Madam President

Madam President (American Myth Series), Jerry Beller, 2013, Kindle e-book

This novel looks at the presidency of America's first black, female President.

In 2012, things are not going well for Kalinda Resbo. She can't get anything through Congress, mostly because Congressional Republicans have decided to say No to anything she advocates. Congressional Democrats are not much better, being too cowardly to stand with her. Her CIA and FBI Directors, along with her Vice President (they were forced on her by the Democratic leadership), are neo-cons who really want to start a war with Iran over their nuclear program. Because Resbo does not agree, they are actively hostile to her, undermining her whenever possible. In the eyes of some, as an unmarried black woman, she is automatically an America-hating lesbian socialist. With election season here, her poll numbers are not good, mostly due to her abrasive campaign manager.

There are some good people in her administration. Among them is J.B. Wellers, her Chief of Staff, who also ran her first presidential campaign. He is one of those who is not afraid to tell the unvarnished truth, even to her, which is why she values his advice so strongly. She asks him to take over her campaign again, and things start to improve. Resbo makes a bold move by announcing that she is running for re-election as an Independent, and with a new running mate. Unconstrained by party requirements, she makes a series of gutsy proposals for her second term. Among the things she advocates are: replacing the federal income tax with a national sales tax; geting rid of the two-party system; term limits for the Congress and President; campaign finance reform, filibuster reform and closing all foreign military bases. her two opponents, Mitt Romney and Leroy Skittles (her current VP) can't keep up with her and have to rely on the usual political nonsense. Resbo is ahead in the polls, but not enough to keep the election out of the House of Representatives. Meantime, a secret plan is brought forward to make sure that Resbo is a one-term President, using a method that was last used successfully in 1963 in Dallas.

This is not a liberal or conservative story, but it is a really good story. Both parties share the blame for America's current condition, and, if both parties can somehow put America ahead of Party, maybe some of it can get fixed. This is well worth the reader's time.  

The 7-Minute Miracle: The Breakthrough Program to Banish Spot Fat Forever

The 7-Minute Miracle: The Breakthrough Program to Banish Spot Fat Forever, Sheldon Levine MD, Lifeline Press, 2002

This book describes a way to get rid of your body's spot fat, without special diets or joining a gym. All it takes is seven minutes a day.

It looks at the areas of troublesome fat, your arms, belly, hips, butt and thighs. The idea is to get adrenaline (also called epinephrine) to your trouble area, where it will tell an enzyme in fat cells to start the fat-burning process. The book gives pictures of exercises intended for each specific area. General exercising, like aerobics or jogging, might help your body overall, but it will do little, or nothing, for your trouble area.

Here is what you do. For instance, do belly exercise #1 until you can't do anymore. Go right to belly exercise #2, without stopping, and then go right to the third belly exercise, again without stopping. Continue through the cycle until you reach seven minutes, then stop. Do not eat or drink anything, except water, for the next 40 minutes. You don't want to bring the fat-burning process to a screeching halt by eating something filled with carbs or sugar. Then you should have your daily healthy meal. If you exercise in the morning, make breakfast your healthy meal. If you exercise in the late afternoon, make dinner your healthy meal. If it is not possible to follow the menus in the book, the author looks at the kind of foods that are healthy, or unhealthy, to eat.

If you have more than one trouble area, then, for instance, do your belly exercises on one day, your hips exercises the next day, and your butt exercises on the day after that. Don't combine them. If you workout regularly, separate your regular workout and your seven-minute workout by at least three hours, allowing your adrenaline level to return to normal. Simply adding seven minutes to your regular workout is a waste of time.

This fat-loss system seems to be easy enough for everyone. Anyone can spare seven minutes a day, even stay-at-home moms. Best of all, there are no special meals, or exercise gadgets, to buy. This is very much worth reading, for everyone.

Digital Disruption: Unleashing the Next Wave of Innovation

Digital Disruption: Unleashing the Next Wave of Innovation, James McQuivey, Amazon Publishing, 2013

The increasing digitization of our world has turned the business world upside down. In every industry, some companies are getting closer to their customers and undercutting other competitors. This book gives the details.

