"Search & Destroy: Why You Can't Trust Google Inc" by Scott Cleland with Ira Brodsky

Book Details:
Title: Search & Destroy: Why You Can't Trust Google Inc
Author: Scott Cleland with Ira Brodsky
Published: 2011- Telescope Books
ISBN: 978-0-9800383-2-3
Genre: Business/Information Technology/Politics
Pages: 247
Rating: 4 of 5
Read In: 6 days


My Review:
Scott Cleland has bravely done what few have the nerve to do: publicly expose the secrets of a tyrant. Google Inc is a multi-billion dollar company extending their tentacles into every possible corner of commerce and the Internet as possible, and effectively taking over. The general public as a whole does not realize the hold this seemingly innocent Internet-based company has over their personal information and the sneaky ways they gather and archive such private details of our daily lives- including, but not limited to, the websites we visit in the comfort of our own homes, the links and ads we are drawn to while Web surfing, and even our medical and health records. Aside from victimizing the general public, Cleland exposes the questionable tactics and politics they utilize to trap and take advantage of companies that purchase advertisement from Google Inc. In three parts, the author runs through the laundry list of crimes against humanity this company gets away with on a daily basis, all in the name of profit and in the effort to monopolize all of the world's information.

The first part of this book explains why Google Inc is not to be trusted. They preach transparency and open information in every area of life, government, and business, and yet remain close-lipped about their own practices. Information such as employment statistics, information-gathering techniques, and even the locations of their servers remains unreachable for anyone outside the company (and even most employed by the company). They also fail to expose the information they steal through their search engine, applications, email service, and Street View vehicles, most of which is taken just through use of sponsored websites. Google was caught accessing personal residential wireless networks through their Street View application mapping, later reluctantly giving up the data (including user names, passwords, and personal files) for review and later stating that though the information was supposedly acquired accidently, the company would not destroy the information unless required by law. Doesn't quite sound like the innocent, trustworthy company they like to pretend to be.

Part two enlightens the reader about why Google Inc is destructive. They pick and choose which sites get displayed in their search results based solely on their own biases and loyalties, causing some to lose business due to becoming buried underneath numerous other, similar businesses. Also, advertisement price hikes on unsuspecting companies hurts business and can force companies to close or downsize to make up for their loss of revenue. Political websites are also selectively displayed, generating more support for the candidates Google supports and hurting the political careers of the rest (over 90% of Google employees are Democrats). Another potentially damaging habit of Google's is their reputation for posting or using copyrighted or patented material without permission and bracing for any backlash that may occur once the rightful owner discovers the theft of their protected material. Google Inc's deliberate, unapologetic approach to helping themselves to another's intellectual property makes the book/video/program/etc available for everyone to use with no reimbursement or credit to the rightful owner. Once discovered, the material has been available long enough to compromise the owner's exclusive rights to it and therefore loses potential revenue to bootleg copies. With no remorse, Google takes their time removing the material, but the damage is already done and irreversible.

Lastly, the author takes you into the future and gives a dim view of what the world could come to if Google gets it's way and is allowed to continue on the path they're on. Tyrants, owning all information the world can produce, a select few elite within the company deciding what information is available to the public and what they feel does not promote their best interest. All of your private information openly available to anyone with Internet access- finances, health records, contact information. Google is a fierce supported of "open" information systems.

I found this book to be very eye-opening and am grateful this information is now available to the general public. Google would like to remain seen as an innovative, trustworthy company that offers no threat to mankind, operating with the best of intentions and striving to better the world. After reading this book, readers can decide Google's level of trustworthiness for themselves. Though the author is quite repetitive with some information, his resources are reputable and from a wide selection of mediums. As Financial Times magazine said about Google Inc: "The world has every reason to applaud Google, but few reasons to trust it." I give Search & Destroy four of five stars and strongly recommend everyone read it and become educated on the issues with this company and hopefully increase their own online security.

