Too High a Price

The prologue of Too High a Price is extremely visual - five out-of-control ladle cars  full of liquid steel derail.  A manmade lake of fire results and then...a shrieking scream!

From that explosive opening we move to the courtroom of Judge Dorr III where we meet Joe Carter, a lawyer with one of Pittsburgh's larger law firms.  Dorr is not a fan of Carter.  Carter is big on body language, letting it speak his disbelief of  Robert Hart's story.  Mr. Hart was the person who let out the shrieking scream as his feet where hit by the liquid steel. Unfortunately for Mr. Hart there is a question as to whether his actions caused the accident or the company he worked for was at fault.

As the trial takes place you learn more of the back story behind the trial - Joe Carter once helped break a labor strike which has made him a target of some of Hart's less than savory co-workers.  It quickly becomes clear that something isn't quite right with the trial, particularly the jury.  Carter becomes concerned, reporting the issues to a senior partner in his law firm.  The reply?  "There's no percentage for you creating an issue when pursing the firm's immediate interests don't require you to."

From there the next 400-plus pages are a tumble through the world of personal-injury claims.  Carter wants to do the right thing but at what price?

"Everything in life has a price.  Each of us has to decide whether we're willing to pay the price without regard to the consequences."

Women in War by James E Wise Jr. and Scott Baron

When I was in college I had the opportunity to attend a leadership conference that included women involved in the Vietnam Women's Memorial, specifically one of the women that was used as a model for the statue.  I always remember her speaking because while she didn't give a hint that she was in trouble, as soon as the speech was over she was escorted to the hospital for blood poisoning.  Over time I've forgotten her name but I'll always remember her speech as it really opened my eyes to the lives behind the military 'picture.'  By that I mean, you see in the newspaper or online pictures of soldiers in remote locations and they seem so removed from my world that it is hard to relate to them sometimes.  It is important to remember that all soldiers are some one's child, they are an individual, and each has a unique story to tell. For that reason I tend to search out books like Women at War: Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Conflicts as they give you a brief look at the people behind the uniform.

This book looks at some of the amazing women who have served, specifically dealing with WWII on.  Technically WWI was the first war that American women were allowed to participate in but most were not allowed to serve anywhere other than France and only in the capacity of nurses.  This just serves to highlight how far women progressed by WWII.   Probably my favorite WWII story in this book is that of Cpl. Barbara Podoski who worked with the OSS.   She was at the center of an propaganda operation that was directly responsible for the surrendering of some 600 enemy soldiers.

In 1948, Congress passed legislation allowing women into the regular and reserve forces - with full rank and privileges - although it did exempt them from combat. From this time period comes the story of Col. Ruby Grace Bradley.  Although she was told by her recruiter "Now don't worry, you won't be in a war" she served in two and became the most decorated woman in the history of the U.S. Army.  She was one of the "Angels in Fatigues" as a POW during WWII and a combat nurse in Korea.  In Korea, many nurses were behind the lines but few actually served on the 'official' front lines. In 1951, the war landed on Maj. Bradley's doorstep once again as she worked to evacuate the sick and wounded from a hospital.  As chief nurse she refused to leave until all of the patients were loaded, despite sniper bullets and exploding ambulances.

"I don't think I'll forget Vietnam because it changed my trust in people..." Spc5 Karen Irene Offutt is quoted as saying.  That seems to sum up so many of the Vietnam stories. Spc5 Sheron Lee Green's story also highlights one of the forgotten aspects of the war - religion. I'll sum it up by saying that children in Catholic orphanages were treated differently than those in Buddhist orphanages.  "It wasn't only a war of North and South.  It was also a war of Catholic versus Buddhist."  I admit that I hadn't really considered that aspect of the Vietnam War until it was pointed out in this book.

The book also includes quite a few stories from the Iraq, Afghanistan and Persian Gulf conflicts.  They range from SSgt. Jessica Lee Clement's story in which she was injured and only had a 2% (yes, 2%) chance of survival to Maj. Mary Biglow Krueger's experience treating Afghan women who were seeing a doctor for the first time.  This section of the book goes into much more detail on the day to day issues facing women at war - doing laundry, working with men in primitive conditions, dealing with those who feel that women don't belong in the military, etc.

Overall, I liked this book and would recommend it to you.  Another book that you might find interesting is Army Strong Women: Building the Next Generation by Melissa Leigh Farmer which shares the stories of women from the Army.

