10/31/2012

A Few Degrees from Hell: The 2003 Badwater Ultramarathon Review

A Few Degrees from Hell: The 2003 Badwater Ultramarathon
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Rather than a single runner's detailed review of the Badwater Ultra this is an awesome compilation of the thoughts and experiences of many of the event's participants (w/ added input from some crew members). I began the book vaguely aware of the Badwater Ultra. Halfway through I was ready to join a crew. By the time I finished this book I was thinking... "I wonder if..."
Then I went outside and ran (no, suffered) 10 miles in 85 degree heat and thought "FIFTY more degrees?! That is INSANE!!!"
If you are a runner you WILL love this book. If you are not a runner this book will take you inside the minds of some of the sport's most accomplished members. Whatever the case you will finish this book w/ a smile on your face and a brighter outlook on life because you'll know that human beings (including yourself) are capable of much more than we give ourselves credit for...

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The Badwater Ultramarathon is commonly referred to as 'the toughest footrace on the planet.'In 2003 defending champion Pam Reed, Dean Karnazes and 71 other runners took the ultimate challenge of running 135 miles in California from Badwater to the portals of Mount Whitney.Their journey would take them through the hostile environment of Death Valley...and subject them to temperatures ranking among the highest ever recorded on earth.Twenty-five runners tell of their adventures in arguably the absolute toughest of 'the toughest footrace on the planet'--the good, the bad and yes, the ugly--in this incredible and fascinating compilation.You are certain to gain a respect for the runners you will meet, and perhaps an even greater respect for the area known as Death Valley.The runners--who experienced heat exhaustion, dehydration, nausea, blisters, hallucinations and fatigue during the race--competed in temperatures literally 'a few degrees from hell.'

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The 360 Degree Leader Workbook: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization Review

The 360 Degree Leader Workbook: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization
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This is one of the best and most practical books that I've every read on leadership. It one of only a handful of books on leading up (your boss) and leading across (fellow employees). Most books are on leading down (those who report to the boss), but only a very small portion of any organization is in that position.

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In his nearly thirty years of teaching leadership, John Maxwell has encountered this question again and again: How do I apply leadership principles if I'm not the boss? In The 360 Degree Leader Workbook, Maxwell addresses that very question and takes the discussion even further. You don't have to be the main leader, asserts Maxwell, to make significant impact in your organization. Good leaders are not only capable of leading their followers but are also adept at leading their superiors and their peers.

Debunking myths and shedding light on the challenges, John Maxwell offers specific principles for Leading Down, Leading Up, and Leading Across. 360-Degree Leaders can lead effectively, regardless of their position in an organization. By applying Maxwell's principles, you will expand your influence and ultimately be a more valuable team member.


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Degree of Guilt Review

Degree of Guilt
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My first outing with Richard North Patterson, and still ranks as one of my favorite of the genre. Once you get into it, and I understand this great story isn't a locomotive with no brakes at the beginning...but BELIEVE ME, it DOES get there. Our characters are likeable, but not without their faults. Christopher Paget is called to defend his former 'girlfriend' and Mother to his son in a murder charge which has just a ton of evidence that SHOWS us that she actually DID it...but if you are a reader of legal-thrillers, you KNOW that what the author wants you to know about and what actually happens at the end of the book are two entirely different things, right? 'Degree of Guilt' is NO exception here. Everything ISN'T as it seems--at first. But even as new evidence is unearthed that helps the defendant, she STILL looks guilty. IS she? I'm gonna let you find out the answer for that one yourself. 'Degree of Guilt' has some of THE BEST courtroom scenes I've read to date. It's obvious that Mr. Patterson was an honest-to-goodness lawyer, and he uses his skills very well here. I'll warn you of a BIG bombshell that Mary reveals to Christopher that kinda took me by surprise, it doesn't affect the outcome of the trial, but let's just say it gives the story a different twist. Also, this novel is a great lead-in for Patterson's next FANTASTIC courtroom whodunnit: 'Eyes Of A Child' a partial sequel to this book, and in MY opinion even BETTER. Legal thrillers can be some of the most compelling books out there, because let's face it: NOTHING could be more dramatic than one person fighting for their life in a murder trial. Patterson truly IS one of the better writers of this particular genre out there and 'Degree of Guilt' is one of his very best books. VERY worthwhile.

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10/30/2012

Ten Degrees of Reckoning: A True Story of Survival Review

Ten Degrees of Reckoning: A True Story of Survival
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Hester Rumberg tells the remarkable story of the adventurous Sleavin family. This extraordinary book will appeal to a wide range of readers, those looking for suspense and mystery. This book will hold your attention to the last page. An absolute page turner and without question, Hester Rumberg, in my opinion, is a very talented story teller. Because of the subject matter, I wondered if it would be difficult to read, but it was impossible to put down.
Another thing I might add: I grew up in New Zealand where a portion of this story takes place. The author has captured the culture of my birth country exceedingly well, and added an informative element, even for me.

I would highly recommend this mesmerizing book.