"White River Junctions: Empires of Flour, Steel and Ambition" by Dave Norman

Book Details:
Title: White River Junctions: Empires of Flour, Steel and Ambition
Author: Dave Norman
Published: 2010- f/64 Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-9831858-0-2
Genre: History/Biography
Pages: 328
Rating: 4 of 5
Read In: 5 days


My Review:
I was very pleasantly surprised by this in-depth history of a small Vermont town. Not many tiny mountain towns can claim the expansive and fascinating history Norman relates in his book. 


The author first explores some of the long-standing, historical buildings still able to be seen today. The railroad station that is credited with giving purpose to a town built on this plot of New England territory, a warehouse now housing a salvage shop and giving local artists room to practice their craft, and a hotel with Presidential ties that still provides rest and relaxation to weary travelers are among the spectacular locations Norman explores and pays homage to on his tour of White River Junctions. Their histories give a voice to a town that has seen more hardship and struggles than most, but continues to thrive and stand strong to educate a new generation.


The second half of this book features extensive interviews with some of the town's more deeply-rooted citizens and explores what it means to be a Vermonter. His direct quotations from the interviewees keeps the stories in the voices of those they belong to rather than suffering the process of paraphrasing. Never have I heard such delightful and charming people directly from the pages of a book. They all seem to agree that close family ties, hard work, and independence are among the most treasured traits of a native Vermonter. The families represented in the town have strong military participation and honorable government involvement, aiding a belief that small town living truly brings out the best in people.


I really enjoyed this book and give it four of five stars. The only improvement I would make would be the addition of maps and pictures to put faces to names and images to the author's own descriptions. Definitely a must-read for all history buffs!

"Eviction Earth" by T.C. Pannone

Book Details:

Title: Eviction Earth

Author: T.C. Pannone

Published: 2010- Self-Published

ISBN: 978-1-45638-564-4

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 257

Rating: 2 of 5

Read in: 6 days

My Review:

I have read more than my fair share of both good and bad science fiction, and Pannone's Eviction Earth falls straight into the latter category for me. The author had a great plot line going in the beginning, but his cookie-cutter characters, lack of plot development, and gross misuse of grammar and punctuation had me rooting for the asteroid just so the book would end.

The first real problem I had with this novel was character development, a major factor in the success of a work of fiction. The reader wants a memorable cast of characters to keep the book exciting and enjoyable. I just did not find that here. The main protagonist, Kal, is nothing special. An ex-college football player turned disability case after a motorcycle accident is not very intriguing, nor does he possess any higher mental faculties to make him and his family worthy of such awesome adventures as they face. There is little back story and Kal and his family turn out to be just as boring as can be. The reader gets next to no insight into their minds, thought processes, or personalities, making them as two-dimensional as the words on the page.

Secondly, the plot development was severely lacking all through this novel. I admire the twists and turns, but the author crammed far too much plot in a relatively short novel and therefore did not do justice to what could have been a very exciting plot. The characters bounce from one situation to the next so quickly there is rarely enough time for Pannone to thoroughly and successfully harness and convey the situation to the reader. It also leaves much to be desired when it come to the life and world of the underground dwellers. The book ends very abruptly and, in my opinion, does not successfully conclude the story. I was dying to know about their years underground, but had to settle for my own theories. Another one hundred pages would have done this novel a world of good.

Lastly, the author's errors in grammar and punctuation were numerous. It appeared the first half of the book that perhaps the author was unaware of what a comma was. That idea was thrown out the window in the second half, where they were thrown in seemingly at random, though still rarely. Pannone also seems to have an issue with homophones. I laughed out loud each time I read that one who has betrayed his people is  a "trader". I also caught an instance or two of using "than" rather than "then". Maybe another read-through before publication would have been a good idea... I strongly recommend an editor for his next novel. The dialogue was also consistently cheesy and childish- not at all the adult-caliber talk one expects from a novel meant for an older crowd.

Overall, disappointed by this one, but the last half proved that the author did have a good idea, just perhaps not the patience or ability to convey it to the rest of us. For that, I give Eviction Earth two out of five stars.

