I am an unabashed fan of Jon Krakauer so I was excited when this book became available at my library. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith is the story of the Lafferty brothers and the heinous murders they committed in 1984. The Lafferty brothers were Fundamentalist Mormons. They practiced polygamy and communicated directly with God via “revelations.” In 1984, they brutally murder Brenda Lafferty and her 15-month old daughter. Brenda was their sister-in-law and her daughter, their niece. Ron and Dan […]
Our Gifts for Our Nation
Breach Zone is the conclusion of Myke Cole’s Special Ops trilogy and it is fantastic. I enjoyed the first book, Control Point, and really liked the second, Fortress Frontier. Each book in the series marked a dramatic improvement in character development, plot progression, and overall narrative. All in all, they got better, much better, and Breach Zone shines as the pinnacle of the series. Breach Zone begins a few months after the conclusion of Fortress Frontier. There is a great deal of civil and political […]
He was so much more…
Where Men Win Glory takes it’s title from a translation of the Iliad – “Who among mortal men are you, good friend? Since / never before have I seen you in the fighting where / men win glory, yet now you have come striding far / out in front of all others in your great heart…” I don’t think that the parallel to Achilles is particularly apt. Achilles desired to win glory for himself whereas Pat Tillman never seemed to care for glory. Nevertheless, it […]
Adult Male reviews the Divergent Series finale
MEGA SPOILERS AHEAD – Continue at your own peril! I read Allegiant to complete the Divergent Trilogy. I was not a huge fan of either previous book but I wanted to know how the series would end. I enjoyed the dystopian plot but had no patience for the love angle. Books about teenagers in love are my bane. That secondary plot almost led to me not finishing the series. The finale reduced the kiddie-love aspect a little and I appreciated it. Allegiant opens shortly […]
Guns and Germs and Steel- Oh My!
Guns, Germs, and Steel has been in my queue for several years. I remember seeing it a Barnes and Noble a long time ago and wanting to read it. I can only assume that was a result of the Pulitzer Prize Winner sticker on the cover. The book is most certainly non-fiction but it isn’t a story. It is a very long research paper. The author states his very clear and concise thesis up front. The book will examine what led certain civilizations to conquer […]
Who Wants to Live Forever?
I first saw this book at a digital library last year and it seemed interesting. Recently, a friend of mine who is studying genetic counseling, recommended it and that bumped it up the queue. I knew very little of the premise before starting the book. I love that the author used a two-fold approach, writing the biographies of both Henrietta Lacks and her cells. It seems that the cells would easily be the star of the book but the Lacks family is incredibly interesting in […]