Faithful Elephants by Yukio Tsuchiya

This children’s book will stay with you long after you’ve read it.  It isn’t meant for really young children since the topic is war and peace.  So I’m recommending this book with reservations – please read the book first before sharing it with children.

Having said that, the illustrations in this book are simply gorgeous watercolors.  The story that underlies these illustrations will have you in tears and wondering about the insanity of war.

The main purpose of this book is to teach children that wars, even when completely justified, have unintended consequences.  Too often, the only side of war presented, is the glorification and hero aspect of war.

Elephants are very special animals with apparent emotions that parallel those of humans.  I think it is this human affinity with elephants that makes this such a powerful and unforgettable story.

If you want children to value peace more than war, then consider reading this book to and with them.  It’s not a book to read alone – it must be felt and deeply discussed.

Brunelleschi’s Dome by Ross King

To be honest, I read this book a couple of years ago so the details may not be as fresh as if I had read it last week.

Nonetheless, I loved this book.  I’m not particularly interested in architecture, or Italian history, but King does a terrific job of telling the amazing story of Filippo Brunelleschi and the design and building of the dome on the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence.  After reading this story, I so wanted to travel to Florence and see for myself the wonders behind this feat of architectural wonder.  It is still the largest dome ever built from bricks and mortar.

If you are put off by detailed art books, filled with nomenclature you don’t understand, consider reading this book as a way to learn more about the Italian Renaissance, the politics behind the times, and the problem-solving skills Brunelleschi needed to call upon to make this dome become a reality.

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World by John Wood

For a few years anyway, libraries and books were my life.  How could I not fall in love with this book, the man behind it, and the incredible journey he made to help people half a world away?

John Wood, the author of this book, gave up much to follow his dream.  As a way to decompress he took a trip to Nepal, met a few interesting local people, and discovered something other travelers to that part of the world had overlooked. 

There he saw children who truly wanted an education and were willing to work for it.  He also saw they had very few resources and very little money with which to work.  But what really struck a chord for Wood was seeing the school “library.”  It consisted of a few, totally inappropriate, but nontheless cherished, books locked in a room because they were afraid they would be damaged or stolen.

On the trip home Wood couldn’t forget the people he’d met and their desperate needs, and after some very deep soul searching, decided to up and leave his very lucrative, but soul crushing job with Microsoft to form a nonprofit foundation that would provide books for the children of Nepal.

But Wood didn’t stop with Nepal.  His organization, Room to Read, now provides educational access to 10 million children in 8 countries. 

This is an inspirational story of how just one man made an enormous difference in the lives of so many children.  Never again should you think you can’t do anything to make a difference in this world.  It doesn’t have to be as complex and large as what John Wood did, but as simple as reading to your own child every night or volunteering in your community.

As an aside, I was so taken by this man’s story I even considered applying for a job with the organization.  The reason I didn’t is because I think the fire in Wood’s belly is so strong, it might be all consuming.  If I were 20 years younger I might be able to devote that kind of energy to his cause.  But now that I’m older, I need more balance in my life.  I still applaud his efforts and wish him all the success his efforts deserve.

Read this book!!

Here If You Need Me by Kate Braestrup

This short book of only 211 pages will make you laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time.  This is a very personal story about the author, Kate Braestrup, who becomes a Unitarian Universalist Minister after her husband, Drew, a Maine State Trooper, dies tragically on the job in an automobile accident.

Kate isn’t sure she believes in God in the traditional sense and her story takes the reader through the grief of losing her husband and all that entails, to her decision to follow her husband’s dream in becoming a UU minister and finding god in the love and detail of daily life, and finally to the realization that life goes on.

The most moving part of the book for me was Kate’s insistence of being the person to prepare her husband’s body prior to cremation and her accompanying his body to the crematorium.  Like many things in modern life we have outsourced rituals of the most personal and intimate nature.  We have sanitized death and everything associated with it and I think we are spiritually poorer because of it. 

Read this book if you are a spiritual wanderer.  I’m certain you will find something to take away with you by the end of the book.

American Shaolin by Matthew Polly

The subtitle to this book, “Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China” says much about this book.

The author, Matthew Polly, decides one day he’s going to turn his somewhat nerdy self into a fighting monk.  In many ways this is a coming of age story that will have you rooting for the underdog.  You don’t necessarily have to be a fan of martial arts, China, or Buddhism, but you will most certainly learn something of the history of the ancient Shaolin Temple and the very amazing fighting monks who train and live there.  In addition you will gain a bit of knowledge of Chinese culture.

I’m drawn to stories of people who take big leaps of faith and attempt things others deem impossible.  So this story was perfect for me and I think it would a wonderful, inspiring book for teens and young adults who are struggling to find their place in the world.  This is a solid A book.

Spychips: how major corporations and government plan to track your every move with RFID by Katherine Albrecht

Not enough people are bothered by having to use a grocery store courtesy card to get discounts on their purchases, so we shouldn’t be surprised to discover the insidious nature of RFID (radio frequency identification).

But we should be worried that large corporations and the government are busy developing this technology, that although it can be used for good, will most assuredly also be used for nefarious reasons.

It wouldn’t take much for RFID to track your every move – technology already exists to weave RFID threads into clothing that can’t be removed and isn’t harmed by washing.  Most worrisome would be RFID implanted into shoes since it is rare for someone to wear another’s shoes.  With chips in the soles of shoes and selected readers in floors, it wouldn’t take much for the government to know where you’ve been and when. 