There are many, many free digital tools available to potential innovators. Next, a digital platform is needed to get it, whatever it is, to the customer as quickly as possible. These are usually very inexpensive. Keep a very close eye on your feedback. For example, if it says that upgrades should move in this direction, instead of that direction, don't wait until next quarter, or even next month, to do the upgrade; start on it today.

"Our company is innovative." "Our customers are totally loyal to us." "Our company is un-disruptable." Can you really afford to take such a chance? Companies no longer sell products or services; they sell total product experiences. It starts when a person visits your company online for the first time, and goesall  the way until they get the product home and open it. There are ways to measure just how much time a person spends at your website or Facebook page. A company goal might be to get people to spend more time there, instead of simply increasing sales.

Don't ask "What new thing can we sell?" Instead, you should ask "What is next thing our customer needs? What adjacent need can we fill that our customer does not even know that they have?" It's tempting to fill any new product or service with benefits for the customer, to be all things to all people. Don't do it. Pick just a couple of the biggest benefits, and concentrate on those.

This book is full of examples of how even non-digital experiences like selling shoes can be digitally disrupted. It does a very good job of helping any company to be the disrupter, and not the one being disrupted. It is very much worth reading.

The Slow Fix

The Slow Fix: Solve Problems, Work Smarter and Live Better in a World Addicted to Speed, Carl Honore, HarperOne, 2013

In this speed-obsessed, quick-fix world, it has become almost normal to expend the minimum amount of effort, in business and in life. But that approach is never quick, and usually makes things worse.

If you make a mistake, admit it. Don't try to blame someone else. If you are the boss, don't treat that mistake as a disaster that requires that someone be fired. Instead, treat it as an opportunity to take a very close look at your entire process. It may seem preferable to worry only about immediate problems. Is that really better, and cheaper, than going through every bit of your business, top to bottom, to make sure everything is working properly?

An underlying, fundamental problem rarely has just one cause. Try linking the various pieces of that fundamental problem. Don't focus just on today; look at tomorrow, too. Will fixing Problem X now lead to other big problems next month, or next year?

Naturally, the devil is in the details. Be willing to see things in a new light. Preparation ahead of time, being ready for anything, will help keep problems from rearing their ugly heads. Don't be afraid to collaborate, especially with someone who has a different field of expertise. A different set of eyes may be just what is needed to solve your problem. There are times when crowdsourcing is the best place to go for an answer to your problem. Don't underestimate the power of games to solve problems.

Meant more for groups than individuals, this is an excellent book. It is very thought-provoking, and is recommended for everyone.

Lilith Rising 1969

Lilith Rising 1969, Roberta Kagan, 2013, Kindle e-book

This novel is about one person's experiences in late 1960s America.

Lily is your average teenager living near Chicago. She ran away from home because life at home had fallen apart. At a party, she is noticed by Red, the leader of a local biker gang. Realizing that she is too far from home, Lily calls her mother, looking for a ride. To her shock, her mother says that coming home, at that time, was not a good idea. Lily has no choice but to hop on Red's motorcycle.

Lily soon learns that she is Red's prisoner. She has to ask his permission for everything, including getting money for food. She learns, the hard way, about Red's hair-trigger temper. He can go from decent and reasonable one second, to total, red-faced, rage the next second. Lily's feelings toward Red vacillate between hatred and fear for her safety.

One day, Cricket (his real name is Sam), Red's brother, shows up at their door. Having just returned from Vietnam, where he was an Army medic, Cricket needs a place to stay for a while. The attraction between Lily and Cricket is instant. Red expects Cricket to resume the biker lifestyle, but Cricket is very uninterested. While Red is off planning a war against another gang, the relationship between Lily and Cricket grows into real love. They make plans to run away together to San Francisco, but Lily is very scared of Red's expected reaction. Circumstances suddenly force them to move up their timetable, and head west, now. How does Red react? Do they make it to San Francisco? Do Lily and Cricket live "happily ever after"?

