Book Reviews

There are viruses that kill bacteria. The overwhelming majority of viruses do not affect our lives at all.

I found the story of viruses that kill bacteria most interesting. Bacteriophages, or more commonly Phages, were used to treat bacterial infections from the time of WW1 until the discovery of antibiotics which were more effective. Today, with so many bacteria becoming drug-resistant, researches are looking again at phages and finding ways to enhance their effectiveness.

"The Global Viral Forecasting Initiative is trying to change the way we fight viruses. Someday, somewhere, a virus we don’t know about is going to emerge as a major new threat to human health. We’ve seen it happen many times before, and so we know it will happen again. GVFI scientists think we’ll do a better job fighting that new virus if we can learn something about it in advance. To eliminate the advantage of surprise, GVFI scientists are looking for these viruses before they jump into humans. The best place to look for them is in animals, such as the monkeys."

"Viruses are the smallest living things known to science, and yet they hold the entire planet in their sway. Viruses have been a part of our lives for so long, in fact, that we are actually part virus: the human genome contains more DNA from viruses than our own genes. Meanwhile, scientists are discovering viruses everywhere they look: in the soil, in the ocean, even in deep caves miles underground. A Planet of Viruses explores how viruses regulate the biosphere, how they helped give rise to the first life-forms, how viruses are producing new diseases, how we can harness viruses for our own ends, and how viruses will continue to control our fate for years to come."

The essays in this book were written for the World of Viruses project at the University of Nebraska, funded by the National Center for Research Resources at the National Institutes of Health through the Science. http://www.worldofviruses.unl.edu/

Carl Zimmer writes about science for the New York Times and other publications and is the author of eight books, including Parasite Rex, Soul Made Flesh, and Microcosm. He is a lecturer at Yale University, where he teaches writing about science and the environment, and visiting scholar at the Science, Health, and Environment Reporting Program at New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute.

Book Reviews Latest addition 10 September 2012
These are short reviews or descriptions of books I have found especially interesting. They are all non-fiction -- science, history, sociology, biography and politics. All of these books are available on Kindle. Return to Main Directory

Midnight in México By Alfredo Corchado Print and e-books Corchado in a dual citizen (actually a dual national) of the USA, where he was born, and México, the land of his ancestors and the land of his heart. He is head of the México City office of the Dallas Morning News. He has written extensively about ordinary life in México as well as the drug wars. This is a powerful and amazing book about Mexico written with the blood, sweat and tears of someone who knows Mexico as it once was, as it now is and dreams of a better future.
I have lived in Mexico for 13 years. I have seen my quiet, peaceful little corner of México erupt into a shooting war between drug gangs, the police and the army. So this book has a special meaning for me. Corchado combines a personal memoir with excellent reporting on the drug wars. He gives a usefully history of the rise of the drug gangs beginning in the 1940s. It began with considerable collusion between the drugers and the government. Today, the government is fighting the gangs, but there are so many corrupt officials at all level of government that the war on drugs has become an uphill battle for the government. No one seems to see a way out. He is an excellent writer who expresses himself with a journalist's precision but also with a humanist's voice. The book touched me profoundly, as a lament for a Mexico that once was, and as a yearning for a Mexico that once again could be. A must read for anyone who loves Mexico.

Mañana Doesn't Mean Tomorrow By David Kindopp Paperback and Kindle The dictionary says mañana means tomorrow. Those of us who live in México clearly understand that it means “not today.” Getting to understand the Mexican concepts of time and punctuality are part of the challenge of leaning a new culture. This book is the story of a man who walks away from his California life to follow his dream--starting a charter sailboat business in Mexico.
Through all his ensuing elations, machinations, and frustrations in love, in friendship, and in business, The author shows us a Mexico most tourists never see, a Mexico in which he discovers why mañana doesn't mean tomorrow. His story is funny, entertaining and informative.

