BOOKS TO READ WHILE WORKING
March 2009 - Audiobooks reviewed by Jonathan Lowe.
Looking
for a true story of adventure, mystery, and horror (in the form of
malaria-laden mosquitos, poisonous snakes, and a lost city of gold)?
If so, you're in for an exciting destination that's best read (or
heard) about rather than visited. When New Yorker magazine staff
writer David Grann stumbled upon the diaries of British explorer Percy
Fawcett, he had in his hands the framework needed for a book on the
subject of what's been called "the greatest exploration mystery of the
twentieth century." The date was 1925 when Col. Percy Harrison Fawcett
set out to find the site of a legendary Amazonian civilization reputed
to hide the golden kingdom of El Dorado. Fawcett dubbed it
THE LOST
CITY OF Z, and from the start the expedition was a descent into hell.
He writes of "days of toil, nights of torture" in his diaries, which
are filled with notes about the various insects which plagued him. Not
only did the pack animals suffer, but colleagues succumbed to strange
tropical diseases that manifested as festering sores that attracted
leeches and vampire bats. What will men do to discover gold? Fawcett's
obsession offers a vivid example, although he himself seems to have
been blessed with an extraordinary physical constitution. As the
author takes up the mantel to explore the Amazon himself, seeking the
truth about what happened to Fawcett, he becomes involved in an
adventure of all his own. Actor Mark Deakins narrates this fascinating
tale, maintaining the air of fresh discovery throughout. (Random House
Audio; 10 hours unabridged)
In NO SURVIVORS, a book that rivals--even surpasses--the Jason Bourne
series by Robert Ludlum, novelist Tom Cain continues to develop the
character of Samuel Carver, a hired assassin who makes accidents
happen, and whom, like Jason, lies--at the beginning--a broken man
unsure of his past. When his Russian spy girlfriend is forced to leave
him, Carver escapes the sanitarium in which he's imprisoned only to be
hired by a man who wants to get his hands on some deadly missing
Russian suitcase nukes. Add a Texas billionaire who hopes to finance
Armageddon by blowing up Jerusalem, and what you have is a 007ish take
on nuclear terror circa today. Is Cain the new Clancy? Time will tell,
but in the meantime John Lee is definitely a great choice as narrator
for a suspense set mainly in Europe, and whose accent is no accident.
Lee won an award reading Cain's previous novel, The Accident Man,
while Tom Cain is the pseudonym of British journalist David Thomas (a
name that perhaps sounds more appropriate for someone reading poetry
on Walton's mountain). Now let's just hope that there isn't as much
missing nuclear material out there as Cain postulates, Because if
there is, we are all in deep, deep trouble. (Penguin Audio; 11 hours
unabridged)
Next, Erica Bauermeister's first novel, THE SCHOOL OF ESSENTIAL
INGREDIENTS, is not merely about the pleasures of culinary indulgence.
Like scientist Jonah Lehrer, her character Lillian has been exploring
the mysteries of taste for a long time, and also looking beyond
recipes or menus to discover the hidden truths which arise from those
mysteries. Her weekly restaurant cooking classes provide her with an
audience on which to crystalize her thoughts on food, life, and love.
