GLORY IN THE NAME: A Novel of the Confederate Navy By James L Nelson

Publisher:  Harper Perennial
Publication Date:  2004
Pages:  432
Genre:  Historical Fiction
Reviewed By WC

About the Book: Then call us Rebels if you will we glory in the name, for bending under unjust laws and swearing faith to an unjust cause, we count as greater shame. -- Richmond Daily Dispatch, May 12, 1862
April 12, 1861. With one jerk of a lanyard, one shell arching into the sky, years of tension explode into civil war. And for those men who do not know in which direction their loyalty calls them, it is a time for decisions. Such a one is Lieutenant Samuel Bowater, an officer of the U.S. Navy and a native of Charleston, South Carolina.

Hard-pressed to abandon the oath he swore to the United States, but unable to fight against his home state, Bowater accepts a commission in the nascent Confederate Navy, where captains who once strode the quarterdecks of the world's most powerful ships are now assuming command of paddle wheelers and towboats. Taking charge of the armed tugboat Cape Fear, and then the ironclad Yazoo River, Bowater and his men, against overwhelming odds, engage in the waterborne fight for Southern independence.

WC's Review: 
Any fiction book written about American history is good. Any fiction book about the years of American ignominy between the years 1860 and 1865 is particularly good. This book is better.

Author James L Nelson is familiar with the glorious tragedy of the American Civil War, specifically the war of the ironclads. This familiarity makes for a readable book in that most students of the Southern War for Independence have a meager knowledge of naval warfare. The story of the scrap between the Monitor and the Merrimac is about it.

Nelson goes beyond giving a memorable history of refurbished tugboats and frigates into monstrous ships of impenetrable iron which, on both sides, gave their all on the Mississippi. The folks involved are real people.

Master mechanic Hieronymous Taylor, aboard the revamped Yazoo River tugboat, outshines Captain Samuel Bowater, although Bowater wins the girl. Taylor's proficiency with engines, pistons, drive shafts, and boilers takes center stage with his mastery of the violin.

Supporting characters are alive and serve a purpose. Moses is a deck hand, a master coal shoveler possessed with a rich baritone voice. If "Old Man River" had been written, Moses would have opted for a role on a showboat.

Robley Paine, Sr., is memorable in that he takes the battle of the mighty river into his hands after losing his sons at Bull Run. His three sons eagerly pursue the cause of the South as do the motley collection of deck hands under the guidance of the resilient Taylor.

About the Author: 
James L. Nelson (1962-) is an American historical nautical novelist. He was born in Lewiston, Maine. In 1980, Nelson graduated from Lewiston High School. Nelson attended the University of Massachusetts, Amherst for two years, and then transferred to UCLA, with the ambition of becoming a film director. Nelson, his wife, Lisa, and their daughter Betsy lived for two years in Steubenville, Ohio, while Lisa attended Franciscan University. They also have two boys, Nate and Jack. They now live in Harpswell, Maine, where Nelson continues to write full time.

DEATH OF A DISHONORABLE GENTLEMAN By Tessa Arlen

Publisher:  Minotaur Books

Release Date:  January 6, 2015
Pages:  320
Genre:  Mystery/ Historical Fiction

Book Description:  Lady Montfort has been planning her annual summer costume ball for months, and with scrupulous care. Pulling together the food, flowers and a thousand other details for one of the most significant social occasions of the year is her happily accepted responsibility. But when her husband’s degenerate nephew is found murdered, it's more than the ball that is ruined. In fact, Lady Montfort fears that the official police enquiry, driven by petty snobbery and class prejudice, is pointing towards her son as a potential suspect.

Taking matters into her own hands, the rather over-imaginative countess enlists the help of her pragmatic housekeeper, Mrs. Jackson, to investigate the case, track down the women that vanished the night of the murder, and clear her son’s name. As the two women search for a runaway housemaid and a headstrong young woman, they unearth the hidden lives of Lady Montfort’s close friends, servants and family and discover the identity of a murderer hiding in plain sight.

In this enchanting debut sure to appeal to fans of Downton Abbey, Tessa Arlen draws readers into a world exclusively enjoyed by the rich, privileged classes and suffered by the men and women who serve them. Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman is an elegant mystery filled with intriguing characters and fascinating descriptions of Edwardian life—a superb treat for those who love British novels.