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An international bestseller. A remarkable true story of one woman's courage. In 1993, Judith and Michael Sleavin and their two children set out to sail around the world. Three years into their incredible journey, a nearby freighter altered its course by a mere ten degrees-and everything changed... After forty-four hours in the icy water clinging to an overturned dinghy, her back broken and paralyzed below the waist, Judith miraculously survived, winding up in a small community on the New Zealand coast. Gripping, unbelievable yet true, Judith's story of courage, survival, and retribution is alternately heartrending and uplifting. It's also a story of unbreakable bonds, of shattering loss, and of one woman reborn through the strength of friendship and the profound love of strangers who became family.

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Third Degree: A Novel Review

Third Degree: A Novel
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Greg Iles latest novel, THIRD DEGREE, is a harrowing thriller that takes place over the course of an afternoon. Lauren Shields teaches a developmentally disabled class at the elementary school. Her husband Warren is a doctor. One morning she wakes up and finds Warren frantically searching the house for something. In fact, he's been searching all night. He says it has something to do with an IRS audit of his business. Lauren has problems of her own. She's pregnant, and the baby probably isn't Warren's. For the past several months, She's been having an affair with Danny McDavvitt, a war hero and a kind man who has marriage problems of his own. Danny wants to leave his wife for Lauren, but can't for fear that his wife will get custody of his autistic son. Warren's office is also under investigation for Medicare fraud, and Warren's partner, Kyle Auster is devious and amoral.
You throw the above beginnings of a plot into a a 12 hour period, and you get this novel. I glanced at a few reviews, and many negative reviewers seemed to dislike the story as not a traditional Iles novel. Iles is a great novelist and one of the few out there that constantly change genres. He started out with World War II novels, then moved onto standard thrillers. He wasn't afraid to try new things, like Footprints of God (a sci-fi look at the nature of religion) or Dead Sleep (a novel all Steven King fans would love). Iles has tried this before. His 24 Hours spanned a day. He's trying it again in this character driven thriller. If the entire novel is compressed into a day, then what keeps the pages turning? Iles introduces a desperate man in Warren and a confused wife in Lauren, thows in a couple of kids and then keeps adding characters who have parts to play in the drama. We miss out on character development, although Iles does add just enough backstory to let us know what is going on.
I liked this book because I like Iles, and I trust that he knows what he is doing even as he tries to tell a different type of story. The book has some weaknesses as well. Telling a story over a 12 hour period means you lose a lot of characterization. The decision to cheat on your spouse and potentially destroy a marriage is not one entered into lightly, yet the relationship between Lauren and Warren gets neglected in the format of the novel. Why did she cheat? Why did she feel the need to cheat. What did she ever see in Warren in the first place.
Don't worry, by the end of the novel, Iles has resolved most plot threads and even offered and explanation for Warren's sudden erratic behavior. He also tries to explore some themes such as marriage, family and forgiveness, but never really offers any answers. By reading the reviews, it is obvious some fans were disappointed in Iles' latest effort. Not me. I found it quick and easy to read, and highly suspensful. The only negative is that there weren't really any sympathetic characters to root for. They weren't all truly evil, but when your heroine is an adulterer who refuses to tell her husband who she is sleeping with, there isn't much room for sympathy. Overall, I recommend to all Iles and thriller fans. Just know you are getting something different, and be thankful that Iles is one of the best authors around and very capable of pulling it off.


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The 34th Degree: A Thriller Review

The 34th Degree: A Thriller
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During the Second World War, Hitler and his cronies searched for an ancient secret text because it contained the formula for creating Greek Fire. The original formula came from Atlantis but was secretly encoded in one of Saint Paul's testaments to the Thessalonians back in New Testament times.
With Greek Fire the Nazis could have won the war. Its unique thermodynamic formula would have allowed Hitler's regime to light afire any/all water that touched allied harbors. All ships, men, and harbor cities they could have turned into a holocaustic conflagration. But this text was kept hidden by monks deep within a secret monastery high atop one of the mysterious Meteora mountains in Greece.
Now Pentagon officials want Sam Deker to locate this text to keep it from falling into terrorist hands because if misused, it could possibly bring about an apocalyptic event ending human life on our planet. Because of the mental torture he survived while serving in the Israeli Army, Sam Deker, who now lives in the United States, is chosen by the Pentagon to help find this lost biblical document because of what he had endured
According to The 34th Degree, in order to find the formulaic text, Deker must travel back in time to infiltrate the Nazi regime where he will use the same clues they used when seeking the text. This is a story about backward time travel. Author Thomas Greanias has devised a clever method of studying the German mind during the last two years of World War Two.
Found preserved for posterity is the brain of Hitler's top henchman, SS General Ludwig von Berg. By systematically cutting through his brain tissue with almost microscopically thin slices, information contained on those slices will be fed into Sam Deker's brain and reassembled. He will be able to analyze that past data and rethink in mente the ideas of the dead Nazis who had allegedly located the doctrine, but not in time to perfect it and use its power.
For readers who like thrillers, this could be the book for you. But you will have to place aside any sense of reality considering all the bizarre elements assembled to make this story work. The tale includes: Atlantis, ancient Jericho, an encoded letter of Saint Paul, an atomic bomb, the Nazis, Masonic symbols, Greek Fire, brain information transference, secret texts, secret monastery, doomed submarines, text predicting the demise of the world.
Needless to say, I did not find the book exciting because its characters are far too unreal. The first few pages are crammed with too much information needed to explain the predicament the Pentagon is in. It seemed to rush through an explanation of what Deker was up against just so it could get to the real story in 1943-45.
Within a very few lines, Sam Deker accepted his fate and readily climbed into the electronic apparatus that would insert probes deep into his brain so that information transfer could begin. Any concern for life or death at the hands of this experiment Deker merely brushed off.
All in all, as much as I like thriller stories, The 34th Degree was 34 degrees too far into the realm of the outlandish. Although I think it a major feat to include so much in a fictional undertaking, perhaps there is a point beyond which any sense of belief fades away in favor of the preposterous.
Other Interesting Reading:
Shadow Flight
Healing Charles


