KILLING PATTON: The Strange Death of World War II's Most Audacious General (The Killing of Historical Figures) By Bill O'Reilly & Martha Dugard

Publisher:  Henry Holt and Co.
Release Date:  September 23, 2014
Pages:  304
Genre:  History
Reviewed By WC

Book Description:  Readers around the world have thrilled to "Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy," and "Killing Jesus"--riveting works of nonfiction that journey into the heart of the most famous murders in history. Now from Bill O'Reilly, anchor of "The O'Reilly Factor," comes the most epic book of all in this multimillion-selling series: "Killing Patton."

General George S. Patton, Jr. died under mysterious circumstances in the months following the end of World War II. For almost seventy years, there has been suspicion that his death was not an accident--and may very well have been an act of assassination. "Killing Patton" takes readers inside the final year of the war and recounts the events surrounding Patton's tragic demise, naming names of the many powerful individuals who wanted him silenced.

WC's Review:  t remains a mystery how Bill O'Reilly comes up with this stuff. How does he know that our most outspoken General had an affair? How much does O'Reilly miss the opportunity to party with Hitler's mistress and wife, Eva Braun? Were the drunken soldiers who careened into Patton's limo on a suicide mission?

The portrayals of peers whose lives impacted Patton are vivid. Some come off as good guys: Churchill, George Marshall, and the men of Patton's beloved Third Army; many more others as rapscallions and less than humane: Eisenhower, Montgomery, MacArthur, Roosevelt, and Truman; others as downright evil: Hitler and Stalin. Indeed, it is Patton's insight into the true character of Papa Joe that sets him up for retribution. 

O'Reilly makes the case that Stalin may have been involved, that the kowtowing behavior of the rapscallions may have emboldened the efforts of the murderer of Moscow.

Churchill also knew.

About the Author:  Bill O'Reilly is an American television/radio host, author, syndicated columnist, and political commentator. He is the host of the cable news program The O'Reilly Factor. Prior to hosting The O'Reilly Factor, he served as anchor of the entertainment program, Inside Edition.

O'Reilly also hosts The Radio Factor, a radio program syndicated by Westwood One, and he has written seven books.

HEAVEN By Randy Alcorn

Publisher:  Tyndale House Publishers
Publication Date:  October 2004
Pages:  560
Genre:  Religion

Book Description:  Alcorn answers questions about heaven by sharing from his extensive research on the topic--all from a biblical perspective. Heaven will help readers strive for eternity while they're living on earth.

Wanda's Thoughts:  This very informative book has certainly opened my eyes and has given me a totally new perspective of heaven. I’ve had questions in my mind for much of my life about heaven, and this book addressed many of those questions. You will feel encouraged to delve deeper into the Scriptures to understand even more. After reading many of the Scriptures, I found myself thinking that I hadn’t thought about a particular verse in that much depth, or in that way – very inspiring, indeed!

Two of the most interesting concepts presented in the book were the Intermediate Heaven – not our permanent destination, and the New Earth – our final destination. Just thought provoking! And, of course, Satan hates the New Heaven and the New Earth, and will do everything he can to keep us from redemption and rob us of the joy we will know in heaven. 

There is so much information about the world to come, and this book deals with it in detail. It is hard to wrap your mind around many parts, but it’s enough to fire up your imagination and give you a driven desire to spend eternity in heaven.

It is very clear that there are two possible destinations after death: heaven and hell, and each is just as real and just as eternal as the other. Heaven is not our default destination. We cannot enter heaven as we are. Unless our sin problem is resolved, we will go to our true default destination --- hell. Matthew 7: 13-14 - “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

“The best of life on Earth is a glimpse of heaven; the worst of life is a glimpse of hell. For Christians, this present life is the closest they will come to hell. For unbelievers, it is the closest they will come to heaven.”

I have highlighted many parts of this book and I will be keeping it close by to read sections again and again. It is one of the most interesting and profound books I’ve ever read! My rating is 5+ stars.