Wanda's Thoughts: 
1900’s England – The story opens as preparations are being made for Lord and Lady Montfords’ annual summer ball. Clementine Talbot, Countess of Montford, always expected her summer ball to surpass the spectacle of luxury of previous years. But Lord Montford and Lady Clementine had no idea that this year’s ball would be one of the most talked-about events of the season.

The morning after the ball, Teddy Mallory is found murdered, swinging from a gibbet in Crow wood. Teddy was the nephew of Lord Montford, the son of his sister. Lord Montford had been Teddy’s legal guardian and he felt grief stricken and anguish for a young man who’d been part of his family since he was a child, and a child who’d been terribly spoiled all his life. Teddy had always been a difficult boy, always at odds with his surroundings.

Someone had done the unimaginable, a murder had been committed, and probably by someone they all knew. And there was more – there were two unaccountable disappearances from the house. Violet, a housemaid, had mysteriously disappeared, and Lucinda, a houseguest, was missing. Both women were missing at a critical time and took on a darker significance because of Teddy’s horrible death. Could they also be victims?

And the story unfolds as the mystery takes on a myriad of obstacles, and ends with a surprising, but satisfying conclusion.

I loved the setting of the book, feeling there was a strong similarity to Downton Abbey, and I was immediately submerged into the era. The descriptive writing, with many vivid details, was absolutely beautiful, making me feel like I was right there.

Unfortunately, the middle of the story seemed to stall a bit, and my interest declined. The last part of the book did pick up and I became somewhat engaged again, but it felt like a long read to me. I also had problems keeping up with all the characters – so many – I was confused at times. It might have been helpful to have a list of characters at the beginning of the book. My rating is 3.5 stars.

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

About the Author:  TESSA ARLEN, the daughter of a British diplomat, had lived in or visited her parents in Singapore, Cairo, Berlin, the Persian Gulf, Beijing, Delhi and Warsaw by the time she was sixteen. She came to the U.S. in 1980 and worked as an H.R. recruiter for the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee for the 1984 Olympic Games, where she interviewed her future husband for a job. DEATH OF A DISHONORABLE GENTLEMAN is Tessa's first novel. She lives in Washington.

RETURN TO WILLOW LAKE: The Lakeshore Chronicles By Susan Wiggs

Publisher:  Harlequin MIRA

Genre:  Contemporary Fiction/Romance

Book Description: Sonnet Romano’s life is almost perfect. She has the ideal career, the ideal boyfriend, and has just been offered a prestigious fellowship. There’s nothing more a woman wants – except maybe a baby…sister? When Sonnet finds out her mother is unexpectedly expecting, and that the pregnancy is high-risk, she puts everything on hold – the job, the fellowship, the boyfriend – and heads home to Avalon. Once her mom is out of danger, Sonnet intends to pick up her life where she left off. But when her mother receives a devastating diagnosis, Sonnet must decide what really matters in life, even of that means staying in Avalon and taking a job that forces her to work alongside her biggest, and maybe her sweetest, mistake – award-winning filmmaker Zach Alger. So Sonnet embarks on a summer of laughter and tears, of old dreams and new possibilities, and of finding the home of her heart. At once heartbreaking and uplifting, Return to Willow Lake plumbs the deepest corners of the human heart, exploring the bonds of family, the perils and rewards of love, and the true meaning of home. Profoundly emotional and resonant, this is Susan Wiggs at her finest.

Wanda's Thoughts:  This book had the potential to be a good story, but unfortunately it never quite made it. I felt it was lacking emotion - the story never touched me.

On a positive note, I loved the threads of hope and determination displayed in the storyline, and the relationship between Sonnet and her mother, Nina, was absolutely beautiful.

I read The Apple Orchard by this author a few months back, and found it to be just excellent. But Return to Willow Lake was less than compelling for me - just lukewarm. My rating is 3 stars.

About the Author: 
Susan Wiggs's life is all about family, friends...and fiction. She lives at the water's edge on an island in Puget Sound, and she commutes to her writers' group in a 17-foot motorboat. She serves as author liaison for Field's End, a literary community on Bainbridge Island, Washington, bringing inspiration and instruction from the world's top authors to her seaside community. (See www.fieldsend.org) She's been featured in the national media, including NPR's "Talk of the Nation," and is a popular speaker locally and nationally.

