Book reviews from morganbooks

Skipping Christmas

by John Grisham

"Luther and Nora Krank imagine a year without Christmas when they decide that, just this once, they'll skip the holiday altogether...they aren't even going to have a tree. They won't need one, because come December 25 they're setting sail on a Caribbean cruise. But, as this weary couple is about to discover, skipping Christmas brings enormous consequences--and isn't half as easy as they'd imagined."

The Christmas Train

by David Baldacci

"Tom Langdon must take the train if he has any chance of arriving in Los Angeles in time for Christmas with his girlfriend. To finance the trip, he sells a story about a train ride taken during the Christmas season. Thereupon begins one of the most hilarious-and heartwarming-journeys ever told. Along the way, Tom encounters a ridiculous cast of characters, unexpected romance, and an avalanche that changes everyone's Christmas plans. As the mighty Southwest Chief chugs along, Tom learns what really makes the holiday special."

Emeril's Creole Christmas

by Lagasse, Emeril; Bienvenu, Marcelle

"Provides complete menus down to the shopping lists, for a Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas Day brunch, and New Year's Eve and Day suppers. Emeril likes a party and at the holidays he kicks it up a notch, with food that impresses and satisfies--Corn Cakes with Caviar, Brandied Baked Ham with Sugarcane Sauce, Funky Stuffed Oysters, and Chocolate Truffles are just a few of the recipes that will make your celebrations memorable."

Shame the Devil

by Pelecanos, George P.

"Frank Farrow is a natural-born killer. Roman Otis is a fine-looking crooner who does his killing on the side. On a hot D.C. afternoon Frank and Roman hit a pizza shop called May's. When the hit was over, four people were executed. A cop was shot. A boy was dead. And when the sirens stopped wailing and the killers vanished into the heat, dozens of lives were shattered forever. Now it's three years later, and Dimitri Karras, who lost a son, is starting to live again. But Dimitri's old acquaintance, a P.I. named Nick Stefanos, has just unburied the past--by discovering the killers' identity. Suddenly the second act of a crime story is about to be told."

Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love

by Sobel, Dava

"Introduces us to the man whose belief that the Earth moved around the sun caused him to be brought before the Holy Office of the Inquisition, accused of heresy, and threatened with torture. In contrast, his daughter Virginia chose the quiet life of a cloistered nun. Sobel takes us through the trials and triumphs of Galileo's career and his familial relationships, and simultaneously illuminates an entire era of flamboyant Medici Grand Dukes, the bubonic plague, and history's most dramatic collusion between science and religion."