About the Author:  Randy Alcorn is the founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM), a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching biblical truth and drawing attention to the needy and how to help them. EPM exists to meet the needs of the unreached, unfed, unborn, uneducated, unreconciled and unsupported people around the world.

"My ministry focus is communicating the strategic importance of using our earthly time, money, possessions and opportunities to invest in need-meeting ministries that count for eternity," Alcorn says. "I do that by trying to analyze, teach and apply the implications of Christian truth."

Before starting EPM in 1990, Alcorn co-pastored for thirteen years Good Shepherd Community Church outside Gresham, Oregon. He has ministered in many countries, including China, and is a popular teacher and conference speaker. Randy has taught on the part-time faculties of Western Seminary and Multnomah University, both in Portland, Oregon. 

Randy is a best-selling author of over 40 books including Heaven, The Treasure Principle and the 2002 Gold Medallion winner, Safely Home. He has written numerous articles for magazines such as Discipleship Journal, Moody, Leadership, New Man, and The Christian Reader. He produces the quarterly issues-oriented magazine Eternal Perspectives, and has been a guest on more than 650 radio and television programs including Focus on the Family, Family Life Today, The Bible Answer Man, Revive Our Hearts, Truths that Transform and Faith Under Fire.

Alcorn resides in Gresham, Oregon with his wife, Nanci, and their Dalmatian, Moses. The Alcorns have two married daughters, Karina and Angela.

Randy and Nanci are the proud grandparents of four grandsons. Randy enjoys hanging out with his family, biking, tennis, research and reading.

THE YANKS ARE COMING! A Military History of the United States in World War I By H W Crocker III

Publisher:  Regnery History
Release Date:  September 22, 2014
Pages:  404
Genre:  History
Reviewed By WC

About the Book:  Bestselling military historian H. W. Crocker III (The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War, Robert E. Lee on Leadership, etc.) now turns his guns on the epic story of America’s involvement in the First World War with his new book The Yanks Are Coming: A Military History of the United States in World War I.

2014 marks the centenary of the beginning of that war, and in Crocker’s sweeping, American-focused account, readers will learn:

How George S. Patton, Douglas MacArthur, George C. Marshall (of the Marshall Plan), "Wild Bill" Donovan (future founder of the OSS, the World War II precursor to the CIA), Harry S. Truman, and many other American heroes earned their military spurs in "The Great War"
Why, despite the efforts of the almost absurdly pacifistic administration of Woodrow Wilson, American involvement in the war was inevitable
How the First World War was "the War that Made the Modern World"—sweeping away most of the crowned heads of Europe, redrawing the map of the Middle East, setting the stage for the rise of communism and fascism
Why the First World War marked America’s transition from a frontier power—some of our World War I generals had actually fought Indians—to a global superpower, with World War I generals like Douglas MacArthur living to see, and help shape, the nuclear age
"The Young Lions of the War" -- heroes who should not be forgotten, like air ace Eddie Rickenbacker, Sergeant Alvin York (memorably portrayed by Gary Cooper in the Academy Award–winning movie Sergeant York), and all four of Theodore Roosevelt’s sons (one of whom was killed)

Stirring, and full of brilliantly told stories of men at war, The Yanks Are Coming will be the essential book for readers interested in rediscovering America’s role in the First World War on its hundredth anniversary.

WC's Review:  The cause, or more definitively, the causes of the world war of 1914 through 1918 remain difficult to define. "On 28 June 1914 the Archduke Franz-Ferdinand and his wife, Countess Sophie, were assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia" thus triggering the conflict that became known as "the Great War."

And, as they say, the rest is history. Germany, of course, led the onslaught in their quest for continent domination, followed by France (always a canker to Germany), England, Poland, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and ultimately the United States. Arrogant Woodrow Wilson never saw a conflict he didn't like.

Indeed the book focuses on the grand designs of President Wilson who saw himself as the major figure on the world stage whose destiny was as the creator of a post-war utopian community.

