FCB Political Coffee Break: A Book For You & One For The Kids

For Our Readers we now bring you a welcome Coffee Break from politics as usual. Break away for a few minutes from the grind of work and from this non-stop election; take a few minutes for yourself, spend some extra time with the kids. This we bring you two non-political books for a review. One for you, and one that will spark the imagination of your children and yourself.

For The Adult Of The House -

Introducing the new release:
Assassin by the best selling author Stephen Coonts

Personal - In a follow up to his award-winning series about patriotic CIA Operative Tommy Carmellini, Coonts has once again capture the essence of American Patriotism in the War in the same way that Tom Clancy was able to capture the essence of American Patriotism in the Cold War. The book provides non-stop action in a series that is likely to make the eventual jump to the big screen.

Overview - When an Iraqi bomb kills Huntington Winchester's only child, the grieving father decides he and his privileged friends aren't doing enough to defend civilization against the jihadist threat. Winchester gets tacit approval from one of those friends, the unnamed U.S. president, for him and some other well-to-do types to finance their own private war. When al-Qaeda mastermind Abu Qasim discovers the identities of those in Winchester's group and targets them, Carmellini and his CIA boss, Adm. Jake Grafton, determine to set a trap that involves Qasim's possible daughter. Though the constant switching between various points-of-view distracts at times, the action moves swiftly to its Hollywood ending.


For The Kids:

The Tales Of Beetle The Bard - J.K. Rowling

Personal: Rowling is proving that she stills knows how to capitalize on the Harry Potter Series that sparked the imagination of tens-of-millions of Adults and Children worldwide. Although she completed the Potter saga last year, this December 4th she releases a spin-off, The Tales of Beetle The Bard. This is a pre-order, but may prove to be the best selling book of the year. Since its pre-order release, The Tales Of Beetle The Bard have topped the sales chart at every major retailer.

Amazon Review: Offering the trademark wit and imagination familiar to Rowling's legions of readers--as well as Aesop's wisdom and the occasional darkness of the Brothers Grimm--each of these five tales reveals a lesson befitting children and parents alike: the strength gained with a trusted friendship, the redemptive power of love, and the true magic that exists in the hearts of all of us. Rowling's new introduction also comments on the personal lessons she has taken from the Tales, noting that the characters in Beedle's collection "take their fates into their own hands, rather than taking a prolonged nap or waiting for someone to return a lost shoe," and "that magic causes as much trouble as it cures."

But the true jewel of this new edition is the enlightening and comprehensive commentary (including extensive footnotes!) by Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, who brings his unique wizard's-eye perspective to the collection. Discovered "among the many papers which Dumbledore left in his will to the Hogwarts Archives," the venerable wizard's ruminations on the Tales allow today's readers to place them in the context of 16th century Muggle society, even allowing that "Beedle was somewhat out of step with his times in preaching a message of brotherly love for Muggles" during the era of witch hunts that would eventually drive the wizarding community into self-imposed exile. In fact, versions of the same stories told in wizarding households would shock many for their uncharitable treatment of their Muggle characters.

Professor Dumbledore also includes fascinating historical backstory, including tidbits such as the history and pursuit of magic wands, a brief comment on the Dark Arts and its practitioners, and the struggles with censorship that eventually led "a certain Beatrix Bloxam" to cleanse the Tales of "much of the darker themes that she found distasteful," forever altering the meaning of the stories for their Muggle audience. Dumbledore also allows us a glimpse of his personal relationship to the Tales, remarking that it was through "Babbity Rabbity and Her Cackling Stump" that "many of us [wizards] first discovered that magic could not bring back the dead."

Both a wise and delightful addition to the Harry Potter canon, this new translation of The Tales of Beedle the Bard is all that fans could hope for and more--and an essential volume for the libraries of Muggles, wizards, and witches, both young and old.



Enjoy!