No Easy Day By Mark Owen (a nom de plume) and Kevin Maurer Print and e-books Mark Owen is a former member of the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group, commonly known as SEAL Team Six. In his many years as a Navy SEAL, he has participated in hundreds of missions around the globe, many of which he relates in the book.. Owen was a team leader on the operation which resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden.
Kevin Maurer has covered special operations forces for nine years. He has been embedded with the Special Forces in Afghanistan six times, spent a month in 2006 with special operations units in east Africa, and has embedded with U.S. forces in Iraq and Haiti. He is the author of four books, including several about special operations. Together this warier and wariers' scribe have produced a gripping page-turner that covers much more than just the Ben Laden story. It follows Owen from his childhood dream of military service through the riggers of SEAL training and several missions in Afghanistan and other places. It ends with the minute-by-minute telling of the Ben Laden story Owen writes "To date, how the mission to kill Bin Laden has been reported is wrong. Even reports claiming to have the inside story have been incorrect. I felt like someone had to tell the true story. To me, the story is bigger than the raid itself and much more about the men at the command who willingly go into harm’s way, sacrificing all they have to do the job. Theirs is a story that deserves to be told, and told as accurately as possible."

Cronkite By Douglas Brinkley Print and e-books Dr. Brinkley is a professor of history at Rice University in Houston. He is the author of several popular books. This book brought back many fond memories from my own days in broadcasting. I learned lots of personal things about Uncle Walter. It's common knowledge that he was an avid sailor, but did you know he was an accomplished drummer who spent many drum jams with the drummer from the Grateful Dead?
But the book has many irritating flaws. In many places it reads like a first draft in serious need of an editor. There are abrupt subject changes without transitions. The time line is often very confusing. Some knowledgeable reviewers have pointed out many factual errors.. Example here. I felt several people, Edward R. Morrow for example, were treated unfairly. While I found the book interesting and informative, a better product would be expected from a writer of Brinkley's stature. Return to Main Directory

Private Empire ExxonMobil and American Power By Steve Coll Print and e-books Steve Coll is most recently the author of the New York Times bestseller The Bin Ladens. He is the president of the New America Foundation, a non-partisan public policy institute in Washington, D.C., and a staff writer for The New Yorker. He worked for twenty years at The Washington Post, where he received a Pulitzer Prize.
This is the extraordinary story of both ExxonMobil and the global oil industry beginning with the Exxon Valdez accident in 1989 and leading to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Along the way, Coll constructs detailed scenarios that reveal the issues confronting the company in a number of countries where it sources oil or gas. Chad, Venezuela, Equatorial Guinea, Russia, Iraq, and Qatar, among others, making clear that ExxonMobil's interests were global, not national. Though the book is subtitled ExxonMobil and American Power, Coll makes clear that the corporation is anything but an expression of American power. In fact, he details the sometimes fractious relationship the company had even with the oil-friendly Administration of George W. Bush, despite ExxonMobil president Lee Raymond's close friendship with Vice President Dick Cheney. The overall picture is not very nice -- a drive for profit above all else, and a constant battle to find, buy or grab oil and gas reserves for future exploitation. The book details the company's long-standing fight against the concept of global climate change. A policy only recently and reluctantly abandoned after spending millions lobbing against the idea. Return to Main Directory

Gardens of Democracy By Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer Print and e-books Eric Liu is an author, educator, and civic entrepreneur. He lives in Seattle, where he teaches at the University of Washington and hosts an acclaimed television interview program called Seattle Voices. Nick Hanauer is a Seattle-based entrepreneur, venture capitalist, author and activist with a knack for identifying and building transformative business models
The authors have given us a thought-provoking little book that address the central issues of governance, the economic vitals and citizen responsibilities in modern America. Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. writes “Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer are progressives who always think outside the box, and that’s why everyone should pay attention to them. The Gardens of Democracy shakes up our stale debate over government’s role in a dynamic society, and in a thoughtful, creative and inventive way. Everyone will find something to disagree with here, and that’s the point: getting us out of our comfort zones is an immensely useful democratic undertaking.”\ Return to Main Directory

