That was a great read. Good work!

Orlando Furioso

I read The Road a handful of years back and swore off Cormac McCarthy ever since. The story was good, though bleak as all hell, but I just couldn’t stand the dude’s writing style.

Just started "One Nation Under Blackmail"...two-book rabbit hole, but I watched a few hour interview with the author and found her extremely well researched.

It's not high brow, but i'm burning through the last kingdom books as fast as I can get them. It's the Bernard Cornwell book series that Netflix's The Last Kingdom is based off of. ****ing great!

Listening to his work via audiobooks was what cracked McCarthy for me. I couldn't get into No Country for Old Men when I tried to read it a few years back but blew through the audiobook. I decided to give his works a yearly listen since.

I’m also reading this Saxon Tales series, although I’m checking them out at the library. I think I’m competing with some other bastard because I try to check out 2 at a time and right now I’ve got volumes #4 and #6..
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I've rotated between audio and downloading through itunes depending on the work schedule and demands. I just finished Sword song. I downloaded The burning land on audio because ill be commuting an hour the next couple weeks. I cant wait to get to the next book but don't want them to end lol.

You didn't like "No Country for Old Men"?

Blood Meridian was so damn good to me. "No Country for Old Men" as well.

Your story is absolutely outstanding. Brilliantly done and very much enjoyed it. You hit all the notes in a very consistent way.

Re-reading "Latro in the mist" by Gene Wolfe. Wolfe released 3 novels about a Latin soldier fighting as a mercenary on the Persian side in the Wars between Persia and Greece. Latro gets a head wound that strips him of memory about noon, daily, so he learns to write down important news and reads the scroll often - to remember who he is, what he's done, what he's trying to do. They later released the first two books as Latrio in the Mist, and while it's a big book and requires some attention (Wolfe makes you figure out stuff all thru the book - even minor victories still count as victories) As a stroke victim with memory issues myself 'He's speaking to me' and I enjoy reading this every year or two. JoCo library no longer has a copy, so I buy 2nd hand copies on Amazon when they come on for less than $10. I've bought several over the years and given 'em away. Favorite books make a good gift - even if the gifted don't 'really get it'. A few hints - Latro calls the various countries, tribes, etc...by the 'translated name' that makes sense to him. So the Spartans he calls 'Rope makers'. The wound that caused his memory problems has a side effect. He can see Gods, and magical beings that the ancient Greeks and Persians and proto-Romans like Latro believe surround them. It's pretty cool to figure out who or what he sees that no one else can see. Sidebar - if Latro sees a god or goddess and touches them, everyone in the room can see them. This leads to an orgy or two, and convinces the people who've captured him that he ought to get some special treatment. A few of them accompany him trying to heal him - things happen along the way. It's really well written, I always read it slowly because some of these lines are the best thing, ever. As mentioned, 'Latro in the Mist' is the 2 book combo (Soldier in the Mist/Soldier of Arete) and Soldier of Sidon follows up. Wolfe passed away a few years ago, but left us some good stuff. Recommended.

https://deadline.com/2023/06/cormac-...ad-1235416172/ I won't say Cormac McCarthy was 'a fun read' but he was good at his job. RIP

I never read No Country! The Road was my introduction to McCarthy and I was so turned off that I have sworn him off altogether lol

I do like Chiefspants' recommendation of going the Audiobook, though. That may help me.

I am actually in the midst of trying to read through some old classics and sometimes they can be a slog with their old timey prose. I'm currently in the middle of Lord of the Flies, 1984 and My Bondage and My Freedom.

I probably read the first handful of pages of Dracula 10 times before I just said "**** it" and got the Audiobook from the library. Put that bad boy on while I was at the gym and knocked it out in a few days. It was a much better experience (the book ended up being pretty good too).

I definitely recommend listening to No Country even if you've seen the movie. I love the movie, but Bell's character is so vastly improved in the book and I honestly don't think there is a weak stretch throughout it. Chigurh might be more terrifying/memorable in the adaptation, but a big part of that is Bardem putting on a Mahomes like performance in that role.

RIP to Cormac. He lived a long life but that news still hit hard.

Okay, for Father’s Day one of my sons gave me six Jack Carr novels, and I’m pretty excited to start reading them. I’m a big fan of Lee Child and his Jack Reacher series, so I think I’m going to enjoy reading these.

