Minnette Walters - Fox Evil

Book Description

Walters (The Ice House; The Sculptress; Acid Row) is considered by many to be the preeminent crime novelist writing in England today. This psychological thriller, her ninth novel, should satisfy both aficionados of the traditional English cozy and readers who prefer mysteries with a grimmer edge. Walters's dark drama unfolds in the tiny Dorset village of Shenstead, where Col. James Lockyer-Fox's wife, Ailsa, dressed only in flimsy nightclothes and boots, has been found dead on the terrace of Shenstead Manor. A coroner's jury declares James not guilty, but a telephone harassment campaign by unknown persons accuses him not only of the murder but other heinous crimes as well. This unrelenting pressure drives the colonel into a deep and debilitating depression. London solicitor Mark Ankerton steps in to prove his friend James innocent and to clear up the question of just what Ailsa was doing locked out of the house on a freezing night in her underwear and Wellies. His investigation leads him to a nearby group of Travelers-modern-day gypsies who roam the countryside in converted buses-who are squatting on unclaimed land, attempting to seize the property. The Travelers are led by the monstrously evil Fox, whose own agenda is much more complicated than a simple desire for free real estate. Award winner Walters rounds out her novel with several subplots, including confrontations between fox hunters and hunt saboteurs and other small scandals of rural life, all tied in the end to the resolution of the story. The writer's many fans will thoroughly enjoy this hefty, stand-alone mystery, but psychological thriller readers who are more interested in thrills than psychology may find the going a bit too slow and the eventual denouement too complicated by half.

Donna Leon - Quietly in Their Sleep

Book Description

Donna Leon’s mastery of plot, her understanding of Venetian manners and mores, and above all her philosophical, unfailingly decent protagonist have made the Commissario Brunetti mysteries bestsellers around the world, including an ever-growing American audience. In The Death of Faith, Brunetti comes to the aid of a young nursing sister who is leaving her convent following the unexpected death of five patients. At first Brunetti’s inquiries reveal nothing amiss, and he wonders whether the nun is simply creating a smoke screen to justify abandoning her vocation. But perhaps she has stumbled onto something very real and very sinister—something that puts her life in imminent danger.

Vikram Chandra - Sacred Games

Book Description
Sacred Games is a novel as big, ambitious, multi-layered, contradictory, funny, sad, scary, violent, tender, complex, and irresistible as India itself. Steep yourself in this story, enjoy the delicious masala Chandra has created, and you will have an idea of how the country manages to hang together despite age-old hatreds, hundreds of dialects, different religious practices, the caste system, and corruption everywhere. The Game keeps it afloat.

There are more than a half-dozen subplots to be enjoyed, but the main events take place between Inspector Sartaj Singh, a Sikh member of the Mumbai police force, and Ganesh Gaitonde, the most wanted gangster in India. It is no accident that Ganesh is named for the Hindu god of success, the elephant god much revered by Hindus everywhere. By the world's standards he has made a huge success of his life: he has everything he wants. But soon after the novel begins he is holed up in a bomb shelter from which there is no escape, and Sartaj is right outside the door. Ganesh and Sartaj trade barbs, discuss the meaning of good and evil, hold desultory conversations alternating with heated exchanges, and, finally, Singh bulldozes the building to the ground. He finds Ganesh dead of a gunshot wound, and an unknown woman dead in the bunker along with him.

How did it come to this? Of course, Singh has wanted to capture this prize for years, but why now and why in this way? The chapters that follow tell both their stories, but especially chronicle Gaitonde's rise to power. He is a clever devil, to be sure, and his tales are as captivating as those of Scheherezade. Like her he spins them out one by one and often saves part of the story for the reader--or Sartaj--to figure out. He is involved in every racket in India, corrupt to the core, but even he is afraid of Swami Shridlar Shukla, his Hindu guru and adviser. In the story Gaitonde shares with Singh and countless other characters, Vikram Chandra has written a fabulous tale of treachery, a thriller, and a tour of the mean streets of India, complete with street slang

My Own Book Fund

Over the past year, we've been looking for a way to get more involved in a community project that was both meaningful and fit in with our busy schedule. We've finally found something that we can not only do together, but are totally enthralled with - My Own Book Fund The program was designed to foster reading among kids who don't have access to their own books. This new initiative funds the purchase of books for third grade kids in Manhattan and the South Bronx. Volunteers are assigned to identified schools and meet the third grade students on three different occasions over a period of about six weeks. The first visit is to introduce the program and talk about book ownership and the joy of reading. The second meeting takes place at a local Barnes & Noble store where each child gets to purchase $50 worth of books. About two weeks later, there's a return visit to the classroom to hear reactions of the children about the experience and the books that they purchased. The program is funded primarily by its founder, Burt Freeman, who had the original idea and currently serves approximately 30 schools.

