Web Exclusive Reviews: 8/3/2009

-- Publishers Weekly, 8/3/2009

NONFICTION

At Reagan’s Side: Insiders’ Recollections from Sacramento to the White House
Stephen F. Knott and Jeffrey L. Chidester. Rowman & Littlefield, $44.95 (280p) ISBN 9780742566255
Using dozens of interviews with Pres. Ronald Reagan’s closest advisors, historians Knott (Alexander Hamilton and the Persistence of Myth) and Chidester attempt to circumvent what many labeled Reagan’s “wall,” to find the man at the heart of the (carefully calibrated) presidential image. Because this charmingly “opaque” politician didn’t publicly ponder on his presidency (even in his autobiography), Knott and Chidester depend on those around him. With both fondness and a clear effort at objectivity, the authors largely let the interviewees speak for themselves, including high-ranking officials like Caspar Weinberger, Edwin Meese and James Baker. Discussion is candid, but often contradictory; indeed, the most interesting and revealing moments of the book come from the discrepancies, invariably tied to the era’s most famous controversies: SDI, Iran-Contra, the Cold War. (Further, many advisors use their spirited defense of Reagan’s legacy in order to pin blame on other advisors.) For all the insider stories, none actually goes behind the wall of the 40th president—the subjects, in fact, labor to reinforce that wall—and Knott and Chidester’s own synthesis is thin, unable to answer the overarching question of Reagan’s success, concluding that he was “too decent” to be great. (July)

The Battle for America 2008: The Story of an Extraordinary Election
Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson. Viking, $29.95 (416p) ISBN 9780670021116
Political reporter Balz and author Johnson (The Age of Anxiety: McCarthyism to Terrorism) have produced an exhaustive yet fascinating review of the 2008 election, from the 2006 contending lineup through the 2009 inauguration, sure to catch the interest of those who follow politics, from Capitol Hill on down. For readers who think the news media’s wall-to-wall coverage was plenty, this behind-the-scenes study is a sharp reminder of everything left out in their horse-race reporting: discussion of the issues, citizens’ reactions, the real influence of President Bush, and the complex mechanics (strategy, missteps, serendipity) of the campaign trail. Without taking sides, Balz and Johnson review the numerous candidates, and the many topics at play—the Iraq war, the economy, health care and various personal concerns—while extracting cogent lessons from a season that became more an “endurance test” than anything. Addressing perennial flaws of the election process—including the prominence of money, race and gender discrimination, the impact of nonstop media coverage, and the government’s role in the outcome—Balz and Johnson also label this past election one “of great consequence and a dramatic turn in direction,” and illustrate why. (Aug.)

 Breakshot: A Life in the 21st Century American Mafia
Kenny Gallo and Matthew Randazzo V. Phoenix, $24.95 (416p) ISBN 9781597776158
Crammed with the kind of characters and detail that make pages turn and moviemakers salivate, self-described “mobster, drug lord, and porn kingpin” Gallo’s story of life as a criminal and mafia associate is tantalizing material. Straying far from his roots—an Orange County, CA childhood with parents in publishing—Gallo made so much money selling drugs that he was owner of a Palm Springs night club months before he could legally drink. Impressing various mafia family members with his success and arrogance, Gallo moved into the big leagues. Gallo’s ability to capture the absurdity of a situation gives the book a fast, no-nonsense pace: for instance, mob boss “Jackie,” “one of the Colombo Family’s toughest enforcers,” also did voiceover work for Sizzler’s TV ads. Ultimately, after a quarter-century in the business, a disillusioned Gallo would turn FBI informant, changing the Mafia landscape by helping gather the evidence that brought New York’s Colombo family to its knees (“As far as the New York Mafia was concerned, I drove off the edge of the Earth). Honest, critical, occasionally remorseful and always entrancing, this criminal memoir will keep readers on the edge of their seats. (Aug.)

Collider: The Search for the World's Smallest Particles
Paul Halpern. Wiley, $27.95 (272p) ISBN 9780470286203
Halpern (What's Science Ever Done For Us?), professor of physics and mathematics, makes particle physics accessible in this look at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) “and the extraordinary discoveries likely to be made there.” Beginning with the philosophers and scientists who shaped our understanding of the universe over centuries, Halpern explains complex topics and theories concisely, frequently drawing on deft analogies: the “fleeting nature [of neutrinos] is akin to a featherweight, constantly traveling politician... neutrinos never hang around long enough to make enough of an impact to serve as uniters.” After tracing a path from Boyle and Newton through Mendeleev, Maxwell, Rutherford and Einstein, Halpern discusses modern discoveries and details the equipment utilized, from cloud chambers to various kinds of particle accelerators. The bulk of the text focuses on particle physics studies from the past four decades, in the U.S. at Fermilab and the costly but uncompleted Superconducting Super Collider, and in Europe at CERN in Switzerland (responsible for the LHC). Halpern makes the search for mysterious particles pertinent and exciting by explaining clearly what we don't know about the universe, and offering a hopeful outlook for future research. (Aug.)

