Subscribe via RSS Feed

Category: Current Events

Review & Giveaway: The Color of the Atmosphere by Dr. Maggie Kozel

[ 98 ] May 20, 2011

Reviewed by Jill-Elizabeth

Anyone who has watched the news or read a newspaper is likely aware that the United States is facing a crisis in health care delivery. In The Color of Atmosphere, Dr. Maggie Kozel provides her personal slant on this crisis in the context of the changing nature of her pediatric health care practice.

This engaging memoir opens with the story of Dr. Kozel’s less-than-ideal childhood, which sparked both an interest in medicine and the drive to become a doctor. Her journey to (and through) college, medical school, and residency is presented in a crisp, clear voice. The stories of her personal and professional lives intertwine; she marries a colleague (a neurologist) and at the completion of their residencies the two move to Japan to fulfill their educational obligations to the U.S. Navy.

In Japan, Dr. Kozel gets her first taste of the “official” practice of medicine in a U.S. Naval Hospital; it is not until several years later, when she and her husband return to private practice in the United States, however, that she gets her first taste of the “official” U.S. health care delivery system – and the latter taste is decidedly not to her liking. So much so, in fact, that it ultimately leads her to walk away from medicine altogether.

The journey from bright-eyed, idealistic young doctor-in-training to exhausted, cynical, burned-out pediatrician is an interesting one, full of anecdotes that will touch (and occasionally break) your heart. Dr. Kozel’s book is equal parts personal story and policy analysis. In an easy-to-read narrative style, she blends the joys and challenges of pediatric medical practice from the perspective of a wife and mother with the trials and tribulations of delivering health care in the bureaucratic corporate delivery system that began to grow into its own in the late 1980s – just as she returned to the United States and to private, non-military medicine.

Dr. Kozel’s personal and professional journey, which culminates in her decision to stop practicing medicine and begin teaching high school chemistry, is presented in a way that is touching, entertaining, and insightful. The story was easy to follow and Dr. Kozel and her struggles with “corporate medicine” will likely resonate with anyone who has had occasion to engage with a health plan or hospital in the past twenty years. But resonance aside, I have to respectfully disagree with her ultimate position: that the military health care delivery system should serve as the model for U.S. health care reform.

[amazonify]1603582975[/amazonify]In the spirit of full disclosure, I say this as an attorney and former health policy and government relations professional who spent fifteen years working in the insurance and pharmaceutical sectors. I started my career in Washington, DC, during the Clinton health care reform era. I have more than a little bit of experience and first-hand knowledge backing me up when I say that, while the U.S. health care delivery system is not perfect, abandoning it altogether for a government-sponsored military-esque system is neither practical nor desirable.

I empathize with Dr. Kozel’s internal struggle and agree that there are fundamental problems with our health care system. I appreciate her criticisms and concerns about the erosion in the doctor-patient relationship, and understand why she does not like health insurance company policies, procedures and paperwork. But I have witnessed firsthand the other side and know that those policies, procedures and paperwork serve a purpose – to curb spiraling health care costs, massive personal and governmental spending, declining health outcomes, and unnecessary surgeries, medical tests, and prescriptions.

I may not agree with Dr. Kozel’s policy perspective or politics, but I do believe that it is important that she, and other doctors, nurses, and “health care professionals” (a term she hates, but I like because it encompasses everyone involved in medicine – it is not only doctors who deliver medical care, after all) offer their perspective and engage in the debate about health care reform. And what better way to do so than in an engaging memoir that educates, entertains, and attempts to persuade…

Rating: 3.5/5

A former corporate attorney and government relations/health policy executive, Jill-Elizabeth walked away from that world (well, skipped actually) and toward a more literary life (equally challenging, but infinitely more enjoyable). If you enjoyed this review, please visit her at Jill-Elizabeth.com, the official home of All Things Jill-Elizabeth – that is, all of the teehees, musings, rants, book reviews, writing exercises, and witticisms of her burgeoning writing career.

Giveaway:

I have 1 copy of The Color of Atmosphere to give away!

