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Stu’s Book Review—2004 Edition
By Stuart D. Kent
January 31, 2005
One Minute Millionaire
By Mark Hansen & Robert Allen (Chicken
Soup guys)
Harmony, 2002.
416pp.
This is the first schizophrenic book I ever
read. A novel is on the left pages, a book about becoming a millionaire is on
the right. Or did I get that backwards. Anyway, after reading it, I launched off
on a venture to earn a million dollars, but had to spend my down payment on gas
for my car. Oh well.
Five-fold Ministry & Spiritual Insights
By Rev. Lee Stoneking
Even though he doesn’t come right out and
say it, I believe Bro. Stoneking is basically saying that some of us have become
clowns in a circus, seeking to entertain and have fun instead of getting down to
business, which is God’s business. It’s sort of a polite way to say “go
jump in a mud puddle,” or “repent of your shallowness,” then figure out which is
deeper.
The Metabolic Plan
By Steven Cherniske
Ballantine
Books, 2003. 368pp.
Here’s a scientific book on how to reverse
the aging process, just in case you did not want to look or grow old. His
methods are simple, and include the usual condemnation of hog fat and sedentary
lifestyles. It may be necessary, according to the author, to start taking
certain vitamins and supplements in order to slow down the aging process. Too
many of the young crowd I know is busy speeding up the aging process, or else
stopping it altogether, for example: car surfing.
It’s Not About the Bike
By Lance Armstrong
Berkley
Publishing Group, 2000. 304 pp.
Ever hear an inane interview by a golfer,
basketball player, or other professional athlete who drones on about how the
ball rolled this way and that? That’s what you get in 3/4s of this book. The one
redeeming factor is Lance’s description of behind-the-scenes look at a Tour de
France racing team. He leaves out any reference to the fact that he, like his
own father (who was a total bum) and left his mother and himself to fend for
themselves, left his wife Kik and three kids to ride bikes and shack up with
Sheryl Crow. But, thanks to a recent outbreak of attorneys in the Texas area,
the former Mrs. Lance Armstrong will not be left high and dry. Better title:
It’s Not About the Alimony Check.
Into the Wild
Jon Krakauer
Anchor, 1997.
224 pp.
When he isn’t climbing Mt. Everest, Jon
Krakauer spends time writing some fascinating non-fiction accounts of people.
This book is about a fellow named Alex who graduated from Emory University in
Atlanta, sold all his worldly possessions, and moved to a desolate section of
Alaska. You’ve heard the expression, “I’m not giving it up until they pry it
from my cold, dead fingers?” Well, this is the literal result of that
expression: Alex was found frozen to death in an old, broken down school bus.
But why he went there in the first place is why the book is worth delving into.
The Gates of Fire
Steven Pressfield
Bantam, 1999.
480 pp.
This is the best historical fiction I’ve
ever read! It is the story of a boy who joins the Spartans and nearly conquers
the Persian Army of 2 million soldiers. But there were only 300 Spartans!
Incredible, you say? Then read and enjoy all the graphic description of blood,
mayhem and body parts that litter the Gates where the mighty battle took place.
The film Troy comes close to depicting this style of battle with swords and
spears. But in a much tamer manner than Pressfield wielding his literary sword.
Hang on to your hats!
Ambulance Girl
By Jane Stern
Crown, 2003.
240 pp.
A self proclaimed 52-year-old neurotic
Jewish woman, Jane Stern decides to fight her various neuroses and psychoses by
becoming an EMT. That’s Emergency Medical Technician to those of you uninformed
folk. The results are hilarious but extremely accurate when she describes the
life of firemen and EMTs. Her fears do flare up and seek to undo her, but she
takes baby steps to conquer each one. She has also written some 20 odd cookbooks
with her husband. A good read.
ninetyandnine.com
© 2005, Stuart D. Kent
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Stuart D. Kent
has a nasty habit of delving into whatever books he discovers along life’s road.
He is a fireman, paramedic, and full-time RN student. He intentionally left out
one book: Microbiology, by Gerald Tortura, because he hopes to forget
that every fast-food restaurant bathroom is teeming with microbiologia.
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