Frontline Profit Machine: The Blueprint for Exploding Profits with Your Existing Sales and Service Team
Ziad Y. Khoury. Select, $21.95 (TKp) ISBN 9781590791868
A vehicle for consultant Khoury's "Khoury Performance Equation," this business title pushes the idea that companies can maximize profits by concentrating on the "frontline," where the company meets the customer. Though "frontline sales" may conjure visions of used car dealerships, Khoury points out unlikely businesses, like Starbucks and Southwest Airlines, that have achieved their remarkable success by creating an environment in which every employee considers himself a salesperson and, essentially, an important team member: “Happy employees … result in happy customers.” Khoury doesn't downplay the difficulties of transforming a corporate culture, addressing obstacles from politics to inertia to insecure managers. Still, it seems likely an individual armed with this book won’t be able to turn around a large company without hiring the Khoury Group to help. Khoury provides more substance than many management gurus, but his case studies for improved performance through the Khoury Performance Equation give hypothetical outcomes, not actual results (Khoury cites the examples of Enterprise and Nucor, neither of which used Khoury or his methods). An above-average entry in a crowded field, this leadership training manual over-promises but contains solid insight and instructive advice. (July)

The Looting of America: How Wall Street’s Game of Fantasy Finance Destroyed Our Jobs, Pensions, and Prosperity—and What We Can Do About It
Les Leopold. Chelsea Green, $19.50 (240p) ISBN 9781603582056
Deeming himself the “Main Streeter” to explain the economic crisis to average Americans, author and researcher Leopold (The Men Who Hated Work and Loved Labor) does a cagey job explaining credit derivative obligations (CDOs), and their role in the financial meltdown, in populist terms. Unfortunately, his folksy presentation is grating at best and condescending at worst; in one egregious example, his analogy between “fantasy finance” and “fantasy football” is not just patronizing, but obscures his meaning.Still, his astute arguments make it clear that the blame earned by Wall Street and (to some degree) the government has been displaced onto ordinary Americans. Yet, he proves just as partisan as his opponents in painting free market crusaders as remorseless villains. Hamhanded solutions (described in terms of how much Wall Street will dislike them) read like a wish list for the Democratic party: financial disaster insurance, wage caps for CEOs, more unionizing, increasing real wages and nationalizing student loans among them. Whether any of these solutions are politically or economically feasible gets cursory attention. A standard muckraking explication of America's financial hole, this report should resonate with those already on Leopold's side. (July)

Relationship Obits: The Final Resting Place for Love Gone Wrong
Compiled and Edited by Kathleen Horan. Harper One, $13.99 (173p) ISBN 97806173565
After writing her father's obituary, radio reporter Horan decided the process might help her let go of a recently-ended three-year relationship. Soon, relationshipobit.com was born, and quickly became a potent repository for readers' stories of love lost, captured in achingly or hilariously sincere tributes. Tapping into universal angst over the One That Got Away, Horan was deluged with stories, from which she's culled dozens of the most memorable. Divided into chapters like “Peter Pan Syndrome,” “Doomed From the Start,” and “Death of True Love,” each entry features a cause of death—“he came out of the closet,” “sadness,” “complications brought on by an In-n-Out Burger”—and more often than not a string of complicated reasons. Some stories note survivors—“a kickass garden,” “his bottle of Viagra”—and famous last words, but all deal in familiar relationship pitfalls: lies, deception, narcissism, alcoholism, fear of commitment, lack of trust. The intimate (and omitted) details render these accounts heartbreaking and identifiable, each with the cathartic ring of long-held feelings finally released—or at least acknowledged—in concrete terms. (July)

 The Sixties
Jenny Diski. Picador, $14 paper (176p) ISBN 9780312427214
Like many other members of her generation, journalist and author Diski (On Trying to Keep Still) was drifting during the 1960s: she took drugs, had sex, and spent time in mental institutions in her attempts to subvert the Establishment. Cutting through the patina of nobility, nostalgia and idealism by which most of her fellows remember the time, Diski describes a counterculture ruled by intense self-absorption, a misguided, idealist attempt at radical reform that led directly to the corruption of the '80s. Diski brings as much objectivity to bear as she can, and her British perspective keeps her a few paces removed from the conflicts over civil rights and Vietnam. Her writing is pointed, holding many (herself included) to rigorous scrutiny, a cultural deconstruction that pushes back against the generally accepted, media-friendly, and very American image of the free-love '60s. Even readers familiar with the history will find her insights absorbing and eyebrow-raising. Though her conclusion falls short of condemnation—their motives were too pure for that—Diski makes succinct, clever and meaningful arguments exposing a self-mythologizing generation and its ultimate failures of both fore- and hindsight. (Sept.)