Before we were assigned our "own" school, we shadowed an experienced couple at a school in Mott Haven in the south Bronx. This past week we completed our final visit and are hooked. Seeing 18-25 3rd grade students let loose in a Barnes & Noble is quite an experience. Both Chris and I love books and are really excited about getting these kids started. Watching an intense 8 or 9 year old's eyes open wide as they look at the huge selection is an incredible experience. Deciding between "Captain Underpants" or "Junie B. Jones" and a biography of Rosa Parks or Mohamed Ali can be tough!

Chris really has a way with the kids. Watching her get them organized and talking about their experiences was a revelation! The other couple called her the model for all the volunteers. They just called me Paul.

When we went back to the school to debrief the kids it was really exciting. Each class was unique, ranging from hyper-articulate and involved to shy and struggling to read simple picture books. It was clear that the teachers set the tone and had an impact in the kind of experience the class had. We heard so many great stories a chuckled over some of the 'creative' thank you notes that we received from the kids. Who could not love a note that starts with....."you are so giving, you break my heart with your kindnes...its an oner for you to come to my house for chrtmes..just kiding, I'm being sarkastik.. but if you will come to my house, my address is......."

Steve Coll - Ghost Wars

Must reading for anyone who has any interest in how these things developed. Offers triking insights into how Bin Laden developed into who he is and how we missed opportunities to stop him. Reletively fair and well balanced. Not a hatchet job.

Book description -


Steve Coll's Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 offers revealing details of the CIA's involvement in the evolution of the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the years before the September 11 attacks. From the beginning, Coll shows how the CIA's on-again, off-again engagement with Afghanistan after the end of the Soviet war left officials at Langley with inadequate resources and intelligence to appreciate the emerging power of the Taliban. He also demonstrates how Afghanistan became a deadly playing field for international politics where Soviet, Pakistani, and U.S. agents armed and trained a succession of warring factions. At the same time, the book, though opinionated, is not solely a critique of the agency. Coll balances accounts of CIA failures with the success stories, like the capture of Mir Amal Kasi. Coll, managing editor for the Washington Post, covered Afghanistan from 1989 to 1992. He demonstrates unprecedented access to records of White House meetings and to formerly classified material, and his command of Saudi, Pakistani, and Afghani politics is impressive. He also provides a seeming insider's perspective on personalities like George Tenet, William Casey, and anti-terrorism czar, Richard Clarke ("who seemed to wield enormous power precisely because hardly anyone knew who he was or what exactly he did for a living"). Coll manages to weave his research into a narrative that sometimes has the feel of a Tom Clancy novel yet never crosses into excess. While comprehensive, Coll's book may be hard going for those looking for a direct account of the events leading to the 9-11 attacks. The CIA's 1998 engagement with bin Laden as a target for capture begins a full two-thirds of the way into Ghost Wars, only after a lengthy march through developments during the Carter, Reagan, and early Clinton Presidencies. But this is not a critique of Coll's efforts; just a warning that some stamina is required to keep up. Ghost Wars is a complex study of intelligence operations and an invaluable resource for those seeking a nuanced understanding of how a small band of extremists rose to inflict incalculable damage on American soil.

Robert Strassler - The Landmark Herodotus

Book Description:

From the editor of the widely praised The Landmark Thucydides, a new Landmark Edition of The Histories by Herodotus, the greatest classical work of history ever written.Herodotus was a Greek historian living in Ionia during the fifth century BCE. He traveled extensively through the lands of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea and collected stories, and then recounted his experiences with the varied people and cultures he encountered. Cicero called him “the father of history,” and his only work, The Histories, is considered the first true piece of historical writing in Western literature. With lucid prose that harks back to the time of oral tradition, Herodotus set a standard for narrative nonfiction that continues to this day.In The Histories, Herodotus chronicles the rise of the Persian Empire and its dramatic war with the Greek city-states. Within that story he includes rich veins of anthropology, ethnography, geology, and geography, pioneering these fields of study, and explores such universal themes as the nature of freedom, the role of religion, the human costs of war, and the dangers of absolute power. Ten years in the making, The Landmark Herodotus gives us a new, dazzling translation by Andrea L. Purvis that makes this remarkable work of literature more accessible than ever before. Illustrated, annotated, and filled with maps, this edition also includes an introduction by Rosalind Thomas and twenty-one appendices written by scholars at the top of their fields, covering such topics as Athenian government, Egypt, Scythia, Persian arms and tactics, the Spartan state, oracles, religion, tyranny, and womenFrom the editor of the widely praised The Landmark Thucydides, a new Landmark Edition of The Histories by Herodotus, the greatest classical work of history ever written.

