Books, Commentary, Ephemera, & More
Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, & technology book reviews. Also social, political, & economic commentary. Plus more.
Guess which book, as yet unreleased, is pre-selling at #1 in Amazon’s “Corruption & Misconduct in Politics” category? P.S., I possibly may earn a few helpful cents as an Amazon affiliate bookseller if you follow this link to the book. But only if you actually buy it or something else. Otherwise, bupkis. No soup for … Continue reading Just One of the Ways Political Crime Pays?
Hollow Man Mark Pryor Seventh Street Books – paperback, Kindle By day, Dominic is a tough prosecutor working in a Texas district attorney’s office. That means he can carry a badge and a gun when he’s not in court getting convictions. By night, he is guitar player and singer with a British accent who … Continue reading ‘Hollow Man’: Mark Pryor’s new psychological thriller exposes our inner sociopath – #fiction #bookreview
Blind Moon Alley A Jersey Leo Novel John Florio (Seventh Street Books – paperback, Kindle) Jersey Leo absolutely is a misfit in Prohibition-era, Depression-ravaged Philadelphia. He is a mixed-race albino who works behind the bar at the Ink Well, a speakeasy where the customers include seedy criminals and tough cops looking both … Continue reading Blind Moon Alley – John Florio’s 2nd Jersey Leo novel is a noir knockout – #bookreview
The Mob and the City The Hidden History of How the Mafia Captured New York C. Alexander Hortis (Prometheus Books, Kindle, hardcover) Forget The Godfather, its sequels and numerous other, famous “Mafia” movies. This excellent book cuts straight through the hype, fictions, and glamorizations to tell “the hidden history of how the street … Continue reading The Mob and the City: The Hidden History of How the Mafia Captured New York – #bookreview
Cowboy Stuntman From Olympic Gold to the Silver Screen Dean Smith with Mike Cox (Texas Tech University Press – hardback, Kindle) Dean Smith won an Olympic gold medal in the 400-meter relays at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. Then the 20-year-old returned home to Northwest Texas, where he had been a rodeo cowboy. Later, … Continue reading BOOK BRIEFS: Movie Stunts, Famous Bandits and a World War I Regiment – #bookreview
The Trials of Eroy Brown: The Murder Case That Shook the Texas Prison System By Michael Berryhill (University of Texas, hardback, list price $29.95; paperback, list price $25.00) A prizewinning journalist has dug deeply and impressively into a double killing that still haunts the Texas Department of Criminal Justice more than 30 years after it … Continue reading The Trials of Eroy Brown: The Murder Case That Shook the Texas Prison System – #bookreview #in
The Silver Lotus By Thomas Steinbeck (Counterpoint, hardback, list price $25.00; Kindle, $9.99) Written in the style and language of a 19th-century novel, The Silver Lotus is a grand, sweeping, absorbing tale of Pacific seafaring, romance, family, and business and cultural interactions that ultimately help spur the growth and development of the Northern California coast. This … Continue reading The Silver Lotus – fine historical fiction by Thomas Steinbeck – #bookreview
Subtitled “Inside the New Threat Matrix of Digital Espionage, Crime, and Warfare,” America the Vulnerable is written by Joel Brenner, former inspector general at the National Security Agency. Brenner has recent experience at the highest levels in national intelligence, counterintelligence and data security. And he has studied firsthand many of the threats and attacks against our national, corporate and personal … Continue reading Here’s the book scaring me this Halloween: America the Vulnerable – #bookreview #data #security