George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver, the American scientist, botanist, educator, and inventor was born in 1864. His life was controlled by the rigid constraints of racism and slavery but nothing could kill his inner urges to educate himself and help keep his faith. Not all of George Washington Carver's life was controlled by racism. He was raised for a part of his life in a wonderful home of a white family who showed him faith and gave him the interest in plants that would one day make him one of the most famous African Americans in United states history.
George Washington Carver by John Perry tells the amazing story of one of Americas most influential scientists, fighting through slavery and racism to become a man many should look up to. Through all the obstacles he had to face he never gave up on his education or his faith. It was that inner strength that makes him an influential man of Americas history.
This book is a wonderful book, especially for students who want a quick read. This book tells the amazing life of the man many have come to know as the man who discovered over 143 uses of the peanut and so many other things.

Jane Austen

My attraction to Jane Austen only began about a year ago when this movie came out. Ever since seeing this movie I bought a book, and then a few of the recently released spoofs of Austen, watched the Anne Hathaway movie and even became obsessed with a mini series from the BBC... given it was a hybrid of Jane Austen and Alice in Wonderland. When I saw this book I HAD to read it.

Now, watching the movie about her, I never would have known the role religion held in Austen's life. No movie or simple biography about her has done her justice until now. This book by Peter Leithart was fantastic. You do not have to be an Austen-addict to enjoy it. There are great reference pages in the back which can help those who have never even held an Austen novel to understand who the characters in her novels are.

Jane Austen is not the person many have depicted her as being. Yes she was an author, but she was not a poor servant-type daughter of a man who made no money and needed to sell his daughters into marriage in order to sustain his life. Her books were not based on her. The men that did enter her life were not the drunken, boxing fools as they were depicted. She was an intelligent, independent woman who wrote based on her surroundings and managed to live her life the way she wanted to. She cared for her family but never got to enjoy the fame she would one day obtain because of her writings.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Austen.

** True Austen fans~ I do not recommend the spoofs**

Being a girl I of course have to let you know that this book is the perfect size for a purse so you can bring it anywhere! No big clunky books this time... It fit perfectly in my purse and even in the center console of the car.

Buried Alive

Buried Alive is a book about an American contractor who has his trust in others torn from him when a fellow colleague goes against the American Government and joins forces with a group of Iraqi Terrorists and kidnaps Roy Hallum, the contractor, and others. The book follows the trials and tribulations Roy and the others must go through while being held captive and what they had to go through in order to survive.

I was very excited about reading this book because I thought it was going to be an inside look into what really goes in with the Iraqi people when they kidnap and possibly a better look into what is really going on there. I was disappointed with this book. Although it is a quick read, I found it difficult to start and at times found myself dosing off mid-page. I've read other books about Americans being held captive, and I have found them very interesting. This book just did not do it for me. I found the writing to be a little bland and boring at times. Although it is a fascinating story, especially considering what this man went through, but the way in which it was presented fell flat with me.

The Liturgical Year by Joan Chittister

Having seen this book on the list of possible books to review I was very excited. Being a lector at church, I thought this book would be very helpful for me in understanding the gospel a little better.

I began reading the book and quickly had flashbacks to my Ancient History course in College. I am very interested in history and learning about why certain days are named for certain Saints and what they did and why we celebrate certain holidays the way we did but something about this book made me feel as if a quiz was going to be handed out when I finished and I better take notes! The book reads like a textbook and when it isn't giving you pure, basic information, the author gives you some real life comparisons that really don't help. It took me quite a while to get through this book. I am still interested in all the aspects of the church and the liturgical year but I feel that this book did not help me answer the questions that I had. It is a great reference book for people who want to know what a particular event in the Catholic Year.