But this is only a springboard from which the lives of her students
add spice to the mix. Their stories within Lillian's main story serve
as poignant taste variations added to a subtle base stock. As narrated
by actor Cassandra Campbell, this short yet delicious novel becomes a
delicacy to be savored as sentence by sentence the hope of those
yearning to learn the truths of their lives play out on the chopping
block. (Penguin Audio; 6 hours unabridged)
While there are many things you should say "no way" to, when it comes
to persuasion what you want is for your clients or potential employers
to say YES! Getting them to overcome any reluctance is a matter of
psychology, as authors Noah J. Goldstein, Steve J. Martin, and Robert
B. Cialdini emphasize in their new audiobook, subtitled 50
Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive. Goldstein is on the
faculty of UCLA's Anderson School of Management, Martin is managing
director of Influence at Work in the UK, and Cialdini is president of
that organization, a professor of psychology and marketing, and the
most cited social psychologist in the field. What is most interesting
about their research is how seemingly subtle variations in the wording
of advertising or interpersonal dialogue can affect outcomes. For
example, if you are talking to someone whose background is more
collectivist than individualistic (like the culture of Japan), you
will receive much more favorable results if you point to what others
of their group have chosen in the past, rather than what their own
choice should be. Also covered are why hiring someone to tout your
merits is better than touting them yourself (even if that person is
known to be paid by you!), how mirroring a person's gestures or style
creates a bond with them, and why placement of mirrors to reduce theft
or littering actually works. Some of these findings have been outlined
in other business psychology books, but there's a appeal to the wide
ranging and entertaining aspect here, with an attention to not getting
too bogged down in lecture. This is primarily a book for sales people,
but the useful psychological tips cross over into all aspects of daily
life. The conclusion you come to after listening is that we are not
always the rational beings we imagine ourselves to be, and are instead
influenced by what our peers are doing (watching sports on TV), how
scarce something is claimed to be (making us want it more, as in "only
available for a limited time!"), or just the relentless breaking down
of our wills through repetition. You are even more likely to buy this
audiobook because I listed the qualifications of the authors above, as
one of their case studies involves a doctor who had little success
advising his patients to choose healthier diets until he posted his
academic credentials in plain view. (Simon & Schuster Audio; 5 1/2
hours unabridged)
Finally, Frank Herbert's last epic novel gets a new production in
CHAPTERHOUSE DUNE, as narrated by Euan Morton, Katherine Kellgren,
Scott Brick, and Simon Vance. In this final installment written by
Herbert (Sr.) before his death, Dune (Arrakis) has been destroyed, and
its heirs to power (the Bene Gesserit) have colonized another world,
and are slowly turning it into a desert planet. With fine performances
by a talented cast, (including the "Making Of" video included on the
final disk), the audiobook is a must-have for all Dune fans, although
those unfamiliar with the series should start with the original Dune
audiobook, or else they will quickly become as clueless to what's
happening as new viewers to the TV show LOST. (MacMillan Audio; 16 1/2
hours unabridged)
Also recommended: One of the greatest novels of all time, MOBY DICK,
now gets a stunning new interpretation by actor Anthony Heald, and is
available on Mp3 disk too for quick download to iPod. Join Ishmael and
Captain Ahab as narrated by one of our favorite readers, who was
nominated for several Tony awards and won an Obie for his theater
work. (Blackstone Audio; 24 hours unabridged)
BOOKS TO READ WHILE WORKING
February 2009 - Audiobooks reviewed by Jonathan Lowe.
Also see: What's Your Name
Again?
Back
in the golden age of radio (before video killed the radio star)
stories were routinely dramatized for public consumption. Use of the
imagination predated the now ubiquitous made-for-TV movie. For an
engaging return to yesteryear, the creative minds over at Blackstone
have produced a first edition of THE BLACK MASK AUDIO
MAGAZINE, with stories taken from the pages of the original
magazine of the 1930s and 40s, and including hard boiled tales by Hugh
B. Cave, Paul Cain, Frederick Nebel, Reuben J. Shay, William Cole, and
the legendary Dashiell Hammett. The stories are fully dramatized with
sound effects and period music, as directed by veteran Yuri Rasovsky,
and with sound editing supplied by--among others--Sue Zizza. The
talented cast is headed by GROVER GARDNER, and includes Anthony Heald,
Lorna Raver, George Guidall, Richard Ferrone, Tom Weiner, Christine
Williams, Jeff Woodman, Rochelle Savitt, Malcolm Hillgartner, Richard
Allen, Kaitlin Hopkins, William Hughes, and Burt Ross. In one of the
best tales, Pigeon Blood, a woman with a dead man on her floor is
asked if the guy is drunk, and she replies, "Hammered." When it turns
out that the hammer was hers, she admits, "I was always good with
tools." Twists turn to double twists when, as in the short piece
Taking His Time, a policeman with a penchant for legal details has no
problem with. . .well, you'll just have to take the time and hear for
yourself. Bravo to Blackstone's Hollywood Theater of the Ear for
bringing back a forgotten genre with fresh new twists of dramatic
interpretation. The sound quality is excellent, the acting superb, and
the stories themselves seem unpredictably propelled within a backdrop
of subtle complexity. Also available on Mp3 disk for easy iPod
downloading, the production features "tough gumshoes, rotten yeggs,
and dangerous dames." Not to mention those responsible already listed.
