Impossible Odds, The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team Six
By Jessica Buchanan, Erik Landemalm, Anthony Flacco
Released: June 10, 2013
Publisher: Atria Books (320 pages)

"... spellbinding ..."

The imminent possibly of being executed by a terrorist, feeling...

Book Review: Gun Guys: A Road Trip by Dan Baum

"Gun Guys is smart and informative -- an education for anyone the slightest bit curious about why gun owners are so passionate about their guns."

In the wake of the massacre in December 2012 of 26 children...

Are we uncomfortable with news that has not been sanitized by our own American-based networks? Is that the reason there is so much pushback to Al Jazeera English on U.S. network TV?

I think so.

It seems we don't want to see anything that doesn't show the U.S. in...

Would you use one book to do all your research on a subject? Probably not. That is what you do if you use Google as your only source.

Google, while the largest, is not the only search engine in town. Another way to use Google is as a gateway to...

"... an excellent book for those interested in the journalism greats, both past and reasonably contemporary. It should be required reading for journalism majors."

In a world of perishable correspondence, I fear we will lose precious writings to the Internet.

Some would argue that the electronic world allows us to...

Candy (not her real name) needed to get an "A" on her final research paper. An "A" would ensure that her grades for her junior year in high school would help maintain the Grade Point Average (GPA) she was desperate for to qualify for the college of her choice.

The backstory about what propelled me from Silicon Valley to the back streets of Philadelphia, Penn., to work for President Obama, is that I learned to value the right to vote at my mother's knee.

The immediate impetus was my outrage over voter suppression. When Pennsylvania House...

I hadn't planned to volunteer for the Obama campaign. I know I will vote for him, so I decided that was enough.

I'm very busy trying to make a living as a freelance writer. I'm one of the 8.1 percent unemployed that has given up looking for...

The cast of characters who played a part in the turbulent circus of 1960s and 1970s activities with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) informant program includes the man who uncovered the covert operation and a potential presidential assassin.

The San Francisco Bay Area was...

Ah for the years of presidential campaigns gone by.

Political pundits call the run-up to presidential elections the 'silly season.' The time when campaign rhetoric jumps to conclusions about what is going to happen, based on small pieces of information.

As Congress is in recess until September,

It is delightful that a respected linguist would take up the challenge of writing about an inelegant word that has become a staple of our spoken language.

Although it is not surprising as his other books including Talking Right: How Conservatives Turned Liberalism into a Tax-Raising, Latte-Drinking, Sushi-Eating, Volvo-Driving,...

Come on, admit it. You've Googled your name. Actually, it's a good idea. You should know what is on the Internet about you.

Usually you'll find such things as what you've written, where you've worked, your website, speaking engagements and your blog.

Some...

How much privacy are we willing to give up ensuring our safety against possible terrorist attacks?

Do we have a choice or has this line already been crossed? Have we become a "Big Brother" society?

Already much of our information has been available online to anyone interested in knowing where...

As a former newspaper reporter, occasionally I was assigned to report on a subject I didn't know well.

I learned that if I don't know what questions to ask. Otherwise I was at a huge disadvantage and at risk for being misled.

When these assignments...

In politics, hubris abounds. It is truly amazing that politicians think they can keep secrets.

After reading, We're with Nobody: Two Insiders Reveal the Dark Side of American Politics, by Alan Huffman and Michael Rejebian, there is no question--there are no secrets.

The scenarios of secrets revealed are played out...

Can print journalists be objective about the future of news? Page One: Inside the New York Times and the Future of Journalism attempts to answer this question in 17 essays and interviews with respected and well-known writers from various positions in newspaper and public affairs worldwide.

David Folkenflik, NPR's award-winning...

Genius of Place, The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted by Justin Martin

Da Capo Press

The gift of artistic vision on the large stage of life is rare. When witnessed it is so overwhelming few can appreciate its impact for years to come.

Such was the man, Frederick Law...

Conducting Internet research is a challenge. It's time consuming, often confusing and who ever thought too much information could be a problem? The Internet has opened up the world of information gathering to the extent that it can be overwhelming and therefore problematic. Google searches can be conflicting, redundant...

The GOP is in knee jerk reaction mode in an attempt to reduce spending to mend the debt created by the past administration.

What are these senators and congress people thinking? Cutting education spending by penalizing teachers is such a bad decision it defies reason. Why do we want...

With all the hullabaloo about "San Francisco Values," I decided to add some facts to the subject.

Many people who throw this phrase around know nothing of the history of the region and what makes a San Francisco native behave they way they do. With all due respects, the...