A Survival Guide to Debt: How to Overcome Tough Times and Restore Your Financial Health
Mitchell Allen. Greenleaf, $14.95 paper (224p) ISBN 9781929774708
Arriving in the midst of the nation’s money crisis,this volume is aimed at Americans in dire financial straits: people paying bills with credit cards, avoiding overdue notices and/or facing foreclosure. Allen, the co-founder and head of the Debt Education and Certification Foundation, identifies the principle reasons people accrue significant debt (divorce or death, major medical problems, job loss or income reduction, poor financial choices), helps readers “apply a tourniquet” to stop the financial bleeding, and explains practical but often painful ways to eliminate debt. He includes strategies for negotiating with creditors, determining whether bankruptcy is a viable solution, and taking financial control after re-establishing credit. Along the way, Allen also lays out debtors’ legal rights, stresses the importance of savings goals, explores the emotional impact of bankruptcy and provides humanizing encouragement (“You are not your debt”). Allen’s casual manner is perfectly calming, and a surplus of real-world examples and worksheets (and a dedicated website) make it a valuable resource for any readers who want a better grip on their finances. (Aug.)

Why Does E=Mc²? And Why Should We Care?
Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw. Da Capo, $24 (264p) ISBN 9780306817588
British theoretical physicists Cox and Forshaw offer lay readers a fascinating account of modern scientists' view of the world, and how it got that way. Without using complicated mathematics, Cox and Forshaw show how the search for “mathematical consistency” can guide scientists in finding the “laws that describe physical reality.” The authors provide the historical context that set the stage for Einstein’s discovery, providing an easy-to-grasp explanation of counterintuitive experimental evidence, demonstrating how the speed of light acts as a “cosmic speed limit,” the exception that proves the rule of relativity. The authors also clearly explain the tide shift that Einstein caused, transforming scientists' understanding of the world—“common-sense notions regarding space and time are dashed and replaced by something entirely new, unexpected, and elegant.” Though the basics are covered in detail, there's plenty here for science buffs to ponder. (July)

 Why Evolution Works (and Creationism Doesn’t)
Matt Young and Paul K. Strode. Rutgers Univ., $21.95 paper (264p) ISBN 9780813545509
In this superb overview, academics Young and Strode tackle the most vexing issues in the public’s understanding of biological evolution and earth history. With clear, readable text, Young and Strode detail requisite concepts while providing a conversational response to creationists’ objections to evolution, which are frequently based on profound misunderstandings of how science works. Young and Strode provide a thorough explanation of the concept of biological fitness, showing that evolution, hardly random, is a process of interaction between organisms and the environment. Later chapters explain the science of evolutionary development and phylogenetics—how Earth’s organisms are related through their genetic codes—as well as geological and astronomical methods for dating (including possibly the clearest explanation of an isochron ever written). They also take a good look at creationism, using the publications of prominent believers to show that it’s a movement divided against itself. Much of this work developed from Strode’s teaching experience, and it may be the best book yet written for teaching citizens what science really does, and what religion really is in relation. (July)

LIFESTYLE

Eat Your Feelings: Recipes for Self-Loathing
Heather Whaley. Penguin/Hudson Street, $25.95 (256p) ISBN 9781594630590
Though billed as “Amy Sedaris meets a warped Martha Stewart,” this painful attempt from writer and actress Whaley falls far short on both counts. Ostensibly a tongue-in-cheek collection of dishes suitable for specific misfortunes and awkward moments, Whaley only manages to expand on the discomfort. Aside from listing props in ingredient lists (“Stir Fry for Stretch Marks,” calls for an “old lady bathing suit”; “Moving to Russia To Look For Work Chocobanbutt Panini” calls for more accoutrements than foodstuffs), Whaley includes “recipes” like “MIL From Hell Taco Bell,” a list of things to order from the fast food chain when mother-in-law is pushing your buttons. Subtlety and charm are not part of Whaley’s repertoire, so crass comedy abounds: “Unwanted Pregnancy Kielbasa and Sauerkraut” lists qualities one should look for in an adoptive family (“must not be likely to sell child on black market”); “Mom’s Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup for Closet Cases” reminds readers to use dairy butter, not “boy butter.” Readers dealing with depression, irritating family members or simply in the mood for a comfort food pick-me-up would do far better consulting the back of a box of brownie mix, or a pint of Ben & Jerry's. (Sept.)

