Captain America and X-Men look to the past for inspiration

As you read yesterday, I got my knickers most firmly in a twist about the new James Bond book – which I believe Hodder & Stoughton are making a horrible mistake with; setting it in the modern day.

Fortunately, my period proclivities are being satisfied elsewhere – with the trailers of the latest Captain America and X-Men movies.

Now, I'm not really into comics, but I do love Captain America. He's as patriotically archetypal as Superman, but the guys at Marvel have done some cool stuff with him lately. Most notably, when they published their 'Civil War' storyline, 'Cap' went rogue and fought against the government's plan to register all superheroes. I liked that because it fed into the American mentality that dissent is patriotic.

Captain America never quite got the hang of camouflage

Anyway – the new movie looks awesome, and is set in World War II – which tickles my fancy no end. From Indiana Jones onward, there's simply no more satisfying cinematic butt to kick than that which belongs to a Nazi!

Almost as exciting is another comic book franchise – the X-Men. I've never really been into the adventures of this talented team of 'metahumans' - but I do like the fact that they're setting this movie in the 1960s, knee-deep in the cold war. While they're diverting quite significantly from the storyline of the original comics (which were first published in the 1960s, as an allegory of the civil rights movement) it looks like they've got the Kennedy-era atmosphere pitch-perfect.

Oh, 1960s... Why were your clothes so beautiful?

The 'First Class' of the X-Men, which nerds complain contains just one member of the first class of the X-Men

These are lessons the Estate of Ian Fleming should have paid attention to. Setting things in the 'modern age' doesn't necessarily make them better or more relatable. In fact, history is a much more fertile creative playground because you can use established characters, events and archetypes as metaphors for today's troubles and tribulations.

Anyway. Watch the trailers to Captain America and X-Men: First Class below. They rock.

Captain America

X-Men: First Class

Happy Birthday Jules Verne (and me!)

Today is my birthday, and I proudly share it with one of my favorite writers: Jules Verne.

Verne’s legacy is tremendous.

He’s pretty much the spiritual father of Steampunk, and wrote some of the most influential and thought-provoking science fiction ever written.

I remember that long before James Bond and The Saint became the fictional rakes I aspired to, it was the hero of Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days that I wanted to be like: Philleas Fogg.

I rediscovered Verne years later, after reading a newly re-translated edition of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

I was amazed not just at the thrilling story, but the science and political philosophy that motivated the characters. Captain Nemo – a vengeful Indian who declared war against the British Empire – is a far more fully-rendered character in the book than in James Mason’s cinematic rendition; and whether or not the reader supports his bloodthirsty crusade to scuttle the Royal Navy stems makes for a great philosophical discussion.

Of course, such things were Verne’s stock-in-trade. His less well-remembered novels, like Paris in the 20th Century, had similarly thought-provoking themes; like how Verne lamented that technology and business were eclipsing literature and culture (with obvious parallels to society today.)

Likewise, Dick Sand, a Captain at Fifteen was a condemnation of the slave trade which, uniquely, criticized the African nations that sold their countrymen in addition to the traditional white ‘bad guys’ who shipped them into subservience in colonies worldwide.

But more people remember Jules Verne because of the technology he envisioned; like the incredible submarine Nautilus, which preyed on shipping from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the cannon which would send explorers From the Earth to the Moon and his revolutionary hydrogen blimp that stayed aloft for Five Weeks in a Balloon.

Verne meticulously researched each of his inventions; and envisaged many technologies that would be adopted in real-life application decades later. Although many of this concepts would later be proven not to work (like his battery-powered hydrogen balloon) many others did – or inspired more practical applications of the same technology.

Of course, Verne’s writing doesn’t always stand up well to politically-correct scrutiny – a scene in Five Weeks in a Balloon is particularly cringe-worthy from a modern perspective. It sees our heroes attacked by ‘natives’, who they slaughter with rifle fire – only to realize after examining the bodies that the ‘African tribesman’ were actually monkeys.

But that’s historical perspective for you; and in many ways, Jules Verne was as forward thinking about life and society as he was about technology. Today, we live in a world of electronic calculators and high-speed trains – the same world he envisioned in Paris in the 20th Century.


Only it doesn’t look as cool.

That’s why we invented Steampunk.

Bootleg Boys review

I was incredibly excited today - Adventure Eddy's epic jaunt Bootleg Boys got its first review on Amazon!


Okay, I'll admit the wonderful Ms. Moreno, who wrote the lovely review, won a copy of Bootleg Boys in one of my bloggy competitions (at least, I seem to remember she did - I was terribly late at sending her a copy!) but it's still very much appreciated; and hopefully at least partly earnest!

Amanda doesn't just have a name which rhymes with 'panda' - she also Eats, Shoots and Leaves (please tell me somebody got that - my first stab at Panda humor.)


If you're in the market, check out her editing website Shooting Panda.

Blakely and Boles in the Case of the Wrong Genius

I owe an apology to talented author (and his illustrator) CJ Henderson for my recent review of his page-turning unputdownable, Where Angels Fear.

Professors Blakely and Boles face a menagerie of menaces, all brought vividly to life here by the talented Ben Foglotto.

In my review - which you can read here - I incorrectly identified the talent behind the novel's cover as Erica Henderson (whom Militant Ginger is an enormous fan of.)