He damned near succeeded, thwarted by Senate Republicans and a revengefully recalcitrant emerging hero of an embittered, defeated Germany.

American warriors are given their due, including John J Pershing, Peyton C March, Douglas MacArthur, Billy Mitchell, John A Lejeune, George S Patton, George C Marshall, Eddie Rickenbacker, and the invincible sharpshooter, Alvin C York.

Sight challenged Harry S Truman gets in here as do the four sons of Teddy Roosevelt. Who was "Wild Bill" Donovan?

The short epilogue is what rates this informative book of World War I the rating of five stars.

OBSESSION: BY John Douglas and Mark Olshaker

Publisher:  Pocket Books
Release Date:  1998
Pages:  496
Genre:  Current Events - Crime
Reviewed By WC

About the Book:  With a deep sense of compassion for the victims and an uncanny understanding of the perpetrators, Douglas exposes the chilling obsessions that compel the murderers, rapists, and stalkers of modern times.

WC's Review:  Author John E Douglas is obsessed with his topic. A self-proclaimed early profiler, Douglas writes to background and decipher at length the characteristics and modus operandi of rapists, serial killers, and most prominently, stalkers.

He does well. Sometimes, he offers too much information when expounding on the character flaws of demented beings in our society who prey upon the susceptibility of attractive conquests.

Ronnie Shelton, serial rapist of Cleveland, Joseph Thompson, South Aukland New Zealand rapist, New York's notorious "Preppie Murder", John Hinkley, who festered into our psyches to impress Jodie Foster through the assassination of President Reagan, Ed Gein, Gary Heidnick, and Ted Bundy are some of his heavily-examinded personalities.

The message is simple and one with which feel-good, prominent experts would not agree: Serial rapists/stalkers cannot be rehabilitated. Exterminate them or lock them up for the rest of their lives.

Get to authorities who know how to deal with these subhumans immediately, especially stalkers. Unfortunately, many police departments are not trained to deal with heinous crimes of subjugation. Hopefully, a 911 call can lead to a facility specializing in such behavior.

It remains a tragedy of today's society when someone like "Buffalo Bill" is glorified in the movie, "Silence of the Lambs."

4 Stars

About the Author:  John Edward Douglas is a former United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent, one of the first criminal profilers, and criminal psychology author. He also wrote four horror novels in the mid 1990s.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO MOURNING FREE (The Olivia Series #3) By Yael Politis

Publisher:  Amazon Digital Services, Inc
Release Date:  September 28, 2014
Pages:  425
Genre:  Historical Fiction

About the Book:  Note from the Author 
Book 3 answers the question asked in its title and provides a narrative account of what happened to Olivia, Mourning, and Little Boy, but it is not a continuation of Book 2 in the same sense that Book 2 continues Book 1. Whatever Happened to Mourning Free? skips forward three generations and focuses on descendants of the Killion and Free families, who still face many of the problems with which Olivia and Mourning contended. 
Readers who are impatient to find out what happened to Olivia and Mourning can feel free to skip ahead to that section, and then come back to the beginning section about Charlene, Reeves, and Charlie. Just search for the following text: Detroit, Michigan – May 24, 1843 

Book Description:
It's 1967 and Charlene Connor has just graduated from the University of Michigan, without her "Mrs." Her mother recently passed away and soon afterwards her father fled the silence to a new job on the other side of the state. So Charlene is going "home" to what is now an empty house. 

Two things make this long, hot summer bearable: Reeves Valenti – the high school sweetheart she left behind – and the lawyer who unexpectedly knocks on her door, bringing information about the woman she idolizes - her great-great-great Aunt Olivia Killion. Charlene can't wait to get Olivia's journals from him and finally learn what happened to Olivia and her friend and partner Mourning Free; she doesn't know that the answer to that question will deepen the connection she feels to Olivia and bring a new person -- and a fundamental change -- into her life. 

