Writing Away: A Creative Guide to Awakening the Journal-Writing Traveler by Lavinia Spalding
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I finished reading the book, I gave it three stars because I thought it was a nice enough book but I did not see how it might improve the travel journals I already keep and I did not see why I might need an additional journal for the travel when I keep a daily one.
Well, I was wrong. I used some of her suggestions during a 17-day road trip and I can barely contain my extra journal within its rubber strap. I especially liked her suggestion for a three-column list with the headings of Date/Destination/Discovery. She suggests adding plastic blunt edge scissors (all the better to get through TSA), tape and archival glue to your journal accessories, and I found myself taping items from brochures as natural sidebars.
I recommend this book for those who already keep journals and for those who might want to give it a try. You don't have to use all her suggestions; just the ones you feel comfortable doing.

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Rick Steves' Postcards from Europe: Travel Tales from America's Favorite Guidebook Writer by Rick Steves
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed some of the stories, and some of the stories made me uncomfortable when Steves told of shoplifting as a youthful traveler and having his early tour groups bed down in a 400-person tent just to watch his group members be uncomfortable in different circumstances.

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Lewis & Clark by Stephen E. Ambrose
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is another book from my National Geographic Society shelf.
The author is Stephen E. Ambrose, who wrote Undaunted Courage. The subtitle is Voyage of Discovery. Ambrose becomes our travel guide who interprets the history for us and he tells the tales of how this epic journey influenced Ambrose's family in our modern era. He introduces us to local historians and guides.
The photographs are by Sam Abell, and I continue to admire his his work.
I encourage all readers to put this on your want-to-read list.

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The Hunt by Jan Neuharth
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I downloaded this book as a Free Friday selection in 2011, and it is not longer free.
This murder mystery is an entertaining read up to the point when a child was kidnapped; and that is when I say to Neuharth, there was no more reason to use a child as a victim in this plot than to have the horses owned by this protagonist threatened. I found the behavior of the protagonist to be exasperating. The exasperating behvaior may make him more realistic, but it does not make him to be more likable to me.
I recommend it to readers who want a mystery set in the world of Virginia's landed gentry. Neuharth currently has 3 novels in Hunt Country Suspense series.

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Bailout: An Inside Account of How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street by Neil Barofsky
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wanted to read this book for it was about choices made by cabinet and governmental employees, Federal Reserve chairmen, executive bankers, and the special investigator of TARP that I could previously only infer from posted information and news reports. I really wanted to know, "What were they thinking? It looks like they were thinking they needed short-term, urgent solutions and the solutions they considered were strongly influenced by their former job histories and future job prospects.
Barofsky's tone sometimes comes across as whining and petulant when he does not get the cooperation from Geithner and also does not get included when he raises objections about the roles of servicers and other potential conflicts of interests. Barofsky did a good job of preventing fraud, and feels there was more to be done. He was especially displeased with the program that was supposed to help 3-4 million people who faced foreclosure.
If you don't want to read the entire book, please at least read the afterword for a summary.

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King Peggy: An American Secretary, Her Royal Destiny, and the Inspiring Story of How She Changed an African Village by Peggielene Bartels
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The title and subtitle intrigued me, and the strong recommendations from readers on Goodreads encouraged me to read this book.
King Peggy comes across as strong and still vulnerable to disappointments caused by the behaviors of others. Her indignation becomes righteous and helps her find the reason why her tribe has no money, why the former king must stay in the refrigerator at the morgue until a proper funeral can be hosted, and why the royal palace is in such disrepair. King Peggy is the wise leader we wish all our politicians might be.
The book also provides an introduction to the tribal culture of Ghana in a way that shows us differences and yet helps us find common ground in our humanity.

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The Great Depression: A Diary by Benjamin Roth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was recommended as a book of the week on Consuela Mack's Wealthtrack show on my local PBS station.
Benjamin Roth was a lawyer with a sole proprietorship practice in Youngstown, Ohio and the sole provider for his young family. He kept a diary about the hard times and the developments as a way to understand and to learn from it. This book feels so current as he writes about his own worries about cashflow and bewilderment about government policies. These are real concerns for us today: have we done all we could to protect our families;would market timing and portfolio allocation have made an difference; and if we made mistakes how can we correct them if cash is unavailable? I did not realize how risky real estate investment became during the Great Depression when rents could not be collected and yet property taxes were still due.
I highly recommend this.


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