Mandatory entry: Please comment here and include your e-mail address.

Extra entries (please post each entry separately, i.e. 2 posts for subscribing):
- Subscribe via e-mail, follow or subscribe to the feed. You must verify the subscriptions. (1 entry each)
- Enter another current giveaway and tell me which one you entered (1 entry each)
- Share this giveaway on a social network of your choice. Click the “Share/Save” button at the bottom of this post (1 entry each)

This giveaway is open to US residents only. Deadline to enter is midnight on June 3, 2011.

Review and giveaway copies were provided free of any obligation by Chelsea Green Publishing. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

View Post

Review: WAR by Sebastian Junger

[ 8 ] May 16, 2011

Reviewed by Jenna Arthur

Imagine being in a war camp, surrounded by bullets and battles, planned fist fights, and a ceremony known as “blood in blood out”. Imagine this being your own country’s war camp and imagine being there by choice. Then take a step back for a moment, picture yourself hiding behind your comrades as the enemy fast approaches, watching someone you’ve gotten to know very well take a bullet to the head. This is the picture painted by Sebastian Junger and delivered in his memoir WAR.

Junger is a contributing editor for Vanity Fair and has written several pieces about dangerous subjects. However, little can compare to what he experienced in Afghanistan. Along with his photographer Tim, Junger embedded himself within a war zone for 15 months, taping and photographing 150 hours of footage of the fight for the Korengal Valley.

Junger followed a platoon of American soldiers through the Korengal Valley, also known as the Valley of Death, in hopes of bringing the reality of war to Americans at home. Wanting to allow the reader, or in my case listener (I listed to the audio book), to live and see the truth behind the battles, he paints a picture of what war felt like, smelled like, tasted like through blood, sweat, honor and fear. Going through interviews with soldiers, he listens as they describe battles within themselves: drinking, violence, and fights against each other, in preparation for the fight with the indescribable. Painting a clear picture of the truth behind war, Junger spares us no detail of our soldiers’ deaths, the tactics and intelligence used by our enemy, and the bravery that every one of our soldiers must master at every turn.

Highly emotionally charged and disturbing, WAR by Sebastian Junger is a book (or audio book) I recommend for every American. You don’t understand war until you have heard it, pictured it, lived it.

Rating: 5/5

Jenna lives in the bustling city of Pittsburgh, PA with her fiance and her two beautiful cats. Along with her passion for reading and the literary world, she is also an artist, writer, environmental activist, creative coordinator and aspiring culinary genius. She believes there is nothing better to her then a good book, and lives one cover to the next.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Twelve Books. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

View Post

Review: Merchants of Deception by Eric Scheibeler

[ 4 ] March 26, 2011

Reviewed by Erin McKibbin

There “are many different types of cults. There are religious, political, financial, self improvement, UFO, and other types as well…As different as they all are, most have certain defining characteristics that lump them into the category of a cult.”

In the 1990s, Eric and Patty Scheibeler fell victim to a business cult that has been snaring innocent families for several decades. The indoctrination into the Amway cult financially, emotionally, and spiritually bankrupted this couple whose only intent was to provide a financial and moral backbone for their family. Thanks to the political clout that Amway and Quixtar have had over the United States legislative, judicial, and executive branches of the government, this destructive cult still rends the American dream from licit families to this day.

The Scheibelers rose rather high in the ranks of Amway’s independent distributors (or IBOs) before having to admit that the higher they rose, the more destitute the actually were. Upon breaking away from the decade long brainwashing they suffered at the hands of Amway professionals and its distributorship program, Eric and Patty faced attacks on many fronts. They were sued on just about every trumped up charge that teams and teams of attorneys on Amway’s retainers could dream up. They were bled to the point of bankruptcy and foreclosure. Their reputations were smeared with nefarious glee. They were even threatened bodily harm by fanatics within the organization. Yet, despite these overwhelming odds, the Scheibelers decided that they could not turn a blind eye and just walk away. Their own personal moral code required them to expose the Amway cult for what it is in the hopes of tumbling this evil giant and preventing the defrauding of any other families.

