How Do I
Noufissa's Picks
|
Oates, Joyce Carol The Gravedigger’s Daughter Fiction |
| The Schwart family came to the United States as refugees from Hitler’s Germany. Rebecca, their only daughter, birthed in New York harbor, was the family’s only American born member. This gripping novel tells the spellbinding story of how Rebecca transcended a horrendous childhood growing up in a cemetery hovel and her gritty life in an upstate New York factory town. The Gravedigger’s Daughter is a tribute to the difficult choices people must make in their lives – some with positive outcomes, some not. After this compelling read, you will long remember Rebecca Schwart, also known as Hazel Jones, Niles Tignor, Chet Gallagher and Zack. Recommended September 2008 |
|
|
Peters, Thomas J. Thriving On Chaos: Handbook For A Management Revolution Nonfiction |
| This book definitely deserves a reread in 2008. First,
it shines a mirror on how far the approach to customer services has
come in the past 20 years. Second, it contains many valid observations
and strategies for the road still to be traveled. Chapters are divided
into well written commentaries and include strategies and next steps.
Major units cover customer responsiveness; innovation; empowerment
of people; learning to love change; and building systems for a world
turned upside down. Read it all or read a chapter or two. You are
sure to find a concept, an idea, a tidbit to add substance to your
day and improve your own work process. Recommended August 2008 |
|
|
Chabon, Michael The Yiddish Policemen’s Union Fiction |
| Chabon’s book begins with the premise that following
WWII, Jews established a settlement in Sitka, Alaska. On top of that,
you can count on Chabon’s mesmerizing writing abilities and an intricately
plotted murder mystery. Meyer Landsman is the noz (yes, there’s a
dictionary of definitions at the end) who unravels the consequences
of the demise of a former boy wonder chess champion. At each turn,
Landsman finds more layers of plotting that will keep you busily turning
pages until you reach a very satisfying ending. Recommended July 2008 |
|
|
Byrne, Rhonda The Secret Nonfiction |
| The Secret received Oprah’s stamp of approval.
And why shouldn’t it? It’s an easy read of 180 pages and extols the
benefits of releasing positive energy to make good things happen,
both for you and to you. Ms. Byrne has put together a compendium of
the best thoughts from a “Hall of Fame” group of positive achievement
gurus. The added bonus is that after you read it, whenever a thorny
situation arises, Ms. Byrne suggests that you randomly open the book
and words of wisdom, appropriate to your situation, will be on that
page. The Secret espouses no particular religion or philosophy.
If it helps get you through the day, what is not to like about it?
Maybe you will start noticing nice things happening to you! Recommended June 2008 |
|
|
Cramer, James J. with Cliff Mason Jim Cramer's Stay Mad For Life: Get Rich, Stay Rich (Make Your Kids Even Richer) Nonfiction |
| Cramer focuses on successful investment strategies that
investors can take advantage of over longer periods of time. He cites
specific stocks and mutual funds that he feels can be excellent long-term
investments based on the previous successes of their managers. Cramer
also identifies several mistakes that investors can make that could
substantially impact their retirement objectives. He recalls his personal
experiences as a hedge fund manager and identifies other top money
managers such as Ken Heebner and Eddie Lampert and the strategies
they employed to be successful. I highly recommend this title as it
is a very interesting and informative read for both the novice and
experienced investor. Recommended March 2008 |
|
|
Goldsmith, Jack and Tim Wu Who Controls the Internet?: Illusions of a Borderless World Nonfiction |
| Many people who have read The World is Flat by
Thomas Friedman might assume that the Internet has liberated us from
borders and government control; however, Goldsmith and Wu challenge
that assumption. The authors, both professors of law, strongly assert
that within the last decade the internet "did not displace the central
role of territorial government in human governance." In Who Controls
the Internet?: Illusions of a Borderless World they examine a
number of important internet legal cases and the international legal
environment in which they were decided. They conclude that national
regulation is necessary to make the internet a useful and beneficial
tool of communication and commerce. On the other hand they acknowledge
that authoritarian countries, particularly several Arab nations and
China, have exerted their power to restrict internet contact and content
within their borders to a very large degree. Although Chinese officials
have encouraged use of the internet to promote economic growth, they
have suppressed and censored sites which question government actions.
