Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

I think most of us are at least familiar with the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. There are movies, TV shows and even a Broadway musical based on the story. In fact, it was the musical that made me want to read the original source material (it's good!). I went to my local Barnes and Noble and got it for about $8 (I love the B&N Classics Series). Excitedly I sat down to read, looking forward to the suspense, mystery. Murder! Mistaken Identities! Good vs. Evil! A real page turner, right? Hm...not so much. It's not a full novel but rather a short novella...about 60 or so pages. I got to the very end where Dr. Jekyll explains what he did and I didn't even want to read it. I wasn't attached to the characters, I didn't care what happened to them or what Jekyll's reasons/motivations where. I just did.not.care. If you're looking for an exciting story with a little mystery, don't bother. However, if you're looking for a story that kind of sort of looks at Victorian morals, this may be the story but probably not.

The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown (4 of 5 Disguised Pyramids)

Tom Hanks...I mean Robert Langdon, is out saving the world again from secret societies and crazy villains. In typical Dan Brown style he has marketed the novel to the widest base of readers as humanly possible. You'll be hooked by Brown's book if you are interested in any of the following: secret societies (the Masons), Washington, DC landmarks, wealthy families, emerging sciences, Ivy League schools, religion, politics, new technologies, exotic animals, attractive women, tattoos, Europe, family disputes, psychology, airplanes, black op government agencies, fast cars, secret tunnels, codes, symbols, US history, libraries, guns, art history, mathematics, romance, iPhones, computer hacking...uh...did I miss anything?...oh yeah, lap swimming.

Don't get me wrong. Like the rest of Dan Brown's books, I enjoyed The Lost Symbol enough to read 500 pages in under 48 hours. I felt it was kind of obnoxious though how Brown was perhaps tainting the book by packing so many things into it just to sell more copies. Did anyone else feel that way? And all that religious preaching at the end...that was new. Does anyone see Brown being the next L. Ron Hubbard?... :)

My primary connection with the book was its setting in Washington, DC. Having spent last summer out there doing an internship, I was pretty familiar with all of the locations that Brown described. I was a little disappointed though that there weren't more locations mentioned. The only one I hadn't seen in person was the Smithsonian Support Center. Has anyone been there? From Google Maps it looks like it is outside of the DC limits, southeast of the Mall.

While Angels and Demons was definitely more absurd than The Lost Symbol I enjoyed the former more for just that reason. Part of the fun of reading A&D was seeing just how far Brown would push the limits of his book...anti-matter bombs under the Vatican? Jumping out of helicopters without a parachute? Artificial insemination? Was anyone else disappointed to see how the movie version removed these crazy plot twists? TLS also lacked the prominent "time lock" that A&D had. While both novels had the midnight deadline for pending world catastrophe, A&D was constantly reaffirming the necessity of catching the villain each hour. TLS only mentioned the deadline a few times, which allowed the tension to dissipate somewhat during the middle of the novel.

Oh well. So it goes. Props to Dan Brown for making the book as good as it was. I just think it could have been much better. What did the rest of you think of it of The Lost Symbol?

Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela

I've finished a number of books recently but not felt a great need to review them here. This one, however, was different. Maybe it was the massive length of my copy--625 pages!--or maybe it was just the amazing nature of this story, but I do think everyone needs to take some time out of their lives and read the story of this extraordinary man's life.

Nelson Mandela is a Nobel Peace Prize winner and former president of South Africa. He is also a former anti-government terrorist and prisoner of South Africa. And it was that second part of the story I didn't know as much about. Long Walk to Freedom is Mandela's own retelling of his remarkable life. He doesn't shy away from much and the story is really fascinating. Scattered in between the facts, Mandela shares his own insights into leadership, politics, and life in general. One reviewer on Amazon.com referred to it as "a Manifesto for life!" and though I wouldn't gush that much, I was inspired by much of what I read. The sacrifices Mandela made, the trials he went through, the choices he made--good and bad, and how he came out of all of it in the end--make for a truly fascinating story.

I give it a solid A--even though it is a mighty long book to read.

The Autobiography of a Slave - Juan Manzano (3 of 5 Collections of Poetry)

Juan Manzano was a slave born in Cuba in 1797 to a wealthy plantation owner. As a house slave he was able to listen in on the classes of the white children as he cleaned. During his early adulthood he began write poetry. A rich white writer named Del Monte stumbled upon the poetry of Manzano and recognized the slave's potential to support the abolitionist movement in Cuba. Through a series of letters Del Monte guided Manzano through the process of writing his autobiography. The proceeds from the book helped Manzano to buy his freedom. He continued to write until his death.

The book has become popular in the last ten to twenty years in academia. As far as we know this is the only autobiography written by a slave during the time of slavery in the Caribbean. The original text was written in Spanish. It was then translated into English a few years later and distributed in England. For many years the book was out of print. It was resurrected in Cuba during the communist revolution.

The book did have some interesting details about slavery in the Caribbean, but remember that it was was picked up more for its historical significance rather than literary merit... It's pretty choppy due to the limited abilities of Manzano as a self-taught writer and the translation into English.

Rule #1 - Phil Town (5 of 5 Discounted Stocks)

Of all the many books I've read over the past year on investing, this is the most comprehensive resource I've found. Phil Town provides a solid foundation for anyone wanting to get into value investing. The value investing strategy is essentially buying stocks when they're cheap and then selling after the market corrects. Town pulls many of his core philosophies from famous investors Billy Graham and Warren Buffet, but updates the ideas for today's market conditions. This book is a great reference for anyone just getting started.

Once you've identified a business sector you're interested in and familiar with, Town helps you to identify particular companies that might make good investments. He guides you through the process of determining whether or not a business is going to continue to grow in the future. Next, he provides methods for determining the true value of the business. If the price per share offered by the market is less than half its value he recommends buying the stock and waiting for the correction. Once it has stopped rising, you sell off and take the profits.

Town's method is simple, concise and enlightening. It is targeted to beginning investors with a relatively large amount of capital who are looking for limited risk and average grow potential. If this is you, I would highly recommend investing some money in this book. You won't regret it.