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What to read this Halloween, based on your ideal spooky activity

Whether you’re a homebody or a thrill-hunter, we’ve got a seasonal, spine-tingling read for you.
Whether you’re a homebody or a thrill-hunter, we’ve got a seasonal, spine-tingling read for you.
NonfictionLifestylesCookbooks

Bodega Bakes

In the personable Bodega Bakes, pastry chef Paola Velez presents just that: sweets that can be made solely from the ingredients found at a corner store.
In the personable Bodega Bakes, pastry chef Paola Velez presents just that: sweets that can be made solely from the ingredients found at a corner store.
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Biography

American By Choice review

Review by Clay Stafford

In 1950, a poor Lebanese teenager, 19-year-old Sam Moore, emigrated alone to America. His English was as broken as his prospects for the American Dream. Eventually, Moore would purchase one of the oldest and most respected publishing companies in Britain, Thomas Nelson Publishers. Under his direction, Thomas Nelson would become one of the leading Bible publishers in the world and would contribute to the developing successes of such best-selling nonfiction authors as Robert Schuller and Zig Ziglar. Watching his company being listed in 1995 on the New York Stock Exchange was many smiles and tears from Idlewild Airport in New York City just across town where Moore first entered the country with only $600 to his name in 1950. Moore can testify loudly that the American Dream is neither myth nor fact. It is opportunity.

Written to coincide with the 200 year anniversary of Thomas Nelson Publishers, the first half of American by Choice is pure Moore autobiography. In places, the writing is cliche-ridden, but where the writing itself fails, the reader should concentrate on the unusual and inspirational story revisited in the second half of the book. When Moore begins to write about Thomas Nelson Publishers, his tone changes dramatically. In the last half, it is obvious that Moore is more comfortable outlining his company and where he wishes to lead it than he is in writing about himself. As you read, you can feel his driving nature.

"They did not know how hard I worked and the amount of hours and sweat I put out during the summer, the dogs that jumped on me, the doors that were slammed in my face. But that was nothing compared to the joy and rewards I found in what I had been able to achieve." His is more than a rags-to-riches story. It's a reminder.

In 1950, a poor Lebanese teenager, 19-year-old Sam Moore, emigrated alone to America. His English was as broken as his prospects for the American Dream. Eventually, Moore would purchase one of the oldest and most respected publishing companies in Britain, Thomas Nelson Publishers. Under his direction, Thomas Nelson would become one of the leading Bible […]
ParentingFamily & Relationships

Talk about travel!

Review by Amy Lynch

Journalist Patricia Hersch goes no farther than the corner high school, yet reading her book is like visiting a location that's utterly foreign, fascinating, and more than a little bit scary. For three years Hersch followed eight teens attending their classes, interviewing them extensively, shadowing them to events and on outings. The mother of three adolescents, Hersch knew something of the teen world, its rituals, pressures, and demands; but the story she uncovered was even more complex and challenging than she had expected. More dangerous, too. Adolescents create and sustain an underground culture, she tells us, that adults (even the kids' own parents) never imagine.

A Tribe Apart is made up of interwoven stories in which kids do everything from succeed in sports and go to church to skip school, party all night, and attempt suicide. These narratives run the gamut from elation to despair. They are, as the kids would say, "so unboring." Hersch tells us that really getting to know adolescents "will decimate every long-held stereotype an adult has ever had about teens." The kids she reveals to us certainly do. They are complicated in the extreme, seeming bundles of contradiction.

