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Someplace Like America: Tales from the New Great Depression Review

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Someplace Like America: Tales from the New Great Depression ReviewDefinitely one of the most important books I've ever read and a sobering one at that. It is one I wish all Americans would read, because it reveals the faces of struggling fellow citizens, the likes of which we haven't seen in these numbers since the Great Depression. "Someplace Like America" is like a real-life, modern-day version of the torment Steinbeck laid out in "The Grapes of Wrath" all those years ago, albeit with numerous stories in various places across America.
As Maharidge himself states, this is a journalistic effort, not a wonky policy book, but he deftly weaves in how various political/policy decisions over the years have resulted in the suffering of Americans regardless of class, age race, sex or region of the country. We are all vulnerable, now more than ever.
My only complaint with the book is that due to the structure, it didn't feel like it really flowed and felt "all of a piece" for a while, and that's probably because it builds on previous books/articles and then moves into the present day, so there isn't necessarily a strong continuum in places. It starts in the 1980s, jumps to the 90s and 00s, revisits some of the individuals and families Maharidge and Williamson encountered previously, and then proceeds forward to document more current struggles throughout America.
Regardless of my quibbles, I found this to be a most enjoyable read, even though the subject matter is heavy and hard to take at times. It is a remarkable piece of work, and a true modern-day classic.Someplace Like America: Tales from the New Great Depression OverviewIn Someplace Like America, writer Dale Maharidge and photographer Michael S. Williamson take us to the working-class heart of America, bringing to life--through shoe leather reporting, memoir, vivid stories, stunning photographs, and thoughtful analysis--the deepening crises of poverty and homelessness. The story begins in 1980, when the authors joined forces to cover the America being ignored by the mainstream media--people living on the margins and losing their jobs as a result of deindustrialization. Since then, Maharidge and Williamson have traveled more than half a million miles to investigate the state of the working class (winning a Pulitzer Prize in the process). In Someplace Like America, they follow the lives of several families over the thirty-year span to present an intimate and devastating portrait of workers going jobless. This brilliant and essential study--begun in the trickle-down Reagan years and culminating with the recent banking catastrophe--puts a human face on today's grim economic numbers. It also illuminates the courage and resolve with which the next generation faces the future.

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The Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable Review

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The Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable ReviewI'm always looking for a good chapter book to read with my twelve year old at night - one we both find interesting. This book definately hit the bill there. Two preteen twins (Coke and Pepsi) caught up in a secret government project with people out to kill them. The plot is exciting, there is a lot of amusement in the story as we learn of their bizzare names and their slightly eccentric parents. Very entertaining and unexpected story twists.
Here's my problem - I hope my twelve year old is responsible enough to see these are bad decisions - but several times the twins go with complete strangers who claim to be saving their lives - actually get in a car with them at one point. Next when they are told they are part of this secret government project - they are informed they can never tell anyone about it - even their parents - or their families lives may be threatened - OK big red flag - who wants their kid reading a book that says you have to keep secrets from your parents. I actually stopped right there to explain that you NEVER keep secrets from your parents (even if the supposed person says they will hurt them if you tell). You always need a parents judgement to help you make decisions when you are twelve. My kid said, "I know Mom" - but still it just gave me an uneasy feeling about the book in general.
So if you don't mind the message to kids that secrets and strangers are ok - then it is an entertaining read - but I would read it with your child and remind them that these are not good choices.The Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable Overview
In eight days, Coke and Pepsi McDonald are going to turn thirteen.

Before then, they'll jump off a cliff, get trapped in the locked basement of their burning school, chased cross-country by murderous lunatics, left for dead in the pit of a sand dune, forced to decipher mysterious coded messages, thrown into a giant vat of SPAM, and visit the world's largest . . . ball of twine!

There's more, but if we told you here, we'd have to kill you.

Megapopular author Dan Gutman brings on the excitement with an action-packed new series that's nothing short of dynamite. Join Coke and Pep on their quest to uncover just what it means to be part of The Genius Files . . . if you dare!