Herodotus was a Greek historian living in Ionia during the fifth century BCE. He traveled extensively through the lands of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea and collected stories, and then recounted his experiences with the varied people and cultures he encountered. Cicero called him “the father of history,” and his only work, The Histories, is considered the first true piece of historical writing in Western literature. With lucid prose that harks back to the time of oral tradition, Herodotus set a standard for narrative nonfiction that continues to this day.

In The Histories, Herodotus chronicles the rise of the Persian Empire and its dramatic war with the Greek city-states. Within that story he includes rich veins of anthropology, ethnography, geology, and geography, pioneering these fields of study, and explores such universal themes as the nature of freedom, the role of religion, the human costs of war, and the dangers of absolute power.

Ten years in the making, The Landmark Herodotus gives us a new, dazzling translation by Andrea L. Purvis that makes this remarkable work of literature more accessible than ever before. Illustrated, annotated, and filled with maps, this edition also includes an introduction by Rosalind Thomas and twenty-one appendices written by scholars at the top of their fields, covering such topics as Athenian government, Egypt, Scythia, Persian arms and tactics, the Spartan state, oracles, religion, tyranny, and women

David Baldacci - Stone Cold

Book Description

The modern-day paladins of the Camel Club are back in their third exciting adventure (after 2006's The Collectors). Justice-seekers Milton, Caleb, Reuben and honorary member Alex Ford, a Secret Service agent, are led by feisty Oliver Stone, aka former CIA assassin John Carr. Their associate, Annabelle Conroy, is a slick con artist on the run after stealing $40 million from lunatic casino owner Jerry Bagger, who killed her mother. Oliver's CIA past distracts him from Annabelle's cause: his old unit, Triple 6, was responsible for the death of Raymond Solomon, branded a traitor during the Cold War, and now Solomon's son, DHS security expert Harry Finn, is picking off Triple 6 members. Oliver could be next if Carter Gray, his former boss, reveals that John Carr isn't really dead. Gripping, chilling and full of surprises, Baldacci's latest reveals the anarchy that lurks under the slick facade of corrupted governments.

Lawrence Bergreen - Marco Polo

Book Description

Even in his own day, the famed 13th-century travel writer Marco Polo was mocked as a purveyor of tall tales—gem-encrusted clothes, nude temple dancing girls, screaming tarantulas—in his narrative of his journey to the Chinese court of the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan. In this engrossing biography, Bergreen (James Agee: A Life), while allowing that mere facts... were never enough for Marco, finds him a roughly accurate and perceptive witness (aside from the romantic embellishments and outright fabrications concocted with his collaborator Rustichello of Pisa) who painted an influential and unusually sympathetic portrait of the much-feared Mongols. Bergreen follows Polo's disjointed commentary on everything from Chinese tax policy to asbestos manufacturing, crocodile hunting and Asian sexual mores—Polo was especially taken with the practice of sharing one's wife with passing travelers—while deftly glossing it with scholarship. Less convincing is Bergreen's attempt to add depth to Polo's lurid taste and over-heated imagination by portraying him as both a prophet of globalization and a pilgrim and explorer of the spirit. Polo's spiritual trek didn't take him very far, since he ended his days back in Venice as a greedy, litigious merchant. Still, the result is a long, strange, illuminating trip. 16 pages of photos, 3 maps. (Oct. 25)

Alta - in the Village

We haven't been writing much since we came back from France. No real reason, we just seem to periodically fall into a funk--maybe a little writer's block! But, last night we went to a new restaurant that had an interesting menu that focused on "small dishes",

We have never been fans of Tapas. We enjoyed it in Spain when we were at bars that offered a wide variety in conjunction with drinks or wine--it was certainly an improvement over nuts, fried calamari and chicken fingers; but as a whole meal it didn't appeal to me.

