Book Review: John Lennon "Imagine"

1st picture found at: http://www.topnews.in/light/people/john-lennon
2nd picture found at: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/john-lennon-jeff-burlingame/1112720243
3rd picture found at: http://www.greatmodernpictures.com/newpage3.htm
4th picture found at: http://howthehellshouldiknow-wallyworld.blogspot.com/2012/02/february-7-1964.html


           

              John Lennon "Imagine", by Jeff Burlingame, is a compelling biography about about one

of the most influential, inspiring, famous figure of the 20th and 21st century, John Lennon. The

book goes into great detail of every part of his life. The book even talks about his family before

he was born. From birth to death, John Lennon had a very difficult life, but also found that his

fame and success was fun and enjoyable. John was born in Liverpool, England on October 9,

1940 during a air battle of World War II. John's parents divorced young, and his father was in

and out of his life. John's mother left him to live with his aunt and uncle at the age of 6, and his

mother took care of her new family. John's uncle died after a few years of him living there, and

he was left to live alone with his aunt. John's love for poetry and music was amazing at such a

young age. His floor in his room was covered in pieces of paper full of songs and poetry. John

was also skilled with drawing. Even at this age, it can be observed that his ways gifted in the

way of the arts. Loving music, John started a band early on, and became very passionate about

it. The band consumed his life like dark clouds consume a sunny day. Although it had positive, it

also had negative affects. John lost interest in schooling and gave up on his studies. It seemed that

music was the only thing that he had. He and his mother started to get close again at the age of 15,

but it was ended shortly when she hit and killed by a car when he was 17. John's band started

becoming popular, and eventually started touring. His band mates played a huge role in his life, as

well as his song writing. They were his best friends. John's band, The Beatles, become the most

success full band of all time, landing all of them in the rock and role hall of fame. Today, the band

has sold over 1 billion copies of their music, and still rising. In 1970, the band officially broke up,

leading John into a unique and different solo career than most were expecting. It was common

knowledge that John Lennon was a peace activist, and protested the Vietnam War. He produced

most protesting the war as well as live protests from his and his wife's hotel room. He also began

experimenting with drugs. This ended a lot of respected views of the public, as well as gained some

troublesome ones from the government and F.B.I., for he lived in the U.S. at the time. The F.B.I.

were concerned that he was a national threat, and where thinking about deporting him. John started

on his upcoming new child, and cleaned up, and the F.B.I. stopped their quest to deport him. John

raised his kid in New York until he was shot and killed in 1980, by Mark David Chapman.

          Being the book's only character, it describes John in detail being very talented in not only

music, but writing and drawing also. I believe John's wonder in the world made himself very

creative, and made his music and songs very influential, as well as the way he sang. John's love for

music is what kept him in not making horrible mistakes in his early developing life. I believe that

he too even knew this after growing up. John Lennon was an amazing person from beginning to end.

        The theme of this book is obviously biography. The author did an impressive job of displaying

and describing every inch of his life, positive and negative. Putting in the amount of detail he did, Mr.

Burlingame made it very easy to understand what John well possibly was feeling at every twist and

turn of his roller coaster of a life.

        This book was extremely well written. I was all ready previously educated about John Lennon,

but I learned tons of interesting as well as shocking information. I say that even if you think you know

everything about him, this book will definitely expand your knowledge on this man. I recommend this

book to anyone, whether just trying to learn a few things, or want to learn everything.

        Jeff Burlingame has also written a biography on Kurt Cobain. If you enjoyed this biography, I

suggest you check this one out also. As well as this was written I would expect the same, if not more

quality. The title of the book is Kurt Cobain "Oh well, whatever, never mind". You can read more on

this book at http://www.yabookscentral.com/yanonfiction/6430-kurt-cobain-oh-well-whatever-nevermind. 

