Read the Kindle Author Blog

I've started a new blog for Kindle owners called Kindle Author.

I mostly post interviews with indie authors who have published on Kindle, but I also post news and other items.

It's a great way to discover new authors. If you own a Kindle and are looking to find new authors to read, please hop over to my Kindle Author blog and acquaint yourself with some of the great new writers on the digital frontier.

Also, you can read the blog on your Kindle by subscribing on Amazon with a 14-day free trial:

Read the Kindle Author blog on your Kindle!

Deliver Us from Evil, by William Shawcross

Reviewed by Rachel Stoll

William Shawcross brings a journalistic writing style and an “on the ground” approach to Deliver Us from Evil: Peacekeepers, Warlords and a World of Endless Conflict, which offers an account of humanitarian interventions in a Post Cold-War world. Filled with informal interviews and insight from former Secretary Generals and world leaders, Shawcross provides a unique insight into the politics and atrocities of the UN peacekeeping operations through the 1990s in nations such as Cambodia, East Timor, Kosovo, and Yugoslavia.

Most of political insight comes straight from United Nations staff members and specifically Secretary General Annan, who was handling political treaties and operations through the decade. They witnessed the brutal living conditions and executions that took place throughout the world and the political games happening in the background, most of which involved Security Council power plays and creating new terms for “genocide” in resolutions.

Shawcross’s approach and writing style is what makes the book stand out in a growing field of literature on humanitarian interventions. The anecdotes about conversations and power holding among representatives sheds considerable light on how decisions are made and treaties between nations occur. After stories about human rights issues and state representatives unwilling to do what is necessary, Deliver Us from Evil comes to an appropriate and semi-neutral conclusion.

This book is recommended for people interested in politics, human rights, and genocide. Shawcross’s Deliver us from Evil is accessible and definitely a stand-out in humanitarian intervention literature.

A Brief History of Russia, by Michael Kort

Reviewed by Rachel Stoll

In doing some research for my thesis and a potential trip to Russia, I decided to pick up Michael Kort’s A Brief History of Russia. I chose this series because I had liked their edition on Egypt and found the text to have enough information without being overwhelming with facts and dates.

A Brief History of Russia was broken into chapters based on the main periods of Russian and European History with lots of maps and insets to further explain events or other significant cultural things. Much like A Brief History of Egypt, this book focused on historical and political events as well as public figures. One of the most useful aspects of the book was hidden in the appendix: a timeline of the major events covered in the narrative.

A Brief History of Russia provides a nice middle ground between a travel guide and a history book. More informative than the history sections found in most travel guides, the book allows for a quick read of a period without getting muddled in further historical details or facts. This series does tend to cover people and events more than places, so if you are trying to plan where to go, get a regular travel guide and this to fill in the history. In a country as politically and historically complicated as Russia, this book does a great job in covering the highlights that make Russia what it is today.

I recommend A Brief History of Russia for those looking for a refresher in Russian history and as a supplement to the history provided in most travel guides. Those who want a deeper understanding of twentieth century Russian history should read The Gulag Archipelago or Imperium.

Life of Pi, by Yann Martel

Reviewed by Rachel Stoll

I picked up Life of Pi by Yann Martel for an international flight home from Hong Kong in the summer of 2005. It looked entertaining and long enough to help pass time, but I purchased it not knowing that this book would be widely read stateside the following year. Life if Pi is a story about a religiously curious boy, Pi Patel, from India, whose family decides to move to Canada. After he boards the ship with his family and all their belongings, a shipwreck happens and Pi is stuck in a lifeboat with a wounded zebra, hyena, a motion-sick orangutan, and Richard Parker, a large Bengal tiger. Events happen so that Richard and Pi are the only two left on the raft for 227 days, requiring Pi to be resourceful in order to survive.

Although Pi’s story of survival is endearing and embellished through his own telling, the meat of the book rests in the more philosophical meanings of life and the other conversations that happen outside the shipwreck narrative. Although the comments on religion and god are somewhat interesting, the 227 days on the ocean became dreary and repetitive. Overall I found this book pretty bland, and it lost my interest about 100 pages in. The twist ending is cute, but reading through the other few hundred pages takes away from even this well-done moment.