We tried this place because Chris was at a fundraiser for "Just Food" in the Village and we couldn't get anything else at the last minute. It turned out to be a lucky choice.

The restaurant is on 10th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues in a delightful space with a fireplace, a really nice bar and a small dining room with exra seating on the balcony that looks down on the main room. The spots up there were very romantic and quite private compared with the main room which was packed but had a nice buzz. The wait friendly staff is informative and well versed in the menu, suggesting we just start with a few dishes. This is a really smart idea, because things come out quite quickly given that the menu is all "small dishes". The price range is from $6 to $14 with most items in the range of $9 to $11. They had a good wine list which was reasonably priced.

As you can see from the list we didn't limit our selves to just 3 or 4 dishes. Several of the dishes were quite wonderful; the Crispy Brussels Sprouts outstanding and a favourite with both of us! Beyond that, each of us favored different things. Chris the Mushrooms, Fried Goat Cheese and Pork Ribs; me the Calamari and the Cauliflower. There was only one dish we really didn't like, the Potato Gratin.

Lamb Meatballs spiced butternut squash foam, toasted sesame seeds and lebne

Crispy Brussels Sprouts fuji apples, crème fraiche, pistachio nuts

Caramelized Cauliflower manila clams, chorizo, golden raisins

Royal Trumpet Mushrooms sauteed with garlic and thyme, sea salt and fresh lemon

Marinated Bella di Cerignola moroccan cured and arbequina olives

Wok Seared Baby Calamari fideos vermicelli, chinese sausage and cherry tomatoes

Paprika-potato Gratin oloroso carmelized onions, piquillo, manchego

Fried Goat Cheese with lavender infused honey

Danish Pork Ribs roasted with kecap manis & coriander

For wine we had a nice Cotes de Nuits-Villages, (Denis Bachelet 2004).

The wine must have been good because we then shared a dessert, a wonderful Bananas with a Crepe (it reminded me of that Mid-West favorite Bananas Foster).

Alta

64 West 10th Street

(bet 5th & 6th Aves)

212-505-7777

Robert Harris - The Ghost

Book description:

Displaying enviable versatility, Harris, who first achieved acclaim with his alternative history, Fatherland, and who more recently showed his mastery of the historical novel in Pompeii, hits one out of the park with this dark paranoid thriller. Former British prime minister Adam Lang (clearly modelled on Tony Blair) is up against a firm deadline to submit his memoirs to his publisher, and the project is dangerously derailed when his aide and collaborator, Michael McAra, perishes in a ferry accident off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. To salvage the book, a professional ghostwriter is hired to whip the manuscript into shape, but the unnamed writer soon finds that separating truth from fiction in Lang’s recollections a challenge. The stakes rise when Lang is accused of war crimes for authorizing the abduction of suspected al-Qaeda terrorists in Pakistan, who then ended up in the CIA’s merciless hands. As the new writer probes deeper, he uncovers evidence that his predecessor’s death may have been a homicide. Harris nicely leavens his cynical tale with gallows humor, and even readers who anticipate the plot’s final twist will admire the author’s artistry in creating an intelligent page-turner that tackles serious issues.

Howard Dully

Book description:

At age 12, in 1960, Dully received a transorbital or ice pick lobotomy from Dr. Walter Freeman, who invented the procedure, making Dully an unfortunate statistic in medical history—the youngest of the more than 10,000 patients who Freeman lobotomized to cure their supposed mental illness. In this brutally honest memoir, Dully, writing with Fleming (The Ivory Coast), describes how he set out 40 years later to find out why he was lobotomized, since he did not exhibit any signs of mental instability at the time, and why, postoperation, he was bounced between various institutions and then slowly fell into a life of drug and alcohol abuse. His journey—first described in a National Public Radio feature in 2005—finds Dully discovering how deeply he was the victim of an unstable stepmother who systematically abused him and who then convinced his distant father that a lobotomy was the answer to Dully's acting out against her psychic torture. He also investigates the strange career of Freeman—who wasn't a licensed psychiatrist—including early acclaim by the New York Times and cross-country trips hawking the operation from his Lobotomobile. But what is truly stunning is Dully's description of how he gained strength and a sense of self-worth by understanding how both Freeman and his stepmother were victims of their own family tragedies, and how he managed to somehow forgive them for the wreckage they caused in his life