“Rash” follows a teenager named Bo and his family in the late 21st century. His crazy grandpa can still remember what it was like when people were allowed to play football, drink beer and go outside without a helmet – so it is no wonder the family thinks he’s crazy. The other men in Bo’s family, his father and his brother, are both in jail for anger issues. His father’s crime was road rage. Bo knew it was only a matter of time before he ended up in jail himself.

His chance to go to jail is when he is wrongly accused of causing an infectious epidemic at his high school. Right after his trial, he is sent to Alaska to work for McDonald’s; they haven’t produced fast food in years because it was deemed unsafe by the government. Instead, Bo works on the line making pizzas. “Rash” is a book about using the talents and skills Bo has to survive in his work camp and coming to terms with a safer version of the United States.

Hautman creates lovable and engaging characters throughout the story and manages to surround his safe yet bleak prediction of the future with a humor that cannot be avoided. This is one quick read that should not be missed!

This is a book about Jason, a bratty and ungrateful great-nephew of an oil tycoon who must spend a year doing tasks set out for him by his late great-uncle in order to receive his inheritance of the “ultimate gift.” Throughout the book, like all inspirational novels, Jason undergoes a transformation meant to inspire and encourage readers to better themselves in one way or another, supposedly giving the readers all the tools to do the same for their life as Jason did to his.

While absolutely cliché in every way, The Ultimate Gift has a great story behind it. That story belongs to the author, Jim Stovall. His autobiography would be ten times more interesting to read then the highly contrived and sometimes forced life-lessons Jason learns.

Stovall lost his eyesight at a young age but continued to know commercial and personal success. He is an author and an investment broker today, but before that he accomplished some remarkable things. Stovall is a national champion and Olympic weightlifter; he was honored as the International Humanitarian of the Year in 2000, and is the president of the Narrative Television Network which he cofounded, all while dealing with the day-to-day challenges of blindness.
Despite his book falling flat, Stovall is a real inspirational story.

In a fictional memoir of Kathy, a Carer from the private school of Hailsham, author Kazuo Ishiguro creates a masterful and carefully crafted story of childhood friendship that takes his characters through the rest of their lives in his book, Never Let Me Go.

Ishiguro presents the friendship of Kathy, Ruth and Tommy, who meet at their boarding school in England. However, the reader is slowly included into the dark fate that rests with the heroes of this tale. As the three friends grow up, they begin to understand their destiny and reveal to the reader small snippets of the bigger picture outside of their world of innocence.
Kathy begins her tale reflecting on her early childhood at Hailsham, a private boarding school. It is at school that she starts the discovery process of who she really is and what she is destined to accomplish.

After turning 15, Kathy and her friends are sent to remote cottages deep within the English countryside, and it is there that they fully begin to understand their role in society as they work to fit in with a new group of peers.

The book returns to Kathy’s present, where she continues to outline the direction her life has taken her and reveals her friends’ fate, along with her own. Her heartbreaking tale of true realization of life’s reality and her role within it holds the reader’s attention up until the last word.

A New York Times Notable Book and Man Booker Prize Finalist, Ishiguro’s book uses an unparalleled skill of rhetoric to captivate his audience and draw them in. Ishiguro weaves together the age-old story of innocence destroyed by the knowledge of reality with a dark twist that constantly leaves the reader guessing and wanting more of the story.

Fick rose to the rank of captain after graduating from Dartmouth in 1999. During his junior year, he decided to join the United States Marine Corps. He passed the rigorous test known as Officer Candidates School the summer before his senior year. On his graduation day from Dartmouth, he was commissioned a second lieutenant.

Fick’s relationship with his non-commissioned officers illustrates the difficulty of leadership as a junior-level officer in the Marine Corps. On the day of his college graduation, he immediately out-ranked all enlisted Marines – some who had been in the Corps for longer than Fick had been alive. Yet, his rank alone did not necessarily garner the respect of his men. He would eventually have to prove himself competent. Fick’s relationship with his staff sergeant was one in which the staff sergeant would “back [him] up in front of the Marines” and “disagree behind closed doors.” Fick grows by learning from the men of his platoon, and his effectiveness as a leader emerges and then flourishes in battle.

