Green Books Review: Driven to Kill – Vehicles as Weapons

This review is part of the Green Books campaign. Today, 100 bloggers are reviewing 100 great books printed in an environmentally friendly way. Our goal is to encourage publishers to get greener and readers to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books.

This campaign is organized by Eco-Libris, a company working to “green up” the book industry by promoting the adoption of green practices, balancing out books by planting trees and supporting green books.

A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on Eco-Libris website.

The book I received to review is printed on recycled paper.

In “Driven to Kill, J. Peter Rothe examines the use of vehicles in cases of assault, abduction, rape, gang warfare, terrorism, suicide and murder. He asks the question, “What separates an everyday driver from a motorized menace?”

“Driven to Kill” is listed under the sociology-criminology genre and is recommended for an audience consisting of sociologists, criminologists, policy makers and police, as well as public health, injury prevention and traffic safety professionals.

The last on the list is what attracted me to this book. Several years ago, I was the coordinator for a local traffic safety project and I really learned a lot about that issue as I worked with a wide range of traffic professionals, including local police departments and state agencies.

Also, my bachelor’s degree is in social sciences. As such, I love to read about social issues that affect people on a personal level … particularly those found in their own backyard.

So, not only was the book of interest to me because of the topic, I also wanted to support Eco-Libris’ attempt to get the word out about how books can be printed responsibly and sustainably. For more information about Eco-Libris, go to their Web site (www.ecolibris.net).

And now for the review!

From the back of the book:

“In Driven to Kill, J. Peter Rothe unflinchingly examines the use of vehicles in cases of assault, abduction, rape, gang warfare, terrorism, suicide, and murder. How can a car be such an enabling force for the gamut of society’s most heinous crimes?”

The average reader may, understandably, find this book slightly dry, but for someone interested in this subject matter, it comes across as fascinating and intriguing. Full of useful information, the author obviously spent quite a bit of time researching the issue of vehicles as weapons.

Anyone involved in traffic safety will tell you the average vehicle is equal to a 2,400 pound torpedo, capable of doing a great amount of damage. Used the wrong way to intentionally harm someone, that torpedo can quickly become a rocket streaking down the highway.

Rothe looks at the damage that can be done when a vehicle is out of control, but he also examines other ways a car can be used to commit crimes.

I found the book very educational and it did, indeed, expand my knowledge of this topic. The chapters are very well arranged to make it easy to follow.

Plus, he adds some interesting stories – although some may be a bit graphic for sensitive readers.

I would recommend this book to anyone who deals with traffic on a regular basis, such as police officers. The insights gained could save a life.

Green Books campaign: 1 Day, 100 bloggers, 100 green books, 100 reviews

In times when global warming and environmental issues are receiving growing public attention, book lovers are not indifferent, either. Tomorrow (Tuesday, Nov. 10) at 1 p.m. eastern time, 100 bloggers will take a stand to support books printed in an eco-friendly manner by simultaneously publishing reviews of 100 such books.

Organized by Eco-Libris, this campaign is aiming to promote “green” books by reviewing 100 books printed on recycled paper or FSC-certified paper.

“Although there's so much hype around e-books, books printed on paper dominate the book market and we want them to be as environmentally sound as possible,” Raz Godelnik, co-founder and CEO of Eco-Libris, said. “Very few books are currently printed responsibly and we hope this initiative will bring more exposure to “green” books. Through this campaign we want to encourage publishers to get greener and readers to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books.”

Over 35 publishers from the U.S., Canada and the U.K. are taking part in this campaign, providing participating bloggers with their latest books printed on recycled paper and FSC certified paper for review.

One of these publishers is Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing. Five books of its “Little Green Books” series will be reviewed in the campaign.

“The mission of the Little Green Books series is to plant the seeds of earth-friendly living at an early age,” Julie Christopher, senior marketing manager at Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, said. “We were delighted to work with Eco-Libris on the campaign to help to spread this important message,”

Another participating publisher is HarperOne with three books.

“By publishing books like The Green Bible, the companion volume The Green Bible Devotional, and Green Collar Economy by Van Jones, HarperOne hopes to help inspire people to take action and help save the earth's environment,” Sam Barry, marketing and Bible promotions manager at HarperOne, said. “But these books can't help if no one hears about them, which is why we are grateful to be participating in the Eco-Libris 'It's Time for a Green Book' campaign.”

The participating books are in a variety of subjects – cooking, poetry, travel, adventure and more.

“The fact that all of these books are printed responsibly is barely known to the average reader,” Godelnik said. “We hope this campaign will help change this situation. If eco-friendly books will become more popular, the “green” factor will become more prominent.”

For my book, I will be reviewing the non-fiction book “Driven to Kill: Vehicles as Weapons” by J. Peter Rothe. This compelling study focuses on the role vehicles (cars, trucks, motorcycles, etc.) have in crime.

The book is printed on a very nice quality paper and you’d never know it’s recycled. Please stop by tomorrow and read my review.

Also, head over to the Eco-Libris site and find out more about this innovative company that is working to green up the book industry by promoting the adoption of green practices, balancing out books by planting trees and supporting green books.

Links to all participating blogs are available at Eco-Libris Web site (www.ecolibris.net/greenbookscampaign.asp).

