nonfiction reviews – Michele Lee

March 3

The Secrets of Judas by James M. Robinson

Click to Buy Review by Jason Lush

Read it for the information about archeology and the people who study coptic writings, but not to learn any thing of Judas or the document “The Gospel of Judas”.
Simply put, this is an informative and interesting book, but it has nothing to do with its sensational title. The man Judas is mentioned briefly, but the remainder is about the documents’ procurement and the people involved with its translation and preservation.
Nothing…nothing of the document itself or any of its content. The spiritual content of this book is no more than any thinking reader of the New Testament could surmise on their own.
Good book, over blown title.

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February 27

When Science Goes Wrong by Simon LeVay

Click to buy Review by Jason Lush

Really should have been called “When Humans with College Educations Do Really Stupid Things”, but I guess that wouldn’t be sensational enough.

When Science Goes Wrong is informative and engaging, but I believe it may have been rushed to press to capitalize on some event. The book covers twelve events in recent history in which seemingly smart people committed decidedly careless or outright stupid deeds, always at the cost of others.

Each of the twelve stories are factual and informative, but every one of them is jam-packed with worthless fluff and personal anecdotes that distract from the point. My advice is read the first three and last three pages of each chapter and you’ll get all the relevant information you need.

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November 14

Ghost in the Mirror by Leslie Rule

*I received this book as part of the LibraryThing Early Reader Program.

If you love real life ghost stories and tales of haunted houses, hospitals and highways this is an excellent book for you. A compendium of tales of apparitions and mysterious happenings the book is cut into small, easy to digest pieces and often includes contact information for the restaurants, hotels and stores that claim to have ghostly residents.

Rule does offer some research into the possible identities of the ghosts, as well as token information on area ghost hunters and enough contact information to plan a ghost theme vacation.

She doesn’t offer a skeptic’s point of view or attempt to make the otherworldly scientific (aside from mentioning EVPs and batteries draining on investigations). She does include many interesting pictures that while not supernatural are mood setting.

If you don’t like tales of hauntings then you won’t find anything new here. But ghost fans can be insatiable and this is a fine starting place or addition to a fan’s library.

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September 25

10 Things Every Child With Autism Wishes You Knew by Ellen Notbohm

This book reads easy and fast and it should be handed out to every parent whose child is diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum. It can change the perceptions of anyone–family, friend, educator or counselor–who is face with the baffling behavior of an autistic child. I cannot impress just how much this slim volume can help.

The core beliefs in 10 Things Every Child With Autism Wishes You Knew are:

-All behaviors happen for a reason.
And
-All behavior is communication.

The focus is on presenting (not really exploring or solving problems) the possible causes of “bad” behavior and realigning the thought patterns neurotypical people have when dealing with those on the spectrum. It can also help parents get behind the possible causes of misbehavior on the part of “normal” children.

Some principals in this book are–or should be–universal. Don’t let one term (Autism, ADHD, or even “trouble child”) define all your child is. Focus on what your child can do instead of getting lost in what he or she can’t do. All behavior has a cause, ferreting out the cause can go very far in helping to resolve negative behavior. And most importantly of all, love should not be dependent on good grades, good behavior or “being normal”. Love should be unconditional.

If there was ever an Idiot’s Guide to Raising a Child this might be it. An essential book for understanding the social, language and sensory challenges experienced by many types of special needs children. This book should be mandatory reading for anyone whose life is touched by Autism Spectrum Disorders.

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September 20

The Decline of Men by Guy Garcia

Review by Michael Lush

In his study of the American male Guy Garcia exposes the ugly truth that all men want to hide but desperately need shown, our weakness in today’s age of networking and social strong arming. The author adequately displays how the feminist movement empowered women but in essence castrated an entire nation of men.

We live in an age where all the strengths that helped us make it out of the caves has made us all but useless in the world we created. Guy Garcia points to a lot of statistics making the work informative but a little dry, then blind sides you with two chapters about Mattel’s Ken and Superman, referring to them as both real men and symbols of what we are and what we used to be, respectively a useless metrosexual and an idealized figure of manhood. The fact that he spoke of both characters as if they were true flesh and blood men seemed a little silly and out of place in this particular work.

In the end we see that our Pop Icons are mirrors of what we think a “Man” should be but can never live up to ourselves. In short the implication is that instead of living up to our traditional ideas of manhood we should just redefine what it is to be a man.

Seems a bit lazy to me, but hell what ever makes you sleep better at night.

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