Category: Books
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Book Review: ‘Desert Victory: The War for Kuwait’
Strategic Scope Without Sentiment: A Review of Desert Victory by Norman Friedman 📘 Title: Desert Victory: The War for Kuwait🖋️ Author: Norman Friedman🏛️ Publisher: Naval Institute Press📅 Publication Date: Fall 1991📚 Genre: Military History / Strategic Analysis Military history comes in many flavors—some rich with battlefield grit, others cool and cerebral. Norman Friedman’s Desert Victory…
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Books, Friends, and the Weight of Quiet Ambition
Late Morning, Tuesday, September 9, 2025 – Bithlo, Florida It’s a warm, humid, and mostly cloudy morning in Orlando with a current temperature of 78°F (26°C). Winds are from the east-northeast at 4 MPH (7 Km/H), and humidity is sitting at 90%, making it feel closer to 90°F. Scattered light showers are expected today, with…
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Book Review: ‘The Crisis Years: Kennedy and Khrushchev 1960–1963’
📘 Review: The Crisis Years: Kennedy and Khrushchev 1960–1963 by Michael R. Beschloss Michael R. Beschloss’ The Crisis Years is that rare gem in historical nonfiction: a book that not only illuminates a pivotal era in 20th-century geopolitics but does so with the narrative drive and emotional texture of a finely wrought novel. Published in…
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Being Seen in Kenya: A Quiet Thank You to Pooja
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Books, Comings and Goings (Short Story), Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Garratyverse, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Pooja (P.J.) Gudka, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, ReviewsThere are moments in a writer’s life when the work speaks louder than the person. When a reader—not just any reader, but one who truly listens—echoes back the emotional architecture you’ve spent years building. Pooja Gudka, the voice behind Lifesfinewhine, has done just that. Her review of Comings and Goings – The Art of Being…
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Book Review: ‘The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’
The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Five Novels in One Outrageous Volume By: Douglas Adams Publisher: Del Rey Publication Date (Reissue): April 30, 2002 Genre: Humor, Space Opera, Science Fiction 🛸 Know Where Your Towel Is: A Hitchhiker’s Primer for the Mildly Panicked Blog Reader If you’re reading this and you know where your…
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On Writing and Storytelling: The Rewards of Being a Storyteller
✈️ A Chewed Cover, a Plane Ride, and the Gift of Lost Love: Gratitude Reflections Sometimes, the most meaningful moments begin with a bit of chaos. Last night, my friend Dayna Pitcher shared a story that touched me deeply—not just because she praised Reunion: A Story, but because of how the book found its way…
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Echoes of Emotion: What a Thoughtful Review Reveals About ‘Reunion: Coda’
💬 Echoes of Emotion: What a Thoughtful Review Reveals About Reunion: Coda When Thomas Wikman reviewed Reunion: Coda on his Leonberger Life blog, I expected kindness. What I didn’t expect was emotional precision—the kind that doesn’t just summarize a book but listens to its heartbeat. Thomas called it “a love story complicated by life.” That…
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The Garratyverse Explained: Marty’s Entrance in ‘Reunion: Coda’…and Why It Matters
The Chorus Room Door: How Marty Reynaud’s Arrival Sets the Emotional Tone of the Garratyverse In the Garratyverse, entrances matter. They’re not just logistical—they’re emotional overtures. And few are as quietly seismic as Martina (Marty) Reynaud’s first appearance in the chorus room. She doesn’t burst in. She creaks in. The door opens slowly, hesitantly, as…
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On Writing and Storytelling: When a Reader Sees You
When a Reader Sees YouReflections on a Review That Resonated There’s a quiet kind of joy that comes when a reader truly sees your work—not just the plot or the prose, but the emotional architecture beneath it. Dawn Pisturino’s recent review of Reunion: A Story did just that. She saw Jim Garraty not as a…
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Toothpaste, Jeans, and the Politics of Manufactured Outrage
🧼 Toothpaste, Jeans, and the Politics of Manufactured Outrage “If you made toothpaste illegal, people would be knocking over drugstores to get it.”– Daniel Okrent, Prohibition, a Film by Ken Burns That quote has stuck with me for years. It’s a wry observation about human nature and the unintended consequences of moral crusades. Ban something—even…
A Certain Point of View, Too 