Quick Book Reviews Blog

Extremism is far from being something new in this world, with virtually every religion having its fair share of adherents who are willing to take things as far as they possibly can, generally deciding to follow their teachings to the letter. Today, most of the world has its eyes turned on Muslim extremists, terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda, ISIS, and the Muslim Brotherhood. Though relatively speaking these extremists are rather few in numbers, they have still managed to create a worldwide stigma against Islam that, in some places, is growing stronger and stronger as their actions grow more violent.

Though the law in the United States may very well dictate that everyone is to be considered equal, I believe we all know that in practice, many people simply don't see things that way. Racial relations have come a tremendously long way in the past century, but nevertheless things continue to be more difficult for minorities from a socioeconomic standpoint.

Grief is something that touches us all in different ways, and there is no way of predicting how one will react to the loss of a loved one. When it came to Helen Macdonald, probably few could predict what she decided to do in the wake of her father's sudden passing in the streets of London; she decided to raise one of the deadliest and most vicious predators, the goshawk. Even though she was already an experienced falconer, she knew that this journey wouldn't prove to be a usual one and test her in many ways... and she wrote a memoir of it titled H is for Hawk .

Bernice Fischer Personal site Bernice Fischer is an author hailing from South Africa who was virtually born into the world of literature and has recently published her first novel, Jeff Madison and the Shimmers of Drakemere , a work largely acclaimed as brilliant and promising. When most aspiring authors think of writing their first book they are extremely focused on the writing itself. How should they get started, develop characters, create the setting, describe appearances... and so on and so forth. While learning about the process of writing is certainly important in the creation of a novel (after all, very few of us can make an enthralling story with instincts alone), there is much more to it. As a matter of fact, what comes after you've finished writing will take up a lot more time and effort than you imagined. Though book editors aren't exactly heralded as heroes by most readers, they play a role equally important to the author's in shaping t...

When it comes to powerful old-time gangsters, it's mostly Italian and Sicilian names that come to mind (and perhaps a few Jewish ones), such as Al Capone, “Lucky” Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Vito Genovese and Joseph Bonanno, just to name a few. As you would expect though, they are far from being the only people to have taken organized crime to the next level. Amongst the many other deadly crime bosses that came and went during the 20th century is one that won't soon be forgotten, especially by the American law enforcement agencies: James J. “Whitey” Bulger.

I'm certain that at this point, no matter what your system of belief and morality is, you've come to the great conclusion that this world is a strange one, and it feels as if there will never be an end to the bizarre phenomenons we are incapable of explaining. Most of us choose to press onwards and not pay too much attention to that, taking it one day at a time and trying to keep things as normal as possible, both inside and outside ourselves.

Contemporary black culture certainly has many prominent figures who majorly contributed to its development in the latter half of the 20th century, but few of them arguably had the influence of Iceberg Slim , a real icon of his time. In his biography Street Poison , Justin Gifford takes it upon himself to examine in as much depth as possible this unique man's story. The book touches on Iceberg Slim's (real name Robert Beck) life from the very beginning, with his birth in 1918 to parents who migrated to Chicago from Tennessee.

Jacob Whaler Jacob Whaler is the author of the science-fiction series Stones and has taken to writing after spending much of his life gazing down financial documents. A writer at heart, he moved away from the megalopolises he lived in for something quieter, living the author's dream. Greetings dear readers, a couple of days ago I got in touch with Jacob Whaler ( jacobwhaler.com ), author of the Stones series, in order to discuss writing. More precisely, I asked him if he had any words of wisdom to share for aspiring writers who don't know where to start... and he gave me some of the best advice I've ever received on the topic. I decided it would be a crime to keep his insight away from the world, and so I am sharing it here today: Jack Whaler says: Thanks for reading my blog post and reminding me that I need to do more of them! Yeah, for me it's all about getting my hands on the keyboard. Inspiration seems to strike when my fingers are moving. I ra...

Secular religious communities have always been a sort of attraction for those outside of them, a mystery that dares to be solved, a secret upon which we only gain momentary glimpses. As you may suspect, there isn't actually a whole lot of black magic, child sacrifices or supernatural happening behind those closed doors... rather, they just make for small societies that function differently from our own, with their proper internal functions. As a matter of fact, they are the perfect backdrop for murder mysteries, as is the case in Invisible City by Julia Dahl.

Even though we can all agree that governments are necessary building pillars for modern society to hold on, there is no denying that some of them seem to cause more harm than good in the end, or at least only serve the personal interests of those in charge. There must always exist a balance of respect and power between the government and the people, each one keeping the other in check as they co-exist. When that balance is upset forces tend to start shifting, metaphorical volcanoes come to a boil, and in the end, someone always fights back.