They have also gone to great lengths to locate and punish those who
use the internet to post critical opinions. Large multinational corporations,
such as Yahoo, Dow Jones and Google, who wish to conduct business
in this market, must observe internet rules and restrictions which
would not apply nor be accepted in their home countries. Internet
retailer, E-Bay, also must comply with additional restrictions and
local laws. These are viewed by the authors as a necessary balance
to protect the e-commerce system from those who would illegally exploit
and destroy it. Goldsmith and Wu have raised important issues concerning
government control of the internet. They have made persuasive arguments
in favor of regulating business as a means of promoting the orderly
growth of commerce, and have noted that businesses have always had
to respect local and national laws in the countries in which they
operate. However, the authors do not adequately explore government
control of the internet relative to the rights of individuals. Recommended December 2006 |
|
|
Aslan, Reza No God but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam Nonfiction |
| If an uninformed but curious American had the opportunity
to read only one book about Islam, this might be that one. Beginning with pre-Islamic Mecca, Mr. Aslan builds vivid descriptions of Muhammad, his companions and adversaries, and the world in which they lived. Before the introduction of Islam, Mecca was an important trading center, whose wealth was built in part on its ability to draw many visitors to worship the many different gods of the region and patronize the merchants of Mecca in the process. Seen within this context, the hostility and assassination attempts which occurred with Muhammad's introduction of an exclusive, one God religion are more understandable. The historical characters surrounding Muhammad are also well drawn, although occasionally romanticized. The historical development of Islam in the aftermath of Muhammad's death is described with insightful detail. Particular attention in given to two themes: the explosive growth and organization of the religion, and the conflict which quickly emerged about who were Muhammad's rightful heirs to leadership. This latter issue culminated in battle and the separation of Islam into its two major branches, the Sunni and the Shiites. The last chapters of the book examine Islam in the modern world. One particularly interesting account describes the emergence of the Wahhabi sect in Saudi Arabia. Its great influence on the religion and culture is portrayed as the result of a trade-off with the Muhammad Ibn Saudi, who was fighting to centralize all of the Arabian tribes into one nation under his control. No God but God is an obviously well researched, scholarly book. However, it is written in a familiar, comprehensible style. This is a recommended read for anyone with even a marginal interest in this subject. Recommended December 2005 |
|
|
Grisham, John The Broker Fiction |
| John Grisham's most recent book replaces his customary
lawyers with a Washington insider, who stumbles into the world of
espionage. Joel Bachman, the most powerful lobbyist and power broker
in American government, is able to buy or sell congressional votes
or almost anything else. When he is approached by Pakistani scientists
who have discovered and learned to control an invaluable spy satellite
of unknown origin, he agrees to help them sell it to the highest bidder.
His world soon comes crashing down when these scientists and one of
his partners mysteriously die, and he becomes the target of a federal
investigation. He pleads guilty, and is sent to a federal prison in
solitary confinement for his protection. Seven years later a president
in his last day in office pardons Bachman at the request of the CIA
Director, hoping to learn what "the broker" knows about the mysterious
satellite and which governments are chasing him. Bachman is given
a new identity, and secretly shipped to Italy, finally ending in Bologna.
What follows is his furious effort to learn the Italian language and
immerse himself in Italian culture while avoiding the top assassins
from three different countries. The Broker is an extremely well-written
book with interesting characters and clever, fast-paced plot that
helps to overcome the book's improbable premise. As an extra bonus
the city of Bologna was thoroughly researched and described in almost
travelogue detail. Were you aware that requesting a cappuccino rather
an espresso after breakfast is an Italian social no-no? Recommended March 2005 |
|
|
McCall Smith, Alexander The Sunday Philosophy Club Fiction |
| This latest mystery novel by McCall Smith deals with
murder and moral philosophy. The story takes place in Edinburgh Scotland.
Isabel Dalhousie, a philosopher and editor of the prestigious and
highly esteemed Review of Applied Ethics, witnesses the fatal
fall of a finance manager Mark after a performance at an Edinburgh
concert hall. She felt it was her duty to investigate and find the
villain. The suspects are Mark colleague's spouse, an annoyed broker,
and Mark's distrustful roommate Neil. The results of the investigation
are a surprise to Isabel and readers alike. This is a very pleasant
story but it lacks the humor of McCall Smith's bestseller The
No.1 Ladies Detective Agency. Recommended January 2005 |
|
|
Mahfouz, Naguib The Journey of Ibn Fattouma Fiction |
| This book is written by the leading Egyptian novelist
and Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz. It is a short but important work.