According to Publishers Weekly, Wiggs writes with "refreshingly honest emotion," and the Salem Statesman Journal adds that she is "one of our best observers of stories of the heart [who] knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book." Booklist characterizes her books as "real and true and unforgettable." She is the recipient of three RITA (sm) awards and four starred reviews from Publishers Weekly for her books. The Winter Lodge and Passing Through Paradise have appeared on PW’s annual "Best Of" lists. Several of her books have been listed as top Booksense picks and optioned as feature films. Her novels have been translated into more than two dozen languages and have made national bestseller lists, including the USA Today, Washington Post and New York Times lists.

The author is a former teacher, a Harvard graduate, an avid hiker, an amateur photographer, a good skier and terrible golfer, yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book. Readers can learn more on the web at www.susanwiggs.com and on her lively blog at www.susanwiggs.wordpress.com.

YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS UP: Miracles, Memories, and the Pefect Marriage of Sports and Television By Al Michaels, L. Jon Wertheim

Publisher:  Wm Morrow
Release Date:  11/18/2014
Pages:  352
Genre:  Biography
Reviewed By WC

Book Description:  One of America's most respected sportscasters--and the play-by-play voice of NBC's Sunday Night Football--gives us a behind-the-curtain look at some of the most thrilling games and fascinating figures in modern sports.

No sportscaster has covered more major sporting events than Al Michaels. During the course of his forty-plus-year career, he has logged more hours on live primetime network television than anyone in history, having covered all four major sports championships--the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA finals, and the Stanley Cup final--as well as the Olympic Games, the Triple Crown, and many more. He has witnessed firsthand some of the most memorable events in sports, and in this highly personal and entertaining account, he brings them all vividly to life.

Michaels's stories cover unforgettable chapters over the past half century--from the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics' "Miracle on Ice" to the earthquake that rocked the 1989 World Series to the drama of what many consider the most exciting Super Bowl ever--Super Bowl XLIII between the Steelers and the Cardinals. Some of the biggest personalities on and off the field are here--Pete Rose, John Wooden, Brett Favre, Tommy Lasorda, O. J. Simpson, John Madden, Cris Collinsworth, Roone Arledge, Bill Parcells, Tiger Woods, Doc Rivers, Dennis Miller, and many, many more. Complementing access with insight, Michaels adds to the stories you thought you knew: Michael Jordan's eyesight; Howard Cosell's prickly, bombastic personality; even Peyton and Eli Manning's sibling rivalry.

From start to finish, Al Michaels gives us an up-close portrait of an industry that is--today more than ever--a vital part of our national culture.

WC's Review: 
"Do you believe in miracles?", Al Michaels exhorted nearly 35 years ago seated in a rickety hockey rink in Lake Placid, New York. The professional, thoroughly objective announcer, whose mentor was Curt Gowdy, let his demeanor slip for a moment and now is still recognized throughout the world for that brief moment in time.

Miracles, memories, and the perfect marriage of sports and television is the wording after the colon in the title. Perhaps. After Super Bowl III, at which the iconic Gowdy presided and at which Joe Namath not only predicted a Jets victory over the Johnny Unitas led aging Colts, but guaranteed it, why would anyone continue to watch?

Truly, the only tree upon which Gowdy could hang his hat was his public statement that the upstart Jets of the newly formed AFL had a chance. Other than that, Gowdy rambled and would have been better off pursuing Cape Buffalo on the Serengeti.

This book is not about Gowdy, who encouraged and admonished Michaels to never get "jaded." It's about the meteoric rise of the young Al Michaels whose chess pieces seemingly moved into place on their own.

Parts of his biography are tawdry and incomplete. Others are fascinating for the insight of the many folks Michaels got to know and always befriended. Although not so with aggrandizer Al Davis or alcoholic Howard Cosell, who at least knew enough to choose Muhammed Ali to support his hat.

"Dandy" Don Meredith is briefly mentioned as part of the original Monday Night Football crew. Michaels fails to inform us that Meredith is the author of the best sports quote of all time. "You know, Howie, there is more to life than football." He's right. There is baseball.

A readable book this is, as most sports biographies are. Most readers, supposedly, will figure out what Michaels made up.

