition’s articles to give you an idea of its eclectic offerings:
INTRODUCTION: WELCOME TO SPM’S INAUGURAL ISSUE
BY DANNY O. SNOW
DIY PAPERBACK PUBLISHING: SEVEN COMMON
MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN PREPARING YOUR
MANUSCRIPT FOR POD PUBLICATION BY JOEL
FRIEDLANDER
DIY PAPERBACK PUBLISHING: USING MICROSOFT WORD
STYLES TO CREATE A BETTER BOOK BY JOEL
FRIEDLANDER
DIY E-BOOK PUBLICITY: HOW KDP SELECT HELPS MY
KINDLE BESTSELLERS BY RACHEL THOMPSON
DIY E-BOOK PUBLISHING: THE LAZY MAN’S GUIDE TO
KINDLE FORMATTING BY DANNY O. SNOW
DIY PAPERBACK PUBLISHING: “I’M A LOUSY COVER
DESIGNER” BY SCOTT FLORA
DIY BOOK PUBLISHING: RESEARCH COMES FIRST BY DAN
POYNTER
As many of my readers know, unlike most reviewers, I actually read the entire publication and use a series of rubrics which I developed, based upon a system I invented to turn subjective questions into objective answers about how soldier-proof new US Army equipments and fighting concepts were. This experience plus what I learned in two years of teacher accreditation at Benedictine College gave me an excellent basis upon which to base my rubrics. I mention this to explain that my seemingly subjective Heart Scores are actually based on objective scores in such areas as Mechanics, Communicating, and much more.
This publication received a score of 5 Hearts. Not only will they be using their prominent staff in this edition, but they will invite other subject matter experts to write articles based on their specialties in future issues. This will create a sense of freshness and timeliness in each edition. I highly recommend you consider subscribing if you are now or may in the future be involved in the arduous field of self-publishing.
Bob Spear, Publisher, Heartland Reviews
TopTitle: Lose Your Broker Not Your Money
Author: Dan Calandro
Publisher and/or Distributor: Lose Your Broker LLC
Publisher Website: www.LoseYourBroker.com
Pages: 220
ISBN: 973661306-098
Price: $27.95
Publishing Date: July 2012
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 4 hearts
This is a step by step guide to investing in the stock and bond markets. The author is a very pragmatic adviser with a technical approach to investing. It is math based; however, it is not difficult math. If you can calculate averages and ratios, you can do this. One important element concept he uses is one very familiar to me—weighted averages. It prioritizes factors of consideration by their importance, which give more weight to those factors that have more importance.
The author makes an excellent case that brokers give unreliable recommendations due to conflicts of interest. They have an interest in stirring the financial pot, getting clients to constantly jump in and out of investments, which earns them more commissions. He has created an excellent math model based on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which represents a cross section of the stock market by weighting it to focus on its higher performing stocks, thereby creating an approach that produces results that are higher performing than the average. He also takes the reader step by step through a process that allows the investor to consider both cold, hard performance facts with the more emotional aspects of gut feelings and personal preferences. Although his approach may seem arduous at first, hang in there. It results in a method that makes sense and allows for a goodly amount of freedom in developing one’s investment portfolio for the long haul. We rated this investment advisory four hearts.
TOP
Title: My Top 40 at 40: Making the first Half Count
Author: Kari Loya
Publisher and/or Distributor: XK Productions, LLC
Publisher Website: www.xkproductions.com
Pages:
252
ISBN: 9780984763702
Price: $24.95
Publishing Date: May 2012
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 5 hearts
This book demonstrates what can be possible if one constantly takes action to attain one’s dreams. Whether the author was teaching disadvantaged kids, running with the bulls in Spain, courting the woman of his dreams (although she happened to be in Argentina), climbing mountains, rubbing elbows with the rich and famous, or becoming a top flight voice-over artist and international celebrity with the ability to fluently communicate in at least three languages, he won out time after time due to his attitude of “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” It proves by example that much more is possible than one could expect. We rated it five hearts
Here are some sample adventures he has had:
Skiing through Times Square; Getting arrested; A six-day Horseback crossing of the Andes; His 3-day James Bond theme wedding in Argentina; A magical and nearly tragic trip to Cuba; Competing in Ironman New Zealand; Running away to Rio de Janeiro and his transition to speedos; Meeting the King of Voiceover artists; Sleeping on pyramids in the Guatemalan jungle; An Unforgettable trip to mud volcanoes; His experience in an inner-city classroom with Teach For America; An internship for Nike in Barcelona during the the Summer Olympic.