In a way, this is very unpleasant reading, but it's very good reading. The author does a fine job from start to finish. This story is not for the faint of heart, but it is well worth the reader's time.

All My Love, Detrick

All My Love, Detrick, Roberta Kagan, 2012, Kindle e-book

This is a love story set in Nazi Germany.

Detrick is an Aryan, living in Berlin, who, for years, has worked in the bicycle repair shop of Jacob Abdenstern. Accompanying Jacob home one night, Detrick meets Leah, his daughter. There is an instant attraction between them. They have to keep their romance very quiet, because, in Nazi Germany, any public affection between an Aryan and a Jew is very illegal. Detrick is extremely uninterested in anything to do with the Nazi Party.

Karl, Leah's brother, is one of those accustomed to using his fists in public. During a fight, he kills a member of the Hitler Youth, so fleeing Germany is suddenly a very good idea. He finds himself in the Warsaw Ghetto, preparing to fight. Detrick's sister, Helga, has fallen for Eric, an SS officer. He treats her like a goddess, showering her with gifts; that is, until the day he tells Helga that he is married, and cuts off all further contact between them. Helga is forced to travel to an isolated "institute" to have Eric's baby, without telling her parents.

Meantime, Leah's best friend, Dorothy, has fled Germany with her family. They are living with an uncle in Chicago. Her thick accent and unfamiliarity with English make school nearly impossible. She get a job, but her career choice goes over very badly with her father, who throws her out of the house. Dorothy is noticed by an older man named Tony, who also treats her like a goddess, showering her with gifts. But Tony tells her upfront that he is married, and still wants to see her.

Back in Germany, Detrick reluctantly joins the Nazi Party. He feels that it is the only way to earn the money to pay a sympathetic family to hide Jacob and Leah in their attic. detrick goes to work every day expecting that his deception will be discovered. Do Leah and Detrick "live happily ever after?"

This is an excellent piece of writing. It shows how the Nazi era tore apart even "good" Aryan families. It is well worth the reader's time.   

The Monsterjunkies: An American Family Odyssey

The Monsterjunkies: An American Family Odyssey, Erik Daniel Shein & L.M. Reker, Arkwatch Holdings LLC, 2012

This is the story of a very unique American family.

The Monsterjunkies live in a walled compound on the coast of Maine. Talon, the father, is a crypto-zoologist who specializes in rescuing animal species thought to be extinct, with the intention of returning them to the wild. Pandora is his wife, and their children, daughter Indigo and son Crow are students at the local high school. Because they are "different," both children have been noticed by Rutherford, the school bully. Crow wants the bullying to end, and Indigo wants the family to start being a little more trusting of outsiders. No one is allowed on the property, and the family doesn't talk about it, which leads to the expected rumors of monsters on the property.

Indigo invites Winter, a friend from school and a budding artist, for an overnight sleepover, and shows her what is really going on behind the walls. Crow becomes friends with a trio of boys from school who attempt to sneak onto the property to see for themselves. They are stopped by an actual sasquatch, who, they learn later, is intelligent and is named Beauregard. The visitors are also introduced to a pygmy elephant named Thunder who loves marshmallows, and an actual sea serpent named Sybil who can't eat enough squash.

At school one day, the group publicly humiliates Rutherford, in front of a bunch of girls. Naturally, he is not going to go away that easily. Does the Monsterjunkie family get "outed" prematurely? Does the bullying stop, once and for all?

This is an excellent YA novel. It has a very strong environmental and anti-bullying message. It is a well-done piece of writing that is recommended for all young people (and adults, too).

Navy Fun

Navy Fun: When Ronald Reagan Was In Charge and Being in the Navy Was a Blast, Vince Stead, E-Book Time, LLC, 2007

This is one person's chronicle of life in the US Navy.

The author grew up in a small town in Michigan. Part of a large family, his father's attitude was that when each child reached 16 years old, they moved out of the house. A friend was joining the Navy, so the author followed him.

