A man ahead of his environmental time

The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America

Douglas Brinkley

At a critical time in our Nation (and the world) when much attention is focused on environmental issues ranging from improved water quality and disease control to destruction of forests and degraded coastal communities, the current generation is often portrayed at the first serious crusaders for environmental awareness and protection. However, that song has been sung numerous times in history, only to a different melody, but perhaps never as effectively as during the Theodore Roosevelt era. Roosevelt provided a call to arms in environmental protection decades before it was fundraiser topic for the nouveau riche or a soapbox for the nature-loving activist.

Temporarily setting aside the impressive accomplishments of Roosevelt as Lt. Col. of the Rough Riders during the Battle of San Juan Hill, the driving force behind the construction of the Panama Canal, and the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the Russo-Japanese War, The Wilderness Warrior focuses on the profound effect Roosevelt had on conservation and preservation at a time when the US was rapidly expanding due to the industrial revolution. Through the power of Executive Orders, Roosevelt and his hand-picked team of Darwinian naturalists created or enlarged 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reservations, 4 national game preserves and 6 national parks. Brinkley depicts the life of Roosevelt in vivid detail from his childhood in New York City where he harbored a fascination and love of all things nature, through his obsession as a hunter of big game who took pride in bagging the biggest and the best, to the end of his presidency when he secured his place in the annals of political and environmental heroes.

I cannot begin to express what a gift Brinkley has for making history not only readable, but enjoyable. He doesn't just spout out facts (although this tome is certainly full of them) but weaves together historical stories involving some of the most colorful characters of the time - you couldn't imagine more entertaining people of the West: Catch 'Em Alive Abernathy wrestled wild wolves to the ground with his bare hands, Holt Collier killed more than 1,000 bears, and John Muir revolutionized the philosophy of nature. My one criticism of this wonderful book is that it simply ends when Roosevelt's presidency ended. I would have liked at least a chapter that described his hunts and efforts during the last decade of his illustrious life.

If you are interested in conservation, national parks, the preservation of the West, or nature in general, then I highly recommend The Wilderness Warrior.

Wittiness in a dystopia world is just plain genius

Shades of Grey: Road to High Saffron

Jasper Fforde

Eddie Russett is a Red - that is, he can only see red colors of the spectrum - and he lives in a world where people are divided into castes based on their visual perceptions. Unfortunately, Red is at the bottom of the scale with only Greys being lower and all colors being higher up to the ultimate in visual acuity - Purple. Eddie has a pretty good life: he is in the running to marry a Red of higher status than him, he will inherit her family's string factory, and he can actually see more shades of red than he lets on, which may result in a future career with National Color. However, all of that changes when he travels with his father to the Outer Fringe to conduct a chair census as punishment for a practical joke. While in East Carmine, he realizes that not all is as it seems and that the beautiful Grey, Jane, could be the key to it all.

I really enjoyed the fictional world of Chromatacia! Fforde is not only a witty writer, cleverly forming novel words that are descriptive and acerbic, but he manages to deliver wittiness in a completely made-up world that centers on the colors of the visual spectrum in a time that is 500 years after the collapse of the present society (whenever that may be!). Where the Thursday Next books often lose me in all of the literary references that I am not well-read enough to catch, Shades of Grey was a wonderful balance between educated reading and attainable comprehension.

I will definitely be waiting for the second installment of this trilogy to see where adulthood takes Eddie, Jane, Tommo, and the other inhabitants of East Carmine.

A bright flare in a gray, post-apocalyptic world

The Road

Cormac McCarthy

The most powerful part of this story is what the author doesn't say.

A man and his boy are traveling alone in a post-apocalyptic world. The skies are filled with ash, the air is poisoned by fumes, meals are few and far between, and they must constantly be on the look-out for the bad guys - men who will kill and eat you. They constantly cycle between painfully hungry and one day away from starvation, refusing to give up and determined to get to the ocean where the man believes life will be easier. They have a gun with a single bullet but it becomes shockingly clear that the bullet isn't for potential attackers, but to give the man or boy the only true protection from this devastating world...death.

