Millions of parents keep asking why their children seem to be doing so poorly in school, having problems reading, writing, and doing arithmetic, even though the child is obviously bright enough to have mastered these basic skills. Often they come home to describe instructions in sex education a parent finds inappropriate. Many students have a distorted notion of American history as taught in schools. Right now, the government is in the process of funding a program to require, without parental consent, "mental health screening" in all the schools. In many schools, parents are pressured to put their children on a regimen of mind-altering drugs that are comparable to cocaine. Public Schools, Public Menace: How Public Schools Lie to Parents and Betray our Children by Joel Turtel ($17.95, Liberty Books, 700 Victory Blvd., Suite 14F, Staten Island, NY 10301) provides a frightening, thoroughly documented look at what is occurring in government-controlled public schools these days. Dr. Laura Schlesinger, the famed radio commentator says of this book, "It is sad but true that the public school system in America threatens the values of families and the welfare of students." This book is an excellent, detailed revelation of the indoctrination that passes for education today and offers lots of information on alternatives and resources parents can turn to in order to save their child. To learn more about this book, visit www.mykidsdeservebetter.com. Read it for your child’s sake.

The centenary of Ayn Rand, 1905-2005, was celebrated last month with events on the East and West coasts. Born in Russia, Rand was an extraordinary intellect who devoted herself to reason and individual freedom. In 1936 her first novel, We the Living, was published, followed by Anthem ($15.00) in 1938. It was the publication of The Fountainhead, however, ($20.00) that established her reputation, achieving spectacular success. Her philosophy, which she called Objectivism, gained a worldwide audience, and her second novel, Atlas Shrugged, ($25.00) placed her in the pantheon of America’s great talents. More than fifteen million copies of her novels have been sold and Plume, a member of the Penguin Group, has reissued three of her novels in softcover editions for a new generation to read. The New York Times said of her that she was "A writer of great power. She has a subtle and ingenious mind and the capacity of writing brilliantly, beautifully, bitterly." A companion to the novels is a splendid little biography, Ayn Rand by Jeff Britting ($19.95, Overlook Duckworth). It is filled with photos and other artwork, but it is the swift, but detailed overview of her impressive life, from a little girl in Russia to a respected intellectual with a passion for American values and for capitalism, that makes this an ideal gift for anyone who loves her work or should be introduced to it.

The Bottomless Well ($26.00, Basic Books) is one of the most extraordinary books I have read in a very long time. Written by Peter W. Huber and Mark P. Mills, the former a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Legal Policy and the latter a physicist and founding partner of Digital Power Capital, the combined knowledge and intellect of these two men will challenge you on every page as they literally blow a hole a mile wide in all the myths and mistruths we have been told about energy. You will, in fact, never think about energy the same again. You will learn why the energy supply is infinite, why the demand for energy will never go down, why what some call energy waste actually benefits us, and why gasoline prices matter less and less. This book ought to be mandatory reading for all those politicians who set energy policy and seek to regulate the industries that produce it. It is witty, iconoclastic, and the key to understanding present and future energy issues.

Hope or Hype: The Obsession with Medical Advances and the High Cost of False Promises ($24.95, Amacom) blasts the pharmaceutical industry, saying "Vested interests, marketing, politics, and media hype often influence how new medical technology gets used more than the best scientific evidence." Its authors, Dr. Richard Deyo and Dr. Donald Patrick, blow the lid off business, influence-peddling, and price-gauging as practiced by the major pharmaceutical companies and device manufacturers, as well as the unscrupulous practices of researchers, regulators, the news media, hospitals, and doctors. It takes patients to task for demanded the latest miracle drugs, the most sophisticated procedures, and the pressures to use all manner of diagnostic tests, regardless of the costs, risks, or actual benefits. As we watch the fallout from the latest recall of yet another miracle drug, this book could not be timelier, or more important to read. It goes far in explaining, in part, why the costs of health insurance and health care have skyrocketed.

