Book Review: Red Flags
Issue 9, Volume 7, November 2011Mark James
Filed Under: Book Review
Red Flags By Juris Jurjevics Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; $26; 320 pages Review by Mark James The Vietnam War, or “Conflict” as the government labeled it, continues to torment us over 35 years after we left. Histories have appeared and been revised, and a collection of fiction is accumulating. Juris Jurjevics adds to that collection with “Red Flags,” set in the early days of our involvement. Jurjevics is a Vietnam veteran who served for 14 months, 9 days, and 2 hours, his departure... [Read more...]
Book Review: The Skateboard: The Good, the Rad, and the Gnarly
Issue 5, Volume 7, July 2011Mark James
Filed Under: Book Review
The Skateboard: The Good, the Rad, and the Gnarly Written by Ben Marcus; Photography by Lucia Daniella Griggi MVP Books/Quayside Publishing; 255 pages; $35 Reviewed by Mark James I don’t really care for coffee table books, those dust collector/footrests/paperweights that are must-haves but are hardly ever cracked before they end up at the Goodwill store or in the trash. But this one brought back so many memories — skinned knees, torn Levis (and a pissed-off mother), running from the... [Read more...]
Book Review: Bitter Bitch
Issue 4, Volume 7, June 2011Mark James
Filed Under: Book Review
Bitter Bitch By Maria Sveland; Translated by Katarina E. Tucker Skyhorse Publishing; 240 pages; $22.95 H. L. Mencken once said that the only really happy folk are married women and single men. But Mencken never met Sara, the bitter bitch in “Bitter Bitch.” Sara is so unhappy, bitter in fact, that she must take a respite from husband and child and the cold of Sweden to lounge in the warmer clime of Tenerife. But the couples she observes lounging at poolside or ignoring each other at dinner... [Read more...]
Patrick Smith
Issue 1, Volume 7, March 2011M. Alberto Rivera
Filed Under: 20 Questions
Patrick Smith: The Man Who Helped Define Florida Reflects By M. Alberto Rivera Like so many others, Patrick Smith moved to Florida because of a work offer. He became enamored with the state, and in his efforts to chronicle Florida have become synonymous with defining it. His Florida novels, “Forever Island,” “Allapatah,” and “A Land Remembered,” are poignant and insightful portraits of the state in transition — and not for the better. Smith details the... [Read more...]
Book Review: Night Vision
Issue 12, Volume 6, February 2011Mark James
Filed Under: Book Review
Night Vision By Randy Wayne White G.P. Putnam’s Sons; $25.95; 352 pages Could all the uproar about illegal immigrants have come at a better time for Randy Wayne White? Or is it the inspiration for his latest Doc Ford thriller? It’s no matter which came first; “Night Vision,” the eighteenth and perhaps best in this long running series, offers a sympathetic perspective of those who come here in pursuit of a better life — and righteous justice for those who exploit them. Marion... [Read more...]
Do You Read Me?
Issue 11, Volume 6, January 2011M. Alberto Rivera
Filed Under: M. Alberto Rivera
Do You Read Me? By M. Alberto Rivera January brings promises we make to ourselves and others. As I type this in late December of 2010, I look back on the goals I set last year. I no longer make resolutions. Resolutions are strongly worded decisions… Pronouncements declared by governments and monarchs. No wonder people have such a hard time keeping them. If it takes a government to pass a resolution and the laws of said nation to enforce it, what chance do you and I have of keeping one? So... [Read more...]
Book Review: Life by Keith Richards
Issue 10, Volume 6, December 2010Mark James
Filed Under: Book Review
Life By Keith Richards, with James Fox Little, Brown; 564 pages; $29.99 Imagine sitting at a table with a couple of drinks as the person across from you recounts their life. There may be blank spaces, periods of time that are forgotten — or ones you wish the person had forgotten. Now imagine that person is Keith Richards, the former choirboy and Boy Scout who went on to define the rock and roll lifestyle. That’s the experience of reading his recently published autobiography, “Life.”... [Read more...]
Book Review: The Red Queen
Issue 9, Volume 6, November 2010Mark James
Filed Under: Book Review
The Red Queen By Philippa Gregory Touchstone; 400 pages; $25.99 The genre known as historical fiction tends to be a mishmash of bodice rippers, revisionist history, and twisted facts set during tumultuous times. Historical figures appear and disappear, or linger on the periphery of events that feature fictional characters. Philippa Gregory shuns such devices in her new novel, “The Red Queen,” bringing the actual characters to life in a suspenseful and often gruesome story about the future... [Read more...]
Star Island by Carl Hiassen
Issue 7, Volume 6, September 2010Mark James
Filed Under: Book Review
Star Island By Carl Hiaasen Alfred A. Knopf; 337 pages; $26.95 The Skinks of the world have always been my heroes. Not the endangered four-legged variety that inhabit Central Florida, but the one and only former college football star, Vietnam vet, and ex-governor who has become a fixture in Carl Hiaasen’s novels. Hiaasen’s Skink inhabits the swamps of South Florida, and has a penchant for righting the wrongs of environmental rapists who prey on Florida’s natural beauty. “Star... [Read more...]
Between a Heart and a Rock Place: A Memoir
Issue 6, Volume 6, August 2010Mark James
Filed Under: Book Review
Between a Heart and a Rock Place: A Memoir By Pat Benetar with Patsi Bale Cox William Morrow; 245 pages; $25.99 Memoirs clutter the literary landscape these days. They tend to be very personal in nature, and are often written by people unknown to the masses. Pat Benatar doesn’t suffer from such a malady. She was one of the biggest selling acts of the ’80s, and arguably the biggest female rocker since Janis Joplin. She came out of New York, and stormed across the country winning millions... [Read more...]