Review: A Circle of Souls

By Preetham Grandhi

From the back of the book:

“The sleepy town of Newbury, Connecticut, is shocked when a little girl is found brutally murdered. The town’s top detective, perplexed by a complete lack of leads, calls in FBI agent Leia Bines, an expert in cases involving children. Meanwhile, Dr. Peter Gram, a psychiatrist at Newbury’s hospital, searches desperately for the cause of seven-year-old Naya Hasting’s devastating nightmares.”

I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. It has the elements of several different styles of writing, including horror, mystery and psychological thriller. And it was also refreshing in that there was no sex or vulgar language.

However, there are vivid descriptions of murder that could potentially make some readers queasy.

I’ve always been a fan of this type of story. I cut my serious reader teeth on Stephen King and, at one time, that’s about the only author I’d follow. It was when I ran out of books by King that I began branching out to different authors and genres.

“A Circle of Souls” was sent to me by the author and I’m glad I agreed to review his book.

There are several elements I liked about Preetham’s style of writing. First, I liked his short, punchy chapters. I also enjoyed the way he wove the different stories together to come full circle to where they connected.

I also liked how he described the characters so you really felt like you knew them and understood their thought processes. You knew whether you were supposed to like a character or not because their personalities came through in the writing.

Plus, it was an interesting story line integrating several belief systems, including Hinduism and Jamaican voodoo.

As you get toward the end of the book and you think you have it figured out, Preetham throws a curve ball and provides a surprise ending that makes perfect sense.

Great read, super writer … I’m looking forward to more work by this author in the future.

Wednesday Word Skills

These words are from the novel "Jackson" by T.P. Jones.

Fillip = strike with the nail of a finger snapped from the end of the thumb; to tap or strike smartly.

Ukase = an edict or order; proclamation by an absolute or arbitrary authority.

Alter kocker = Someone who is inept at whatever he is trying to do.

Mahout = the keeper or driver of an elephant.

Obfuscation = confuse, bewilder, stupefy; make obscure or unclear.

Monstrance = a receptacle in which the consecrated Host is exposed for adoration.

Vitrine = a glass cabinet or case, esp. for displaying art objects.

Lunette = an area enframed by an arch or vault; a painting, sculpture or window filling such an area.

Gadfly = a person who persistently annoys or provokes others with criticism, schemes, ideas, demands, requests, etc.

Sunder = to separate; part; divide; sever.

Doyenne = a woman who is the senior member, as in age or rank, of a group, class, profession, etc.

Lappet = a small lap, flap, or loosely hanging part.

Dreck = worthless trash; junk.

Soughed = made a rushing, rustling or murmuring sound; preached in a whining, singsong voice.

Proscenium = the arch that separates a stage from the auditorium.

Verisimilitude = the appearance or semblance of truth; likelihood; probability.

Carrel = a small recess or enclosed area in a library stack, designed for individual study or reading.

Meshugge = senseless; crazy.

Momzer = a child born of a marriage forbidden in Judaism.

Bubke = absolutely nothing; something worthless.

Halloween Update

Well, David loved trick-or-treat! He smiled the entire time they were out going from house to house.
Of course, he can't eat the candy, but he really doesn't care!
He's actually turning out to be quite the social bee. He likes just about everyone he meets.
And the costume was perfect because he's a bouncer. He may never learn to walk because if you put him on his feet, he bops up and down.
It's kind of fun having our own little Tigger!

Happy Halloween!

Today is the day when little ghosties and ghoulies will be out prowling the streets! When I was a little girl, it was always a special treat when Halloween came on Saturday. It meant we could start trick-or-treating earlier and we had longer to perfect our costume.

This will be the first Halloween for itty bitty David. He's 7 months old now and even though he doesn't care at all about tricks or treats, mom and dad want to show him off! He will be dressed up as Pooh dressed up as Tigger. They spent a fortune on his costume, but ya know, that's OK. They will have fun and Grandma will get to take his picture!

We don't typically get many children on our block. Mostly, that's because we are the only house with the lights on, so it's kind of a waste of time to walk down the street for one treat. We'll get a few, though, so they will make out like bandits.

I will have to turn off the lights for a little while. I need to take pictures of those little witches and goblins for the local newspaper, so I will go over to a friend's house for a while. She always gets lots of visitors for candy. I'll take a few shots and then run over to the Harvest Party at one of the churches and take a couple pictures there, too.

After that, I'll come back home and hope to get rid of some of this candy. If not, we'll have to eat it all ourselves!

Enjoy your day and beware of those things that go bump in the night ... or on your front step!

Friday Fill-Ins

And...here we go!

1. It was a dark and stormy night, and Halloween ghosts and goblins were prowling the streets.

2. They were just going to throw them out so I offered to take the books for myself.

3. Rushing out, I ran smack into the UPS guy and sent him tumbling back down the hill.

4. What has Dolly on the prowl...I think she heard a howl!

5. Shhhh... the ghosties may hear you.

6. I want to leave soon so give me something good to eat!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting some of this backlog of writing done, tomorrow my plans include more writing and taking pictures of the little ghoulies for the local paper and Sunday, I want to relax but I have too much work to do!