Quotes By Al Michaels -

“was rooting for drama, a close game—and excitement. I loved the ebb and flow. I wanted extra innings. I wanted overtime. I wanted controversy, strategy, anything you could talk about with your friends for days afterward.”
― Al Michaels, You Can't Make This Up: Miracles, Memories, and the Perfect Marriage of Sports and Television

 

 

“Frank,” I said when I reached him late that afternoon, “do you remember in 1978 when you told me that Bill Walsh was the most impressive young coach you’d ever met?” “Did I?” he replied modestly. “And then you told me how impressed you were with that young attorney general in Arkansas, a guy named Bill Clinton?” “Well, I remember thinking highly of him,” he responded, still trying to play it down. “Yes, you did,” I reminded him. “So Frank, now that Walsh is headed to the Hall of Fame, and Clinton is headed to the White House, I’m calling you for only one reason. “Who do you like in the fifth tomorrow at Santa Anita?”
― Al Michaels, You Can't Make This Up: Miracles, Memories, and the Perfect Marriage of Sports and Television

WHAT SHE LEFT BEHIND By Ellen Marie Wiseman

Publisher:  Kensington
Release Date:  December 31, 2013
Pages:  336
Genre:  Historical Fiction/Women's Fiction

Book Description:  In this stunning new novel, the acclaimed author of THE PLUM TREE merges the past and present into a haunting story about the nature of love and loyalty—and the lengths we will go to protect those who need us most.

Ten years ago, Izzy Stone’s mother fatally shot her father while he slept. Devastated by her mother’s apparent insanity, Izzy, now seventeen, refuses to visit her in prison. But her new foster parents, employees at a local museum, have enlisted Izzy’s help in cataloging items at a long-shuttered state asylum. There, amid piles of abandoned belongings, Izzy discovers a stack of unopened letters, a decades old journal, and a window into her own past.

Clara Cartwright, eighteen years old in 1929, is caught between her overbearing parents and her love for an Italian immigrant. Furious when she rejects an arranged marriage, Clara’s father sends her to a genteel home for nervous invalids. But when his fortune is lost in the stock market crash, he can no longer afford her care—and Clara is committed to the public asylum.

Even as Izzy deals with the challenges of yet another new beginning, Clara’s story keeps drawing her into the past. If Clara was never really mentally ill, could something else explain her own mother’s violent act? Piecing together Clara’s fate compels Izzy to re-examine her own choices—with shocking and unexpected results.

Illuminating and provocative, WHAT SHE LEFT BEHIND is a masterful novel about the yearning to belong—and the mysteries that can belie even the most ordinary life.

Wanda's Thoughts: 
What an incredible story! What She Left Behind is a stunning and heart-wrenching story told in vivid detail. You will become entangled in sadness from beginning to end. The author does a beautiful job blending together two story-lines – Clara’s past, beginning in 1929, and Izzy’s quest in the present day. These two characters are wonderfully portrayed.

Izzy – For the first time since she was a child, 17-year-old Izzy had foster parents who cared. Her mother was doing time in prison for shooting her father and she was still living that nightmare. Izzy’s new foster mom, Peg, asked her to help at Willard, an old insane asylum, going through old suitcases to help safeguard anything that might be worth keeping before the buildings were condemned. They were uncovering buried secrets, handling personal belongings of long-dead, mentally ill people. Izzy becomes connected to Clara, a former patient at Willard, and her horrible story.

Clara was going to be trapped in an arranged marriage to a man she didn’t love. She wanted to share her life with Bruno and for the first time in her life she felt loved and cherished. Clara’s heartless father plots against her, lying about her sanity. She eventually ends up in Willard Asylum because she was in love with a man her father didn’t approve of. If you weren’t insane when you entered Willard you certainly became insane with the torture they endured.

And the story unfolds as Clara, with her fractured heart and wounded spirit, fights to be released from Willard. And the duel storyline between Clara and Izzy becomes tied together to reveal an informative read, but a very disturbing topic.

Superlative novel! This book I've added to my all time favorites. My rating is 5+ stars.

About the Author:  Ellen Marie Wiseman's debut novel, The Plum Tree, was released by Kensington Publishing on December 25th, 2012. Set in Nazi Germany, The Plum Tree is an epic story of human resilience and enduring hope that follows a young German woman through WWII as she struggles to survive poverty and Allied bombs, finds the courage to outwit SS officers, and risks everything trying to save the love of her life, a Jewish man. Find Ellen on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?i... or like The Plum Tree at: www.facebook.com/ThePlumTreeNovel Fan Page: www.Facebook.com/EllenMarieWisemanAuthor

BELIEVE: Living the Story of the Bible to Become Like Jesus By Randy Frazee

Publisher:  Zondervan
Release Date:  December 30, 2014
Pages:  512
Genre:  Religion


Book Description:  How do you think, act, and be like Jesus?