There's Brandon, the spiritual, artistic Boy Scout and drug dealer. And there's Joan, who at one point is prone to violence, and at another becomes an earth-child environmentalist. "Even the regular kids," a teacher is quoted as saying, "are getting more irregular." Time and again, Hersch captures the high drama of adolescence, its hopeful beginnings and tragic endings. Conspicuous by their very absence in these stories are the adults of the community where these children live. Hersch shows us a generation of kids growing up with very little adult guidance or intervention, kids left to figure out life on their own. Hence, her title, A Tribe Apart. This essential and critical abandonment comes sharply into focus in a chapter describing a one-day seminar on ethics. The kids in the seminar struggle to understand what the adults are talking about. They actually have to struggle to think ethically because the adults in their lives are generally too preoccupied with their own stresses to give them meaningful time and teach them values. The result, and Hersch illustrates this vividly, is a striking lack of conscience among teens. In the few instances where adults do get close, there are positive results. When they approach kids nonjudgementally and honestly, the kids respond. We see caring parents who really listen, a journalism teacher who shares his life with the kids and has a tremendous influence, and a priest who creates a safe and caring space. These adults actually make a difference there just aren't enough of them.

Hersch herself sets a powerful example. More than journalist, she is a caring adult who becomes a friend. Through her eyes, we glimpse the timid artist inside the skate-boarding graffiti king, the talented writer within the girl with multiple piercings. We look at kids less disparagingly and with more understanding. At a time when many adults react to adolescent culture with withdrawal and fear, Hersch shows us simply and powerfully how to connect making this a worthy book indeed.

Journalist Patricia Hersch goes no farther than the corner high school, yet reading her book is like visiting a location that's utterly foreign, fascinating, and more than a little bit scary. For three years Hersch followed eight teens attending their classes, interviewing them extensively, shadowing them to events and on outings. The mother of three […]
Religion & Spirituality

Where do all Buddhists in America go?

Review by Katherine Wyrick

No, this is not a Zen koan. The answer to this, and to almost every other question about American Buddhism, can be found in the comprehensive and enlightening book, The Complete Guide to Buddhist America. This unique reference book, an expanded edition of Buddhist America, features articles by today's foremost Buddhist teachers, detailed listings of over 1,000 meditation centers in the U.S. and Canada, and more.

Editor Don Morreale proclaims in the foreword that "Buddhism has gone mainstream," a popular refrain in innumerable recent articles on the subject. Morreale goes on to provide an in-depth exploration of this trend and its relationship to the ancient, multi-faceted roots of this religion.

Divided into four sections, representing different traditions, the book lists centers and meditation groups and provides addresses, phone numbers, information on the facilities, programs, and retreats offered, and, yes, even e-mail addresses. Buddhists are high-tech too, you know.

I was impressed by the sheer number of sanctuaries, especially those that have sprung up in the unlikeliest of places. For instance, the Vietnam Buddhist Center in Sugarland, Texas, a beautiful oasis, does not exactly conform to our image of a Texas landscape or way of life. But then again, if there is one thing that I've learned from this book and from my own, limited, experience with Buddhism, it is truth can be found when expectations are not met.

No, this is not a Zen koan. The answer to this, and to almost every other question about American Buddhism, can be found in the comprehensive and enlightening book, The Complete Guide to Buddhist America. This unique reference book, an expanded edition of Buddhist America, features articles by today's foremost Buddhist teachers, detailed listings of […]
HistoryBlack History

Branch’s brilliant look at King continues

Review by Roger Bishop

The civil rights movement that began in the 1950s continued to grow in scope and intensity into the early 1960s. A series of non-violent protests in such places as Birmingham, St. Augustine, and Selma met with strong resistance but led to the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. That legislation was crucial, but it was only part of a long and bitter struggle for full equality for all of our citizens. Although various groups and leaders emerged during this period, the charismatic and eloquent Martin Luther King, Jr. of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference stood, out and, among other honors, received the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize. In the outstanding second volume of his projected three volume narrative history of the civil rights movement, Pillar of Fire, Taylor Branch reminds us how divisive the issue was and how difficult the period. The first volume, Parting the Waters, which begins in 1954, received the Pulitzer Prize in 1989. A third volume, At Canaan's Edge, will follow. A project the author hoped to complete in one book over three years has now taken 15 years and two books.

