David Beck has rebuilt his life since his wife’s murder eight years ago, finishing medical school and establishing himself as a pediatrician, but he’s never forgotten the woman he fell in love with in second grade. And when a mysterious e-mail arrives on the anniversary of their first kiss, with a message and an image that leads him to wonder whether Elizabeth might still be alive, Beck will stop at nothing to find the truth that’s eluded him for so many years. A powerful billionaire is equally determined to make sure his role in her disappearance never comes to light, even if it means destroying an innocent man. In David Beck, Harlan Coben, the author of the popular series starring sports agent Myron Bolitar (Darkest Fear et al.) has created a protagonist who shares many of Bolitar’s best qualities–he’s a decent, generous, gentle guy whose loyalty to those he loves is unquestionable. So when he discovers that people he was close to may be responsible not only for Elizabeth’s murder but also the “accidental” death of his father, Beck’s sense of betrayal is as understandable to the reader as his uncharacteristically violent reaction. Coben is a skillful storyteller with a gift for creating likable characters caught up in circumstances that illuminate their complex emotional lives and deep humanity. This should be the thriller that breaks this talented writer out of the mystery genre and earns him the recognition he deserves. –Jane Adams

Synopsis

Ken Follett is known worldwide as the master of split-second suspense, but his most beloved and bestselling book tells the magnificent tale of a twelfth-century monk driven to do the seemingly impossible: build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known.

Everything readers expect from Follett is here: intrigue, fast-paced action, and passionate romance. But what makes The Pillars of the Earth extraordinary is the time—the twelfth century; the place—feudal England; and the subject—the building of a glorious cathedral. Follett has re-created the crude, flamboyant England of the Middle Ages in every detail. The vast forests, the walled towns, the castles, and the monasteries become a familiar landscape. Against this richly imagined and intricately interwoven backdrop, filled with the ravages of war and the rhythms of daily life, the master storyteller draws the reader irresistibly into the intertwined lives of his characters—into their dreams, their labors, and their loves: Tom, the master builder; Aliena, the ravishingly beautiful noblewoman; Philip, the prior of Kingsbridge; Jack, the artist in stone; and Ellen, the woman of the forest who casts a terrifying curse. From humble stonemason to imperious monarch, each character is brought vividly to life.

The building of the cathedral, with the almost eerie artistry of the unschooled stonemasons, is the center of the drama. Around the site of the construction, Follett weaves a story of betrayal, revenge, and love, which begins with the public hanging of an innocent man and ends with the humiliation of a king.

At once a sensuous and endearing love story andan epic that shines with the fierce spirit of a passionate age, The Pillars of the Earth is without a doubt Ken Follett’s masterpiece.

I believe that the consensus was that the book was not a great piece of literature and could be considered an airport read. I concur. I picked it because I am obsessed about the issue of big money trying to influence the judicial and what that could mean to our society. If it is a best seller and the readers get the point it does a great job. With specific reference of Mr,Goen and the outside money in 2006, I think I did a poor job in getting that across. But then, the Book Dogs are too sophisticated and perhaps did not need the lecture.

Synopsis

In a crowded courtroom in Mississippi, a jury returns a shocking verdict against a chemical company accused of dumping toxic waste into a small town’s water supply, causing the worst “cancer cluster” in history. The company appeals to the Mississippi Supreme Court, whose nine justices will one day either approve the verdict or reverse it.
Who are the nine? How will they vote? Can one be replaced before the case is ultimately decided?

The chemical company is owned by a Wall Street predator named Carl Trudeau, and Mr. Trudeau is convinced the Court is not friendly enough. With judicial elections looming, he decides to try to purchase himself a seat on the Court. The cost is a few million dollars, a drop in the bucket for a billionaire like Mr. Trudeau. Through an intricate web of conspiracy and deceit, his political operatives recruit a young, unsuspecting candidate. They finance him, manipulate him, market him, and mold him into a potential Supreme Court justice. Their Supreme Court justice.

The Appeal is a powerful, timely, and shocking story of political and legal intrigue, a story that will leave listeners unable to think about our electoral process or judicial system in quite the same way ever again.

The New York Times Book Review – Steven Brill

…[Grisham] focuses on the absurdity, no matter which side you are on, of judicial elections. Unlike a lot of novels and TV docudramas that selectively latch onto facts to create a false picture, The Appeal delivers a real picture of a real problem. And, it all goes down easily because he spins it around such a gripping tale.

