It's Monday, What are You Reading? Rival Rails

It's Monday, What are You Reading? 

Rival Rails

This is the sixteenth entry for this meme, suggested by Sheila@ One Persons Journey Through A World of Books.


I am still working on Private Life by Jane Smily on the Kindle, about 45%, it says. I read it waiting for my wife in the Doctor's Office, the Lab work, and Urgent care, etc. Good waiting room reading. I like this kind of reading for these situations.

While in Colorado, Estes Park, at McDonald's Bookstore, I saw a new book that was going to have a book signing (after we were to live) at the local library by Dr. Walter R. Borneman. The title of the book is: "Rival Rails: The race to build America's greatest transcontinental railroad."

This is the review from Amazon by Jay Freeman for BookList:

Before the Civil War, the most logical route for the planned transcontinental railroad was across the southern plains and the deserts of the southwest. Instead, for reasons more political than economic, the more northerly route was selected, and the two strands were joined at Promontory Point, Utah, in 1868. Almost immediately, the competition began for the rights to build a web of lines across the southern route. Borneman, a historian and attorney, has written an interesting, if uneven, chronicle of the political as well as physical struggles to complete these tasks. He profiles numerous competing companies and their sponsors, and he describes their often cutthroat tactics and greed. Eventually, two large companies, the Southern Pacific and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, squeezed out or absorbed other competitors. When he sticks to the actual process of construction, Borneman’s narrative is brisk, colorful, and exciting. It drags and confuses when it deals with the machinations in corporate board rooms. Still, this is a worthy look at a less-publicized aspect of railroad construction. --Jay Freeman

Happy Reading!

Bill  ;-)

Book Blog Tour: Call Me Kate by Molly Roe

Book Blog Tour

Call Me Kate: Meeting the Molly Maguires

by Molly Roe

Today we are participating in the Book Blog Tour of Call Me Kate by Molly Roe. This is the Mom's Choice Award Winner in the young adult historical fiction category.

What is it about?

Fourteen-year-old Katie McCafferty risks job, family, and eventually her very life to rescue a lifelong friend. Disguised as a draft resister, Katie infiltrates a secret Irish organization to prevent bloodshed. Tragedies challenge her strength and ingenuity, and she faces a crisis of conscience. Can Katie balance her sense of justice with the law?

Call Me Kate is suitable for readers from eleven to adult. The story is dramatic and adventuresome, yet expressive of daily life in the patches of the hard coal region during the Civil War era. This novel will appeal to readers of the Dear America series, as well as more mature readers who will enjoy the story’s rich context and drama.

What are readers saying?

"Call Me Kate is a fascinating look at the time period of the early drafts for the Civil War. It focuses on a specific area of the country and the conflict that arose among the different classes and ethnicities. I got a brief history lesson on a time period that I wasn’t very familiar with. For anyone interested in getting some history with their fiction, Call Me Kate is a good book to add to your choices." - TeensReadToo.com

" The politics of the time, the history of how hard the struggle was for many poor families, is absolutely inspirational. The writer did a wonderful job bringing us back to the past, and making us understand that bigotry – in any form – can only harm. I am always so thankful when a writer comes out with a story that teaches something more than “unrequited love with a supernatural being.” Don’t get me wrong, those are fun, too. But this is a great story that will teach something and be fun at the same time." - BookPleasures.com 

 

Happy Reading!

Dr. Bill  ;-)

Virtual Book Tour - Dr. Tiffany Brown of Atlanta - and Giveaway

Virtual Book Tour

Dr. Tiffany Brown of Atlanta

The Reflections of Light for Daily Living: A Book of Affirmations for the Ambitious

Today we are pleased to be a part of the Virtual Book Tour for Dr. Tiffany Brown and her new book:

"The Reflections of Light for Daily Living: A Book of Affirmations for the Ambitious"

We have also been authorized to giveaway an autographed copy of the book and a smart phone app. Not in your comments whether you want to entered for one, both or neither. Thanks!  ;-)

Dr. Brown answered a few questions for us about her book:

1)     If people could take away one thing from your book, what would you want it to be?

Never give up on your goals in life but allow God to revise or tweak them into being aligned with his Will.  Every failure is not a nightmare and every opportunity is not a blessing.  Some failures can be blessings; some opportunities can be nightmares.

Allow God completely into your heart and watch your life begin to expand in the most amazing ways.  I trust God in completely different way than before because I now have a testimony that I never had before. There is nothing like spectacular fall to truly give you a new relationship with God.

2) I love how you have included your life stories onto the pages and you are so relatable; what has been one of your biggest challenges in life and how did you overcome it?

My biggest challenge was bouncing back from my failed mayoral bid that was a disappointment on a professional and emotional level.  It was completely humiliating because I was marginalized and misunderstood throughout the campaign.   I felt like people didn’t get me; they just stereotyped me.

There were many people that I had supported in the past that didn’t return the favor added to the humiliation.  I was very disappointed in people that I had respected and loved in every facet of my life. It definitely changed the way I see the world.  

I was able to overcome it all through forgiveness.  God forgives us for all our transgressions and I was forced to do the same.  All the inspirational stories I wrote are from perspective of a reader; I wrote what I needed to hear at those desperate, heart wrenching times in my life.  I wrote to encourage myself and now decided to share it with others.

3)  What have you learned about yourself throughout the process of writing your book?

I learned not to take things so personally. Most decisions are based on individual personal ambition.  Ambition is never right or wrong; it is the inner drive to have something more in your life.  But sometimes your ambition can clash with others.  You must not take it personally.

I also learned that having just me is enough because of God’s love.  I now feel comfortable in my own skin; imperfections in all. I may not be perfect but I am attempting to be a best that I can. And that is enough as long as I try to stay aligned with God. 

 

“The Reflections of Light for Daily Living: A Book of Affirmations for the Ambitious” will be released on October 23, 2010. (ISBN number 978-1-4512-3143-4 Publish America) http://www.publishamerica.net/product119240.html  The E-Book will be offered for the low price for $9.95.  The books are also available through Ingram book distributor.

Be sure to enter your giveaway preference in your comment - and leave contact information, or you will not be included in the drawings.

Happy Reading!

Bill  ;-)