This memoir is far more than the story of a man’s life. It is a “Lead by Example” log of what it is possible to do with one’s life and the attitudes that will enable it. Beyond being brilliant, Mr. Loya is adventurous and courageous, in both philosophy and actions. A perfect bathroom reader, each chapter is only 1-3 pages long. The book is organized into lifetime periods of five years each, which are easy to follow. The author is a storyteller who portrays many incidents in his life and how he arose to the challenges brought on by them.
Title: The American Challenge: Preserving the Greatness of America in the 21st Century, What Every American Should Know About Their Country
Author: Robert C. Etheredge
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Mira Vista Press
Pages: 404
ISBN: 9780966580440
Price: $14.95
Publishing Date: December 2011
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 5 hearts
This is an amazing compendium of American history and culture. It is written in an easily read and understood format that allows the reader to open to any page and be able to follow what that page contains. This format makes for an excellent bathroom book and a homeschooling book. If you are concerned about all the historical revisionist educational content about America, you will be greatly pleased to read this book which speaks the plain truth and includes information those of us who are older are accustomed to learning when we were young.This book includes an easy to follow milestone list of our history. Then it provides short bios and pictures of each of our presidents. It provides historical and politically important maps. It includes our founding documents. All this is followed by an excellent American civics unit on how our government works. What America is and stands for is followed by a compendium of American heroes, complete copies of important American speeches, and many American traditional/folk poems and songs. Finally, there are sample American Citizenship Test questions that challenge the reader to test his knowledge.There are three electronic book versions available as well: a straight pdf, an enhanced pdf with audio files of speeches, poems, and songs, and ereader formats for Kindle and Nook. This is a superb project that all Americans and wannebee Americans need to experience. We rated it a 5 heart score.TopTitle: The Public Domain Publishing Bible
Author: Andras M. Nagy
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Murine Communications
Pages: 164
ISBN: 9780982499412
Price: $13.45
Publishing Date: 2010
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 5 hearts
This extraordinarily helpful how-to is a must have for publishers and self-publishers. The author, who has published over 60 books, teaches how to find and use content in the public domain to increase your streams of income and to bring to light timeless information. He provides both instruction and valuable resources and links to enable you to find and publish books no longer protected by copyright. His chapters include: Public Domain in the USA; How to Select a Genre; The Print on Demand Advantage; How to Construct Your Book; A Guide to Book Scanning; How to Build a CIP Data Block; How to Work with Lightning Source; How to Market Your Business; Search Engine Optimization; How to Work with Amazon; How to Work with Createspace.com; How to Get Publicity; New Technologies; My Ten Commandments; Public Domain Resources; Publishing Resources; Copyright Search Firms; International Copyright Treaties; and a Bibliography.
His information prompted me to download a public domain book about the 1850s we sell steadily in our bookstore from Project Gutenberg, re-typeset it, redesign a cover, put our ISBN on it, and print it for sale in our store. All except for the printing of course and the ISBN was absolutely free. I now plan to publish a series of books from the 1800s frontier days to create a special section in our store, as well as wholesaling them to local museums and such. This book made all that possible. We rated it our max five hearts.
Title: Charlatan: America’s Most Dangerous Huckster
Author: Pope Brock
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Crown Publishers
Pages: 310
ISBN: 9780307339881
Price: $24.95
Publishing Date: Feb 2008
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 4 hearts
This is a fascinating biography of a quack doctor, John R. Brinkley, who created an empire based on questionable medical procedures and concepts, especially the transplanting of animal organs such as goat testicles into humans. Hounded by the American Medical Association’s journal editor, he eventually moved his operations to the Texas border with Mexico and created a whole new marketing effort based on a cross-border pirate radio station. Although a flimflam con man, Brinkley was a marketing genius. This is an amazing read. Those who have an interest in medical and marketing history will love this book. We rated it four hearts.