Scheibeler has prevailed against many odds by maintaining his website www.merchantsofdeception.com (when Amway has successfully shut down all other websites through legal action) and by providing his book, Merchants of Deception, for free electronically prior to its print publication. (Note: www.merchantsofdeception.com has been shut down since the publication of the book; the authors’ other website, www.transgallaxys.com was still up as of today)

Through his and others’ efforts, Amway’s stranglehold on the European market has be eliminated and it is only a matter of time before its American protectors (such as George Bush Sr., Newt Gingrich, Oliver North, Zig Ziglar, Robert Schuller, Charles Colson, and Billy Graham to name a few) turn their backs on this megalithic pyramid scheme. Perhaps the dawn of the new decade will bring about justice to the millions bilked by the Amway cult.

Rating: 3/5

Erin fell in love with the written word as a small child and subsequently spent most of her life happily devouring literature. She works as a freelance news, marketing, and technical writer as well as a full-time researcher/investigator in the sign industry. Erin lives just outside of Cleveland, Ohio enjoying the beauty of life with her children and grandchildren.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Eric Scheibeler. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

View Post

Review: Health Scare: The Truth Behind America’s Health Care Crisis by Rene P. Moret

[ 9 ] January 19, 2011

Reviewed by Erin N.

Since the last Presidential election, the American population has been inundated with health care reform proposals and, ultimately, the new health care law that has caused the most fierce controversy and partisan politics ever to grace the scene of the 21st century landscape. Despite the conflict, no one on any side of the debate believes that health care does not need to be reformed. The vast majority of Americans recognize that the root problem is uncontrolled costs; what they are not in full agreement on is “what generated those excessive costs to begin with.”

Rene P. Moret, an MBA Accountant with 20 years of executive experience in the managed health care industry, attempts to address the root causes for the failures in the American health care system. Furthermore, he presents a thoroughly thought out alternative to “the most significant health care legislation since Medicare and Medicaid in1965″.

Moret contends that there are two fundamental flaws with our health care system and that the health care legislation does not address either one of these flaws. The first flaw is that all “health care” can be “viewed as a combination of two subsystems: well care and sick care.” The American system is a predominantly “sick care” system. The second flaw is that our health care reimbursement system is based on insurance principles that promote and sustain a “high-cost, high-quality sick care system, but discourages activities that would improve our well care system and reduce costs.” Moret believes that the new legislation will fail to fix the system because “putting more people into the same system that got us into this mess in the first place will only make matters worse.”

In Health Scare, Moret presents a very concise and fact packed treatise about the history of our current health care system, the issues that have given rise to our current problems, and a proposition that would fundamentally change health care in America for years to come.

Rating: 4.5/5

Erin fell in love with the written word as a small child and subsequently spent most of her life happily devouring literature. She works as a freelance news, marketing, and technical writer. Erin lives just outside of Cleveland, Ohio with her husband, children, and grandchildren.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

View Post

Review: The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey

[ 3 ] December 18, 2010

Reviewed by Caitlin B.

The Wave alternates between anecdotes from legendary big wave surfer Laird Hamilton, harrowing tales of cargo ships lost at sea, and the adventures of wave scientists attempting to define the ocean’s behaviors.

Hamilton is known as an extreme among extremists. He and his crew all but invented the sport of two-in surfing when they began using Jet Skis to surf waves unreachable by typical paddle-in surfing. (For a history of big wave and tow-in surfing, the film Riding Giants is an excellent starting point.) Sooner than later, Hamilton and company were dropping down the faces of 50-foot waves in places unfamiliar to most other surfers. The risks have always been high, but science and experience point to ever-increasing peril generated by random forces: freak or rogue waves.

Modern-day wave scientists seek the ability to put our oceans’ behaviors into formulas, to catalog climate changes and protect cargo in our global shipping lanes. The juxtaposition of scientific studies against big wave surfers is a brilliant teaching tool. Big wave surfing goes hand-in-hand with high-tech forecasting and data collection. Casey sees firsthand that surfers are more attuned to oceanic mood shifts than anyone except sailors. Both groups can intuit what scientists still seek to categorize: that major changes are taking place in our oceans. As a result, The Wave serves as much an ecological lesson as a thrilling read. The author isn’t preachy, but allows her collected data and hypotheses of the scientists she interviewed speak for themselves.