In fact, it was Ben Fogletto who penned the cover - plus those of many of CJ Henderson's other books, including The Occult Detectives of CJ Henderson and The Supernatural Investigators of CJ Henderson. Great cover - wrong artist (kind of like when Frank Sinatra did Mrs Robinson.)

I blame my mistake on how Erica and Ben have similar styles, and that Erica has worked with CJ before - most notably with Baby's First Mythos (which I'll be buying Mini Militant this Christmas!)

Anyway - here's a post to correct that oversight, and to give another shout out to CJ's collection of stories, which is definitely an appropriate choice of reading matter in the leadup to Halloween.

And while Ben's web presence isn't all that big, you can find examples of his work all over the place - most notably gracing the covers of CJ Henderson's other books. Ben - apologies for not giving you your dues earlier.

Another example of Ben's work, inked by Scott Goodell for CJ Henderson's The Sacrifice.

Where Angels Fear by C.J. Henderson and Bruce Gehweiler

Brooklyn-based author C.J. Henderson has a lot of nerve. Not only did he have the audacity to steal the concept of my monster-hunting novel before I’d even thought of it, he also had the gall to execute that same concept in a much slicker and more professional way than I could ever hope to.

The result of C.J. Henderson’s inadvertent reverse-plagiarism is Where Angels Fear – a collection of short stories written by Henderson and his long-time writing partner Bruce Gehweiler. It’s a wildly entertaining romp chronicling the exploits of Duke University professors Blakely and Boles – two completely mismatched personalities thrust into reluctant partnership to satisfy the stipulations of a staggering hundred million dollar grant.

Through a series of novellas and short stories, the jovial crypto-zoologist and the snippy para-psychologist travel the world to investigate a menagerie of ferocious and fantastical creatures – el chupacabra, the infamous Georgia skunk-ape, dinosaurs in deepest Africa and even the legendary Walrus’ Graveyard.

Afloat in a veritable ocean of horror and fantasy books, Where Angels Fear bobs to the surface thanks to an utterly unique writing style that combines a light-hearted, adventure story style (the sort that I’m so fond of) with the darkness and depravity of a good Stephen King novel.

The result is... different - in the best possible way. Breaking the book into short stories delivers an immensely satisfying reading experience and keeps you flicking through the pages long after you should have turned off the light and gone to bed.

I will admit the two styles don’t always sit well together – many of the stories read like they were written for a ‘young adult’ audience, but snap you awkwardly out of that mindset as soon as the decapitations, demonic rapes and torture begin – but that’s probably more a statement about how formulaic horror and fantasy writing have become than anything negative about the Henderson and Gehweiler.

What really stood out for me about Where Angels Fear was the structure. Each short story was intricately planned and wrapped up with a highly satisfying ending (which is something many authors – I’m looking at you, Stephen King – sometimes fail to deliver.) The characterization was subtle, but effective – like a good TV show, each ‘episode’ added another layer of depth to the main characters, without deluging you with reams of unnecessary exposition.

The best aspect was probably the simplicity, though. C.J. Henderson and Bruce Gehweiler have mastered the golden rule of writing and say the most by saying the least.

Horror fans will find a lot to like here – and the book will especially appeal to fans of H.P. Lovecraft. Although it’s never explicitly mentioned, there’s a lot of Lovecraftian lore within the pages and much of the characterization deals with the increasingly fragile mental health of our heroes. Teetering on the brink of madness is perhaps the signature of a good Lovecraft story; but an aspect too many imitators forget or ignore.

If I have any criticism, it’s more about the publishing that the writing. Printed by small press Dark Quest, Where Angels Fear has a bit of a POD-ish feel to it, which isn’t ideal when you’re paying upwards of $15 for a book. There are a number of typos inside, but nothing groundbreaking - if anything, you’re left thinking that a proofreader with a red pen could whip through the book in a day or two and trim just a few unnecessary words to lift the writing from ‘excellent’ to ‘sublime.’

The cover of the book is amazing – a beautifully rendered illustration of Blakely and Boles surrounded by their supernatural adversaries* – but again adds to the feeling that this is a young adult book, rather than horror compilation for grown ups. (Be advised, this book is most definitely for grown ups - albeit big, childish ones like me.)

But ultimately, I was thrilled with Where Angels Fear. It totally exceeded my expectations in every aspect. Mummy Militant will attest to the fact that I developed ‘can’t-put-it-down-syndrome’ during the week or so it took me to read it – avidly thumbing through the pages at any opportunity, including when I was feeding the baby, walking the dog or brushing my teeth.

I think with a few marketing tweaks, there’s nothing stopping the partnership of Blakely and Boles from exploding into the mainstream – it’s definitely a rival to Anita Blake or many of the other horror series hitting the shelves of Barnes and Noble. Don’t let the small press ‘badge of shame’ fool you – Dark Quest are into a winner with Henderson and Gehweiler.

NOTE: Earlier I'd misidentified the cover artist of this great book as the wonderfully talented Erica Henderson, when it fact is was the similarly talented Ben Fogletto. My only excuse is that there's clearly too much damn talent in this place!

The Exchange Artist

We history buffs are a bit prone to hyperbole from time to time. One of the most overused expressions we use in reviewing history books, for example, is that it 'reads like a novel.'

Well, I'd never quite understood how extraneous that description was until I read The Exchange Artist by Jane Kamensky. This was the first - the only - history book I've ever read that genuinely read like a novel - a thumb blistering page-turner that was literally unputdownable.