Is It Autobiographical? 
No. Just for fun, I gave Charlene the shell of my life. I grew up in the Foundation, attended Edsel Ford High School, and began my college education in Ann Arbor. So on paper, Charlene and I have a lot in common. In fact, am I anything like her? No. Is my life anything like hers? In my dreams.

Wanda's Thoughts:  Dearborn, Michigan – 1967 - Charlene Connor has in her possession her great-great-great Aunt Olivia’s diary. Having read the journal many times, Charlene felt a deep connection to her Aunt Olivia, and wondered many times what had become of Olivia and Mourning Free. Charlene knew Olivia had been active in the Underground Railroad and ran a boarding house called OK Accommodations. Had Mourning been with her at the boarding house? Why had they left the farm? Where did she come up with the money to buy a boarding house? These questions are answered and many more revelations develop as the story unfolds and goes back in time to 1842. 

The two timelines were integrated smoothly into one storyline. It is amazing how little times had changed from the 1840’s to the 1960’s where racism still lingered.

The strong characters displayed hope, determination, and courage. I just couldn’t get enough of Olivia and Mourning, having been connected to them from Book 1 & 2 of the series. Just amazing characters! The characters of Charlene and Charlie were realistic and complex, and I was eventually drawn into their world and the midst of their drama. They were portrayed in depth. 

I must admit that this book certainly was not what I expected, and that isn’t a negative comment. I did have a bit of a problem getting into the storyline early on with Charlene’s story, but when the time changed to 1840, I became fully engrossed. The story eventually shifts back to the 1960’s with the racial riots in Detroit and I became fully engaged to the storyline. 

This book was beautifully written and the author certainly delivered a satisfying closure to this superb series. I highly recommend, but be sure to read Books 1 & 2 of the Olivia Series first. My rating is 4.5 stars.

I received an ARC from the author in exchange for my honest opinion and review. All opinions shared are my own. 

About the Author:  I grew up in Michigan, but have lived all my adult life in Israel where I have worked as a dishwasher, secretary, librarian, office manager, agricultural laborer, management systems analyst, English teacher, Hebrew-English translator, technical writer, marketing writer, and proposal writer.

I have just completed two new historical novels: Olivia, Mourning and The Way the World Is (Books 1 and 2 of the Olivia Series). Both take place in Michigan and Pennsylvania in the 1840s. I love the challenge of recreating daily life in another time and place and based many of the details in Olivia, Mourning and The Way the World Is on letters and journals passed down through my family, over seven generations of lives lived in the Midwest. I received a great deal of insight from my sister, may she rest in peace, who lived in a fairly isolated log home, hunted her own land, and was just as independent and stubborn as Olivia.
Both books are available on Amazon.

IN PERFECT TIME (Wings of the Nightingale #3) By Sarah Sundin

Publisher:  Revell
Release Date:  August 5, 2014
Pages:  416
Genre:  Christian Historical Fiction

About the Book:  Flight nurse Lt. Kay Jobson collects hearts wherever she flies, but C-47 pilot Lt. Roger Cooper is immune to her charms. Throughout Italy and southern France, as she evacuates the wounded and he delivers paratroopers and supplies, every beat of their hearts draws them where they don't want to go.

Wanda's Thoughts:  WWII - 1944 - Over the Mediterranean - Lt. Kay Jobson was an efficient and competent flight nurse. She loved the glamour of flight, the challenge of nursing, and being able to lift the spirits of the sick and wounded. She'd seen so much pain, illness and suffering. 

Kay wasn't a very likable character in the beginning. She was a beautiful and flirtatious woman who attracted the attention of men very easily and used it for her own good. Controlling men was her revenge against her father. He had rejected her, but men accepted her. Kay's life changes when she becomes acquainted with Lt. Roger Cooper, but he is totally blind to her charms. 

Roger has a past life he is struggling to forget, and he goes out of his way to avoid women. His passion is to join a big band, as a drummer, after the war has ended. 

And the story unfolds as a romance blossoms slowly between Kay and Roger. There is a transformation in Kay as she becomes a Christian. She tries to shape her life, but it just seems to get harder for her, and Roger resists God's good gifts in his life. 

