Do Hard Things

Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations
A growing movement of young people is rebelling against the low expectations of today's culture by choosing to "do hard things" for the glory of God. And Alex and Brett Harris are leading the charge.

Do Hard Things is the Harris twins' revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential.

Combating the idea of adolescence as a vacation from responsibility, the authors weave together biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life. Then they map out five powerful ways teens can respond for personal and social change.

Written by teens for teens, Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action. This rallying cry from the heart of an already-happening teen revolution challenges a generation to lay claim to a brighter future, starting today.

Climate Confusion

Climate Confusion: How Global Warming Hysteria Leads to Bad Science, Pandering Politicians and Misguided Policies that Hurt the Poor by Roy Spencer is a breath of fresh wind. Written by a highly qualified NASA scientist, Climate Confusion examines the current evidence about global warming and the debate surrounding it.

Well written for a mass audience and expertly researched and documented, Climate Confusion should be read by all sides of the climate debate. One thing that everyone should note is that their is not massive agreement among the scientific community about global warming. Spencers book is but one voice among many that cries out that we are all being fed a bill of goods by the doom and gloom crowd. He is to congratulated on work well done.

If you listen to the media, you would think that man-made environmental catastrophe was about to engulf the world and imperil civilization. From Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth to nightly jeremiads about CO2 emissions and carbon footprints, we are bombarded around the clock with alarmist reports that disasterous global warming is on the rise and that it's our fault. In Climate Confusion, noted climatologist Roy Spencer shows that fears about global warming are vastly exaggerated and are driven by politics, not truth. He shows that a global superstorm has already arrived-but it is a storm of hype and hysteria. Climate Confusion is a ground-breaking book that combines impeccable scientific authority with great wit and literary panache to expose the hysteria surrounding the myths of global warming and climate change. Spencer shows that the earth is far more resilient than exopessimists pretend and that increasing wealth and technology ingenuity, far from being the enemies of the environment, are the only means we possess to solve environmental problems as they arise.

Sacred Hunger

Good writers can "spin a good yarn" from the point of view of one, perhaps two or three, characters. The better writers (in my opinion) are good at getting into the minds of several of their own diverse creations. The very best writers must do that and more; they must be masterminds, able to weave these separate tales into a whole rope to hang their realized universe upon. Barry Unsworth has achieved mastermind status here in Sacred Hunger.

Sacred Hunger is a story that explores 17th Century Britain's quest to increase its empire through financial means (though most of us are more familiar with Britain's wartime strategies of that period). Through the eyes of men from all walks of life, we see the birthing, launch and journey of a merchant ship bound for the slave trade in Africa. Individual human dramas course through the tale: the merchant Kemp who is pinning his last hopes upon the profits from this voyage; his son Erasmus, whose future as an upwardly mobile husband-to-be depends on a perfect reputation; members of the crew who are kidnapped or tricked into signing on; a captain who secretly barters human blood for safe passage with unknown deities; and the ship's doctor, Matthew Paris, for whom this posting is a strange penance for his sins past.

Matthew Paris slowly develops as the sympathetic underdog, observing and participating in the slave trade with steadily growing sense of conviction and dread. I believe he is Unsworth's archetype of the best of our civilized Western world, with all of his intelligence and compassion. Erasmus Kemp is Paris' counter, amoral and ruthless once his youthful hopes for romance have begun to sour. We follow into the turnings of their minds most often throughout this tale, and it is through these two that we glimpse Unsworth's best insights into the Great Question of human nature that the author is exploring, namely: would mankind, if shed of the evils of modern civilization and living in Paradise, be able to abide together peacefully?

The Volumetrics Eating Plan

Watch for flying pigs: here's a weight-loss plan that's sensible and simple. And for those of you who can only think of bacon when the word "pig" is mentioned, prepare to go hog wild: the Volumetrics plan is designed to let you indulge in your favorite goodies every now and then, so you're much more likely to stick to the program. Developed by a nutritionist who has worked with the National Institutes of Health, the Volumetrics plan focuses on foods that are low in "energy density." In other words, fruits, vegetables, and soups—all high in water content—are low in energy density, and therefore allowed in greater quantities. These foods tend to be more filling, so you eat less—and that's how easy weight loss can result. Author Barbara Rolls includes forms for charting one's daily food intake and weight-loss progress, as well as dozens of tempting recipes for the likes of Risotto Primavera and Chicken Fajita Pizza. After years of watching friends remove the buns from their hamburgers and banish croutons from their salads, it's nice to see common sense making a comeback.