More Reviews and Recommendations

Biography

The master of the legal thriller, John Grisham was a criminal and civil lawyer in Mississippi when his first book, A Time to Kill, was published. But it was his next book, The Firm, that became a blockbuster and established him as king of the genre

Earl Olsen also provided a little pre-meeting color by sending all of us a BBC produced animation of the three year North Africa campaign.

General Comments:

As usual there was a wide range of responses to An Army At Dawn, with a core group of military history lovers who found the book a great read, and who would highly recommend it to others. Their comments included praise such as:

“This book was written for me.”

“I loved this book.”

A number of people found the story a bit difficult to read, but very fascinating due to the little know facts of the campaign in North Africa. Comments included gems like:

“This book should have been called How the Americans Won Against the Brits”

“Considering the incompetence shown by the Allies, it was a good thing Churchill got his way about invading North Africa first rather than following the American suggestion to invade France.”

“I was stunned by how many errors the Axis powers made that allowed the Allies to win this campaign.”

Some readers found the book too difficult to finish due to a variety of reasons, and there was a larger than normal number of those who did not finish reading the book. However, while not everyone found the book a compelling read, there was universal interest in the facts and implications of what was the first joint American-British military campaign against the German-Italian alliance.

There were very stimulating, if brief, comments and conversations that by themselves could have generated many hours of discussion had we the time or inclination to follow them. These topics included:

1. As the “Arsenal of Democracy”, America provided an overwhelming amount of weapons and supplies to the Allies, and that that, combined with the blood letting the Soviets inflicted on the Germans in Russia, was the ultimate cause of the defeat of Germany.

2. FDR’s surprise announcement at the end of the Casablanca Conference, that the Allies would accept only a total, unconditional surrender by Germany and Italy, may have caused the death of millions of people, yet in the rearview mirror of history, that was certainly the correct decision.

3. The story behind the rapid collapse of France, what role her political and military leaders had on the willingness of the French people to capitulate and loose their will to resist, as well as their initial willingness to fight against the Americans and British in North Africa. Here is an interesting summary of the Scuttling of the French Fleet in Toulon on Nov 17, 1942. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scuttling_of_the_French_fleet_in_Toulon

Thanks to Bob for a great discussion and book suggestion.

Synopsis

Ex-Green Beret George Hayduke has returned from war to find his beloved southwestern desert threatened by industrial development. Joining with Bronx exile and feminist saboteur Bonnie Abzug, wilderness guide and outcast Mormon Seldom Seen Smith, and libertarian billboard torcher Doc Sarvis, M.D., Hayduke is ready to fight the power—taking on the strip miners, clear-cutters, and the highway, dam, and bridge builders who are threatening the natural habitat. The Monkey Wrench Gang is on the move—and peaceful coexistence be damned!

Annotation

The backlist bestselling underground cult classic that raised American consciousness of environmentalism, reissued in a trade paperback edition. When a gang of renegades sets forth on their mission to destroy the power lines, new road and bridges springing up across their cherished desert, all hell breaks loose.

Biography

Edward Abbey spent most of his life in the American Southwest. The author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, including the much celebrated Desert Solitaire, which decried the waste of America’s wilderness, Abbey was one of the country’s foremost defenders of the natural environment. He died in 1989.

General Comments:
The book was well liked by almost everyone in the group. A few advocates, many supporters, and not many detractors. Almost everyone felt a need to compare this book to the author’s first novel The Kite Runners, even if their only comment was, “I didn’t read The Kite Runner“. For those who had read The Kite Runner, it was an even split as to preference between A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Kite Runner. Since we picked The Kite Runner as one of our favorite books in 2006, that is not an unfavorable comparison.

In reading my notes, it is very difficult to pick up a thread in the conversation about the book. We talked obliquely about many aspects of the book such as how the male dominant culture was honestly portrayed , how the story line and plot of the story was universal , how war, and it’s attendant horrors and affects are devastating, how both the men and women in the story were captives of their culture.

A few offered what I felt were thought provoking comments, and yet we did not manage to explore them in much detail. I don’t know whether it is the disruptive nature of the Dog House (burgers sub fries anyone) or the long table that makes discussion difficult, but it felt like we missed an opportunity. Here are a few of the comments which I felt warranted further conversation.

1-Quoting from the book about how he was profoundly affected by Marian’s reflections and thoughts. “Love was a damaging mistake.”
2-Commenting about the audacity of a man writing a book from a woman’s point of view, the cruelty of the husband being mildly comfortable – after all he was “a guy.”
3-The fact that this book was about a universal story (male dominance) in a unique and setting (Muslim Afganistan); did that make a difference in our feelings about it?
4-Feeling very uncomfortable and depressing feeling he felt reading about the virtual slavery of the women in the story, and at the same time not feeling uncomfortable in a more intellectual expose of the same thing.