Although King is the major figure in the book, Pillar of Fire is not a biography. Instead, Branch is interested in a broad overview of the move toward equal rights. This involves exploring the relationships between individuals and groups, the actions and reactions that led, in some cases, to good, and in others to suffering. He demonstrates that the movement was not monolithic and that often even King and his advisers could not agree on appropriate courses of action. We follow Malcolm X as he breaks from the Nation of Islam and develops his own approach to racial issues. Branch skillfully shows us the tense and often frustrating relationship between King and Robert and John Kennedy until the latter's death and later with Lyndon Johnson. And although the FBI was eventually able to solve some of the worst racial crimes of our time, the Bureau displayed strong animosity toward King and his objectives, and, unknown to him, had him under surveillance for a long period and taped many of his private conversations.

Branch relates the stories of brave and courageous individuals who were not public figures or government officials but put themselves at risk because they believed strongly in equal rights, and he conveys how powerful the resistance to change was and how violent. He relates such incidents as the Birmingham church bombing that killed four girls, and the murder of Medgar Evers. He discusses the Mississippi Summer program in 1964 that brought many students to a part of the country they had never seen before. He details the events leading up to and following the deaths that year of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner.

The author's meticulous accumulation of detail upon detail helps us to gain a greater appreciation for what King, as a political as well as spiritual strategist, with the help of many others, accomplished. I was led to reflect on what the late Alex Haley told me in a BookPage interview in 1988. Haley, who collaborated with Malcolm X on his autobiography also conducted what is considered to be one of the most incisive interviews that King ever gave. Haley told me: "The thing that has always intrigued me about Dr. King and Malcolm was how easily either of them might have been the other . . . Dr. King would have made a tremendous hustler. And Malcolm would have made a tremendous theologian. Both of them were great powers in their own way. And so to me always the intrigue has been the two men are a case of Ôbut for the grace of God . . . ' And as a matter of fact, not enough recognition is given to the fact that Malcolm was most helpful to Dr. King. The way Malcolm . . . scared people. And what it did was shake people enough so that when Dr. King came along, speaking of turning the other cheek and the Gandhi principles, he was a lot less threatening . . ." Branch's magnificent work is a must for anyone who wants to understand a turbulent time that helped change the attitudes and practices of this country.

The civil rights movement that began in the 1950s continued to grow in scope and intensity into the early 1960s. A series of non-violent protests in such places as Birmingham, St. Augustine, and Selma met with strong resistance but led to the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act of […]
Children's & YAParentingFamily & Relationships

Making math fun for kids

Review by Alice Cary

Most of us are willing to introduce reading to young children; math is another thing altogether as Patricia Clark Kenschaft recognizes in her excellent book Math Power: How to Help Your Child Love Math, Even If You Don't. Kenschaft calls on her experience as an elementary school math teacher, professor of mathematics, and author of college math textbooks to allay parental worries and help us have fun with our children in learning math skills. She makes a strong case for math power "the ability to use and enjoy mathematics." Starting with fun and games with preschoolers and moving to primary-grade math success, Kenschaft is always aware of the role of parents and of teachers, telling mom and dad many skills they can encourage on their own and how to combat the "drill and kill" routines that have turned off so many kids from math.

Stuart J. Murphy is the author of HarperCollins's new series of 15 hardcover books based on visual learning the MathStart series. Categorized by three age groups, covering ages 3 to 8, these stories carefully integrate the illustrations with fun-to-read stories to teach basic math skills. "Kids don't experience math in problem number sets," says Murphy. "They experience it through stories in their lives." In A Fair Bear Share (illustrated by John Speirs, ages 6 and up), Mama Bear sends her four cubs out to pick nuts, berries, and seeds for a blueberry pie. Three of the cubs pick industriously, but their little sister just wants to play and play and play. Alas, when the harvest is counted, in groups of ten with remainders, she must return to pick her "fair bear share." Then Mama Bear makes a blue ribbon blueberry pie.

