1. Where is the Mango Princess

By Cathy Crimmins
Rated 4 1/2 Stars

This book was recommended by Kathryn, a poster in a group I belong to. It was published in 2001 and the injury that Crimmins described happened several years before that. At the time it was written the struggle's that the author had in order to get decent treatment for her husband was shocking. But since this book was written the war in Iraq has happened in which the causualty totals have exceeded 30,00 and according to the Brain Injury Association of America more than half of them involve a traumatic brain injury.

In this book Crimmins' describes how her husband Alan suffered a traumatic brain injury in a speedboat crash. This book tells the stories of Alan's slow and irregular return to a reasonably normal existence; of the changing relationships involved, especially that of Cathy and the Crimmins' daughter, Kelly; and of how an HMO impeded a patient's treatment and recovery by misguided attempts at cost cutting.

Both Crimmins' and her husband, both of whom were highly educated, successful professional people (both had a Ph.d,) were more mature than most people and were better equiped to navigate the massive red tape and negotiate with an HMO that was determined to provide as little care as they could legally get away with.

Imagine your average young soldier with such an injury, probably in his early twenties who joined up right out of high school to get money for college trying to deal with an underfunded, understaffed and overwhelmed Veterans care system to get the services needed.

Try to imagine also the families of these service men and women who are trying to cope with a family member who has been forever altered both physically and mentally and who suffers from results of their injury that include at best:

http://www.traumaticbraininjury.com/content/symptoms/mildtbisymptoms.html

And in the more serious cases:

http://www.traumaticbraininjury.com/content/symptoms/severetbisymptoms.html

This is one of those books that while I am glad I read it but I probably would have been happier if I hadn't.

116. The Coal Gatherer

By Janet Woods
Rated 3 1/2 Stars


This book is written in the style of Catherine Cookson Novel,.

Set in the North of Victorian England, Calandra Ingram known as Callie meets Patricia Lazarus and her brother James whilst gathering sea coal at the waters edge, they strike up a friendship that will last for ever, despite their different backgrounds. When Callie is offered the post of companion to Patricia, it is the first step in her journey to a better life ... very predictable ending but still kind of fun.

113. A Place Beyond Courage

By Elizabeth Chadwick
Rated 5++++++ Stars!

No one comes as close to putting the reader in the position of being a fly on the wall so to speak of their stories as Elizabeth Chadwick does.

What I think is particularly wonderful about A Place Beyond Courage is that John Marshall is really not a very heroic figure as hero's are defined in novels. Susan has managed to breath life and humanity as well as creating sympathy for a character whom I suspect was pretty much a self serving cold fish of a person.

The real life John Marshall changed sides far to often for me to get any sense of his having the code of honor that was prevalent in his time. Many men died trying to live up to their code of honor while John Marshall seems to have honored only his own self interest. Also the way he dumped Aline really bothered me. A man of honor would not have notified her by letter that she has become an inconvenience.

The only self serving thing he did that I even come close to understanding was a.) surrendering William as a hostage since that was common practice at the time and b.) giving that little hammer and anvil speech (never let them see you sweat) since I agree with the author's conclusion that it was in Williams interest that John not show how much (if it was indeed much) that William meant to him. I am sure that he cared some, because he was human after all.

The tender love story between him and Sybilla is, IMO, all from the author's imagination as I don't think there is any real evidence that they did other than get married and have children together. It's lovely to think of her version as fact but I guess I am just too much of a skeptic. But it sure made for great reading.

The fact that the author managed to spin such a wonderful story while incorporating all these facts is a true testament to her as a writer. I love the John Marshall of her story. But I suspect that very few, if anyone from his time would recognize the man he was as the man she was writing about.

Now his son William, (The Greatest Knight) that is another thing entirely. Every thing she wrote about him was absolutely, positively true. I know this because my heart tells me so.

112. Shakespeare, The world a stage

By Bill Bryson
Rated 5+++++ Stars

Bill Bryson is an author whose books really resonate with me. I am sure that he could write a book on the Influence of Politics and Religion in Common Earth Worm colonys and I would not only rush out to buy it but would then also rate it 5 stars. There is something about his take on things combined with the way he uses languages that really appeals to me as a reader.

