Set in the near future, Earth has been taken over by capitalism. Countries have become economic zones. There are lots of Little-Rich left, like entertainers and sports stars, but the world is run by five Super-Rich people, called Capitalists. Individually worth trillions of dollars, they each run a specific part of the world. Within their areas, they exert absolute control, and there is constant battle with the other four Capitalists. Techno-military updates occur at a furious pace, as each works to make sure that they are not the next to fall.

The world has experienced five Money Wars, to reduce the number of Capitalists to its present level. Those on the outside may not know that anything is happening, but, for those on the inside, they are short and brutal. A Capitalist’s net worth can drop by tens of billions of dollars in minutes. One of the Capitalists falls, and is captured. Instead of being executed, she is intentionally kept alive so she can be tortured over and over.

Much of this happens because of mercenaries called Night Soldiers. Loyal to whichever of the Capitalists offers the biggest paycheck, they get rid of the "undesirables" (whatever that means). Quincy is one of them. He has a bit of humanity left in him (concepts like love and God, anything that doesn’t involve money, are considered Old World, and have been thrown in the proverbial trashcan). He understands that Money Wars are going to continue until there is only one Capitalist left, The only group that can stand up to the Capitalists are the Night Soldiers. Meantime, Raskolnikov, another of the Capitalists, on his way down, wreaks ultimate vengeance on the rest of the world.

This book is cool, very plausible, very high-tech and does quite well in the "strange" department. The author says that he has invented a new genre called Extreme Fiction. I would be very interested in anything else he writes in this genre.

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Pepin can’t exactly fight Carloman for the crown (Carloman is next in line), but he has no such problem dealing with anyone else who gets in his way, including a treasonous, younger, half-brother named Grifo. Years later, Carloman is racked with guilt over a cold-blooded murder he committed in the heat of battle. He is convinced that the only way to atone for his sin is to "give" Pepin the crown, and join a monastery.

Pepin is constantly on the move, consolidating and expanding his territory. With help from the Pope, he establishes the Divine Right of Kings. He takes an army over the Alps, and almost does not make it, to help out the Pope in Italy. The conquered Italian cities are donated to the Pope, and become the Vatican.

This novel is a first-rate piece of writing. As much as possible, it’s based on historical fact, so it feels very plausible. It’s well done, and is a fitting end to a really good trilogy.

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There are the familiar predictions of life in the mid-21st century, if nothing is done about global warming. Sea levels will rise because of melting ice caps, flooding thousands of square miles of coastlines, displacing millions of people. Americans who live anywhere near the coast will find it increasingly hard, or impossible, to get flood insurance. Temperate climates will move north. Tropical climates will become hotter and more uninhabitable.

This book also visits the Carbone's, a typical family living in the American southeast. They own an SUV, and the two young sons live for video games and computers. The air conditioner is continually running all summer, the electronics are usually left on all day, and the SUV frequently has one occupant. The author looks at Mrs. Carbone starting an herb and vegetable garden in the back yard, Mr. Carbone becoming more environmentally aware at work, and the SUV being traded in for a smaller car.

The energy saving suggestions in this book may seem like common sense, but they bear repeating. Trade in your gas-guzzler for a more fuel-efficient car. If practical, consider mass transit. Start a vegetable garden, then start a compost pile. If your home or office computer needs to be on all day, use the monitor’s Sleep mode. Use your town’s recycling system. Keep in mind the distance traveled by produce to reach your supermarket, and buy local. Also, try vacationing closer to home. When a person has died, consider a biodegradable casket (isn’t the intention that the body be returned to the soil?). Last but not least, buy items with less packaging or items made from recycled materials.

This book does an excellent job of bringing an abstract subject like global warming down to earth. It says a lot, in a very easy to read format. It is also pretty funny, too. What can I, or my family, do about global warming? Here is the answer.

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Everyone has an area of calm deep inside themselves. Accessing that area will decrease stress, re-energize yourself, and enliven the spirit, without closing your eyes and sitting in a lotus position for hours.