Ostensibly, it's a tale of 'high-flying speculation' and 'America's first banking collapse' but in reality it's much more focused than that - the biography of a singular young banker's son who almost single-handedly brought the economy of the fledgling United States crashing down around his ears.

His name was Andrew Dexter, Jnr - and he built a towering structure on a foundation of paper money - one that he knew might come crashing down the first time the economic winds blew in the wrong direction.

His vision - the Boston Exchange Coffee House, which was arguably America's first 'skyscraper' - cost $500,000 leveraged on a little less than $85 hard currency.

Jane Kamensky's exploration of Andrew Dexter's remarkable construction is prophetic in more ways than one. In her book, she describes how greed and shortsightedness allowed a man like Dexter to push the boundaries of his enterprise from 'speculation' into 'fraud' - and her book's publication, in 2008, falls just weeks before we all experienced exactly the same thing in real life - an economic implosion that mirrored the one Andrew Dexter caused almost two centuries beforehand.

Kamensky argues that this reoccuring obsession with speculation represents both the best and the worst of the American nature - it's an unceasing pattern that balances towering highs with crashing lows.

Since its very construction, she demonstrates, America was built on the notion that something could be bought with nothing; yet was ultimately proven to be worth exactly what you paid for it.

As somebody interested in history, The Exchange Artist is a fascinating tale of 19th century economic skullduggary. As somebody interested in economics and politics, it's an fascinating mirror of the crisis we face today.

(And as somebody who just enjoys a darn good read - following Andrew Dexter from his disgrace in Boston to his achievements later in his life is nothing less than a damn good story.)

In all honesty, I'd recommend The Exchange Artist simply on the grounds that it's the best-written history book I've ever picked up. Certain chapters don't thrill me, I'll admit (Kamensky delves into third-person narrative at one point, which is distracting) but the complete package is utterly remarkable - a real education into what makes this wonderful country tick.

But if that didn't convince you - I think anybody remotely interested in opinionating about the American economy (especially somebody as poorly informed as I am) needs to read this book so they have some vague historical perspective about what it is they're talking about.

It's a cliche that 'history repeats itself' - but a cliche that's clearly based in fact. If there's anything The Exchange Artist teaches us, it's that.

The Exchange Artist by Jane Kamensky is available from Amazon.com.

Liberal Don't Read Books?

Forget Barnes and Noble - my source for reading material is our local Dollar Tree.

This bargain store - in which everything on offer is a dollar - features an extensive book collection with a ton of releases that are less than a year old. I've been scooping up handfuls of them for a section I'm thinking of adding to Militant Ginger called the 'Bargain Book Club.'

However, there's one unmistakable trend about these discounted books: The ones I'm most interested in reading - the ones with a topical political bent - are almost invariably liberal.

Barack Obama in His Own Words, When You Ride Alone You Ride with Bin Laden, Why We're Liberals: A Handbook for Restoring America's Most Important Ideals and It's Still the Economy, Stupid: George W. Bush, The GOP's CEO- all a dollar each!

I find this oddly telling.

The Dollar Tree clearly buys boxes of these books for just pennies from the publisher - probably because they printed too many, or they just weren't selling. What was clearly a commercial cauchemar for the printing houses turned out to be a boon for text-hungry amateur pundits like myself.

But the fact that these unsuccessful books are almost invariably liberal in nature is interesting. It's not that there aren't conservative books - in fact, there are hundreds published each and every year. Glenn Beck and Ann Coulter churn out one a year, and I've even reviewed one of the better ones.

The only explanation I can think of is that conservative books actually sell, whereas liberal ones don't.

And to be honest, that appraisal makes sense. Just look at talk radio - Conservative talk radio is a storming success, while liberal attempts at mimicking the formula invariably fail (like Al Franken's ill-fated 'Air America.') Conservatives listen to similarly-minded pundits, while liberals similarly don't.

It makes perfect sense to assume that conservatives also read books that appeal to their political opinions - and that liberals don't.

At the risk of pissing my liberal friends off - especially admitting that I'm ostensibly liberal myself - I think it might be because we libs tend to assume we 'know it all already,' while conservatives are hungry to learn more (as long as that 'more' comes from voices that they trust and agree with.)

So I'm not really claiming that liberals don't read books - but I do believe they don't read political books - certainly not in the same manner conservatives voraciously do. That's why the Dollar Tree is stuffed with liberal literature, but there isn't a conservative cover to be seen there.

The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

Over the course of the last year, we've heard an awful lot of horseshit about President Obama.

He's been accused of being a socialist, compared to Adolf Hitler and Batman's arch-nemesis The Joker; and even had that fat fascist Glenn Beck accuse him of having: "a deep-seated hatred for white people."

It's clear that the right wing don't really have a clue who Barack Obama really is, or where he's coming from. They'd do well to read the second of Obama's books, The Audacity of Hope. It might fill them in a little.

Written several years after debut autobiography, Dreams from my Father, this book was penned shortly after Obama was first elected to the U.S. Senate. For that reason, it's an out and out political manifesto; very different to the touching, introspective and totally non-political memoir that Dreams from my Father turned out to be.

The Audacity of Hope outlines Obama's political opinions, aspirations and the direction he'd like to see America move in. It's a fascinating read; written fluently and thoroughly by a startlingly intelligent man who's clearly utterly cognizant of the intricacies of America's political system.