The real failure is the attempt to mix philosophy into something that would have worked better as just an adventure story. Knowing how Pi caught and killed fish for 227 days to feed Richard is just uninteresting and doesn’t really speak to any larger meaning. Martel claims early on that this story will make you believe in god, unfortunately Life of Pi is just uninteresting and sitting in a religious ceremony would probably have more effect on personal spirituality. If you want to read a story with some philosophy behind it, try Sophie’s Choice by William Styron instead. It’s much deeper and more interesting.

Into Thin Air, by John Krakauer

Reviewed by Rachel Stoll

John Krakauer was relatively well-known in the mountaineering community as a climber and journalist when he was hired by Outside magazine in 1996 to accompany a team attempting to summit Mt. Everest. The leader of the expedition was Rob Hall, a mountaineer who had the most non-sherpa summits of Mt. Everest and who was one of the most qualified leaders on the mountain at the time. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster documents the fatal climbing season of 1996 on Mt. Everest, which ultimately took the life of Rob Hall and many others.

Krakauer’s account is compelling. The book begins with an explanation of how he came into the fold of the mountaineering community, inevitably leading him to attempt the world's greatest peak. Upon arriving in Katmandu and joining up with the expedition, Krakauer was both hopeful and concerned about his teammates. Having Rob Hall as a guide almost assured a summit, but Krakauer questioned the experience of some of his other teammates.

They spent weeks acclimating and made it to the icefalls and into camp 3 on May 11, 1996. Hall’s team, and several other teams who were waiting for the perfect day, started out for the summit well before sunrise. The weather slowly got worse as the day progressed, and poor decisions were made by members of Hall’s team and other guides on the mountain. This culminated in all hell breaking lose on the mountain, resulting in a significant loss of life. It is clear from the writing that this day still haunts Krakauer.

Into Thin Air is a thrilling tale containing a lot of tragedy. For anyone interested in mountaineering, it is a compelling read. This book is highly recommended to those interested in adventure travel, dramas, and thrillers.

Rhymed Reviews on Twitter

If you prefer your reviews in verse, and 140 characters or less, check out my Rhymed Reviews on Twitter!

Here's a sample:

GWTW: Nobles of another era, Butler, Wilkes, and Miss O'Hara come to life onscreen to share a story of the war on Tara.

Rhymed Reviews

Africa Unchained: The Blueprint for Africa’s Future, by George B.N. Ayittey

Reviewed by Rachel Stoll

Although diverse in history and government, the countries that make up the African continent have struggled with development since independence. Foreign aid and hesitant direct investment have been major challenges for many of these war-torn nations. Africa Unchained: The Blueprint for Africa’s Future by George B.N. Ayittey discusses the common issues plaguing the 43 nations and offers up hope and suggestions for building a better continent.

Ayittey discusses the failed attempts at socialism as part of the rejection of the colonial experience of capitalism. Disagreeing with former socialist leaders, Ayittey argues the natural economy that was developed in most African countries was one of capitalism and mercantilism which made the promotion of Afro-Marxism a political tool of the nationalist movements. This discussion, coupled with his argument that state corruption and false governments are the real problem, has upset many scholars and leaders on the African continent who now consider Ayittey a sellout.

Sellout or not, Ayittey seems very accurate in what he perceives to be the prevailing issues, and he makes a concise argument against the socialist and nationalist movements which so quickly demonized capitalism and Western political and economic institutions. As a solution, Ayittey suggests that more financial aid be given to these countries and claims that foreign direct investment is required in order to jumpstart development. This can only work if corruption is lessened so that money goes to where it is intended and government agencies enforce the rules equally and according to the laws. Ayittey explains that a true non-political bureaucracy is needed, something which has not existed in many African nations since independence.

Whether or not this will come to fruition is yet to be seen, but Ayittey makes some keen observations and offers a solution to this decades-old problem. Although Ayittey uses history to make some arguments, this book is light on history and focuses more on policy and government issues. Africa Unchained: The Blueprint for Africa’s Future is highly recommended for those interested in African development and international economies.