Title: Legerdemain
Author: James J. Heaphey
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: History Publishing Company, LLC
Pages: 297
ISBN: 978-1-933909-35-6
Price: $24.95
Publishing Date: 2008
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 5 hearts
The author was a Cold War Warrior in the early 1950s with the Air Force Security Service. He held a unique assignment as a human intelligence agent in a Signals Intelligence organization. He found himself protecting the knowledge of storage of live atom bombs at “Q” sites in Morocco. Using the editor position at an Air Force Base’s newspaper in Morocco, the author had to conduct both intelligence and counter-intelligence missions. Especially important was his keeping the bomb information from our allies, the French, while secretly supporting Moroccan pro-nationalist movements. He did this successfully as an enlisted man for three years, only to see his newspaper printing facilities and the natives who worked for him blown up by the very pro-nationalist forces he had been secretly supporting.
This is a fascinating story as told by the man who lived the adventure. He later became a highly respected academic who provided consulting services to many countries. We rated his tale five hearts.
Title: It’s All Chinese to Me
Author: Pierre Ostrowski and Gwen Penner
Illustrator: Gwen Penner
Publisher and/or Distributor: All Out Press
Pages: 208
ISBN: 978-0-9784409-4-7
Price: $17.95
Publishing Date: 2008
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 5 hearts
This is a wonderful cultural guide book to the mysterious country that more and more tourists and business people are traveling to and in. The illustrations are of graphic novel quality and the text is simple and accurate. Having lived three years in the closely related culture of South Korea, I feel the authors nailed this excellent reference book. As soon as I finish reviewing this book, I will be sending it to my daughter in Arizona whose mechanical engineering husband is working and thinking about taking on a Chinese work tour. The information included in this book is essential to those individuals and families anticipating a trip to China for whatever reason and for however long. We rated it five hearts.
Title: Paintball and Airsoft Battle Tactics: MilSim Skills and Drills
Author: Christopher E. Larsen
Illustrator: Hae-jung Larsen and John T. Gordon
Publisher and/or Distributor: Voyageur Press
Pages: 128
ISBN: 978-0-7603-3063-0
Price: $19.95
Publishing Date: 2008
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 5 hearts
This is the reference for paintball and airsoft hobbyists who are serious about their sport. The author reminds the reader that a good tactical grounding is valid and necessary in both real-life battles and game battles, despite their differences. It provides ready information for leaders and followers alike. Starting with basic individual preparations and skills and rising to leadership and skills at the fire team and squad levels, it’s all covered.
The author points out that it’s important to have a good grounding in tactics and actually practice and use them in these military simulations games. We gave this essential reference five hearts.
Title: How to Win a Sports Scholarship (3rd Edition)
Author: Penny Hastings & Todd Caven
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Redwood Creek Publishing
Pages: 182
ISBN: 978-0-9787132-2-5
Price: $24.95
Publishing Date: 2007
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 5 hearts
This is a must read for parents of students who are athletically gifted. The authors demonstrate it is not as hard to get an athletic scholarship as you might think. They quickly dispel the many rumors and false information that discourages many from even trying. The also teach one how to put together a game plan that increases the probability of getting picked up for an athletic scholarship. Using this mother/son combination author team, they encourage other parents and their offspring to work together toward this common goal. Easy to read and understand, this book will give the reader the information one needs to successfully play the scholarship game. We rated it five hearts.
Title: The Women’s Daily Irony Supplement
Author: Judy Gruen
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Beagle Bay Books
Pages: 258
ISBN: 9780974961040
Price: $14.95
Publishing Date: May 07
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 3 hearts
This collection of columns by a Los Angeles-based humor writer provides a world view similar to the late Irma Bombeck’s. It provides fun commentaries on the concerns of mothers, wives, and womenhood in general. Its title truly represents the foundation of the book—irony of the tongue-in-cheek variety. Many women readers will identify with the issues and concerns the author uses to structure her humor. Men should read it carefully to better understand what they ladies thing of them and why. We rated it three hearts.
Title: Don’t Crash My Party!