The storyline has strong themes of friendship, romance, and redemption with strong religious overtones. The characters were endearing and the author certainly brought out the human relationships in her writing. The story evolves slowly, (perhaps too slowly) and gives the reader plenty of time to get to know each character in depth. The story didn't grab me in the beginning, and the relationship between Kay and Roger became rather redundant throughout. However, the last third of the book became more compelling, blending love and acceptance into a satisfying, although predictable, conclusion. My rating is 4 stars.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

About the Author:  Sarah Sundin enjoys writing about the drama and romance of the World War II era. The Wings of the Nightingale series (With Every Letter, 2012, On Distant Shores, August 2013, and In Perfect Time, August 2014) follows three World War II flight nurses as they find love, friendship, and peril in the skies and on the shores of the Mediterranean. The Wings of Glory series from Revell (A Distant Melody, A Memory Between Us, and Blue Skies Tomorrow) follows three brothers who are B-17 bomber pilots during World War II. 

Sundin lives in northern California with her husband, three children, an antisocial cat, and a yellow lab bent on destroying her writing career. When she isn't driving kids to tennis and karate, she works on-call as a hospital pharmacist and teaches Sunday school and women's Bible studies.

SECRETS FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE: The Amazing Mysteries of Eternity, Paradise, and the Land of Lost Souls By Perry Stone

Publisher:  Charisma House
Release Date:  2010
Pages:  248
Genre:  Religion
Reviewed By WC

About the Book:  The Bible teaches us that when our earthly journey ends, our eternal journey is only beginning. But what will life be like after death?  Are there clues that tell us more about the unseen worlds of departed souls?

In Secrets From Beyond the Grave, Perry Stone brings his unique blend of Bible knowledge, prophecy, and spiritual insight to the topic of heaven and hell. In this comprehensive look at the afterlife, he answers important questions such as:

• Where do the soul and spirit go after death?
• Who will be in heaven? Will our pets be there?
• Where is hell located?
• Are there “gateways” to hell within the geography of our earth?
• What about purgatory, aborted infants, cremation, and suicide?

Death is not the end but only the beginning. Journey with Pastor Stone into the mysteries of life after death, the underworld, and the wonder of paradise.

WC's Review:  Take your time and read this book slowly. Devour every word, stop and ponder every paragraph, and isolate yourself for an hour or two after you have read a chapter. Think about what you have just read.

Of course, if you have never considered the reason or reasons for your existence here on planet Earth, this reading will be difficult. If you have never given any thought to where you will be spending eternity, the perusal of truths listed in this volume will perplex you. And, if you believe in the superiority of man over God and can explain every nuance of man's dismal record of civilization, you may as well continue hopelessly on.

Jonathan Edward's dangling of the human spirit, along with Satan and his followers, over the Lake of Fire, located near or under the Dead Sea, can be interesting, to say the least. Intermediate heaven, paradise, the millennium, the rise of the true AntiChrist, the Son of Perdition, easily capture the imagination and keep you fascinated as to what God, through the Holy Spirit, and through his son Jesus Christ, have in store for mankind at the end of times.

The author is convincing, although men and women of glib tongue can easily dispel many of the author's claims, in their minds, at least. Such is the beauty of God's creation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Many of us believe, and gloriously so, for we cannot imagine eternity not only without God, but also our beloved pets.

Rating - 5 Stars

About the Author:  Perry Stone directs one of America’s fastest growing ministries - Voice of Evangelism. From its 70,000 square foot International Ministry Center, Voice of Evangelism is striving to reach the world with the gospel of Christ through revivals, television, audio/video media, printed material, and missionary sponsorship. Perry has authored over forty books and booklets; produced over one hundred videos and DVDs, and hundreds of audio teaching albums series. Perry publishes The Voice of Evangelism magazine. Manna-Fest with Perry Stone, a weekly television program, can be seen nationally and internationally via cable and satellite systems around the world. (Barnes and Noble)