It's a surprising read, too, and will no doubt challenge every political preconception you have about Obama; no matter where you lie on the political spectrum. This is because one of the most fascinating facets of Obama's political physiognomy has always been how he mirrors our own opinions, rather than projecting his own.

The right-wing think of him as a socialist, a racial agitator and a far-left extremist. Likewise, many Democrats paint him as a champion of their own agendas; whether those agendas concern health care, welfare, equal rights or the war in Iraq. Both sides ultimately ignore what his positions actually are.

To that end, The Audacity of Hope will come as a big surprise. It reveals Barack Obama to be an unflinching centralist on all but a few political issues. He's divided the book into a series of sections on the biggest issues in politics (Values, The Constitution, Faith and Race) and coolly outlines a direction he'd like to see the country go in regarding each; a direction that's unequivocally bipartisan.

This bipartisanship is most notable in his section on Foreign Policy. Although Obama's always been a staunch opponent of the war in Iraq, he nevertheless takes time to lift several important policies from Republican strategists.

"The objectives favored by liberals hardly constitute a coherent national security policy," he argues aggressively. "If we pulled out of Iraq tomorrow, the United States would still be a target." Obama is equally quick to remind fellow Democrats that "the threats facing the United States are real, multiple and potentially devastating." It won't sit well with the anti-war crowd who tout a policy of American isolationism.

His chapter on Faith would also be an eye-opener for Christian conservatives; those who were quick to condemn him as 'Godless' during the election, or continue to criticize his connection to the controversial Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

They'll be surprised - and possibly delighted - to read his personal journey of faith and self-discovery; and skeptics like myself will ultimately be slightly disappointed!

Ultimately, The Audacity of Hope is fascinating because it reveals Obama to be closer to the center of the political spectrum than either the left wing or right realize. It's a real pity that pundits like Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly are probably never going to pick up a copy of this amazing book, because it reveals that Obama's not the enemy they've built their careers on.

In fact, even those on the right wing will find a lot to respect and appreciate about the man.

Up Till Now by William Shatner (Audiobook)

In his biography 'Up Till Now' William Shatner admits that there's not a lot of work he's ever considered turning down (although he does draw the line at barmitzvahs.) That's possibly why he's been such a pervasive presence on our television screens for the last three decades.

Most of us know Shatner as the red-blooded, swaggering Captain Kirk - a character I first encountered at university, when my ex-girlfriend (one of precisely three beautiful, female Trekkies in the world - they're as rare as unicorns) introduced me to the old Star Trek series on video.

Looking back, though, I'm sure I'm not alone in realising that Shatner's been part of my life for a lot longer than that - in other defining roles, like tough, uncompromising cop T.J. Hooker, tough, uncompromising attorney Denny Crane and, of course, the tough, uncompromising 'Priceline Negotiator.'

But for all the different incarnations of William Shatner, most of us have never known William Shatner as an individual - just as the characters he plays on our televisions screens (or maybe that should be 'the character,' as they all kind of blend into one.)

That's an oversight I attempted to correct by carpooling with the big guy for the last week; listening to the audio book of his autobiography 'Up Till Now' on my XMp3.

I've always loved a good biography, but there's something even more special about one that's narrated by the author himself. Hearing William Shatner's distinctive voice over my radio was like having him sitting across from me in the passenger seat of my old Lincoln; regaling me with his fascinating stories and anecdotes (but never chipping in for gas, the cheapskate.)

Fascinating stories and anecdotes are pretty much all 'Up Till Now' ends up being comprised of; not so much a biography (which one would imagine tells a life story in roughly chronological order) but more a collection of disjointed, rambling, but wildly entertaining stories held together by a common thread.

Shatner's book does follow a rough time order, starting out with his childhood in the Jewish quarter of Montreal and moving onto his first acting gigs with the Stratford Shakespeare Company. However, in between this narrative, it flits carelessly between anecdotes as and when the author feels it's appropriate - so we'll be discussing civil rights in Mississippi one moment and the 'dot com' boom the next.

But that doesn't really hurt the book; in fact, in many ways it makes it more enjoyable. As I mentioned earlier, Shatner's audio book was almost like having him ride along on my drive to work. The way he tells his story is similarly personal - like listening to the ramblings of an entertaining family member you've never had a chance to talk to before.

In that respect, 'Up Till Now' paints a warm, informal and affectionate portrait of Shatner's life and is illuminating for a whole slew of reasons.

Firstly, it's fascinating to discover that this great 'action man' of film and television is actually a shameless 'luvvie' of the oldest order. (The stories he tells of sharing a stage with Basil Rathbone and Christopher Plummer involve namedropping at it's most shameless; and despite being mocked for his three decades of 'wooden' acting, it's clear Shatner is ultimately a dedicated thespian to his core.)

Secondly, 'Up Till Now' is genuinely funny - with most of the humor being supplied at Shatner's expense. He creates wonderfully elaborate self-deprecating anecdotes, in which he repeatedly blusters his way through shaggy dog stories, building his biographical counterpart up until he sounds as arrogant and insufferable as all those other actors have accused him of being - yet then Shatner will deliver the punchline to each story, showing him up as a buffoon and laughing uproariously as he falls victim to his own hubris.