The Journey... is set in a mythical, timeless Middle East,
and yet based on a classic of Western literature: Jonathan Swift's
Gulliver's Travels. The story shows the challenges of exile,
following a trip by a young Koranic scholar, Ibn Fattouma, who is
disappointed in love and disillusioned with his own country -- as
is the case of many young people in the Middle East. Ibn is travelling
as a way of finding the true meaning of life. He joins a caravan and
sets out to explore the world, his ultimate destination the enigmatic
land of Gebel, where perfection, truth, and happiness prevail. Ibn
Fattouma finds, to his surprise, that many of the countries he visits,
though heathen, are in some ways superior to his own. His first stop
results in marriage to a non-believer. However, war with another country
and a clash with a city official cause him to lose his family, and
he is forced to leave. In another country he is imprisoned because
he is accused of crimes against the state. Civil war frees him, and
he continues his journey, always seeking an insubstantial truth he
is never able to find, always vulnerable to the winds of social and
political change. Finally, he joins a caravan bound for Gebel -- a
country so distant and mysterious that no one has ever been known
to reach it and return to tell the tale. I enjoyed every chapter of
this book that reveals the vast differences in the cultural assumptions
between East and West. Recommended August 2004 |
|
|
Ben Jelloun, Tahar Islam Explained Nonfiction |
| This book was written in response to the terrorist attack
of September 11, 2001. The author Tahar Ben Jelloun is a French writer
of Moroccan origin. His book is useful for all educators who know
very little about Islam and a good introduction to scholarly books
on Islam. It is also a very valuable source of information to recommend
to young people or adults who have no background in the religion.
In an accessible question-and-answer format, Ben Jelloun explains
the doctrine of Islam and traces its history -- starting with a brief
outline of Muhammad's life and the tenets of the religion, then focusing
a good deal on the Golden Age of Islam (about 900 years ago) before
he comments frankly on the 'decline' of Islam as a unified culture
in the following centuries. He finally elucidates the current politics
of Islamic fundamentalism. He also offers fairly balanced clarifications
of the key words that have come to dominate coverage of the current
crisis: terrorism, Jihad, fundamentalist, fatwa. He uses simple language
to explain Islam. He implies that the current situation, with fanatical
and violent people 'claiming to be' adherents of Islam, is due to
the long slide of Islamic culture (as opposed to the Islamic religion
itself) into 'decadence.' He goes further to decry the current atmosphere
of terrorism and violence as a corruption of the idealistic principles
of Islam -- denouncing it forcefully. Recommended August 2004 |
|
|
Said, Edward Orientalism Nonfiction |
| This book is an important clarifying guide for anyone
who is interested in the study of the Muslim Orient. It plays an important
role not only in the way the Near East is studied but also how it
is viewed. I personally think that this book presents a rational explanation
for the on-going misunderstanding between the West, the Middle East,
and Islam. Though the essays in this book are not an easy read, any
reader can still get a grasp of Said's persuasive case against Orientalism.
Orientalism, which he defines as "a manner of regularized (or Orientalized)
writing, vision, and study, dominated by imperatives, perspectives,
and ideological biases ostensibly suited to the Orient." It is the
image of the 'Orient' expressed as an entire system of thought and
scholarship. Said's evaluation and critique of the set of beliefs
known as Orientalism is to the point. Said argues that concepts such
as the Orient, Islam, the Arabs, etc. are too vast to be grouped together
and presented as one coherent whole. Said adds that Orientalism can
be found in current Western depictions of "Arab" cultures. The depictions
of "the Arab" as irrational, menacing, untrustworthy, anti-Western,
dishonest, and --perhaps most importantly -- prototypical, are ideas
into which Orientalist scholarship has evolved. Using the above research
and indisputable evidence from two centuries' worth of Western writing
about the East, Said lays down an indisputable case about how Western
so-called "objective" and "scientific" study of the East has been
corrupted and is far from describing reality. Many readers who are
eager to understand the conflict of today's world will likely find
satisfaction. Recommended August 2004 |
|
