by Tatiana de Rosnay, 2007, St. Martin’s Press, New York
Well-written, emotional but not maudlin, rooted in historical fact as well as the present, great cast of supporting characters, believable, suspenseful.
I loved the book!
Transfer of Power
by Vince Flynn, 1999, Pocket Books, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
This is a typical political thriller, but it has a few flaws. First of all, the constant references to model names and numbers of various pieces of technical military paraphernalia, although it might please a reader who is member of a vigilante group or militia, drives me nuts. Secondly, the author spent a huge number of pages building up to the finale which caused the book to drag a bit (the finale, by the way, was as expected). Finally, while I have to give credit to the author for predicting a catastrophic act of terrorism on American soil pre-911, he fell into the same trap that George Bush did when he assumed that Saddam Hussein would be behind it all. Oops! (I guess I wouldn’t have had the same criticism on that last item if I had read the book ten years ago.)
Not bad, but could have been better.
From This Day Forward
by Cokie and Steve Roberts, 2000, William and Morrow Company, New York
A nice little memoir about the authors’ marriage and relationship, it is interspersed with stories about other marriages, starting with the American Revolution and ending with some divorced and extended family situations. The passages about Cokie and Steve’s experiences were interesting as they were married shortly before our marriage and went through some of the same experiences we did. They were also revealing in that they didn’t always paint Cokie and Steve in the best light. Their marriage did manage to survive and flourish, however, as they adjusted to one another. Cokie grew up Catholic and Steve, Jewish, so they had a lot more to deal with than most couples.
Unfortunately, the stories about other marriage situations that were also included in the book were a bit dull reading and didn’t seem to add up to a coherent message. They probably detracted a bit from the overall effort rather than added to it.
Overall, the book was just so-so.
Grand Finale
by Janet Evanovich, audio book narrated by C. J. Critt, 2009, Harper-Collins Publishers, Inc.
Terrible book! I can’t believe Evanovich can’t turn out better stuff.
The three old ladies in the book were mildly entertaining. That is the only reason I rated it this high.
Murder at a Vineyard Mansion
by Philip R. Craig, audio book narrated by Tom Stechschulte, 2004, Recorded Books, LLC
Not too bad of a plot, the setting is great (Martha’s Vineyard), and the characters are okay but it all adds up to a rather mundane book. The narrator doesn’t add much to it either. We listened to the book when traveling, so it helped pass the time.
Noah’s Compass
by Anne Tyler, audio book narrated by Arthur Morey, 2009, Random House Inc.
This is the story of a sixty-year-old man, Liam, who has lost one wife, is divorced from another, and has just lost his job as a first grade teacher in a private elementary school. He decides to retire and move to an apartment in another part of town.
Liam grasps for one last chance for love and meaning in his life.
The story is a bit of a downer and the main characters and his family are disfunctional. The narrator seems to capture all of this fairly well. The end result is not particularly satisfying. 
The Piano Teacher
by Janice Y. K. Lee, audio book narrated by Orlagh Cassidy, 2009, Penguin Audio
This is a well-written novel, although it drags a bit in places. The authors knowledge of Hong Kong and the events that occurred in and after World War II provides a great deal of authenticity to her writing. The narration is well done.
Founding Brothers, The Revolutionary Generation
by Joseph J. Ellis, audio book narrated by Nelson Runger, 2000 by Joseph J. Ellis, 2001 by Recorded Books, LLC
I enjoyed this book very much. Ellis provides a picture of the revolutionary era and five of the primary figures: George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton. He manages to inject some life into each of these individuals, some of whom died over two hundred years ago. Ellis also provides great insight as to how we got to where we are today, especially when he describes the beginning of the political parties and partisan politics. It is interesting to note the degree of partisanship that arose very quickly once George Washington stepped out of the public life. Some of the accusations and character assassination that occurred between the Republicans (Jefferson’s party) and the Federalists (John Adams’ party) goes even further than what we are experiencing today. According to Ellis, some of Jefferson’s and Madison’s actions during the presidency of John Adams even bordered on treason.
The othe subject on which Ellis sheds a great deal of light is the Constitution and what it actually contains. The one question which was not fully resolved, according to Ellis, is the exact extent of the power of the national government versus the states. According to many conservatives, the Constitution explicity reserves all powers to the states which are not specifically given to the federal government. From the very start, however, this subject was argued, most eloquently by Adams, who favored a strong central government, and Jefferson, who argued that the power should be retained by the people in the form of states powere. So it seems that even the individuals who were most involved in the writing of the original docuement did not agree on this subject.
The book flows very well and Ellis presents a great deal of new insight into the minds and personalities of these individuals. 
The Tenderness of Wolves
by Stef Penney, 2006, Simon and Schuster Paperbacks, New York
This book is an interesting read. The structure is a bit unusual in that it is a series of chapters, each dealing with a particular character (although only the main character’s story, Mrs. Ross’s, is told in the first person). There are multiple plots and subplots that take place, the primary plot being a murder and its effects on the various characters. The setting of the book is the Canadian wilderness in the 1860’s.
Despite all the good aspects of the book, it suffers greatly from a lack of pace. The lyrical and descriptive style with which it is written makes it difficult to maintain any degree of suspense which is a usual ingredient in any well-written murder mystery. One would not expect the book to be a thriller, but it could definitely use a bit of juicing up.
The Path Between the Seas, The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914
by David McCullough, 1977, Simon and Schuster, New York
This is a fabulous book. Although it is somewhat detailed and requires a bit of fortitude to read it through, the book chronicles one of the greatest American accomplishments ever. The story begins with the efforts of the French and Ferdinand de Lesseps (the builder of the Suez Canal) and their failure and ends with the opening of the canal in August of 1914. McCullough writes a great deal about the background and personal characteristics of the individuals involved; the reader can readily detect the attributes of each individual that contributed to either success or failure.
One of the more interesting facets of the story was the lessening and, in some cases, the elimination of various diseases in the Canal Zone. This was an absolute prerequisite to the success of the Americans. The discovery that yellow fever and malaria was caused by mosquitoes at the time was a key element. Even though the discovery was well documented in the medical journals, however, there were quite a number of individuals who discounted the theory and continued to believe these diseases were caused by “bad air”. We have significant parallels today in our society who are quick to discount scientific theory in such areas as climate change and evolution.
Another interesting area was the extent of the changes in technology in a very short period of time that would have made the building of the canal all but impossible even ten years earlier. The development of electricity and steel metalurgy in those ten years was signfiicant. At about the time the locks were being built the first factories in the U.S. were being electrified. The advances in technology that were employed in the design of the canal were remarkable.As we are planning to take a cruise to Panama next winter, the reading of this book will provide a great deal of insight. The book was very readable and interesting to me.