Terrorism on the scale of 9-11 or the insurgency in Iraq costs a lot of money. Where does it come from? That question is answered in Funding Evil: How Terrorism is Financed and How to Stop it by Rachel Ehrenfeld ($14.95, Bonus Books, Santa Monica, CA). The answer is that the Third Great Islamic Jihad is funded with criminal activities from drugs to counterfeiting to every other form of crime you can name. The hardcover edition was published in 2003 and this softcover edition is enhanced with new information on the 9-11 Commission Report. The book is the result of more than 15 years of in-depth research by the author. Dr. Ehrenfeld is the director of the New York-based American Center for Democracy and the Center for the Study of Corruption & the Rule of Law. She has published previously, coining the word "narco-terrorism" for the title of a 1990 book on how governments around the world use the drug trade to finance terrorism. Suffice it to say, if anyone knows this subject inside and out, it is the author. You will be astonished by the revelations. Most certainly the Saudis were. One Saudi billionaire is suing her in England while she counter-sues here in the US. The bottom line is that billions were and are being spent to destabilize American society by the Saudis. The good news is that, given what it revealed in this book, increasingly ours and other governments are developing the means to interdict the funding of Islamist terror organizations.

Do you often get the feeling that the mainstream news organizations are not giving you the news you want to know in order to figure out what’s really happening? If you’re like me, you probably surf a number of topic-specific websites to get a sense of what is occurring in various parts of the world. News Incorporated: Corporate Media Ownership and Its Threat to Democracy ($26.00, Prometheus Books) asserts that "the current climate of American journalism is fraught with incestuous relationships between government and a handful of Fortune 500 corporations that own and operate news organizations." The result is "a homogenized, censored version of reality and the watchdog of American democracy, the press, has become a docile instrument of governmental authority and big money." Edited by Dr. Elliot D. Cohen, Ph.D, the book offers a collection of essays by more than a dozen of the nation’s top media scholars, critics, and journalists, including a preface by Arthur Kent. It does tend to draw on liberals among its contributors, but it also offers much food for thought. Reflecting the same theme, but from the inside, is Davis Merritt’s Knightfall: Knight-Ridder and How the Erosion of Newspaper Journalism is Putting Democracy at Risk ($24.95, Amacom). The title alone reflects the great sadness and serious consequences of what happens when newspapers are run, not be journalists, but by corporate standards. The author spent many years as an editor inside the Knight-Ridder empire watching how short-term objectives undermined the quality of K-R’s 35 daily newspapers, once famed for the Pulitzer Prizes they earned. Between 1995 and 2002, more than two dozen top editors and publishers bailed out before their normal retirement age. The author watched as deteriorating journalistic standards attracted "liars, cheats, and thieves to compete for positions on understaffed newspapers." If you think the daily newspaper you’re reading these days is short-changing you on the news, you’re right.

Spam Wars: Our Last Best Chance to Defeat Spammers, Scammers, and Hackers by Danny Goodman ($17.95, Select Books) is absolutely astonishing and more than a little frightening. Did you know that spammers make money from your email address without your knowledge or approval? Hackers are constantly probing your PC for security holes and frequently finding and exploiting them? Your PC is likely spying on your Web activity and snatching your passwords? That simply previewing a spam message can both confirm your email address and earn a commission for the spammer? That billions of email messages, including those you may actually want, are automatically discarded every day before they ever arrive? Or that your PC may be sending floods of spam while you sleep? Learn how to defeat them by reading this timely, useful and important book.

There’s a lot of conflicting opinion about the growth of the Hispanic or Latino (the words or interchangeable) population. The problems generated by eight to twelve million illegal aliens, the 400,000 that annuallypour across our southern border, the strains on our social systems, all create negative feelings, but Right Before Our Eyes: Latinos Past, Present & Future by Robert Montemayor with Henry Mendoza ($18.95, Scholargy, The Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, Los Angeles) clearly sets forth another picture of Latinos in America while not ignoring the problems. There are some forty million Latinos with $700 billion a year in purchasing power. If they were a nation, they would rank ninth in the world, just behind Canada and Spain. Although Latinos were here, exploring the continent long before the English arrived, they have always experienced a second-class citizen status that they are ready to cast off. The book notes that, despite their numbers, comparatively few have made it up into the professions, lead corporations or hold high political positions, but that will change by the sheer force of their numbers, by virtue of the same values they hold with other Americans, and with needed improvements in our educational systems, and other changes that are occurring. They are going to be a significant economic, political and social force in the US and this book tells you why. As such, it is an important look at the role of Latinos as they too make their contributions to the nation.