(Blackstone Audio; 5 hours unabridged)
Garrison Keillor may seem, to some, a throwback to the age of Ozzie &
Harriet or Leave It to Beaver, when television hadn't yet diminished
radio programming to the wasteland of repetitive Top 40 and political
talk a la Rush Limbaugh. But if you've never heard A Prairie Home
Companion, you've missed out on a true slice of Americana. With his
traveling road show, still heard every week on NPR, Keillor brings his
quirky characters to life on the stage, and all of them are funnier
than the folks you find these days at your typical suburban shopping
mall. Take, for example, those living in Lake Wobegon, Minnesota. In
RHUBARB and other audio productions taken from the show, you learn
about the luxury of rhubarb pie (and why this "weed" is a secret
obsession), then you go on a vacation with Myrtle and Florian (whose
obsession with thrift gets in the way of relaxation). You discover the
perils of prophecy, and why March is the most restless month in town,
"a month God created to show people who don't drink what a hangover is
like." Staring up at the vapor lights of Our Lady of Perpetual
Responsibility with your mind's eye is somehow more satisfying than
seeing it on the boob tube, too, although Garrison did produce a movie
starring Meryl Streep about the road show--one which, ironically, also
starred Lindsay Lohan. Tune in, or pop in a CD, and you'll discover,
as I did, that there are still people living, even today, in a land
that TV forgot (except in syndication on the Andy Griffith Show), and
that these folks are entertaining to hear about because, as Keillor
puts it, "our women are strong, our children are above average, and as
for the men--well, we could look worse." (Highbridge Audio; 77 minutes
unabridged)
Leaving yesteryear can be a pain, especially when you consider our
current economy. There is a reason, after all, why Obama's book was
titled The Audacity of Hope, and it's because there are larger trends
at work here which overshadow any Presidential term. In his new book
THE GREAT DEPRESSION AHEAD author Harry S. Dent, Jr. outlines these
trends in startling detail, and from a wider perspective than merely
one political season. Having successfully predicted the crash of Fall
2008 years ago, Dent was also the author of The Great Boom Ahead,
published in 1992, when he stood virtually alone in forecasting the
unanticipated boom of the 1990s. And now he is saying that the party
is over. Dent holds a Harvard MBA, is a Fortune 100 consultant, and is
president of the HS Dent Foundation, whose mission is to help business
leaders understand change. His analytical techniques have allowed him
to predict economic trends with unprecedented accuracy, which is why
this latest book is such an eye-opener, and is narrated by the author
himself on audio. Among the predictions being made here is that we are
at the end of an historic boom cycle, and so while the economy may
appear to recover from the subprime crisis and "minor recession" by
mid to late 2009, (given Obama's deficit spending to aid
infrastructure and create jobs), it is actually "the calm before the
real storm." By 2010 America will enter a truly Great depression, with
stocks not reaching their lows until 2012. Scared yet? Let's hope he's
wrong for once. Because this means that housing prices will continue
to fall along with stocks, and so despite the supposedly "low"
valuations of today, he advises selling now if you can, and to rent,
waiting to buy again after the housing market hits bottom by 2012. And
there's more. A global bull market will not return until 2020 at the
earliest. Still, there is a silver lining here. According to Dent,
there are buying opportunities along the way, particularly in long
term bonds as inflation's brief return will cause the Fed to raise
interest rates. Also, the depression will cause Congress to act in
restructuring entitlement programs and to tax the rich more. An
enhanced CD includes a PDF file of various charts and graphs,
outlining the major trends of the past, and extending them into the
future. State by state breakdowns of population changes and market
projections are included, too. Bottom line? The era of conspicuous
consumption is over, as leaders cut waste and fraud in an effort to
avoid the collapse of the dollar. As all the bubbles pop, we will all
be forced to either adapt or perish. (Simon & Schuster Audio; 2009; 6
hours abridged)
Excerpt from my recent interview with Dent:
LOWE: We'll probably remember 2008 as the year of the Great
Banking Crisis, following the subprime bubble. Why do you think so
many people--both professional and non--were fooled into believing
that the common sense adage "what goes up must come down" somehow did
not apply to housing prices?