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An ancient text. A world at war. The end of history. Prepare to be initiated into The 34th Degree.From New York Times bestselling author Thomas Greanias comes an all-new, reality-altering epic adventure featuring counter-terrorism agent Sam Deker from The Atlantis Revelation and The Promised War. 1943. The supernatural alchemy for the ultimate weapon, encoded in an ancient biblical text, has fallen into the hands of the most ruthless secret society known to man—the Nazi SS. Present Day. Dishonorably discharged from the armed forces after the events of The Promised War, Sam Deker is trying to build a new life in Los Angeles. But nightmares of the past continue to haunt his present, and Deker discovers that the unusual lightwave-induced torture he barely survived has changed him. The Pentagon, however, believes that change makes him the only one who can endure their top-secret neuro-simulation program known as the 34th Degree. The stunning technological breakthrough uses the sliced brain tissues of dead terrorists to enter their memories and glean priceless intel. Now Americans want to use the preserved brain tissue of SS General Ludwig von Berg, the legendary "Baron of the Black Order," to send Deker back to 1943. Deker's mission is to discover the fate of the lost biblical text and steal its formulas before his counterparts in the Alignment, a 21st-century successor to the SS, beat the U.S. to it. The text not only spells out the end of the world, but the supernatural alchemy for Greek Fire, a thermodynamic technology that the ancient Greeks believed to have come from Atlantis and that the Americans now believe threatens the Earth. Ultimately, Deker discovers that the past, present and future are not what they seem, as his path leads to a shattering secret that will change everything he knows about the universe.

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Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot Review

Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot
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This revised and slightly expanded version of two long sadly out-of-print books ("78 Degrees of Wisdom: Major Arcana" and "78 Degrees of Wisdom: Minor Arcana") is a welcome addition to any serious Tarot reader's library.
Although I wouldn't normally recommend this book for the Tarot beginner, I'd recommend it highly to serious students of Tarot wanting to know more about the many different meanings of Tarot cards. Some beginners might find Pollack's usages of the definitions of cards to be more than the superficial ones.
Going far beyond the "This one covers you" school, Pollack gives many different ways to interpret the meanings of Tarot cards, both from a spiritual viewpoint ("What does this card mean to you?") and a metaphysical viewpoint ("What does this card mean to the person you're reading for?"). It also allows for meditation and self-study of Tarot cards.
Although set up like a standard Tarot book, with chapters covering the Major Arcana, the Minor Arcana, and some readings, (including a sample reading or two) Pollack's definitions of the cards goes far beyond the ordinary superficial "Death means something in your life is going through a major change - you are about to stop one thing and start doing another." Each card has a picture - many from the Rider-Waite deck that most Tarot card readers start with, but some from other decks that you may not have seen. Each card has numerous definitions - and even some examples of what that card might mean when in certain placements in a Tarot card reading, both regular and reversed.
I've no other books in my Tarot library that are more heavily thumbed than my old copies of the two "78 Degrees" books, and I was very glad that Pollack has found a publisher willing to not only reprint them, but allow her to revise them and include both books in one volume. Highly recommended for serious students of Tarot.

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A top tarotist's secrets to personal growth, one card at a time. The two volumes of Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom have inspired a whole generation of tarot students. It has often been described by readers, booksellers, and teachers as the "Bible of tarot readers." It is also often cited as one of the landmark books in modern tarot, and it helped to launch the "Tarot Renaissance" of the 1980s. The two texts-one for The Major Arcana and one for The Minor Arcana--appear together in this volume, which is a reissue of the 1998 edition first published by Thorsons. Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom draws on mythology and esoteric traditions and delves deeply into the symbolism and ideas of each card. It also gives the cards a modern psychological slant based on the pictures rather than a system of occult symbolism. This endlessly useful reference tool provides a concise history of tarot, introduces common spreads, and is a clear and readable book for both the beginning and advanced tarot student.

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