One way to gain an understanding of another culture is to read a memoir by someone who has lived it and Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Conxin ($15.00, Berkley Trade Paperback) is both his story and that of Red China. It is the story of a peasant boy from rural China who became one of the greatest dancers of his generation. It is also the story of Chinese and US relations, and the way his indoctrination to Communism gave way to his realization of the freedom that America’s way of life offered. Trained as a ballet dancer under Madame Mao’s arts program, Conxin won a rare scholarship to perform with the Houston Ballet in the US. The contrast of life here and back in China was startling. On his second trip to Houston, he defected and a long, dark period of his life followed despite becoming a principal dancer with the Houston Ballet. A marriage failed. Later, with the intercession of George and Barbara Bush, his parents able to visit him here and, still later, with a thaw in relations, he was able to return to China for visits of his own. Despite everything, Conxin triumphed over adversity. He lives now in Australia with his second wife and three children.

I see lots of advice books, but occasionally one comes along that stands out from the rest. This is the case of "Cool Stuff" They Should Teach in School by Kent and Kyle Healy ($14.95, www.coolstuffmedia.com). This book is written by teens, for teens, young adults "and curious parents." It contains information of real value that goes beyond the usual recommendations about self-esteem. Indeed, it emphasizes hard work, handling money wisely, how to deal with banks, what Wall Street and investing involves, and all those things that add up to success that teachers and parents may neglect to pass along. It is a guide to real life. It will help any teenager make sense of a very complex world. If you have a teenage son or daughter, a niece or nephew, by all means get this book and give it to them.

Like most Americans, what I know about Canada could fill a bug’s ear. It’s a big place to the north of us and most of the population huddles right on our border. It’s also a place that seems to spawn excellent authors. BTC Audio Books of Fredericton, New Brunswick, sent along three titles, CDs, all of which seem to have the theme, "Let’s get the heck out of Canada", although I doubt they planned it that way. There’s Mordecai Richler’s classic novel, The Apprenticeship of Dubby Kravitz ($29.95US), Ian Ferguson’s funny memoir, Village of the Small Houses ($24.95US) and Miriam Toews’ A Complicated Kindness ($29.95US). Toews’ novel features 16-year-old Nomi Nickel whose angst will prove entertaining even though her family is falling apart. The author won Canada’s 2004 Governor General’s Award for Fiction. Ferguson reads his own book, which also won an award, the 2004 Leacock Medal for Humor. He lives up to the honor. Richler’s novel, the tale of a clever young rogue determined to get out of Montreal’s Jewish ghetto was written in 1959, but is every bit as good today. To learn more about this publisher visit www.gooselane.com.

Most people who read books have a secret desire to write one. Fortunately, these days, if one does write a book and either self-publish or be published by a large or small house, there are books around to help one’s book be a success. One of the latest is The Making of a Bestseller by Brian Hill and Dee Power ($19.95, Dearborn Trade Publishing, Chicago.) The authors reveal how agents affect the publishing process, how good and bad reviews affect sales, the role of booksellers, and, most importantly, the role of marketing and publicity in determining a books success. Would you believe that, in 2003, there were more than 175,000 books published in the US? And that was 20% increase over the previous year. I know this is true because, having reviewed book for over four decades, I see more and more of them every day. I would recommend that anyone who is thinking about writing a book, in the midst of writing a book, or is just about to be published run out and get a copy of this book to learn the secrets that people in the trade have shared. Let’s say you are going to be published. Wouldn’t you like to learn the secrets of Book Marketing from A~Z ($18.95, Infinity Publishing, West Conshohocken, PA)? Fortunately for you, Francine Silverman has gathered those secrets from more than 300 authors who shared the successes and failures en route to promoting their books. I would certainly recommend this to anyone who wants to give their book a real chance at success. It is filled with tested, proven things one can do.