One incident in the book is particularly indicative of the degree to which leadership is put into practice by Marine officers. At one point, supply lines were spread too thin, and there was not enough food for all the Marines. As a result, the officers gave the available food to the lowest-ranking Marines. This philosophy shows that Marine officers must not indulge in order to keep morale high. As for application in the real world, Fick cites a “former Marine officer who went on to be a Fortune 500 CEO. When asked for his guiding principle, the CEO replied, “Officers eat last.”

Fick’s purpose in writing does not seem political. During the occupation which followed the invasion, Fick and his platoon were placed in Baghdad. Fick criticized the plan for post-war Iraq by implying that it was short-sighted. During the initial liberation phase, Fick relays the overwhelming support the Marines received from many Iraqis. On one of the numerous occasions, the Marines encountered a large group of surrendering Iraqis.

Fick writes, “Many men sobbed when they realized we were feeding them instead of shooting them. A young boy, dressed in military trousers and a T-shirt from the Janesville, Wisconsin, YMCA, laughed and smiled, shouting, ‘I make love George Bush.’”

It was not always such a bright picture in Iraq. At one point, Fick’s platoon was slowed down by a girl who had been hurt in the Coalition’s initial bombing of Baghdad. As accomplishing their mission’s objective became increasingly difficult, Fick was forced to allow only basic medicinal procedures in order to move on and accomplish the mission’s objective. As he eventually concluded, leadership in war often consists of choosing not “between good and bad, but rather between bad and worse.”

One Bullet Away is recommended as an excellent chronicle of a Marine officer’s transformation as well as its literary merit. Fick’s moral dilemmas and snap decisions in the face of the enemy are applicable to any civilian who aspires to be a leader and develop good decision-making skills.

This comes from a bad dream and later becomes a fictional journal entry of Jonathan Harker, one of the several characters in Dracula. Ironically enough, the events of the novel do resemble that of a horrific dream.

The novel begins with Harker’s travel to Transylvania, where he meets Count Dracula to discuss real estate transactions. During his stay in the Count’s castle, Harker encounters many strange things. One of them is the Count crawling “down the castle wall over the dreadful abyss, face down, with his cloak spreading out around him like great wings.”

As the story leaves Transylvania and travels to London, England, the protagonists, Harker’s fiancŽe, Mina Murray, Professor Van Helsing, Doctor John Seward, American-born Quincey Morris and Arthur Holmwood are introduced into the novel. Having lost Mina’s sister, Lucy, to the demonic ways of the Count, the protagonists set up a mission to save Harker from the Count and destroy Count Dracula forever.

In the revised edition of “Dracula,” Christopher Frayling, author of the preface, said that Stoker wrote his thoughts down on notepaper while “on a run in hotels, on trains, in libraries, and leaving from London’s Lyceum Theater,” where Stoker worked. This revelation presents theories on what could have given Stoker the idea to write the novel in an epistolary style, where he uses a collection of journal and diary entries, letters, newspapers clippings and telegrams to tell the events happening in the lives of the characters.

This style, however, does bring the reader right into the story. As Harker, Mina, Helsing and the others write down their thoughts in their journals, diaries or letters, because the reader feels what the characters feel, from confusion, sadness, anguish, anger and joy, at the same moment that the characters felt it. Because the story is presented this way, it gives the novel rawness and authenticity that can be lost in most fictional literary works.

Although the characters have witnessed strange things ever since the Count has settled in London, the reader can take comfort in knowing that the events have already happened.

While Mina, Helsing, Morris, Seward, Harker and Holmwood are diligently trying to figure out what it is that disrupts their peaceful lives, the reader uncovers the clues presented in the writing entries before the characters do because of the advantage the reader has in going back from past entries. Therefore, the reader is always a step ahead of the characters. The anticipation is in the waiting for the characters to come to the same conclusion that the reader has already come to.

