Lainey Chatagnier
August 2, 2010
Stubbs adjusting to life as head coach
August 4, 2010THE GLASS RAINBOW
By JAMES LEE BURKE Simon and Schuster, $25.99
Deputy Sheriff Dave Robicheaux is back at home in New Iberia but the raped and mutilated bodies of several young women in the area interrupt his usual lyrical descriptions of local landmarks.
Dave is particularly concerned that now his adopted daughter, Alafair, has fallen for a rich and cowardly man who, in turn, has befriended a dangerous ex-con. When two more girls are murdered, Dave and best friend, Clete Purcell, close in on Alafair’s new friends, who hold her captive in hopes of luring Dave into an ambush. With Alafair’s life at stake there’s no holding back Dave and he stops at nothing to rescue her.
This is Burke at his best and this may be his very best. Welcome home Dave.
COMING BACK STRONGER
By Drew Brees with Chris Fabry Tyndale Publishing, $26.99
Imagine. If it weren’t for a shoulder injury that cost him his job with the San Diego Chargers, Drew Brees might never have joined the New Orleans Saints and led them to a Super Bowl victory.
Undaunted by his injury, Brees believed strongly in fate … and faith. And that served him well when he joined the Saints who were suffering, too. Yet, somehow, these two were meant for each other and fate and faith turned heartbreak into fortune. Brees credits his mother for teaching him never to quit and he never did.
There are many color photos with wife, Brittany and his delightful son, Baylen. This is a feel-good story for fans of football and of life.
GET CAPONE
By Jonathan Eig Simon and Schuster, $28
What don’t you know about Al Capone that you haven’t already gleaned from news stories and movies? Think he ordered the St. Valentine Day massacre? Not so, says Eig, who points to evidence vindicating Capone.
Do you believe Elliott Ness and his Untouchables were responsible for bringing Capone down? Eig documents facts showing the young Ness never even met Capone but was a self-aggrandizing publicity seeker. It was President Hebert Hoover who hounded the IRS to get him for failing to file tax returns.
And, Capone, who contacted syphilis in his 20s, did not die in Alcatraz but at his home after his release.
Eig’s bio of this famous outlaw is fully documented and makes for fascinating reading.
THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST
By Stieg Larsson Knopf, $27.95
And, now it comes to an end: Stieg Larsson’s best-selling trilogy about the implausibly indestructible girl who, even when shot three times and buried alive with a bullet lodged in her brain, incredibly survives and, with the help of her good friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, plots revenge against the man who tried to kill her.
Lisabeth Salander, the rough and tough computer hacker of “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” and “The Girl Who played With Fire” returns for the final time, facing charges of murder unless she can prove her innocence.
It’s an exciting finish to the series and readers who have not yet read the first two books would do themselves a favor to do so before learning the conclusion.
HISTORY WITH THE BEATLES
By Bradford E. Loker Dogear Publishing, $24.95
This is, without a doubt, the most innovative and enjoyable history of the Beatles ever written. Covering the entire decade of the Sixties, the list of every Beatle song coincides with important historical news of the times, beginning even before they made their sensational U.S. debut on the “Ed Sullivan Show” in February 1964. That show, by the way, reached over 73 million viewers. Girls went wild and Sullivan brought them back the very next week.
Whether you’re a Beatlemaniac or just enjoy reminiscing on the history of that decade, this book is for you.
Loker, a Thibodaux resident, doesn’t miss a beat in this comprehensive and entertaining musical history.
