I got Pygmy from the library's "New Fiction," a little by accident. I read Fight Club hungrily at sixteen, and felt grateful when I was finished. I went after the others later, but this is the first Palahniuk that's crossed my path in awhile.

My scolding superego says I should be tackling ambitious, weighty fiction, but the world is messy, and sometimes everyone wants to take a look at people even more fucked up than themselves.

I loved the dialectic writing from the beginning. Every quotation I found made me happier than the last. The observational criticism of American culture was as cuttingly funny as it was accurate -- it summed up my own ambivalence about the issues but more cleverly and specifically than I have been able to voice for myself.

That said, I began to get an uneasy feeling toward the end... I'm on a train, enjoying company, listening to stories, taking in the scenery of divergent culture thought... and all this is good until you come to ask, where is it we're headed? A love story? Please don't let that be true. Really? Tenderness and redemption are not what I need at the end of a story like this.

So I am glad I listened to a voice like that... but something went wrong, wrong. I have to wonder if this is the ending Palahniuk really wanted. I'm glad he tried something different, and he did it well. I try not to look backwards, but fella, this ain't what we're coming to you for.

Algeria, an unassuming village. Homely noises are transported into the mountains by a soothing breeze. It isn’t too long before we witness the brutal murder of the villagers, through the eyes of Asad Mohammad and his uncle, Omar, who see their whole family dreadfully assassinated before their eyes. Asad swears revenge and it is from that tragic experience of carnage and horror that his life will take a major turn, leading him to take some crucial choices that will make him a different man. Asad’s personal story intermingles with our time history, which involves MI5 agents and the risk of a tragic incident that would put the Western world in serious danger. The Awakening of The Lion is a thrilling and gripping story about terrorism, but not in a narrow sense.

The Awakening of the Lion is topical and brave, well researched and an education in itself, and could safely be labelled as a book of ‘our time’.

For more details about the book, visit site http://www.stevestoessler.com/

3.5 - 3.75(rating)

Covering a wide array of hot-button, often polarizing subjects such as Zionism, Nazism, radical terrorists factions, and where each fits into this highly controversial picture. Livingstone has delivered an important, albeit highly subjective book that's part history, part ideology/theology and part conspiracy theory. Terrorism and the Illuminati is an in-depth view of secret societies, terrorism and present day conflicts, from the perspective that all are interconnected, related and fueling each other, thus propelling the world towards a "clash of civilizations."

Terrorism and the Illuminati traces and connects individual groups such as the holy grail, freemasonry, the knights Templar and many others. Lords, legends, myths and elite bloodlines, when analyzed independently appear insignificant and are easily ignored. However, when the dots are connected, a very different picture beings to come into focus. According to like-minded individuals, keeping these connections broken and the lines blurred, has allowed these secret societies and their members to operate in the shadows of a meticulously cultivated public image.

While many dismiss the idea of secret societies and a one world government as mere conspiracy theories run amok, many others would argue that is part of the plan. One should stop and remember the words of the commissioner regarding the catastrophic events of 9-11..."a failure of policy and a failure of imagination..." Thinking outside the box has always been a trait of forward thinking individuals and societies. Analyzing the ridiculous or outlandish has resulted in numerous discoveries and inventions that in retrospect have shaped communities, academics, governments and the world as a whole and their creator's are given the highest, most prestigious recognitions. Although the ideas presented in this book have been discussed for hundreds and hundreds of years, interest in these age-old theories is obviously still alive and well, as was demonstrated by the response to Dan Brown's book "The Da Vinci Code," as well as, the popularity of the subsequent movie, which was an international blockbuster.

I recommend this book to those who enjoy reading books about the occult, secret societies, one world conspiracies and it's possible link to terrorism. Also those who simply enjoy a challenging, thought provoking read that stimulates the mind. Terrorism and the Illuminati offers a strong starting point to begin your own research into this interesting, controversial discussion. Livingstone has included (at the end of the book) an exhaustive resource list that provides readers with lots of information, from a variety of sources.

Happy Reading!

102 Minutes from the time the first plane struck the first tower and the second tower collapsed. 102 Minutes ...

The events of 911 was almost too much for the mind to comprehend - even now I find it so hard to believe that this actually happened. Dwyer & Flynn, New York Times reporters have invested a great deal of time researching the events of that morning and reconstructing all the bits and pieces into this heart-wrenching, but absolutely essential read. Gritty, honest and unflinching, Dwyer and Flynn tackled this with the fervor, conviction and passion necessary to bring this novel to the public.

Some 12000+ were able to safely escape the inferno that erupted in the WTC, the facts, presented make it abundantly clear that many more "should have" been able to escape...but instead were trapped and therefore sentenced to death on a crystal clear September morning. Many were told to "wait" for help to arrive, others were redirected back up the stairs by folks coming up saying it was impassable - when in fact there was a stairwell, intact and relatively clean, clear and smoke free, and the roof had been locked after the 93 bombing, but the employees did not know that.
As we watched that morning, in sheer horror, I couldn't help but wonder what these people must be feeling or thinking. I had to avert my eyes when people began to make their own final choice, rather than allow the terrorist to decide --
This book is not easy to read - but everyone should read it. I have read many books covering the 911 attacks and each is heart breaking, maddening and filled with strong, palpable emotion - 102 Minutes presents eye opening information, from the special exemptions given to the WTC for less stairways/elevators thus allowing for more office space - the result, of course, more revenue. Also, the continued communication problems with the WTC complex for the NYPD & NYFD --these had been glaringly revealed during the 93 attack, yet had not be rectified.

We met the worst of humanity with the best of America - the good, the bad and the sad and the maddening - it's all here in 102 Minutes, be prepared to feel strong emotions while reading this exceptionally well written novel -

-RJ