With the many vampire novels on the bookshelves, it is easy to read Stoker’s “Dracula” knowing what will happen in each chapter. We even have the option of putting the book down to watch Francis Ford Coppola’s take on Dracula instead. That is if you want to be disappointed. But if you are interested in being terrified by a literary work, Stoker’s “Dracula” is an excellent choice. This book will have you checking to see what lurks behind you.

Here are some other books that will leave you wanting to keep the lights on for the night:

• “The Silence of the Lambs” by Thomas Harris
• “Interview with the Vampire” by Anne Rise
• “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson
• “It” by Stephen King
• “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley
• “The Turn of the Shrew” by Henry Jame

Bing, who has written a number of satirical business self-help books, has managed to tell the entire story of the Roman Empire in one book. However, what sets the book apart from other books of this nature is the fact that he is constantly comparing the Roman Empire to the major corporations of today.

While it’s technically a business book, Bing’s humor shines through in his commentary on the various events and personalities that arose out of the history of the empire. To Bing, Rome was in the business of selling Roman citizenship and the wars of conquest Rome undertook are comparable to the hostile takeovers that corporations experience today.

The humor is really what keeps the book interesting. While his wit is sharp, the comparison of Rome to a modern multinational corporation at times seems forced.

Rome suffered through a number of leaders who were quite eccentric and Bing compares them to the leaders of notable corporations, such as Enron. The comparison works, but there are times when it seems a bit unnatural.

That biggest problem in “Rome, Inc.” is that it attempts to be too many things: a business book, a history book and a comedic rant. While it certainly achieves all three, it is difficult to tackle all three work at once, let alone work together throughout the book. This limits its appeal. “Rome, Inc.” will appeal to fans of history and entrepreneurs with hopes of carving out their own corporate empire. Although the book does try to make serious observations about modern corporate life, ultimately it is not a serious book. It is a humorous telling of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire with a constant comparison to modern business practices. Despite being found in the business section, it is essentially a history book with a little extra on the side.

Not that it isn’t an enjoyable read. Those who never liked history might enjoy Bing’s take on certain events. For example, of Heliogabalus, who became an emperor, Bing writes:

“Ruled by his mommy, he did pretty well for about five minutes. Then his cross-dressing and mad crushes on unsuspecting gladiators ran him afoul of the people, the army, which was too butch to really enjoy reporting to a preening transvestite, and any politician who was even vaguely awake.” Most history books lack commentary like that.

In the end, “Rome, Inc.” is a book that will appeal to many readers. However, the subject matter and nature of the book is not for everyone. If you like learning about history, enjoy satire and want to apply the lessons of history’s power struggles to your own plan for domination, if only in your place of employment, this book is perfect for you.

Some readers aren’t particularly fond of writers who introduce a topic and immediately veer off in a different direction. It was refreshing to read a scenario and then have the paragraph end, only to have the new paragraph give more background. The balance of having to write from the viewpoints of several characters can become challenging as a reader may become bored with trying to follow the varying dialogue. When executed properly, however, the reader can become more involved and learn more background, which aids a scene; the reader can feel more connected to the story.

Somerville shares the experiences of young boys through adult-age in a manner that leaves the reader wanting explanation. In the first chapter, “Puberty,” Brandon seeks information on why he is changing from a child to a young adult. As he shares his attempts to fit in at school and stealing glances at a woman who lives down the street, a new layer is introduced: his parents. Brandon’s parents are extremely curious about the absurd behavior of their son. What could be bizarre ends in a discovery that their child has mistakenly been taking hormones that aren’t necessarily a treatment for strength, but, rather, menopause pills.

Throughout the story, Somerville drops connections to Wisconsin such as a dream of a young child wanting to play professional baseball for the Brewers, visiting a farm in Black Earth or images of Rollie Fingers. The voice is playful, serious at times, but sarcastic. In the sixth chapter, “English Cousin,” Terry must entertain a new-found relative, Bill, who comes to visit from across the pond, but instead talks him into climbing down his girlfriend’s chimney when he has discovered she is cheating on him. Somerville is able to transition from aggravation to pure excitement from another person’s pain. The writing keeps the reader interested because it is never clear who is going to speak next.

