Review:I'll be honest, the book starts off rather slowly. William tells of his childhood in Africa that ranges from the death of an uncle to the famine that struck his land. Once the book picks up, basically when he begins to actually build the windmill, the back story makes a lot more sense. In the end, it is quite difficult to not be enamored with what this young man manages to accomplish with limited resources. Overall, it is a very good read. If you are looking for an inspiring story then this is o... Read more

Review:The first two thirds (almost) of the book covers practical physics. It is very entertaining and interesting because it deals with thing and events that we all can relate to - Like Newton's laws of motion, electronics and the why and how everyday events happen the way they do. It was an interesting diversion from my usual read. I would have given this part of the book four stars.

The remainder of the book (over two thirds) deals with Astro Physics which it seems is really Walter Lewin's ... Read more

Review:I started reading this with great expectations, but I quickly realized I was having a hard time reading the story. The print in the book I received is very small, and I'm now wondering if I should not have seen the movie....three times...before attempting to read the book. Read more

Review:If you were a fan back in the 50's and 60's please give this one a pass. It is more a book about a crude, vulgar, tasteless, drunk than a story about baseball. The author began this book with a good look at Mickey struggling to get into baseball. A couple more chapters and I was really enjoying it. Unfortunately, her biography rapidly tailed off (in baseball terms) in about the 3rd inning and never came back.
Any dyed-in-the-wool baseball fan knows Mickey had problems. Some know that he was f... Read more

Review:If you like bravura prose this is a must-read; if your taste runs to short, affect-less little sentences don't bother, this is not the book for you. How good is good? This good: the essay on the tennis pro is so moving, profound, and brilliantly crafted you'll want to read it twice in a row, even if you cultivate an active dislike for sports in general and athletes in particular, as I do. The essay on the Illinois state fair is so vivid, intense, funny, sad, and deep that you'll not only fee... Read more

Review:Too often in American society, many believe poor minorities (or just minorities) fall into crime because of their nature. I think Jimmy Santiago Baca’s book, A Place to Stand, does a good job calling the nature vs nurture debate into question. Baca recounts his life from first memories to multiple family member’s abandonment to hard time in jail and then release. The first time he is taken to jail, it is because he committed the crime of homelessness. His jailer told Baca, “ ‘Remember, you’re no... Read more

Review:Whenever I read about Martin Luther's role in the Reformation, I end up feeling disappointed. He began so well and ended so badly. By allying the church with the state he quenched the spirit of popular Christianity in Europe, and I suspect that the Anabaptists whom he persecuted as heretics were doctrinally and practically closer to true Christianity than he was. This was a very sympathetic biography, but I regard Luther as neither a hero or a saint, and my verdict is that as a Reformer he on... Read more

Review:After reading the book a while, I encountered sexual content that caused me to quit reading the book.
Also, it seemed to me that the book jumped around from boyhood days to adult days of experiences.
I would not recommend the book Read more

Review:"To Kill a Mockingbird" is the bestselling book of the twentieth century and is considered to be one of the best books of all time. Almost an instant classic upon its publication, it has enjoyed almost fifty years in the limelight, and never fallen by the wayside. Yet its author remains something of an enigma, a writer turned recluse who never wrote a second novel. That is exactly what Charles J. Shileds sets out to explore in "Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee".

This biography beg... Read more

Review:Since its publication in 1920, Storm of Steel, written by Ernst Junger, has been surrounded by controversy. Many have misunderstood Junger and accused him of attempting to glorify war. I saw no evidence of the glorification of war in his book. Junger has obviously been desensitized to violence does not show much emotion to the atrocities of war that he witnesses. However, I did see evidence of compassion and a longing for the life that he had before the war.
I finished this book in less than... Read more