Boot camp, held in Florida, consisted of a lot of yelling, for no good reason. When it was time to choose the area of training the sailor would learn, the author, having no better ideas, went to yeoman school. There he learned to type memos the Navy Way, and otherwise entered the world of military paperwork.

His first duty station was aboard a submarine tender. It followed several submarines, and acted as their supply ship. He worked directly with the ship's Commanding officer and Executive Officer, most of whom were decent, reasonable people. He compared himself to Radar O'Reilly, from the TV show MASH, taking care of the paperwork. It was not the most strenuous job in the Navy. Later in his career, he found himself doing similar work on a destroyer and an aircraft carrier.

When it is time to board a ship for your tour of duty, the ship does not come to you; you go to the ship, wherever in the world it might be. The author talks about some of the places he visited in his travels. Places like Manila and Seoul very much cater to American military personnel. There are many, many bars and nightclubs, each with many beautiful young women available for one-night stands. Even the most plain-looking guy, who can't get a date back home, could have a different woman each night, if he was interested. He noticed that things are very different in places like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. He also visited Hawaii, Guam, Hong Kong, the Maldive Islands and Diego Garcia (which is little more than a giant military base).

This is an interesting book that's worth reading. It's short, and is written in a very informal style.

Spiritual Cashflow

Spiritual Cashflow: A Story About Sex, Money and Enlightment, Steven E. Schmitt, 2011, Kindle e-book

This is the story of one person's spiritual "rags to riches" journey.

Set in present-day Southern California, the narrator, who calls himself "E," had a difficult home life. The youngest of eight children, there was lots of love in the house. There was also lots of alcohol, bikers and all-night parties. Mom did the best she could while battling cancer. Dad committed suicide before E was born. While growing up, E got inklings that there is something more to life, something that he calls "spiritual cashflow."

He barely graduated high school, and had zero interest in college. Mom moved to the desert for her health, and E was left on his own. Moving from one freind's couch to another, E got the entrepreneurial spirit. While living with Julian, in a used car lot run by Julian's father, the two would go club-hopping every night. They would "borrow" one of Dad's used cars, usually a Porsche, and go to clubs looking for women who were only interested in sex. The pair were young and handsome, so it was easy. Moving to a local motel, lots of wild sex would ensue. Afterwards, while the women were asleep, E and Julian would steal their wallets and leave. It became very lucrative, but, spiritually, E knew that something was wrong. One night, it all changed.

During another night of club hopping, E met an Asian woman who, spiritually, hit him like a ton of bricks. She reached the "good" part of him, hidden under all that fear and attitude. E was forced to do some heavy thinking. He began to realize that his life of sex and theft was not working any longer. He became interested in religion, and read the Bible cover to cover. He was upset by the dichotomy between the universal love message of Jesus, and the present-day assertion that the only way to be with God when you die is to believe in the Christian conception of God. Naturally, old habits die hard. Does E continue on his new path, or does he go back to being a misogynist thief?

This is a very inspirational book, but it is also not for the faint of heart. There is a lot of drugs, sex and swearing. Get past that, and this shows how anyone can change for the better. Yes, it's really worth reading.

Goodnight, Brian

Goodnight, Brian, Steven H. Manchester, 2013, Kindle e-book

Here is a story about one family's journey through life, in the face of some considerable obstacles.

Brian Mauretti is the second child of Jan and Frank Mauretti, residents of Rhode Island. For his first few months, while he is breast-fed, everything is fine. When Jan switches him to a supposedly organic, soy-based, bottle formula, Brian's condition collapses. It starts with constant diarrhea, and inability to sleep, and goes downhill from there. Her pediatrician says not to worry. After six months of this, another pediatrician diagnoses Brian's condition.

The formula maker intentionally removed the salt from the formula, allegedly to make it more healthy. A newborn baby needs certain minerals, including salt, every day. The lack of salt has done major damage to Brian's frontal lobe; he will never be able to walk or talk on his own.