“Trouble” has no difficulty explaining several stages in the male life. Whether it is learning a deadly martial arts technique, living a life that is unsatisfying, growing up too fast or moving on from humiliating events, this book covers all areas. What Somerville does best is describe incidents in a way that feels as though he is talking to the reader in person.

Despite some slow moments in some of the shorter stories, “Trouble” is able to allow readers a behind-the-scenes look at what many young men experience. Although it may be challenging to determine where the author is attempting to go with a thought process, eventually the story unfolds, leaving the reader more educated and humored. People of all ages can relate to Somerville’s stories and perhaps walk away with a smile.

The dialogue, poignant and glib, well suits the often bizarre and fantastical circumstances of the characters throughout the book. It is not until the book’s conclusion that the reader receives an explanation for the strange series of events. A technology-driven adventure, “Life Beings” intertwines past and present events but is mostly set in the “near future.”

Ulysses, the high-school-aged son of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, is everything one would expect a spoiled “rich kid” of the stars to be and is exceptionally smart. At an advanced high school, he meets his closest confidant and friend, Thomas. The odd connection between the two boys highlights their differences as well as their similarities. In addition, the story involves a child prodigy named Hannah who is the delight and sometimes dismay of her professionally evangelical parents. The reader sees her understanding and education grow beyond her parents and others until she takes an unexpected path to self-discovery which leads her to the other characters. Not lacking in fascinating characters, the book introduces us to Mr. Noh, who is inexplicably rich and eccentric with no immediate relation to those people whose lives he incorporates himself into, including all the main characters. Among the most unique people whose life he interferes with is LeRoy Jones, a hit man with an eerie past and stranger future.

The author takes great artistic license with huge leaps in logic and plot line symmetry. The large, obvious holes in the story grow smaller as the book unfolds, but they do not disappear completely. “Life Begins” still maintains a level of equilibrium at the end in a very Matrix-esque way, making it an enjoyable yet surreal read. This is a great book for college students who need a break from textbooks, even if only for a few minutes. “Life Begins” is easy enough to follow and great for on-again off-again reading. You won’t find it in book stores yet. Go to shadyhousepub.com for an online copy.

With these famous words, Karol Wojtyla, the former Polish Cardinal, addressed the crowds at St. Peter’s Square, beginning his pontificate as John Paul II.

John Paul II entered the papacy in October of 1978, the year of the three popes, succeeding the fifteen-year reign of Pope Paul VI and short-lived papacy of John Paul I, the former Archbishop of Venice. The College of Cardinals assembled again to select a new pope, and to the surprise of many outside the Vatican selected the first non-Italian pope in centuries and the first Polish pope.

In her latest work, John Paul the Great, Peggy Noonan reflects upon one of the twentieth century’s most prolific heroes. Noonan combines the personal with the theological in her lucid, rich description of John Paul’s service to the Church and the world.

The political setting surround John Paul’s ascendancy to the papacy differs dramatically from today. John Paul rose in a Poland overrun by conflict for four decades, first by Nazi and then Communist oppression. Only months into his papacy, he yearned to return to the place he had served as Archbishop and later Cardinal.

Noonan writes that over the course of ten days, John Paul challenged his countrymen to see the reality around them differently. Instead of the division of Europe, understand the truth: “We are Christians, we are here, and we are united.” In his final outdoor Mass, with two million in attendance, John Paul commanded the gatherers to “never lose your spiritual freedom.”

Discussing her personal admiration of John Paul, Noonan devotes space to the story of visiting the Vatican for an audience with the Pope. With her were groups from around the world, gathered to see their earthly spiritual leader. During the moving encounter, the Pope presented each with a simple rosary, and Noonan reflects upon the impact of this meditative tool on her spiritual life, encouraging other Catholics to take it up.

