The Cuckoo's Egg : Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage
by Clifford Stoll

Synopsis: Cliff Stoll was an astronomer turned systems manager at Lawrence Berkeley Lab when a 75-cent accounting error alerted him to the presence of an unauthorized users on his system. The hacker's code name was "Hunter"-- a mystery invader hiding inside a twisting electronic labyrinth, breaking into U.S. computer systems and stealing sensitive military and security information. Stoll began a one-man hunt of his own, spying on the spy-- and plunging into an incredible international probe that finally gained the attention of top U.S. counter-intelligence agents. The Cuckoo's Egg is his wild and suspenseful true story-- a year of deception, broken codes, satellites, missile bases and the ultimate sting operation-- and how one ingenious American trapped a spy ring paid in cash and cocaine, and reporting to the KGB.

My Humble Opinion: I could NOT put this book down once I got into it. I'm not a computer expert by any stretch of the imagination so some of the terminology and technology was slightly confusing to me. But the story was amazing. And what I found most amazing was the writer's frustration at the lack of help he got from government agencies like the FBI and CIA. I mean, this hacker was breaking into the milnet and no one seemed concerned enough to do anything about it! But yet, they wanted him to keep "watching" this guy for them. The internet was very young when this was happening and computer espionage wasn't high on anyone's list of major crimes. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the internet at all. Even a non-techie like myself could enjoy this book.

The Ten Thousand by Harold Coyle

Synopsis: Trapped in Eastern Europe by a united Germany with atomic weapons, an American army--led by Lieutenant General "Big Al" Malin--must fight its way through Germany to the safety of the Baltic Sea.

My Humble Opinion: I am not a big fan of military fiction. And this book had tons of details. I don't care about what kind of tanks or guns people were using. But there was something in this book that was more important than technical details. There were conflicts of conscience. Former allies, who lived together and trained together, suddenly ordered to fight each other. There are politicians sending people to die because of hidden agendas. There was an entire German Air Force that sabotaged their own planes rather than follow the orders they felt were morally wrong. The cost of war in terms of suffering is always sad. And this book only further confirmed my belief that war is wrong and is always caused by inept politicians. I really liked this book, even if it depressed me.... this kind of book really should NOT have a happy ending. And this one didn't.

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay

Synopsis: Set in largely pro-Nazi South Africa during World War II, The Power of One tells of Peekay, an English boy whose valiant odyssey through a land of superstition and modern prejudice makes him a symbol of belief in oneself to black and white alike.

My Humble Opinion: This book was at times heartwarming, at times so brutal that I wasn't sure I would be able to finish it, other times I couldn't put it down. Peekay is a young boy of English descent growing up in South Africa before/during/after WWII, who sees and understands (at least on the surface), the myriad of prejudices in the country that is his home. He knows these prejuduces exist - the Boers (those of German/Dutch descent) hate the English, the English hate the Boers, they both hate the blacks and the Jews... but on a personal level, he loves his black nanny and the black maids that live in his house, he becomes especially close to the black convict who teaches him to become a world-class boxer, he loves the German professor who becomes his mentor and substitute father, the Boer prison guards where he trains to box are all his friends and mentors; he loves the Jewish teacher who takes him under her wing and gives him the education he needs to gain admission to a prestigious English boarding school where he meets his best friend, a Jewish boy, who will teach him how to survive without the people who sheltered him and protected him all his life. So to Peekay, who knows these prejudices exist, these are people he loves. And this boy goes on to touch and bring hope to so many more people of all colors and creeds, just by being himself. The abuse he suffers, the challenges he faces, the difficulty he overcomes to find his "Power of One" is an extremely powerful story.

One True Thing by Anna Quindlen

Synopsis: A young woman is in jail, accused of the mercy killing of her mother. She says she didn't do it; she thinks she knows who did.

When Ellen Gulden first learns that her mother, Kate, has cancer, the disease is already far advanced. Her father insists that Ellen quit her job and come home to take care of Kate. Ellen has always been the special child in the family, the high achiever, her father's intellectual match, and the person caught in the middle between her parents. She has seen herself as very different from her mother, the talented homemaker, the family's popular center, its one true thing. Yet as Ellen begins to spend her days with Kate, she learns many surprising things, not only about herself but also about her mother, a woman she thought she knew so well. The life choices Ellen and her mother have made are reassessed in this deeply moving novel, a work of fiction that is richly imbued with profound insights into the complex lives of women and men.

My Humble Opinion: Ms. Quindlen's writing is a very powerful thing. Her description of people, places and emotions is unequalled in my opinion, yet it is so much a part of the story that you don't even realize it is there. But without it, there would be no story. This particular story touched me because I remember my own father's long terminal illness. I wish I had read this before my family had to endure that. The emotions that can bring a family together and/or tear it apart are so complex, and yet Ms. Quindlen captures them effortlessly in her book. I had a hard time reading this sometimes because of the tears in my eyes, but when it was finished, I felt as though I had been through grief therapy ten years after the death of my father. An incredibly touching, powerful book, in my humble opinion. The examination of the mother/daughter relationship was also right on the money in this book. To be able to write about the most complex relationship any woman will have in her life, and write it so well, is a gift.

Call to Duty by Richard Herman

Synopsis: Sailing through the Indian Ocean with her rock-rich chums, Heather Courtland--the wanton, drug-gulping daughter of a slimeball US senator--is captured by pirates who turn her over to the most powerful druglord in Asia, who makes her his number-one mistress while using her as a shield for his evil operations. American President Zack Pontowski, whose WW II heroics and romances are interwoven with the present-day storyline, reluctantly sends his most capable Delta Force Special Operations team to Thailand to retrieve the girl and her largely worthless companions before his senatorial archrival, Heather's father, can make political hay of the situation. Senator Courtland makes Joe McCarthy look sweet. He's perfectly willing, maybe even eager, to sacrifice his embarrassing daughter to the pirates if it will enhance his presidential chances, and now does everything he can to queer the rescue operation and make the President look inept. Fortunately for Heather--who had been rather enjoying her imprisonment until she was made a party favor--the Delta Force team and their British commando consultant are as clever as they come, and their daring plan to rescue the spoiled darlings may prove successful, even though the bad guys greatly outnumber them. Violently entertaining look at the kind of mess we may see more and more of as the New World order reveals itself. World War II looks cozy by comparison.

My Humble Opinion: It's a sad fact that brutal men like this exist in the world, good guys as well as bad guys. This was a great book, but I must confess that I enjoyed the WWII story which was interwoven into this book much more.... I am not naive enough to believe that brutality like this doesn't exist, but that doesn't mean that I really want to read about how to slit a man's throat and drop him to the ground soundlessly. It was a good book though, just not my cup of tea.