A thousand pundits parsed and analyzed President Bush’s State of the Union address last month, but Craig Shirley already knew what its essential message would be before it was delivered. A veteran Republican political strategist and president of Shirley & Banister Public Affairs, an influential DC public affairs firm, Shirley has authored Reagan’s Revolution: The Untold Story of the Campaign that Started it All ($25.99, Nelson Current). "The sweeping successes the Republican Party saw in the 2004 election has its roots in Reagan’s run in 1976," says Shirley and "President Bush’s policies today are a direct continuation of the revolution Reagan began by challenging Gerald Ford." Tired from national ordeal of the Nixon Watergate scandals, the nation dismissed Ford and turned to Jimmy Carter who was swiftly dismissed four years later. It was, however, the bruising battle for the Republican nomination in 1976 that turned the tide for Reagan who was generally dismissed as too old or just an actor. "Without Reagan’s 1976 campaign," writes Shirley, "Americans would not have witnessed the reordering of the two major political parties and the shift in our political universe, with one party becoming predominately conservative and the other predominately liberal." For anyone who loves history and/or politics, Shirley has looked back three decades and recreated those times that so shaped our times. It is a remarkable behind-the-scenes story of that historic campaign. Deeply involved in the campaigns of 1980 and 1984, Shirley knows all the players in Reagan’s circle and in the national media. The result is a fascinating piece of history brought to life in the pages of this excellent book.

There was some degree of euphoria in the media last month over Secretary of State Rice’s visit to the Middle East and Europe, suggesting that France might become more agreeable and that peace was possibly at hand between Israel and the Palestinians. One need only read Eurobia: The Euro-Arab Axis by Bat Ye’or ($49.50/$23.95, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press) to discover how the Arab oil embargo in the early 1970s accelerated the appeasement of European nations who fell in line with the determination to, if not destroy Israel, at least to force its contraction to borders the preceded the several wars Arab nations unleashed against it between the late 1940s and into the 1960s. A combination of the oil weapon and the threat of terrorism succeeded in many ways and the immigration of Arabs into Europe has now given Islam the opportunity to fulfill the goal of Jihad, the imposition of Islam on that portion of the world. Europe’s ancient anti-Semitism facilitated this, but it faces a future that, ironically, as a major center of Christianity, it fought against in past centuries. This has got to be one of the most important books of our times and its message is a wake-up call to those who do not realize that Europe (though not the newer Eastern European nations) has become an Islamic outpost. It is a warning to Americans and everyone else of Islam’s determination to impose its will on the world. What could we expect if Islam were to succeed? The answer is found in The Myth of Islamic Tolerance: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims ($26.00, Prometheus Books), a collection of essays by some of the world’s leading authorities on Islamic social history, edited by Robert Spencer. The editor is the director of Jihad Watch and is an Adjunct Fellow of the Free Congress Foundation. This is not light reading, but this thick tome, 593 pages, will put to rest any naïve notion that Islam is "tolerant" by any definition you might conceive. The very word, Islam, means "submission" and that is the fate that awaits any nation that believes appeasement will avoid what Bat Ye’or calls "dhimmitude." If knowledge is power, than you have to arm yourself with these books.

As if the world wasn’t dangerous enough these days, there’s also a nutcase who runs North Korea. In his new book, Rogue State: How a Nuclear North Korea Threatens America, William Triplett, the formerchief counsel to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and an expert on Asia, spells out just how real the threat is. When a senior North Korean diplomat was told the US knew Pyongyang was secretly building nuclear weapons, he replied, "Not just YES, but HELL, Yes, and you tell that to your president!" Now that the North Koreans have made it official, letting the US and the world know their worst kept secret and, if you want to know the whole story, you will want to read this excellent book. A national security expert, Triplett believes North Korea is a far greater danger than most Americans comprehend. His book reveals that North Korea is training Arab terrorists and others to sabotage nuclear plants in Japan and how the Clinton administration was ambushed when North Korea cheated on a unilateral weapons agreement. You will learn that without Red China, which earns political and monetary payoffs from North Korea’s illicit arms and narcotics operation, the Kim regime could not exist. Indeed, Red China is the puppet master of North Korea. Prior to that, it was Stalin’s Soviet Union. Hopefully, this book will awaken Americans to the full ramifications of the deadly game that Red China and North Korea have put in play.