Each book in the series has additional suggestions at the back for using the concept it demonstrates (shapes, bar graphs, time lines, comparisons, fractions, etc.). Murphy wants parents to expose their children to mathematical concepts from the beginning just as they do with language. Include comments about the obvious math in what they see and do as they fold and sort laundry, count the steps as they go downstairs, watch the odometer in the car. Make math part of daily living.

Number combinations is the underlying theme of two new books by popular author and artist Bernard Most. Children who are three-year-olds and up will be entranced with the playful dinosaurs in A Pair of Protoceratops and A Trio of Triceratops. In the former, the happy prehistoric animals paint pictures, paste paper, play ping pong, etc., teaching the concept of two as well as sharing with a friend. Fun alliterative activities also abound (it must be catching!) in A Trio of Triceratops. With books like these, an investment of nothing more than a little bit of time can give young readers and counters workouts that spell f-u-n.

Another good math title is Monster Math: School Time (illustrated by Marge Hartelius, preschool-grade 1). As a family of dinosaur-like monsters go through their day, from waking till bedtime, the time of each activity is noted with both a digital clock and an "old-fashioned" clock with numbers and two hands. Burns suggests that children make their own time book, showing what they do at certain times of the day, an activity that teaches time-telling as well as gives families a nice keepsake detailing their preschooler's routine. In addition, Burns outlines the rules of two games, "The Timer Game," and "The Monster Math Game," both of which sound easy and fun.

Most of us are willing to introduce reading to young children; math is another thing altogether as Patricia Clark Kenschaft recognizes in her excellent book Math Power: How to Help Your Child Love Math, Even If You Don't. Kenschaft calls on her experience as an elementary school math teacher, professor of mathematics, and author of […]

A poisoned remembrance of things pase

In Confederates in the Attic, journalist Tony Horwitz scours Civil War battlegrounds adjacent to shopping malls and sends dispatches to his fellow Americans that sound less like news bulletins than wisecracks in a musical comedy.
Business & Finance

Books for better business

Review by Michael Pellecchia

Prestbo is markets editor of the Wall Street Journal and Sease is a WSJ editor and writer. That's one clue of how plugged in this book is. And the authors take a pretty orderly approach, outlining the risks, rewards, vehicles to approach (such as American depositary receipts) and those to avoid (such as foreign bonds). Issues such as privatization, primitive management, and the quirks of emerging markets are touched on. It would be hard to top Jim Rogers' great international investing book from a few years back, Investment Biker. This book doesn't try, being more of a dry, journalistic reference. And no one should assume that one book is enough to get a handle on such a large topic. Still, Prestbo and Sease do a yeoman's job of defining some of the parameters, telling how to choose the right kind of money manager, and outlining how to structure an international portfolio. Result? The book is a great way to prepare for testing some deep waters.

THE BUSINESS OF BLOOMBERG

Michael Bloomberg is one of the most intriguing characters of the late 20th century. When he took a multimillion-dollar retirement from Salomon Brothers, instead of investing it in the stock market (where he arguably had some expertise) or sailing around the world for a few years, he immediately plunged a large portion of his stake into a brand new company with very dicey chances of success. Now, almost 20 years later, it looks like his bet was a solid one. The name Bloomberg stands for innovation in the world of financial data-gathering. In many ways Michael Bloomberg is the Ted Turner of the 1990s.

Several years ago Bloomberg hired "Wall Street Journal" reporter Matthew Winkler to spearhead his news operation, and Winkler has also been on tap to help with this book which has been several years in the making. The book is told as though one were interviewing Bloomberg, with a narrative as smooth and readable as natural conversation. Of course there's a lot of self-aggrandizement, but it seems deserved. Bloomberg has accomplished a lot. Plus, he is not so full of himself that he can't boil some of his success down to some simple, transferable maxims. As a result, his book is entertaining, informative and potentially helpful to people who take risks with their own businesses.