The Art of Intelligence -- Lessons from a Life in the CIA's Clandestine Service By Henry A. Crumpton Print and e-books Crumpton first applied for a job at the CIA when he was 10 years old. He revived a letter suggesting he apply again when he was older, which he did after college in 1981 and spent most of his 24 year career working undercover in Africa, Europe and Asia. He became a master at recruiting spies to work fur the CIA. In the later part of his career, he served in management at CIA headquarters.
He was one of the fathers of the Predator drone program. He explains how and why the CIA came to develop and operate the drones. I was particularly fascinated by the CIA's leading role in routing the Taliban and al-Qaeda which Crumpton directed in 2001-2002. In 2005, he left the CIA to work for the State Department with the rank of ambassador-at-large from August 2005 until February 2007 He is was awarded the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the CIA's highest award for achievement. The author relates many of his adventures and, sometimes, misadventures. Each story illustrates a point in the art and craft of intelligence gathering. Of course, names, places and dates are almost never reported. As required by law, the manuscript was reviewed by the CIA before publication. I found the book quite interesting and very informative. I have a much better understanding and appreciation of the role of the CIA. Return to Main Directory

The Passage of Power By Robert Caro Print and e-book This is volume 4 of a soon to be 5 volume epic The Years of Lyndon Johnson The Passage of Power takes us from the 1960 presidential primaries through the first seven weeks of Johnson's presidency. It covers the shortest period of time of any of the books in the series, but it's also the most interesting.
The Passage of Power is divided into five parts: Johnson v. Kennedy 1960 (the 1960 democratic nomination fight), "Rufus Cornpone" (Johnson's misery as vice president), Dallas (the assassination of Kennedy), Taking Command (Johnson's actions in the days immediately following the assassination), To Become a President (the rest of the first seven weeks of Johnson's presidency ending with the 1964 State of the Union address to congress.) Caro is a diligent researcher and a master story teller. In many parts, the story reads like a novel. We see LBJ sink to the depths of despair as vice-president and then to rise to the pentacle of power as president. His gusto restored, he set out to transform the nation. Volume 5 will tell that story as well as the tragedy that was Viet Nam, the war that ended his presidency. Return to Main Directory

*Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What to Do About It* Richard A Clarke and Robert K. Knake Print and e-books Richard A. Clarke has served in the White House for Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, who appointed him to be the National Coordinator for Security, Infra-structure Protection, and Counter-terrorism. He teaches at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Robert K. Knake is an international affairs fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. [This review consists of quotes from the book with a comment by me in brackets] Cyber war has begun. In anticipation of hostilities, nations are already “preparing the battlefield.” They are hacking into each other’s networks and infrastructures, laying in trapdoors and logic bombs—now, in peacetime. This ongoing nature of cyber war, the blurring of peace and war, adds a dangerous new dimension of instability. We really do not know who would win, nor what the results of such a cyber war would be. We need to embark on a complex series of tasks:: to understand what cyber war is, to learn how and why it works, to analyze its risks, to prepare for it, to think about how to control it. This book is an attempt to begin to do some of that. [The book is thought provoking as well as damn scary.] Return to Main Directory

Do Not Ask What Good We Do Inside the U.S. House of Representatives By Robert Draper Print and Kindle Most of the book consists of short biographical vignettes of house members -- mostly the freshmen of 2010. Some of these bios are really not very useful; others do help to understand the power of the Tea Party who pushed the nation to the brink of default on it's obligations. Along the way, we get so see a lot of inside activities of the House GOP.
It's not always pretty to see the 112th House of Representatives warts and all. Draper reveals the way the house changed from a functioning body of deal makers to a frozen bureaucracy. Return to Main Directory

Beyond Outrage What has gone wrong with our economy and how it fix it By Robert Reich. PhD Kindle and Nook, no print In this short monograph, Dr. Reich urges Americans to get beyond mere outrage about the nation’s increasingly concentrated wealth and corrupt politics in order to mobilize and to take back our economy and democracy. Reich connects the dots for us, showing why the increasing share of income and wealth going to the top
has hobbled jobs and growth for everyone else, while undermining our democracy; has caused Americans to become increasingly cynical about public life; and has turned many Americans against one another. He also explains why the proposals of the “regressive right” are dead wrong and provides a clear road map for what must be done instead. Here is a blueprint for action for everyone who cares about the future of America. Return to Main Directory