DENT: The hardest thing to convince people of in the last
several years was that house prices could go down a lot! We would show
the example from 1925 to 1933 and 1991 to 2005 in Japan. People have
seen real estate go up their entire life and with only minor
corrections. People can believe our predictions for another major
stock or oil crash, but not real estate. Well, obviously, now they do
believe it. We are saying that house prices nationally have to go down
50% to 55%, or back to at least the levels in 2000. Hence, there is
another major crash in housing prices ahead as well with the worst
slide likely from early 2010 into mid 2011. We don't recommend buying
real estate again until around late 2012 or early 2013. The bubble in
real estate is the greatest in U.S. history. We wouldn't see as large
a decline if the bubble had not been so extreme. Housing prices only
went down around 30% in the Great Depression as there wasn't a major
bubble before the deflation process set in.
LOWE: We still seem to be victims of our own near-sightedness,
somehow believing that Washington will save us. Meanwhile, we save
very little (if at all) for our own retirements, while the Chinese
save a lot. As companies and markets hunker down for the lean years
ahead, what can the average person do to survive or prosper in such an
environment?
DENT: First of all, the government cannot save us. They did not
create this boom, the baby boom generation did - and they can't stop
the steep slide in spending ahead as that generation slows in their
spending and accelerates in their retirement. At best we will get a
strong temporary rebound, but that will be met with inflation
pressures and accelerating oil and commodity prices again. At worst,
and more likely, all of this stimulus will only create a modest
rebound and that will be seen as a sign of serious weakness with the
stock markets and US dollar crashing again. The best thing people can
do is to save and to convert their stocks and excess real estate into
cash during the temporary rebound in 2009. Our target for the Dow is
just below 11,000 between April and July. Sell your investments and
wait for all assets to deflate into late 2010 to late 2012. Then buy
at the greatest bargains of your lifetime.
Finally, speaking of surviving, Joan Rivers is not averse to turning
back the clock through the miracles of plastic surgery. In her new
audiobook, which she also narrates, Joan advises women how, when, and
why to choose that nip and tuck, with the aid of coauthor Valerie
Frankel. Naturally men can be blamed for this obsession with beauty,
and so the title is MEN ARE STUPID...AND THEY LIKE BIG BOOBS. Now,
I've been told that women dress for other women, but I must admit that
maybe it's because men don't really seem to care what a woman is
wearing, they're too busy trying to imagine what's underneath. Still,
in my opinion, men are stupid because they buy big boob tubes to watch
Baywatch reruns. Yet Joan has a point, and she has no trouble poking
fun at both the men and women involved, either--especially those in
Hollywood who routinely walk the red carpet. How sad it is that the
public still embraces this last and so widely accepted prejudice
against aging. In the meantime, laugh and do something about it, Joan
seems to say. This sometimes funny audiobook is recommended mainly for
those who are considering plastic surgery, as it provides information
on how to find the right doctor, with horror stories about those who
didn't shop well. A better choice, of course, would be to just accept
who you are, and live with it. The problem is, can you accept what
other people, men included, may think or not think? (Simon & Schuster
Audio; 6 hours abridged)
(A longtime judge in the Audie awards, Jonathan Lowe maintains the
unusual author website JustSayNoWay.com)
BOOKS TO READ WHILE WORKING
January 2009 - Audiobooks reviewed by Jonathan Lowe
With
parallels to The Great Gatsby, the revived 1961 novel
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD by Richard Yates is now a film starring
Leonardo DeCaprio and Kate Winslet. As in Fitzgerald's novel, Yates'
book, recently re-released in paperback (and new on audio), tracks the
disillusionment of the times following a major world war. The time is
the mid-1950s, but the suburban angst resonates even today, ever more
so as we plunge into a new kind of soul searching brought on by the
housing crash. Frank Wheeler wants to believe he and his wife April
will be happy in consumer driven suburbia, even with his dull job and
their mutual lack of fulfillment. Having started a family too early,
they feel trapped, and talk of moving to France, even as they pretend
moral superiority over the neighbors. Yet the bitter realization of
their entrapment, and of time closing in on their dreams, forces them
to lash out at each other, even over trivialities. Soon their fate is
sealed. As narrated by Mark Bramhall, whose theater experience brings
an elevated tone of authenticity to the denouement, the book is both
humorous and tragic. Like all great art, it leaves one pondering the
complexities and ambiguities of life. Or in the American Dream.