Author: Shirene Hansotia
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Helm Publishing
Pages: 360
ISBN:10 digit: 0-9778205-8-0 13 digit: 9780977820580
Price: $16.95
Publishing Date: 2007
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 5 hearts
This superb political commentary will affect different people in different ways: Democrats will scream, “You Go Girl!” Fair-minded Republicans will say, “I didn’t know that!” Independents will say, “She’s pretty even-handed.” The author has both a journalistic and a CIA analyst background, which are evident in her writing. She picks apart the American political landscape, showing much of what’s wrong and a little of what’s right. Although she comes down heavily on the Bush administration and the Republican Party, she also castigates the Democratic sins of omission.
Those of us with intelligence and operations backgrounds know the maxim: Never present a problem without also presenting a solution(s). The author does just that. In every area, such as the war, education, energy, foreign policy, domestic policy, etc., she gives a detailed analysis of what has gone wrong and why and what is needed to fix the problems. The information has been thoroughly researched and carefully notated. Ms Hansotia is the type of commentator politicians should listen to. She gives the straight story in an easy to understand language and doesn’t pull any punches. She’s fair, let’s her audience where she’s coming from, and provides enough information and analysis from which to make educated decisions. This book received one of our rare maximum grading scores and deserves its five hearts.
Title: Ethnologue: Languages of the World
Editor: Raymond C. Gordon, Jr.
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: SIL International
Pages: 1,272
ISBN: 1-55671-159-X
Price: $80
Publishing Date: 2005
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 5 hearts
This is the be all end all encyclopedia of mankind’s languages. There are 6,912 languages listed in this incredible linguistics tome. In addition to page after page of interesting text, it includes 208 color language maps to show where these languages are spoken. If one includes all the dialects and nuances, there are over 39,000 entries. There are several kinds of indexes. It is organized by continent and then by country. It includes what languages are spoken in a country, where they are spoken, and what other languages they are related to.
OK, so you’re asking yourself who but a professional linguist would have an interest in this book—first, intelligence and diplomatic professionals, international businessmen, travel professionals, and even writers of fiction and nonfiction alike, if language plays a role in the piece being written. Finally, people who make learning a hobby will love this reference. Academically, anthropologists and sociologists will find this information helpful. We rated it our max five hearts. It is a fascinating work of research.
Title: Professors As Con Artists
Author: Don D. Davis
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Prytaneum Press
Pages: 96
ISBN: 978-0-907152-03-3
Price: $10
Publishing Date: 2006
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 4 hearts
This is a no-holds-barred expose of how broke the American academic system is and what needs to be done about it. The publish or perish system drives professors to lie, cheat, and steal, as well as abuse student assistants and con money out of the government and foundations. We have the best researchers money can buy and they’ve been bought. We rated this interesting book four hearts.
Title: Risk and Promise: A Handbook for parents Adopting A Child from Overseas
Authors: Chasnoff, Schwartz, Pratt, & Neuberger
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: NTI Publications
Pages: 108
ISBN: 097077625X
Price: $14.95
Publishing Date: Nov 2006
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 5 hearts
Adopting a child from afar, especially overseas is not an easy task. This handbook, however, is an excellent guide for dealing with the adopted child. It is not meant to be a process guide because there are so many variations by country; however, it teaches many of the things that can go wrong developmentally, what to watch for, how to deal with problems, and how to reinforce the positives. I would highly recommend this to all who are contemplating an adoption overseas. My wife and I know from personal experience what this is like since our first two children we adopted while living in Korea back in the 1970s. We came back to the US to later have two children of our own. I will never forget after the first two weeks in our care when a maid next door asked our then 4-year-old daughter if she liked living with us. Her answer brought everything down to the basics when she said in Korean, “Yes, I’m not hungry anymore.” Today, she is in her mid 30s, married to an Air Force Major, and is a nationally ranked semi-pro pool player. Our son is almost 40 and is an insurance adjuster.
This experience is not always happy. Friends of ours adopted two brothers from Equator. They had been living on the streets stealing for survival. What they didn’t know was one had been sexually abused a lot. This experience contributed to him becoming a child predator himself.
This book will assist couples evaluate children and know what questions to ask. We rated it five hearts.