Whether you have first experienced The Story or are reading Believe on its own, we want to introduce you to the key truths of Scripture in a clear and accessible way.

Randy Frazee, Senior Minister of Oak Hills Church, developed this church-wide discipleship program to take you on a journey to become more like Jesus in your beliefs, actions, and character. This 30-week experience has three 10-week segments that walk you through the 10 key beliefs of the Christian faith, the 10 key practices of a Jesus-follower, and the 10 key virtues that characterize someone who is becoming more like Jesus. Each chapter uses Scripture text from the clear, accessible New International Version to help you live the story of the Bible.

Wanda's Thoughts: 
Believe is strategically laid out to walk you through portions of Scripture that will help you to reap in a harvest of belief.

The first ten chapters answer the question, "What do I believe?" The second ten chapters answer the question, "What should I do?" And finally the last ten chapters included is the question, "Who am I becoming?"

This book will inspire you to believe with your heart the word of God and help you to apply it to your daily living experiences. Also included, at the end of the book, are questions that can be used for a group discussion. And there are transitions, written in italic, that offer an explanation to the Scriptures.

One of the chapters I found particularly interesting was the chapter on Peace. Key idea - I Am free from anxiety because I have found peace with God, peace with others, and peace with myself.

Believe is a well organized and informative read that can be a helpful guide in exploring your faith. My rating is 4 stars.

I received a complimentary copy of Believe from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review.

About the Author:  Randy Frazee is the senior minister at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas. Oak Hills is one of the largest churches in America, where Randy teaches and leads in partnership with pastor and author Max Lucado. An emerging leader and innovator in spiritual formation and biblical community, Randy is the architect of The Story church engagement campaign. He is the author of The Heart of The Story, The Connecting Church 2.0, The Christian Life Profile Assessment, and coauthored Real Simplicity with his wife Rozanne.

THE UGLY DAUGHTER By Julia Legian and Dawn Burke

Publisher: Legian and Burke
Release Date: February 3, 2014

Pages:  202
Genre:  Memoir

Book Description:  The Ugly Daughter is a thrilling memoir, the gripping true story of a young girl who witnessed horrific murders and who overcame cruel abuse and unimaginable tragedies to find love and happiness.

Julia Legian's emotionally, harrowing and fascinating memoir reveals how she endured a series of unbelievable tragedies and heartbreaking abuse from the hands of her parents and great aunty, and how she rose above her horrendous past to have a happy life. It’s beautifully written with simplicity and shocking honesty. The Ugly Daughter is a wonderful reminder that regardless of your social background or environment you came from, you can rise above the tragedy and survive. This book also clearly demonstrates that anything is possible if only you have firm faith in God or your creator. It’s an amazing story of miracles, shocking reality of domestic violence, survival and extraordinary luck. This really is a powerful and touching story that must be read.

This volume covers Julia's life from growing up in Vietnam to the journey to Sungei Besi refugee camp when her family escaped the horrors and the aftermath of the Vietnam War. The second volume of the story, not yet released, is in production and has legal implications that have to be carefully managed. It covers their arrival in Australia and the challenges and nightmares that they faced there.

Wanda's Thoughts: 
A story of survival - this is the memoir of Loan Thi Nyugen, born in South Vietnam in the early 1970's, who endured so many horrific hardships as a child. She struggled to overcome many obstacles in her life, never giving up, while living in a dysfunctional family. Loan lived with parents who were described as ugly monsters, who abused her constantly. Her Dad became extremely abusive and cruel to her and Loan's anger and hatred grew with the way he treated her Mum. I was touched by the relationship between Loan and her grandmother, who appeared to have an unshakeable faith and an unconditional love for Loan.

This poignant and powerful story is shared in vivid detail, and displays unbelievable suffering and heartache that will not leave you untouched. It is a compelling story that blends acceptance and forgiveness from painful and difficult circumstances. A captivating read! My rating is 4 stars.

About the Author: 
My name is Julia Legian (aka Loan Thi Nguyen). I was born in 1972, South Vietnam. Or was it 1971? Nobody really knows so I prefer to err on the young side. In the 80s my family fled Vietnam as “boat people” and immigrated to Australia.

I'm happily married to my husband, Simion, and I have a wonderful, kind, and loving son, Jeremy.

I'm not a professional writer, just an ordinary person with an extraordinary story I'd like to share with the world