While there isn't a lot that the reader knows about this world - How did it become this way? How long have the man and boy been traveling? Where are they geographically located? - I think these unsaid facts are the most important part of the story. The answer to all of these questions is the same: It doesn't matter. Regardless of any external factor, the only thing the man and boy are concerned with are living another day, putting one foot in front of the other to take them one step farther down the road. The only thing keeping them going is their love for each other and their blind faith that there is some form of goodness still in the world and that they carry a part of that with them.

This book was not uplifting, did not inspire hope, and did not provide a reason to turn the pages. However, the powerful writing made you feel desolate, hopeless, and strangely determined to keep going in spite of those feelings; the hallmark of a truly phenomenal book is inspiring emotions that reflect the feeling of the story...and McCarthy did that brilliantly even though I didn't want to feel that way.

Dear Ms. Greenlaw, get over yourself.

Seaworthy: a swordboat captain returns to the sea

Linda Greenlaw

Dear Ms. Greenlaw, get over yourself. Love, Nicole

After 10 years away from sword-fishing - 10 years spent lobstering on Isle au Haut - Linda has decided to jump back into the fray and captain the Seahawk with a hand-picked crew of four men who vary in their high seas experience. Understandably, she is nervous that she won't live up to the high standards and expectations she set when she captained for 19 years before retiring to land, but excited to see if she still has what it takes to bring aboard one of the most elusive and beautiful creatures of the ocean.

I was so excited to see a new autobiography by Linda Greenlaw; The Hungry Ocean continues to be one of my favorite books and her newest foray into nautical-themed crime fiction appears to have been a flop - why not return to her roots? I am so sad to report that this books lacks all of the charm, humility, and humor of her first two books and instead was like listening to a friend wax poetic on life and why they rock at it. Not only did she not catch fish, Greenlaw failed to do what she used to excel at - tell a heartwarming story that made you feel like you were there. I got so tired of reading how this trip was different from her career 10 years ago; how she "excels at", is "well known for", and "is one of the best at" any number of fishing skills; and the fishing details took a leading role when they should have been reduced to supporting cast. Less than a handful of short flashes of her prior warmth are the only things that saved this book from the dreaded 1 star rating.

If you are interested in a really good autobiography on fishing, definitely check out something by Greenlaw - but stick to The Hungry Ocean or The Lobster Chronicles and leave this one on the shelf.

Great mystery, juvenile relationship

Judgment in Death (In Death #12)

J.D. Robb

Surprise! There is a serial killer on the loose in NYC and Lt. Eve Dallas has to track him down. Oh, and of course her billionaire, mouth-watering husband, Roarke, is tangled up in the investigation. Plus, Eve and Roarke have to (yet again) overcome their personal issues with commitment to make their marriage work. And Eve has to face another little sliver of her past. Have I forgotten anything?

Obviously, the In Death Series has some trends that are present in all of the books. However, I thought this one was a cut above the rest because of the mystery - someone has a vendetta against some of NYPD's finest...or are they the finest? I also liked that the storyline was kind of two separate ones that wove in and out with each other at different points before coming together at the end. The bad guy wasn't overly obvious and it wasn't a black/white case of someone being a horrible person and deserving the worst the law had to throw at him.

While I thought the mystery portion was one of the best so far, I really need Eve and Roarke to move onto the next level of their relationship. I am a little tired of the bantering back and forth over the same old arguments. Also, there was a lot of hostility between them in this one and I thought that Roarke acted way outside of usually slick persona. Personally, I love their interplay but it is getting a little ridiculous that he is involved in every case Eve has....it would be nice to see her tackle something on her own.

Regardless of the less sparkling portions of my review, I continue to love this series! Mainly due to the 1) above average series mystery storylines, 2) Roarke (yum), and 3) the fabulous supporting characters that are very well thought out and developed. The next installment is on my tbr.