"Midnight Wilderness: Journeys in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge" by Debbie S. Miller

Book Details:

Title: Midnight Wilderness: Journeys in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Author: Debbie S. Miller

Published: 2011- The Mountaineers Books

ISBN: 978-1-59485-633-4

Genre: Memoir/Conservation

Pages: 179

Rating: 2 of 5

Read in: Longer Than I Care To Admit

My Review:
Debbie Miller's Midnight Wilderness slightly deceived me. I picked the book up hoping for adventure and excitement in a lesser-known part of our country and instead found myself pouring through page after page of anti-oil drilling service announcements. Now let me make it known right now that I do not condone or support oil drilling in this natural, wild area, and reading this book made me more well-informed on the issue and against it. However, even the chapters on Miller's exciting hikes throughout the Refuge, she continuously throws punches at oil drilling. I get it. When I'm reading about adventurous hikes in treacherous and wonderful areas, I don't appreciate my attention being pulled away and pushed back into an anti-drilling campaign. It ruined the book for me as a whole. I'm glad the author is passionate about the issue, and it is an issue that should be brought to the public's attention, but don't market the book as being about "journeys in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge" when it's clearly written to express the author's views on a current event. I would have thoroughly enjoyed it exponentially more if every other page didn't discuss abandoned oil barrels or drilling settlements. I got the feeling that the author meant to constantly disrupt the majesty her descriptions of the landscape created with the ugly images of development to create the image of the possible future this land faces. Wonderful cause, but I did not enjoy the frequency of the interruptions. I was hoping for more glimpses into this Arctic world. I waited patiently to learn of the native people living in the area and was deeply disappointed when the author made no attempt to divulge their culture or society to the reader. I believe these people are of great importance to the area and would love to have learned more about them. Miller says at the beginning of her work that she wanted to include a chapter about the Inupiat Eskimos, but felt she could not do them justice in just one chapter. How about a teaser, then? Anything about them and their adaptations to the conditions of their homelands would have been fascinating, but sadly they did not get their time in the sun within the pages of this book. The beauty and wonder of Alaska's Arctic that the author seemed to be trying to convey was deeply lost to me.
I felt quite lost through a lot of the book due to the author's usage of terms known to those familiar with the landscape and terrain, but with little to no explanation for a reader who has never experienced a "tussock", "talus", or "moraines". 
I give this book 2 out of 5 stars primarily because it didn't hold my attention and it felt like a chore getting through it. I do, however, see that the book was written to voice a very honorable stand on a controversial issue and would be a treasured read for someone more informed on the subject of oil drilling and conservation in this Arctic territory. Someone without knowledge or experience of the area may well become lost and flounder to the book's conclusion.

"In Their Blood" by Sharon Potts

Book Details:

Title: In Their Blood

Author: Sharon Potts

Published: 2009- Oceanview Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-60809-005-1

Genre: Suspense

Pages: 354

Rating: 3 of 5

Read in: 9 days

My Review:

Jeremy has lived a very privileged life- his dad's a college professor and his mom's a successful partner at a CPA firm. He doesn't want that kind of 9-to-5 life for himself though, and drops out of college to travel around Europe and escape the responsibility of becoming an adult. When young Jeremy Stroeb's parents are brutally murdered in their home though, he must rush back to Miami to assume guardianship over his 16-year old sister, Elise. However, upon arriving home, he finds that little is known about who is responsible for the murders and he takes it upon himself to find out. Of course, he must then face the unbearable truths his parents had successfully kept from their children, and figure out which was worth their lives to keep hidden.

Potts' novel features many unique and unforgettable characters, which was what I liked most. An eccentric college graduate assistant, a drunken CPA has-been, a corporate mogul making all his money illegally- everyone has a secret waiting to be revealed and all roads lead to the murder victims. Were they killed for money? For lust? To protect a reputation? Something more scandalous? Jeremy throws all he has into trying to find out, and as it turns out, the killer isn't finished either.

A very typical murder mystery with a unique set of characters, I was sufficiently entertained and fully engaged from the first page to the last. I give this novel three of five stars and give the author props for a very successful first novel.

