Replies

1. 50 Questions on the Natural Law : What It Is and Why We Need It
Charles Rice, Law Professor Emeritus, Notre Dame
Nonfiction

2. This is by far the best books I've ever read on the subject of the natural law. The Q&A format is very well suited to the subject and he asks all of the right questions to the point that you can anticipate them -- it really flows smoothly. I highly recommend the book for religious-minded law students who want an alternative to the prevailing modern law theories where God is absent from the discourse. Charles Rice does a very thorough, scholarly job with this book. Highly recommended. Charles E. Rice demonstrates his capability as a legal scholar in this great treatment of natural law. Not only is this book filled with great information on traditional natural law thinkers such as Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas, it is full of contemporary legal examples that concretize the discussion and bring natural law out of the abstract realm into our everyday lives.

3. 5 Freeps

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0898707501/qid%3D1012240184/sr%3D12-17/102-3687035-5283318

1. "Rise to Rebellion" by Jeff Shaara; exacting historical fiction

2. Jeff Shaara, famous with his father for the Civil War Series, begins a wonderful two book series on the American Revolution. Going from the Boston Massacre up through the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it attempts to get inside the heads and lives of major players. I came away with a great appreciation for the maneuvering of Sam Adams, for the "feel" that Shaara gave to the Boston Massacre, for....so many more events. The tribulations of Ben Franklin in England are eye-opening. Shaara goes to great pains to have all the history be authentically accurate.

3. This is a 5 Freep book. An informative, fun review of all you love about the American Revolution. Can't wait for book 2.

POX Americana The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-82Elizabeth A. Fenn

Non-fiction

Interesting look at the spread of disease and its effect on society, particularly during the Revolutionary War. Prior to Jenner's discovery that innoculation with cowpox confered immunity, innoculation was done with smallpox itself. Mortality of the treatment was still 2-3% (as opposed to 15% or so in European stock)
George Washington, himself a survivor of the pox, was well aware of the diseases' potential for havoc in his camps and eventually got the first state-sponsored vaccination program in American history. This probably contributed greatly to the American victory.
The book also traces the diseases' path throughout north America, among the tribes dealing with the Hudson Bay Company, and throughout the mission system of the Spanish southwest. These outbreaks were vastly more damaging, with the indians experiencing a 60-90% mortality. The book presents this in a dispassionate manner, with no agenda. The smallpox changed life throughout the continent.
I give it 3 Freeps. (Well written and interesting, but not political)

Toward A Free And Virtuous Society

by Robert A. Sirico

	Our Price: $2.50 Softcover - 12 pages Published in 1997 by Acton Institute Subject: Christian Social Teaching ISBN: ISSN: 10756566 Catalog Number: SIR002 Length:

Brief Description
Short and Sweet. Freedom and Virtue. Ordered Liberty. Occasional Paper No. 9. With an Introduction by Doug Bandow. A foundational description of the complementary relationship of freedom and morality. "Both freedom and virtue are under serious assault today...At this critical time, some supporters of either liberty or virtue are setting the two against each other, treating them as frequent antagonists, if not permanent opponents. At the very least, the competing advocates suggest, you cannot maximize both values, but instead have to choose which to promote and which to restrict." "However, it would be a mistake to assume that one must be sacrificed for the other. Rather, freedom and morality are complementary. That is, liberty - the right to exercise choice, free from coercive state regulation - is a necessary precondition for virtue. And virtue is ultimately necessary for the survival of liberty. Anyone interested in building a good society should desire to live in a community that cherishes both values. As the Rev. Robert A. Sirico points out, 'common sense tells any sane person that a society that is both free and virtuous is the place in which he or she would most want to live.'" - from the Introduction

5 Freeps

Secret Weapons: Two Sisters Terrifying True Story of Sex, Spies and Sabotage (publ. 2001)

Rating: 5 (Mainly for an intriguing story that is almost unbelievable)

This is a story of two sisters who basically have their lives signed over to the CIA when they were 4 and 6 years old in the mid 1960's. The CIA then brainwashes them and induces multiple personalities into their psyche. Each personality does not know of the other, thereby making them the perfect assassins. Their personalities range from assassin, seductress, fighter pilot, martial arts expert, to military tacticians.

I guarantee that you have never read anything like this before. It is equally disturbing as it is intriguing.

There is a new book coming out in April, so naturally I haven't actually read it yet. But considering the timing and the subject matter, it seems like a good idea to post it here.

The book is called:

"Goodbye Good Men"
How Catholic Seminaries Turned Away Two Generations of Vocations From the Priesthood
by Michael S. Rose
( ISBN 0-9676371-1-2)

"American Catholics have been left reeling by recent clergy sex scandals, and have wondered how things could have gotten so bad. "Goodbye! Good Men" has the shocking answers. Rose presents evidence that the destruction of Catholicism in America has primarily been an inside job carried out by unchaste gay priests, feminist nuns and theological dissenters in control of the institutional Church - and he names names. Goodbye! Good Men could not have come at a better time for the American Church which is in desperate need of authentic reform. At last, someone has written the blockbuster book orthodox Catholics have been hoping and praying for." -- Rod Dreher National Review

Report from Ground Zero ....
by Dennis Smith

..."Dennis Smith began his career as a firefighter in the New York Fire Department.
In 1972, he published his first book, the New York Times bestseller ...Report from Engine Company 82....

He is well known and respected within the NYFD.....and so was given special favor to write this account of 9/11.

The narrative is strightforward and the personal testimony of many who were there that day is breathtaking!

I highly recommend this book.

I give it a 5!