There are a billion people in India. The greatest part of the population are poor, subsistence farmers; an estimated 650 million. The nation has the potential for vast agricultural production, but the social and governmental restrictions, the bigotries and suspicions that stand in the way of real growth are equally vast. That is what Abraham M. George writes about in India Untouched ($26.95, The Writers Collective). Indian by birth, George came to the United States and became a great success. He took his wealth and founded The George Foundation with a view to helping the rural poor through education as a first step toward alleviating the widespread poverty that cripples this relatively new democracy thanks to poor governance. His story is that of confronting the many obstacles that hindered this worthy mission. He tells of an India where there is urban growth and prosperity, but little if any reaches the vast population of the nation. After many trials, he created the Shanti Bhavan (Haven of Peace) school that is now recognized as one of the best in India. If the problems of the world are to be solved and, in particular, poverty, than this is a guide to how that can and must be accomplished.

For most of us biotechnology is a great mystery, sometimes presented as a frightening use of science when, in fact, it will greatly improve the ability of the earth to feed us all and also help us live long, healthier lives. Glowing Genes: A Revolution in Biotechnology ($28.00, Prometheus Books) by Dr. Marc Zimmer, Ph.D., may seem too exotic to even contemplate reading, but it will prove to be easily understood as it describes an amazing new area of biotechnology that will help fight cancer, create new products, improve agriculture, and even combat terrorism. The subject of the book is a green fluorescent protein that has existed in one species of jellyfish that, in 1994, was cloned, giving rise to potentially revolutionary applications. Imagine a glowing gene that lights up in the presence of anthrax spores and other chemical warfare agents? Imagine a gene that causes crops to glow, indicating they need more water? In the future, people who have long since been accustomed to their use will wonder how we ever lived without them.

Warning! Comedian Lewis Black is best known these days for his rants on the faux news program, The Daily Show, and has had his own specials. He can be very funny, but unfortunately that is not the case with his new book, Nothing’s Sacred, ($22.95, Simon & Schuster). It is due off the press next month. An autobiography of sorts, the problem is that the laughs are few and, halfway through the book, it ceases to be funny at all. What emerges by then is a strange persona that serves him well as a comedian, but less well when he offers his opinions on matters of any importance. There is, too, the use of a fair amount of obscenity throughout the text that become less amusing with each brief chapter. As one reads this book, the temptation to measure him for a straight jacket grows with every page.

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Good Advice

This one is a perennial; a topic to which many books are addressed, but How to Survive Your Baby’s First Year ($12.95, Hundreds of Heads Books, Inc., Atlanta, GA) does an especially good job of providing advice on the basic aspects of parenthood for that first year. It offers true-and-true methods of baby care and plenty of insight to the most fretted about parenting topics on dealing with diapers, crying and sleeping, balancing work and family, et cetera! This book can go far in helping to reduce the anxiety levels that come with being a parent for the first time. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book is the way it is composed of advice from people who have been there, done that!

For the countless number of people who have Type 2 Diabetes, there’s a book that will prove helpful. It’s Reverse Type 2 Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease by Dr. Nsima T. Obot, Ph.D. ($29.95, INN Books). The central theme is the need to maintain a metabolic balance for health and that over-eating, inappropriate diet, plus lack of adequate exercise creates an imbalance that, in turn, creates the conditions for various diseases. Particularly impressive is the vast amount of scientific and medical data that this book contains and, at the same time, how well it is able to convey this information in ways the lay reader can understand and apply. My friend, Frank Murray, is one of the nation’s leading authorities on health and nutrition. His book, Natural Supplements for Diabetes: Reduce Your Risk and Lower Your Insulin Dependency with Natural Remedies ($17.95, Hampton Roads Publishing Co) is filled with excellent information and advice for anyone who has or may be at risk of developing diabetes. It offers real solutions. This book, like the previous title, can prove to be a great help to anyone whose family has a history of Diabetes, tends toward overweight, has a serious smoking habit, et cetera. We are fortunate to have experts like these to share their knowledge with us.