Dive into the Dark Life

Dark Life

Kat Falls

Sea level has risen even more than scientists predicted. The Rocky Mountains are now just a string of islands. People are packed into skyscraper cities and space is a coveted commodity. But beneath the sea surface, life flourishes....

Ty was born on the Atlantic seafloor, in Benthic Territory. His parents were trailblazers in this new frontier - his engineer dad helped design and construct the jelly-like homes that pulse in the underwater currents and his scientist mom helped perfect aquaculture techniques for fish and kelps. Together with the other families of the Benthic Territory, they grow the food that feeds the Topsiders now that intense ultra-violent light destroys life. Gemma is a topsider who has ventured to the Dark Life in order to find her missing brother, she desperately wants to reunite her family. Gemma and Ty set out to find Gemma's brother but come into contact with dangerous Outlaws, corrupt government officials, and mysterious occurrences among the teenagers of the Dark Life. Can they find the brother, save the Benthic Territory, and manage not to get killed in the process?

The marine biology aspect of this book had me instantly requesting it from the library - Falls describes a fantastic undersea world that mixes cool and unusual marine facts (bioluminescent anglerfish) with futuristic fantasy elements (liquigen for underwater breathing) that has me ready to don my dive suit and hope to find a secret underwater society to join! In addition to that, I found the story itself to be action-packed, heartfelt, and in-tune with young teenagers. The plot wasn't overly complex (as is common with YA books) but I found it more complex that most and a couple of twists took me a while to figure out. I truly hope this is only the first of several books about Dark Life.

When global climate change causes the East Coast to slide into the Atlantic Ocean, I want to permanently move into the Dark Life!

I wish the characters would have done more soul "searching"

The Search

Nora Roberts

When the highlight of a book is the main character's dogs, it is probably not going to rocket onto my list of all-time favorites.

Fiona is the sole survivor of a serial killer. She managed to overcome her abductor, escape with her life, and put him behind bars - but not before he managed to destroy her life. But Fiona is a fighter and she slowly fought to get her life back, a life she enjoys as, now eight years later, she lives on Orcas Island off the coast of Seattle and runs a dog training school out of her home. She also established a volunteer canine Search and Rescue squad to help find people who have gotten lost in the woods that dominate the island. Life is going well until copycat murders begin occurring, which makes her wonder if she will be the final target; and a handsome artist, Simon, moves in down-the-way, which makes her wonder if she is ready for the feelings he brings about that she hasn't felt in nearly a decade.

Okay, synopsis done. Now, my thoughts. My big problem with this book was the manner in which the two leads - Fiona and Simon - handled their feelings. I think NR wanted to create characters who were down-to-earth, not overly romantic, and realistic about their relationship and its challenges. I appreciate all of those aspects and it could have been a nice change from typical romance novels. However, and this pains me to say, NR went too far and developed the characters into blunt, no-romance people who were either too confrontational or too forgiving. We never got any kind of background on Simon so he just came across as a soft-hearted ass with no reason as to why and Fiona, for some reason, found his bullheadedness wildly entertaining.

As for the mystery, there wasn't a lot to it. We know from early on who the culprit is and, despite a few minor surprises, why he is doing it. However, the police are not privy to this insider information but we don't have a lot of insight into their actual investigation so this comes off as more like the tracking of an individual as opposed to a mystery. That was okay, it didn't bother me too much, but the motive wasn't incredibly complex and I would have enjoyed just a little more there.

But, then there were the dogs! Fiona had three labs (a yellow, chocolate, and black) that she trained as S&R dogs and they were total show stealers. Throw in Simon's puppy, Jaws, and I was ready to go out and adopt a pack on my own! I thought the parts that described Fiona's training classes were interesting and the S&R portions were wonderfully described. On the non-canine side, there were some great supporting characters including Sylvia, Fiona's stepmother, and Mai, vet/fellow S&R/best friend.

Overall, a solid novel by NR, which I enjoyed and read cover-to-cover in two short days. However, as far as her novels go, it will be filed away with books likeTribute and Carolina Moon instead of reaching the favorite list like Midnight Bayou and Black Hills.