Readers Preference Reviews

It is rare to have someone write their personal adventure book well enough to really be interesting but Helen Thayer reaches that goal admirably.  Walking the Gobi if a fascinating read as she details her and her husband's experiences arranging and then completing this trip.  One of the things that makes the book so interesting is her ability to write in a style that draws the reader into the experience as a friend.  Likewise, her stories of interaction with nomads and border agents are at times very personal and at other times scary.  Through her writing you feel her co

Here Be Yaks chronicles the author's experiences traveling in Tibet.  She provides detailed descriptions of the land and people as well as the difficulties and pleasures of the trip.  Her goal on the trip was Mount Kailash and to settle question of the source of the Sutlej River as well as a spiritual journey of her own.  Most books of this type are not particularly interesting to read through but this one is an exception.  She adds so much detail and history that you come to appreciate the trip as well as the country, the geography, the people, and the culture.  Sh

Rabies Mom is the sad and true story of a neglectful mother and legal system that not only fails to protect our children but often encourages poor parentling.  After losing his child to rabies, author Pat Carroll looked for answers.  He knew there was a problem when his ex-wife had not disclosed to the doctor that their child had been bitten by a bat although he had specifically asked if their daughter had been bitten by any animals.  This lack of information resulted in treatment being given too late to help.  

"Abandoned on Bataan" is the detailed memoirs of Oliver Allen, one of may American soldiers left behind on the Bataan peninsula during World War II. Most people with even a basic knowledge of the history of the war in the Pacific know of the Bataan death march and the condition of the people when they were rescued from camps in China and Japan. What we generally don't know much about is what happened between those events. Oliver Allen's story fills in that detail with his personal experiences.

The nineteen-sixties was a period of change for all aspects of American society. With the skyrocketing success of Motown there was tremendous potential for soul singers that had never existed before. This novel is the story of Fleur-de-Lys Records, a competitor of Motown seeking to get their first number one record. As part of their plan to get exposure on American Bandstand they send a bus full of their best groups on tour around America. With everyone crowded onto the bus it is hard to keep secrets and there are secrets to be kept.

Many people have written biographies of the life and music of Sam Cooke. What makes this book different? Most other books generally portray the history of the artist but there is another side to Sam Cooke that few people really know. This book vividly portrays the life of Uncle Sam Cooke from the perspective of those who knew him best – his family.

Unfortunately this is another excellent book that many people will pass over without even opening the cover because of the title. After reading the book I found it very enjoyable but not at all what I had expected. I had expected it to be a New Age book about various fatherly spirits. A quick check with others to see what they thought the book would be about based solely on the title and everyone came up with similar comments. Noone was even close. Notwithstanding the poor title (which does make sense once you read the book), if you miss it you will miss an excellent read.

The first question that jumped into my mind on reading the title to this book was wondering just who Ott was and why I should care. This short book is the biography of Arthur C. Guyton. Don’t know that name?

In Wilcox County, Alabama several mission schools were started by the Freedmen's Board of the United Presbyterian Church of North America. This is a collection of the stories of six of those schools. It includes lots of pictures, copies of documents, and descriptions of the schools, student population, activities and leadership. Written in a typical historical document style, The First and Last Bell will appeal strongly to those who are interested in the history of Wilcox County, the United Presbyterian Church, or black history.

Author: Jeanette Steele McCall

Down Range to Iraq and Back is an excellent source to help the family of Gulf War veterans understand what the veteran has been through and how Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Combat Operational Stress can affect them as they try to reintegrate into society. The book is not only for the family but for the veteran as well as they try to understand common high risk-taking activities and other actions common among veterans. What makes this book unique is that it is written for the layperson instead of the professional counselor.