For the last little while, I've intended to review the books I've read lately. Of course, I was so involved with reading the next book that I never quite got around to it...until now.
The first book on my list is Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card. I made the mistake of reading Ender's Shadow a few years ago, which resulted in my getting hooked. I subsequently read Ender's Game, Shadow of the Hegemon, and Shadow Puppets. The long awaited Shadow of the Giant is the final book (I hope!) in the Shadow series. It was quite the page turner for me. The scenarios are a little contrived (as they are in the other books), but plot is more engaging. If you've read the others, I'd certainly recommend reading this to round out the series.
Next up is The Dark Side of Camelot by Seymour Hersh. Hersh has become a favored author of mine, which is a bit odd. He writes, presently, for the New Yorker to which I once subscribed. When I was a subscriber, however, I hardly read it. Hmm. Anyway, this is written in sort of a "tell all" biography of John F. Kennedy. I got the impression after reading Chain of Command that Hersh was anti-Republican. I think now that he is simply a blunt muck-raker and will point out flaws he finds in either party.
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins is somewhat of an odd choice for me. I read it, because it appeared to be a book about an insiders' view on world economic trends. It turned out to be a not-too-thrilling auto-biography. Perhaps I'm a victim of the economic machine that Perkins describes, so his book is lost on me. At any rate, it wasn't too inspiring.
The late William Rehnquist's All the Laws but One is a history of US civil rights in war time. Rehnquist takes a balanced look at the needs of the government to protect the people in time of war and at the rights of the people that government is there to protected. It is a scholarly work but one that is suited for a common, non-lawyer audience.
Antonin Scalia's A Matter of Interpretation, however, is a work that is likely more suited for lawyers. While much of it made sense to me, I can't help but think I missed some points due to my lack of background in the law. The format of the book is Scalia's view on how the laws should be interpreted, followed by response by four others, followed by Scalia's counter-response. I make note of this, because I expected this was a single author text when I got it.
J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was better than its predecessor Order of the Phoenix but still left a bit to be desired. The plot felt contrived just as it did in Order of the Phoenix. For instance, I couldn't help but think that Harry and Dumbledore didn't meet too often, because it would have threatened the plot flow. In reality, however, I think they would have met together more frequently, shared more information, and accomplished much more. This is fiction, however, so it is still a must read for those who have trudged through the first five books.
Rich Dad's Prophecy by Robert Kiyosaki is a book I picked up at an airport on a return flight from North Carolina last year. Shortly after returning home, it settled on my bookshelf and began collecting dust. Like other books in the Rich Dad series, it is a guide to money management. It warns of an impending stock market crash as a result of mandatory stock sales in ERISA-based retirement accounts in the coming years as baby boomers hit retirement age. The goal of the books isn't doom and gloom but rather awareness and preparedness. I'm not sure that I subscribe to Robert's logic, but I recognize he's richer than I am by a long shot and is worth listening to.