Or maybe you’re in the market for professional editors and writers? If so, pick up a copy of Elizabeth Lyon’s National Directory of Editors & Writers ($18.95, M. Evans and Company, softcover) that features profiles of more than 500 US freelancers who can bring real skills and talent to any project. I am, I must admit, a bit biased because I am one of the writers profiled! That said, I am in very good company with editors and writers whose expertise in fiction, non-fiction, and a wide range of specialties and topic areas will let you select just the right one for your company, your agency, your association, or perhaps a bit of ghostwriting for you.

Finally, the good news is that Leonard Maltin’s Classic Movie Guide ($20.00, Plume softcover) is just out and contains capsule reviews on more than 9,000 films that have become part of the fabric of our lives. This one is for film aficionados or fanatics. They’ll love it!

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Getting Down to Business

There are so many books devoted to financial and business topics being published these days it is truly dizzying to make your way through the stacks that offer advice of every kind.

For those who are fond of serious analysis, there’s The State of Working America 2004/2005 by Lawrence Mishel, Jared Bernstein, and Sylvia Allegretta ($59.95/$24.95, Economic Policy Institute, Washington, DC, hard or softcover). Published biennially, it is a comprehensive analysis of the US labor market that summarizes the problems and challenges facing American workers, while offering a wide variety of data to show how the economy is affecting living standards. Hailed by the Financial Times, this book will prove useful to people in human resources, marketing, economists, and others. What it demonstrates most clearly is that, since 9-11, the economy after three years of recovery is still too weak to broadly distribute the benefits of a growing economy. Its seven fact-filled chapters are hardly light reading, but they are most certainly worth reading.

And the Money Kept Rolling in (and Out) by Paul Blustein ($27.50, Public Affairs) is the work of a staff writer at The Washington Post who has specialized in business and economic issues for the past twenty-five years. He has taken a look at Argentina, a nation that, in the 1990’s, was lionized for its efforts to improve its economic prospects to become one of the world’s genuinely wealthy nations. It drew enthusiastic applause from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and Wall Street. Despite that, in 2001, Argentina suffered a spectacular financial crash, accompanied by appalling social and political chaos. It threw millions into poverty and left nearly a quarter of the work force unemployed. Blustein has written an entertaining and insightful book about the way the IMF turned a blind eye to the obvious signs that Argentina was headed for a fall. It is instructive of the way money can, as the title suggests, move in and out of a nation so swiftly these days that any failure to manage its financial security properly can wreak havoc.

There are plenty of books on how to manage a company, but a recent standout from the crowd is Tom Gegax’s By The Seat of Your Pants: The No-Nonsense Business Management Guide ($47.00, Expert Publishing Inc., 14314 Thrush St., NW, Minneapolis, MN 55304-3330). It debuts this month and reflects the author’s experience growing his company, Tires Plus, from 30 to 150 stories that proved so successful, he was able to bypass outside investors and retain control. He sold his company in 2000 and decided to help others learn how to increase profits without the deadly stress that so often accompanies this effort. His book offers a complete system with thousands of proven, actionable tips that can be used by business people at any time in their careers or their company’s growth cycle. From putting a mission statement into motion to managing a workforce, creating effective systems, communicating effectively, and much more, this book is one of those that people serious about success should read. A good companion to read is Why Some Companies Emerge Stronger and Better from a Crisis by Ian I. Mitroff ($27.50, Amacom). The author notes that, although a complete operational plan can speed recovery of key processes and systems in the aftermath of a disaster, such plans do little to prepare an organization and its people to come through a crisis with strength and confidence. This book provides a blueprint for integrating the various responses needed into daily practice to get through and beyond a crisis. The author is often called the father of modern crisis management and the "seven essential lessons" he offers in this book are worth reading. Also from Amacom is The Trainer’s Tool Kit ($18.95) by Cy Charney and Kathy Conway who provide a quick reference guide for trainers and managers, hundreds of ready to use techniques for any situation, and practical advice on more than eighty training topics.

