Book Seven of my 2013 Goal

Summary: Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot -- Bill O'Reilly by Save Time Summaries
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary: Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot -- Bill O'Reilly by Save Time Summaries is not a book, it is a summary that creates the time line of events much like "Cliff Notes". There is enough detail given to understand what is going on and when but there is not a lot of the background and insights that you would find in the book.

This summary starts off with who Bill O'Reilly is and that he proposes that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of President Kennedy despite there is evidence that a conspiracy existed. It does not go into any detail about this evidence, it just mentions there is evidence. Then it gives a brief background on the Kennedy's as a family and the history of JFK's milestones right up to his winning the election defeating Vice President Richard Nixon. Then there is a more details given about his presidency and dealing with the unpopular 'conflict' known now as the Vietnam War, plus the Cold War with the Soviet Union. It further explains his relationship with his brother Bobby who is the Attorney General and the relationship the Kennedy's had with organized crime.

At this time was also the civil rights movement and JFK arrange a meeting the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Then it mentions that JFK was warned by the FBI that King has alleged associations with Communist sympathizers and other radicals which is something I never knew. I wish it went into a little more detail about this.

Kennedy tries to win support in Texas and had chosen Lyndon Johnson of Texas as his running mate. He planned the visit to Texas since he needs their support to win in his 1964 re-election bid. Then it goes into a little more detail of him and "Lady Bird" landing in Texas in Air Force One, his actions on the tarmac and even about weather and bubble top on the car which Kennedy didn't care for. In fact, even what they wore and what was said was revealed. Then how they finally get into the car and head off to the Dallas Trade Mart where JFK was scheduled to give a luncheon speech.

The next chapters were about Oswald and his life, work, and how he gave up US citizenship to be a Russian Citizen and then again how he reversed it to come back to the US. It is a brief description which leads up to how he got to be at the School Book Depository Building as the motorcade approaches. It ends with the possible last words JFK heard.

Again, this is a time line summary of events, not a book. If you want to know details then you should read the book however if you just need the events and when they took place then I suggest this summary.

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Book Six of my 2013 Goal

No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden -- Mark Owen, Navy SEAL Team Six -- by Save Time Summaries
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary: No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden by Save Time Summaries is not a full book. This is a summary of the actual book "No Easy Day" much like a "Cliff Note" of the book. It pulled the main points and events from the book to make a short time line of events that led to the death of Osama Bin Laden. It is an easy to understand account of the Navy special mission unit DEVGRU (aka "SEAL Team Six") over the course of about three weeks.

It starts by telling us a little about what it takes to be a DEVGRU member. The discipline and physical strength involved is so extreme that even the some of the best SEAL's are not good enough. The DEVGRU is the unit responsible for counter terrorism an hostage negotiation as well as other classified duties. This mission was comprised of members from different units and they were given the information that the CIA had collected for the past five years. Other people were involved with providing information to the point where they knew what the outside of the Bin Laden's compound looked like but not the inside. Some of the information was from the interrogation of Mohanned al-Qahtani who is thought to be the twentieth hijacker on September 11.

Then it tells of the training and waiting for the final orders from Washington. After they were given the "go" from President Obama they made their move. The accounts given were detailed enough to understand exactly what they were doing and why. Unfortunately their helicopter crashed near Bin Laden's compound which brought a feeling of deja vu to the underground Situation Room of the White House.. A similar helicopter crashed when there was the failed mission to rescue American hostages in Iran in 1980. However, this time the pilot was able to control it somewhat and was able to hover just above the ground. These accounts gave enough details to feel some of the anticipation of the men as well as the concern and anxiety felt by Washington.

Once at the compound there was details of who was found where including Osama Bin Laden. Once the SEAL Team Six killed him and took his body there was a short account of what happened right to his burial at sea. After that, there are a couple of pages of quotes used in the book. My favorite is "The only easy day was yesterday".

If you want to know the events that took place without all the "extra" information in the book "No Easy Day" then this is definitely what you need however if you need some background information or explanations then your better off with the full book. I found the summary very easy to follow and although I wish it did go into a little more detail about who comprised of SEAL Team Six, it was a great summary of events.