Ultimately, 'Up Till Now' is everything a good biography should be - an illuminating portrait of William Shatner that balances amusing anecdotes with real emotional gravitas. Considering that 'Bill' is possibly the most over-exposed man on television, it's both surprising and rewarding how much more of this man's life his biography reveals.

Rich Dad's Guide to Becoming Rich... Without Cutting Up Your Credit Cards by Robert T. Kiyosaki

If there's one requirement for books within the 'Self Help' section, it's that they should at least try to 'help' their readers. Robert T. Kiyosaki's book Rich Dad's Guide to Becoming Rich... Without Cutting Up your Credit Cards spectacularly fails at this, however.

Instead of dedicating the 88 pages to practical advice and tips, 'Rich Dad' winds up as something between an autobiography and a political manifesto - a convoluted mess.

Part of the book sees Kiyosaki attempt to share his financial wisdom though clumsily worded dialogue between himself and the titular 'Rich Dad' - the financially successful father of his childhood friend.

These are written like bad fiction - with stilted, repetitive conversations painfully transcribed, with 'I asked' and 'he told me' and 'I said, shaking my head' awkwardly interrupting the flow of dialogue, presumably to fatten up the paragraphs.

The rest of the book is more of a political rant - with Kiyosaki attacking the concept of taxation, social security, medicare and the dire state of education in America. For good measure, he throws in reams of paragraphs cross-selling his 'educational' boardgame (a snip at just $119) and justifying why it's so expensive, difficult to learn and awkward to play.

But the real crime of 'Rich Dad' is that what advice is does offer is simply bad advice. The whole concept 'Without Cutting Up Your Credit Cards' is painful to read after witnessing the financial meltdown of last year. Kiyosaki actually attacks the concept of 'living within your means' and builds his precarious financial formula off the bad of balancing 'bad debt' with 'good debt.'

While there is merit to his theory of investing in income-generating assets, the few practical suggestions he has - like creating 'good debt' by investing in real estate - serve as an awkward reminder of the mentality that drove America into the recent depression.

Rich Dad's Guide to Becoming Rich... Without Cutting Up your Credit Cards retails for $10.99

Live Rich, Die Broke by Stephen M. Pollan

A decade after their original publication dates, these two self-help books by 'America's most trusted financial adviser' aren't exactly still 'hot' - yet despite the details which date them, Stephen M. Pollan's financial advice ultimately remains pertinent today.

I made a mistake when I tackled Stephen M. Pollan's duo of financial advice books - I read the sequel, 'Live Rich,' before the original, 'Die Broke.' This is because I'd (somewhat understandably) imagined 'living' occurred before 'dying.'

As it turned out, it didn't really matter. Although ostensibly offering advice on two different facets of your financial affairs, the advice contained within 'Live Rich' is pretty-much paralleled word for word in 'Die Broke'.

'Die Broke' is a straightforward guide to getting the best out of life while you're still alive. Summed up, it simply advises readers to spend their kid's inheritance - so a family can enjoy that money together, instead of only after their parent's death.

The best line of the book (easily worth the purchase price) is this mantra: "The last cheque you write should be to the funeral director - and it should bounce."

'Live Rich,' the sequel, has more practical financial advice. Much of it is rehashed from 'Die Broke' - such as cutting up your credit cards, paying cash where you can and forgetting about the concept of 'retirement.' It adds a new dimension, though, with Pollan's advice to 'quit today.'

That shouldn't be taken literally - he doesn't advise readers to hand in their two weeks notice - but he does suggest that they abandon the obedient 'worker bee' mentality and treat their job like a temporary assignment, rather than a career.

It's a 21st century alternative to a 19th century work mentality and neatly mirrors the way corporate America has similarly abandoned the concept of employee loyalty.

The bulk of both books is taken up with a glossary of advice, which is where the age of the books is most noticeable. Pollan advices his clients to get a pager, recommends the fastest modem available (a whopping 56.6k) and ponders if cell-phones will be a technology that catches on.

But despite some aspects of these books being obviously dated, the advice contained within them is sterling stuff. I'm not going to suggest reading them will 'change your life' but it'll certainly change your preconceptions.

My only advice? It's really not necessary to read both - 'Live Rich' is more of an updated version of 'Die Broke' than a follow-up - so you'll get the gist of Pollan's pragmatic advice from reading that edition alone.

Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist

If you wanted to find an individual who best represented the 'American Dream', you'd be hard pressed to pick a better candidate than Warren Buffett.

His story goes from delivering papers in his native Omaha, to sitting on an empire as the richest man in America - proof that anybody can make it in this great country of ours.

In Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist, biographer Roger Lowenstein does more than just follow Warren's astonishing financial accomplishments.

He's dissects Buffet's motivations and mentality as well - illustrating not just what he did to build the quintessential American empire, but also why.

It highlights the astonishing duality of Buffett's career:

On one hand, it's clear that Warren Buffett always was a financial prodigy - memorising stock prices before the age of ten, and building a thousand-dollar newspaper delivery empire before he was in his teens.

An elephantine memory, prodigious capacity for mental arithmetic and an innate sense of 'self' helped Buffett seize opportunity after opportunity as he grew up. For over forty years, he's been an investor who's seemingly done no wrong. He's even beaten his own pessimistic predictions (in annual letters to investors, he constantly warned that his uncanny successes could never be sustained year after year - and yet they always were.)