The Snakebite Survivors Club:Travels among Serpents by Jeremy Seal

Non-fiction
This is a quirky natural history book, a cross between a Stephen King horror story and an Ann Rule true crime novel meeting Monty Python's Flying circus, written by an avowed snakeophobe who travels the world to relate true harrowing stories from people who have--mostly--survived accidental and deliberate envenomations from the most poisonous and ill-tempered snakes in the world...the mamba, the tapei, the eastern diamondback and timber rattlesnakes, among others.

Rather than tell each story in turn, he runs several story lines at once, interspersed with his own observations and fears. If you don't like snakes...I mean if you really don't like snakes, don't buy this book or I guarantee tonight you will be sleeping on top of a telephone pole with a shotgun in one hand and a flashlight in the other.

5 stars.

The End of Time, Julian Barbour. Non fiction, I think. Presents Barbour's thesis that time is an illusion. Or at least the passage of time is an illusion. I've read it twice and don't understand it. I am commending it to Freepers so somebody will understand it and explain it to me. 3 out of 5, I think.

The Quantum and the Lotus, Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Xuan Thuan. Non fiction. A "dialogue" between a Buddhist (monk?) and a physicist. Thuan is the physicist, Ricard the buddhist. Almost lost me in the first 10 pages, where the authors allow their politics to emerge. I don't need to hear that "altruism" is the only right and proper philosophy. But I kept at it, and, sort of against my will, became engaged. I'm learning lots about Buddhism. The book compares and contrasts the "truth" as apprehended by quantum physics and Buddhism. 4 Freeps. Lost one for the politics.

--Boris

American Jihad: the Terrorists Living Among Us, by Steven Emerson, The Free Press, 2002, Non-Fiction.

I bought this in a “twofer” offer on the net, along with Bernard Lewis’ ”What Went Wrong?" and I would give both books a 5.

For those of us who are time-challenged, the Lewis book (see Post #18) is a short overview of history of Islam written from a strictly historical perspective.

Emerson, on the other hand, relates the results of his well-known investigation into the activities of Islamic terrorists in the U.S. Contrary to the characterization of his work as “racist” and “unsubstantiated” by U.S. Muslim organizations, he goes to great lengths to not only document his research, but to argue that, in his view, “radical fundamentalists do not represent the real Islam.”

Whether you agree with that statement or not, I recommend his book as a expose of how deeply entrenched Islamic radicals have become in our society, how they have exploited, and will continue to exploit, our laws, our commerce and our institutions to fund their causes worldwide and to weaken our defenses at home

Richard II and the Revolution of 1399
by Michael Bennett
(non-fiction, 1999)

A full-length study of the last years of the reign of Richard II and his overthrow by Henry of Bolingbroke in 1399.

If you enjoy reading of the politics of medieval England, you'll love this book. Detailed and thourough.

"Junie B. Jones and Some Sneaky Peeky Spying" by author Barbara Park.

This fictional tale is set in a classical period that all can identify with. The stage is set for the trials and tribulations of the heroine in the story, Junie B. Jones, from the very first chapter. You will become rapt and engrossed as you follow her along as she ponders and conquers lifes most perplex questions. The phrase, "Yeah, only, I don't know why 'cause I only ate three of those softy guys" is sure to play in your mind as deeply and intrinsically as "Who is John Galt?". This is a 5 freep novel to be sure.

Here's a few from the recent past:

The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz - the memoirs of a survivor of the Soviet Gulag - what a read!

The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America - A Chronological Paper Trail by Charlotte Thompson Iserbyt, Charlotte Iserbyt-Thomson - scary but well-researched adn tells us that the NEA's power needs to be destroyed before it's too late.

Beyond Belief by V. S. Naipaul - a follow up to Among the Believers - Naipaul saw the future of Islamic fundamentalism years ago.

The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Ffolke, fiction

The year is 1985, the setting is England, and the world is not as we know it. Thursday Next, a literary detective (in the literal sense; she investigates lit fraud and theft) gets involved with a criminal who can travel through time, dodge bullets and enter works of literature (with nefarious intent, I assure you). My favorite part: a Rocky Horror-type performance of Richard III, complete with audience participation and props.

Rating: 5 FReeps, for the fabulous mix of sci-fi, lit-major jokes, and detective-novel cliches, and because the inventiveness got me to read it in one sitting.

And . . .

Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne, David Starkey, nonfiction

It's another book about Good Queen Bess, focusing on the largely ignored first 20 years of her life. Starkey explores her early years, and does a wonderful job of demonstrating her solidity of character by placing her in the context of the reigns of her father, brother and sister, not just the pre-accession vacuum.

Rating: 4 FReeps, because Starkey showed me that my hitherto-flighty role model was in fact quite consistent, and how she got that way; minus 1 FReep for not continuing for the rest of her life in such detail. Darn.

Design Paradigms : Case Histories of Error and Judgment in Engineering
by Henry Petroski

An interesting investigation into the systemic causes of failure in engineering. A bit on the dry side, but not too bad. Makes for a nice reality check on the thought processes that are used in traditional design practices as well as systems engineering.

I give it 3 1/2 Freeps.

Can anyone think of a good graphic for a Freep?

"Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Non-fiction

Full of interesting characters...at a time when America's hero was an "underdog" thoroughbred........I grew up with horses and people who loved them and people who made their living around them and this book just brought all that back. There were similarities to people I knew in just about every person in Seabiscuit's story, and it's a little-known but fascinating account....if you like horses or if you like thoroughbred racing and want to read a really good true-life story about all it involves, read this book!

I'm working on Comanchee Moon by Larry McMurtry. I'm reading all his novels, one by one. So far I like it.

I'm embarrassed to admit I'm reading one of the books I bought for my daughter. LOL It's out of the "Dear America" series, called Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie. These books are short, written in diary form, filled with history. I've read a few of them and it gives me a chance to discuss history with my daughter.