Jack Daniels

Airframe is a marvelous novel. With this book you will learn things about the aircraft manufacturing industry that most people never think of. Technically Crichton is dead on with his aviation research. His portrayal of the television news show, "Newsline" was slightly far fetched, but well within the realm possibility. Worse things then were portrayed occur in broadcast news.

This one is well worth the listen.

Typical Clancy, it is technically correct with a gripping plot and sprinkled with lots of action. The story keeps you interested. It also shows with great clarity, through fiction, the real hazards of hamstringing our intelligence gathering agencies, both here and abroad.

One thing is clear. Tom Clancy and I have similar views about the current administration. It is interesting to read the words "President Ed Kealty" and think with a smile, "Look how Tom spelled Obama."

Politics aside, it was a very good read. Four and half stars in my book.

I should have known this was going to be a bad one after listening to the introduction by Ron Paul. To say there are numerous flights into fantasy here would be an understatement.

One example alone is the 2000 presidential election. To hear Judge Napolitano tell it you would think the Supreme Court hijacked the Presidential election for their own gain. Those of us that were there, covering it day after day as it happened, know it was much more simple then that. The Supreme Court of the United States simply told the Florida Supreme court to obey their own law. They added an admonishment that the Florida court cannot simply make it up as they go along.

This one was a waste of money. I've heard the Judge give interviews on Fox News. It is not certain what happened to the judge that gave those interviews and thoughts when he composed this work.

This books is both an excellent story and kind of a downer. The author has no qualms about killing off characters you get to know and like. But you will not be able to stop listening once you get into it. It made the miles go by in a hurry.

Note: This is not one for little ears. Younger listeners may find the concept and many of the scene more then a little disturbing.

As with most Reacher stories, this one is made with suspense, action, twists and turns. It is good as far as it that goes.

But in the end, there is a disappointing change in Jack Reacher's character. That is that Reacher would never endorse, support or turn a blind eye to military deserters. That crosses a line that renders the character no longer believable.

Writers write from their point of view. It is to be expected that some of their politics is going to get through.

However I read books and listen to audio books for entertainment. Not to have a faulty political view point shoved down my throat. This book crosses that line. When I want faulty political view points, that I listen to books by Sean Hannity or Al Franken.

It is disappointing when an author, be it Lee Child or Stephen King, decides their politics need to be placed front and center in their fiction.

If your politics are a left-wing-anti-war, you will like this book. If you are in the service or have a more realistic view of reality, you will find the end of this book a little hard to swallow.

One of the freshest Sci-Fi stories to come out the last few decades. It is an original concept that kept me guessing throughout the story. One of the best in my collection now.

Hope Mr. Gould writes some more.

One of the best histories of the assassination to date. These are the kinds of books that would make history interesting, even to high school students.

Well, told and easy to listen too. I highly recommend it.

If you are looking for an interesting alternate history, this book is for you. If you are looking for a genuine history of Area 51, then not so much.

The "history" is liberally sprinkled with factual trivia, but over all, she missed the mark. The author was not really into fact checking or due diligence while writing this book. From trivial items (Surface to air missiles do not threaten ground troops, the Japanese did not have jet fighters in WWII, altimeters do not measure airspeed, etc, etc...) to major factual errors like yield and fireball size of various nuclear weapon tests, Jacobsen got most of it wrong. Some of what she presents as fact has no basis in reality.

Either the people she spoke with were pulling her chain, or she simply got what they told her wrong. Those of us that worked on the lake know better. In most cases a simple trip to the library would have set her straight.

Frankly, I was very disappointed. But it will probably sell well at the science fiction and conspiracy conventions.

Typical Reacher. Lots of action and entertaining. But I'm getting the impression Lee Child has some serious misconceptions about the US government and that he's not all that happy with the Patriot Act. Kind of hard to believe that this is the same guy that wrote the first Reacher novels.

Ayn Rand's grasp on human nature was a prophetic view of present day politics. Her story is set in the 1950s. But while listening you will find yourself drawing parallels to present days events.

This book should be required reading in high school. The lessons Rand teaches cut right to the heart of where we are and much of Europe is headed right now.

The Forgotten Man is the perfect book for the times we are in now. It reminds us of the lessons this country learned the hard way through the 1930s. Many of those lessons are not being taught in today's schools. This book lends credence the same philosophy my college economics professor taught. That philosophy is that no one can spend and borrow their way to prosperity. Ms. Shlaes' book taught me that in the 1930s is was possible to go to jail for selecting a specific live chicken for sale rather then grabbing the closest one to the door. She showed us what happens to common stock holders like you and I when government competes against private companies. To compare what happened through the 1930s to what is happening now is frightening. Everyone should read this (or listen to) this book.