But what's perhaps more astonishing is the fact that there was never any 'secret' to Buffett's success. No magical formula, or insider deals. He worked on a simple premise (expanded from that of his financial mentor, Ben Graham) that said some stocks were sold at below their true value - and if you bought them the market would always elevate them to their true value at some point in the future.

It's such a ridiculously simple premise - and Roger Lowenstein does such a brilliant job explaining it - that it seems almost impossible that nobody else twigged on this almost 'guaranteed' way to make money.

That's where Buffet: The Making of an American Capitalist becomes even more fascinating.

Lowenstein explains how there's always been a sort of pandemic madness running through Wall Street - and each period has seen the meteoric rise (and then dismal plummet) of countless false financial 'prophets.' Theories like 'diversification' and the 'Efficient Market Theory' made a few people rich, a lot of people poor and then sunk under the waves when a new 'hot' system came along to start the ride all over again.

Only Warren Buffett stuck to his own proven 'theory' - and earned billions as a result. Not because he's a financial genius (although he is) but simply because he dealt with facts, figures and measurable results - not whatever was the wild financial theory du jour.

And in that respect, the final benefit of Lowenstein's brilliantly written biography is that it serves as a 'how to' for investment virgins such as myself. Whether you're playing with stocks on eTrade, or starting a business for yourself, there are various mantras of Warren Buffett that will never fail to steer you in the right direction.

Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist ultimately satisfies on a whole slew of different levels. As a biography, it's warm, compelling and easy to read. As a story about the modern history of investment - through the eyes of the man who arguably knows it best - it's incredibly insightful. Finally (although I doubt Roger Lowenstein ever intended it to be) Buffett serves as a 'self help' guide to using 'Buffetisms' to improve your own financial future.

It's one of the most compelling and entertaining biographies I've ever read - and offered a singular insight into the life of one of America's most fascinating men.

Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist is available for $19.00 from all good booksellers.

Gack! Girl Arsonist is inflamed by the Amazon Kindle 2

I stumbled over aspiring writer and prodigious blogger Madison McGraw recently - better known by her nom de guerre 'Girl Arsonist.'

Madison is both intriguing and infuriating. She's a fluent and enthusiastic writer and video blogger - and a raging self-publicist much like myself.


Unfortunately, her website isn't very intuitive, you can't leave comments on her blog (an unforgivable blogging sin) and she insists on doing those stupid finger-wiggling 'speech marks' whenever she says the name of her blog.


But she's also really cute and has a tattoo. As I said, both intriguing and infuriating.

Her most recent post is about the new Amazon Kindle.

How Main Street Publishers are Ripping off Kindle Owners

If you haven't heard of the Kindle, let me give you the skinny. Basically, it's like an iPod for books. Except it's about a hundred bucks more expensive.

Roughly the size of a paperback, Kindle has a screen which displays 'eBooks.'

Those are digital copies of books. You can turn the page, scan the text or even get Kindle's creepy electronic voice to 'read' the stories to you.

As a gadget, it's pretty cool. With wireless connectivity, you can browse and download new books instantly, get updates of the latest paper and even store thousands of books for reading later.


It's also completely pointless. Most of us prefer a real book or newspaper anyway and - as girl Arsonist points out - the price of an eBook is often the same as buying a paper copy of that novel.

She wrote to "St. Martin's, Penguin, HarperEbooks, Random House, Simon & Schuster and all the other Main Street Publishers" and argued: "We don't take kindly to the fact you are trying to take advantage of readers (and authors) by overcharging us because you are unable to run your business in a profitable manner."

Steady on there, girl!

I'm not sure how a smart cookie like Girl Arsonist was unaware of this, but the reason books are so damned expensive is not merely because of the paper they're printed on. It's because of the enormous costs of buying, editing and marketing books.

When published in sufficient quantities, the price of printing a book is only a few dollars. I know this for a fact, as I've printed copies of my own books.

When you factor in Kindle sales, you've got to think that:

1. You still have to pay the author, editor and marketing team the same as for a 'real' book.
2. Everybody who buys a digital copy of the book WILL NOT buy a paper copy.

Given how competitive and cutthroat the publishing industry is right now, I can absolutely understand why they want to charge the same for an eBook as for a real book. The value isn't in the paper itself - it's in the words printed on that paper. Or not printed, in the case of Kindle!

"We know that eBooks cost pennies to make." Girl Arsonist claims.

Well, you're wrong. They don't. For the most part, they cost as much as making 'real' books.

They are real books. They're just intangible and digital.

That doesn't make them any less entertaining to read, or less compelling, or less sexy or frightening. It doesn't mean the writer spent less time writing them, or that the editor didn't pour over every syllable with the same attention to detail. It doesn't mean that they spent less time marketing the books, or sending the author on cross-country promotional tours.

They did everything they had to do with the 'real' book except print in on paper.

So, when you complain that eBooks are only 'a few dollars less than the actual print book,' perhaps it's worth considering that those few dollars are probably the cost of printing the book.

What more do you want, Girl Arsonist?

Well, now my rant's over, I do recommend you go over and check out her website. Her video blogs are hilarious. I especially liked this one (as I'm really feeling this at the moment, having got a rejection slip for Bootleg Boys just yesterday.)

Palin plays Librarian?