Do as I Say, Not as I Did! By Carol Frank ($16.95, Brown Books Publishing Group) is testimony to the fact that, if you can learn from other’s mistakes, instead of your own, you might just avoid making those same mistakes. This book may just save you a lot of money and aggravation as it looks at the way more than 50% of small businesses fail in their first year of business. Fully 95% fail within five years! This book profiles twenty-nine successful entrepreneurs who find ways to losing everything in their quest to become their own boss. They include the founders of Monster.com, The Container Store, and CiCi’s Pizza. It combines humor with candid stories of strife, struggle and strategies. I would recommend it to anyone thinking about starting a business or in the midst of one that is encountering the typical problems that determine success or failure. The second edition of Raising Capital: Get the Money You Need to Grow Your Business by Andrew J. Sherman ($34.95, Amacom) has been published and may well be the definitive book on this topic. In general, very few businesses start with enough capital to fully fund a viable operating strategy and, as a result, many fail before they can take the business to the next level. An attorney by profession, Sherman is one of the nation’s few top-rated business-growth experts with experience in franchisor management, strategic planning, licensing, and corporate finance. He’s put his extensive knowledge between two covers and, if you are contemplating starting a business, this is the one book you should definitely read.

An interesting little book is The Workplace Revolution: Restoring Trust in Business and Bringing Meaning to Our Work by Matthew Gilbert ($14.95, Conari Press), not officially due off the press until next month. From the Enron debacle to the many other court cases against CEOs and other corporate officers, trust in business practices and those who should be enforcing them is at a low says the author. He believes this is the result of a relentless work ethic, a tireless pursuit of profit, and the conflict between business values and human values. He asserts that jobs have become little more than a paycheck, lacking a sense of achievement or self-expression. His book offers strategies to restore trust and good will between business leaders and their employees. The Enthusiastic Employee: How Companies Profit by Giving Workers What They Want ($29.95, Wharton School Publishing, an imprint of Pearson Education) has not one, but three authors, David Sirota, Louis A. Mischkind, and Michael Irwin Meltzer. With a pedigree like that, it has to deliver the goods and it does. Based on years of research, it takes the reader through one case history after another to demonstrate what works and what doesn’t. This is strictly for the management maven, the man or woman who wants to get into the very nitty-gritty motivating employees.

A short, but interesting book is The Great Telecom Meltdown by Fred R. Goldstein ($79.00, Artech House). Granted the price is a tad heart-stopping, the fact is the author is one of the world’s most authoritative telecommunications experts. In the course of reviewing the way the telecom industry went through a major shakeout in the 1990s, he offers an analysis of what went wrong when the telecom bubble burst, how to keep it from happening again, and even how to profit from it in the future. Many pundits, regulators and legislators have focused on the Telecom Act of 1996 as the cause of the boom and bust cycle, but Goldstein demonstrates the components of the meltdown began before the Act, which he describes as an already obsolete regulatory model. For those who still want to invest, this book is required reading and for those who just want to understand what happened, it is as well.

Finally, if you’re one of those folks looking to make your fortune on ebay, then pick up a copy of Building Your eBay Traffic the Smart Way ($17.95, Amacom) by Joseph T. Sinclair. It is billed as "the completely unauthorized guide to building eBay traffic." Now ten years old and a major force in ecommerce, eBay offered 971 million different items for sale in 2003. Its users are increasingly serious small business entrepreneurs and, according to insider estimates, more than 430,000 people derive their income from selling through the site. If you are one of them or aspire to be, my advice is to pick up a copy of this book.

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Raising Children

First you pick a name for the child. To help you, Laura Wattenberg has written The Baby Name Wizard ($12.95, Broadway Books). I have seen many such books and, frankly, all of them are helpful if you’re in a quandary, so this one too will prove useful as it rates the popularity of boy and girl names. Of mine, Alan, she writes, "A fine, reliable fellow, that Alan. Sure, he hit his peak in the middle of the last century (I was named in the late 1930s), but he’s kept his youthful good looks. The name has been used in the British Isles since the time of William the Conqueror."

Mothers Know Best ($14.95, Small Potatoes Press, 401 Collings Ave, Collingswood, NJ 08108) by Connie Correia Fisher and Joanne Correia is due out next month and it ideal for moms-to-be and first time moms thanks to its 1001 suggestions and helpful hints contributed by more than 500 real moms. The book provides the kind of information that will help its readers better enjoy their pregnancies, births, and lives as new moms. The authors are a mother and daughter team with six books to their credit, all of which focus on child rearing. This book addresses the physical, emotional, psychological and social struggles that first-time moms encounter. It’s a support team between two covers.