[amazonify]0767928849[/amazonify]Fascinating historical reports of freak waves (nonlinear giant waves) pepper the pages of the book, as well as modern events. The number of reported incidents alone is staggering, making this book a very humbling read for those of us without many hours on the sea. As a layperson, Casey has no difficulty putting the risks, math and science into easily understood terms. She has compiled an exceptional description of the sport and study of giant waves, one part nail-biting athletic account and another part scientific thriller. From ships and people thrashed by waves to perfect surf days, The Wave is packed with action and impossible to put down once you crack its cover.

Rating: 5/5

The Wave was recently listed as one of the top 10 best non-fiction books of the year by Entertainment Weekly!

Caitlin is a fiction writer who also dabbles in poetry, creative nonfiction and acrylic painting. When not reading, she enjoys hiking, cooking and spending time with friends and pets. She earned her B.A. in English from the University of Portland and currently resides in Oregon.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Doubleday. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

View Post

Blog Tour & Giveaway: The Lost Dogs by Jim Gorant

[ 200 ] October 24, 2010

Please join Jim Gorant, author of The Lost Dogs, as he tours the blogosphere with TLC Book Tours!

Reviewed by Vera Pereskokova (Luxury Reading)

When authorities first raided Michael Vick’s home in rural Virginia, the NFL player claimed that he had simply allowed the wrong people to take advantage of him, and that had no knowledge of the dog fighting on the premises. Despite the mounting evidence, – buried dog carcasses, testimony by the gardener who witnessed the horrific treatment of dogs, blood splatters all over the room used as the fighting pit, and so on – Vick continued to proclaim his innocence. Only when his business partners spilled all the facts in the hopes of getting reduced sentences did Vick realize that he was backed into a corner.

The bust of the dog fighting operation on Vick’s property was the result of cooperation between state and federal authorities; it was the result of hard work by people who refused to give up and pushed on in spite of the obstacles. Because of Vick’s notoriety, the case also received intense media coverage and brought much needed attention to the plight of dogs involved in such operations. Because of Vick’s wealth, the fine he was forced to pay gave his dogs another chance at life, whereas most fighting dogs are usually euthanized.

I was hesitant to read the The Lost Dogs by Jim Gorant. I love animals, and reading about the cruelty they have to endure at the hands of people like Vick is sometimes too much to bear. However, The Lost Dogs was so well written and so sensitive to the subject matter that I can honestly say it was one of my favorite books this year.

[amazonify]1592405509[/amazonify]Yes, The Lost Dogs is about dog fighting and all that that entails, but graphic descriptions are sparse and are by no means the focal point of the book. One third of the book is spent discussing the events leading up to the bust, the investigation and the ensuing ramifications for Vick and his friends. The rest of The Lost Dogs is dedicated to the dogs that were rescued and their journey back from the hell that they experienced. Ultimately, the book is one of hope and a tribute to the people who dedicated their hearts and their time to helping these dogs survive.

Giveaway:
1 winner will receive a copy of The Lost Dogs by Jim Gorant!

Mandatory entry: Please comment on this post with your e-mail address.

Extra entries (please post each entry separately, i.e. 2 posts for subscribing):
- Subscribe via e-mail, follow or subscribe to the feed. You must verify the subscriptions. (1 entry each)
- Enter another giveaway on this blog (1 entry each)
- Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway (1 entry, 1 tweet per person)
- Become a fan on Facebook (2 entries)

This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada residents only. Deadline to enter is midnight on November 15th.

Review and giveaway copies were provided free of any obligation by Gotham. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

View Post

Giveaway: “WAR” by Sebastian Junger

[ 70 ] July 7, 2010

Win an audio book of WAR by Sebastian Junger!