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Trigger City (Ray Dudgeon) Review

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Trigger City (Ray Dudgeon) ReviewHave you ever finished a novel but found you can't start another book because the one you've just finished won't leave you alone? TRIGGER CITY is one of those books. The plot begins as a quite satisfying detective story, but Chercover skillfully layers in threads of topical events and twists the plot into a deliciously complex thriller. Ray Dudgeon is not the same Ray we knew in Chercover's first novel (BIG CITY, BAD BLOOD). This sadder but wiser Ray is still plagued by physical injuries sustained in the first novel. But even more troubling for him is the self-doubt generated by those events. It's rare for authors to explore such emotionally complex issues with their protagonist and bring them to the page so realistically. On one level, it's a standard PI novel--stakeouts, car chases, witness interviews, and so on. But Chercover adds a dimension of realism that leaves most of the genre in the dust. While reading it, I kept one ear tuned to the news, expecting to hear updates on the story. It's that real, that powerful. Only his second time at bat, but Chercover smashes this one into the stratosphere.Trigger City (Ray Dudgeon) Overview

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Encyclopedia of Film Noir Review

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Encyclopedia of Film Noir ReviewThis encyclopedia of film noir is divided into two parts. Part 1 contains five lengthy essays and include: "Introduction: Readings on Film Noir," "The Hard-Boiled Influence," "Film Noir and the City," "McCarthyism, the House Committee on Un-American Activities, and the Caper Film," and "Film Noir Style." Part Two contains general entries on films, actors and directors. Each entry is generally one to two pages and covers both films and individuals from the classic era as well as the modern era. Recent films like "Memento," "Croupier" and "Blood Simple" are included. Film entries include full synopsis and includes spoilers. Some black and white film stills are included but not all are entries are illustrated. Entries on individuals do not include a photo. There are approximately 130 entries, not comprehensive, but what is contained here is quite excellent.Encyclopedia of Film Noir Overview

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A Bad Day for Scandal: A Crime Novel Review

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A Bad Day for Scandal: A Crime Novel ReviewA Bad Day for Scandal is Sophie Littlefield's third mystery featuring Prosper, Missouri's answer to... I want to say Clint Eastwood, but that's not right. Stella Hardesty is one tough lady. Don't let the sewing machine shop fool you; it's a cover. Her real calling is meting out justice and vengeance, often in equal parts. Ever since she emancipated herself--permanently--from her abusive husband, she's been helping out other ladies in the same boat.
Therefore, it really isn't that unusual when Stella's phone rings in the middle of a social gathering. Like so many professionals, she's on call 24/7. Priss Porter's timing couldn't be much worse, though. Stella was entertaining, among others, the one man she should be keeping her distance from, Sheriff "Goat" Jones, and for once, things seem to be moving forward between the two of them. But Priss is over at her brother's, in town from Kansas City, insisting that she needs to see Stella immediately.
It has been said that friends will help you move, and that really good friends will help you move bodies. Well, rest assured, Stella and Priss aren't THAT close. Stella wants nothing to do with the little problem decomposing in Priss's trunk. When Stella proves to be unbuyable, Priss moves on to blackmail to elicit her help. That doesn't work either. Unfortunately, before Stella can get a feel for how to handle Priss, both she and her brother turn up missing. The Sheriff is looking at Stella askance. And Stella and her associates again find themselves following a convoluted path in search of answers.
What I described above are the opening scenes of an enjoyable enough mystery, but unusually for the genre, it's not the plots that make this series. The mysteries are well-plotted, fast-paced, and complex enough that I've never come near to figuring out who done it on my own. Perhaps more impressively, Ms. Littlefield hasn't fallen back on the same structure or type of story, though the series' premise suggests she would or could. Nonetheless, each outing finds Stella in a different kettle of fish. Still, for me, these stories are all about character.
I've always been able to hear Stella's distinctive voice in my head, but it was delightful to finally hear it in audiobook form, read by the talented Barbara Rosenblat. Ms. Littlefield strikes a perfect balance between the light elements and the dark ones in her novels, and Ms. Rosenblat gets this balance just right, too. There's no denying that these books are exceedingly funny, but there's nothing cute about them. Ms. Rosenblat mines all the humor while still bringing every character realistically to life. It's worth noting that she does an unusually good job with the male characters. And while Stella is at the center of this universe, over the course of three novels, her world has been fully peopled with individuals that jump off the page. There's her sidekick, Chrissy; Todd, the teenager across the street; and the Green Hat Ladies--to name but a few.
I guess you could jump into this series with any of the books, but when reading such delicious characters, personally, I think you'd get more pleasure starting at the beginning and watching the relationship and character arcs develop. Both Littlefield and Hardesty seem to be improving with each tale. So far, I'm three for three with Sophie and Stella. I've read them on paper, on my Kindle, and now on audio. As far as I can tell, there's no wrong way to enjoy these novels.A Bad Day for Scandal: A Crime Novel OverviewWhen Prosper homegirl turned big-city businesswoman Priss Porter returns to town with a body in her trunk, she calls Stella Hardesty to dispose of it. Her uppity ways don't convince Stella to take the job, and Priss attempts to blackmail her with a snapshot of Stella doing what she does best: curing woman-beaters by the use of force. Stella refuses to cooperate and goes home, only to hear later that Priss and her brother, Liman, have gone missing after calling in a disturbance. Stella is implicated when Sheriff "Goat" Jones discovers the scarf she left behind at the house. He warns her to stay local but Stella and her partner, Chrissy Shaw, go looking for Priss in Kansas City, where they discover that she runs an unusual business. When Priss herself—along with two other bodies—turns up in a pond belonging to one of Stella's ex-clients, Stella must investigate a host of suspects, including a crooked but libidinous female judge, a coterie of jealous male escorts, and a Marxist ex-professor.A Bad Day for Scandal is the third in Sophie Littlefield's award-winning, critically acclaimed series. Written with passion, humor, and guts, this is a mystery to be savored.