Book Review: Soldier X

    

1st picture found at: http://www.reviewandreact.com/store/pdetails4013.php
2nd picture found at: http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/classes/133p/133p0
4papers/KFrabottaHitlerYouth046.htm

          Soldier X, by Don Wulffson, is a book of twists and turns, as well as being someone

your not. Erik Brandt is Jugend Youth, which is the youth soldiers in Hitler's army in World

War II. He and his family are Russian, but they immigrated to Germany long ago. He is

sixteen, blond haired and blue eyed. The war is well in effect in 1944 in Nazi Germany, and

the new soldiers are running low, and the recruits are getting younger and younger. Erik gets

put into battle with little training. He got assigned to the Eastern Front fighting back the

approaching Russians. In the heat of his first battle, his company was over run from the

outside and enclosed behind the Russian line. He was wounded, shot in the leg, and went

unconscious. When he woke, he was lying among dead bodies, he heard Russian voices and

realized they were checking bodies to make sure they are dead. He made a decision, a

decision that changed his life. He located a straggling Russian and killed him quietly, then put

 on his uniform. Then, he laid down and started moaning. He was picked up and and brought

to a Russian aid station set up in a school. Since he is Russian he blended in. He remains here

for a while, and even receives a Russian medal for being wounded. While in the hospital, he

becomes involved with one of the nurses, Tamara. As he becomes more and more healed,

there is more and more of a chance for people to find out that he is a Nazi. Although he does

not want to be a Nazi anymore, it doesn't matter. When Erik burned his finger cooking, he

screamed something in German. Tamara heard and knew what he was. Erik didn't expect

for her to understand, but he tried anyway. Tamara loved him no matter who or what he was,

and kept it a secret. Conditions become worse for the town, when they found out that the

Germans are closing in. They are evacuated, but it is to late. The Germans were there, and

everyone got split up. Erik and Tamara were one their own. They set out for allied territory,

and they dreamed of eventually ending up in the United States. Going from place to place,

they stay the nights in generous peoples cabins and abandoned buildings. They find a German

squad and continue with them to Berlin. Disguised, yet again, Erik and Tamara tend to

wounded German soldiers. They soon leave the city, and continue heading Southwest. Hoping

to find American forces soon, they continue on. They enter a town where they conclude there

has been recent fighting. They decide to leave, but before they can, they hear voices. Erik

gasps, and then they are fired on by an American squad. Erik is shot up terribly, but still alive.

A machine gun blast had shattered his left arm; a bullet had entered his open mouth and exited

his left cheek; the heavy caliber bullets had also ricocheted and splintered, and fragments of

stone and steel had hit him in the head and fast; his left eye had also been abraded. Tamara had

had a bullet graze her head and it knocked her out cold. They were transported to an American

Red Cross Hospital in Stasfurt, Germany, where Erik's left arm was amputated. After Erik had

healed enough, he and Tamara left for the U.S., where they live now in Washington. No one

knows that Erik was a Nazi, in fact, they think that he is an American veteran.


            Erik didn't want to be involved with Germany's war, he actually didn't want to be in

Germany at all. He wanted to back in Russian, where he was born. Erik tries to not become

to close to anyone because he knows they are all likely to die, except Tamara, whom he loves

very much. Erik is sixteen for the duration of the book, and is blond haired and blue eyed.

Tamara is fifteen, and has black hair. Tamara is a nurse and enjoys helping people. Both Erik

and Tamara love each other very much.

          The theme of this book is war, and the extreme conditions that people are forced to live

in. War brings people together as well as tears them apart. In the book it describes Erik deserting

the German Army, which happened a lot during the war, and fleeing. Also in the book, Tamara

and Erik both leave every thing and head for America. What people do in war is demented. When

a country is not in war, they are arrested and imprisoned when they kill someone, but when a

country is in war, they promote killing, and want you to join the army.

          I enjoyed this book very much! It was very sad in a lot of parts, but I also found parts

where there was happy and joyful times too. I very much enjoy the history involved with the

plot, as well as the personal stories tied in. I recommend this book to everyone.  

         

Book Review: The Eleventh Plague

     

1st picture found at http://www.liter     2nd picture from http://astranavigo.com 

s-the-tea-party-and-a-future-amer

ica/-eleventh-plague-by-jeff-hirsch/

        

         The Eleventh Plague, by Jeff Hirsch, is a realistic action novel, with romance and sabotage.