There is no end, as well, of books to help you raise your child, but I was impressed with two companion volumes by Dr. Nancy J. Harkey, Ph.D. and Teri Jourgensen, MPA. Cuddlebugs and Bravehearts, I & II (www.authorhouse.com) focus on the all- important factor in each individual child and parent, and that is temperament. Since one size does not fit all, the authors offer a complete, balanced discipline approach, using both the child’s and adult’s temperament to achieve more effective parenting and to enhance family harmony. There are few of us that do not recognize the early signs of a distinct personality in a newborn child, nor do all parents have the same style in raising children. Finally, there’s a guide that helps parents factor in their children’s unique personalities and thus make those early years ones that are the happiest for everyone.

Ready to Learn: How to Help Your Preschooler Succeed by Dr. Stan Goldberg, Ph.D. is one of those titles that says it all ($28.00 Oxford University Press). This is a particularly useful book because it helps the reader understand how children learn, teaches how to become an effective teaching parent, and importantly tells how to avoid current or even lifelong emotion problems. Before your child goes off to kindergarten, you can give him or her a big helping hand with this guide.

Of course, some children encounter abuse or neglect growing up and are often quickly labeled "impossible" to teach or get along with. Dr. Dave Ziegler, Ph.D., believes there are no impossible children, just impossible situations that require change. For more than three decades he has been successfully healing those children with patience, humor, and perseverance as director of Oregon’s SCAR-Jasper Mountain, a treatment center for some of society’s most damaged children. From this wealth of experience, he has written Achieving Success with Impossible Children: How to Win the Battle of Wills ($24.95, Acacia Publishing) that will prove of great value to parents, other family members, teachers, and professionals who work with children. He reminds the reader that parents, in any battle of wills, must be the winner of the child is to gain the attitudes and behaviors necessary to succeed in life. Another book about healing is When Dad Hurts Mom: Helping Your Children Health the Wounds of Witnessing Abuse by Lundy Bancroft ($15.00, Berkley Trade Paperback). This is the only book written for abused mothers seeking to help their children and it is filled with information about how such abuse affects children and what mothers can do to help them triumph over the experience, as well as to keep their children safe. It offers some very good, nitty-gritty advice to cover all the kinds of situations such a parent will encounter.

On the lighter side is Family Illustrated: An Instant Replay of Family Humor by J, Michael Krivyanski ($11.95, iUniverse). The author has a keen wit and a sharp eye for those many experiences involving marriage and parenthood we all share. In the process, he inadvertently provides a lot of sensible advice that may not be what the Ph.D.’s offer, but will make you think while tickling your funny bone. Mostly, you will be entertained and we can never get enough of that!

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Novels, Novels, Novels!

The novels pour into the office every day. While only a handful get the big promotion that accompanies a major author’s name on the cover, there are plenty that provide entertainment that do not.

Take, for example, Jonathan Rabb’s Rosa ($24.95, Crown). With two well-received novels that preceded this one, Rabb has come into his own with the story of a serial killer in the dark days after World War I in Berlin. Detective Inspector Nikolai Hoffner regards the revolution that is occurring as he seeks the killer of four women from the slums of the city. When a fifth, the body of Rosa Luxemburg, joins the others, he discovers nothing is what it appears to be. She was the leader of a suppressed socialist uprising, said to have been assassinated by an angry mob. Hoffner knows better and finds that the politics of his times offers both obstacles and friends who, like himself, want to find the killer. This is first-rate storytelling against the history of that era. A Window in Copacabana by Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza ($23.00, Henry Holt & Co.) is the forth in a series built around Inspector Espinosa, a policeman in Rio de Janeiro, which is also the home of the author. Three policemen have been killed over the course of a few days and their deaths have a lot in common as a cold-blooded assassin who leaves no traces and shoots at point-blank range eliminated them. This throws the police into turmoil and when the body of a woman connected to one of the dead cops is found, things just get more complicated. You will find yourself reading as fast as you can to unravel this mystery.