Currently, the Republican campaign seems to consist of blowing irrelevant things out of all importance (like 'lipstickgate') while also trying to dismiss important things as 'minor flipperies' - like Sarah Palin's impractical suggestion to declare war on Russia.

One such 'non-issue' is Palin's former quest to ban certain books from the Wasilla, AK, public library.

When Sarah Palin was mayor of Wasilla, she approached local librarian Mary Emmons on three separate occasions to ask the question: "What is your response if I ask you to remove some books from the collection of the Wasilla Public Library?"

Mary Emmons immediately answered: "The books in the collection were purchased in accordance with national standards and professional guidelines, and I would absolutely not allow you to remove any books from the collection."

As it happened, no books were removed from the library - but Mary Emmons found herself fired a few weeks later for her refusal to go along with Palin's hypothetical demands.

She was only reluctantly restored to office by Palin after the people of Wasilla protested vehemently against the popular librarian's dismissal.

Now people are asking: What books was Palin thinking about banning?

According to the Republicans, Sarah Palin never had any intention of banning books from Wasilla public library. It was a purely hypothetical question.

However, Paul Stuart, a reporter for the Frontiersman newspaper, has a different story: "Mary Emmons told me directly that Palin asked her to remove Pastor, I Am Gay from the shelves."

Pastor, I Am Gay is a book by controversial local pastor Howard Bess. He wrote it while a churchman in California, in response to what he learned dealing with gay parishioners. The book was well known in Wasilla because Bess lived in the neighbouring town.

Pastor, I Am Gay examines the misconceptions and intolerance the Christian community has for it's homosexual members and (this is where the controversy comes in) suggests that Christians should act a bit more 'Christian' towards them.

Wasilla, being a rather conservative town, was no fan of this liberal pastor's book or it's ideas. No book store in the little town would stock the book and the two copies donated to Mary Emmon's library conveniently disappeared. Bess donated a further two copies about the same time Sarah Palin started asking Mary Emmons about banning books.

The controversy here is two-fold.

First off, no Vice Presidential candidate should be going around banning books. It's not just unconstitutional - it's wrong. Censorship and book-banning is the stuff of fascist and communist regimes and a fundamentalist mindset.

Secondly, it neatly reveals that Sarah Palin isn't the fluffy 'gay friendly' candidate she claims to be ('I have gay friends,' she claimed, despite changing the Alaska constitution to limit marriage as 'between a man and a woman.') Pastor, I Am Gay was controversial in conservative Christian circles because it challenged the bigoted status quo and forced 'good Christians' to actually start looking at their own behavior and exactly how 'Christian' it was.

The 'Moral Majority' have a long history of repressing any such self examination, because what it reveals is never pretty. In trying to get Pastor, I Am Gay banned from Wasilla public library, Sarah Palin reveals just where she stands when it comes to the choice between The First Amendment and 'good, old fashioned family values.'

Of course, there is the possibility that this is just a manufactured 'non-story' like the Republicans claim. Maybe Paul Stuart is lying and Sarah Palin never intended to ban any books from the Wasilla library.

But in politics, just like in everything else, there's a a certain wisdom in remembering: 'Where there's smoke, there just might be somebody burning books.'

The Importance of Reading...

I recently discovered a blog called Texas Liberal, which makes for interesting reading.

One of the posts was about the Houston Chronicle publishing the answer to a question Texas Liberal had sent in - what were the last three books the presidential hopefuls had read?

The answers were quite interesting.

"Republican Mike Huckabee didn’t respond when asked by a newspaper reader, Neil Aquino of Houston, to list the last three books he has read."

Quelle surprise... It's such a bad cliché that evangelicals don't read (or, if they do, they limit themselves to books related to scriptural topics.) But by furthering that stereotype, I think it's a pretty poor showing for Mike Huckabee. He couldn't think of a single book he'd read recently? Jeeze, the guy could have at least thrown The Bible in there!

"But Republican John McCain said he had recently reread A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway and read, presumably for the first time, The Age of Turbulence by former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and the Spirit of Churchill by Deborah Davis Brezina."

A Hemingway book? And a book about Winston Churchill? And then Greenspan's new book? If you ask me, these are clearly well rehearsed answers. Hemingway was the rough, tough, man's man. Churchill was the legendary warrior statesman. Greenspan is a legendary Republican policyman. If you were trying to reach out to a cynically targeted audience, I can think of no better answers than the ones John McCain gave!

But then again, McCain's only a little older than my father and he enjoys a good historical biography every now and then (I think he recently completed one about Horatio Nelson.)



"Clinton listed Ike: An American Hero by Michael Korda, The Bourne Betrayal by Robert Ludlum and The Appeal by John Grisham."

Even though Clinton comes across as a devious and cold political Machiavelli, I found her answer surprisingly earnest. Two of the three books she mentioned are populist and sniffed at by the literati, but would make very entertaining reading.

Even more so than John McCain, Hillary appears to actually be a reader and although snobs might disapprove of her choice of 'best selling schlock' it appeals to me because they're the kind of books I enjoy myself (nobody writes a courtroom drama like Grisham.)

"My 9-year-old, Malia, and I read all the Harry Potter books together,” Obama said.

Obama's answer was a bit too twee for me. Obama is a charming statesman, but even he can lay it on a bit thick. This seems like another answer specifically designed to appeal to his audience.

"Aww!" the potential voters gush. "He reads with his little girl! And he reads Harry Potter, just like me! Awww!"