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Book Five of My 2013 Goal

Purgatory Reign by L.M. Preston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Purgatory Reign by L.M. Preston is a Young Adult Fiction book but I would go further and say it is a Paranormal, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense with some Action and Adventure thrown in for good measure. I was in no hurry to read the book but once I started reading the first page I was hooked and finished the book the next day. I just didn't want to put it down because there was something always happening and I was dying to find out what.

The story starts with the main character Peter Saints who is a sixteen year old that lives in an orphanage since his parents death some years before. As the story progresses we learn quite a bit about Peter as a person. He has issues trusting people, he doesn't want to get close to anyone because he thinks they will be taken from him just as his parents were, he even admits to doing things just to get the attention of Pastor Finnegan (Finn) who runs the orphanage and who he looks at as a father figure. All of these add to his character and the believability of his character since they seem to be 'normal' for what he went through. What wasn't normal about this well developed character is that he was always protected and when he snuck away from the orphanage a 'gift' was given to him from a dying friend. This gift is like no other and he often wondered if it was a curse.

Peter is told to leave the orphanage by Pastor Finn since he can't protect him any longer and he provides him with some things he will need and sent him on a journey. He meets up with Angel and then later on with Kyle. Kyle was the least developed but it seems to me the author did this intentionally. She wanted a bit of mystery around him so the reader would not know who's side he is on for sure. Kyle was the kid with the humor and his character really added to the story. Angel also had a secret that is eventually discovered. It was an interesting twist I didn't see coming. Another interesting thing is all three of them discovered that none of them have parents that are alive and they all were treated like there was something 'off' about them. Either they were sheltered and kept inside and even home schooled so they didn't have to go out or when they did go out their parents were very uneasy and always looking over their shoulder. Things they overheard their parents say even made them wonder if their parents were crazy. They also found out they had other things in common too, right down to the blood in their veins.

On their journey they discover the when, where, and why they are running from others who want to kill them. You can read what the Author wrote about the story yourself so I won't recap the whole story but I was at the edge of my seat when the enemy was close or when there was the discovery of some new information or place. The imagination and all the details with their twists and turns really kept me glued to the book. In fact, it is very hard to write a review for this story because I don't want to include any spoilers which means I can't really say a lot about it. There was something going on all the time but in order for you to understand it, I would have to explain it which means "a spoiler". I don't want to do that and ruin it for you so you will have to take my word for it, it was full of things happening, people trying to kidnap the main characters (in fact, they did kidnap one of them), new secret places being discovered or artifacts being discovered that were hidden many years ago by their ancestors, and the ever present danger of the Extraho of Obscurum being rebuilt and their "Master" bonding with a human to enact his reign of terror here on earth and beyond.

There really wasn't a lot of swearing. In fact, it was minor things. There is a 'love scene' and I use that loosely because it was short and it involved kissing and some touching with the 'desires' explained but nothing more happened. By today's standards I don't even think they would call the intense kissing a 'love scene'. There is a lot of fighting and people dying but there really is nothing detailed where it would cause concern and the fighting for the most part was justified by a ' it's either you or me' (good vs evil) scenario.

The only negative things I have to say is there a format issue that I found distracting, the LM Preston and the number was in odd places and at times even right in the middle of a sentence. (I read the Kindle Version so maybe on a Nook these were not a problem.). There were also several spelling errors, "Angel" was "Angle" and "his" was used instead of "he" in sentences such as "His kissed her" and "His bit his finger". Other than that, I wouldn't change a thing. I absolutely enjoyed this story. In fact, I loved the story!

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Book Four of my 2013 Goal

Unintended Consequences by Marti Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Unintended Consequences by Marti Green is a fictional crime/legal thriller full of suspense and nail biting activity. I had to check before I starting writing this review to make sure this was a work of fiction since it was so believable. It could have been a story of non-fiction since there really is an organizations that tries to exonerate wrongfully convicted individuals and although the story line was a bit twisted, it could have been true. What further adds to the believably of the story is that the main character was at times in turmoil and has uncertainties of whether to take this case and later on to go home to be with her sick son. There are other instances of this kind of 'real world issues' effecting the story too. Luckily Dani had a good head on her shoulders, a great team, and a supportive and understanding husband.