The folks at Penguin and its imprint, Plume, have a knack for finding good novels. Just out last month is A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka ($24.95, The Penguin Press) has nothing to do with tractors and everything to do with two sisters who’s recently widowed father announces he is going to marry a much younger by fifty years, quite buxom blonde from the old country, all the old rivalries have to be put aside to save him from himself. The story takes readers back to pre-revolutionary Ukraine, through wartime Germany and to contemporary England, all the time taking on topics that include love and suffering, tanks and tractors, and the joys of growing old disgracefully. It’s a hoot. Two short novels provide entertainment as well. They are Swimming Naked by Stacy Sims ($14.00, Plume), and Miss Julia Meets Her Match by Ann B. Moss ($14.00, Penguin). The first is told from the perspective of a 30-year-old Lucy Greene, a successful photography curator at a crossroads in her life. She has been summoned to Florida to care for her dying mother and, in the process, must confront her feelings for her sister, her father, and most of all, her mother. Hers is a damaged family. Unsentimental, funny, and fresh, it makes for a moving reading experience. The second novel is the fifth installment of a rollicking Southern comedy of manners. It features the steeliest of magnolias, Miss Julia Springer and asks the question, will she ever marry that nice Sam Murdoch? Strong-willed and a no-nonsense woman, will Julia give herself over to love. Meanwhile, rumors run rampant in town about its many leading citizens. All of this adds up to a lot of fun Southern style. Crofton’s Fire by Keith Coplin ($13.00, Berkley Books, an imprint of Penguin) is now in softcover after having drawn high praise from The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, and historian Thomas Fleming. In 1876, a green lieutenant named Crofton barely escapes Little Bighorn and goes on to become a reluctant hero in the crucible of warfare as a young nation emerges. He sees action in Kansas, Cuba, the Zulu wars in Africa, and you get to go along for the ride, enjoying the talents of a skilled storyteller whose narrative just moves ahead in overdrive. It is an impressive debut and one that has readers waiting for his next novel.

The South is also the background for Nancy Weaver’s new novel, In Her Presence: A Husband’s Dirty Secret ($15.99, Time and Chance Publishing, Staten Island, NY) which was inspired by the life of a rich, young Negro mother in the South of the 1950s. It teaches an important lesson about the pitfalls of marrying for good looks, money and things, rather than for character. The unexpected consequences of mental and physical abuse are examined. Intended for young, female readers, older ones will also find this suspenseful novel emotional, intense, and disturbing. It has been drawing raves.

Unlike "The Color Purple", this novel’s characters are from a well-to-do family living a good life in Mississippi despite the hardships of its code of Jim Crow. There are valuable lessons to be gained from this novel. Some years ago I reviewed Mike Brogan’s novel, "A Business to Kill For" and I am happy to report he is back with his second novel, Dead Air, available from www.publishamerica.com. In this riveting, suspenseful novel, a young couple learn that a scientist has selected thousands of individuals to die the coming Friday, but without hard proof, police refuse to investigate. This is a story of a brilliant terrorist with a deadly weapon and a cunning way to deliver it. Sound unlikely? It happened on 9-11. In Tokyo there were 5,600 Sarin gas victims. Bringing a personal brush with terror to his story, while living in Europe, the author experienced a bomb that went off just sixty feet from his family residence. Trust me, you will want to read this story. It would make a terrific movie, too.

Christian publishers have discovered a great deal of success with novels that are entertaining, but do not have offensive elements. From Bethany House in Minneapolis, two novels fit that description. Stephanie Grace Whitson has penned A Garden in Paris about a widower, 55-year-old Mary Elizabeth Davis who two years since her husband’s passing thinks to herself that the only problem with her life is that she really doesn’t have one. The author has taken this common problem and woven and interesting, provocative story around it. Patti Hill makes her literary debut with Like a Watered Garden ($12.99) that tells the story of garden designer Mibby Garrett who can seem to get her life back on track after losing her husband in a bicycle accident six months earlier. Dealing with grief and hitting bottom, she too takes control of her life, knowing things have to change. It is a story of grief, healing, hope and friendship. From Revell comes Tahn by L.A. Kelly, a classic story of good versus evil, in which Than Dorn is trapped in the middle of a looming conflict between two noble families. When he is ordered to kidnap Lady Netta, he knows following his conscience won’t be easy. He is an unlikely hero. If you like stories of courage, faith and unconditional love, you will enjoy this one by the author of three popular historical novels.

