Books

My articles about books have been published in the Birmingham (Alabama) News, Arizona Republic, San Jose Mercury News, Indianapolis Star, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Raleigh News & Observer,Cleveland Plain Dealer, Portland Oregonian, Memphis Commercial Appeal, and Dallas Morning News.

My first front page newspaper article was a feature for the Glendale News-Press in honor of the 50th anniversary of Ayn Rand’s bestselling novel, The Fountainhead, in 1993.

My first book review, published in the Orange County Register and Los Angeles Daily News—and quoted on the softcover edition of Letters of Ayn Rand—came two years later. Regular book review assignments continued until I turned to movie review writing in 2002.

Waiting for Fidel

This book review was published in the Dallas Morning News in 1998.

The Pope’s visit to Cuba and Fidel Castro’s subsequent release of political prisoners this week are a reminder that the Communist dictator still has a grip on Cuba’s fate. Christopher Hunt’s Waiting for Fidel demonstrates that his grip is strangling its people and it may be slipping. Read more >>

Breakout A Marine Remembers the Forgotten War

This 2000 article was published in the Raleigh (NC) News & Observer, Portland Oregonian, San Jose Mercury News and Los Angeles Daily News. Please note that the author's father, Lawrence Holleran, fought in the Second Division of the U.S. Army during the Korean War.

The Korean War, 50 years old this June, is sadly deserving of its other name: the forgotten war. Read more >>

TWA Flight 800 Books about TWA Flight 800 flawed by lack of skepticism, incomplete conclusions

This 2000 book review was published in the Dallas Morning News, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Birmingham News, Indianapolis Star, and Los Angeles Daily News.

When TWA Flight 800 broke apart over Long Island's waters in July 1996, killing all 230 people on board, it was the worst commercial aviation disaster in U.S. history. Read more >>

Last Minute Gifts for Dads Who Read Books

This 2003 article was published in the Los Angeles Daily News.

If the latest gadget or a pair of socks isn't likely to tickle your Father's fancy, a classic book may be perfect for Dad on Father's Day. As Mark Twain once said: "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." Read more >>

Boomerang The Clinton Health Care Plan That Failed

This 1996 book review was published in the Los Angeles Daily News.

Autopsies are never fun and are usually messy. Boomerang, a post-mortem of the Clinton administration's failed health-care plan written by Harvard professor Theda Skocpol, falls into this category. Read more >>

Drawing Life Unabomber Target Ponders Life Before, After Attack

Originally published December 7, 1997 in Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)

One of the Unabomber's targets, David Gelernter, raises serious questions about the dominant ideas of the 20th century However, his questions beg for answers that he doesn't provide.Read more >>

Full Circle: A Homecoming to Free Poland One Family's Ordeal with Nazis, Soviets and Freedom

Originally published September 28, 1997 in Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)

Poland 's modern history is uniquely tragic: It has suffered both the ghastly ambitions of Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin. The loss of lives, due to concentration camps at places like Auschwitz and the brutality of communism, is staggering. Six million Poles were annihilated by the Nazis. Half were Jews. The loss of liberty continues to haunt the fledgling democracy. Read more >>

Deeper: My Two-Year Odyssey in Cyberspace Author Gets Online, But Not Off the Hook

Originally published April 6, 1997 in Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)

Like your first outing on the World Wide Web, John Seabrook's account of his experiences on the Internet, "Deeper: My Two-Year Odyssey in Cyberspace," is useful and engrossing. Though it fails to live up to its promise, his narrative is engaging and readers can learn from its shortcomings. Read more >>

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