Alcoholism Myths and Realities: Removing the Stigma of Society’s Most Destructive Disease ($14.95, Galt Publishing, Northridge, CA) by Doug Thorburn examines more than a hundred widespread myths about alcoholism that often impede early identification of alcohol and other drug addiction problems. Thorburn specializes in early identification and is the founder/president of the Preven Tragedy Foundation that is devoted to preventing the results of progressive alcoholism. One in ten people are estimated to suffer this and comparable addictions, yet medical doctors take as few as 24 classroom hours on the subject, virtually all on treating withdrawal. The adage is that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This book is a good, first step in the right direction.

There’s a clever book by Colleen Kinder called Delaying the Real World: A Twentysomething’s Guide to Seeking Adventure $12.95, Running Press) this is perfect for the college graduate who wants to see the world a bit before settling into the 9-to-5 routine. It’s a book that crammed full of information for the person who wants to bicycle across the nation, spend a year teaching English overseas, or any of a hundred great learning opportunities that involve travel or doing something to make the world a better place. It lists grants and scholarships one can get from foundations and all kinds of sources of information to check out before one sets out in the big world.

For job-hunters, a San Francisco publishing house, Wet Feet, has just released Job Hunting in New York City ($19.95) and has a comparable guide, "Job Hunting in San Francisco", as well. Both are full of useful information, relative to the city, such as which local industries have the most to offer, where to find job listings, who the top recruiters are, et cetera. This publisher also has a whole series of industry and career guides, some eighteen of them, with information on careers in accounting, advertising and public relations, information technology, real estate, and such. Since knowledge is power, if you know a job-hunter or someone trying to select a career path, let them know about www.wetfeet.com.

For couples thinking about or having adopted a child from another nation, Amy Coughlin and Caryn Abramowitz have written Cross-Cultural Adoption: How to Answer Questions from Family, Friends, and Community ($18.95, Lifeline Press, a Regnery Company). This is a very helpful book and particularly so because both authors have experienced most of the problems that can be anticipated. The book includes resources for learning more about adoption, the birth country, etc. Proof that there is a book for every kind of life experience there is! Don’t believe me? Well, pick up a copy of To Love, Honor, and Betray: The Secret Life of Suburban Wives by Stephanie Gertler and Adrienne Lopez ($21.95, Hyperion). I know you’re thinking of the hot, new TV show, "Desperate Housewives", but this book takes a serious look at the decisions some women make to take a lover outside their marriage, often while seeking to make the marriage work. The authors have collected the stories of women who relate why they sought sex and the reasons range from an unsatisfactory partner or just a strong need for more sex than the marriage provided. Books like these provide a glimpse into other’s lives that may mirror one’s own and help one make intelligent choice.

For a quick trip back in time, there are three small books from Red Wheel, Weiser, Conari publishers at $9.95 each. They are Tips from the Old Housewives, the Countryfolk, and Old Gardeners, the first two culled by Elizabeth Drury and the last by Duncan Crosbie, but all from earlier times when knowing basic skills from how to make a bed to how to bring out the best in roses, was shared by the "how-to" books of an age that did not include television, telephones, air conditioning and other modern amenities. These books not only provide some still very useful advice, but they provide an glimpse into times when work was a lot more physical and demanding than now.