America is dead, after a savage war with China, two thirds of the population is dead from a

mutated version of influenza, released by the Chinese. Stephen Quinn was born after the war and

is salvager with his father. Stephen's grandfather had just died from illness. Stephen and his father

are distraught, because his grandfather was the leader, and kept the group surviving. Stephen's

mother died when he was younger during child birth, which was a cruel way to die, considering

what was going on around them. She died trying to bring more life into the world, when

everything around them was dying. After burying his grandfather, Stephen and his father try to

continue on like nothing had happened, but that would be impossible, because that night they get

chased by slavers, a nasty group of people that believe that if there is no one enforcing no slavery

that it is ok again, during a storm. Stephen's father gets caught by a mudslide and gets swept into

a roaring river where he is getting smashed up. Stephen recovers his unconscious father, and finds

out that the back of his scull is smashed. Stephen tries to make camp, but with all the noise from

the previous night, it attracted another group of people that were scouting for there settlement that

they had created. Stephen, who was unaware that the group weren't slavers, starts to fight them.

Stephen gets himself captured, and then explains that he assumed that they were slavers. The

group lets Stephen and his father go, but also to him that he could come to their settlement where

they could provide medical treatment to his father, who was still unconscious. Stephen, after much

debate with himself, agrees. When he arrives at the settlement, and is amazed at what he sees.

The people of this camp had taken over an abandoned and remote little community. The town

was named Settler's Landing. With people, food, shelter, and even running water, Stephen is

stunned. He himself hasn't been anywhere stable at any point of his life, always going from North

to South year round in hope of finding anything. Stephen's father is now in a coma, and not

looking good. Stephen, preparing him self for the worst, is also trying to get used to people.

Settler's Landing is also equip with a base ball field, Stephen remembers stories of the sport from

his father and finds it a release of stress that he has at the moment. Stephen also meets a girl

named Jenny, a Chinese orphan who is a complete trouble maker. The two immediately spark a

romantic relationship, and prove to be huge influences in each others lives. Not liking the corrupt

nature of Settler's Landing, the two decide to leave the town with Stephen's father, but not

without a final blow. Stephen and Jenny set fireworks off in one of the town's family's animal

pen. Thinking that got attacked from a near by town, the family convinces the people of the town

that then need counter-attack. The two towns go into a full on war. Settler's Landing also hires

some slavers to go and take down the other town. Stephen and Jenny convince a majority of

Settler's Landing to betray the slavers, and try to make peace with the other town. Fighting the

slavers was not easy, because they were ex soldiers. After defeating the slavers, they convince

the other town to stop the fighting. With both towns weak, they decide to combine groups in

order to be strong. Recovering from the fight, the now big group continues their fight for

survival. Jenny and Stephen decide to stay with the town, after Stephen's father dies from his

head injury.

          Stephen is the main character. He is very curious as to what how the collapse of society

came to be. Stephen is white and skinny. He has brown hair, and is medium height. Stephen has

adapted to being a salvenger, searching for food and supplies, and is very capable to survive.

The kids of Settler's Landing first think that he is some kind of freak, especially being so

defensive, and Stephen doesn't care what they think. Stephen finds Jenny mysterious and yet

relatable. With the war being with China, and Jenny being Chinese, Stephen often wonders how

and why she ended up in the ruins of the U.S.  Also, they both are missing parents. Jenny doesn't

care about anything, except Stephen. The only way Jenny can express herself is by drawing.

        

          The theme of this book is survival, especially what people will do to survive. In the book,

Stephen, his grandfather, and his father had been traveling North to South year round in search

of anything. With no motivation, and no hope, why would they keep fighting on. Because, just

the simple aspect of live means so much to people, even without a purpose. When Stephen

gets to Settler's Landing and things go bad, they fight off a wave well trained slavers. If that

doesn't show what people will go to to survive, than I don't know what will.

          I recommend this book! It is very well written. The eeriness of the end of the U.S. adds a

very good feel. The character interaction also spices things up. Plus, the trace of old American

culture, such as baseball, makes it feel as if it was a normal time.