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Joshua D. (mercinary) - Reviews

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365 Sex Tips (365 Tips S.)
365 Sex Tips (365 Tips S.)
Author: Dumont Schauberg
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 6/25/2005


From the back cover:

"Are you bored with your sex life? Romantic, passionate and playful ideas will bring more excitement into your relationship!"


All the drowned sailors
All the drowned sailors
Author: Raymond B Lech
Book Type: Unknown Binding
  ?
Review Date: 7/4/2005


From the front cover:

"The cover-up of America's greatest wartime disaster at sea, the sinking of the Indianapolis with the loss of 880 lives because of the incompetence of admirals, officers, and gentlemen."

As the cover suggests, this is the true tale of the USS Indianapolis. I knew the sad story of the ship, but was not aware of the details. The story details the time leading up to the sinking, the sinking itself, the 4 days the surviving crew was in the water, and the Naval legal aftermath. I found the story of the sinking to be incredible, as it primarily due to the many, many first hand accounts from those who survived the ordeal.

Long story short, if you want to read a gripping first hand account of the sinking of the Indianapolis, go for this book.


The BATTLE OF LEYTE GULF
The BATTLE OF LEYTE GULF
Author: Thomas J. Cutler
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 3
Review Date: 7/24/2006


I really enjoyed this one. The book is a blow-by-blow account of what happened at Leyte in October of 1944. The accounts of the Leyte Gulf naval battle are sprinkled with a little bit of first person recollections, which makes the battle personal (for both the Japanese and Americans). The only issue I took was with the author's attempts to be virtually poetic...not my kind of reading. These attempts are few and far between, so the book still gets 4 stars in my eyes.


The Best in Popular Sheet Music/Item # MF9541
Review Date: 7/13/2005


Includes the following songs:
Angels Among Us
Desperado
From A Distance
The Greatest Love of All
Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?
I Can Love You Like That
I Cross My Heart
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You
I Swear
I Will Always Love You
The Keeper Of The Stars
Lane's Theme
Love Will Keep Us Alive
More Than Words
Now and Forever
On Bended Knee
Over the Rainbow
The Rose
Stairway to Heaven
Streets of Philadelphia
Take a Bow
Tears in Heaven
Through the Eyes of Love
The Wind Beneath My Wings
You Got It


Blue Skies and Blood: The Battle of the Coral Sea
Review Date: 8/21/2006


I am quickly becoming an avid fan of Edwin Hoty's works. This book was another good historical book about WW2. Edwin does a great job of sprinkling first hand accounts with historical data. Blue skies and blood details the battle of the coral sea, which was the first battle (ever) between aircraft carriers. This book was easy to read, and I breezed through it in about a week.


The Bluest Eye
The Bluest Eye
Author: Toni Morrison
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 495
Review Date: 6/21/2005


THe following is an excerpt from the back cover of the book:

"The Bluest Eye is Toni Morrison's first novel, a book heralded for its richness of language and boldness of vision. Set in the author's girlhood town of Lorain, Ohio, it tells the story of black, 11 year old Pecola Breedlove. Pecola prays for her eyes to turn blue so that she will be as beautiful and beloved as all the blonde, blue eyed children in America. In the autumn of 1941, the year the marigolds in the Breedlove's garden do not bloom, Pecola's life does change - in painful, devestating ways."


Breath, Eyes, Memory
Breath, Eyes, Memory
Author: Edwidge Danticat
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 260
Review Date: 6/21/2005


My wife read this book quite some time ago, and could not provide an adequate review. Below is an excerpt from the back cover of the book, which I hope is helpful.

"At the age of 12, Sophie Caco is sent from her impoverished village of Croix-des-Rosets to New York, to be reuinited with a mother she barely remembers. There she discovers secrets that no child should ever know, and a legacy of shame that can be healed only when she returns to Haiti - to the women who first reared her. What ensues is a passionate journey through a landscape charged with the supernatural and scarred by political violence, in a novel that bears witness to the traditions, suffering, and wisdom of an entire people."


Censored 1999: The News That Didn't Make the News, the Year's Top 25 Censored Stories (Censored)
Review Date: 6/21/2005


Below is an excerpt from the back cover of the book. There are many, many more censored stories revealed in the book besides the few that are listed here.

"READ ALL ABOUT IT:

How secret international trade agreements are designed to preempt laws of nations.

How chemical corporations profit off breast cancer.

Monsanto's genetically altered seeds and the damage they wreak.

The recycled radioactive metals that may be in your home.

The cost in children's lives of our ongoing war with Iraq.

What new diseases are linked to gene transfer technology.

These are a few of the year's to censored stories."


The Confessions of Nat Turner
The Confessions of Nat Turner
Author: William Styron
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 42
Review Date: 6/21/2005


My wife read this book quite some time ago, and could not provide an adequate review. In place of that, I am including an excerpt from the back cover of the book below. I hope this helps.

"In 1831 a black man awaits death in a Virginia jail cell. His name is Nat Turner, and he is a slave, a preacher, and the leader of the only effective slave revolt in the history of that "peculiar institution". William Styron's vastly ambitious and stunningly accomplished novel, winner of the Pultzer prize, is Turner's confession made to his jailers under the duress of his God, a narrative that depicts a good man's transformation into an avenging angel even as it encompasses all the betrayals, cruelties, and humiliations that made up slavery - and that still scar the collective psyches of both races."