Showdown: The Inside Story of How Obama Fought Back Against Boehner, Cantor, and the Tea Party By David Corn Print and Kindle I am not a big fan of the usual "Inside Washington or White House" books that so often tell us little more the personality conflicts, turf wars and general gossip. This book is different. Personality conflicts and turf wars are ignored except where they have a direct bearing on the president's battle with a radicalized and dysfunctional congress.
The story deals with just one year, 2011, starting with the lame duck session at the end of 2010 after the Republican sweep of the House elections. Corn is not an Obama apologist. He reports successes and failures, scoops and near misses, blunders and triumphs. I found answers to questions I had wondered about at the time -- Why did he do that? Why didn't he do this? Altogether, a very enlightening read. Return to Main Directory

Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power By Rachel Maddow Print and Kindle In his Farwell Address more than a half century ago, President Eisenhower warned "...In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes….”
Dr Maddow chronicles the steady march down the very path Ike warned us about. It’s very much a bipartisan story – both parties have been guilty of dragging us ever closer to a continuous state of war. Return to Main Directory

Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100 by Michio Kaku, Ph.D. Published by Doubleday (2011) Available in hardcover, paperback, Kindle, and audio book Dr Kaku is a professor of theoretical physics in the City College of New York He is the co-founder of string field theory, a popularizer of science and has made frequent appearances on radio, television, and film. *[For this review, I will use Dr. Kaku’s words almost exclusively. My own words will be in brackets.]*
This book will closely examine the work of the leading scientists who are building prototypes of the technologies that will change our future. This book is not a work of fiction, a by-product of the overheated imagination of a Hollywood scriptwriter, but rather is based on the solid science being conducted in major laboratories around the world today. This book is based on interviews with more than 300 top scientists, those in the forefront of discovery. Every scientific development mentioned in this book is consistent with the known laws of physics. Prototypes of all technologies mentioned in this book already exist. This book is written by an “insider” who has a firsthand look at the technologies that are on the cutting edge of research. 2100: BECOMING THE GODS OF MYTHOLOGY Today, if we could somehow visit our ancient ancestors and show them the bounty of modern science and technology, we would be viewed as magicians. With the wizardry of science, we could show them jet planes that can soar in the clouds, rockets that can explore the moon and planets, MRI scanners that can peer inside the living body, and cell phones that can put us in touch with anyone on the planet. If we showed them laptop computers that can send moving images and messages instantly across the continents, they would view this as sorcery. But this is just the beginning. Science is not static. Science is exploding exponentially all around us. If you count the number of scientific articles being published, you will find that the sheer volume of science doubles every decade or so. Innovation and discovery are changing the entire economic, political, and social landscape, overturning all the old cherished beliefs and prejudices. Now dare to imagine the world in the year 2100. By 2100, our destiny is to become like the gods of mythology that once were worshipped and feared. But our tools will not be magic wands and potions but the science of computers, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and most of all, the quantum theory, which is the foundation of the previous technologies. By 