Leaving Microsoft to Change the World by John Wood

In the late-1990s, John Wood was an executive in Microsoft when he decided to take a well-deserved vacation in the Himalayas. While travelling in Nepal, he visited a remote school, where he discovered that the students had almost no books in their school library. An avid reader who was blessed with a solid education, he decided to do something to help these children. This experience led to a life altering decision, in which he decided to quit his lucrative position in Microsoft and start Room to Read, a charity dedicated to building schools and libraries in third-word countries.

Today, Room to Read operates in 10 countries in Asia and Africa. In addition to helping build libraries and construct classrooms, the organization promotes gender equality in education by giving scholarships to young girls, promotes reading in youth by publishing local-language children's books, and trains educators. One of the key principles of the group is to co-invest with local populations whenever engaging in a project. This leads to a strong relationship in which locals help to build schools, deliver books and teach the young students, so they can acquire a sense of ownership.

This autobiography is an inspiring tale. At several points in the book I had to wipe away tears as I read about the immense impact that this charity has had. To illustrate how successful Room to Read has been, below is a chart that I took from their web site that indicates what they have done to date:

Schools	1,566
Libraries	14,627
Books Published	723
Books Distributed	12.1 million
Girls' Education Participants	19,622
Children Benefited	7.8 million

John Wood is a great role model who has inspired me to become more involved in charitable work. This wonderful story provides a practical example for how to make a difference in the world. An excellent, excellent book that is not only worth reading, but also acts as a catalyst for change.

5 out of 5 stars

Confessions of a Political Hitman: My Secret Life of Scandal, Corruption, Hypocrisy and Dirty Attacks That Decide Who Gets Elected (and Who Doesn't) by Stephen Marks

From 1994-2006, Stephen Marks worked as an opposition researcher for the Republican Party. Travelling across the United States, he dug up dirt on Democratic candidates and Republican clients who wanted to know how to defend themselves from political attacks. After working in numerous electoral campaigns (from local to state to national), Marks became disillusioned with both major U.S. political parties after uncovering countless cases of corruption and political hypocrisy.

When I first spotted this memoir in the public library I was intrigued. After reading it, however, I was disappointed to learn that it doesn't provide many political insights. It also very uneven. For while some parts of the book contain interesting stories, other chapters are simply “notebook dumps” of badly-written prose, with a few typos thrown in for good measure.

If you are interesting in learning how negative political campaigns are formed then you can skim through this book. But if you are looking for Machiavellian pearls of wisdom I would recommend looking somewhere else.

2 out of 5 stars

My Life by Bill Clinton

This is an OK memoir that provides a straightforward account of Bill Clinton's Presidency. Unfortunately for the reader, however, this book doesn't offer any deep insight into the life and mind of this complicated man. Furthermore, reading this book today, one can't help but notice the striking difference between President Obama, who is renowned for his cool, cerebral manner, and the chaotic mess that was the Clinton White House.

Bill Clinton is, without a doubt, a brilliant man. It is also clear that he is extremely empathetic. But what is so regretable is that he is also haunted by demons, which it appears that even he doesn't understand. In short, this book left me with the lasting impression that it was written by a highly intelligent man who wanted to do good, but who failed to live up to his promise by shooting himself in the foot in spectacular fashion.

2 1/2 out of 5 stars

Dateline Vermont by Chris Graff

Vermont is famous for being the most liberal state in the United States. For decades, however, this rural New England state voted Republican. In fact, from 1854 to 1988, Vermont voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election, except for the 1964 landslide of Lyndon Johnson.

Curious to find out how this once solidly red state became blue, I recently picked up a copy of "Dateline Vermont", while visiting Montpelier, the state capital. As the former Vermont bureau chief for the Associated Press, Graff covered Vermont politics for more than 25 years. In this memoir, he describes such momentous events as the rise and fall of Howard Dean, the defection of Senator Jim Jeffords from the Republican Party, and the rise of Bernie Sanders, the only democratic socialist in the United States Senate.

Though I enjoyed parts of the book, such as the the section on how the Vermont state legislature recognized same sex civil unions, I was disappointed overall. The main reason for this is that Graff's memoir failed to provide what I was looking for, namely, a good explanation of why Vermont turned its back on the Republican party. To be fair, this book does provide a thorough description of modern-day Vermont politics. What I did not find, however, was a strong analysis of why these events took place.

In short, this is an interesting read for serious students of Vermont politics. This being said, for those who don't live in New England -- which includes this Canadian -- this book is simply OK.

2 1/2 out of 5 stars

Writing in an Age of Silence by Sara Paretsky

This memoir by acclaimed mystery writer Sara Paretsky left me with mixed feelings. Published in 2007, shortly after the Republicans lost Congress in the mid-term elections, this book contains a fascinating analysis of U.S. culture. In particular, I was captivated by Paretsky’s feminist analysis of the U.S. myth – some would say self-destructive myth – of rugged individualism. I was also fascinated by her description of the racism, anti-communist paranoia and hypocrisy of the United States in the 20th century.

Unfortunately, the last chapter of the book is a complete disaster. Like many literary train wrecks the concluding section is based on good intentions. Disturbed by the Bush Administration’s reaction to September 11th, and in particular the passing of the Patriot Act, Paretsky writes a passionate defence of free speech. Her tone, however, is so shrill that it could pass of as a left-wing version of Fox News. Furthermore, some of her claims are highly dubious.

As a case in point, the last chapter argues, among other things, that media concentration in the publishing industry will limit the number of writers who can get published. This point, however, is contradicted by an earlier observation in which Paretsky writes that there are now so many female writers telling stories with strong women heroes that she can’t keep track of them all. Moreover, reading her memoir in 2009 with President Obama in the White House, the reader can be forgiven for thinking that her pessimism about the Unites States is highly exaggerated. This point becomes ironic when we find out that Paretsky lives in Chicago, the city that President Obama has called home for many years. In short, I found this book to be well written and fascinating in parts, while shrill and grossly one-sided in others.

2 1/2 out of 5 stars

Losing My Mind : An Intimate Look at Life with Alzheimer's by Thomas DeBaggio

In this incredibly brave book, Thomas DeBaggio describes what it’s like to suffer from Alzheimer’s. In a poignant autobiography, he offers a heart-breaking meditation on memory – and the role that memory plays in making us human – as well as a beautiful story of love, family and the power of words.

As the book progresses, we watch as DeBaggio struggles to hold on to the sentences that make up the description of his life, which seem to slip ever faster through his fingers. A writer of three previous books on herb farming, this loss of syntax and vocabulary is especially hard.

In the end, however, the reader can’t help but find a mysterious beauty in this tragic book. For as the author notes early on in his story, “Getting used to the idea of dying is difficult, emotionally and physically, but what awaits me is losing the idea of dying and that is incomprehensible and at the same time it may be liberating."

3 out of 5 stars

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama

A wonderful book. The brilliant writing – boy can Obama write – is akin to the work of an accomplished novelist, rather than a lawyer just out of law school. As a reader, it was a joy to read this story of self-discovery. As a person living outside the United States, this book reaffirms my hope in an Obama presidency.


4 out of 5 stars