Salida Book Review

Global Profit and Global Justice: Using Your Money to Change the World, by Deb Abbey, TPB from New Society Publishers, ISBN 0865715025. While the debate about the global economy rages on, consumers and investors already have many tools at their disposal to help ensure that its benefits are distributed more equitably. This book describes how you can use your spending and investing power creatively to change the world for the better - Social Impact Investing, sustainable investing, community-based investing,
shareholder advocacy, consumer choice, mobilizing pension plans, venture philanthropy, and more - illustrated by examples from around the world.

The Quantum World : Quantum Physics for Everyone, by Kenneth William Ford. Albert Einstein's objections to the theoretical underpinnings of quantum physics are usually summed up in his famous quote, "God doesn't play dice." Unfortunately for Einstein, experimental evidence over the past 75 years has consistently showed that the cosmos does indeed play dice. Whereas what we can see obeys laws of certainty (we know where Mars will be in five years or when the next lunar eclipse will occur), the subatomic world obeys laws of probability: you never know for sure where an electron will be at any given moment; worse, it may be in two places at once. In this approachable book for the armchair science buff or student struggling through a physics class, Ford (Quantum Foam), retired director of the American Institute of Physics, offers his services as cicerone through the subatomic world. He explains why quarks are said to have "flavors," and why scientists refer to "strange" and "charm" quarks and their being red, blue or green. Ford provides readers with a brief but adequate history of the early development of quantum theory and introduces the present-day scientists who use multimillion-dollar machines to detect particles that pop in and out of existence in less than the blink of an eye. If readers blink, they might miss the author's mention of string theory, which deserves more discussion than it receives here. Even scientists never really understand the quantum world, but this book will help readers wrap their minds around the paradoxical concepts of how the building blocks of existence lead a strange, if not charmed, life. 33 photos, 52 line illus., 6 tables.
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The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. In his debut novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini accomplishes what very few contemporary novelists are able to do. He manages to provide an educational and eye-opening account of a country's political turmoil--in this case, Afghanistan--while also developing characters whose heartbreaking struggles and emotional triumphs resonate with readers long after the last page has been turned over. And he does this on his first try. The timely and critically acclaimed debut novel that's becoming a word-of-mouth phenomenon...

The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold. When we first meet 14-year-old Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. This was before milk carton photos and public service announcements, she tells us; back in 1973, when Susie mysteriously disappeared, people still believed these things didn't happen. In the sweet, untroubled voice of a precocious teenage girl, Susie relates the awful events of her death, and her own adjustment to the strange new place she finds herself. (It looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swingset.) With love, longing, and a growing understanding, Susie watches her family as they cope with their grief--her father embarks on a search for the killer, her sister undertakes a feat of amazing daring, her little brother builds a fort in her honor--and begin the difficult process of healing. In the hands of a brilliant new novelist, and through the eyes of her winning young heroine, this story of seemingly unbearable tragedy is transformed into a suspenseful, touching, even funny novel about family, memory, love, heaven, and living.

The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey, by Muhammad & Hana Ali, HC from Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0743255690. Writing with the assistance of his daughter Hana, in this spiritual autobiography Muhammad Ali tells of the values that shaped him, both before and after his conversion to Islam, and continue to guide his life. Though he is famous throughout the world for his extraordinary boxing career, Ali says, "It is after I retired from boxing that my true passion begins." Today he battles an illness that limits his physical abilities, but writes, "I have gained more than I have lost."

Hoax: Why Americans Are Suckered by White House Lies, by Nicholas Von Hoffman, TPB from Thunder's Mouth Press, ISBN 156025582X. How is it that the rest of the world saw Iraq for the toothless military has-been it was, while Americans looked at the half-starved, bombed-out, dilapidated country and saw a juggernaut? After perfecting the domed stadium, Americans have seemingly erected a continent-wide dome of unreality under which they shop in malls, live in gated communities, and believe whatever they are told on TV. Von Hoffman describes how the Americans lost their pioneer independence to live in a bubble of imperial ignorance.

Bush Versus the Environment, by Robert S. Devine, TPB from Doubleday, ISBN 1400075211. Since becoming president, George W. Bush has reneged on the Kyoto Protocol, pushed for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, weakened protections for endangered species and wilderness, and abandoned his campaign pledge to regulate carbon dioxide. But the president's agenda reaches deeper than these well-known policies. Devine shows how the White House is ignoring science, health, and democracy to quietly and deliberately undermine the entire system of environmental safeguards that has developed over the past thirty years.

The Mapmaker's Wife: A True Tale of Love, Murder, and Survival in the Amazon, by Robert Whitaker. In the early years of the 18th century, a band of French scientists set off on a daring, decade-long expedition to South America in a race to measure the precise shape of the earth. Like Lewis and Clark's exploration of the American West, their incredible mission revealed the mysteries of a little-known continent to a world hungry for discovery. Scaling 16,000foot mountains in the Peruvian Andes, and braving jaguars, pumas, insects, and vampire bats in the jungle, the scientists barely completed their mission. One was murdered, another perished from fever, and a third--Jean Godin--nearly died of heartbreak.

At the expedition's end, Jean and his Peruvian wife, Isabel Grames—n, became stranded at opposite ends of the Amazon, victims of a tangled web of international politics. Isabel's solo journey to reunite with Jean after their calamitous twenty-year separation was so dramatic that it left all of 18th-century Europe spellbound. Her survival-unprecedented in the annals of Amazon exploration-was a testament to human endurance, female resourcefulness, and the power of devotion.