Acting may look easy, but it’s not. It is a real craft and that is why so few are really good at it. If you or someone you know has aspirations to be an actor or already are one, some of the best advice to found can be read in Robert Brustein’s Letters to a Young Actor ($22.50, Basic Books, member of the Perseus Books Group.) Brustein is a former dean of the Yale Drama School, founding artistic director of the Yale Repertory Theatre, as well as Harvard’s American Repertory Theatre and its Institute for Advance Theatre training. He’s been a teacher, actor, director, playwright, critics, and enjoys a well-earned reputation as a living legend these days. This book will inspire any struggling actor. Brustein has mentored many great talents from Meryl Streep to Signourney Weaver, Christopher Walken to Tony Shalhoub. This book should be a part of any actor’s personal library.

People of different religions often turn to their holy books for advice on how to conduct their lives. The New Testament offers many parables and commands. These have been extracted and examined in Hear Him! The One Hundred Twenty-Five Commands of Jesus by Peter Wittstock ($29.99/$15.99, hard or softcover, Angelfood Publishing, 1311 Somerset Ave, Grosse Point Park, MI 48230-1030). In doing so, the author seeks to answer such questions as why do Christians believe different things concerning the way to salvation and why don’t all Christians believe the same things about what Jesus taught? Of the 400 imperatives recorded by the Gospel writers, the author includes 224 in a list of 125 portions of biblical text with paraphrases for easier reading and reference. A Christian seeking greater insight will find this book a valuable resource.

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Children’s & Young Readers Books

It is my view that American history is not taught well in our schools these days. This is America: The American Spirit in Places and People by Don Robb, illustrated by Christine Joy Pratt ($6.95, Charlesbridge Publishing, Watertown, MA) is fun to look at and filled with examples of the values that Americans share and our willingness to fight for them. Readers aged eight and older would benefit greatly from this book. Also from Charlesbridge, a terrific science text, Big Bang! Written by Carolyn Cinami DeChristofano and illustrated by Michael Carroll, ($6.95), it describes the theory of the Big Bang which created our universe. This is the kind of book that can get a youngster’s mind thinking about some of the biggest questions with which scientists have grappled for centuries and ends by telling the reader that all of the secrets have yet to have been revealed. Also for those youngsters who are curious this complex world, there’s The Bumblebee Queen by April Pulley Sayre and illustrated beautifully by Patricia J. Wynne ($14.95). It is a great introduction to entomology, following the life cycle of a bumblebee from beginning to end. A visit to www.charlesbridge.com will inspire any parent with its excellent selection of books by its award-winning authors.

A fun book from New World Library is Just for Today by Jan Phillips and illustrated by Alison Bonds Shapiro ($15.95). This one is for the very young, light on cleverly rhymed text and mostly just lovely artwork depicting a family of bears who wake up one morning and decide to devote the day to just being together, doing whatever their children want to do. It is a reminder that sometime we just need to unplug the phone and turn off the TV to spend time together. It is written for ages 3 through 8 years. Days like this make for wonderful memories and this book will be one as well.

National Geographic publishes many fine books for pre-school and young readers. For those to whom one must read or who are just beginners, there’s Ocean Babies by Deborah Lee Rose with illustrations by Hiroe Nakata ($16.95). It tells the story of the many species for whom the ocean is their home, from fish to whales, walruses to sea otters. It’s fine for ages 4 to 8. Another book for the very young is You and Me Together: Moms, Dads, and Kids Around the World by Barbara Kerley ($16.95), filled with color photos that illustrate the theme of families and how similar we all are, despite living in different places. It is primarily a book to look at and absorb. A beginning reader will enjoy Moon ($16.95) by Steve Tomecek and illustrated by Liisa Chauncy Guida. It is a science-based book about the Moon that answers all those questions anyone might have about it. Older readers, ages ten or more, may find Go Wild in New York City ($16.95) entertaining for its extensive text by Brad Matsen and design by Paul Corio. Primarily of interest to the children who live in New York City, but applicable to any large city, the book looks at the many eco-systems a large urban center represents. Any youngster interested in science would enjoy this book. The National Geographic series, "Crossroads America", has two new additions in Freedom Struggle: The Anti-Slavery Movement in America 1830-1865 and Created Equal: Women Campaign for the Right to Vote 1840-1920. Both ($12.95) written by Ann Rossi, young readers 10 to 14, would benefit greatly from learning how equality was advanced, often against great opposition, over time. Biography is a great way to learn about how some people transformed the world and Genius: A Photobiography of Albert Einstein by Marfe Ferguson Delano ($17.95) pays tribute to one of the great minds of the 20^th century. This book is idea for a reader age 10 and older. Finally, if you know a boy or girl who loves geography, there’s the National Geographic Bee: Official Study Guide by Stephen F. Cunha ($9.95) for youngsters 8 to 14. Whether they enter the competition or not, this book will make them a geography winner!