After the tears and anger, Jan's mother, Mama, the family matriarch (as New England Italian as they come), dismisses the bleak diagnosis from the doctor. She tells the family that the number one priority is helping Brian to reach his full potential. Dissent will not be tolerated. It takes several years, but Brian does learn to walk and talk. He thrives in the Rhode Island Special Olympics.

If any of the local kids start teasing Brian, or just look at him the wrong way, Russ, his older brother, has no problem with pounding that person into a bloody pulp. As the years go on, the family experiences the same trials and tribulations that happen in any family. Jan and Frank's marriage does not survive. A daughter of Jan's sister Bev declares that she is gay, while the other daughter marries a black man. Mama takes the news much better than does Bob, Bev's husband. Mama is slowing down, but doesn't tell anyone in the family that she has cancer.

This may sound like a silly cliche, but do whatever is necessary (and legal) to get a copy of this book. If purchasing it is not possible, then ask your library to get a copy. When life gets too difficult, a person sometimes needs an old-fashioned inspirational story about things like love and faith and hope. This is that story.

V.E.A.R. Toward Success

V.E.A.R. Toward Success, Mike Caldwell, Trafford Publishing, 2008

This book shows how anyone can achieve their goals in any part of their life.

Vision comes first. For example, it's not enough to simply say to yourself, "I would like to open a cupcake shop." You have to visualize yourself in your shop which is full of customers, you have to dream about it, you practically have to make it part of your inner being. If you aren't totally committed to your goal, whatever it is, then why bother?

Next comes Energy. Visualizing, by itself, is not enough; what are you going to actually do about it? To continue the cupcake shop example, take a hard look at your finances, research the local health and safety requirements, and visit your local bank to start the loan process.

Your Attitude is an important part of reaching any goal. Are you a "glass is half full" or "glass is half empty" type of person? Well-meaning friends, and family members, may gently, or not so gently, question your goal. If you are totally committed to "it," whatever it is, are you going to let anyone steer you away from your goal? Can you look at a vacant, garbage-filled storefront, and visualize a clean, and busy, cupcake shop?

Last, but not least, is Resolve. There will be setbacks. There will be days when it seems like the whole world is conspiring against you, when curling into the fetal position and giving up is very tempting. This is when you find out what you are made of on the inside. Do you have what it takes to keep your focus on your goal, no matter how impossible it may seem?

This book can work with any type of goal, whether it's losing weight, or running an Ironman triathlon. The author may not have intended it, but this book also works as a cautionary tale for anyone who wants to build their own "off the grid" home in the woods (the author gives many examples from his own experiences). The goal may be "green" and noble, but, a seemingly infinite amount of patience and resolve may be needed to get there. On any level, this book is easy to read and follow, and is recommended for everyone.

The Boy Who Played With Dark Matter

The Boy Who Played With Dark Matter (The Count of Monte Cristo), Holy Ghost Writer, 2012, Kindle e-book

Set at the dawn of the 22nd Century, this is about a young boy whose view of the world is turned upside down.

Zeddy lives with his parents, Zane and Zadie. The world is under the control of the fascist International Government. All citizens have to check the computer each morning to see what new laws have been imposed overnight. Instant adherence to all new laws is expected. The penalty for non-adherence is to be taken away by the International Police, and never seen again.

One day, while walking the dog, Zane vanishes. He is a scientist who recently completed several months of work for the IG, so the first thought is that they have kidnapped him for reasons of their own. Zeddy shows great math and science abilities, which the family keeps quiet for the same reason. Any smart children are taken by the IG for their own purposes, and never seen again.

Zeddy asks Zadie if they really are free in this society, and is taken to a secret room in their house, which he never knew existed. It is filled with books, the possession of which is very illegal. Zadie reads Zeddy the story The Count of Monte Cristo. A neighbor, who happens to be a witch, tells them that they must undertake a harrowing journey to be re-united with Zane. Fake travel documents are provided; one wrong move and the International Police will make them disappear, permanently. A local professor is asked to go with them. He is in trouble with the Police because of a previous "accident", from whom they barely escape.

This is a really good Young Adult/dystopian story, akin to "1984." It is worth reading for everyone, young and old.