LESSONS FOR BUSINESS

This slim volume is unusually eloquent in relating the trends of contemporary popular culture to the structure of authority in working groups. Hirschorn has been studying the subject at many companies and has concluded that traditional models of authority have lost their effectiveness. The cases he presents here support the argument for more vulnerability and openness in the post-modern organization. Hirschorn has learned some of these lessons the hard way. His best examples come not from instances where he went into the organization and saved the day. The most telling lessons arise out of consulting engagements that appear headed for disaster. The value of such encounters can be much higher than the typical glib assessments and formulas applied by many organizational thinkers.

WORKING TOGETHER

Not since Michael Schrage's No More Teams has there been such as nice, case-by-case analysis of successful collaborations. The authors study famous teams such as the Manhattan Project, Black Mountain College, as well as groups led by James Carville, Steve Jobs and others. They examine closely how great work is created in groups. The reader can take many of these lessons and apply them to a wide range of collaborative situations. The literature of collaborative effort has expanded in recent years with the increased focus on working in teams and putting together groups on a task basis. There's also been a lot of new work on the evolution of thinking within groups. Bennis and Biederman remind us of the many precedents worth examining not only for the exemplary work but for the creative process that went into it.

THE FIRST CHOICE IN MARKETING

The first couple of chapters set the tone for this novel book. Chapter 1 is called "Advertising: The Last Choice in Marketing." Chapter 2 is called "Personal Recommendation: The First Choice in Marketing." Need we say more? Probably not, but it is refreshing to see a marketing book that deals with such basic elements as trust, helping people and educating customers. Particularly for the small business, these discussions are invaluable. Yes, there's also the (sigh) chapter on Internet marketing, and chapter on the marketing plan. Even those items are put in the proper perspective. One would think the authors, with 50,000 copies in print of the first edition of their book, might have some say in the title. But no, the publishers rejected the author's choice of title: "It Worked for Jesus!"

BEST BET FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS

Independent contractors — the fastest-growing class of workers in America — face organizational, tax, legal, accounting and other hurdles they are ill prepared for, even with an entire previous career that might have been spent in the womb of a corporation. Even though they have tacked on a snappier title than one used to expect from Nolo, this has all the quality of that reliable self-help law imprint. It walks the reader through the basics of choosing a form for your business, dealing with start-up concerns, the myriad tax paying and reporting issues, and introductory information on recordkeeping, intellectual property and agreements. The book contains many sample agreements. The enclosed floppy disk also contains independent contractor agreements.

This second edition of Fishman's book could be considered a companion title to the above, particularly for independent contractors who hire each other. The emphasis on hiring rather than being an independent contractor means there are more laws and regulations to keep track of. And although there are many benefits to using IC's instead of hiring employees, important distinctions must be maintained which keep the parties separate in the eyes of the law. This book covers everything from properly classifying different kinds of contractors, from family members to consultants, and also provides forms in both printed and floppy disk form.

MIND OVER MONEY

Savvy recordkeeping, diligent tax deductions, and smart shopping are the author's remedies for the worst of all problems for the self-employed: cash flow. It's the item that sinks more small startups than any other, and one of the things the newly self-employed find it easiest to underestimate. This book is almost like a personal finance guide for the self-employed, and the author has tried most of the tips she advocates. The entire book, but particularly the "Annual Checkup" at the end, will serve as a ready reference for anyone caught in the adventure of being self-employed.

SELLING SMART

As a big fan of Schiffman's early book Cold Calling Techniques, I've been looking forward to this one. Schiffman is an aggressive and savvy sales trainer with a talent for organizing the tools of prospecting, interviewing, presenting and closing. His engaging, no-nonsense style is like a focused refresher course on the things really important to selling. And in one chapter he tells more about attitudes and traits of success than some entire books can encompass. Any sales rep looking for a book to help them move ahead now shouldn't overlook this one.
 

Prestbo is markets editor of the Wall Street Journal and Sease is a WSJ editor and writer. That's one clue of how plugged in this book is. And the authors take a pretty orderly approach, outlining the risks, rewards, vehicles to approach (such as American depositary receipts) and those to avoid (such as foreign bonds). […]

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