Dani Trumball, an attorney with Help Innocent Prisoners Project (HIPP) receives a letter written by George Calhoun claiming he didn't kill his little girl although he has been in prison over nineteen years and is waiting on Death Row with only six weeks until his execution. Dani normally don't take child murder cases but found she was haunted by Mr. Calhoun's plea of innocence. After going to the meet him, Dani learns some disturbing facts about his conviction including that his attorney at the time didn't order any kind of blood test or DNA test to prove the burnt body of the child found buried in the woods was indeed Mr. Calhoun's daughter, Angelina. The attorney claims he had Mrs. Calhoun's confession saying that her husband killed their little girl and that was enough proof and there was no need to go any further. More importantly Dani learns the answer to some burning questions, such as why Mr. Calhoun kept saying the girl found in the woods wasn't his daughter, why Mrs. Calhoun said that her husband killed Angelina, what really happened to Angelina Calhoun, and why her father remained silent for so long, now all she had to do was prove it.

This wasn't a clear cut case which made it more believable. There were obstacles to overcome and that ever present clicking of the clock counting down the minutes Mr. Calhoun had to live. Then there was the mystery of why the key person ended up dead and who left the death threat on the car of one of the HIPP workers. All this going on while trying to answer the two main questions, if the body found in the woods wasn't Angelina's, then who's was it, and who killed and buried her there. Further adding to the believably of the story was the realization that the system was not perfect and at times it fails. There was also the added acknowledgement that some lawyers are in it for the money and not the best interest of their client as well as the ever so present lack of commitment from those higher up because of political reasons. Even Dani had issues when she was torn between being there for her client and being away from her son, Jonah who has William's Syndrome, a genetic disorder that caused mild retardation, when he became ill.

I totally enjoyed the story which had me turning page after page to see who lives or dies and what happens next. Some of the story was predictable but certainly not all of it and at times had me on the edge of my seat. I think it was well written with a good pace. I felt the main characters were developed sufficiently and I especially felt connected with Dani. I would recommend this to anyone who likes crime/legal thrillers although I would guess that mothers could relate more closely with the characters/story.

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Book Three of my 2013 Goal

The Whaler's Bride by Carla Marie Sullwold
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Whaler's Bride by Carla Marie Sullwold is a slow paced romance, mystery perfect for relaxing by the fireplace. The author's use of words in her descriptions is impressive and the feeling I got while reading it stayed with me long after the book was finished. The story is filled with a lot of descriptions of the settings which in a way stall the slow pace of the story, however it has a lot to do with the overall picture and understanding the 'feeling' of the main character, Mary Lee.

The story starts off when Mary Lee Larssen recalls on her honeymoon when her husband, Lucas buys her an exquisite piece of scrimshaw as a memento of the beginning of their life together. Mary Lee cherishes this scrimshaw and after Lucas dies from a heart attack 40 years later she visits a scrimshaw exhibit in a museum in New Bedford. Mary Lee spots a piece of scrimshaw by Lars Linquist that is the spitting image of her husband and becomes obsessed with finding out more about the piece as well as her own. Her search brings her back to Cape Cod, the place her piece was purchased from. Not only does Mary Lee learn more about these pieces of scrimshaw, she uncovers another mystery in the Cape, only this one is about a very prominent family from long ago, the Snows.

The characters in the story are well developed and the pace is slow and relaxing. The authors love of words is prominent throughout the story and at times are as rhythmic and beautiful as good poetry. The settings are well described to the point where you can almost hear the waves crashing on the shore or see the scrimshaw right in front of you. The ending was a bit of a surprise and so beautiful. It made me sigh and fill with so many emotions, I am sure this story will stay with me for quite some time.

I recommend this story to anyone who would like a slow paced, relaxing read about love and its boundaries.

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Book Two of My 2013 Goal

Building Long Term Relationships by John Loeff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Building Long-Term Relationships by John W Loeff is written for those who tend to fall through the cracks. Counseling is expensive and time is an issue since most people work all day. Family and other support systems are not always available so instead of making the same mistakes in your relationship over and over as it all falls apart before your eyes, reading the book with honest self-awareness may be able to help you help yourself and save your relationship. Not only is it for those who find themselves in a relationship that is not ideal, he recommends it for people who are thinking of getting married. I suggest everyone read this book. Not only will it help your relationship, it may open your eyes to what and why in every relationship from your friendships to interaction with co-workers.