Another top publisher is Kids Can Press. They have a new series, "Learning with Animals", that are small, very sturdy books intended to teach basic knowledge such as Opposites, Numbers, Colors, and Shapes to the very young ($4.95 each). Written and illustrated by Melanie Watt, they are a great way to get pre-schoolers used to books and learning from them. Learning how to properly care for a pet is the topic of My Pet Puppy and My Pet Kitten, two books written by Marilyn Baillie and illustrated by Jane Kurisa ($5.95). In these books, feeding, grooming, and other elements of relating to a pet are discussed for those aged 5 to 8 years. Some fun stories have also debuted. A Treasure at Sea for Dragon and Me by Jean E. Pendziwol and Martine Gourbault ($14.95) teaches valuable water safety lessons as two friends build castles in the sand, swim, and race a boatload of pirates to hidden treasure. Written for children aged 3 to 7. The Boy Who Loved Bananas, written by George Elliott and illustrated by Andrej Krystoforski ($15.95) will have any youngster, age 3 to 7, in stitches as the main character, after a trip to the zoo where he sees a bunch of monkeys, decides he will only eat bananas, to a point where he almost becomes one! It is delightfully silly. You can check out these books and others at www.kidscanpress.com.

Frances Lincoln is publishing a number of fiction and non-fiction books this spring that reflect nations both ancient and modern. Pepi and the Secret Names by Jill Paton Walsh and illustrated by Fiona French ($8.95) is set in ancient Egypt. Pepi’s father has been commanded to decorate the tomb of a prince and he receives help from his son who brings him wildlife models from which to create images of Horus the Hawk and Sebek the Crocodile. The artwork is quite good and young readers, aged 8 to 14, will enjoy using simple hieroglyphics to enter this long ago world. Sally Pomme Clayton has written Tales Told in Tents ($16.95) and Sophie Herxheimer has illustrated this collection of twelve stories from Central Asia that the author picked up in her travels in Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, and other "stans." They provide a glimpse for those 7 and older into very different cultures than our own. This same age group will enjoy the retelling of Jason and the Golden Fleece, a story from ancient Greece, as told by James Riordon and illustrated by Jason Cockroft ($12.95). It is an excellent introduction to the tales of the Golden Fleece, the Centaur, and Poseidon, among others. We often want to shield children from the evil of the world, but there are positive ways they can learn about it and one of them is Frank Dabba Smith’s true-life story, Elsie’s War: A Story of Courage in Nazi Germany ($7.95), filled with photos from that era and of Elsie Kuhn-Leitz who courageously did everything she could to help Jews and others being persecuted by the Nazis in World War II. It is an inspiring story that evil can and must be resisted. For readers 7 to 9, there’s no one quite like Grace, an irrepressible girl whose imagination works overtime. Bravo, Grace! Written by Mary Hoffman ($14.95), this is the fifth title in a series of books featuring our heroine. The first has since sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide. You will want to introduce a young girl you know to this character who mirrors all the trials and triumphs of growing up.