Title: I’m Proud of You
Author: Tim Madigan
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Gotham Books
Pages: 208
ISBN: 1-592-40227-5
Price: $20
Publishing Date: 2006
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 5 hearts
This is a touching biography of the beloved Fred “Mr. Rogers” by a journalist who became intimately close to the mild mannered man and his family. It portrays Rogers to be even nicer than his TV image and yet an absolutely demanding perfectionist when it came to his work. Rogers’ thoughtful caring for the people around him is legendary. In terms of the author, Rogers buoyed his spirit up when it needed it the most. Fred strove to make other feel good, even when he was feeling lousy himself. This is a touchingly emotional book, yet it is low key. We rated it five hearts.
Title: The Oldest Europeans
Author: J.F. del Giorgio
Illustrator: J.P. Hannah
Publisher and/or Distributor: A.J. Place
Publisher Website: www.ajplace.com
Pages: 280
ISBN: 980-6898-00-1
Price: $18.95
Publishing Date: 200
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 3 hearts
This book examines who are the oldest people in Europe (who was there first) and how they differed from the later influx of Aryan/Indo-Europeans. It was the Basques and their progeny, the Celtic people and the Scandinavians who were there first. They differed from the later invaders in their religions and their methods of governance. The first group was an Earth fertility goddess worshipping matriarchy and the invaders were war god patriarchies.
Written by an Argentinean biotechnologist and published in Caracas, Venezuela, this was an interesting book for not only those interested in anthropology subjects, but for those interested in genealogy and DNA research. We rated it three hearts.
Title: Public Radio: Behind the Voices
Author: Lisa A. Phillips
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: CDS Books
Pages: 350
ISBN: 1593151438
Price: $25
Publishing Date:April 2006
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 4 hearts
If you have listened to as much public radio as I have over the years, it would not surprise me that you sometimes may have caught yourself wondering about the people behind the voices on the air. Written by a radio journalist who has worked at six different public radio stations in her career, this book draws masterful pictures of forty-three different public radio personalities. The overall sense of the book is how nurturing the public radio environment was for allowing women, minorities, and the less experienced to obtain a start and to develop their careers into national notoriety. We rated it four hearts.
Title: Forensic Genealogy
Author: Colleen Fitzpatrick, PhD
Illustrator: Colleen Fitzpatrick, PhD
Publisher and/or Distributor: Rice Book Press
Pages: 220
ISBN: 0-9767160-0-3
Price: $26.50
Publishing Date: 2005
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 4 hearts
This is not your usual basic family history book. It effectively teaches one how to think and analyze way outside the box. Once you have gathered all your family’s pertinent material, this book will take you way beyond birth, death, and marriage records. The author brilliantly demonstrates how to use city directories, weather data, photo intelligence mensuration techniques, sleuthing approaches, and even a chapter on DNA testing and tracking. This is a wonderful teaching vehicle and reference manual. We would recommend it to all serious genealogists.
The author takes a highly technical subject area and transforms it into understandable tools for one to use with excellent examples from her own family investigations. This book is a mind expanding read, and we rated it a high four hearts.
Title: DNA & Genealogy
Author: Colleen Fitzpatrick, PhD and Andrew Yeiser
Illustrator: Colleen Fitzpatrick, PhD
Publisher and/or Distributor: Rice Book Press
Pages: 179
ISBN: 0-9767160-1-1
Price: $22.50
Publishing Date: 2005
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 4 hearts
Serious genealogists hobbyists and professionals will be excited by this new resource, which thoroughly explains the new science of DNA testing and how it can be applied to family history research. Although this book is not for everyone, if you have successfully passed high school biology, you should be able to manage the information and its technology in this excellent reference. Wouldn’t it be interesting for a man and his wife to go back in time to discover about when they might have had an ancestor in common? DNA testing and analysis had give you that and much more. It can even give you an idea what part of the world your pre-historical ancestors lived and migrated to. The authors practice what they preach and tell how we can do it too, with many DNA labs and companies listed and compared. We rated this book four hearts.
Title: The Quiet Hero
Author: Gary W. Toyn with Foreword by Sen. Bob Dole and Intro by Sen. Orrin Hatch
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: American Legacy Media
Pages: 240
ISBN: 0-9761547-1-4
Price: $21.95
Publishing Date: May 2006
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 5 hearts
George E. Wahlen is a bonafide American hero. This book documents his life, especially his heroic actions as a Navy Corpsman assigned to support a platoon of Marines in the horrendous battle for the strategically important island of Iwo Jima in WWII. George served as a civil servant in the Army Air Corps, As a Navy Corpsman with the Marines, as an Army enlisted man and officer in Korea and Vietnam. After retirement in 1969 from the Army, he served as a civil servant with the Veterans Administration.