Publishing houses seem to spring to live like mushrooms after the rain. One such, Emerald Ink Publishing of Hot Springs, Arkansas, sent along two novels. One is Offshore by Don Corace ($21.95, hardcover) that tells the story of D. L. Drummond, a high school dropout and former roughneck who finds himself pitted against a cunning Wall Street corporate raider intent on destroying the Drummond family dynasty whose Houston offshore drilling company is under siege. Battling terminal cancer, he is forced to turn to his estranged son, Clay, for help. Together they devise a plan that wages the fate of the company on the success or failure of drilling a wildcat well in the Gulf of Mexico at a record water depth. This novel really draws you in, providing you a rich story with twists and turns that will have you turning the pages as fast as you can. This publisher’s other novel could not be more different! The Pokhraj by Irina Gajjar ($16.95, softcover) combines her Jewish and Hindu backgrounds (I told you it was different) in a story about a young couple that begins to think about having a family. As with all major life choices, they will inevitably alter one’s life in unforeseen ways. There is, however, an element to this novel that seeks to capture the meaning of the soul’s experience, weaving a tale of mystery, philosophy, and romance. Past lives and the soul of the child intertwine as do the way both Judaism and Hinduism approach this mystery. A Pokhraj is a yellow sapphire and much revered in some cultures for its spiritual component, rare and powerful. The child and the Pokhraj both influence the family in quite unexpected ways. Suffice it to say, this is a very unusual story, best suited to the most inquiring type of mind.

Fans of science fiction will enjoy Star of Gypsies by Robert Silverberg ($15.00, PYR, an imprint of Prometheus Books). The author has been writing science fiction for fifty years and is famed for novels such as Nightwings and Lord Valentine’s Castle. This new, fat novel is about a Gypsy race that has evolved from the days of caravans into lords of the "spaceways", the only pilots capable of steering ships safely between the many worlds of the galaxy. A retired king of the Rom is entreated to take up his throne again and when he does, he finds himself embroiled in a power struggle, not only over the Romany throne, but over the fate of the entire galactic empire. Told as a rollicking first-person narrative, this story is packed with entertainment by a winner of the 2004 Grand Master of Science Fiction Writers of America award, Nebula and Hugo awards as well.

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The Best in New Children’s and Young Reader’s Books

From Kidwick Books, Los Angeles comes two titles that include CDs. This Los Angeles publisher has combined picture books with companion "Book-on-CD" addition that will delight children ages 3-7. Eric Drachman whose "Eric the Lightning Bug" previously gained high praise, is back with It’s Me! This is a story ($18.95) about bubbly Patricia who enjoys entertaining her family with her many costumes and imaginative personalities, and who discovers the most important role she will play is herself. Likewise, Ellison the Elephant will also prove very entertaining with its story ($18.95) of a self-conscious little pachyderm that just wants to be like everyone else, but must endure some teasing from his peers until his mother tells him "The greatest elephants in history were unusual. That’s what made them great!" Ellison discovers a talent for a jazzy trumpet sound from his trunk and the CD turns this into a delightful musical story. Check out these books at www.kidwick.com.

Kids Can Press continues to publish books that will capture the interest of any youngster. Among its latest are Into the Volcano by Donna O’Meara, a volcano researcher who has filled the book ($16.95) with photos of her experiences. Here too, the age group is 2-7. She and her husband, Steve, are highly regarded for their work.

Animals Migrating: How, When, Where and Why Animals Migrate by Etta Kane and Pat Stephens ($14.95) will appeal to those ages 7-11 who are interested in the natural world, telling of the many creatures who naturally migrate throughout their lives. Another book, Snakes, by Adrienne Mason and illustrated by Nancy Gray Ogle ($10.95) is for younger readers, aged 5-10, and, as the title suggests, takes the mystery out of these creatures while imparting some valuable knowledge about them. For an older group, 10 and up, is a useful look at the way media works in Media Madness: An Insider’s Guide to Media by Dominic Ali, illustrated by Michael Chow ($14.95). I would recommend this book as it explains how television, the music industry, magazines, comic books, newspapers, video games and the Internet all compete for attention and how to sort out what is real and what is not. It will make any young person a wiser consumer of all the things they read, hear and see. Among the other new titles this publisher also is offering are two books for the older youngsters, Walking With the Dead, by L.M. Falconer ($16.95) that is a lively, if bizarre, tale of a 12-year-old boy whose life becomes entangled with an ancient Greek corpse his father brings home for a museum in the basement of their home. Battle Scars by John Wilson, ($16.95) tells the story of the Confederate army’s notorious Libby Prison where hundreds of Union prisoners were kept under terrible conditions. History is not always pretty, but the human spirit is celebrated in this novel.