Among the techniques are: breathing energy, ChiGung breath for calm, eating (or walking or commuting) with Awareness, magnify heart energy, magnify wisdom, seeing the good in all people and dealing with anger. Start with just one technique, and practice until it becomes second nature. Don’t expect to "get" all of these techniques the first time.

This book also mentions quick things that can also be done by anyone at any time. Change your screensaver or cell phone display to CALM or PRACTICE CALM. Breathe in for four seconds, hold for one second, and breathe out for four seconds. Check the muscles in your forehead, and around your eyes, to see if they are relaxed. Massage them if needed. On the subway, imagine your spine is a tube of pure white light, growing brighter and more intense.

This is intended for busy people who don’t want to read a lot of spiritual theory; they want to get right to How To Do It. The author is a former executive at JPMorgan, so he understands workplace stress. He has done a fine job with this book. It’s simple, effective, and best of all, it’s fast.

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Told as a parable, this is the story of Jack Bedford, part of the financial industry. Married, with 2 children, his workload has gotten overwhelming at one of those companies where the unspoken rule is: Don’t Be The First Person Out Of The Office At The End Of The Day. The 40-hour work week is a thing of the past. He has gotten discouraged at work, and is too tired at home to take an active role in the family. He moves to another company, but, after a few months, it’s more of the same. At a rare appearance at one of his son’s soccer games, a stranger suggests that Jack attend a half-day lecture about something called Big Rocks.

Imagine a large glass bowl. In that bowl are placed 6 (no more than 6) large rocks on which are written the things that really matter in a person’s life (spouse, children/family, personal health, education, etc.). Why do few people choose Work as one of their Big Rocks? Then fill up the bowl with small rocks, sand and water, representing things that fill up the day, but are not a "priority" (grocery shopping, shuttling children here and there, picking up dry cleaning, the latest weight-loss plan). What would happen if a person put in their Big Rocks last?

Next, a person has to decide how to fit their personal Big Rocks into their lives, on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. For instance, "Spend more time with spouse" is too vague, but "Take spouse out to dinner (not fast food) at least twice a month" is much more doable.

After Jack’s boss gives a lukewarm (at best) reception to Big Rocks, Jack starts job searching again. This time, he does his research the right way and takes his time.

This book should be required reading all over corporate America. It is especially recommended for those companies who think that Hours = Productivity and that their employees are happy to be there (they probably aren’t). A happy and engaged employee is one that will stay, thereby reducing turnover and raising productivity. Here is an excellent way to help create happy employees.

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If there is such a thing as The Reason for such a state of affairs, it is that, in general, journalists don’t bother to check a story’s accuracy. In this 24-hour-news world, there is little, or no, time to be thorough. It is better to be first than right. If a story has been covered by some other media outlet, it must automatically be legitimate. Also, an increasing number of scam artists have learned to package their scams in a media-friendly way.

All of us have seen such stories in the news. Some people claim to have found disgusting things in their food, like needles in soda cans, or fingers in chili. During Gulf War I, there was the widely reported accusation that Iraqi soldiers burst into Kuwaiti maternity wards, took the babies out of incubators, left them to die on the floor, and took the incubators. A popular story is the one about a crime victim, or someone, especially a child, fighting some major disease. Whether or not the poor individual actually exists tends to be forgotten. What if the reporter is the one who says they are sick, but then it turns out to be a lie. How many of these stories turn out to be true?

Included are a list of questions that the media consumer can ask to help weed out the hoaxes. How well is the story sourced? Is the story over hyped? Is the rumor inflammatory or slanderous? Does this interview subject have something to gain by lying? Was a “friend of a friend” the origin of the rumor? Does the story rely on unnamed sources? In war zones, does one of the warring sides seem to have media training or have hired a public relations firm?

This book belongs in every home in America. It does a fine job of showing just how easily scams and hoaxes can become news, and helping the consumer to distinguish them from legitimate news. The writing is first-rate and it is really easy to read.

