Category Archives: Book Reviews

Book Review:  Lost in the Valley of Death: A Story of Obsession and Danger in the Himalayas by Harley Rustad – Part Two

In my previous essay about Lost in the Valley of Death, I came down somewhat hard on the author’s negative attitude concerning spiritual quests that lead people to the Indian Subcontinent and other exotic locales. As I continued to read … Continue reading

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Book Review:  Lost in the Valley of Death: A Story of Obsession and Danger in the Himalayas by Harley Rustad – Part One

Usually I wait until I have finished or almost finished a book before I write a review of it, but I am just over halfway through Lost in the Valley of Death, and it has already provoked so many thoughts … Continue reading

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Book Review:  The Sun Is a Compass: A 4,000-Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds by Caroline Van Hemert

The Sun Is a Compass is a wonderful book. I enjoyed it through and through. In it, a young couple travel by rowboat from Bellingham, Washington up the Inside Passage to a town called Haines, hike and canoe through the … Continue reading

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Book Review:  The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

Although John Scalzi is a best-selling author in the science fiction field, I have never read any of his novels until now. I remember reading and enjoying the occasional short story or novelette I encountered in an anthology, but that’s … Continue reading

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Book Review:  Riverman: An American Odyssey by Ben McGrath

Riverman tells the story of Dick Conant, an itinerant canoeing enthusiast. Self-describing as homeless, he might have been like many other wandering vagabonds, albeit with a preference for waterways rather than dry land, had he not bumped into McGrath, a … Continue reading

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Book Review:  The Best Short Stories 2021: The O. Henry Prize Winners Edited by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Jenny Minton Quigley

I was in the mood for reading some short fiction, and so I searched for the newest literary collection the library had. I knew it was likely to be a mixed bag, and that’s exactly what it was. Appreciation for … Continue reading

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Book Review:  Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention – and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari

I came across Stolen Focus in the library and was instantly fascinated by its premise. I already had enough books in arms, though, and so I saved it for later. Then I made the mistake of reading the article on … Continue reading

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Book Review:  Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children’s Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

I came to Slaughterhouse-Five in a roundabout way, specifically after reading The Writer’s Crusade: Kurt Vonnegut and the Many Lives of Slaughterhouse-Five by Tom Roston. I happened upon the Roston volume by chance in the new book section of the … Continue reading

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Book Review:  The Writer’s Crusade: Kurt Vonnegut and the Many Lives of Slaughterhouse-Five by Tom Roston

Let’s start with the title of this fascinating book, with its reference to the “many lives” of Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. This is an allusion to the multiple drafts that Vonnegut wrote over two decades before he was satisfied with … Continue reading

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Book Review:  River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile by Candice Millard

River of the Gods is a powerful, well-written book about some fascinating historical characters on adventurous journeys. Although the central focus is the expedition of Richard Burton, John Hanning Speke, and Sidi Mubarak Bombay through East Africa from Zanzibar to … Continue reading

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