"Maine" Beach House Family Saga

"Maine" by J. Courtney Sullivan is the absorbing story of a dysfunctional Boston family who spend their summers at a beach house estate in Maine. Told from four points of view, the story develops like a well-cooked stew from chapters hosted by elderly matriarch Annie, who is trying unsuccessfully to atone for a tragic secret; her daughter Kathleen, who has been estranged from the family for years and is trying to make a go of a worm farm in California;  Maggie, Annie's granddaughter and Kathleen's daughter, an aspiring writer who discovers she's pregnant just when her boyfriend chooses to dump her, and Anna Marie, Annie's daughter-in-law, the seemingly perfect wife who tries to make up in a miniature dollhouse her failings as a mother and wife. All of the women come together at the beach house for one summer of bared grievances, acknowledgements, and realizations of the dream lives they each lost. Written in a style highly reminiscent of the great Pat Conroy, "Maine" is the ultimate end of summer beach read: we've all known characters like this family portrays.

Coming attractions in the book reviews are: "Maine," a novel by J. Courtney Sullivan about four women in a family at a seaside summer home; "Meditation," an in depth guide by Ian Gawler and Paul Bedson; "ProBlogger, Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income," by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett, and "Win,' the Key Principles to Take Your Business from Ordinary to Extraordinary" by Dr. Frank I. Luntz.

Wild Times During the Yukon Gold Rush

Unquestionably, the best book I've read all summer has to be "The Floor of Heaven: a True Tale of the Last Frontier and the Yukon Gold Rush" by Howard Blum. Although clearly a Wild West-type story, most of the action occurs along the border of Canada and during the Yukon Gold Rush in Alaska. This vibrant non-fiction narrative tells the tale of George Carmack, a Marine Corps deserter whose gold discovery sets off a swarm of prospectors to the Yukon wilds; flamboyant snake-oil salesman "Soapy" Smith and his nefarious gang soon follow where fortunes are to be made. Cowboy turned Pinkerton detective Charlie Stringo goes after the bad guys in a tour de force of investigation that will keep you on the edge of your seat. This superb real-life adventure story begs to be made into a major motion picture, and I very much hope that happens. Blum is an incredibly gifted writer and researcher. This book should be a best-seller.

High Adventure on "Turn Right at Machu Picchu"

Author Mark Adams delivers a rollicking tale of romantic, high-spirited adventure as he retraces the steps of Hiram Bingham's Peruvian trail to discovering the lost Incan city of Machu Picchu near that discovery's centennial. Led by an Australian guide named John Leivers who acts more like Crocodile Dundee than the original, Adams and their team of coca-chewing muleteers and cook painstakingly follow the tracks laid down by Bingham, whose discovery of the ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu in 1911 was a dream come true for archaeologists. Indeed, the legendary Bingham was likely the role model for Indiana Jones of Raiders of the Lost Ark fame, according to Adams: both were teachers and archaeologist/adventurers, and both wore fedora hats out in the jungle.
Now a mecca for new agers, psychics, and other tourists who sometimes spend $800 or more to spend the night in a fancy hotel at the base of the mountain, Machu Picchu is the end of the Incan Trail, a roadway made by the ancients on the perilously steep slopes. Adams and his team chose to follow the trail laid by Bingham 100 years ago to experience what he did on his tour from Cusco, rather than take the easy way out and ride the bus in to the cloud-covered city. This is a vastly entertaining story well worth the read.

The Pleasures of Reading Participation Blog

As I am currently reading "The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction," by Alan Jacobs, I thought it might be fun to ask for comments and brief descriptions of my friends' favorite books. Feel free to post below, and if you can't limit yourself to one book, that's OK, too.

Guru Guy Kawasaki Teaches How to Enchant Customers

Business guru Guy Kawasaki teaches how to transform situations and relationships to make skeptics into believers and the undecided into loyal customers in his latest, and perhaps best, business book, "Enchantment, the Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions." A former Apple spokesman, Kawasaki is well known for his motivational books and speeches. In his latest book, he argues that enchantment is not about manipulating people, but in adjusting attitudes. He says your goal both in business and personal relationships is not just about what you want to accomplish, but to bring about a voluntary, enduring and positive change in other people through enlisting their desires, by being trustworthy, and by framing a cause that others can embrace. Easy and entertaining to read, "Enchantment" well merits a spot on business entrepreneur's bookshelves.

The Truth Behind the Roswell N.M. UFO Crash

Just what really did crash in Roswell, N.M., in 1947? The truth behind the UFO crash is more shocking than aliens from outer space, according to Anne Jacobsen's new book, "Area 51, An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base." Jacobsen uses interviews with former military personnel and declassified information to construct this often scary history of the Nevada top secret base. She outlines how the Atomic Energy Commission has conducted numerous nuclear tests in the Nevada desert, including one in the 1950s which nearly blew a hole in Earth's ozone layer. She also outlines how former Nazi German scientists were included in Area 51's Paperclip corps working on secret experiments for the US, including work on a saucer shaped flying craft which many have mistakenly believed was a UFO.

This is a disturbing book, raising questions about how far the government is willing to go in its work to combat enemies both here and abroad, from the creation of dirty bombs to even eugenics. What goes on at Area 51 now will be classified for decades, and some will never be revealed, due to the fact the powers that be have determined some facts are only on a "need to know" basis. As one former employee at area 51 put it, what has been revealed so far is only the tip of the iceberg compared to what really has happened and is happening today at the site. This is truly the stuff of nightmares, but fascinating in the same way a train wreck attracts a crowd.