In present day Washington, a group of Iraqi terrorists storm the White House, taking approximately a hundred people hostage. The Secret Service is able to secure the President in an underground bunker. Unfortunately, the terrorists successfully jam all communication channels and no one can speak to the Commander in Chief. The shifty Vice President takes charge and thoroughly messes things up. Mitch Rapp, CIA counterterrorism operative, infiltrates the White House with the aim of freeing the hostages and killing the terrorist in charge.

This is a gripping thriller. The thing I enjoy most about the story are the negotiations and plans formed by the powers that be. From the ambitious V.P. with his eye on popularity numbers, to the FBI, CIA, and military leaders competitions for control, it is a wonder decisions get made.

Sally’s Rating:

Author: Vince Flynn

This was a different sort of book. It is written like a biography, including journal notes and letters of Mary MacKensie, “a proper Scottish lady.”. She sets sail for China in 1903 at the age of twenty. She then marries an English attaché in Peking. Not long after this she begins an affair with a Japanese soldier, and becomes pregnant with his baby.

The story describes her difficult life in China and Japan, first as a woman alone in a foreign country, and second, as a foreign woman with child. The novel spans about forty years. I find it remarkable a man wrote this novel through the voice of a woman. He did a wonderful job being Mary.

Sally’s Rating:

Author: Oswald Wynd

Three Cups of Deceit is a brief book by Krakauer, exposing Greg Mortenson as a fraud. And, as you will see in the book review below, I am just one of thousands of others that fell for the scam. What makes this sting all the more is Mortenson uses what appears to be a great and much needed cause to extort money from the public. Initially, I would recommend Three Cups of Tea as a breakthrough book, helping change the minds and lives of others for the good. Now I recommend filing it along with A Million Easy Pieces in the bin of your choice.

Reducing poverty and promoting literacy, especially for girls, is Mortensen’s podium for fighting Islamic extremism. American Greg Mortensen set out to make this happen in Afganistan.

Mortensen was a mountain climber and made a K-2 attempt but failed when injured. To recover, he was forced to spend months in a tiny village in the Himalayas. To thank the villagers for their care and friendship, Mortesen promises to come back one day and build them a school. So, he goes back to the states and figures-out how to make it happen given he is broke and essentially lives out of his car. With determination he is able to find a benefactor and travels back to the village and makes it happen.

The most interesting thing I found in this book, short of the places and people, are the discussions of religious extremism and the madrassah schools that foster jihad and anti-western views. These institutions mimic Germany’s highly effective Hitler Youth program aimed at building young nationals. I find the parallel interesting. Anyway, this is a great book, and well worth the read.

Sally’s Rating:

Author: Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin