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Games of Make Believe Delivers Believability

May 6th, 2017

Title: Games of Make-Believe Author: Julie Ann Wambach Reviewed by: Anne Holmes For the NABBW Given the book’s title, it makes sense that it opens with a “once upon a time” fairy-tale format. Chapter One, “A Past So Grimm,” begins: “Once upon a time, in an old house, way out in the Utah desert there lived many children. The mother was nice to her own two daughters. They were her favorites and she treated them like princesses. The mother was nasty to the other youngsters because they were stepchildren. She made them do all the work, and they hated Horrible Hannah.” Stepmother... Read More

Europe: Chained by History: What Force Can Break the Chain?

March 16th, 2017

Title: Europe: Chained by History: What Force Can Break the Chain? (Available in both paperback and Kindle formats) Author: Larry J. Hilton Reviewed for the NABBW by: Anne Holmes I didn’t enjoy learning about history until I was in high school, and took a course called Allied Arts, taught by a trio of teachers with areas of expertise in Literature, Music, History and Art. When they wove these threads (and with them, religion, politics and economics) into the fabric of their class, history suddenly began to make sense. I discovered that it’s actually a human story – not just a... Read More

Lessons from Zachary: Turning Disability into Possibility

March 15th, 2017

Title: Lessons from Zachary: Turning Disability into Possibility Available in both paperback and Kindle formats Author: Sandy Scott Reviewed for the NABBW by: Anne Holmes I was so delighted to learn about the existence of this book! For multiple personal reasons: First, we are all living in today’s world, which has sadly become rude enough that we’ve actually elected president a man who is so ill-mannered that during his campaign he actually called attention to and publicly ridiculed a handicapped New York Times reporter, who was simply and capably covering the campaign. I believe... Read More

The Chameleon

November 18th, 2016

I wish I’d had access to Merrick Rosenberg’s book, The Chameleon, Life-Changing Wisdom for Anyone with a Personality or Knows Someone Who Does, about 30 years ago, when I worked as a trainer for a personnel management firm. Back then, I worked for a company that provided HR services for businesses too small to afford an HR department. There was plenty of work for our organization, because whenever you get two or more people interacting together – or trying to – there is always opportunity for communication failure. Not because the parties don’t all speak the same language,... Read More

Friends of the Wigwam: A Civil War Story

August 1st, 2016

Friends of the Wigwam: A Civil War Story John William Huelskamp Reviewed for the NABBW by Anne L. Holmes Given that I live in Galena, Illinois, one of the main settings of this book and the home of nine Civil War generals, and I also have a fondness for history, I was delighted to be invited to read a copy of “Friends of the Wigwam” a meticulously researched Civil War-era historical novel.  With the exception of scenes that take place in Chicago and on Civil War battlefields including Vicksburg, Shiloh and Missionary Ridge, the majority of the story takes place in northwestern Illinois.... Read More

Second Honeymoons Can Be Murder

April 26th, 2016

Second Honeymoons Can Be Murder: Every Wife Has a Story (A Baby Boomer Mystery Book 6) Susan Santangelo http://babyboomermysteries.com Reviewed for the NABBW by Anne Holmes Susan Santangelo’s latest book continues the adventures of upstate New Yorkers Carol and Jim Andrews; typical Baby Boomers, except that Carol has an unusual habit of encountering dead bodies wherever she goes. Fortunately, with the help of her many friends – but not necessarily with help from the police – plucky Carol is always able to solve the crimes. As the story begins, we find Carol and Jim “canoodling”... Read More

The Spirituality of Age: A Seeker’s Guide to Growing Older

March 12th, 2016

Title:             The Spirituality of Age: A Seeker’s Guide to Growing Older Author:        Robert L. Weber, Ph.D. and Carol Orsborn, Ph.D. Review by:  Anne L. Holmes for the NABBW As we Boomers age, and start to consider what’s next in our lives, many of us take stock of what’s happened to us so far. In the process of trying to make sense of our lives, we frequently find ourselves going back to review questions we asked in our teens and 20s – What is the meaning of life? Why am I here? Only now, as we take stock, we are asking ourselves the questions in a slightly different... Read More

The Eldercare Consultant: Your Guide to Making the Best Choices Possible

September 1st, 2015

The Eldercare Consultant: Your Guide to Making the Best Choices Possible Author: Becky Feola Reviewed for the NABBW by: Anne Holmes This book is primarily for you if you are or are about to become a caregiver, and you are looking for advice and help in what to do with ageing parents, siblings, or partners. But it is also a great guidebook for those who come in contact with caregivers. That includes everyone from medical personnel, case managers, social workers, financial planners, spiritual leaders, eldercare attorneys – and even your children, family members – and friends and neighbors. A... Read More

Probate Pirates

August 20th, 2015

Probate Pirates Author: J. Kristi Hood Reviewed for the NABBW by: Anne Holmes Is the probate system a protection racket? Based on her personal experience, author Hood says yes. Starting with her first chapter, titled “It’s all about the money all of the time,” she warns the reader that the information provided in her book, which is based on her personal experience with her father, is “pugnacious and provoking.” Her goal in writing of her experiences and subsequent research, is to help readers understand “the tar pit our probate counts have become.”  Specifically,... Read More

The Theft of Memory: Losing My Father One Day at a Time

August 17th, 2015

The Theft of Memory: Losing My Father One Day at a Time Author: Jonathan Kozol Reviewed for the NABBW by: Anne Holmes If you know National Book Award winner Jonathan Kozol for his lifetime of work among our nation’s most disadvantaged children, you’re aware of his seminal books like: Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation, or Fire in the Ashes: Twenty-Five Years Among the Poorest Children in America These books, along with about a dozen others, have branded Kozol as a fine writer, a man who, as... Read More