Has anyone here read any of these?
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Looks like we got ourselves a reader.


Just finished the Bible. Cover-to-cover for the first time ever. Took over a year.

If we’re counting audiobooks I’ve listened to The Wager and liked it so much I listened to Killers of the Flower moon. I also listened to Five Families. It wasn’t particularly engaging but it is fascinating how Cosa Nostra has developed over the course of time.

I will listen to that podcast Through the bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.

I like hearing his take and stories, he has great insight to what was going on in those times as well.

It looks like they are going to make the book The Wager into a movie, looking forward to seeing Killers of the Flower Moon into one. The latter is to come out in October this year. I would expect The Wager to be a couple years away perhaps longer.

I think I've read every one of the Jack Reachers but am interested into reading one of the Jack Carr novels for sure.

Cormac died. Congrats chiefs planet. You killed a guy.

Oh no. No more pretentious, depressing books.

How was Cormac pretentious?

I've actually thought about it a fair bit. I'm probably not in favor of making these 2 into movies.

Thing is these books are TIGHT. There isn't a lot that can be removed from double digit hours worth of reading get all the relevant detail and plot points down to a 2 hour movie. In both cases.

Both stories. But most notably, Killers of the Flower Moon. In The Wager, the story needs to be treated with respect, and that means the requisite detail so it doesn't cheapen the story or the Herculean effort of involved parties. Killers of the Flower Moon is a different animal altogether. There is most definitely an antagonist and a victim(s). The breadth and depth of exploitation of these people is immeasurable. THAT is the point of the story. Not some neat little detective story. Now, that's not to say the victims were completely faultless or perfect angels, which adds to the complexity and intrigue of the story. But to leave out virtually any detail in the book is going to be all but unacceptable. I'm not one to beat oppression drum too hard, but this is a ****ing tough story. And it needs to be told properly.

All that being said, I'm not an artist. Filmmakers these days can do amazing things, but it's going to be difficult to overcome the level of detail required to adequately tell these stories.

Those books were tiiiiiight.

Cool, I'll definitely check that out.

I'm going to reread at least the Old Testament very soon because I started with the NKJV but switched to the NLT when I started Psalms because I was getting bogged down with the older language in the NKJV.

As it pertains to the Old Testament, you should note that the fine folks over at Cornerstone Chapel are doing a deep dive into both books of Samuel right now as their continuing weekday bible study. It's in Virginia which might be a bit of a drive, but lucky for you, they upload it all online. Here's the latest.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nUGagUT1f3I" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Samuel 2 is the most important and best book not only in the OT but in the whole bible too. That's because Faulkner wrote an allegorical novel based on it called "Absalom, Absalom!" which is the best novel ever written in all of time. Only a couple of Dostoevsky's works come close.

J Vernon is DA MAN!!:clap::clap:

NLT rocks !! What I use.;)

NKJV is the most accurate translation

The way to understand the Bible as a whole is that the New Testament is hidden in the Old Testament and the Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament.

BTW, I'm reading "Democrats hate America" by Mark Levin;)

Crime and Punishment is my second favorite novel of all-time. Really puts you inside the head of someone going crazy from guilt.

My all-time favorite novel is the unabridged version of Count of Monte Cristo. If you haven't read that definitely check it out. The ultimate story of vengeance.

I have not read that but if you dig C&P as you do, and put Monte Crisco even ahead of that, I am intrigued. It's going on the list!

You are a scholar, sir.

PBJ

Please please please let me know what you think of it! I'm actually excited for you. It's such a spectacular book! I'm having a hard time not telling you all about it, but other than it being the ultimate story of vengeance I won't say anything more. It's so great!

*Make sure to get the unabridged version. Way longer and way better! I started with the abridged version and loved it, then read the unabridged and was like a kid in a candy store for two months!

I went big Mr. Hammersticks. I've always regarded your posts and sensibilities as elite so I have full confidence this recommendation will work out well. The Raider Crusader having high regard for it too just gets me more pumped, cause that guy also knows what time it is, as the youths say. Plus my Dad used to hype it up but I remember telling him if I'm gonna read something that long, it's gonna be The Possessed aka Demons by Dostoevksy (which I've since read) or it'll be War and Peace by Tolstoy (still working up to that one). So on your recommendation, I moved W&P down and I've got the Count in the mail now.

