Thursday, April 28, 2016

The Art of People



In today's world, more than ever, communication, particularly with the advent of social media is the key to success in the workplace. That's why Dave Kerpen, a social media marketer wrote this highly useful book entitled The Art of People. In his book, Kerpen outlines eleven broad skills that one can use to communicate in today's world. In each of these eleven skills, the author breaks things down further and focuses on one particular subset.

Kerpen's book is unique in that in each of the book's 53 short chapters, he presents a particular scenario that he, his wife, and his colleagues have encountered. He gives enough detail for the reader to make an educated guess at what he's trying to say. In the end, he summarizes the skills that apply to each scenario and presents the reader a three- or four-step action plan they can use to apply these skills to their personal and professional lives.

Overall, I found this book to be very helpful. I would recommend it to anybody living in today's society.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

War Hawk




War Hawk is the second entry in James Rollins' and Grant Blackwood's Tucker Wayne series. Just like the first Tucker Wayne novel The Kill SwitchWar Hawk is an engrossing and thrilling read. The plot of the novel is as follows: Tucker Wayne's old flame and former army colleague contacts him and tells him that her colleagues were murdered and she is next on the bad guys' kill list. When Tucker investigates, he stumbles upon a great conspiracy to control the world. Now, Tucker's trusted team which includes his trusted dog Kane and Jane, an army intelligence analyst, must unmask the conspiracy and prevent it from being implemented.

War Hawk has several themes, namely the use of advanced technology, particularly drones, by the military. In addition, Alan Turing is featured prominently in War Hawk. It was very interesting to see how his code-breaking work during World War II is applied to the modern battlefield and how it paved the way for the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) by the military.

In addition to all the high tech stuff and non-stop action, Rollins and Blackwood don't stop short on character development and interpersonal relationships. The characters on Tucker's team are particularly well developed, and their relationships among each other are likewise very strong. But perhaps the strongest relationship is between Tucker and his dog. The old adage that a dog is a man's best friend is particularly true in War Hawk. It is clear that both Tucker and Kane are so attached to each other that at times it felt like they were one and the same.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading War Hawk. Both James Rollins and Grant Blackwood are great story teller. Their story pulls you in from page one and keeps you in its tight vise-like grips until the last sentence. I would highly recommend War Hawk to any fan of high-octane military thrillers.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Monday, April 11, 2016

And After Many Days



Jowhor Ile's debut novel And After Many Days takes place in Nigeria in 1995. A 17-year-old boy named Paul Utu goes missing on his way to school and his family is left with many questions. The story is framed around social and political turmoil in Nigeria during that time. The story is told in third person, but from the point of view of Paul's younger brother. As it is customary for literary fiction, character development is particularly strong with each character facing their own set of challenges and their ways of dealing with them. It was very interesting to read a novel about everyday life in the developing world and how ordinary people face challenges every day.