Blogcritics Author: Tim Gebhart

Book Review: The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell

Tim Gebhart — Mon, 6 Oct 2008 19:33:21 EDT

The writer's irreverance and lack of pretense shine through as she makes even Pilgrim theology entertaining history.
Gen Xers probably don't need, let alone want, advice from me. But if I may make one small suggestion. If and when you want to name a historian laureate, give serious consideration to Sarah Vowell.I know, Vowell says she is not a historian and she's not. But that elevates form over substance. History often played a part in Vowell's...

Book Review: Guests of the Nation by Mike Palecek

Tim Gebhart — Wed, 1 Oct 2008 14:49:02 EDT

Lack of character development undermines effectiveness of novel contending 9/11 was a government conspiracy.
In the midst of Banned Books Week, President John F. Kennedy's statement that "a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people" is particularly pertinent. And is it just coincidence that the Kennedy presidency seems to be the last one most Americans...

Book Review - Dumbocracy: Adventures with the Loony Left, the Rabid Right, and Other American Idiots by Marty Beckerman

Tim Gebhart — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 18:41:46 EDT

A sardonic search and destroy mission aimed at extremist positions plaguing modern politics.
If the title of Marty Beckerman's latest book doesn't clue you in on where he's coming from, he erases any doubt with the first sentence. "Opinions are like genitals: if you force others to swallow yours, something is seriously wrong with you."Since Dumbocracy: Adventures with the Loony Left, the Rabid Right, and Other...

Book Review: Kafka Comes to America - Fighting for Justice in the War on Terror by Steven T. Wax

Tim Gebhart — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:04:48 EDT

Steven T. Wax discusses some up-close ramifications of the policies and practices the U.S. has employed in the War on Terror.
We Americans like "up close and personal" stories, at least if they're about athletes, celebrities, inspirational figures or the like. Yet it may be another story if we're talking about getting up close and personal with those our government accuses of being terrorists. Yet many of those stories are ones we probably need to...

Book Review: Mike's Election Guide 2008 by Michael Moore and The Do-It-Yourself Constitutional Amendment Kit by Nathaniel Whitten

Tim Gebhart — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:03:53 EDT

Two new works of political satire each achieve mixed results in combining humor, advocacy and education.
With the Bush presidency coming to an end and the Obama-McCain campaigns ready to kick into overdrive, American political satire is in no danger of dying out. Although two new releases -- Michael Moore's Mike's Election Guide 2008 and Nathaniel Whitten's The Do-It-Yourself Constitutional Amendment Kit -- have different aims, they share...

Book Review: The Mirrored Heavens by David J. Williams

Tim Gebhart — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:11:22 EDT

Non-stop action and a cyberpunk influence categorize this future tale of terrorism and political power struggles
Although normally cast in the future, science fiction still tends to be built upon current or relatively recent events and the state of the world. That's certainly the case with The Mirrored Heavens, the debut novel by David J. Williams. Williams uses terrorist threats, political battles, military branch rivalries and East-West distrust and...

Book Review: The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing by Mayra Calvani and Anne K. Edwards

Tim Gebhart — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 19:21:21 EDT

A user's manual for book reviewers that includes honesty and ethics as among the reviewer's most important tools.
It's kind of a puzzle. How does a book reviewer review a how to book on book reviewing? More than other reviews, the reader may judge the book solely by the review itself. After all, since the reviewer just got done reading about writing book reviews doesn't the quality of the review reflect the value of the book?Underlying that question is the...

Book Review: Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell

Tim Gebhart — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:56:19 EST

A fictional journey of self-discovery takes the reader inside the origins of modern Middle East.
It's difficult for history to serve as a guide when so many people tend or prefer to be oblivious to it. Whether overcoming that tendency motivates Mary Doria Russell's Dreamers of the Day is unclear. Regardless, her novel may well teach more people some basics about the origins of the modern Middle East than many books devoted to the...

Book Review: Revolutionary Spirits - The Enlightened Faith of America's Founding Fathers by Gary Kowalski

Tim Gebhart — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 05:38:06 EST

Did some of the leading lights of the American revolution have revolutionary views of religion?
There are two sides to most things and, generally, the truth is somewhere in the middle. Gary Kowalski's Revolutionary Spirits: The Enlightened Faith of America's Founding Fathers demonstrates the adage applies to views of how the founders of this country saw the role of religion.Today, many on the Christian right argue that the intent of...

Book Review: Triumph by Philip Wylie

Tim Gebhart — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 05:29:26 EST

A reissue of a classic post-nuclear apocalypse tale also shines light on the Cold War age in which it was written.
Science fiction's most common motif is speculating on our future. Sometimes, though, it also gives a glimpse of our past. That is especially true with reissues of classic works, such as Philip Wylie's Triumph.First published in 1963, Triumph is a heart-of-the-Cold War tale of nuclear apocalypse. The trigger of a cataclysmic World War III is...