Mailbox Monday, April 6, 2009

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia of The Printed Page. What books came into your home last week?


Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad, received from Shelf Awareness ad, (I think).
From the age of three, Norman Ollestad was thrust into the world of surfing and competitive downhill skiing by the intense, charismatic father he both idolized and resented. While his friends were riding bikes, playing ball, and going to birthday parties, young Norman was whisked away in pursuit of wild and demanding adventures. Yet it were these exhilarating tests of skill that prepared "Boy Wonder," as his father called him, to become a fearless champion—and ultimately saved his life.
Flying to a ski championship ceremony in February 1979, the chartered Cessna carrying Norman, his father, his father's girlfriend, and the pilot crashed into the San Gabriel Mountains and was suspended at 8,200 feet, engulfed in a blizzard. "Dad and I were a team, and he was Superman," Ollestad writes. But now Norman's father was dead, and the devastated eleven-year-old had to descend the treacherous, icy mountain alone.
Set amid the spontaneous, uninhibited surf culture of Malibu and Mexico in the late 1970s, this riveting memoir, written in crisp Hemingwayesque prose, recalls Ollestad's childhood and the magnetic man whose determination and love infuriated and inspired him—and also taught him to overcome the indomitable. As it illuminates the complicated bond between an extraordinary father and his son, Ollestad's powerful and unforgettable true story offers remarkable insight for us all.


Ultimatum by Matthew Glass , received from Shelf Awareness ad, (again…I think…my record keeping was atrocious on these two books! I didn’t even remember requesting them! It’s hell getting old!).
From Booklist
In this near-future thriller, Joe Benton, the newly elected president of the U.S., is shocked to learn that his predecessor’s administration has been knowingly underreporting the catastrophic effects of global warming. In truth, the world is dangerously close to disaster, forcing Benton to find a way to broker an accord between the world’s worst polluter, China, and the U.S. But can the new president forge a path to peace with the U.S.’s old enemy? Fans of political thrillers will flock to this one, which combines realistic characters with shrewd political and environmental commentary. Some readers might quibble that the world of 2032 is a bit vaguely formed (with small changes, the novel could as easily have been set next year), but that’s a fairly minor quibble. The novel is propelled by character and dialogue, but it’s solidly plotted, too, and given the current public interest in global warming, it may spark some interesting debate on the subject.

Feeling a might bit irritated by the letter received with Ultimatum…in it the publisher describes the book as a “cross between a Michael Crichton type thriller and the TV show West Wing”. I’ve never seen West Wing, but after reading the book blurb, I have to wonder if the publisher ever read Crichton’s “State of Fear”? Crichton must be rolling over in his grave to have his book mentioned in connection with this book!