The name, Avi, is known throughout the world of literature for young readers as an author of more than fifty books, including the 2003 Newbery Medal winner, "Crispin: The Cross of Lead." He has won manyawards over the years and returns with The Book Without Words ($15.95, Hyperion Books for Children), for readers age 10 to 14. The subject of the title appears to be a volume of blank parchment pages, but for a green-eyed readers filled with great desire, it may reveal the dark magic of Northumbria, including the forgotten arts of making gold and even achieving immortality. On a terrible day of death and destruction, the book falls into the hands of a desperate boy. Set in medieval England, it is a tale of life and death, greed and betrayal, magic and secrets. In short, just the kind of story to fascinate a young reader.

The Ghost on the Moki Steps by Larry Larason and Mary Jean Hendrick ($12.95, Anchorhouse.com) is ideal for the older readers, aged ten and up, as it spins a tale about a half-Navajo, young man who needs money to help his parents and send himself to college is lured into looting an Anasazi pueblo by an illegal antiquities collector. In a remote canyon, Phil Richart encounters the spirit of an Anasazi woman who died 700 years earlier who attempts to scare him away, but as she comes to know him, she changes her plan. There’s some interesting lessons in anthropology that come with this story that is sure to grab the interest of anyone who discovers this ghost in its pages.

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Novels, Novels, Novels!

The way a really good novel announces itself is with the first sentence and the first paragraph. The author reaches out to you and says, "Here is a story you will want to read." That was the case with Book Doctor by Esther Cohen ($23.00, Counterpoint) in which the hero is a non-descript lawyer, Harbinger Singh, who is still in love with his ex-wife, Carla, also a lawyer, and he wants to win her back. He decides to write a novel that will rekindle a new marriage. What he needs, however, is someone to guide him through the process and this brings him in contact with a "book doctor", Arlette Rosen, to help. What unfolds is a story full of books, sex, movies, love, music and revelation. What follows is a wonderful send-up of the mad world of book writing and publishing. This book is just great fun from beginning to end and should be on your "must read" list. I had the same response to Aloft by Chang-Rae Lee ($14.00, Riverhead Books), an author who has established himself with two previous novels, Native Speaker and A Gesture Life, both earning high praise from critics. He offers us the life of Jerry Battle, a suburban, middle-aged white man who has lived his entire life on Long Island, New York. About to turn sixty and facing a series of family crisis, he escape a messy and messed-up life by going flying, usually alone, in his two-seater plane. This is an ordinary man made extraordinary through the talent of the author who has created a metaphor for the contemporary American soul.

Ken Smith has written his first novel, Mission Octagon, ($24.95, Brown Books, Dallas, TX) and it is an impressive debut in the tradition of riveting thrillers that combine crackling dialogue, gripping military action, and page-turning excitement as you near the end. It ranges from the gang-infested streets of Miami to the killing fields of Vietnam, to the corridors of an all-black college in Savannah, Georgia. The secret of Mission Octagon follows the main character for twenty years. The forces that seek to protect the secrets it involves include killing the innocent and framing him for the murder. It sets in motion the search for the sinister group who are doing this with the intent to kill them. This is a novel of cold revenge and, if you can stand the suspense, you will be richly rewarded. A thriller of a different sort is Fatal Memories by Vladimir Lange ($23.95, Red Square Press, Los Angeles and Moscow). Set in both 14^th century Russia and the present day, the author weaves together history and romance in a story that asks whether we carry the memory of past lives in our genes? That alone makes for an interesting theme, but the author has fashioned a terrific techno-medical thriller. This is not surprising in that he has been an emergency physician who has written a bestselling book on breast cancer. One thinks of his former schoolmate, Michael Crichton, as one reads this compelling story by an author whose own life reads like a novel. Michele Martinez graduated from Harvard University and Stanford Law School. She worked for a prestigious Manhattan law firm before serving eight years as a federal prosecutor. What perfect training to be a novelist! Just kidding. You have to have talent, too, and she demonstrates that in Most Wanted ($23.95, William Morrow), the story of Melanie Vargas, a hotshot federal prosecutor who stumbles upon a crime scene the likes of which can catapult one’s career, if she can just avoid being the next victim. By drawing on her real life, extensive experience, and adding a dash of romance, Martinez has written a heart-pounding suspense thriller that should be "most wanted" on your list of books to read.