And, besides, the billion-dollar bestsellers of JK Rowling hardly need a potential-presidential endorsement to sell more copies!

Reading Rocks

The importance of what presidents read can't be underestimated. Even back in the sixties, people were peering into the White House bookcases with surprising curiosity. The fact that John F. Kennedy listed From Russia With Love as one of his favourite paperbacks helped significantly boost author Ian Fleming's career - and made Kennedy seem that much cooler.

The books a president reads are important for various reasons.

Firstly, it's just important that a president does read. Somebody who enjoys reading will generally have a broader base of knowledge than somebody who doesn't. That's why Mike Huckabee ducking the question gave me another reason to distrust him.

Secondly, people express a lot of their own personality in the choice of books they enjoy. John F. Kennedy appealed to the original Playboy generation with his choice of a James Bond book. Clinton's choice of a Grisham novel suggests she enjoys taut pacing, a well detailed and beautifully researched 'real world' setting and difficult, thought provoking moral questions to ponder. McCain's choices indicate a man who's interested in history and economics and not too arrogant to pick up a book and learn more about them.

The Texas Liberal's question was brilliant because it stripped away a lot of the media hype and gave us a genuine peek into these politician's lives.

It also made me think about what the books I've been reading say about me.

Because Tina gets Advanced Reading Copies of upcoming books, I tend to read them as and when they arrive (making my choice of reading material rather random.)

The last three books I read were The Justice Riders by Chuck Norris (who endorsed Huckabee... The least Mike could have done in return was read Chuck's book.) Simplexity by Jeffrey Kluger (the book that's simply too complex to describe in one sentence) and Loose Girl by Kerry Cohen.

They don't really say much about my personality (my preferred diet of adventure stories and thrillers probably does) but I certainly feel reading those three books broadened my horizons.

What were the last three books you read? ...and if you were standing for President, what do you think they'd say about you?

Justice Riders by Chuck Norris (and others...)

I’m in two minds about movie star Chuck Norris’ first western novel, the stirring Civil War adventure Justice Riders.

On one hand, the book is clearly a cynical ploy to cash in on Chuck Norris’ enormous popularity. It’s an easy-to-read western featuring a main character clearly modeled on Norris himself (so much so that he performs Norris’ signature ‘roundhouse kick’ as early as page twelve.)

For that reason, it’s easy to dismiss Justice Riders as being designed to attract sales through celebrity rather than quality.

But on the other hand, Justice Riders is an efficiently produced product that will prove very satisfying to a specific target audience. If you like Chuck Norris, you’re interested in the history of the Old West and you’re not expecting great art or literature, Justice Riders delivers everything you expect. Perhaps even more. Book snob or not, you can’t really argue with a novel that accomplishes everything it sets out to do.

Riders. For Justice.

Although the cover credits Norris most prominently, four authors contributed to Justice Riders, including Chuck Norris’ brother, Aaron. This probably explains the ‘set up’ of the book, which reads like it was decided by committee.

The titular ‘Chuck Norris’ character, Captain Ezra Justice, is a celebrated war hero given a top-secret mission by the Union Army during the last year of the American Civil War.

He recruits an elite team to sabotage Confederate efforts behind enemy lines. His politically-correct smorgus board of recruits include a lovable Irish rogue, a cunning British sniper, twin gypsy explosive experts, a noble Native American and, of course, Ezra’s childhood friend – a slave freed from his parent’s plantation.

Their adventures take them across the clearly well-researched backdrop of the post Civil-War south – interacting with real historical figures and experiencing notable events, culminating with Captain Ezra Justice and his ‘Justice Riders’ getting themselves mixed up in the real-life sinking of the steamship Sultana – a tragic riverboat disaster that claimed the lives of 1,700 passengers.

Their adventure climaxes with a classic western showdown, as Justice and his men face off against the moustache-twirling Mordacai Slate and his rebel Confederate platoon The Death Raiders.

It’s entertaining stuff, although the writing is pretty unpolished. One fault that really jars is a complete lack of contractions, even in the dialogue. “I do not like him” characters would say, instead of “I don’t like him.” It makes some of the writing seem very stilted and the dialogue pretty unrealistic.

Also, most of the characters are given interesting back stories, but they’re quite roughly shoehorned in between paragraphs of the current action, making it all a bit disjointed.

The plot, characterization and description are all satisfactory, but it’s pretty clear that the publishers printed a very early draft of the story instead of polishing and tightening the manuscript. A celebrity name on the cover was apparently more important than editing.

What shines is the research. The war-torn south our heroes trek through is utterly believable and while Ezra Justice is merely an observer and victim of the tragic Sultana disaster, it’s fascinating to learn about the greed, graft and dishonesty that led to so many people tragically loosing their lives.

All in all, I’m left with the impression that Justice Riders is an unfinished book. The authors are perfectly competent and able writers – but it’s clear that any author lacking the celebrity clout of Chuck Norris would have received a rejection letter for submitting this rough-and-ready manuscript, instead of a publishing contract.

However, all the raw ingredients needed for a solid novel are there and if you’re willing to overlook the finer details, Justice Riders proves to be an enjoyable and educational page-turner.

Justice Riders by Chuck Norris, Ken Abraham, Aaron Norris and Tim Grayem is published by Broadman and Holman Publishers and retails for $15.99.