Drawing on the original writings of the French mapmakers, as well as his own experience retracing Isabel's journey, acclaimed writer Robert Whitaker weaves a riveting tale rich in adventure, intrigue, and scientific achievement. Never before told, The Mapmaker's Wife is an epic love story that unfolds against the backdrop of "the greatest expedition the world has ever known."

The Instant Astrologer, by Lyn Birkbeck,(H + CD-ROM) from O Books, ISBN 1903816491. This comprehensive astrology package includes a CD-ROM that readers can use for chart calculations and a book. Both book and CD are divided into three sections covering the Personality Profile, the Timeline Profiles, and the Relationship Profile. The CD calculates the data, then gives the page numbers in the book that provide interpretation. The book includes information on Sign and House positions of the Sun, Moon, and Planets, the five major aspects between them, and the Ascendant and Midheaven. You can also calculate and interpret transits, and the Synastry between two charts. 600 color illustrations!

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon. Narrated by a fifteen-year-old autistic savant obsessed with Sherlock Holmes, this dazzling novel weaves together an old-fashioned mystery, a contemporary coming-of-age story, and a fascinating excursion into a mind incapable of processing emotions.

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. At fifteen, Christopher’s carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbour’s dog Wellington impaled on a garden fork, and he is initially blamed for the killing.

Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer, and turns to his favourite fictional character, the impeccably logical Sherlock Holmes, for inspiration. But the investigation leads him down some unexpected paths and ultimately brings him face to face with the dissolution of his parents’ marriage. As Christopher tries to deal with the crisis within his own family, the narrative draws readers into the workings of Christopher’s mind.

And herein lies the key to the brilliance of Mark Haddon’s choice of narrator: The most wrenching of emotional moments are chronicled by a boy who cannot fathom emotions. The effect is dazzling, making for one of the freshest debut in years: a comedy, a tearjerker, a mystery story, a novel of exceptional literary merit that is great fun to read.

In the Company of Soldiers : A Chronicle of Combat, by Rick Atkinson. From Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling author Rick Atkinson comes an eyewitness account of the war against Iraq and a vivid portrait of a remarkable group of soldiers

For soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division, the road to Baghdad began with a midnight flight out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, in late February 2003. For Rick Atkinson, who would spend nearly two months covering the division for The Washington Post, the war in Iraq provided a unique opportunity to observe today's U.S. Army in combat. Now, in this extraordinary account of his odyssey with the 101st, Atkinson presents an intimate and revealing portrait of the soldiers who fight the expeditionary wars that have become the hallmark of our age.

At the center of Atkinson's drama stands the compelling figure of Major General David H. Petraeus, described by one comrade as "the most competitive man on the planet." Atkinson spent virtually all day every day at Petraeus's elbow in Iraq, where he had an unobstructed view of the stresses, anxieties, and large joys of commanding 17,000 soldiers in combat. Atkinson watches Petraeus wrestle with innumerable tactical conundrums and direct several intense firefights; he watches him teach, goad, and lead his troops and his subordinate commanders. And all around Petraeus, we see the men and women of a storied division grapple with the challenges of waging war in an unspeakably harsh environment. With the eye of a master storyteller, the premier military historian of his generation puts us right on the battlefield. In the Company of Soldiers is a compelling, utterly fresh view of the modern American soldier in action

The Low-Carb Barbecue Book: Over 200 Recipes for the Grill and Picnic Table, by Dana Carpenter. Everyone is eating low-carb these days, and grilling is an easy way to make your protein-focused meals delicious. The problem is that most marinades and sauces are full of sugar. Dana Carpender comes to the rescue with over 200 low-carb recipes perfect for backyard picnics and barbecues, from meats and side dishes to cocktails and desserts. This book also features all-new recipes for condiments, sauces, and marinades that can replace the sugar-laden store-bought varieties and allow the low-carber to enjoy previously forbidden foods.

The Imus Ranch: Cooking for Kids and Cowboys, "Kids come from all over to the Imus Ranch. Some are cancer survivors. Some are still battling cancer. Some have life- threatening blood disorders, and some have lost a brother or sister to sudden infant death syndrome. You might imagine there would be a lot of sadness here, but there isn't. We welcome kids who have known too much sickness and too much death, and we give them something they urgently need: a sense of independence and purpose through healthy, vigorous living." --From "A Day at the Ranch"

To some, a vegan cattle ranch may seem a contradiction in terms--but then so would a place where desperately ill children discover their true strength by learning to ride horses and rope calves. Welcome to the Imus Ranch, 4,000 unspoiled acres set in rolling hills and mesa country 50 miles east of Santa Fe. Here good food and clean living set the stage for life-changing events.

Children who visit the Imus Ranch work alongside authentic western ranch hands; they gain a firsthand insight into life as an American cowboy. The experience refuels their bodies and their spirits, in large part because every aspect of the environment is as nontoxic as possible--from the vegan food served at mealtime in the hacienda to the paint on the walls in the barns. The children leave stronger than when they came, with a sense of accomplishment and pride in their new abilities.

In The Imus Ranch: Cooking for Kids and Cowboys, Deirdre Imus shares more than 125 recipes from the unique place that she and her husband, Don Imus, created. The dishes, from Butch's Blueberry Pancakes, Cowboy Sloppy Joes, and Buffalo Red Chili Enchiladas to Chicken-Less Pot Pie, Imus Ranch Barbecue, Walnut Chocolate-Chip Cookies, and Arborio Sweet Rice Pudding, are guaranteed to please the whole family. As Deirdre says, if kids and cowboys will eat it, it has to be good!

Packed with full-color photography that reflects the warmth and vitality of the Ranch, actual letters from the children who have visited, and a helpful pantry section, this book will enable us all to live a simpler, healthier lifestyle--one meal at a time.

100% of author revenues from this book go to the Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer