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Category: Social Sciences

Blog Tour & Giveaway: In My Father’s Country by Saima Wahab

[ 18 ] May 14, 2012

Please join Saima Wahab, author of In My Father’s Country, as she tours the blogosphere with TLC Book Tours.

Don’t forget to enter to win a copy below!

Reviewed by Vera Pereskokova 

Saima Wahab was just a child when her father was taken away in broad daylight – likely sold out to the Soviets by his neighbors – never to return again. Although Saima and her two siblings had an amazing father figure in their Baba (grandfather), they grew up among flying bullets and mortar shells, in constant danger.

When Saima was fifteen, two uncles from Portland, Oregon sponsored her, her brother and sister, and three other cousins to come to the United States. Saima’s father, and later her grandfather, always told her that she was destined for something greater than the typical life of an Afghani woman, and she saw the move to the U.S. as a step towards that destiny.

In 2004, with a bachelor’s degree under her belt, Saima decided to return to Afghanistan as an interpreter, and to try and fulfill the destiny her father had in mind for her. He knew the risks but openly spoke out against the Soviet invasion and Saima thought that if she could help her people in some way, she could also understand his devotion to the country.

At the time of her arrival, Saima was the only college-educated female Pashto interpreter. She was also one of the very few females, American or Afghani, allowed into meetings with high ranking officials on both sides. Many interpreters claimed to know Pashto, but really spoke Farsi, only contributing to the misunderstandings between the U.S. soldiers and the Pashtun, who make up 40% of the population.

As a native of Afghanistan, Saima had the unique opportunity to bridge the gaps between the proud Pashtun and the soldiers who were often bewildered by their new surroundings. For example, few Americans on the ground knew of Pashtunwali, a way of life that extends to how Afghans treat their guests, their women and each other. Saima believed that winning the hearts of Afghans was just as important as military power, and worked tirelessly to improve the relations between the two groups.

Even as an interpreter, Saima was always risking her life and I applaud her courage, and her willingness to share her experiences in In My Father’s Country. I think she started her journey hoping to learn more about her own roots but the resulting book will bring a greater understanding of Afghanistan to many readers.

Rating: ★★★★½ 

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

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Review: Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden

[ 6 ] May 9, 2012

Reviewed by Alyssa Katanic

“Wow!” “Intense!” Blaine Harden’s Escape from Camp 14 is definitely both, and expertly written. Harden is an experienced journalist who has written for the Washington Post, The New York Times, and has worked as a reporter for PBS Front Line (among many other excellent credentials). He doesn’t leave journalism behind as he develops the story of Shin In Geun, the only known person to have been born in and escaped from North Korea’s toughest political labor camp.

As so many average Americans, I have to admit that I am very “my little corner of the world” focused – but I am nosey! Thus, I love the opportunity to take a look at other cultures via well written books. Sometimes these stories can offer us pictures that are hard to look at, and that makes them all the more important to face. This is true of Escape from Camp 14.

Shin In Geun saw many horrible acts of violence and killings from an early age; in fact, his first memory is that of witnessing an execution at the age of four. Until he escaped in his early twenties, Shin’s life was focused on finding enough food, working to keep out from under the guard’s club, and snitching on fellow prisoners in order to gain favor (aka more food). Being born there, he knew no other life, and sought no other life, until an older man entered the prison and told him of life (and FOOD) on the other side of the fence. Since escaping, it has been very hard for him to adjust to “being human” and gaining emotion and love for self and others.

With Harden’s vast experience and professionalism in getting the story right, Escape from Camp 14 not only tells the story of Shin, but also the story of North Korea. The entire country has become like a prison for its people, and the risks and adapting issues that defectors from North Korea face are immense. Though some scenes may be hard for us to face, Escape from Camp 14, as a whole, is an important look at the lives of those who are living it right now on the other side of this small world.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Alyssa is a wife and stay at home, homeschooling mother of five, with two boxers, two cats, a soft shelled turtle named after Bob the Builder, and 7 frogs (admittedly a homeschooling project gone froggy). In all her spare time, she loves to read and believes that there is no such thing as having too many books!

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

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Review: MWF Seeks BFF by Rachel Bertsche

[ 2 ] April 28, 2012

Reviewed by Ann Liu

If Carrie Bradshaw, from Sex and the City, and Mr. Big left New York with her three girlfriends behind, what would she do without them? MWF Seeking BFF is a true story of Rachel Bertsche, a writer herself, who moves to Chicago with her husband, on the search for new friends.

MWF Seeking BFF, or Married White Female Seeking Best Friend Forever, is Rachel’s personal memoir of her yearlong search for a best friend. She dissects the friendship element and shares a lot of research toward understanding the psychological makeup of friends. According to Robin Dunbar, an anthropologist, the size of the brain determines the number of relationships we can maintain. The human brain can maintain 150 relationships. After calculating her social network of friends, families, and acquaintances, Rachel came up short 20 people. She decided to fill the 20 spots with a yearlong project to find a best friend that rivaled her best friends back home.

I found the story quite enjoyable, as Rachel describes the weekly dates and the friends she meets along the way.

Rachel writes in a captivating way, sharing some very humorous stories. The same way that dating is set up, she went on a friend date after friend date, with most dates fizzling out. 365 people is a lot of people to meet and toward the middle of the story, it was difficult to keep track of whom she has gone out with; all the people she met became a blur.

I ponder if the feelings of connections were mutual since the book was written from one perspective. If it had not been for the research and professional people she consulted with, the story would not have survived.

Dating is difficult enough but finding and bonding with friends is harder in this day and age with social networking and the internet. Without a friendship manual available, meeting friends after college becomes a difficult task. I can relate to a lot of what she experienced and commend her for going outside of the norm to find friends. I recommend this book to every female looking to connect with others and yearning to find that best friend.

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Ann Liu loves to read women’s fiction, chick-lit, romance, and self help books. She lives in sunny Southern California, where she can enjoy her time reading outdoors.

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

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Review: The Magic Room by Jeffrey Zaslow

[ 7 ] April 11, 2012

Reviewed by Joanne Reynolds

The Magic Room is located at Becker’s Bridal in Fowler, Michigan. Shelley Becker, the third generation owner, created this room for brides to enter, wearing the gown they have chosen for their bridal day. There is a pedestal in the middle and the entire room is surrounded by mirrors for the bride to view herself from all angles.

Becker’s Bridal has been open for business since 1934. Fowler is a middle-class community with a population of 1,100. Becker’s Bridal houses anywhere from 2,500 gowns in it’s small shop, a former bank. The Magic Room was once the bank vault.

Shelley Becker spends six days a week, and up to 12 hours a day, working in her shop. She was “initiated” into the business at the age of 14. She has seen countless brides and mothers come through the doors and has heard many stories – some tragic, some loving, and some fearful. She has met young first time brides, older second timers and everyone in between.

Jeffrey Zaslow’s purpose in writing The Magic Room and sharing the story of Becker’s Bridal was to show the love that parents have for their daughters. This was well done with the lives that were brought forward. Each family had it’s own history, but the love for the daughters pursuing their own lives was a prevalent theme.

I absolutely loved the history of the Becker family being brought into the book also. The hard work and sacrifice to keep such a business running is a book in itself. Jeffrey Zaslow did a wonderful job of making me feel  the love and heartache of the eight stories incorporated into the book.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Joanne has always been an avid reader and loves the ability to lose herself in someone else’s life for the time that it takes to read about it. She has a huge admiration for authors and the worlds that they create for us. She enjoys reading to her granddaughters and hopes that they take up the love of reading.

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

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Review: Social Q’s by Philip Galanes

[ 3 ] March 22, 2012

Reviewed by Sara Drake

Social Q’s: How to Survive the Quirks, Quandaries and Quagmires of Today offers insight into polite ways of dealing with difficult situations. Philip Galanes writes an advice column for the New York Times, “Social Qs,” as well as appearing regularly on the Today Show. This book grew out of his advice columns, based on the most common questions his readers sent him.

He addresses social etiquette questions that arise from our modern world. Have you ever wondered if you should tell someone about their really bad BO? Have you ever wanted ideas on how to handle a difficult boss? Do you spend the holiday season confused by how to handle the social obligations? This book has the answers and much more. Galanes offers his advice with a mixture of humor and pragmatism, making this book an enjoyable read.

As someone who frequently finds myself baffled in social situations, I looked forward to reading Social Q’s. I had high expectations of finding some common sense advice on how to navigate my way though awkward situations more gracefully. This book did not disappoint. I have even found occasions to put the book’s advice into practice since I read it, which is the highest praise I can offer an advice book.

I enjoyed the quirky sense of fun that permeates Social Q’s, making it a delight to turn each page. I eagerly read on to discover the next situation, the next snafu, and the next bit of wisdom. I loved that the author presented “rules” with each set of situations providing a guide to handling similar situations, as I tend to think logically and prefer clear rules to fuzzy judgment calls. In fact, I took pleasure in this book from cover to cover, I rare event for me.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Check out Philip Galanes’ website to learn more

Sara Drake has been an avid reader since a young age. She has both a Master’s in Mental Health Counseling and a Master’s in History.

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

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Review: India Becoming by Akash Kapur

[ 7 ] March 14, 2012

Reviewed by Poppy Johnson

Akash Kapur grew up between India and America. Returning to India decades later as an adult, he discovers a country with a bright future as a player in the world economy.

At the time of Kapur’s 2003 visit, India was in the process of reinventing itself with a vibrant energy of the new generation. People were replacing their outmoded ways of life with new tools (carts replaced with tractors), and improving things from deep within the country. People in the lower classes were able to take advantage of a new proprietary situation and were becoming entrepreneurs or newly minted business owners. They learned how to make money and generate passive income by developing family-based businesses for themselves. However, this newly acquired wealth sometimes came at a price for India. Opportunities for prosperity also created vast inequalities among the people of the region and led to violence.

India Becoming: A Portrait of Life in Modern India is split up into two sections. One section highlights the advantages of proprietary prospects in the region and the other describes the down side to the economic gains India has enjoyed in the last few decades. I enjoyed Kapur’s comparisons of India of his youth to India of today, and his discussions of new programs, trade, buildings and structures and evolving attitudes of the people.

India Becoming reads much like a travel diary while providing an analysis of socioeconomic change in the country, and will be a great resource for anyone wanting to learn more about this emerging power in the world.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Learn more about Akash Kapur and India Becoming

Video | Facebook | Kapur’s article: India Is Burning

After a decade of working in several NYC law departments and teaching, Poppy decided she enjoyed writing full-time. She currently works as a freelance writing consultant, and lives with her husband and sons on the East Coast.

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

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Review: A Train in Winter by Caroline Moorehead

[ 5 ] February 20, 2012

Reviewed by Colleen Turner

On January 24th, 1943, 230 women boarded a train in France, bound for the unknown. They ranged in age from fifteen to over sixty and encompassed positions in society from school girls to furriers to farmers’ wives to doctors and chemists. Most, on the surface, seemed to have little in common. What united them was much deeper and much more binding.

These women found themselves imprisoned together for their various resistance acts against the German invaders that had taken over France upon their occupation on June 14th, 1940. And all would have to cling together as strongly as possible in order to survive what lay ahead of them at the end of their train ride: the death and work camps of Auschwitz, Birkenau and Ravensbruck. Their united strength, intelligence and determination to live and tell others of the horror they have witnessed, experienced and survived led to forty-nine of these brave 230 coming home to France in the summer of 1945.

A Train in Winter is a remarkable story that not only brings attention to this specific group of women and what they went through under the Nazi regime but the bigger picture of the French Occupation, the French Resistance and the other men and women, many communists but not all, who were determined to fight for what they saw as right and to reclaim the country that was theirs. It also brought into the light, using stark and blunt writing, the true horrors of what the people of Europe, from many countries, religions and political beliefs, experienced in the various Nazi concentration camps.

I was absolutely enamored with these women, their friends and families and with the bravery they all exuded when so many others would have, and some did, give in to the Germans. Faced with such extreme degradations, brutality and hatred inflicted on them they managed to maintain their morality and defiance and banded together to save those they could and never forget those they couldn’t.

In no way can A Train in Winter be looked at as a happy, uplifting read. What this book is is a testament to strength, friendship and the ability to maintain a core set of beliefs even when in hell. It is fully apparent that Caroline Moorehead not only did extensive research but interviewed survivors and their family members and enclosed their lives and words into the story. She makes you feel like you are witness to these atrocities right along with the women, making for a heart-wrenching experience. I don’t believe I will ever forget these women and what they did for what they felt as right.

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Watch the story of these amazing women in a video created by the UK publisher

Colleen lives in Tampa, Florida with her husband, son, their dog Oliver and their fish Finn. When not working or taking care of her family she has her nose stuck in a book (and, let’s face it, often when she is working or taking care of her family as well). Nothing excites her more than discovering a new author to obsess over or a hidden jewel of a book to worship.

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

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Review: Quiet by Susan Cain

[ 7 ] February 11, 2012

Reviewed by F. Scott

Quiet, by lawyer-turned-consultant Susan Cain, is a good antidote to what I call our BS society. In short, she shows that it is okay to be short with your words to the world and others around you.

Our society forces everyone in it to be an extrovert—and if you’re not, you’re just too weird to be liked, hired, or kissed. We learn this from our early days in school when the point is to be socially adept and get along with others. Cain correctly points to the “politically progressive roots” of this phenomenon in our society. However, she doesn’t really nail or name the ultimate culprit: John Dewey. Democracy demands that we socialize kids, not really teach them anything or make them think very deeply, Dewey basically said.

I always like to refer to that scene in To Kill a Mockingbird when Scout tells her father, Atticus, “teacher says we’re not supposed to read outside of school.” (This is 1932.) That’s because of the see-and-say method then coming into vogue to (not) teach kids to read. Just be nice and social, my dear little Scout, and don’t think too much. This is all Dewey. Atticus, great man that is, says nuts to the teacher.

This is the whole “cooperative” approach to learning, and if you as a teacher don’t do it that way, you’re out. Talk to just about any K­–12 teacher these days about their classes and you’ll eventually hear this: “. . . and then I put them in groups.” As a once and former teacher, I say, “Screw the group work!” Everybody but everybody knows that one kid does all the work and the others just copy off him or her. And “group projects” usually aren’t.

How did I get off on this rant about education, anyway? Because everyone just blabs all damn day long, and no one can think their way out of paper bag.

Cain offers research study after research study on the mental, emotional, spiritual, and even physical characteristics of extroverts and introverts, complete with fMRI tests. Seems that introverts literally do have thinner skin. But it all sort of melds together pretty quickly, and one chapter is just like the next. Yet, we can come to see that most people really are introverts by nature—I forget what stats she gives, and she doesn’t say this herself—but we force ourselves to be extroverts in order to get, to get the girl…the guy…the job…the sale.

Sorry, folks, but one more time I have to say this: “What do editors do these days?” Quiet could be much tighter. The research findings are often interesting, but if I ever write like this, shoot me: “On a sunny but overcast, rainy but dry, day that was getting hotter and colder at the same time . . . in walked/approached me/sat down an unassuming man/woman/child of a certain age . . .” I mean, at the start of every chapter!

Rating: ★★½☆☆ 

Read Susan Cain’s NYT article, “The Rise of the New Groupthink“, and the corresponding commentary at BigThink.com

F. Scott would really just like to talk when he wants and shut up when he wants.

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

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