Finished (E-Reader) - "A Curious Man: The Strange and Brilliant Life of Robert Ripley" - Neal Thompson

I found Thompson's biography of Ripley (of "Believe It Or Not" fame) to be a compelling, can't put down book.

Ripley came from modest roots, almost finished high school, with few friends.  His skill was cartooning, which did make him modestly popular in later school drawing teachers and other amusing cartoons for fellow students.

A series of lucky contacts launched Ripley into doing sports illustrations for newspapers, which led to  "odd sports" comics, and eventually to "Believe It or Not".

Through cartooning and his life as a newspaper illustrator,  Ripley managed to do overseas voyages, paid for through the newspapers by writing and illustrating columns while on the road.

Ripley became very famous doing this, and eventually moved his cartooning into radio shows, in-person appearances and even into television.  A sideline was the "odditorium", part freak show, part display of souvenirs Ripley collected during his voyages.

The timeline of Ripley's life spans WWI, prohibition (which he avoided by travelling, drinking and writing about it), the depression and WWII.  This also spanned the heyday of cartooning (newspaper panel-type cartoons), the popularization of comic books (famously Superman started in 1938), radio shows and the new tech of television.  Ripley played a part in all of this, becoming one of the richest people in the U.S., some of which at a time when many had nothing at all.

His travels were interesting because Ripley seemed to be a tireless and brave traveller, with the sterotypic "ugly American" habit of refusing to speak any language other than English, choosing to speak louder if the recepient was not an English speaker.

Ripley was an odd man in his personal life, a world class handball player, playboy who made his home into a museum, which some found odd.  He enjoyed the limelight, which is remarkable in the 21st century "looks-only" media, as he wasn't classically beautiful, and had bad teeth for most of his life.  His life with women was interesting, as he had no problem attracting women, and had several serious relationships, but never had "the love of his life", a woman friend who died relatively young.

Ripley died in his 50's as his dad had of a heart attack, a few days after having some type of attack live on TV.  Oddly, his last show was a Memorial Day brtoadcast, and the last thing broadcast on Ripley's watch was the funeral song "Taps".

Finished (E-Reader) - "The First Phone Call from Heaven" - Mitch Albom

I can't say I really liked this particular book.  Again, it has a positive story - people are getting calls from dead relatives, with enough details to convince those called that they were their relative and that they were in the afterlife, which is magnificent.

I am a big fan of Mitch Albom's books - they tend to be very positive storylines and interesting stories.

Early in the book I had a foreboding that the book couldn't end well - it either had to belittle the faith of the "receivers" or have some "Stephen King" ending, neither of which were in line with what I read Albom's books for.

Spoilers ---------------------

I did find the conclusion to be a not very convincing "Stephen King" ending, preferable only to a "pooping on faith" ending.  The "somebody" having access to enough information and tech know-how to "fool" living relatives seemed far fetched and a little ex machina.

As a read, I don't regret reading it, but would not rank it among Albom's best.

Finished (E-Reader) - "Command Authority" - Tom Clancy

I'm really going to miss Tom Clancy (who died in October 2013), and his Jack Ryan universe.

"Command Authority" is a nice "finishing" book for Clancy/Ryan, as it really combines the history of Jack Ryan (Sr.) who is in the President of the U.S. in the present, and was a CIA analyst who spent a lot of time running around in dangerous situations as a younger man.  His son, Jack Ryan (Jr.) is also an analyst, and about the same age as Jack Sr. was during his spying adventures.

It seems Clancy didn't really like the Ryan character aging - he liked the young Alec Baldwin in "Hunt for Red October", but didn't like the older Harrison Ford in "Patriot Games" and "Clear and Present Danger" as he was older than the character Clancy identified as Ryan.

"Command Authority" flashes back on Jack (Sr.) 30 years ago on a case which is related to issues being dealt with in the present by Jack (Jr.).  It nicely ties in the "Jacks" to a fast paced story.

As I read the Clancy novels over time between my last 20's and now (in my seeming mid 100's), it is difficult to rank the stories.  I can safely say that I liked them all - ranging from OK to great.  However, I must acknowledge that I have changed over time and aged as rapidly as Jack Ryan (Sr.) in the books.  The first Clancy that you read is really an education in the genre, and shows you what a researcher and fan of the military and spycraft Clancy was.  There is a little lingo to learn (particularly the more military the books are) and you become more educated in how diplomacy, military, economics and politics work together and in opposition as you read more Clancy.

 I really liked "Patriot Games" due to the inclusion of the Duke and Duchess of Wales in the book (moved to more distant Royals in the movie), found Clancy becoming a little too politically right-wing when dealing with terrorism post-911, more black and white than he tended to be otherwise, which hurt the stories a little.  I think for the North American audience, the "hero" and "villain" in a terrorism-based story does not need to be explained, and there is much to be gained by showing why the "villains" believe so strongly in their actions.  They are still going to be blown away by the "good guys" but I think the tension is greater when both parties think they are "right" and "just" than if one side is painted a little too much in 2D.

"Command Authority" goes back to East-West tensions that were the peak of Clancy - the Soviet Union v. the U.S. - stakes high, "good" and "bad" clearly defined by geography.  Russia is seeking to expand territory back toward a more "Soviet" size, and the U.S. find itself defending countries who have relaxed their defenses after the U.S.S.R. fell.

The current world paralled the world that Jack (Sr.) inhabited 30 years earlier, so the flashbacks and stories meshed nicely, and the 30 year gap just means the frontliners of the past are the leaders today.

I was reminded of "Red Storm Rising" and "Hunt for Red October", earlier U.S. - U.S.S.R. stories, which, again, is a nice wrap-up on the Clancy/Ryan stories.

I think the story is readable for non-Clancyites, and can be read as the first Clancy experience, but a dedicated reader would appreciated the characters more if the 10 or so "Ryanverse" books are read in order - Clancy did a good job of evolving the Ryan (Sr.) character over time and kept many supporting players in the fold as well, many of which have well-defined and interesting back-stories.

If you don't want to go back that far, there are only 5 Ryan Jr. stories including this one: "The Teeth of the Tiger", "Dead or Alive", "Locked On", "Threat Vector" and "Command Authority").

TV Series - "Alphas"

Alphas is the story of a government agency consisting of about six folks, a psychiatrist who is counselling and mentoring "alphas" who are folks with some form of extraordinary abilities ("mutants" in the Marvel universe of comics), and a set of alphas who assist with finding other "alphas" for the purpose of helping those in need, or imprisoning those who are a danger.

I just discovered the series "Alphas", which has just been cancelled after 2 seasons.


I like these sort of series, as the bring "over" my comic book reading history into the television universe - S.H.I.E.L.D. is somewhat similar, as was "Heroes" and the short lived "Ordinary Family", all of which I really like(d).

I've just finished watching the first season, so it may suck in the 2nd, I'll have to see.


Update: Finished Season Two - great series, too bad it ended so abruptly.  A Third season might have tied up loose ends and finished off the series.