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In his attempt to portray Coleman innocent, Tucker missed the opportunity to create a truly balanced portrait of crime and punishment in America. Much better is "Dead Run," the story of Dennis Stockton and the mass Death Row escape.
One of the more common defenses of the death penalty is that the entire system is set up to cater to the defendants and that it's almost impossible for an innocent person to slip through the cracks. Sure, the cacophony of "I'm innocent" on death row might be overwhelming, but there's an obvious lack of credibility there. But the case of Roger Coleman stands as an exception. It's not that Tucker proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Coleman was innocent (nor should he have to). But there is substantial evidence to suggest that Coleman was innocent, from the prosecution's almost-impossible theory to the identification of a thoroughly plausible suspect.
Tucker takes the reader through the entire case, from the initial investigation to the final, tragic resolution. In the process, we meet attorney Kitty Behan, who handled most of Coleman's appeals. Behan worked tremendous hours at a thankless job that she had to know was an uphill battle. Her biggest task was to get a court actually to listen to the evidence suggesting her client's innocence. Before she assumed the case, one of her predecessors had filed a paper a single day late (and even that was debatable). The rest of the case seemed to be a battle to convince reluctant courts that an innocent man's life was more important than a postmark. Though Tucker exhibits restraint in describing the case, the picture of Behan that emerges is one of a true hero, an attorney whose work should be appreciated even by those in favor of speedier executions. At the expense of her own health, she did everything she could for her client, and she did so not only competently (an understatement) but ethically.
In the end, though, the story is Coleman's, and it is a painful story to read--but an eminently important one. Maybe Coleman was guilty, and maybe he was innocent. (The facts seem all but conclusive that he was innocent.) But if the ultimate crime deserves the ultimate punishment, surely the evidence raised that indicated his innocence should have been heard. Even the most ardent proponent of capital punishment should be uncomfortable reading about the case of Roger Coleman.
Finally, while the story is harrowing, special kudos is due the author. The labyrinth of state and federal appeals is confusing, but Tucker takes the reader through that maze easily, almost making the appeals process seem clear. Tucker's style is easy to read, and he allows the personal stories to come through the legal wrangling. In short, "May God Have Mercy" is important, well-written, and emotionally powerful.
Capital punishment is bound to get people riled up on both sides of the issue. Try and leave your political leanings aside as you read this. Focus only on the case and how it's handled. Similar to "Mean Justice" (very good as well), I was more struck by the mistakes that happen early on in a trial that ultimately take you to the unfortunate conclusion. Things spiral out of control and good people can't make the difference.
I recommend this book highly. It's a troubling but necessary tale to tell.
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Instead of quirky gimmicks, Ailes starts with the factors that make a great speaker -- some of which will surpise you, and encourage you. The book is very readable with lots of anecdotes and great stories to illustrate his points.
In my consulting with political candidates I recommend it often. Considering this man's success in television and politics, I don't understand why this book is not more widely read and referenced. I consider it a "secret weapon". After all, this is the man who was a consultant to the man friend and foe alike called the great commuicator, Ronald Reagan. If you read it, you may be the only one you know who has. And then you will wonder, as I have, why more people have not read it.
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This book is outstanding. It relies on illustrations rather than photographs to show markings and other details used to ID birds in the field. I find that photos are often sub-standard, not showing characters essential for identifying birds due to the position of the bird, markings of the individual chosen for inclusion in the book, etc.
In this book each entry includes a bird's common and scientific names, a brief physical description of the body and coloration, a drawing(s) of the bird, a brief description of habitats where they are likely to be seen, a blip about their geographic distribution, notes on their song, and reference to similar species (if any). The entry also refers the reader to a map number that shows the summer and winter ranges for each bird.
This is "the bird book" to have for birds that live east of the Rockies for the novice and experienced birder alike. If you've never had much luck figuring out which birds you are looking at try this book.
5 stars all the way!
Note: if you travel much throughout the USA, you ought to pick up the Peterson Guide to Western Birds as well -- it is the sister book to this one. With both of those books in hand you will be in good birding shape.