(Random House Audio; 11 1/2 hours unabridged)
If you wonder what average Iranians think of us, wonder no more in
LAUGHING WITHOUT AN ACCENT by Firoozeh Dumas. In this funny memoir
about an Iranian American growing up in Southern California, the
cultural clashes inherent between us are all explained with a dry wit
and a droll turn of phrase. For example, what's this American custom
of a man with a beard coming down the chimney, anyway? Scary. And
Americans put melted marshmellows on yams? Why? Dumas endures American
misconceptions of Iranians as terrorists too, even as she takes a road
trip to Iowa with an American once held hostage in Iran. Then, as a
mother, she faces chaos when she removes the television from her
house. (Why is her father addicted to The Price is Right, when it's
all wrong?) As narrator of her memoir, Dumas entertains as Erma
Bombeck might, minus any accent. (Audible; 6 hours unbridged)
If you've watched much TV, no doubt you're addicted to excess.
Television, after all, is about more and bigger. You're urged to
consume in gluttonous abandon at every turn, never mind the
environment or your own health. Even high fat, processed junk foods
are touted as "healthy fast food," although the additives and
chemicals in them require paragraphs of tiny print to enumerate. So
what to do, once you've weaned yourself off the boob tube, and entered
the real world in time to save it from crumbling around you? Try GREEN
LIVING FOR DUMMIES to start. Editors Yvonne Jeffery, Liz Barclay, and
Michael Grosvenor find voice in narrator Brett Barry in compiling a
wealth of ideas to pinch pennies while improving your health, and the
health of the planet. Covered are the uses and abuses of plastics,
CFLs, the reuse of paper, jars, (even birthday cards), plus food
selection and packaging impacts related to transportation. Also, why
you should avoid eating cod and certain other depressed fish stocks;
car sharing; electric bikes; buying new appliances; and exercise. If
you put this audiobook on your iPod, and go for a hike while
listening, you'll be far enough away from the TV, too, so you won't be
ordering that deluxe meat lover's pizza expressly forbidden by your
cardiologist. (Harper Audio; 3 1/2 hours abridged)
Do you believe that science can ultimately solve all our problems? If
so, you should listen to PROUST WAS A NEUROSCIENTIST. According to
Jonah Lehrer, the more we study the brain, the more we realize how
little we know about who we really are. His thesis here is that
science is not the only path to knowledge, and that art plays as much
a role in understanding consciousness. It's a case of the whole being
more than a sum of the parts, because mere molecules and chemical
reactions cannot explain what art knows. Lehrer follows Proust,
Cezanne, Gertrude Stein, Noam Chomsky, George Eliot, Stravinsky, and
even the great chef Escoffier as they discover subtleties of
perception which hint at the divine, (or at least at the essence of
what it means to experience life). Narrated by Dan John Miller, the
audiobook is part biography and part criticism, but its broad approach
is appealing in that it makes no case for either art or science being
superior. It is about the merging of each into what, again, is a
clearer approximation of truth. (Brilliance Audio; 7 hours unabridged)
What do you get when you combine Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The
Flash, and the Green Lantern? Well, that's the Justice League of
America, of course. (Folks we could use right now to fight terrorists,
Somali pirates, and the evil forces pervading Madison Avenue and Wall
Street.) In THE FLASH: Stop Motion by Mark Schultz, though, the
fireballs from space and the forces causing deaths in Keystone City
have nothing to do with sociopathic banking CEO scumbags, but rather
an evil scientist or creature who can move even faster Wally West. Is
it from another dimension? What has our heroes perplexed, anyway? Not
without intrigue, this full cast and sound production is dubbed a
movie in your mind, and thereby requires imagination (a muscle rarely
used watching television). The effects employed to aid plot movement
here are diverse and interesting. With a narrator telling most of the
story, accompanied by background sound or snippets of music, this is
the kind of escapist fiction which the major publishers don't have
time to produce, as it also includes 19 actors, each with their own
distinct personalities. (Graphic Audio; 6 hours unabridged)
Finally, CEOs nab huge paychecks, even as they apply for bailouts.
