A very well written book about how the banking system works. The author makes this subject accessible and interesting. Hoda lays out the gambles banks make with your money. It certainley pays to watch you capital investments cuz the industry doesn't give one damn as to how their decisions affect you.

Mr. Bennett's writes masterful prose. At once he brought Mr. Putin's character to center stage, and what a character he is. He left the KGB (after 16 years) to work in President Boris Yeltsin's administration where in 3 short years he became acting President when Boris Yeltsin resigned. Lucky man. He is very popular with the Russian people and gets reelected by wide majorities. He is the strong man whom many Russians want as a leader. Author Bennetts succintly dissects this almost robber baronesque character. On the one hand the people love him but woe betide those who do not. Those folks are interred in near gulag-like prisons, and Putin has imprisoned many people who landed on the wrong side of him. Mr. Bennetts history is vivid and pungent.

Thank you Library Thing for your Early Reviewers copy of this book. It was quite interesting and very well written. In her book author Jenny Nordberg describes the Afghan practice of families without male children allowing a daughter to pose as a boy. This saves face for the family since male children are far more highly prized than girls. The practice is known as bacha posh. Now imagine the girl living as a boy for years only to be told around the age of 12 or 13 she must revert to being a girl, because that is when her true value emerges as a potential wife. Nordberg writes of several women who have gone through this metamorphosis and speak well of the opportunities presented to them as "males" and the difficulties brought about by the change back to being female. Ms. Nordberg writes with distinction and understanding of the culture of Afghanistan without prejudice of native customs which makes this study exceptional. The book gave me a view of a country slowly changing yet clinging to the past because of fear of the future.

The Good Spy is the most well written book I have ever had the pleasure to read. CIA agent Robert Ames comes to life in Kai Bird's meticulously documented narrative about the Ames' passion for the Middle East and his lifelong quest to bring a lasting peace to the region. I learned more of the history of the region and its people than 20 history books (or more) could attempt to describe.

A great read...couldn't put this book down until done. Lots of twists. Cathy is a great character, part concerned Mom, part blood thirsty killer. Especially liked her choice of targets. Gotta say it...she had a plan and executed it perfectly. Husband Mike seemed like a cuckolded male of yore, yet deeply caring about his wife. I highly recommend this book. Am anxious to read more of Sanjay Sanghoee's books. I am making a trip to the library to check out some of his prior works. I think this book will continue to rise on the NY Times book list as more people hear about it. Would make an excellent movie. Did I mention I couldn't put it down??

This book deeply disturbed me. The once great nation of Mexico morphed into a failed state through the epidemic wrought by an out-of-control drug culture. The narco-gangster culture spawned by marijuana and cocaine seems to have taken over large territories in Mexico where the police are frequently targeted for assassination. Children act as drug mules. The horror of Mexican drug killings are clearly and shockingly described by Grillo. The butchery is staggering. Grillo has a set of cojones. Well written narrative that made me keep reading even though the subject matter was incredibly harsh and unforgiving.

This is a study of the natural gas industry in the United States from the beginnings of its use to the present Marcellus Shale boom being experienced throughout the United States. The author is a proponent of this type of energy extraction. Many people in the area I live have jumped on the fraking bandwagon due to the money involved in leasing their land to the gas extraction companies. What is not mentioned in this book is some of the very real issues that go hand in hand with this type of drilling. For example, I live in the Youngstown Ohio area, which had not experienced an earthquake in many, many years. Then suddenly, after a fraking well was opened in the city,we had 11 earthquakes in a year. The company gave the people every excuse in the book. Here is the earthquake data for this area for the year 2011. http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/tabid/8144/Default.aspx. Although this book is supposed to be a history of the natural gas industry, the Youngstown earthquakes were not mentioned. One has to wonder what else has not been reported, such as waste trucks overturning and spilling on highways adjacent to waterways. The long term effects of this type of energy extraction will be felt long after the wells go bust.

Necropolis by Michael Dempsey

The novel starts with a bang, literally.
Paul Donner, a 40ish NYC police detective is married to the love of his life, his beautiful wife Elise. S Sounds like a typical cop drama until he and Elise are murdered – and this is in the prologue. Donner awakens in a New York City fifty years in the future. He has a sense of self, but his visage is unfamiliar to him and his hair is freaked. The beginning of his new life in Necropolis, a city which was New York is now teeming with androids and reawakened dead humans. For what purpose and how this is done he has no idea.
Donner has a personal assistant of computer generated origins named Maggie. Does he trust her or is she a part of some larger conspiracy. What is Donner anyway? He has to find out how he is alive in a near distant future, who murdered him and why has he been brought back to this life. And how does he really feel about Maggie??

It is a rollicking adventure/sci fi tale of loss, love and redemption. Let's hope Michael Dempsey has more stories of his great character Donner.

At first I thought this book would be the standard beautiful girl with hunky boyfriend goes on an adventure, blah blah blah. The book, Wayward Son, turned into a very interesting read. It only took me a couple of days to finish and was sorry the story was over. The character of Cain is compelling and his story is surprising and full of adventure. Suffice it to say things are not exactly as you may think they are. A facinating take on a ages old story.

A thoroughly rollicking read. The characters jump from the page and the story moves along at warp speed. You will be fascinated with the inhabitants on Nuala and the in-fighting among the ruling familes. (Think Rome during the Caesars). Highly recommend this book. In the tradition of Asimov and Heinlein.