It seems that we truly appreciated the book, but it didn’t feel like we went very deep and that the conversation ended before it really began. Maybe we should read the book again…(just kidding).

Discussion Notes: A Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin

In the absence of the book discussion leader, Paul (you should have been there) Goldfinger, the group self organized and using the round the room discussion technique we covered many different facets of the book. Here is a quick summary of the conversation:

Favorable Commentary:

The general consensus was that despite some concerns about writing style, this was a wonderful book, full of fascinating and revelatory information about Lincoln, the Civil War, mid 19th century American politics, lifestyle, and beliefs. There is no doubt that everyone, including those who have read and studied about Abe Lincoln, came away with an even greater respect for this remarkable man. For some, the book was a revelation about Lincoln, with Simon commenting that this placed Lincoln in top position as his personal hero (Winston move over). The book evoked everything from a wonder about the geopolitical sophistication of Lincoln and his cabinet as they maneuvered to keep Great Britain from openly supporting the southern states, as well as the use of captured cotton to finance the war effort, to the brilliant timing and use of the Emancipation Proclamation as an act of war to encourage blacks to rebel and fight for the north while simultaneously limiting its applicability to the states in rebellion so as not to antagonize the border states. The book elicited broad musings, from comments about how the pragmatic actions taken in those dire times, such as the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus set the precedence for it’s use in our current war on terror.  Or wondering aloud how any man could be so great and yet be subjected to his vilification by his opponents and some of the press, makes us all realize that the history of our political discourse has never been particularly civil or reasoned.

Negative Commentary:

Despite the overwhelming admiration for the author’s research and unique perspective in telling Lincoln’s story, this book was not considered by all to be a great read. Many people commented on the excessive filler and difficult structure and style to include everything from her shifts in time to the use of quotes, semi-quotes, footnotes and other distractions. Earl commented that he felt the book lacked two elements: 1) an editor and 2) an executive summary. Another person felt that she wrote “a woman’s version of history” meaning that there was too much information about styles, dresses, and the soft facts about life in this time frame. Others said that they enjoyed feeling immersed in the time period, and that her inclusion of that information enhanced the read. It is my distinct conclusion that everyone felt it could have been 200 pages less with no loss of information or enjoyment.

With the official end of the reviews and conversation, we adjourned to the kitchen and did our best locus imitation and descended on the delicious selection of pies and ice cream. Louise you just know what we love!

Thanks again to Dan and Louise for sharing their home and creating such a pleasant, convivial atmosphere for a bunch of beer drinking guys yacking about a book.

Next Month’s Book (April):

Due to a problem obtaining copies of The Potato Factory, we decided to switch to A Thousand Splendid Son’s by Khaled Hosseini for April. Maury will be the discussion leader.

May Book:

An Army At Dawn by Rick Atkinson will be our May book, discussion lead by Bob (aka Soggy Sage).

More information on each can be found at the Upcoming Books posts in our book club blog site, http://bookdogs.wordpress.com.

This month’s book, Loving Frank by Nancy Horan created quite a lively conversation. Out of 13, only 3 said they would recommend this book, and 3 started the book but didn’t finish because they simply didn’t care for the story. As usual we had a evening of quotable quotes, from Bob Forrest’s “it was a Harlequin romance novel about well known people” to Dennis commenting that he “liked the book until he read it.”

Interestingly, most felt the book was well researched and well written, but that the main characters, Mamah Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wright were not sympathetic characters, and most reacted negatively to their personal character and behavior. Mamah drew heavy fire for leaving her children, and Frank got some heat about his ego and lack of concern about others.

In reading over my notes, it is strange to see that noone took offense to Frank leaving his children. Bruce mentioned that he felt that the story behind the story, was the issue of the role of women in society, and the differences between how they are judged compared to men. We wondered aloud about whether our spouses would like this book better than we. Since Loving Frank is the book that was selected at the All Island Book Meeting to be read in 2008, we will be know pretty well if men’s reaction to this book is more negative than the women.

March’s book is Team Of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, discussion to be lead by Paul Goldfinger. April’s Meeting will be held at Dan Prewitt’s home in Langley. I will send an address and map link later this month in the reminder email.

April’s book is The Potato Factory by Bryce Kourteny, with the discussion to be lead by Ken Cado.

We had a conversation about the book selection process and agreed to try a new approach. We will do a round robin of discussion leaders and that person shall select the book. It is our hope that this will lead to a more diverse book selection and lead to new discoveries of authors and books.

I will send out a separate email outlining the new process.

As Bugs Bunny says “That’s all folks.”