2100, like the gods of mythology, we will be able to manipulate objects with the power of our minds. Computers, silently reading our thoughts, will be able to carry out our wishes. We will be able to move objects by thought alone, a telekinetic power usually reserved only for the gods. With the power of biotechnology, we will create perfect bodies and extend our life spans. We will also be able to create life-forms that have never walked the surface of the earth. With the power of nanotechnology, we will be able to take an object and turn it into something else, to create something seemingly almost out of nothing. We will ride not in fiery chariots but in sleek vehicles that will soar by themselves with almost no fuel, floating effortlessly in the air. With our engines, we will be able to harness the limitless energy of the stars. We will also be on the threshold of sending star ships to explore those nearby. Although this godlike power seems unimaginably advanced, the seeds of all these technologies are being planted even as we speak. It is modern science, not chanting and incantations, that will give us this power. [The book is divided in to these eight chapter/subjects. Each chapter is subdivided into three time frames – the near future (now to 2030), the mid-term (2030 to 2070) and the far future (2070 to 2100)] THE COMPUTER: Mind over Matter ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Rise of the Machines MEDICINE: Perfection and Beyond NANOTECHNOLOGY: Everything from Nothing? ENERGY: Energy from the Stars SPACE TRAVEL: To the Stars WEALTH: Winners and Losers HUMANITY: Planetary Civilization *[Ending with] A DAY IN THE LIFE IN 2100* JANUARY, 2100, 6:15 A.M. After a night of heavy partying on New Year’s Eve, you are sound asleep. Suddenly, your wall screen lights up. A friendly, familiar face appears on the screen. It’s Molly, the software program you bought recently. Molly announces cheerily, “John, wake up. You are needed at the office. In person. It’s important.” “Now wait a minute, Molly! You’ve got to be kidding,” you grumble. “It’s New Year’s Day, and I have a hangover. What could possibly be so important anyway?” Slowly you drag yourself out of bed and reluctantly head off to the bathroom. While washing your face, hundreds of hidden DNA and protein sensors in the mirror, toilet, and sink silently spring into action, analyzing the molecules you emit in your breath and bodily fluids, checking for the slightest hint of any disease at the molecular level. Leaving the bathroom, you wrap some wires around your head, which allow you to telepathically control your home: you mentally raise the temperature of the apartment, turn on some soothing music, tell the robotic cook in your kitchen to make breakfast and brew some coffee, and order your magnetic car to leave the garage and be ready to pick you up. As you enter the kitchen, you see the mechanical arms of the robotic cook preparing eggs just the way you like them. Then you put in your contact lenses and connect to the Internet. Blinking, you see the Internet as it shines onto the retina of your eye. While drinking hot coffee, you start scanning the headlines that flash in your contact lenses. Suddenly, one item catches your eye: A large leak has unexpectedly been detected in the dikes surrounding Manhattan. Unless the dikes are repaired, the entire city could be submerged, like scores of other cities in the past. “Uh-oh,” you say to yourself. “So that’s why the office called and woke me up.” You skip breakfast, dress, and dash out the door. Your car, which drove itself out of the garage, is waiting for you outside. You telepathically order the car to take you to your office as quickly as possible. The magnetic car instantly accesses the Internet, the GPS, and billions of chips hidden in the road that constantly monitor traffic. … *[An entraining and illuminating read. I enjoyed it immensely.]* Return to Main Directory