Jane Yolen is a famous children’s book author, having written many book that have earned awards and delighted her wide and ever-growing audience. This month we celebrate the birthday of Hans Christian Anderson, born April 2, 1805, and she has written The Perfect Wizard, ($16.99, Dutton Children’s Books), the story of his life as he overcome adversity and hardship, growing up in Denmark. He found refuge in books and stories. Beautifully illustrated by Dennis Nolan, this brief biography tells how he grew up with a burning passing to be a writer. Another new book from this prolific author is Grandma’s Hurrying Child ($16.00, Gulliver Books, an imprint of Harcourt Children’s Books) tells a story for those 3-7 about a grandmother rushing to be there for the birth of Middy and the special bond that exists between children and their grandparents. Illustrated by Kay Choral, it is a timeless tale of love.

Do you know a youngster that loves to draw? Well, Peel Productions of Columbus, NC, offers a series of 1-2-3 Draw books that will teach them to draw Ocean Life, Cartoon Aircraft, Cartoon Trucks and Motorcycles, Cartoon Cars, and how to Draw Monsters. These are great for those aged 6, although the last book is aimed at those 9 and up. They range is price from $8.99 to $12.99 and you can learn more about them by visiting www.drawbooks.com. All of these books have drawn raves from school districts, the School Library Journal, and, of course, me!

For the young reader aged 10 and up, National Geographic has published an excellent book, Our Country’s Presidents, that even includes the 2004 election of President Bush ($24.95). It contains chapters on all of our presidents and is lavishly illustrated. It is a great way to introduce younger readers to the history of our nation. For fun, Stephen Cogon has written Max Mooth: Cyber Sleuth ($$20.95, $10.95, iUniverse, hard and softcover) about a 19-year-old who is framed from creating the "zombie virus" and must find out who the real culprit is. Enlisting the hope of an eight-year-old wisecracking sleuthing partner, they begin to put together the clues, but will it lead them to the infected computer in time? He has only sixty hours to stop the launch of this virus. We’re all going to hear more about this character. Another new novel for the younger reader is Wolf Brother by Michelle Pavers ($16.99, HarperCollins) and it has been generating raves since it was published in September. It is the first in a series, "Chronicles of Ancient Darkness", and is set in the deep dark forests of the Bronze Age. It is genuinely spellbinding with its story of a struggle for survival. There’s a film deal with Fox 2000 and the novel is being translated in twenty-nine nations.

Some time ago I reviewed a book by Sandra McLeod Humphrey, "If You Had to Choose, What Would You Do?" published by Prometheus Books and I am happy to see she’s back with Dare to Dream! 25 Extraordinary Lives (Prometheus Books) that let’s younger readers, 7 and older, discover how people like Thomas Edison, Helen Keller, and Jackie Robinson, overcame difficulties in their lives to inspire generations of people. This is the kind of inspirational book any parent would love to have his child read. Check out www.kidscandoit.com.

Lastly, American Girl is simply one of the best publishers around producing books and related items for young girls. Among the latest off the press are Lundy’s Happy Ending by Valerie Tripp ($3.99) for the girl who has begun to read independently. Lundy has great ideas, but she forgets to finish what she starts! When she forgets to put the lid back on the ducklings’ box, she really lets trouble loose in the classroom. This is part of a series called Hopscotch Hill School that helps the young reader explore common problems of growing up. Older girls aged 9 and up, will enjoy "A Molly Mystery" called A Spy on the Homefront ($6.95) set in 1944 during WWII. When Aunt Eleanor, an army pilot, visits her grandparent’s farm, a scary mystery ensues. A number of American Girl books offer hours of fun. There’s Snooze-a-Palooka! It offers more than a hundred slumber party ideas for those 8 and older ($8.95). Also for this age group, The Feelings Book Journal that encourages the reader to write their own thoughts in a book that addresses a range of emotions ($7.95) and Puzzle Crazy that will tickle the brain cells of any reader. A great way to lure her away from the TV ($7.95). Finally, for the girl who loves to make things, there’s Doll Jewelry that comes with 241 parts with which to make bracelets, necklaces, anklets, and more ($17.95).

That’s it for April! Be sure to tell your friends about Bookviews.com so they, too, can learn about the best in new fiction and non-fiction for all ages! And don’t forget to visit our Featured Book section for information about some very unique books.

Alan Caruba is a founding member of the National Book Critics Circle.

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