"Independent Book Reviews for Independent Readers Since 2015."
There comes a point early on in the reading of Howard Mansfield’s newest book The Habit of Turning the World Upside Down (2018, Bauhan Publishing) when you realize that you thought you understood what “property” meant, but in actuality, you didn’t.… Continue reading
Less than one month after publishing these memoirs, Mr. Knockwood died on June 16, 2018 at the age of 88. He suffered from pneumonia and heart failure, which is not surprising, as he had only one lung, having lost the other to TB years ago.… Continue reading
A few years back, I enrolled in a distance education program that was technology-based. At the last minute, the powers that be decided (likely for accreditation reasons) that they need to give us introductory courses on critical thinking, conflict resolution and so on.… Continue reading
These three new titles from Newfoundland’s Breakwater Books have something for everyone, from very young to a more mature audience.
The Secret of Bowring Park by Christine Gordon Manley (with illustrations by Laurel Keating) is a fairytale for all ages, not just children.… Continue reading
In 2016, I crossed an item off my so-called bucket list: climb Campbellton’s Sugarloaf Mountain. Not being in the greatest shape to do so, I found I should have taken an AED along with me! My wife and her friend had climbed it a few years earlier, and I didn’t want to be left out.… Continue reading
Readers of true crime will be happy to hear that Nate Hendley is back with The Boy on the Bicycle (2018, Five Rivers Publishing). This was a project Mr. Hendley had put on hold while finishing his encyclopedic book The Big Con, which was a history of confidence men, hoaxes and frauds from past to present.… Continue reading
I am a landlubber, but I love all things maritime whether it is naval ships, submarines, or the days of wood and sail. It started with Joseph Conrad’s sea stories and carried on through those of James Fenimore Cooper and C.S.… Continue reading
Towards the end of Lorri Neilsen Glenn’s enthralling memoir-like journey of discovery Following the River: Traces of Red River Women (2017, Wolsak & Wynn), she states:
“When we consider countless horrors in the world, innumerable disasters and catastrophes, a ship consumed by fire on a late summer night is but only one.… Continue reading