Unabridged version of course (I did notice you specified that) and I went full leather-bound, collector's edition. $40 isn't bad considering how many hours of entertainment and enlightenment and intrigue this will be worth. Here's a link to the version I bought. I think this version looks better than the Easton Press 1st Printing leather edition which is listed on ebay for $320 new or like $100 used.

Once I get a decent way into it I'll probably create a thread about this book in the media center, as I've been known to do (my Across the River and Into the Trees thread got like 14 replies so these are hit threads). I'll let you and Carr know when that day comes so you can get in there too! Cheers!

OMG my mind is blown!!
https://media.tenor.com/tvFWFDXRrmMA...mind-blown.gif

Just finished Plato's Republic. That's one dense read. Very hard to read in small chunks as the dialogues tend to carry on for a bit. It felt funny to read it; it was so challenging that I ended up reading 3 full books while "taking a break" from Republic. Seems like I should say that I didn't like it much and struggled to finish it but in reality, it was a great book that took a bunch of mental energy to try to comprehend.

I’ve read the first three, and almost halfway through the fourth.
The character James Reece is a bad ass that the enemy does not want to piss off.

A little more gory than Reacher.
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Damn.

I thought for sure this would be a cross thread humor bump considering what they're talking about in the "DC" thread.

Have you ever read any Will Jordan novels? He has a whole series starring a character named Ryan Drake. They are making movies out of them now. From my understanding, it's a lot like that Jason Bourne stuff you dig, secclark. But better. This is a guy that knows what time it is. He's on youtube under the name "The Critical Drinker" and from what I can tell, he does drink the Scotch. He's from Scotland though so it's normal there.

For real check out Will Jordan though, you'll love it.

Just finished Quest for the Grail.

Still holds up a thousand years later.

I just wanted to thank you for this recommendation. What a sad, strange, victorious then sad and strange again, saga for a proud people.

The world has always had some heartless MF'ers, and some of these murderers are near the top of the list.

Yeah, for sure **** the murderers. But also **** the mother****ers that were blatantly defrauding them as their guardians or whatever term they used. Jesus Christ. That made me hurt physically.

It's been 30 years since I've read "The Stand". About to dive in again.

Brad you little high brow sweetheart - what are you reading RN?!?!

I've got two going at the same time. Raymond Chandler's "Farewell my Lovely" and James M. Cain's "The Postman Always Rings Twice" It has one of my favorite lines of all time. "I kissed her. Her eyes were shining up at me like two blue stars. It was like being in church."

Which version do you read? I’m gf loves King so I got her the unabridged version of The Stand. It had a dude with a bullet casing in his mouth on the cover.

She said the shit just meandered for the longest time. It was a slog to get through for her. I felt bad about that.

I just finished Chandler's "Trouble is my Business"--basically four Marlowe novellas. Excellent Noir.

A little trivia for ya, BilOlChiefsfan. Have you ever read the Raymond Chandler novel "The Big Sleep?". I assume you have cause you're a Chandler fan. Did you know that it was adapted for the silver screen by some Mississippian dude that thought he was a writer but needed to pay his mortgage so took that gig? His name was William Faulkner, and he would later win both the Nobel prize for literature as well as multiple Pulitzers. The picture starred Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, a pair that would become iconic in Hollywood.

The same duo starred in the film adaptation of "To Have and Have Not". That novel was written by Ernest Hemingway, but guess who adapted it? Not Hemingway - he wanted too much money. It was William Faulkner himself! Howard Hawkes famously said "Hemingway wants how much? Screw him - Faulkner will do it way cheaper and he's a way better writer anyway!". So Hemingway's main rival took his novel and made it into a movie. Had to have pissed him off.

Faulkner adapted multiple movies and The Big Sleep and To Have and Have Not were but a couple.

I think The Big Sleep is good but it feels like an hour got cut out that really needed to be there. There are just so many named characters and a bunch never even show up in the film - you just gotta keep track of what they're doing as you hear about it through dialogue. It's tough for a non-Chandler reader to really figure it all out at first viewing IMO.