The author has education in human relations, human development, and psycho dynamic counseling combined with private practice, teaching, and more than 44 years of experience with his original spouse which is a rarity these days. So in other words, he is 'qualified' to write the book and he did it in easy to understand terms. He uses examples of people we all know about such as Tiger Woods, David Lettermen, Prince William and Catherine Middleton. When he does use some technical words, he defines them for you so there is no need to sit there with your dictionary in hand. There are also suggested readings if you want to get more into a particular subject and there are also questions at the end of each chapter for you to think about and/or discuss with your partner. The key is to have realistic expectations and what I mean by this is if you are with the most difficult person in the world that you found you don't even like anymore then all the books in the world will most likely do you no good. This is a self help type book for you to understand what relationships are and how they grow. You just need to be committed to read the book, honestly examine your own actions/reactions, and take the information that is provided to build your relationship and take it to new heights.

I know there are more ways to communicate (some covered in the book) but I was glad to see that verbal communication was covered near the beginning of the book. I know you must think why anyone would write about that, everyone knows how to talk except tiny babies. There is a difference of talking and communicating. I know a lot of people who 'talk' and don't communicate at all. In order to communicate you need someone to listen (listening is the next chapter covered) and I mean an active listener, not someone who sits there nodding their head every once a while as they are busy texting their friend and hearing about every tenth word your saying. To communicate you need to talk so the other person understands what you are saying and you need to listen to what the other person is saying too, don't just talk at the other person. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines communication as an exchange of information and with the Mr. Loeff's book we can improve our communication skills which in turn will help in any relationship. I know for a fact that a relationship without communication is a doomed relationship.

This was rather a long book but a lot of information is covered. As I already pointed out communication and listening was covered as well as: what is expected, family dynamics, personalities, development stages of a marriage, problem solving, negotiating, managing change, ethics and the future of marriage.The author makes his point and asks some really good questions at the end of each of these chapters. The use of common items so we understand the importance of it also helps with the visualization of the problems. For example the marriage maintenance program identifies ten underlying issues-the building blocks-and by working on each one of these "blocks" and using the right amount of "mortar," couples can create a long-lasting, stable partnership. This automatically has me thinking of some sort of block wall and what happens when the blocks are placed with no mortar or too little mortar, the wall comes tumbling down.

I know this book is geared for couples in relationships but I would recommend this book to everyone whether you're in a relationship or not because it will help you see your own self. There are things that you may see that you may want to change regardless of your marital status.

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Book 1 of 2013

Appointment with Death by David J Dundas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Appointment with Death by David J Dundas is a relatively short crime story. It follows Mike Murphy, a detective in Silverton where people are showing up dead. They are murdered by the same person because this serial killer had his own unique way of leaving his victims. Detective Murphy narrows the possibilities as the killer keeps taunting him and he even leaves bodies of some people close to him as a "Catch me if you can" statement. Maybe the goal is to kill Detective Murphy as the 'cat and mouse' game continues until finally Detective Murphy thinks he knows who this killer is and why he is killing these people. The real test is if he can find and stop him before more people die.

The characters are varied in their development with some are more developed than others. Mike Murphy is the most developed and the story starts off with him before he went to the Police Academy so there is more of a background for him. There are enough characters in the story to make it realistic including other police personnel and those outside the police force such as the prostitutes. The killer is developed enough to understand what is going on and why. I wasn't able to connect with any of the characters in the story though.

The plot is good and the story always progressed toward the final goal but I had a hard time really getting into it. It was enjoyable and has a good entertainment value but there was no real connection going on with any one and the story failed to draw me in. You know how some books you are drawn into them and it's like you are right there next to the characters in your mind's eye watching as the story plays out with each turn of the page? Well, that didn't happen at all. It was me sitting in my bedroom reading a story. I never got drawn into it nor did I connect with any of the characters but even so, it still was a good crime story.

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