"The Burning" by Jane Casey

Book Details:

Title: The Burning

Author: Jane Casey

Published: 2011 by St. Martin's Press

ISBN: 978-0-312-61417-1

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 354

Rating: 4 of 5

Read in: 12 days

My Review:

Jane Casey's The Burning is a crime novel set in London during the reign of a particularly heinous serial killer. Known as the "Burning Man", he attacks women in the night, beating them and then setting their bodies on fire, destroying all evidence. Enter DC Maeve Kerrigan, a young detective assigned to the murder of Rebecca Haworth, who may or may not have fallen victim to the Burning Man. This novel follows Maeve as she tries to weed her way through Rebecca's past, determined to prove her murder was a little more personal than the assumption that she was the Burning Man's latest victim. The novel is also told from the point of view of Rebecca's shy and quiet best friend Louise North, whose always lived in her friend's shadow and by all accounts has loved and worshiped her since the day they met. Louise's story offers another account of Rebecca's past, as well as interesting insights into the current events taking place.

I enjoyed the book as a whole, but found it to be pretty slow to develop. Being told from two different points of views does help leave the reader guessing as to the conclusion, though. It's a classic whodunit with some modern flair. Set against the backdrop of London, it sometimes feels as though the detectives are following a modern-day Jack the Ripper- serial killer plaguing the streets of London at night, prowling on younger women and savagely killing them. I'd like the think this is the effect the author was going for.

One thing that really bothered me about the character development was the abrupt end to the budding romance between the main character and her colleague, Rob. Her attraction and affection toward him starts partially through the book, comes to a peak about three quarters through, and then... NOTHING. He's barely even mentioned in the last fifty pages! Although she explains that they could never be together because of their work relationship, the attraction would not just stop. However, Rob's appearances in the book seem to. Unfortunately, there's no closure to this particular side story.

I would like to see a series of crime novels featuring Maeve Kerrigan- she's a strong woman, a well-rounded character, and a brilliant detective. There is also a small group of great supporting characters who could be developed further later on, or left in the background to support and aid the hero. I give this book four out of five stars.

"Struck By Living: From Depression to Hope" by Julie K. Hersh

Book Details:

Title: Struck By Living: From Depression to Hope

Author: Julie K. Hersh

Published: 2011 by Greenleaf Book Group Press

ISBN: 978-1-60832-107-0

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 223

Rating: 4 of 5

Read in: 6 days

My Review:
Depression is a formidable enemy. It doesn't show up on an x-ray or a CAT scan. No testing of blood or urine can detect it's presence. That doesn't make it any less traumatizing or deadly, just more difficult to diagnose and treat. It's like a cancer of the soul- aggressive, debilitating, painful. If caught in time, medication, counselling, and support from loved ones can help reduce it back to nothing. Not everyone can get the help they need in time and fall victim to the dark hopelessness. And there's still never a guarantee that you won't relapse even years later. Julie Hersh suffered through this disease, just one of millions around the country. Her story is like so many others in many ways. Her suffering and constant battle to find relief is shared by an increasing number, but her path to and from depression is solely her own. Her memoir of her experiences with depression shows readers who may also be battling the same condition or know someone who is that life doesn't have to end to find a release. She invites the reader into her desperate, pained mind at her worse to prove it's never hopeless, there's always a way out, you just have to find what works for you. She also takes the reader into a psychiatric ward and a treatment center, sanctuaries for the mentally unstable to gain their footing and start the journey to wellness. She gives hope and understanding and shamelessly recounts even her lowest points. The effects on her friends and family, the toll months of little sleep and nourishment took on her body, her attempts to kill herself- she doesn't sugar-coat the illness the offer one of the most honest tellings of depression I have come across.

This memoir features a depression treatment option not commonly discussed- electroconvulsive therapy or ECT. The author discusses her experiences with this controversial therapy and how it may have saved her life. After several suicide attempts, ECT was a last option for her and her family and turned out to be their saving grace. I gave this book four out of five stars and would strongly recommend it to anyone suffering from depression, but especially to anyone close to someone suffering from it. Hersh gives a very accurate account of the mentality and thought processes that go along with the illness and could help others understand when they may have never experienced it themselves.