While I wait for The Count of Monte Cristo to be delivered, currently scheduled for July 8th, I needed something else to read. So I'm now halfway through Mikhail Bulgakov's "Heart of a Dog". It is about a dog that a Russian scientist experiments on by grafting the testicles and pituitary gland of a recently deceased human ruffian onto the dog's groin and brain. The dog ends up transforming into a human, but it's still a dog at heart. Thus, the title "Heart of a Dog". The creature ends up going far in Soviet politics.

It's a wild tale. The world famous one-line "let's have a smoke or I'll give you a poke" comes from this.

It's mostly comedic but operates as a scathing indictment on Marxism as well, which is why it was banned in the Soviet Union for so long, as was basically everything Bulgakov wrote (although Stalin quite liked his stuff, which is why he was never executed, Stalin would still ban it. One time, Bulgakov got so tired of everything he wrote getting banned, that he wrote a play that was strictly about how great Stalin was. He just wanted something to be produced without being banned. That play got immediately banned LOLLL).

Bulgakov was a pretty big time baller. The whole thing checks in at 117 pages so it isn't a huge investment for those with the inclination. It's like Soviet Frankenstein, essentially.

Buehler,

I have found The Wager to also be a great book. Facinating description of how these ships were virtually remade after a long voyage. It's amazing they made it past a single trip across the water. The press gangs were another story of how the empire forced men onto these ships due to a shortage of sailors.

Turns out Vlad is alive and well, is about 1/3rd of the way through Count of Monte Cristo, and provided a very enjoyable, detailed review in my PMs. He hasn't been posting because he thought he was banned, but recently found out it was only temporary.

Bumping this thread in hopes that he'll copy & paste the review he provided me so that others who have read it can enjoy his highly-perceptive perspectives on it as much as I did.

Recently read Mind Hunters, the book that inspired the Netflix series. The world produces some insane people.

Then a quick read of No Country For Old Men.

Starting The Field Of Blood Violence In Congress and the Road to the Civil War

"The Democrat Party Hates America" by Mark Levin:clap:

Regarding Monte Cristo, I am about 300 pages into the approx 1,000 pages. I find the plot quite compelling and have often found it hard to put down to see what happens next. I also constantly look up historical and geographical and literary references, as well as all the words I don't know, so that makes it slow going. But still, 300 pages ain't nothing. I'd have finished most novels at that length.

This whole book is based on the premise that young Dantes', a very competent up-and-coming ship captain to-be gets back-stabbed with a false allegation and ends up going down hard on it, so hard that he ends up imprisoned in the Alcatraz of France. His term of imprisonment was pretty rough but was good reading how he ultimately plans an escape, then improvises another when opportunity arises.

My complaint to this point though is that we're supposed to see Dantes' as a naive and innocent young lad that gets falsely accused of what amounts to treason. But the dude knowingly captained his ship to Corsica and picked up a package from Napolean, who was there in exile, and was then going to deliver the package to an addressee in Paris. The book even mentions that Dantes' MET Napolean. So I say he really wasn't innocent. Napolean was deposed at this point, exiled, and the King was in power. He was essentially engaging in espionage and treason and he had to have known that! Sure, he says it was all to honor the dying wish of the previous captain, but he just had to know that his activities would be highly illegal according to the King actually in power. And so therefore, I say that Dantes' wasn't so innocent after all. Naive, sure. In over his head with that espionage stuff, absolutely. Didn't intend on committing a high crime. But you gotta know what you're getting into! My analogy would be if someone came up to you at the airport and said 'I'm dying but can you please take this package on your flight and deliver it to someone for me? Thanks!' The authorities aren't gonna buy that you didn't know there was a kilo of heroin in that package if/when you get caught with it, ya know?

So I don't have quite the sympathy for Dantes' that Dumas was probably intending. Not that he deserved what he got necessarily.

Currently, I'm at the part where a new character, a rich guy of some description, goes to the island only to find out that a bandit pirate type of legend is based there, and they blindfold him and take him into Dantes' opulent lair, and Dantes' (or shall I say Sinbad the Sailor) gives em a lavish meal and they do hashish. He's just waking up from that stupor now.