 How to Slice an Onion: Cooking Basics and Beyond
Bunny Crumpacker. Thomas Dunne, $24.99 (288p) ISBN 9780312537180
Author Crumpacker (The Sex Life of Food, Old-Time Brand Name Desserts, Old-Time Brand Name Cookbook) provides a running start for those new to the kitchen in this down-to-earth guide to cooking. Beginning with the properly sliced onion, Crumpacker explains the hows of cooking as well as the whys: readers will learn why roasting a chicken upside-down is preferable (it keeps the white meat moist), how you can salvage overcooked scrambled eggs (a little butter or sour cream), and the best way to crush tomatoes for homemade marinara sauce (by hand). These and other tips won’t bowl over veteran cooks, but Crumpacker’s simple advice will rapidly build cookery confidence in those used to dining on canned or pre-made products. Crumpacker manages to hit most of the high points, including vinaigrettes and sides, pastas, classic mains like pork chops and roast chicken, desserts and even simple infusions like Eau-de-Vie and Limoncello. Though bolstered with recipes, Crumpacker’s crisp prose makes this volume a winner—the next best thing to having a chef at your side as you prepare to tackle a new dish. (Sept.)

What Do You Want From Me? Learning to Get Along with In-Laws
Terri Apter. Norton, $25.95 (257p) ISBN 9780393066975
Though it’s often said that you don't just marry a person, you marry their family too, these complex relationships are often reduced to mother-in-law jokes and cruel stereotypes. Apter, a writer, psychologist and Cambridge University fellow, explores the mysteries and conflicts that come with the in-laws, including mother, father, sister and brother. Offering compelling insights into the power these relationships over a marriage, and the well being of both partners, Apter bases her report on interviews with 150 volunteers, in both the U.K. and the U.S. With professional grace, Apter exposes the emotional minefields that couples often navigate around in-laws, and the ease with which they become stuck in negative (and familiar) attitudes toward them. Apter moves beyond convenient labels, for example readdressing the idea of a mama's boy and what he can mean for a new wife, and convincingly demonstrating why women bear the brunt of the tension from both sides of the family. Self-help-standard questionnaires, exercises and coping methods—mostly practical—are also included in each chapter, giving readers knowledge and skills to relate more openly with the loved one’s less-than-loveable family. (July)

FICTION

Burn
Linda Howard. Ballantine, $26 (336p) ISBN 9780345486561
When Jenner Redwine wins the lottery, she finds herself alienated from everything she knew, and a misfit in the world of the ultra-wealthy. When she agrees to go on a charity cruise with her best friend Syd Hazlett, she thinks it’ll be the perfect escape: two weeks of spa treatments and art auctions. Onboard the Silver Mist, however, Syd is kidnapped by a mysterious group, and her only shot at safety is going along with the plan of her mysterious captor Cael Traylor. Finding herself increasingly uncertain over who the bad guys really are—and what exactly is happening onboard—Jenner begins falling for her kidnapper. Veteran author Howard operates well within her comfort zone, charging this romantic thriller with light erotic flourishes, a sympathetic fish-out-of-water heroine and an archetypal hero—gruff, assertive and dangerously masculine—all of which fans will expect and appreciate. Though Howard goes out of her way early on to make Cael unthreatening, she maintains enough tension between captor and captive to make this an enjoyable but unexceptional caper. (July)

God Emperor of Didcot
Toby Frost. Myrmidon (Trafalgar Square, dist.), $14.95 paper (336p) ISBN 9781905802241
Frost follows the characters from 2009’s Space Captain Smith as the battle for galactic domination focuses on the planet Urn, which provides the majority of the galaxy’s tea, source of the British Space Empire’s moral fiber (or fibre) and strength. Isambard Smith and the alien Suruk the Slayer forge an alliance between Suruk’s people and the British Empire to reclaim Urn, and more importantly, tea. To free the planet, they must battle the Ghast battle leader 462 and the human religious fundamentalist Johnny Gilead, who have created a messianic figure to rule Urn as a figurehead. Although part of a series, this outing stands on its own. Frost’s attempts at comedy often detract from his intriguing story and characters, but aliens and strange societies build a pleasantly old-fashioned space opera atmosphere. (Oct.)

The Lipstick Killers
Lee Martin. No Exit (IPG, dist.), $32.95 (320p) ISBN 9781842432600
This banal London-based crime-family saga from British author Martin (Gangster Wives) follows the four foul-mouthed Doyle sisters through corny tribulations that would make the most hardened soap opera heroines blush. Frankie, the oldest, left to parent her sisters after their mother dies of neglected breast cancer, weeps her way through her sister Sharon’s abrupt widowhood and suicide. Rebellious Mags, a policewoman suspended for shooting the wrong bloke, investigates the suspicious death of Sharon’s husband, a petty crook, in between invigorating snorts of cocaine and raunchy interludes with a hunky detective inspector. Roxie, the luscious youngest, goes on the lam after bumping off an inconvenient boyfriend in Spain. Vapid prose (“That night they dined in style, booked into a grand hotel and made love for hours”) goes hand in hand with an improbable plot and paper-thin characters. (Sept.)