Hedge fund managers score record bonuses, even as the individual
investor suffers record losses. In his new book ENOUGH author John C.
Bogle decries the recent obsession with speculation on Wall Street.
Bogle is founder of the Vanguard Mutual Fund Group, and espouses a
return to investing for the long term instead of speculating and
day-trading. The latter is what has brought us to the brink of
financial meltdown, when a perfect storm amassed to beach the sharks,
even amid their feeding frenzy. To return to sanity, we need to
realize that when our values are in line, we may discover that we
don't need more, regardless of the incessant urgings of get-rich-quick
schemes that turn out to be a dead end. Read on audio by Alan Sklar,
with additional commentary by the author, ENOUGH presents a reasoned,
rational approach to life and business, devoid of the hype which
Hollywood promotes as the only way to succeed. He explores the errors
of speculation on all levels, from commodities futures to complex
derivatives, and concludes that no one can know the future, or see the
proverbial and inevitable black swan approaching. Bottom line?
Shortcuts are for criminals and other losers. Don't believe them. (Highbridge
Audio; 6 1/4 hours unabridged)
(These audiobooks may be rented from AudioAdventures.com. Jonathan
Lowe's author website is JustSayNoWay.com)
Jonathan Lowe's
Top Ten Audiobooks of 2008
GOMORRAH by Roberto Saviano, read by Michael Kramer HAVANA NOCTURNE by T.J. English, read by Mel Foster TRAIN TO TRIESTE by Domnica Radulescu, read by Yelena
Shmulenson THE DAWN PATROL by Don Winslow, read by Ray Porter FINAL SALUTE by Jim Sheeler, read by Mark Deakins SPIN by Robert Wilson, read by Scott Brick CRIME AND PUNISHMENT by Fyodor Dostoevsky, as read by Anthony
Heald SWAN PEAK by James Lee Burke, read by Will Patton IN DEFENSE OF FOOD by Michael Pollan, read by Scott Brick PROUST WAS A NEUROSCIENTIST by Jonah Lehrer, read by Dan John
Miller
BOOKS TO READ WHILE WORKING
December 2008 - Audiobooks reviewed by Jonathan Lowe
TSAR,
the new suspense novel by Ted Bell, rekindles the Cold War, bringing
our international relations pot to a boil while a shadow man called
The Dark Rider attempts to reestablish control over breakaway Russian
republics in a new paradigm that may catapult him to the book's
namesake role of supreme leader. First step is to crush the European
economy via oil pipeline interference. Then a bizarre plot unfolds
involving an ironic twist on the Computers-in-the-Schools theme.