In this book he starts off explaining that virtually nothing aside from his published works is really known about Shakespeare's life except that records have been found documenting that he was a) born and b) who his parents were, c) that he married Ann Hathaway and fathered three children, d) lived at some point in London and e) died and is buried in Stratford.

Copied from a review on amazon: And then, because he is the writer he is, takes close to 200 pages to cover it. One would think that 200 pages covering "nothing" would grow tedious. One would be wrong!!! (three exclamatio points, if you please.) So charmigly does Bryson write; so entertainingly does he explicate WHY nothing is known, and how to best understand that nothing, that the book is an unending source of knowledge and delight. ANY writer can write about SOMETHING. It takes the massive talents of the Thunderbolt Kid to write this well about nothing. He makes "Seinfeld" look loquacious.

111. World Without End

by Ken Follett
Rated 5 Stars

Every once in a while, like in a Blue Moon maybe, a book comes along that is clearly way out ahead of most other books.

World Without End takes place in the same town of Kingsbridge, two centuries after the townspeople finished building the exquisite Gothic cathedral that was at the heart of The Pillars of the Earth. The cathedral and the priory are again at the center of a web of love and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge, but this sequel stands on its own. This time the men and women of an extraordinary cast of characters find themselves at a crossroad of new ideas--about medicine, commerce, architecture, and justice. In a world where proponents of the old ways fiercely battle those with progressive minds, the intrigue and tension quickly reach a boiling point against the devastating backdrop of the greatest natural disaster ever to strike the human race--the Black Death.

I went over to Amazon and looked closely at the reviews and noted that of 104 reviewers, 53% had given it 5 stars and 18 four stars. Obviously this is a love it or hate it kind of book.

There are a couple of things I think might be the reason for the bad reviews. One thing is that Folett is not primarily a historical fiction writer and a great many of his books have been thrillers. So his writing style tends to be pretty gritty. Also, while there is a strong love story (and a couple of minor ones) running through this book it is not a romance novel. It's the story of a 14th century community in a cathedral market town and at times his vision of 14 century life makes me a little uncomfortable. Plausible, but still a little uncomfortable. Especially what passed for justice and fairness.

I caught myself being sympathetic to be baddies in the book simply because it seemed to me that the only way someone of the "lower classes" might improve their circumstances was with either brawn and hopefully a few brains thrown in.Luck played a huge part in this and I found I couldn't really blame some of the characters who seized any and every opportunity that came their way, fair means or fowl. In fact, there is one female character who has, IMO, a definite Claire Frazer attitude towards survival.

One of the reviewers noted that Charis was a feminist and therefore out of place in the 14th century. Obviously this reviewer had never read anything about Eleanor of Aquitaine to name just one because there are many. She came immediately to mind because she is a particular favorite of mine. I think this reviewer was not much of a reader. Also there was a small incidence of lesbianism and as we all know the slightest whiff of anything homosexual drives the homophobes into an orgasmic frenzy.

110. Tomb of Zeus

By Barbara Cleverly
Rated 4 1/2 Stars

This is a new series for Cleverly and I am looking forward to reading the subsequent books. However I hope she doesn't abandon Inspector Joe Sandilands of Scotland Yard as I have become very fond of him. This book reminds me a tiny bit of Elizabeth Peter's heroine Vicky Bliss as I think there is more to her boyfriend than meets the eye.

--BOOK JACKET. "Born into a background of British privilege, Laetitia Talbot has been raised to believe there is no field in which she may not excel. She has chosen a career in the male-dominated world of archaeology, but she approaches her first assignment in Crete the only way she knows how - with dash and enthusiasm. Until she enters the Villa Europa, where something is clearly utterly amiss ..." "Her host, a charismatic archaeologist, is racing to dig up the fabled island's next great treasure - the tomb of the King of the Gods. But then a beautiful young woman is found hanged and a golden youth drives his Bugatti over a cliff. From out of the shadows come whispers of past loves, past jealousies, and ancient myths that sound an eerie discord with present events. Letty will need all her determination and knowledge to unravel the secrets beneath the Villa Europa's roof - and they will lead her into the darkest, most terrifying place of all."