Overall, I had no idea Dumas was such a good writer. The prose, the diction, is very proper and precise. Nobody writes like this anymore. And he makes tons of historical references so at one point I started watching all the YouTubes I could about the Napoleonic period and Napolean's exile to Corsica, his return, his defeat at Waterloo, all that. I knew the broad strokes but it got me into the history a lot more. Now my movie list includes a Napolean biopic that I wouldn't have had interest in before, AND there's a big time new Napolean movie coming out soon that I'm now pumped for too, although with modernity I'm sure Napolean will be played by a hispanic woman in the new one. But worth keeping an eye on to be certain!

Another thing, you can tell Dumas (a Frenchman) didn't like the English by the way he clowns on the English when Dantes' is briefly disguised as an Englishman. The French and the Brits really aren't fans of one another and Dumas let's just a bit of that get into his writing which is hilarious.

I would give this 3.5 out of 4 stars so far. It's a helluva long read but it also jumps ahead in time quite a bit, so it's an epic. Faulkner and Hemingway are my two go-to writers along with Dostoevsky and I don't think any of the three spanned such a time period in their works as Dumas does with the Count of Monte Cristo. This thing is an epic.

Helluva recommendation by Mr. Hammersticks!

Almost done with this one. Can’t wait to see the movie next month.

Anyone else familiar with Monte Cristo? Raider Crusader I thought you've read this bad boy! You should if you haven't. Sure it's long but you gotta look at it like you would a TV Series like Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones before it turned terrible. It's good entertainment that lasts a long time.

Now Mr. hammersticks, I have a complaint. It's minor enough but through 300 pages I think it sticks: Characterization. What can we really say about Dantés, about what kind of person he is, what his personality is like? We don't get that much. Maybe it's a limitation on 3rd person narration, but if you were describing Dantés to someone, could you say much about him?

We know just some basic stuff:

-highly competent sailor
-good natured, stand up guy
-Caring guy and loves his fiancee
-too trusting; naive. Assumes the best of people even when he shouldn't
-Fairly smart, the way he learned so much from his fellow prisoner and did all that undiscovered tunneling.

That's all we really get in these first 300 pages, and then when it flashes forward in time, some of that has totally changed. He's now cunning, ruthless, playing the long game, staying a step ahead of everyone. Feels like a totally different character when he's in Sinbad the Sailor mode than he was before.

Faulkner and Dostoevsky and even Hemingway put you into the head of their characters. They felt like real, often flawed, people. Dante's, far less so.

It was Shelby Foote that said that even a high school sophomore can write a surprisingly good description of a sunset, but the 2nd and 3rd levels of great fiction that a novelist must achieve are (1) being able to write characters that can stand up on their own two feet and (3) plot. Foote himself had characters that met that bar and I recommend checking him out.

I posit that Dumas had plot down really well, which is what makes this novel a classic. The suspense, the action, all on point. And his prose was elegant to the point that few literary figures could compare (only the best). I like all the historical references he throws in there - dude was very educated and well-researched. But I grade him down a little bit cause I don't think Dantés has great characterization.

My favorite character is M. Noiterer and I like Villefort, despite being the antagonist. Both those characters have some complexity and some mystery to them.

Do you agree or no about the characterization of Dante's?

Also I was talking to a coworker and she was telling me about her daughter being in ballet, a production of the Nutcracker. I said I can't claim to be much into ballet but I know Tchaikovsky composed that and Tchaikovsky is absolutely top notch. Then I googled to prove it and found that Dumas himself adapted the Nutcracker; basically he wrote it. Not sure what his source material was for the adaptation but some trivia for ya - he wrote Monte Cristo, he wrote 3 Musketeers, and he wrote the most famous ballet I can think of too! Talented cat.

More Monte Cristo discussion is needed!

Wow, my apologies Vlad, don't know how I missed this! I agree that Dostoevsky did a better job of putting you inside the head of his characters. That's what I loved so much about Crime and Punishment. I felt like I was inside the head of Raskolnikov as the guilt from his crime drove him insane. It was fascinating, and there were times when I found it next to impossible to put the book down.