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Moon Over Manifest Review

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Moon Over Manifest ReviewMoon Over Manifest begins with rough-and-tumble, Depression-era stock heroine, Abilene Tucker, arriving in her father's hometown of Manifest, Kansas. She's used to hopping trains, poor living conditions, a rough life and being a little rough around the edges. You know the type. Her father has taken a railroad job in Iowa, and claiming that the situation isn't proper for a young lady, has sent her to spend the summer with his old friend, bootlegger-turned-pastor, Shady Howard. Or, at least, her father says it is only for the summer...
Looking for clues to her father's past, Abilene instead stumbles instead on a little tin filled with some keepsakes and letters, piquing her interest in a couple of young men named Ned and Jinx, and a spy called "the Rattler."And this is where the story comes alive...Through the recollections of an old Gypsy fortune teller, Abilene learns about the lives of Jinx, Ned, and about the once-lively town of Manifest, Kansas. Vanderpool manages to effortlessly weave in the stories of Manifest in 1918, on the brink of the Great War, with the Depression-era Manifest of 1939. Sometimes, stories with multiple narratives can be frustrating -- just as you start to get into one story, the author switches to the other -- but Vanderpool balances both very well, never sinking to obvious cliff-hangers nor spending too much time in one "place."However, both places have their elements of excitement and mystery that keep you wanting to read about both. Best of all, both are full of some really great and memorable characters. This is one of those novels that is just chock full of people (there's even a handy character guide in the front of the book, but the characters are so vivid and real, you won't much need it) that really give the impression of, well, the life of a whole town.Meanwhile, in terms of historical fiction writing, Vanderpool couldn't have picked a more exciting couple of decades to write about. There's war, depression, labor issues, prohibition, poor race-relations, orphan trains, immigration, and Hoovervilles. All of it filtered through the very relatable character of Abilene Tucker, who is, admittedly, still something of a stock heroine. However, she'll seem fresh enough to the younger set. Overall, this is a fine novel that I really enjoyed reading, and it kept me interested enough to blow through it in less than 24-hours. Only time and a little perspective can really tell how a Newbery will do in the overall scheme of things, but I think that it is a fine choice, and congratulations to first-time author Clare Vanderpool, from whom I look forward to reading more.A book about a girl I think you could get a boy to read, best for ages 10-14.Moon Over Manifest Overview

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Jelly's Gold: A McKenzie Novel (Twin Cities P.I. Mac McKenzie Novels) Review

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Jelly's Gold: A McKenzie Novel (Twin Cities P.I. Mac McKenzie Novels) ReviewI am at a loss as to why this author does not get more press than he gets. I have read all of his novels and they contain everything a good mystery could possibly contain. In this novel, he gives us a delightful history of the Twin Cities along with a story that holds your focus until the end. There must be something his publisher or book stores could do to enlighten the public about this terrific author (no, I'm not a relative.)Jelly's Gold: A McKenzie Novel (Twin Cities P.I. Mac McKenzie Novels) Overview

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The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists Review