Bell's hero, Alex Hawke, is worthy of Ian Fleming as a character whose
proclivities include wide ranging intrigue and beautiful women. As
narrated by actor John Shea, the plot doesn't break down or snap, even
as it stretches and occasionally waffles. Shea is such a master of
understated tone and believable accents that the listener is more than
willing to suspend disbelief. (Imagine listening to a story whispered
over the backyard fence by a trusted friend who looks over his
shoulder now and then while confiding secrets.) Does the technology
exist for such a trigger as Bell postulates? By the climax it doesn't
matter to the listener, who is having fun with interesting characters
(like Anastasia Korsakov) involved in a plot where bombs, sex,
Zeppelins, and a prison built over the site of a nuclear waste dump
figures prominently. (Brilliance Audio; 17 hours unabridged)
Next, Nelson DeMille's new novel THE GATE HOUSE is a sequel to The
Gold Coast (1990), and concerns a tax lawyer (turned amateur sleuth)
who returns to Long Island after a long absence, where his ex wife was
involved romantically with a human shark in the form of Mafia boss
Frank Bellarosa (before she killed him). (Note: you're supposed to
use a capital M in Mafia, perhaps because you might be whacked for
lack of respect otherwise.) Somehow Susan Sutter has escaped Mafia
wrath, while John Sutter, tired of all this thuggishness. takes up
residence in her gate house, and must now fend off Frank's son
Anthony, who also has designs on his ex wife. Should John whack Tony
before Tony whacks him and Susan in revenge? This is DeMille's most
predictable book, only tangentially a mystery or suspense. Its
strength lies in social commentary, character development, and the
sardonic wit of the protagonist. Classical music punctuates an elegant
production that showcases both the decadent lifestyles of the super
rich, and the talents of actor Christian Rummel, whose on-target
interpretation of characters and tone inspires the respect certain
other characters in the book merely demand. An interview with the
author is included on the CD version. (Hachette Audio; 22 hours
unabridged)
Turning to non-fiction, the new biography of Samuel de Champlain
(1567-1635) is CHAMPLAIN'S DREAM by David H. Fischer. Champlain was an
explorer, soldier, sailor, and a mapmaker before he became founder of
Quebec (called New France at the time). By no means a morally superior
role model, Champlain nonetheless prepared for war while dreaming of a
peaceful retreat in the New World. The book incorporates Fischer's
in-depth research into what it was like living among the Indian
Nations, who struggled to survive amid famines and rivalries near the
beginning of the 17th Century. As much an escape from our current
crises as is a suspense novel like TSAR, the book resonates with
insights into the mindset of men and women far removed from us in
time, culture, and philosophy. Theater and film actor Edward Herrmann
is a great choice for it, too, since he is also well known as a
non-fiction narrator for his evocative yet controlled pacing. The
go-to guy for many previous biographies, Herrmann would make a great
museum tour guide, as he has done in documentary films in the past.
The occasion for the book? The 400th anniversary of New France. (Simon
& Schuster Audio; 10 hours abridged)
In the decades before the 1959 Cuban revolution, the country was ruled
by a Mafia linked despot named Fulgencio Batista. For the Mafia, it
was a golden age of power, exploitation, drugs and whores. Free to
operate their casinos with impunity, mob bosses flocked to the island
to enjoy the Afro-Cuban jazz, mambo nightclubs, and backstage sex
shows. Once Frank Sinatra was interrupted from an orgy by an autograph
hound. Other American gangsters like Meyer Lansky and Santo
Trafficante hoped to make Havana their worldwide capital of
operations. But then Castro arrived on his caravan of triumph, and
began a systematic dismantling of the gaming industry, despite its
impact on the economy. Tables were thrown into the street and burned,
while the mob could do little but look on and count its losses. Their
attempts to assassinate Castro failed, and so consequently the glory
days faded before any grand vision for a worldwide crime retreat could
become reality. As read by narrator Mel Foster, who unflaggingly
maintains one's attention throughout, HAVANA NOCTURNE is a fascinating
tale by the author of Paddy Whacked and The Westies, T.J.
English. (Tantor Media; 13 hours unabridged)
Next, what is it about the brain that gets itself into a rut?
According to neurological research, the patterns we establish in daily
routines create problems for future recall of names, memories, and
information processing. In their book HOW TO KEEP THE BRAIN ALIVE, Dr.