Cosette: The Sequel to Les Miserables
Cosette: The Sequel to Les Miserables
Author: Laura Kalpakian, Victor Hugo
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 2.9/5 Stars.
 8
Review Date: 6/25/2005


From the back cover:

"Cosette has lost her family, but she had kept her freedom. She had lost her money, but she kept her integrity. She came to understand why Jean Valjean had so cherished freedom and integrity. They did not keep you warm at night, but they kept you upright."


The Dark Half
The Dark Half
Author: Stephen King
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 313
Review Date: 6/21/2005


My wife read this quite some time ago, and doesn't remember much about it. Here is the synopsis from the back cover of the book:

"Thad Beaumont would like to say he is innocent.

He'd like to say he has nothing to do with the series of monstrous murders that keep coming closer to his home.

He'd like to say he has nothing to do with the twisted imagination that produced his bestselling novels.

He'd like to say he has nothing to do with the voice on the phone uttering its obscene threats and demanding total surrender.

But how can Thad disown the ultimate embodiment of evil that goes by the name he gave it - and signs its crimes with Thad's bloody fingerprints?"


Dr. Phil Getting Real: Lessons in Life, Marriage, and Family (Audio CD) (Unabridged)
Review Date: 12/26/2005


My wife and I both enjoyed listening to this on a long car ride. My wife is big into Dr. Phil, and I...well...I'm a typical guy. :) In any event, after I got over the first 5 minutes of frustration due to having to listen to these CDs, I actually got into them. There are funny parts of the program, so it isn't all serious. There is a lot of good "how to live you life" tips, which I think both my wife and I will apply to our marriage and life in general.


The End of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Review Date: 7/9/2006


This was a good book. Very easy read, but very informative. It is from the Japanese viewpoint of the history of the Japanese Navy during WW2. It covers all the major naval battles (Pearl Harbor, Coral Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal, ...). Some battles are covered briefly, others in more detail.


The Female Experience: An American Documentary
Review Date: 6/21/2005


From the back cover of the book:

"The Female Experience" recounts history from the woman's point of view. It is a stunning testament not only to the long - ignored role of women in society, but a pioneering effort to reinvent the way we look at history."


Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (Freakonomics, Bk 1)
Review Date: 2/21/2006


Everyone should read this book, it's an eye opener.


Illustrated Patchwork Crochet
Illustrated Patchwork Crochet
Author: Bella Scharf
Book Type: Paperback
  ?
Review Date: 6/25/2005


FYI: The dust jacket is a bit worn (minor tears). The book itself is in good condition.


Independence Day
Independence Day
Author: Dean Devlin, Roland Emmerich, Stephen Molstad
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 3.2/5 Stars.
 32
Review Date: 6/21/2005


This is the novel that became the movie starring Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, and Bill Pullman. As a side-note, the book is a bit worn. The cover shows wear and has a bend in it. All text pages are intact, but there are 1-2 pages in the pictures section of the book that are coming out; none are missing. Below is an excerpt from the back cover of the book:

"July 2nd. Atmospheric phenomena begin to appear all around the world; the skies are ablaze. Satellite communications are interrupted without explaination, and fear grips the cities of the world. As the phenomena cool down, it is clear that a force of incredible magnitude has arrived. Their mission - to eliminate all human life. Over the course of the next three days in July, the world will be changed, forever."


Iwo Jima : Legacy of Valor
Iwo Jima : Legacy of Valor
Author: Bill D. Ross
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 6
Review Date: 10/9/2006
Helpful Score: 1


This is the second book I have read about Iwo. The first was by Edwin P. Hoyt. While I enjoy Hoyt's writing style more than I do of Ross, I have to admit that Ross's book is far more detailed. The book covers just about every detail about the battle. Sprinkled throughout are the stories (often only a paragraph long) of those individuals who fought on Iwo. Overall, I'm giving this 4 out of 5 stars.


Iwo Jima (War in the Pacific, Vol 9)
Iwo Jima (War in the Pacific, Vol 9)
Author: Edwin Palmer Hoyt, Edwin P. Hoyt
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 8/27/2006


Another quality book by Hoyt. This book gives a pretty good overview of the Iwo Jima campaign, with the usual (Hoyt-like)sprinkling of first-hand accounts. Iwo was a terrible place. The Japanese were dug in and fought to the last man. The U.S. had close to 30,000 casualties on Iwo. Anyone who is interested in WW2 should read this book.


The Kamikazes : Suicide Squadrons of World War II
The Kamikazes : Suicide Squadrons of World War II
Author: Edwin P. Hoyt
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.3/5 Stars.
 2
Review Date: 8/6/2006


I just finished reading this one. It was good enough that I flew threw it very quickly. The book is a very good history of the Japanese Kamikazes. It made interesting reading given the current state of affairs (with regards to modern suicide tactics). As I read the book, I could certainly see how the Japanese turned to such a tatic. The entire war had turned against them. There were virtually no Navy warships left, the allied forces were taking over the Philippines, and B29 bombers were hitting the home-land. Desperation and determination were the key concepts. My only problem with the book was the use of vocabulary. I found that the author (needlessly) uses a lot of words which one might see on a standardized test.


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