The author has chronicled George’s modesty and his life, focusing especially on his training and battle actions, where he spent two weeks under heavy enemy fire while tending to his Marines’ wounds and just holding and comforting those who were breathing their last. He was wounded multiple times but refused to be evacuated. Even when his leg was broken, he gave himself morphine and crawled 50 yards in front of friendly lines to bring back another wounded Marine. Senators Dole and Hatch’s eloquent words demonstrate the degree of honor attributed to this quiet man. The author uses a matter of fact style that both chronicles and explains the forces and context which shaped George’s life and actions. Military history buffs and those interested in Americans who have especially meaningful lives will love this book. We rated it five hearts.
Title: The Cats, Max and Me: The Autobiography of a Cat-A-Holic
Author: Sharon Berry
Illustrator: Sharon Berry
Publisher and/or Distributor: Leathers Publishing
Pages: 86
ISBN: 1-58597-363-7
Price: $14.95
Publishing Date: 2005
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 4 hearts
This author has the lowest resistance to a plaintive meow of anyone I know. She shares her 124-year-old house with as many as nine inside and outdoors cats of many breeds and dispositions. Max, her delightfully talented musical husband, and their long-suffering dog apparently have the patience of Job to deal with such a collection of felines. In addition to being humorously and touchingly written, her book provides many cat health and development factoids, which provide essential information to cat lovers. If you love cats or are interested in bringing one into your life, this book should be required reading. If you’re as soft-hearted as Sharon, you’ll have a blueprint for life. We rated this book a high four hearts.
Title: The Invisible Revolution: Clay Aiken and the Fans Who Made Him A Star
Author: Terry Piper
Photographers: Jan Scott and Carol Sacks
Publisher and/or Distributor: Cambridge Books
Publisher Website: www.cambridgebooks.us
Pages: 336
ISBN: 1-59431-302-4
Price: $
Publishing Date:March 2006
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 3 hearts
This is the penultimate fan book about American Idol “Almost Won” Clay Aiken. The author does a very good job of explaining how Clay’s fan base has influenced his career progression. Unlike many other fan clubs, this one set out to use the power of the internet to help their star and became highly successful at it. For that reason, it’s a good read not only for Clay Aiken fans, but for fans of others who would learn the true power of a net-savvy fan base. We rated it three hearts.
Title: Here, There and Everywhere
Author: Geoff Emerick and Howard Massey
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Gotham Books
Pages: 304
ISBN: 1-592-40179-1
Price: $26
Publishing Date: March 2006
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 5 hearts
Of the two books on the Beatles singing group I’ve read this year, this is by far the most interesting. Written by the genius recording engineer, Geoff Emerick, who became the primary engineer for the Beatles at EMI’s Abbey Road studios, as well as for many of the other British groups of the 1960s, he became the Beatles personal engineer when they formed their Apple studio venture. Starting his apprenticeship at EMI at the age of fifteen, Emerick rose rapidly up their ranks. He was responsible for inventing radically new recording techniques, set ups, and equipment to capture the Beatles’ special sound.
This is a fascinating look behind the scenes at not only the recording techniques and technology of the time, but of the personalities responsible for putting together a uniquely British sound, remaking the rock and roll landscape for all time. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and exclaimed out loud at many of Emerick’s tricks and observations of the people involved. We rated this a high five hearts.
Title: Autos to Airwave, Mantle to the Mob: Doing It My Way
Author: Jerry Green with Mike Walker
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: How High the Moon Publishing
Pages: 184
ISBN: 0-9743606-0-0
Price: $14.95
Publishing Date: 2005
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 3 hearts
Although this is a regionally oriented autobiography, this book transcends its local Kansas City roots. The author is a truly amazing gentleman who has had fun along the way to his entrepreneurial successes. Mr. Green has rubbed elbows with the Rat Pack in Las Vegas, a wide variety of famous sports figures, and even mob Godfathers. He has owned car dealerships, a Playboy club in Florida, banks, and a sports-talk radio network with several stations. His story is all about working hard and playing hard. We rated it a high three hearts.
