“The Fellowship of the Ring” by J.R.R. Tolkien: The first part of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy was a good book. I definitely think every home should have a copy or three of this book. It is about a hobbit named Frodo who inherits a dark ring from his uncle. With help from his friends, Frodo realizes that he must destroy the ring. A fellowship of nine — Frodo and three other hobbits, two men, a wizard, a dwarf …
Author: Jason Feingold
‘Despite the System’
“Despite the System: Orson Welles Versus the Hollywood Studios” by Clinton Heylin: Orson Welles earned a place in Hollywood history as the flawed genius who created the most critically acclaimed movie of all time, “Citizen Kane,” then couldn’t live up to his own legend for the rest of his career. Heylin aims to counter critics such as Pauline Kael and Simon Callow, who blame Welles for his unfulfilled potential. Heylin sees Welles as an innovative artist for whom “Citizen Kane” …
‘The Children’s Blizzard’
“The Children’s Blizzard” by David Laskin: It’s all weather, all the time, in the story of how the Great Plains’ greatest winter storm surprised and overwhelmed forecasters and farm families, resulting in hundreds of deaths. The blizzard of Jan. 12, 1888, was not a “feathery sifting of gossamer powder,” but a “frozen sandstorm” propelled by 40-mph winds blasting arctic air down from Canada. Men and livestock couldn’t stand up to its blinding fury, let alone the hundreds of children in …
‘The Big Picture’
“The Big Picture: The New Logic of Money and Power in Hollywood” by Edward Jay Epstein: A six-headed monster — Fox, Sony, NBC Universal, Time Warner, Viacom and Disney — is conspiring to control entertainment, Epstein warns us with all the calm of Kevin McCarthy running through the city, shouting about the alien pod people, in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” Epstein illuminates Hollywood’s shift from making movies to delivering intellectual property. He reveals how a blockbuster can be a …
‘The Worlds of Herman Kahn’
“The Worlds of Herman Kahn: The Intuitive Science of Thermonuclear War” by Sharon Ghamari-Tabrizi: If you ever wanted to read a book about a technocrat, a geek, a free-thinking resident of the ivory-tower world of think tanks — well, this still probably isn’t the book for you. And if you don’t want to read about a career think-tanker who liked to dream of a world after global thermonuclear war, this definitely isn’t the book for you. I know it wasn’t …
“American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer” by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin: A little more levity would have well served the authors of this intentionally epic tale. But spending 25 years working on one biography, as Sherwin did, seems to force a more serious tone than living your life under the threat of thermonuclear annihilation. This book on the life of the father of the atomic bomb has the perfect title: It takes a Promethean …
‘The Bomb: A Life’
“The Bomb: A Life” by Gerard DeGroot: This year marks the 60th anniversary of those two terrifying days in August 1945 when we learned to love and hate the atomic bomb. To mark the birthday of the bomb, there’s no better present than this wry biography of the weapon that made us all think about the end of the world. DeGroot, who teaches history at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, tells you everything you ever wanted to know …
IDEU, HPD tend “Weed & Seed” garden
On April 27, 2007, members of the Interagency Drug Enforcement Unit and detectives from the Henderson Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division worked a special assignment.