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The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists ReviewA brilliant, sad and moving account of life in Edwardian England for the working class "Philanthropists" struggling through poverty in order to make their employers rich. Though starving and wretched the majority of these working men react furiously to suggestions that their poverty is caused by their "masters" robbing them of the fruits of their labours. They are referred to as philanthropists due to their generosity of spirit and material wealth , gladly handing over all the benefits of the luxuries and necessaries of life which they help to create, to their greedy paymasters and employers. The solution to their problems is provided by the author as a Socialist, Cooperative Commonwealth of Nations under God, where the marvels of modern science and technology should be harnessed, owned by the people, and producing an abundance of the comforts of civilisation, not for one company's profit but for everyone's needs. An old lesson whose truths are as relevant today as they were when this masterpiece was written. A Socialist's bible if ever their was one.The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists Overview
ReadHowYouWant publishes a wide variety of best selling books in Large and Super Large fonts in partnership with leading publishers. EasyRead books are available in 11pt and 13pt. type. EasyRead Large books are available in 16pt, 16pt Bold, and 18pt Bold type. EasyRead Super Large books are available in 20pt. Bold and 24pt. Bold Type. You choose the format that is right for you.

This is Volume Volume 2 of 2-Volume Set.To purchase the complete set, you will need to order the other volumes separately: to find them, search for the following ISBNs: 9781425051877

A novel that touches the deep emotional chords within the reader. The narrative denunciates capitalism and relates the struggle of two workers who have set out to defeat their poverty. It is an indictment on religious authority and the elite that enslaves the majority. An engrossing and thought-provoking book that highlights the bright-side of Socialism.

To find more titles in your format, Search in Books using EasyRead and the size of the font that makes reading easier and more enjoyable for you.

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Three Friends and the Magic Tree Wand Review

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Three Friends and the Magic Tree Wand ReviewThis is a beautifully written children's book by Marty Bullis. Three Friends and the Magic Tree Wand is an ecologically minded adventure story demonstrating the effects of caring for the environment and trees in particular. In addition, the illustrations done by Terry Carl Stewart are phenomenal.Three Friends and the Magic Tree Wand OverviewMystery, danger, and intrigue begin when two kids and their dog unearth a crooked stick on a hilltop. Suddenly trees spring up in the middle of roads, driveways and cornfields. No one can explain their mysterious appearance. Ten-year-old Matty and her nine-year-old brother Ryker think there's something strange about a crooked stick their dog Amos dug up while the three were exploring. As they spend their spring break trying to unravel the mystery, the situation turns dangerous. A crazed farmer threatens them, their bicycles are stolen, someone secretly spies on them, and Amos is attacked. The children ride biplanes and horses, run for their lives from forest fires and explosions, and offer tearful confessions before the deadly conclusion to their investigation.

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Through the Grinder (Coffeehouse Mysteries, No. 2) Review

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Through the Grinder (Coffeehouse Mysteries, No. 2) ReviewAfter divorcing her husband Matteo, Clare took their daughter to New Jersey where they went suburban for a decade until Joy accepts a school in Manhattan. Clare eagerly agrees to a job offer by her former mother- in-law in the family owned business The Village Blend so that she can be near Joy. She relocates to a duplex above the store while her daughter and her former mother-in-law hope that is the first step in binging Clare and her ex-husband Matt together.
Clare is more interested in monitoring Joy's men rather than meeting any males for herself. During a social gala hosted above the Village Blend, Clare meets and falls in love with Bruce Bowman; he reciprocates her feelings. Clare's friend Detective Mike Quinn warns her to avoid Bruce because he is the prime suspect in the murders of three women that he knew whose deaths were disguised as suicides. Clare refuses to believe Bruce is capable of homicide and with the help of Matt sets out to affirm her belief.
THROUGH THE GRINDER is a fascinating mystery mostly because readers see the killer's point of view as he strikes at the victims. Though the logic why Bruce is a lead suspect seems thin, Quinn's jealousy forces him to rationalize his opinion. Though the tale takes a little time to introduce the cast once Clare takes Manhattan, readers gain an engrossing amateur sleuth serial killer that stars a brave, quirky heroine.
Harriet Klausner
Through the Grinder (Coffeehouse Mysteries, No. 2) OverviewBusiness is booming at Clare Cosi's Village Blend, until her female customers start to die. Lieutenant Quinn is convinced that someone has an axe to grind, and, unfortunately, his prime suspect is the new man in Clare's life.Now Clare will risk her heart--and her life--to follow the killer's trail to the bitter end.

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