Alan Holyoak, Dept of Biology, Manchester College, IN
The text that accompanies the pictures is necessarily brief but covers: Latin and common names, description, food, range, migratory pattern, habitat, voice and similar species. Also included is a "Systematic Checklist" so you can keep a "life list" of all the birds you've seen. There is a guide to identifying birds by visual categories (swimmers, birds of prey, waders, perching birds, etc), size, tail and wing patterns. The last part of the book contains maps illustrating each bird's range which makes it easy to compare the habitat of, for example, an Olive-Sided Flycatcher with an Acadian Flycatcher.
Obviously this is a guidebook and not the type of book you sit down and read through, but I have found myself reading the entries for the often amusing "voice" sections. Here's the one for the Chestnut-Sided Warbler: "Song, similar to Yellow Warbler's; 'see see see see Miss Beech'er' or 'pleased pleased pleased to meet'cha;' penultimate note accented, last note dropping." Hey, someone who knows what "penultimate" really means!
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"Carol" tells the story of cold-hearted miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who despises the Christmas holiday and scorns all who celebrate it. But a visit from a series of supernatural beings forces him to reevaluate his attitude--and his life.
With this simple plot Dickens has created one of the enduring triumphs of world literature. It's a robust mix of humor, horror, and (most of all) hope, all leavened with a healthy dash of progressive social criticism. One thing I love about this book is that while it has a focus on a Christian holiday, Dickens puts forth a message that is truly universal; I can imagine this story resonating with people of any religious background, and also with more secular-oriented people.
This is a tale of greed, selfishness, regret, redemption, family, and community, and is enlivened by some of the most memorable characters ever created for English literature. Even if Dickens had never written another word, "A Christmas Carol" would still have, I believe, secured his place as one of the great figures of world literature.
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Alice through the Looking Glass is similar to the prequel, yet glaringly different. The whole book revolves around a chess game, and so the character's actions correspond to moves on the chessboard. Alice joins in the game, starts out as a white pawn, and proceeds to move until she becomes a queen. At each square, she meets a new character, but in one chapter, characters from the previous book are in this one too. An important thing to know in this famous classic is that everything is backwards. It makes sense since Alice is on the other side of a mirror, yet she encounters difficulty sometimes in understanding this. But in the end, she manages to become a queen and to checkmate the red king. Both books are very enjoyable, and I strongly advocate both children and adults to read it. Enjoy!! Cheers!!!!! : )
AAIW is about a young girl named Alice whose boring day with her sister is interrupted when a white rabbit runs by her saying, "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!" Alice's curiosity is aroused, but surprisingly not to a great degree. This is the first hint to the reader that Alice is not an average child, as she seems to believe that a talking rabbit is quite normal. She does become intrigued, though, when the rabbit produces a clock from his pocket, so she follows it down its hole and enters a world of wonder. I loved the story from this point on. It is filled with such unbelievable creatures and situations, but Carroll's writing style made me want to believe in a world that could be filled with so much magic and splendor. There was never a dull moment in the story, and each page was filled with more excitement. I will offer a warning, though. This story is not for those who like a neatly packaged plotline. It is written in a somewhat discontinuous nature and seems to follow some sort of dream logic where there are no rules. However, I enjoyed the nonsensical pattern. Without it, a dimension of the story would be lost. It offers some insight into the mind of a young, adventurous, fearless girl, and Carroll seems to be challenging his readers to be more like Alice.
The second text in this book, TTLG, is again a story about Alice. In this adventure, Alice travels through a wondrous world on the other side of her looking glass. As in AAIW, Alice again encounters absurd creatures, such as live chess pieces and talking flowers. The land she travels through is an oversized chessboard, which gives this story a more structured plot than AAIW. The chess theme provides Alice with sense of what she must accomplish in the looking- glass world, and it provides the reader with a sense of direction throughout the story. Alice's goal is to become a chess queen, so the reader knows that when she becomes queen, the story will be over. However, just because the story has some structure does not mean that it is not just as wild and marvelous as its predecessor. I enjoyed all of the characters. They seem to have an endless supply of advice that people in the 21st century can still learn from. My favorite example is when the Red Queen says, "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!" Maybe what Carroll is suggesting is that if we read more nonsensical, unbelievable stories like his, we won't be so afraid to be adventurous and fearless like Alice; so that the next time a white rabbit runs by us, we might just see where it leads us.
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