Steve Hopkins’ Bookshelves
This Bookshelf: All Books Authors A through G
Links to Other Bookshelves
Web Page
PDF (Searchable)
All Books Authors A through G
All Books Authors A through G
All Books Authors H through M
All Books Authors H through M
All Books Authors N through Z
All Books Authors N through Z
Current Bookshelf: 2021 Books
Current Bookshelf: 2021 Books
This web page lists all books appearing on the pages of Executive Times and at http://bkrev.blogspot.com from April 1999 through
December 2020 for authors last names from A through M. For the pending list (The Shelf of Possibility) and reviews by Steve Hopkins
in 2021, visit http://www.hopkinsandcompany.com/2021books.html. You can click on the title of a rated book to jump to the detailed
book review. Click on the picture of any jacket cover to jump to amazon.com where you can purchase a copy of any book on this shelf.
You can jump to an issue of Executive Times by hitting the date in the “Issue Date” column. When you hit a broken link, send an e-mail
to books@hopkinsandcompany.com to request what you want.
Key to Ratings 1999-2012
Key to Ratings: 2013 and
after
Outstanding book-read it
now
*****
I love it
Highly recommended
****
I like it
Recommended
***
It’s OK
Mildly recommended
**
I don’t like it
Read if your interest is
strong
*
I hate it
Do Not Read: Take a Pass
DNR
Title (Click on
Link to
purchase at
amazon.com)
Author(s)
Blog Date
Comments
Click on Picture to
Purchase at
amazon.com
One Nation
Under Gods: A
History of the
Mormon Church
Abanes, Richard
Feb 03
Saints Revealed. From Joseph Smith at the
beginning to the 2002 Olympics, Abanes presents a
history of Mormonism that reveals them to be a
cult, not the Christian religion they present to the
world.
American Rose:
A Nation Laid
Bare: The Life
and Times of
Gypsy Rose Lee
Abbott, Karen
2/24/12
Legend. Readers who enjoy biographies of 20
th
century figures are those most likely to enjoy Karen
Abbott’s book titled, American Rose: A Nation Laid
Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee. Abbott
structured this book like a striptease: she sways
back and forth in time and reveals a little here and a
little there. The versions of a life presented here are
interesting and entertaining. The characters,
especially Rose herself, her mother, sister Joan and
son Erik are intriguing and complex. Abbott
presents the people and their times with vivid
anecdotes and finely written prose. I was engaged
from beginning to end by this interesting life.
Liar, Temptress,
Soldier, Spy:
Four Women
Undercover in
the Civil War
Abbott, Karen
2/24/15
Heroines. Civil war buffs are those readers who
will relish Karen Abbott’s book titled, Liar,
Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover
in the Civil War. General readers, especially those
who like books that provide fine prose about
interesting characters, will also enjoy reading this
interesting book. Abbott describes the actives of
four courageous women during the Civil War: Belle
Boyd,
Emma Edmonds, Rose O'Neal Greenhow and
Elizabeth Van Lew. Belle was a successful spy for
the Confederacy. Emma disguised herself as a man
to enlist as a Union soldier. Rose used her contacts
with Northern politicians to send information to
Confederate generals, and represented the
Confederacy abroad. Elizabeth was a Richmond
abolitionist who ran a spy ring under the noses of
the enemy. Abbott’s prose draws readers into the
stories of these heroic women, and is likely to keep
readers interested and engaged. I came away from
this book both entertained and informed.
Sin in the
Second City
Abbott, Karen
Oct 07
Sisters. Riveting non-fiction about the two sisters
who ran a first-class brothel in Chicago from 1900
to 1910 and the women they employed, the clients
they served and the politicians they paid.
The Ghosts of
Eden Park: The
Bootleg King,
the Women
Who Pursued
Him, and the
Murder That
Shocked Jazz-
Age America
Abbott, Karen
9/24/19
Remus. I don’t read a lot of true crime books, but
I’ve enjoyed Karen Abbott’s prior books, so I picked
up her latest, The Ghosts of Eden Park: The Bootleg
King, the Women Who Pursued Him, and the
Murder That Shocked Jazz-Age America. I had
never heard of a bootlegger named George Remus
who in 1935 owned more than a third of all the
liquor in the United States. Thanks to Abbott’s fine
writing, she pulls readers into the world of this
larger than life character and what the USA was like
during Prohibition. I defy readers to complete these
400+ pages and not at some time find oneself
rooting for George Remus, especially when one’s
enthusiasm has been enhanced by a few fingers of
bourbon.
Give Me Your
Hand
Abbott, Megan
9/12/18
Friendship. In her novel titled, Give Me Your
Hand, Megan Abbott presents the relationship
between two women, Kit and Diane. Just when we
begin to think we understand these women, things
are not as they appear. Secrets have great power,
and ambition can be a powerful force in life. Rivalry
takes many forms. Abbott weaves all that together
in ways that will remind all readers that life never
proceeds in a straight line, and what you think is
going on might be far from what’s happening.
Out of
Mesopotamia
Abdoh, Salar
11/9/20
Endless. For an immersive mediation on war, read
Salar Abdoh’s novel titled, Out of Mesopotamia.
From the perspective of protagonist Saleh, a
journalist, we struggle to make sense of those who
are engaged in what seems like endless war. With
great skill, Abdoh can be poetic and authentic in the
same sentence. We’re led into the darkness of war
where we find some form of enlightenment about
why we do what we do. Most readers will finish this
novel somewhat weakened by proximity to the
fragility of life.
The Great
Prostate Hoax:
How Big
Medicine
Hijacked the
PSA Test and
Caused a Public
Health Disaster
Ablin, Richard J.
and Ronald
Piana
Shelf of Ennui 2014.
A Perfect Mess
Abrahamson,
Eric and David
H. Freedman
June 07
Tidy. Authors meander through a premise that
things may be done better through disorder rather
than via neatness and order. Readers fixated on one
way of acting will learn that alternatives can work
better.
Capitol
Punishment:
The Hard Truth
About
Washington
Corruption
From America's
Most Notorious
Lobbyist
Abramoff, Jack
I looked at the photos and read the first few pages. I
concluded quickly that I really didn’t want to know