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If your (ex-) employer offers the services of a job coach, take it. The person can, at minimum, point the job seeker in the right direction. One of the first things to do is to let go of any negative feelings toward your employer, then learn to accept yourself the way you are. The accompanying CD has several guided visualizations for assistance. Learn to trust the universe/the great spiral (or insert your preferred term). The job seeker needs to come up with answers to a number of questions about themselves. What do you do when you are not working? To what does your spirit call you? What is your internal guidance system telling you? Have you examined the patterns in your life? What is your passion? What if money were not an issue? Last but not least, who are you?

The author has not ignored the more familiar parts of the job search process. She looks at the resume, the cover letter, networking, the interview, the job offer, and what to do once you are in your "dream" job. There are also those days when, for whatever reason, it is not working, and giving up looks tempting.

The author spent many years in the corporate world, before turning to the holistic world, so she understands job searching. This very interesting book is helpful for those who have been laid off, and those who are thinking about a career change. Maybe some people just need to a different approach to find their passion. This is an excellent place to start.

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Some say that mankind came to North America by walking across the Bering Straits, when it was frozen, and heading south. Others say that mankind traveled across the Pacific from China or Polynesia, and across the Atlantic from Europe and the Mediterranean. If the Bering Straits point of view is "correct," then some questions come to mind. How could an Egyptian mummy, tested in 1992, test positive for cocaine and tobacco, both supposedly indigenous to America? How could the sweet potato be known throughout the Pacific Basin as early as 400 AD, when it too is supposedly indigenous to America? There are documented reports of stones found all over America, written in languages that pre-date Native Americans.

Think of "wandering bishops" as the religious equivalent of "diploma mills," schools that give diplomas to anyone. If a person can prove that their consecration as a bishop of the American Orthodox Catholic Church, or the Old Roman Catholic Church, for instance, is valid, then any rituals they perform will have just as much weight as that of a Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox bishop. These "churches" have few, if any, parishioners; what they have a lot of are American intelligence agents.

Many other questions come to mind while reading this book. Why are there no Native American tribes indigenous to the state of West Virginia? Did you know that "Kentucky" means "dark and bloody place," and that the original name for Kentucky was going to be Transylvania? Was Sirhan Sirhan the world’s first programmed assassin? Did you know that there is a section of Appalachia that is home to more than the normal number of serial killers, a sort of Bermuda Triangle for serial killers?

I really enjoyed this book (first of a series). Anyone who likes hidden history, or things that will not be found in regular history books, should read this book. It does a fine job of showing that American history has a pretty strong occult streak running through it. Very highly recommended.

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In the mid-20th century, the Benefactors rule under a benevolent dictatorship (but still a dictatorship) on the North American continent. This book takes place in the Missouri-Arkansas Territory of the Papal States of America. Most of the continent is off limits to P.S.A. citizens. The mere possession of parts to build a radio, or a Latin-English dictionary, are hanging offenses. Two senior members of the "church" travel into the Restricted Zone, contact the Romans by radio, and ask for help. The Romans have started to spread radio beacons throughout the galaxy because they have lost the knowledge of their origin. The Romans return to Earth, and defeat the Benefactors.

If life under the Benefactors is bad, life under the Romans is much worse. All young people are sent north to work in the iron mines, to pay for the Roman occupation. Any mother who refuses to send her child gets both hands chopped off. Those who remain are virtual slaves. A new insurgency is started among those who are left, Plains indian tribes (who live in the Restricted Zone), a more "liberal" Roman general, and the last of the Benefactors, who has been very influenced by the person whose body was taken over. Can they succeed, especially when told that 50,000 Roman troops will be arriving within days?

This one has some good alternate history ideas, and it’s an interesting speculation about Christianity. It gets rather bloody by the end, but it certainly belongs in that large gray area of Pretty Good or Worth Reading.

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This is a really unique and different book. The author grabs the reader from the first page, and does not let go until the end. Understanding this story is something else entirely. The reaction on finishing this book might be Huh?, but the reader will have a wild time getting there.

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