Wolves are usually viewed as very dangerous animals, yet dogs domesticated from wolves are known as man’s best friend. Jim and Jamie Dutcher’s Wolves at Our Door gives an insight into what wolves are really like. Inspired by the Endangered Species Act of 1967, the Dutchers, in 1990, decided to set up the “Sawtooth Wolf Pack” on the edge of Idaho’s’ Sawtooth Wilderness. Jim wanted to film a documentary about wild wolves similar to his three earlier documentaries: Water, Birth, the Planet Earth, and A Rocky Mountain Beaver Pond, and Cougar, Ghost of the Rockies.
Category: Non fiction reviews
A review of Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing for life by Cherie Calbom
Interestingly, considering its title, this book contains more information than juicing information, although juicing is its primary focus. The title and the table of contents do not convey the wealth of information about general detoxing. If one reads enough health books, one discovers that healthbooks and diet books often tread the same paths. Thus, this book has chapters dealing with such issues as parasites, GMO-foods, massages, toxic emotions, vitamins, and heavy metals. But this book seems like the best of all health books.
A review of My Journey by Olivia Chow
Olivia Chow’s memoir is an inspirational account of her rise from immigrant poverty and a troubled childhood to a position of fame, influence and respect. It is also about how she found and lost the great love of her life.
A review of Nice Girls Still Don’t Get the Corner Office by Lois P Frankel
While a book of “do’s” rather than “don’ts” might have been more positive, Frankel draws readers in with her warm tone, entertaining writing style and assurances that no one makes all of the 133 errors she identifies. The book contains some good general advice for women in or out of the work force; for instance, her admonition to be discriminating about helping others, and not letting people waste our time.
A review of Get it Done — From Procrastination to Creative Genius in 15 minutes a day by Sam Bennett
The book is full of strategies, worksheets, anecdotes, and guidance to help the reader deal with perfectionism, procrastination, lack of focus. Instead of judging the procrastinator, Bennett shows how something valuable and powerful in the procrastinator is causing the delay. She highlights the hidden potential, the perfectionist fears, and the capabilities in such a way that the cynical reader actually believes her.
A review of Kitchens and Gadgets 1920 to 1950 by Jane H. Celehar
I have collected Depression Era kitchen glassware along with gadgets, gizmos and thingamajigs for many years. Some I noticed in use in the kitchens of my grandmother and aging aunts. Others I have discovered at garage sales, in jumble shops, and estate sales. Some of the pieces I own are suspended from ceiling hooks, or rest on the walls in my kitchen and breakfast nook, and, some are in use when I slice a tomato or open a can. This particular paperback is my own and has proven itself vital over the many years I have scanned its pages searching for yet another captivating doohickey whose name and function may be as yet unfamiliar to me.
Tourists with Typewriters: Writers in the Sternthal-Klugman film The Words and Lucy Fischer’s book Body Double
There are many writers in many films. In Body Double, a book of eight chapters, with acknowledgements, afterword, notes, filmography, bibliography, and index, University of Pittsburgh English and Film Studies professor Lucy Fischer gathers together for examination a great bunch of films in which writers appear—Naked Lunch, Smoke, Deconstructing Harry, Paris When It Sizzles, Barton Fink, Adaptation, How Is Your Fish Today?, Swimming Pool, The Singing Detective, and Providence, among others.
On Gertrude Stein, and Tragedy and Transcendence in Stein: Writings 1903-1932
In reading some of the description of Gertrude Stein’s life, and how she came to be an art patron—a friend to artists, an owner of their work, a facilitator of relationships—I was impressed by how intimate and simple were the lives of now famous artists, how vivid the memory. One artist spreads news of the work of another artist, Pissarro talking with others about Cezanne; or one gallerist, Vollard, introducing Cezanne, Daumier, Manet, Renoirs, and Gauguin to those who might appreciate them.
A review of Fast Fiction: A Guide to Outlining and Writing a First-Draft Novel in Thirty Days by Denise Jaden
The book is designed to be used in a kinaesthetic way – through practical exercises that take the writer from the brainstorming of story ideas through to a three-act plot, writing a workable synopsis, creating characters, working up dialogue, themes, setting, building conflict, using symbols, setting scenes, and working up a cohesive story plan (call it an outline if you want). All of these are elements of good fiction, and Jaden covers them in a surprising amount of detail and in a way which is not facile at all.
A review of Rare Breeds by Terry Bridge
All in all the book is well written, provides a wealth of information regarding many agricultural animals, is filled with many photos of animals often not seen any more. Humans have long bred critters to improve productivity, the few breeds used today mean many of the rarer, interesting breeds are being ignored. Realizing the importance of maintaining gene pool capability enables enthusiasts who are setting up small breeding programs to conserve for the future farm animals for future generations to know and enjoy.