King Solomon’s Ring: New Light on Animals' Ways By Konrad Lorenz Originally published in German in 1949 and in English in 1952 Available in hard cover, paperback and Kindle Dr. Lorenz was one of the founding fathers of modern ethology. He won Nobel Prize in 1972. I first read this marvelous little book as a college student in the ‘50s shortly after its English publication. Now, almost 60 years later, I was delighted by it once again.
Besides being informative about the lives of animals, it is delightfully amusing, even downright funny in places. His stories of his interactions with animals are timeless. As I read about his interactions with animals, many times I thought "Gee, I wish I could do that." Because this book was so influential in changing our understanding of animals, much of what he writes is now common knowledge. We forget that many of these things were not always known.. Lorenz explains clearly and concisely why most people feel sorry for captive animals for all the wrong reasons. This section should be required reading for most people who think that they are promoting 'animal rights'. We know that many birds have mating rituals, but did you know some fish do too? If you are interested in animals, especially birds, you’ll be well rewarded by reading this book. Return to Main Directory


Gods, Gachupines and Gringos: A People's History of Mexico by Richard Grabman Available in paperback and Kindle	*Villa and Zapata A History of the Mexican Revolution* by Frank McLynn. Available in hard cover, paperback and Kindle
I have read, or tried to read, other histories of México and the revolution, but none has spoken to me the way these two have. I commend them to the attention of anyone who would like to know more about México. I have chosen to review them together because they compliment each other, and each is a popular, non technical, look at the history of México. Both books are comfortable reads with many little side details that add much to the stories they tell. Grabman's book is a broad scope from pre-Colombian times through about 2006. McLynn focuses on the Revolution 1910-1920 with a bit of pre-revolution background. Both books cover the revolution, but McLynn is able to paint a more detailed picture of the main characters in the struggle -- many more than just Villa and Zapata. I was especially drawn to McLynn's story because so much of it took place in and around where I live in northern México. This is part of a review of Gods, Gachupines and Gringos by Alex Gesheva for the Guadalajara Reporter (11/08) "Grabman has written this book with a specific goal: to explore Mexico's multi-faceted, multi-cultural past and to help foreigners become more familiar with a very ancient society. The quirky details, therefore, serve to smooth encounters with maddeningly complicated episodes of Mexican history that could otherwise alienate and befuddle uninitiated readers. In this case, the knowledge is also extremely relevant to understanding Mexico's geopolitical present." "As a non-academic writer for a general audience, Grabman unhesitatingly selects the most compelling details of Mexico's long and convoluted history and uses them to turn a difficult story into a joyful, dynamic read. After all, self-professed serious readers still yearn to learn about dental care under Aztec rule, swashbuckling nuns, the Pastry War of 1838, Francisco Madero's conversations with the ghost of his dead brother, and President Jose Lopez Portillo's famous, ill-fated comment involving a dog." Villa and Zapata: The Revolution was a very complex event that is still hard to understand a hundred years later. McLynn has done a masterful job of presenting a clear story of this tumultuous period. He begins the story with President Juárez followed by the rise to power of dictator Porfirio Dias. It was the long, brutal and corrupt rule of Dias that finally triggered the revolution. The cast of important characters in the politics and military affairs during those 10 years was large, and the conflicts and mistrust among them, combined with their differing objectives and views of what Mexico should become, were exceedingly complex; temporary alliances sprang up and broke up, various leaders betrayed other leaders, and at times there was no real government at all. Few of the main players lived long enough to provide perspective; they shot one another with great enthusiasm. This book provides a clear, well-written account of who did what to whom, how and why, during the years of the Mexican revolution. Return to Main Directory

A Planet of Viruses by Carl Zimmer University of Chicago Press Available in hard cover and various e-book formats. This little book by Carl Zimmer is collection of 10 fascinating essays about viruses -- bad ones, good ones and indifferent ones. The bad ones we know -- Small Pox, HIV, various influenzas, West Nile, etc. I was surprised by a couple of the good ones. Viruses make about 10% of the oxygen we breathe.
There are viruses that kill bacteria. The overwhelming majority of viruses do not affect our lives at all. I found the story of viruses that kill bacteria most interesting. Bacteriophages, or more commonly Phages, were used to treat bacterial infections from the time of WW1 until the discovery of antibiotics which were more effective. Today, with so many bacteria becoming drug-resistant, researches are looking again at phages and finding ways to enhance their effectiveness. "The Global Viral Forecasting Initiative is trying to change the way we fight viruses. Someday, somewhere, a virus we don’t know about is going to emerge as a major new threat to human health. We’ve seen it happen many times before, and so we know it will happen again. GVFI scientists think we’ll do a better job fighting that new virus if we can learn something about it in advance. To eliminate the advantage of surprise, GVFI scientists are looking for these viruses before they jump into humans. The best place to look for them is in animals, such as the monkeys." "Viruses are the smallest living things known to science, and yet they hold the entire planet in their sway. Viruses have been a part of our lives for so long, in fact, that we are actually part virus: the human genome contains more DNA from viruses than our own genes. Meanwhile, scientists are discovering viruses everywhere they look: in the soil, in the ocean, even in deep caves miles underground. A Planet of Viruses explores how viruses regulate the biosphere, how they helped give rise to the first life-forms, how viruses are producing new diseases, how we can harness viruses for our own ends, and how viruses will continue to control our fate for years to come." The essays in this book were written for the World of Viruses project at the University of Nebraska, funded by the National Center for Research Resources at the National Institutes of Health through the Science. http://www.worldofviruses.unl.edu/ Carl Zimmer writes about science for the New York Times and other publications and is the author of eight books, including Parasite Rex, Soul Made Flesh, and Microcosm. He is a lecturer at Yale University, where he teaches writing about science and the environment, and visiting scholar at the Science, Health, and Environment Reporting Program at New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. Return to Main Directory