In terms of Monte Cristo specific to Dantés - at the beginning of the novel he's portrayed as a young, ambitious, and honest sailor who is well-liked by his colleagues and superiors. Dumas described him as being intelligent, brave, and loyal, and known for his strong sense of justice and morality. And yes, as you say, he's definitely naive and too trusting. Your comment about him not really being innocent was a perspective I had never really considered, but a very valid one based on the reasons you provided. I had never considered him as anything but naive and too trusting when it came to picking up the package and delivering it. You made me think, and look at it from an entirely new perspective!

Obviously, after Dantés was betrayed and imprisoned, he underwent a significant transformation. He became totally disillusioned with society and humanity, and developed a deep sense of bitterness and anger towards those who wronged him. He becomes obsessed with revenge and spent years plotting and scheming to exact his revenge on those who wronged him. I don't want to spoil it for you, but one of the reasons I loved Monte Cristo so much is that Dantés (or the Count) obviously had the financial means and the brainpower to immediately destroy all of those who wronged him, but instead he prolonged his vengeance to the point of brutally torturing his enemies. Way worse than just immediately killing them. His vengeance was completely humiliating and soul-crushing to his enemies!

But despite his desire for soul-crushing vengeance, and the extraordinary lengths he went to in order to exact it, Dantés - or the Count by this time - was obviously still a very charismatic and highly intelligent man who was able to win the respect and admiration of everyone around him. The movie actually does a great job portraying this. He adopted various personas and disguises convincingly, and he became very skilled at manipulating people and situations to achieve the vengeance that consumed him.

I'd say his personality is revealed by his thoughts and actions. He's a complex and nuanced guy. He has both admirable and questionable personality traits. He is driven by a strong sense of justice and a desire to right the wrongs that were done to him, but he is also willing to go to great lengths to achieve his goals, including using deception, manipulation, and even violence.

It's basically the tale of two people because of the changes he undergoes throughout the novel. He is intelligent, charismatic, and driven, but also bitter, vengeful, and willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals.

On the recommendation of my brother, I’m currently reading a great book by Annie Jacobsen titled Nuclear War A Scenario.

Incredibly entertaining and kind of frightening. She obviously has great sources that really help develop the outline of the story. It begins with what happens one second after a nuclear warhead is fired.

And while it’s fiction, it’s an amazing journey, thoroughly researched and it’s one of the best reads in which I’ve immersed myself.

Worth every minute.

i've read it once before, in my late teens/early twenties, but picked it up recently and got interested in how my perspective has changed, so reading it again.

The Warrior Within: The Philosophies of Bruce Lee


It's not about fighting, more about general life philosophy, the universe and our place in it, etc.

The last book I read was The Devil's Chessboard.

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer

Soul of Shame by Curt Thompson MD

The latter is not "light" reading to say the least

I read a series of books called, “The Empire of Man” with John Ringo and David Weber which I enjoyed thoroughly.

Lo brow for sure but I've gotten back into retro horror books with bonus points for unsolicited sleaze

Quintana Roo is delivering

https://i.imgur.com/7RmiKZK.jpg

Just picked up "The Butcher: Anatomy of a Mafia Psychopath"

The story is about Tommy "Karate" Pitera. One of the mobs craziest serial killers along with guys like Roy DeMeo and Gaspipe Casso.

I know someone in the life who was a real tough guy that had an interaction with him and said he was the only guy who made him shit his pants.
Stone cold killer and incredibly unstable. Just a pure nutbag.

Goddamn Chiefsplanet is slow today

Just finished a pretty good 2 book series by fantasy writer Gene Wolfe, based on Norse myth. "The Knight" & "The Wizard", Wolfe makes you pay attention - some of it is just hints, not 'look here - Big Finish!'.

Listened to the wolf in the north by Duncan Hamilton. Was pretty decent. Been binge audio booking the game of thrones books while in working solo. About 45 hours worth in a week and a half. It’s going to suck when they hire someone for me to train and I have to talk to people again.

Ohh how was that? I've been considering reading it.

You'd think with all these ****s hitting retirement age it would pick up but apparently not...

Just because we are retired doesn't mean we spend all our time in here...although I do admit to being on here more than I used to be when I worked.

But part of that is because my wife has this passion to keep me busy in my retirement.

Also....what I am presently reading is The Bone Code by Kathy Reochs. It another of the Temperance Brennan novels .

Plus I am reading "How to Retire Happy, Wild and Free" by Ernie J. Zelinski.