Posts Tagged ‘Jim Raftus’
The Lincoln Miracle, by Edward Achorn – a book review by Jim Raftus
By Jim Raftus, contributing writer Edward Achorn’s first Lincoln profile, Every Drop of Blood, published in 2020 used a microscopic approach focusing mainly on the 48 hours leading up to the newly re-elected President’s 1865 Inaugural Address. Achorn opens the aperture wider with his newest Lincoln tome, The Lincoln Miracle, which thoroughly documents the surprising and historically…
Read MoreThe Doc, the Chef, and the Comic – Jim Raftus
By Jim Raftus, contributing writer These are dark times. Even a 75 year old optimist sees the darkness. We are facing a worldwide pandemic, burgeoning wars, and a divided America. My solace comes from finding pinpoints of light. Leonard Cohen sings these lines in his song, Anthem: “There is a crack, a crack in everything.…
Read MoreUnder Blood Moons, by J. J. Partridge
Local author J.J. Partridge has moved out of the pool hall. His first works were the Algy Temple trilogy; Scratched, Straight Pool and Carom Shot. As the titles imply, all these novels have a common denominator. Partridge, a recently retired prominent Providence attorney, has expanded his literary reach with his latest book, Under Blood Moons.…
Read MoreA Chance To Serve, by Brian Power – book review by Jim Raftus
by Jim Raftus, book reviewer A CHANCE TO SERVE by Lt. Colonel Brian Power (Retired) How does one go about writing a memoir of a nearly twenty six year military career if the author, as he tells it, “never saw a shot fired in anger”? Despite lacking any direct battle drama, Lt. Colonel Brian Power,…
Read MoreThe Bomber Mafia – a book review by Jim Raftus
by Jim Raftus, book reviewer At what cost in human lives, if any, does a military campaign lose its moral underpinning? What is the best method for ending a conflict? These two questions, one of the heart, the other of the mind, provide the crux for Malcolm Gladwell’s newest nonfiction work, The Bomber Mafia. Gladwell’s…
Read MoreThe Body – A Guide for Occupants – by Bill Bryson – book review by Jim Raftus
by Jim Raftus, book reviewer Bill Bryson, an expatriate American living in England since 1977, made his reputation, especially in the United States, as a travel writer. Nearly half of his 19 books, published starting in 1984, are travel related. They are intelligent, quirky and witty looks at locations such as Africa, England, Australia and…
Read MoreDear Joni, …they’re paving another paradise – Jim Raftus
by Jim Raftus, contributing writer “It’s called an interlocking grip.”, Dad patiently explained. “Slide the little finger of your right hand between the index and middle fingers of your left hand.” As he muttered these confusing instructions my father gently manipulated my hands onto the cut down golf club. It was Spring of 1956 and…
Read MoreGood Eggs – by Rebecca Hardiman – book review by Jim Raftus
GOOD EGGS by Rebecca Hardiman Quirky senior citizens are trending in fiction; Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove and My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry, Jess Kidd’s character Cathal Flood in The Hoarder are just two examples. Debut novelist Rebecca Hardiman adds to this list by creating Millie Gogarty, the cantankerous…
Read MoreTRIO, by William Boyd – book review by Jim Raftus
by Jim Raftus, book reviewer William Boyd’s newest novel, Trio, is definitely not a tribute to the wonderful sanctity of marriage. Within three main characters, our trio, we have one alcoholic writer whose husband has had many affairs, one prescription pill addicted actress whose ex-husband is an escaped convict and one movie producer, long married…
Read MoreThe Paris Library, by Janet Skeslien Charles – book review by Jim Raftus
by Jim Raftus, book reviewer Janet Skeskiien Charles’ newest novel, The Paris Library, strives to be historical fiction but often slides into romance novel and Young Adult modes. The main setting is Paris from pre-Nazi invasion 1939 thru the City of Lights liberation by the Allies in August of 1944. These five years comprise one…
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