There is no end of softcover novels so let’s look at a few new ones. Drop Dead, My Lovely by Ellis Weiner ($13.95, New American Library) is a debut novel that is drop-dead funny. Weiner, a former editor and founding columnist at magazines like the National Lampoon and Spy, introduces Peter Ingalls, whose initials just coincidentally spell out P.I. as in private investigator. While working in a bookstore, a stack of books whacks him in the head and when he comes to, he’s been transformed into a wisecracking, tough-talking private investigator. He collects his insurance and sets himself as one. This clever novel is a take-off on every 1940’s detective movie you ever saw. You will enjoy it. It’s the ultimate fantasy come true in The Mommy Fund by Madeleine K. Jacob ($13.00, Plume) when two modern mothers with all the usual problems of raising kids, having a job, and trying to find some answers to their problems suddenly, thanks to a million dollar inheritance, take off for New York City together to fulfill their dreams of staying at the Plaza, shopping at Saks, and indulging themselves. What they realize is that others like them could use a break and that’s the birth of the fund. It is a fun story of motherhood, friendship, and the joys of escaping, if only for a few days. Kimberly Kafka takes you to Oregon in her novel, Miranda’s Vines ($14.00, Plume) whose main character’s life takes an unexpected turn when her grandfather dies, leaving the family vineyard to her. She abandons her plans to create her own restaurant in San Francisco to return home and is soon joined by a friend. This is a story about one’s roots and about friendship, about healing and hope. It is a story about those relationships and places that shape our lives, told by a very talented writer.

From Berkley, a member of the Penguin Group, come three very different softcover novels. If Andy Warhol Had a Girlfriend by Alison Pace ($13.00) is a fun and gossipy debut that is set in the world of International Art Fairs from New York to London to Rome and beyond. The main character, Jane Laine, works for a famous and horrible gallery owner in New York. She is "punished" for some infraction and sent on a tour with yet another art poseur, learning in the end that art, like life, is a matter of perception. It’s a very different turn with Mourning Ruby by Helen Dunmore ($14.00) in a story of love and loss. Having been abandoned at birth thirty years earlier, Rebecca is now a mother herself. A child of no one and nowhere, she has created her own unorthodox but tender family, but tragedy strikes, driving her to seek out her real history. This is powerful storytelling and a moving experience. Pharos: A Ghost Story by Alice Thompson ($12.00) gained high praise from Stephen King who called it a "gothic music video of a novel that whirls with weirdness…madly energetic…genuinely scary." Set in the 19^th century, it begins when an amnesiac woman is washed up on the shores of a remote lighthouse off the coast of Scotland. It just gets stranger and stranger for the lighthouse keeper and his apprentice who take her in. It’s a real page-turner.

It sometimes seems to me that everyone I know and lots of people I don’t, all want to write a novel. It has become easier to publish oneself these days with services such as xlibris and iUniverse. Sometimes these books enjoy enough success to be picked up by a mainline publishing firm and reissued. There are a lot of very bad novels being published, as always, but sometimes a really good one surfaces and this is the case with The Perfume Factory by Alex Austin ($28.79, xlibris). It is the first novel for a veteran Los Angeles-based journalist and playwright and is an absorbing coming-of-age story set in central New Jersey. This is the working-class accurately portray in the conflict between an abusive father and his rebellious son. The author was born in Newark, NJ and spent his youth in the area described in the novel, giving it an authenticity that experience lends. The boy has evolved into a petty thief to gain the money to make his escape. This is a powerful story, well told.

That’s it for March! Don’t forget to visit our Featured Book section to discover some very special books, one of which may be just what you’re looking for! Come back next month to learn about the many new fiction and non-fiction books that can entertain you and even transform your life.

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