As Peggy Noonan journeyed towards “serious Catholicism,” she felt that John Paul came to play the role of a spiritual father. She relates two stories of visits by the Pope to New York City and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. She tells of the accidental, though symbolic expulsion during the first visit and the accidental, yet miraculous entrance into the Cathedral during the second visit.

John Paul is beloved for what he believed. In his masterpiece Veritatis Spledor, he wrote that all of humanity travels through history asking similar questions about life’s purpose and happiness, questions that act as a “preparation for God.” Asking questions reveals the human freedom to make choices towards what is good.

Noonan paraphrases John Paul’s message that human freedom finds its authenticity and fulfillment in the acceptance of the law of God. Without freedom, there can be no morality, no choice of right and wrong. In the midst of our personal choice, she writes, “we are oriented by nature, as human persons, to look for what is true.” And to journey toward truth is to journey toward God.

Other segments of Noonan’s work bring to the modern reader the work of John Paul on Catholic teaching on marriage and the body. She also spends some time discussing the pedophilia scandal that rocked American churches. Both Catholic and non-Catholic audiences will appreciate her style of writing and discussion on John Paul’s influence in the world.

The behavior does not stop at effigies of Bush or pithy signs. The book talks about several Democratic conspiracies that range from Teresa Heinz Kerry and her rigged “mother machines” theory to explain her husband’s defeat to movie star Cameron Diaz, who suggested that the re-election of George Bush would lead to the legalization of rape during an interview on Oprah.

It is not even safe for conservatives to fly. Among other numerous accounts of Kerry supporters assaulting Bush supporters, one documented case involved liberals using a bat against conservatives. Another instance involves a Florida man who tried to run down a mother, who had a Bush-Cheney sticker, and her children while screaming, “Never forget Bush’s illegal oil war murdered thousands in Iraq!” The insanity continues to violence against pro-lifers that included dragging one pro-life woman across gravel at a counter-protest. Bill Ardolino, of INDC Journal, observed how uniformed police officers refused to intervene.

Then there were guns. In Knoxville, Tennessee, volunteer campaign coordinator Suzanna Dewar arrived at the local Bush-Cheney office one morning to find its glass windows and office had been riddled with gunfire. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but Dewar went on to explain that she had originally planned to show up early that day. Had she done so, her timing might have been fatal.

Amidst the startling attacks on the conservatives, Unhinged includes a few points of humor, too. Withdrawal, isolation, and moodiness are some of the characteristics exhibited by Democrats after the 2004 election, but now it is an official diagnosis. Malkin discusses an actual medical condition described by the Boca Raton branch of the American Health Association as Post-Election Selection Trauma, or PEST. This condition developed in many Democrats after failing to take the presidency, the House, or the Senate. The symptoms include a loss of appetite, sleeplessness, anxiety and feelings of bitterness.

With the book’s comedic cover, one would expect only to read about the antics of a few far-left “reality challenged” Democrats at whom we could all laugh good-naturedly for their crazy but largely harmless pranks. One would hope to find no worse in this book than the childish vandalism we have seen around Marquette University, such as the defacement of the residence of the Warrior business manager Brandon Henak, who came home to find his house bombarded with eggs and ketchup – complete with signs denouncing The Warrior paper. Unhinged illustrates that these actions are only the tip of the iceberg for what some disconnected Democrats have done to fight the Grand Ole Party.

In one example, though Michael Moore set out to destroy Halliburton in his comically false documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, Schweizer’s investigation discovered that Moore had stock in that company in 1999-2000. The book also mentions how Al Franked calls Republicans racist, yet he has hired only one black person onto his 112-person staff.

Ann Coulter proclaimed this the “book of the century,” and I tend to agree. It is well-written and not difficult to read. Schweizer somehow incorporates his extensive research while keeping the size of the book down to a manageable 258 pages – never failing to illustrate how liberals triumph party platforms in public and quickly ditch them behind the scenes. Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy is climbing up the New York Times Best Seller List and should be in the library of anyone interested in politics.