Title: Bear: Heart of a Hero
Author: Captain Scott Shields and Nancy M. West
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Hero Dog Publications
Pages: 160
ISBN: 0-9743659-0-4
Price: $15.95
Publishing Date: 2003
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating:
This is the story about the most effective animal search and rescue (SAR) team involved in the aftermath of 9/11. Bear, an eleven-year-old Golden Retriever, and his owner, Captain Scott Shields, were some of the first SAR animal teams on site at the World Trade Center tragedy. Bear was credited with finding an enormous number of victims. In doing so, he was exposed to a devil’s cocktail of toxic pollutants and died a painful death of cancer because of that exposure.
His story is told in such a touching and loving manner, while at the same time exposing the mindless impediments of the Federal and local disaster relief bureaucracy. If you are an animal lover who enjoys the bond between animals and humans, you will absolutely love this touching and poignant book. We rated it four hearts.
Title: Combat Corpsman
Author: Greg McPartlin
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Berkley Caliber
Pages: 319
ISBN: 0-425-20582-7
Price: $15
Publishing Date: 2005
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 5 hearts
The Navy SEALS are rather unusual in that their medical corpsmen are trained to be fellow warriors on their teams. The medics carry effective weapons and are expected to use them to good effect. Trained to heal and trained to kill, this is the true account of Greg McPartlin’s time in the SEALS in Vietnam and with the Marine Recondo units prior to that.
This is a superbly written autobiography that is several cuts above the norm for “we were there” war accounts. The author’s intelligence and memory of details that expand the reader’s understanding and portrayal of the setting and the real-life characters are used to excellent effect—creating a believable and realistic story. This is one of the best books on the Vietnam War and the brown-water Navy that I’ve ever read. I rated it five hearts.
Title: Dog Tags of Courage
Author: John C. Burnam
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Lost Coast Press
Pages: 352
ISBN: 1-882897-88-9
Price: $29.95
Publishing Date: 2005
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 4 hearts
The roles of dog handlers and scout dogs during the Vietnam war are like so many other sad stories from that conflict. The handlers were there in combat for a year or less and the dogs stayed behind, waiting for their next assigned handlers. These valuable German Shepherds were used to walk on point with their handlers during infantry patrols in the thick jungle. The service they provided saved many friendly lives. It’s unfortunate that they, like some of our POWs, were left behind to die ignominious deaths. This is their story as told by one of their handlers. We rated it four hearts.
Title: Julie & Julia
Author: Julie Powell
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Little, Brown and Company
Pages: 320
ISBN: 0-316-10969-X
Price: $23.95
Publishing Date: Sept 2005
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 4 hearts
This is a true story about a young lady who decided to cook all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” in 365 days. The author writes with a very frank, funny style. This is as much about how the author grows from this experience as it is about cooking in a cramped New York apartment. The language is adult level. We rated it four hearts.
Title: The Taxidermist’s Son
Author: Ralph Scherder
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: Rock Spring Press
Pages: 205
ISBN: 0-9765686-1-6
Price: $21.95
Publishing Date: 2005
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 3 hearts
This is a multifaceted story about how a young man followed in his father’s footsteps as a taxidermist. Although it includes the cultures of hunting and fishing in America, it also addresses the factors involved in following an unusual career path because it became part of a life-style. We rated this book three hearts.
Title: Teenagers Guide to The Beatles
Author: Z. Lalani
Illustrator:
Publisher and/or Distributor: AverStream Press
Pages: 216
ISBN: 0-96587-407-9
Price: $24.95
Publishing Date: 2005
Reader: Bob Spear
Rating: 4 hearts
This biography is written for the teens of today in an attempt to explain who and what the Beatles were and their influence on the rock music scene through the years. It includes information on their pre-teen years and follows them through their development as musicians, the formation of their group, and the absolutely weirdness of their lives as their freedom became increasingly affected by the dangers of their too exuberant fans.
The author has put together a tastefully done book which keeps its storytelling to appropriate levels for teens. I was a rock musician in the timeframe of their rise to popularity, yet there were many things I learned from reading this book. It is comprehensive and portrays an understanding of the Beatles that is obvious from the start. We rated it a high four hearts.
