reviews

Ocean mastery... Author:  Carl Safina The word superlative scarcely does this impressive beast justice.  One of the largest living reptiles, the leatherback sea turtle is a warm-blooded swimmer that routinely crosses the full expanse of the Pacific Ocean at speeds as high as 20 miles-per-hour, fueled only by the flimsiest of prey.  Diving deeper than any other air-breathing animal, often for hours without interruption, the leatherback sports a uniquely-adapted brain that can even function without oxygen when necessary.  And that’s not all.  After many years and thousands of miles of travel across vast oceanic expanses, the mature female leatherback –guided [...]

Dark Motives, Unreliable Heroes, and False Memories Author: Paula Hawkins Prowling through Kramer books in downtown DC with the fiancé in the pre-Christmas cold of last year, the stylized rush of The Girl on the Train caught my attention. Acclaimed as Gone Girl meets Gaslight in the New York Times review the then fairly new book had grabbed my attention and elevated my hopes. A few weeks after having bought it, I joined a book club and, with exceptionally little politeness (I do not suffer from shrinking violet syndrome), I strong armed my selection into our rotating list as the June read. That gave me several months [...]

From Russia with Love: The Most Acclaimed Bond Novel Author: Ian Fleming The fifth novel in Ian Fleming’s acclaimed James Bond series, later to be adapted into the second Bond film, From Russia with Love follows amorous and adventurous secret agent James Bond as he investigates a Soviet counterintelligence plot. Lured by the promise of an advanced Soviet decoding machine (the Spektor) and the doey-eyed admiration of a sexy Russian cipher clerk, Bond travels to Istanbul to unravel the true reason for the trap. Behind the scenes, SMERSH is plotting not only Bond’s demise but the ruination of the entire British secret service [...]