About WAR (publisher’s description):

In WAR, Sebastian Junger gives breathtaking insight into the truths of war– the fear, the honor, and the trust among men. His on-the-ground account follows a single platoon through a 15-month tour of duty in the most dangerous outpost in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley. Through the experiences of these young men at war, he shows what it means to fight, to serve, and to face down mortal danger on a regular basis.

Start reading online and listen to an excerpt here!

I have 3 copies to give away, courtesy of Hachette!

Mandatory entry: Please comment on this post with your e-mail address.

Extra entries (please post each entry separately, i.e. 2 posts for subscribing):
- Subscribe via e-mail, follow or subscribe to the feed. You must verify the subscriptions. (1 entry each)
- Enter another giveaway on this blog (1 entry each)
- Share this giveaway on a social network of your choice. Click the “Share/Save” button at the bottom of this post (1 entry each)
- Become a fan on Facebook (2 entries)

This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada residents only. Deadline to enter is midnight on July 24th.

Giveaway copies are provided free of any obligation by Hachette Audio. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

View Post

Review & Giveaway: “A Thousand Sisters” by Lisa Shannon

[ 205 ] June 5, 2010

Reviewed by Jennifer J.

On January 24, 2005, Lisa Shannon was forever changed by an Oprah Winfrey segment that raised awareness of conflict in Congo. Since the 1994 Rwandan genocide, opposing militia groups have been forced into Congo and have waged war with one another. Over 4 million people have died as a result, and women continue to suffer the most. They are stripped of their identities, made into slaves, and repeatedly raped by men seeking to control the land. Days later, Lisa was still haunted by the words and images she had seen in those mere 20 minutes.

Risking her career as a photographer and both her romantic and business relationship with her boyfriend, Lisa vowed to make a difference in the lives of Congo women. Donating $27 a month to sponsor a Congalese woman through the nonprofit organization Women for Women International still wasn’t enough for Lisa. With the help of her mother’s organizational and secretarial skills, Lisa spoke in public to both her friends and strangers to encourage others to donate to her cause. She eventually founded Run for Congo Women, which began as a solitary effort with her 30-mile trail run, and is now assisted by thousands of volunteers worldwide. As the year 2009 approached, what began as a one woman effort to make a difference evolved into over 1000 Congalese women gaining sponsorship.

I am almost embarrassed to admit this, but I think it’s important to note: before I read A Thousand Sisters by Lisa Shannon my limited knowledge of Congo consisted of faded images and memories of a Michael Crichton movie with fake looking primates. I didn’t know the important things, such as the fact that Congo has the highest rates of rape in the world, or that its citizens are amongst the poorest in the world. Thanks to Lisa Shannon, I know now these little known facts, and more importantly, that as just one person,I do have the ability to make a difference in the lives of these women and their families.

A Thousand Sisters presents a lot of information about Congo itself and the women she eventually met when she ventured to Congo. Her style of writing is easy to follow, and a handy list of “key terms” are in the back of the book to help readers remember important names, abbreviations, and foreign words. Lisa’s tidbits about her personal life are just as interesting as the stories of her Congalese “sisters”, and a pivotal factor in why this cause is so meaningful to her.

Jennifer graduated from the University of Utah with a BA in English. She occasionally dabbles with her own fiction writing, particularly with the Young Adult and Paranormal genres. She currently resides in Utah with her husband and daughter.

Giveaway:

I have 2 hardcover copies of A Thousand Sisters to give away!

Mandatory entry: Please comment on this post with your e-mail address.

Extra entries (please post each entry separately, i.e. 2 posts for subscribing):
- Subscribe via e-mail, follow or subscribe to the feed. You must verify the subscriptions. (1 entry each)
- Enter another current giveaway and tell me which one you entered (1 entry each)
- Share this giveaway on a social network of your choice. Click the “Share This Blog” button at the top of the sidebar (1 entry each)
- Become a fan on Facebook (2 entries)

This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Deadline to enter is midnight on June 20th.

Review and giveaway copies were provided free of any obligation by Seal Press. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

Related Posts with Thumbnails
View Post
Page 1 of 212