Do you really want them to have this power?  I certainly don’t and I found this book frightening.  In addition to the book, the author is also the founder of CASPIAN and is working worldwide to get out the word.

It is well known that marketing executives are the bottom feeders of the business world, so read this book to find out how they plan to manipulate you into buying even more crap you don’t need and can’t afford.

This is a must read book – A+.

Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez

I don’t remember how I discovered this gem of a book or how long it’s been since I read it.  But it was a charming, funny, delightful way to learn more about the Afghani people and one American woman who risked it all to help some of them. 

Reading about people trying to live their lives peacefully while bombs are exploding all around them, gives one pause when considering the efficacy of war.  I’m sure there are times when war is necessary, but I don’t think the decision to go to war should ever be taken lightly.

The book starts with the author’s bad marriage and her need to do something, anything to make a difference after the tragedy of 9/11.  She’s also a hairdresser in small town, Holland, Michigan, but she sees no way she can convince any non-governmental agencies working in Afghanistan to find her work as a

Deborah Rodriguez

hairdresser!  So she takes a couple of disaster training classes and volunteers to spend a month in Afghanistan doing whatever she can to help.

As it turns out there are no decent hairdressers in Afghanistan so all the NGO workers from around the world flock to her room for haircuts and she’s found her niche.  She’s feisty, funny, brave, caring, all the qualities you’d want in a friend. 

Ultimately her contribution to bettering the lives of Afghanis is to establish a beauty school in Kabul so women can become self-sufficient.  What tenacity it must have taken for her to do this.

I loved this book, so I’m giving it an A.

Eight O’Clock Ferry to the Windward Side by Clive Stafford Smith

I read this a few months ago and it is a very powerful book.  I was thinking about this book when I saw this op-ed in yesterday’s Washington Post.  What a heartbreaking legacy we are leaving the world when we fail to unequivocally denounce torture.

I was touched by several of the prisoners profiled in this book and by the good work being done by Clive Stafford Smith.  One can’t help but think while reading this book, that awful things can happen to very innocent people anywhere in the world.  Kafka well knew of this phenomenom and each of us should wonder whether we could find ourselves in the wrong place at the wrong time and how we would handle it.

Many of the prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay really are innocent and aren’t the “worst of the worse” as Vice President Cheney has often stated.  Some of these men were sold out by other people because the U.S. government was offering a $5,000 bounty for “terrorists.”  And some of these men were actually boys who were only trying to better themselves by getting an education.

Be prepared to cringe and cry when reading this book, but Americans have the duty and responsibility to educate themselves about what is being done in our names.  And make no mistake about it, torture of innocent people is taking place in our names, perhaps even as I write this.  Don’t count on our weak and compliant press to help keep you informed, because you will be greatly disappointed if you do.

The author, Clive Stafford Smith, has dual citizenship – American and the United Kingdom and is the founder of a non-profit organization, Reprieve.  He donated his time to represent these prisoners, so if you are so inclined consider donating a few dollars to his cause.  This is an A+ book and a must read.

The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder by Vincent Bugliosi

For someone my age and older, Vincent Bugliosi is best known as the prosecutor of Charles Manson and author of the book, Helter Skelter.  I was probably in my late teens, early twenties when I read Helter Skelter, and it scared the bejeebus out of me!

This book should scare you, too, but for a different reason.  What Bugliosi does is lay out his case for the prosecution of George W. Bush for the murder of American soldiers in Iraq.  No person is above the law in the United States, and that includes the president. 

Bugliosi’s argument is that Bush told two lies to the American public in order to convince us that we must invade a country that had not attacked us:  One, Hussein was an imminent threat to the United States, and Two, Hussein and the attacks on New York on 9/11/2001, were related.  He provides documented evidence of his claims and reminds the reader that there is no statute of limitations on murder.

Perhaps the new Attorney General of the United States will be brave enough to consider this case, and if not, then any Attorney General in any state that has lost a soldier in Iraq can also bring charges against Bush. 

Although I believe Bugliosi puts forth an excellent case, there are times when he devolves into hyperbole.  I really don’t think it was necessary, but it’s evident that Bugliosi is outraged by the way BushCo. has been handled by the mainstream media.

Read the book and decide for yourself.  Or you can get a bit more information here.  This book gets an A-.

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

I should have purchased this book to help the author’s family, but I checked it out from my local library and read it in one sitting.

I’m not much for this type of book, but I’ll make an exception here.  Randy tries hard to keep the reader from feeling sorry for him and I loved his approach to life.

As a child he made a list of things he wanted to accomplish in life like experience zero gravity, play for the NFL, be a Disney Imagineer, etc. and he set about finding ways to make his dreams come true.  I never had a list as a child and haven’t had much of one as an adult.  Now what is worse: making a list and not being able to fulfill it, or never having a list in the first place?

I took an early retirement, too early some might say, so now I’m back in the job market.  One gem I garnered from this book is that the brick walls in your life aren’t there to keep you out, they are there to show how much you want something.  I’m going to try hard to remember that as I go about looking for employment.

Read this book, not once but a couple of times, and absorb what you can from a man who clearly had much more life to live than what was afforded him.  I wish him peace and his family fond memories.  This is an A book.