The beauty of "The Volumetrics Eating Plan" is you learn how to incorporate all the foods you love like chocolate, cheese, pizza etc volumetrically so you can eat them and lose weight!
She also includes several weeks of menu plans. These are simple to understand with easy to find ingredients. One drawback is that a whole weeks worth of menus are on one page so its a bit hard to read. Other than the weekly menu plans which are squished on a page, the rest of the book is generously laid out with easy to read text and lots of full color photographs.

The one weak area in the book is the lack of success stories. Though Dr. Rolls shares a few letters she has received from clients, I would like to have seen more letters and some before and after photographs.

Overall, the book is excellent and clearly explains how you can have your cake and lose weight too!

John Adams

Although it is not his best book, McCullough largely (not to say "hugely," a sloppy modifier for which he has a repetitive weakness) delivers on the high expectations for his thick biography of the Braintree Sage. His research is good and he has skillfully employed the two best aspects of John Adams' life in his account: Adams' own voluminous, revealing writings and his marriage to the irresistible Abigail. His accounts of Adams' finest hours--the creation of the Declaration of Independence and his refusal to declare war against France in 1798--are dramatically structured and emotionally moving.
The challenge of writing a popular biography is considerable, but it should not be met at the expense of ignoring the intellectual dimension of one's subject or of scanting the extensive recent scholarship dealing with the person you're writing about. As with H. W. Brands's THE FIRST AMERICAN, on Benjamin Franklin, McCullough provides the joys and virtues of a good story but does almost nothing to explain why that story of a great life matters beyond its sheer entertainment value.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that no fan will make it to the end unscathed. Luckily, Rowling has prepped loyal readers for the end of her series by doling out increasingly dark and dangerous tales of magic and mystery, shot through with lessons about honor and contempt, love and loss, and right and wrong. Fear not, you will find no spoilers in our review--to tell the plot would ruin the journey, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is an odyssey the likes of which Rowling's fans have not yet seen, and are not likely to forget. But we would be remiss if we did not offer one small suggestion before you embark on your final adventure with Harry--bring plenty of tissues.

The heart of Book 7 is a hero's mission--not just in Harry's quest for the Horcruxes, but in his journey from boy to man--and Harry faces more danger than that found in all six books combined, from the direct threat of the Death Eaters and you-know-who, to the subtle perils of losing faith in himself. Attentive readers would do well to remember Dumbledore's warning about making the choice between "what is right and what is easy," and know that Rowling applies the same difficult principle to the conclusion of her series. While fans will find the answers to hotly speculated questions about Dumbledore, Snape, and you-know-who, it is a testament to Rowling's skill as a storyteller that even the most astute and careful reader will be taken by surprise.

A spectacular finish to a phenomenal series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a bittersweet read for fans. The journey is hard, filled with events both tragic and triumphant, the battlefield littered with the bodies of the dearest and despised, but the final chapter is as brilliant and blinding as a phoenix's flame, and fans and skeptics alike will emerge from the confines of the story with full but heavy hearts, giddy and grateful for the experience.

Human Smoke

Bestselling author Nicholson Baker, recognized as one of the most dexterous and talented writers in America today, has created a compelling work of nonfiction bound to provoke discussion and controversy -- a wide-ranging, astonishingly fresh perspective on the political and social landscape that gave rise to World War II.

Human Smoke delivers a closely textured, deeply moving indictment of the treasured myths that have romanticized much of the 1930s and '40s. Incorporating meticulous research and well-documented sources -- including newspaper and magazine articles, radio speeches, memoirs, and diaries -- the book juxtaposes hundreds of interrelated moments of decision, brutality, suffering, and mercy. Vivid glimpses of political leaders and their dissenters illuminate and examine the gradual, horrifying advance toward overt global war and Holocaust.

Praised by critics and readers alike for his exquisitely observant eye and deft, inimitable prose, Baker has assembled a narrative within Human Smoke that unfolds gracefully, tragically, and persuasively. This is an unforgettable book that makes a profound impact on our perceptions of historical events and mourns the unthinkable loss humanity has borne at its own hand.