Lawrence Katz and Manning Rubin describe neurobic exercises which can
do for the mind what aerobic exercises do for the body. On audio for
the first time, their book analyzes and describes how the brain works,
then summarizes what makes neurons decline or grow, according to
inputs received through the senses. Growth factors called
neurotrophins play a role in stimulating new connections, even in
aging brains, and so the key to producing these growth factors is to
present the brain with new experiences, and to do common activities in
new ways. This might include changing hands while eating or brushing
your teeth, closing your eyes and feeling your way around the house,
waking to different music, different smells. The trick is to force
change in all aspects of routine tasks in order to establish new
associations and connections, which in turn allows the mind to grow in
other ways. Turning off the TV and going outside for a walk in a new
neighborhood is also a suggestion here, which is excellent advice for
couch potatoes being brainwashed to eat more (so food industry
executives can no doubt retire to Tahiti.) As narrated by Manning
Rubin, this book, together with diet and physical exercise, might just
help prevent dementia in old age as well. (Highbridge Audio; 2 hours
abridged)
Finally, Warren Buffett has been hailed as one of the greatest
investors of all time. His stock picks are legendary. His
behind-the-scenes manipulation of corporate financial leaders,
together with his savvy for anticipating changes in commodities and
services, have made him a billionaire many times over. But who is
Buffett, really? Alice Schroeder attempts to reveal the truth in THE
SNOWBALL, whose title is taken from Buffett's idea of letting
investments accumulate growth over time until they begin to earn money
automatically and exponentially. What follows is a year by year
account of how Buffett grew from a neglected child, selling bubble
gum, to his cornering of world commodity sectors. Lessons learned
along the way are unveiled, although it is doubtful anyone could
repeat Buffett's experiences in today's world. His involvement with
companies from Goldman Sachs to Geico is covered, revealing a man
whose fear of speaking in public abated even as his notorious
Scroogesque stinginess continued into adulthood. Odd though, isn't it,
how tightwads transform themselves over time into the world's greatest
philanthropists? Perhaps it wasn't about the money all along, but
rather the game of acquiring the most marbles or bottle caps. The book
is narrated with aplomb by actor Richard McGonagle, with a forward
read by the author about how she gained access to her subject. (Random
House Audio; 10 hours abridged)
(These audiobooks may be rented from AudioAdvenutes.com. A longtime
judge in the Audie awards, Jonathan Lowe maintains the unusual author
website
JustSayNoWay.com)
Video:
Audiobook Adventures
Audiobooks are an imaginative alternative to television, and
healthier too!
Jonathan
Lowe at the Audie Awards
Lowe was a judge, sponsored by the Audio Publishers Association.
Narrator Barbara Rosenblat is on the left and narrator Lorna Raver is
on the right.
(Click photo
to enlarge.)
Audiobooks are a great way to pass the time during those
long (and often boring) work hours at the postal service. To find the latest audiobooks
of note check out Jonathan Lowe's Audio Books Review (left). Lowe
recently retired from the Postal Service after 22 years.
Geezer By Jonathan Lowe
NOW AVAILABLE AS AN EBOOK!
Postal:
Postmarked for Death By Jonathan Lowe
A rookie postal inspector hunts a terrorist bomber
in this suspense endorsed by Clive Cussler and
John Lutz, now in ebook format.
Awakening Storm
By Jonathan Lowe
Now available
in the new audiobook chip technology
from Audiofy.com, narrated by Barrett
Whitener for Blackstone Audio. Veronica
McCord attempts to wrest control of her son
from the influence of a greedy televangelist,
in a plot that culminates in a Miami hurricane.
USB portable flash drive plays on computer
or can be downloaded to iPod via iTunes.
Audiobook Links
Kitabe.com: We
provide a 10% discount to all postal employees when they type
"Postal Mag" in the referral section when they join our audio book
club.
TSAR
Audiobooks are a great way to pass the time during those
long (and often boring) work hours at the postal service. To find the latest audiobooks
of note check out Jonathan Lowe's Audio Books Review (left). Lowe
recently retired from the Postal Service after 22 years.
Geezer
Postal:
Postmarked for Death
Audiobook Links