The Book of All Power by Edgar Wallace. Wallace wrote 175 novels and yet is one of those novelists who seem to have been forgotten. I'd never heard of him (and can't remember how I stumbled upon him), but if this is an example of the quality of his work, I'm looking forward to reading more. It can roughly be divided into three parts. The first part takes part in London with a plot to murder a Russian nobleman. The second part is in Russia just prior to the revolution and largely deals with an Englishman's relationship with a nobleman and his daughter. The last part takes place during the revolution is the jam packed adventure of the main characters trying to escape. Might be viewed as slightly anti-Semetic today but not overly so by the standards of the time. The final revelation of the contents of the Book of All Power is reaaly great.
The Life and Times of Grigorii Rasputin by Alex DeJonge. Rasputin often gets most of the blame for the downfall of the Romanov dynasty. It's somewhat unfair since by that point in time the Romanovs had devolved into a pretty useless lot. I liked that DeJonge tried to strip away the nonsense and be objective. He makes the rather sensible suggestion that Rasputin used folk remedies to effect his miraculous cures. He also points out that Rasputin wasn't in it so for money (for example anytime he got money, Rasputin would often give it away immediately) and he wasn't in it for power and control. Rasputin' motivation was largely to be considered important. He was the hick from the sticks that had the ear of important people (I think like Andy Griffith's character in A Face in the Crowd). Whatever influence he yielded, he used to keep himself from being sent back to his small hometown where he would be no one.
The Gibson Upright by Booth Tarkington and Harry Leon Wilson. I normally don't read plays since I think they should be seen not read, but when will I ever get a chance to see a Booth Tarkington play? This came out in 1919 when socialism was still okay in the US. Gibson runs a successful piano factory where he is being driven insane by workers' demands for more money, less hours, and a greater share of the profits. He gets fed up and turns the whole lot over to the workers with rather predictable results. I really enjoyed it, and for being 90 years old it was quite topical. (Rant: The whole Occupy Wall Street thing smacks of socialism to me. Complaining that corporations make money is like complaining that the sky is blue. If anything, the protesters should be in Washington, DC complaining about unfair tax rules. I don't mind paying taxes since we need laws, infrastructure, and social services, but I think everyone should pay their fair share.)
Princess Alice: The Life and Times of Alice Roosevelt Longworth by Carol Felsenthal. Alice was Theodore Roosevelt's only child by his first wife. he became a fixture of Washington society and was supposed to be this witty charming person. The book itself was okay but very slanted towards Alice being wonderful and very skimpy on details. Her childhood seemed skimmed over and it was only toward the end where a glimpse of her famous diners parties was seen. The problem with trying to make Alice the heroine of her own life's story is that she was at heart a self-absorbed, grasping, spoiled, hateful bitch. Edith Roosevelt is made out to be the wicked stepmother with Alice having a deprived childhood. Yes, it was so tragic that Alice was sent to visit her wealthy grandparents while the rest of the family lived on a meager budget. Alice's relationship with her siblings is barely mentioned. Villain number two is supposed to be husband Nicholas Longworth, the friendly, popular Speaker of the House who tried to build a consensus between Republicans and Democrats (heck, we could use more like him). In the book he is portrayed as little more than a drunken letch. Alice actively campaigned against her husband in supporting TR's doomed Bull Moose campaign. She carried petty slights with her forever and took pride in destroying people. She treated her only daughter like crap and drove the girl to an early grave. Apart from herself, she only seemed to care for two people. One was TR since her entire existence and character was based on the fact she was TR's daughter. The other was the granddaughter she took in after her daughter's death. I suspect Alice realized she was getting old and needed someone to look after her in her old age and preach the gospel of the great Alice after her death. What a waste of a human being. At least TR's other children tried to lead productive lives.
Scary Mary by S.A. Hunter. Free for Kindle so can't really complain. the cover made it out to be a scary short story. It's actually teenage angst about a girl who is bullied because she's different. Ho hum. For dealing with the cause de jour of bullying, the references are a bit dated. Today's teen would try to summon Heath Ledger with a ouji baord, not River Phoenix (it's been 18 years since his untimely death, and most of his movies were not standard teenage fair that would be regularly watched by today's kids).
A View From Above by Wilt Chamberlain. I don't know much about basketball, but had of course heard of Wilt. This was surprisingly good. It's Wilt's opinion on sports, politics, women, and life. Okay, he's got a huge ego but he kind of deserves to have one. He packed a hell of a lot of stuff in his life and was good at most everything he tried his hand at. He made a lot of good points. The media decides who the heroes and villains should be and twists things accordingly. Making money should be about what good you can do with it and not just a means to an end. Women's sports should get as much attention as men. Do your job to the best of your ability. He's honest in his opinions and writes well. The book is most famous for it's second to last chapter where Wilt claims he slept with close to 20,000 women. I picked up my copy at a book sale. It was stamped showing it was once part of the library of St. John's Lutheran Church. Bizarre choice for a church library.
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