My First Car by Matt Stone

A few weeks ago I visited the Frick Museum to see their Fabergé exhibit.  While there I thought I'd mosey on over to the transportation collection.  The Car and Carriage Museum was fabulous! Sooo much better than it looks on the website and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in antique carriages or cars.  Of course, it probably helped that I spent quite a bit of time talking to the docents, who were very helpful and told interesting stories.  While I'm much more of a carriage enthusiast than a car enthusiast, good workmanship should be appreciated in all its forms.  When I happened upon My First Car: Recollections of First Cars from Jay Leno, Tony Stewart, Carroll Shelby, Dan Ackroyd, Tom Wolfe and Many More! the next week I thought I'd check it out. Just like the museum, it was a pleasant surprise!

Let me start by saying that I didn't know who half the people in this book were.  I may have know their last names just because, hey, who hasn't heard of the Andretti family and I've used Meguiar's products on my car but that is about the extent of it.  I was a bit more familiar with some of the TV stars mentioned and since I live in the Pittsburgh area, of course I've heard of Andy Warhol.  But I bet you didn't know that Andy Warhol couldn't drive.  He tried learning to drive when he was 56 but never got past going out with an instructor.  I like learning little pieces of history like that.

The fact that Hugh Hefner's first car was a 1941 Chevy coupe that broke down  the same day he launched Playboy in 1953 is kind of cool.  Tom Wolfe's description of mushrooms growing out of the wood in his old station wagon is strange but as he says "It was a very strange car."  John McEnroe, of tennis fame, went from an old Ford Pinto to a Mercedes 450 SL (I don't even really know what that is but I do know that there is a big difference between a Ford Pinto and a Mercedes.). The story that I liked the best though is that of Piero Ferrari.

I was please to read that Piero's father, Enzo Ferrari, had the wisdom not to give a Ferrari to a teenager. Instead Piero's first car was a Morris Mini 993.   He has a great story about beating a Porsche up a series of hills.  Of course, what comes around goes around so he also has a story about being beat by a Ferrari, which he decided in the long run wasn't such a bad thing.

It was also fun to read about Carroll Shelby being grounded after going 80 mph on the day that he passed his drivers test.  He was 14 at the time.  Anyone surprised that he eventually helped create the Shelby Cobra?  Even I know what a Shelby Cobra is.  (It was 'Ashley' in Gone in Sixty Seconds)

I will say that I think this book is best read over several days.  As a non-car enthusiast I got bogged down a few times but found myself returning again and again.  I really enjoy hearing the quirky little stories that lurk in  everyone's closet, just waiting for the right time to be shared. They're the stories that make history come alive.

Kitty's Greatest Hits by Carrie Vaughn

"Why am I smiling? Because we totally save those people. We're werewolf superheroes! We're Batman and Robin! That's so awesome!                                    - Kitty in "Il Est Ne"

In general I tend to like Carrie Vaughn's work but I think this is some of the best writting she's done.  It is very tight. Kitty's Greatest Hits (Kitty Norville) shares some of the early highlights of Kitty, Ben and Rick's life.  And Cormac - I don't know about you but I always wondered how Cormac went from being a 'normal' person to a supernatural hitman.   "Looking After Family," "God's Creatures" and even "Long Time Waiting" explained so much!

If you have been reading Carrie's work then you know that she likes to put mix in some reality with that urban fantasy, which means Cormac ended up in prison when he got caught using violence as a solution. (The first time Cormac met Kitty he told her "I know what you are, and I'm coming to kill you" while she's on air.  Great introduction, right?)  It also means that when he gets out that he has to deal with the world changing while he was inside.  Much more realistic then just having a bounty hunter that never seems to deal with any of the consequences of his actions.

While I enjoyed all of the stories one of my favorites is "The Book of Daniel."  Leave it to an urban fantasy writer to take a Bible story and turn it into a shape-shifter story.  I hate to give away the plot but petty much everyone knows the basics from the Bible - Daniel is thrown into a den of lions and lives to tell about it.  In this edition, Daniel doesn't understand why God has inflicted him with this disease that causes him to lose control during the full-moon.  The story ends with King Darius saying "Your God is Powerful." and Daniel saying:

"And wise," Daniel said, thinking of all the full moon nights he had asked why.  Of course, God had known why.  "God is most wise."

Carrie always seems to include her play list with her books.  These are songs that she feels capture the feeling or tone of a story.  As you can expect many of them are rocking!  My favorite from this batch is actual one based on the origins of Rick, because really, you can't expect a 500-year old vampire to start out with rock n' roll.  I hope you enjoy it.